Archive for the ‘finance’ Category
17
On a recent trip to Japan, President Obama bowed to his counterpart, Emperor Akihito. This act of RESPECT is being met with hoots and howls from conservatives who feel that was the wrong thing to do. They are saying that by bowing, Obama is making America “look bad.” Where have these people been the last 8 years?
The reason America looks bad ALL OVER THE WORLD is because for DECADES we have gone around the world treating people however the FUCK we wanted to. Then when and if anyone complained, they were met with “yeah and” attitudes. We force people who come over to this country to speak English and then when we go to their country, we expect them to understand English. We have bombed, financially raped, bullied, cajoled, and threatened, countries into attacking Iraq and Afghanistan with a lie about “weapons of mass destruction” and found NOTHING! The world is not safer and instead of making friends, or at least have working relationships with countries different from ours, we have created millions of enemies. According to conservative pundit, William Kristol, a bow is making us look “weak and overly deferential?” A Bow!
Most people feel sorry for bullies. Because they already know that the reason bullies act the way they do is because they have low self esteem. And they need to push other people around to feel superior. Sounds EXACTLY how America is viewed by most of the world. Yet this act of KINDNESS and RESPECT is bad “for America?”
Continue reading “You just don’t GET IT!” »
09
I’m still shocked that Michael Jackson is dead. It doesn’t seem possible. And when I see the footage of him dancing, literally hours before he died, it seems like a bad dream. And seeing the people come out of the woodworks to try and make money either from his estate of off of him is appalling. Add to that list Joe Jackson. Yup, Michael Jackson’s father Joe, is seeking upwards of $20,000.00 from the estate for “living expenses.” His rationale is that since Katherine Jackson is getting money, he should too! I guess he is trying to get nominated for “Father of the Year” again!
It stands to reason that if Michael wanted his father to have some money, it would have been put in the will. IT WASN’T! So for Joe to now seek money is disgusting. Are we all to think that Michael not including his father in the will was an accident? Are we to believe that Mike forgot that he had a father? Both Michael and Janet have both said that Joe was abusive to Michael. Does Joe think Michael has forgotten that? Does any parent think that a child forgets the person who abused him?
Joe needs to do what millions of senior citizens do. Go collect Social Security and live off of that. He received millions of dollars off of his children. If he wasn’t smart enough to keep some of it for a “rainy day“, so be it. But he shouldn’t collect one thin dime from Michael’s estate. The money that Katherine is getting from Michael’s estate if for the care of his children.
The gravy train unfortunately is gone Joe. And your ticket has expired. Get a job!
14
One of the consequences of Global Warming has been the inconsistent weather in different parts of the country. Some places are getting enough rain to cause major floods and other parts of the country aren’t getting little if any rain at all. This has caused local and state to begin asking residents to conserve water. With the economy and the threat of huge fines, people are cutting back on their water use. And if you can believe this, not only are water company officials complaining about their “diminishing profits” but they also want to raise the rates AGAIN!
The county of San Diego initiated MANDATORY water rationing back in June. This water rationing included only being able to water your lawn on certain days of the week, for no more than 10 minutes, and being asked to keep showers at 5 minutes. They also raised the water rates by 40%. That means that some families water bills went from $150.00 a month to to over $210.00 a month. And remember, you are using LESS water and PAYING MORE for it! Those factors, along with the shrinking budgets of many families, led to people cut their water usage. In some water districts, the water usage went down more than 20%. Which is exactly what is supposed to happen right? Apparently not!
As a recent water meeting, water officials lamented the lost revenue that has come with the water rationing. They are saying that their costs are still the same but their profits have dropped. That they may need to “dip into their reserves“, or shrink operating expenses to carry out mandatory state and federal laws. And they are also talking about “relaxing” water restriction rules.”Or, and this is what is pissing me off, they want to raise water rates again. They are supposed to include a letter in this month’s bill “asking residents” if they want their water rates raised. And we are supposed to send the “vote” back to disagree with it. Oh, and to show you just how ass backwards this whole thing is, they will spend $140,000.00 to send out the notices. And that is not a small amount of money is it?
