Category: Money

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Support House Resolution 946

U.S. House Resolution 946

The Consumer Overdraft Protection Fair Practices Act.

This bill would enforce laws against the current scrupulous activity banks engage in whereby they order consumer transactions from largest to smallest during processing to maximize overdraft “protection” fees. This process is currently under legal scrutiny even without this bill. It would also make it illegal for banks to approve transactions on debit and Visa “check cards” for which the money is not in the account unless the “overdraft protection” services are applied for by the consumer. Banks currently count on these over-the-limit transactions to maximize overdraft protection fees. The banking industry made 73 billion in such fees during 2006. It was their single largest source of revenue.

In 1999 a class action lawsuit was filed against Bank of America for engaging in the practice of “Biggest Transaction First” transaction and check clearing. They paid a $9 million dollar settlement in this suit without admission of fault and continue the practice until this day. I think more individuals should file suit against this practice, not class action attorneys, because the impact against BoA would be far greater and would receive far more attention than a few law firms cashing out.

Obviously this resolution is going to come under harsh attack by the omni-present and feared banking lobby. May they burn in hell along with all other corporate interest lobby’s.

UPDATE: Consumers who think the current system is unfair should write to the Federal Reserve and complain, and write to their congressional representatives asking them to support the “Consumer Overdraft Protection Fair Practices Act” introduced by Congresswoman Maloney.

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Massachusetts Makes Health Insurance Mandatory

Hopefully this won’t start a horrifying trend. I am not opposed to discussions about Universal Health Care but passing laws at the state level which dictate that small businesses owners must make it available and individuals are responsible for having it is nothing but a great big victory for the health insurance companies and health care corporations.

This is an ill-conceived, stupid plan by ass-hats who have no idea what a burden this will place on many families. They will claim that state and federal funds will assist those with financial hardships. The truth is that to qualify for such programs you will only be able to have a part time job making $8 an hour to fall below the federal poverty level. Those families making $35K to $65K a year struggling to pay the mortgage and two car payments so they can get back and forth to work will not qualify and this will directly tap into their budget for genuine life necessities. All so a state government can dictate what’s best for them to do with their money.

DO NOT let laws like this fool you. This is not a group of legislators looking out for the best interest of their constituency. They are mearly trying to make sure that hospitals get paid when the uninsured can’t. At the same time they pacify the health insurance industry by providing them a state mandated revenue stream. Mitt Romney, you sir are an ass. And as a corporate “playa” an easy target for the corporate lobbies that are responsible for having these laws passed.

They are hoping the people of Massachusetts are stupid enough to beleive they are looking out for their best interest. And maybe you are on a few occassions. But in this instance corporations have gotten laws passed to increase their revenue streams.

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IBM to lay off 100,000 workers?

Here’s an article on Digg regarding this rumor and a quote of one guys extreme reaction to the news: IBM Layoff

People here in the States aren’t going to wake up to what is happening until THEIR job is taken. The middle class is being systematically dismantled.

We’ve pretty much lost most of our manufacturing base. Very little is still “made in the USA”. We’ve gone from a self-sufficient country that could make anything it needs to one that imports damn near everything. Hell, many of the parts required for some of our more sophisticated military weapons are made in China. Hmm, wonder what happens if China decides to stop making them?

One thing we still make and make well are firearms. I’d suggest you buy a few and get ready for the coming maelstrom.

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Additional Hospital Bills Make Contractor Sick :: WRAL.com

Additional Hospital Bills Make Contractor Sick :: WRAL.com

Spokeswoman Stephanie Crayton said Bridges was originally billed too little because the hospital coded the case wrong.

“The confusion started because Bridges was a third party paying someone else’s bill. Most of the time, Crayton said, a third party is an insurance company, and Bridges was originally billed the price insurance companies pay for treatment, which is much less than what people who don’t have or don’t use insurance pay.”

This is the first time I’ve heard a hospital representative make this claim publicly. The question is why? Why do people without insurance have to pay more than the negotiated insurance rates? This is what make programs like Maternity Card so appealing. You get the benefit of participating in a plan with pre-negotiated rates even though you will pay the bill out of pocket. This is a practice by health care institutions that must be stopped but won’t. There’s too much corporate health care influence in Washington.

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Keep the change.

Tonight I was surprised to see this unexpected increase in my savings account balance. When I logged on to my BOA accounts page I saw an increase of $120+ dollars. It was my annual “keep the change match” where BOA matches a percentage of what I transfer to my savings account through the Keep the Change program. Every time I use my ATM Check card the change rounding to the dollar is transferred into savings. Pretty cool. This is the first time in a while I’ve felt positive about a bank program of any type.

This reminds me. I’ve gotta go buy some numbers for tonights Powerball drawing.  Easy come, easier go.

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How much will Vista Cost?

The official release date is now Nov. 30th for business users and Jan. 30th 2007 for Home editions. The only pricing I’ve seen released by Microsoft is in AUD so let’s convert using x-rates.com:

  • Windows Vista Home Basic – AUD$385 = $298.029 USD
  • Windows Vista Home Premium – AUD$455 = $352.216 USD
  • Windows Vista Business – AUD$565 = $437.367 USD
  • Windows Vista Ultimate – AUD$751 = $581.350

I’ve been using Vista Beta for weeks and I don’t see myself needing anything in a $300 operating system that I can’t get out of a free or darn near free one. In fact, I unloaded my copy of Office 2000 last week and installed the latest version of OpenOffice never to look back. I might need to use Office 2007 in business at some point but I honestly feel that this may be the release of the first Microsoft OS/application group that will not become ingrained as a “standard” suite to which everyone must insure compatibility.

With so many open source options available now I can’t imagine that too many businesses will run straight to this OS or App suite simply because Microsoft says come and get it. There’s far less hype surrounding this release than any previous Microsoft product. It will probably enter with a whimper and go down with a bang. Note to self: move MS stock to Apple.

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Headline News “money saving suggestions” in face of inflation…

This story that ran this morning, Sept. 24th began “is the money running out before the end of the month?” and continued with these suggestions from “The Home Network” to save on your monthly bills:

“Put a good layer of mulch around you shrubs and flowers to hold in moisture and control weeds. This will prevent having to make as many calls to your landscaper or gardener”.

What a great idea. The key to my financial future. Everyone reduce your calls to your gardener and landscaper. What? You don’t have one? Oh wait. Neither do I.

Their next suggestion: replace your toilet if it was put in before 1992 because it will use less water per flush. Not a bad suggestion but I’ve got a similar solution my grandmother showed me years ago: put two bricks in the tank. Replace liquid volume with solid volume. Last time I checked bricks cost less than toilets.

And my favorite suggestion: buy a new, more efficient front loading washer and dryer. According to Sears this money saving venture will only cost you $1500 minimum. That’s over 10 months of power bills for me. Thanks but I think I’ll stick with the $30 extra on my power bill each month as punishment for having my old inefficient models. A 50 month return on investment would make any accountant cringe. Besides, if you’re “money is running out before the end of the month” I doubt the best money saving idea is running up more credit card debt for a fancy-dancy, sparkely-new washing machine.

Who are the overpaid idiots that came up with these suggestions? I wonder if they have any “money saving tips” that don’t involve spending lots of money?

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Out with the old…

imageFor anyone who wants to reminisce over the old theme, here’s a screen shot. Every day Connor acts more like Amy so she can’t be left out. He’s not just like me, he’s just like us.
And for the big announcement: Monday, February 13th I will start my new position as the Manager of Information Systems at 1-800-Pack-Rat, Inc. Many thanks to Sean, Matt, and others who provided “impeccable” references. You rock. I get a base salary increase, annual performance bonus that’s 10% of base and a flexible spending account.  Amy and I are going to The Bonefish Grill tomorrow night to celebrate.

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Headhunters and Pack Rats

In the past I’ve made it a point not to write about any circumstances surrounding my employment situation. But lately I’ve been getting a lot of calls about new job opportunities. While I’ve only spoken directly to 1-800-Pack-Rat about a hands-on MIS position I’ve also been contacted by Alphanumeric and Matrix resources regarding what I think is the same Network Admin position that sounds interesting. All that I know so far is that it’s with a rapidly expanding company, not unlike Pack Rat, but of course headhunters usually won’t disclose the names of clients they’re recruiting for until an interview’s been scheduled.

So I have some internal reckoning to do. Is it really time to move on from Dillon Supply? I’d certainly like to think it’s worth staying but in reality it seems as though promotional opportunities and foward momentum are not even in the long term future. It’s unfortunate because I was really hoping to stay somewhere more than 2 years for a change.

I’ve always had a habit of thinking about future opportunity. Hard work and good execution should equal advancement in pay and position. Snail’s pace implementations and just getting by from 9 to 5 are not in my persona. There have been a few good technical successes at Dillon and the cleanup effort from the original deployment was monumental. I’ve stopped the bleeding. I will try to keep those points foremost in mind but smart, controlled investment in technology as a future business facilitator does not seem to be of much interest to Dillon right now. Cutting costs does.

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First World Frustrations

David Rakoff is the author of the new book Don’t Get Too Comfortable: The Indignities of Coach Class, The Torments of Low Thread Count, The Never-Ending Quest for Artisanal Olive Oil, and Other First World Problems.

This book delves into the hypocritical aspects of American life, the luxuries many of us take for granted and the absurdities we simply ignore. And, once again, it got me thinking about how good everyone in America has it compared to the rest of the world despite our frustrations at home and work and our self commitment to a never ending rat race. I looked up some encouraging facts any westerner should pay attention to if you ever feel like you’ve got it bad:

1. If you woke up this morning with at least $350 US dollars in the bank you are in the wealthiest 8% of the world’s population.

2. If you consider yourself a somewhat healthy American then you are far ahead of the 1 million people in third world countries that will die today because they lack access to basic amenities you take for granted – like vitamin A in their food.

3. If you’re religious and you feel free go to your place of worship regularly in America you’re way ahead of the almost 2 billion people who are assaulted, arrested, incarcerated and tortured each year for attempting to worship or participate in their religious beliefs.

4. If you woke up this morning and took a shower or used a toilet then congratulations, once again you’re ahead of approximately 2.6 billion people, or 40 percent of the world’s population, who lack access to basic sanitation.

5. If you put gas in your car recently, at any price, think about this: in a passenger car, for example, typically only 10 percent of the oil’s energy actually moves the car. Of that, only about two percent actually moves the passenger. So you are wealthy enough to afford an energy resource you will only use at 2% efficiency to haul you down the road. The rate of cars being built now exceeds the rate of growth of the world’s population*. And you are fortunate to be among the 28% of the world’s population that owns them.

6. As of 2004 the impact of the average U.S. citizen on the environment is approximately 3 times that of the average Italian, 13 times that of the average Brazilian, 35 times that of the average Indian, 140 times that of the average Bangladeshi, and 250 times that of the average sub-Saharan African.
Source: UNICEF, The State of the World’s Children

So don’t be surprised to find me laughing at anyone who is about to bust a blood vessel because they forgot to put ketchup in the bag at the drive-thru.

*NOTE: To clarify this is growth rate based upon percentage. From 1974 to 1999 the number of automobiles manufactured per year increased 44% and the world’s human population only increased 16%. As of August 2003 there was 1.9 cars in America for every licensed driver. – Source: Transportation Alternatives, NYC

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