I hope the residents of San Diego County don’t just sit back and allow their water rates to be raised with saying or doing anything about it. This whole think is making me believe that there really isn’t a water shortage. This is just another excuse the pockets of the citizens of San Diego, California!
09
I went through a period where I had the “neighbor council” sat in their “Community Cowards” meetings and decided to pick and choose who to call the police on. Not because we were bad neighbors. Not because we threw loud parties. Not because we were selling drugs. We had the police called to our house because a REGISTERED CAR hadn’t been moved within 72 hours. And to prove that I was being harassed, I moved my car EVERYDAY and took pictures. I then sent those pictures to myself through email. That provided a DATE and TIME STAMP. And when I contested the ticket, and sent in my evidence, low and behold, the city refunded my money. I guess they saw one HELL OF A LAWSUIT and decided that it wasn’t worth $41.00. Why am I bring this up? Because I recently read that a town in the wealthy section of Bridgeport, Connecticut is in the throes of a major legal battle. Over a stone fence!!!!
It seems like a family built a stone fence in the same position of a former fence on their property. Another neighbor complained about the fence saying that it was on “private lane” and that all of the neighbors would be liable if something happened. The city is saying that the fence is environmentally wrong because it encroaches on the wetlands. The family has already spent $150,000.00 on legal fees. And they could conceivable spend another $150,000.00 until the case is completed. Then another $50,000.00 on modifications to try and appease everyone. The fence was built at a cost of $170,000.00. So already they have spent $370,000.00 and the case hasn’t even gone to court. Should the Lilliens lose the case, they will have to spend another $120,000.00 to tear the fence down! And don’t forget, the officials of Bridgeport Connecticut have had to spend money to bring and defend their case too. Taking money and resources from the citizens. Did I forget to mention that the city got the complaint about the fence as it was being built, and didn’t stop it???
That this has gotten this far is ridiculous. There are people who have lost their houses for half of the money that is being spent do defend a fence. And it seems like these types of “lawsuits” are common among rich people. They get into pissing contests with each other and use real money like it was “monopoly money” and see who can spend the most money. All in the name of “principle.” The money that is being spent to amuse rich people could fund some non-profits for a year.
For this to be a problem, it just means that these people have too much fucking money and even more time on their hands!
08
When the economy gets bad, and people get desperate, they do things they wouldn’t normally do. Like selling family heirlooms or other possessions. And when you see commercials like the one for “Cash4Gold” that seems to be a dream come true for struggling people, who doesn’t hesitate to do business with them? But should you? From the mouths of a couple of former employees, the answer is a resounding “NO!”
Let me say this upfront. Every time I saw the Cash4Gold commercials, something didn’t seem right to me. My suspicious mind always went to the other side of this transaction. Because I always wondered about what would happen if my jewelry never got there? Or THEY said it never got there? Or what happens if they say you sent in a bracelet and you know that you sent in a thick gold necklace? What happens then? What recourse does the consumer have? Well it looks like my suspicious mind was right on the mark!
A former employee blew the whistle and listed ten things that the consumer doesn’t know about doing business with Cash4Gold. And a couple of theses things were the issues that concerned me. For doing so, she was hit with a lawsuit, and a summary judgment was placed against her. More on that later. But she states that consumers are low balled on the quality of their jewelry, they are stonewalled about their checks, and if they complain, they are offered more money “just to go away.” Employees are given bonuses if keep as much money as possible.
An investigation by the ComplaintsBoard.com showed that Cash4Gold pays the consumer a third of the value of their gold. Meaning a pawn shop would offer you $198.00 and cash for gold offers $60.00. That means you lose $138.00 dollars on the deal. That doesn’t sound like Cahs4Gold cares about it’s customers does it? For their investigation, the Complaintsboard.com has been sued also! Cash4Gold is sounded better and better all of the time! NOT!!!!
Continue reading “Cash4Gold – What a RIPOFF!” »
22
As I wrote in my post on July 1, 2009, “How old are you, anyways“, I spoke about the NBA requirement that players be at least 19 years old and a year out of high school before entering the league. Since most players entering the league are African American, I positioned that the rule was racist and prevents MEN who are old enough to die for their country, from being able to support their families. Recent events have given further proof that racism is alive and well in the NBA!
The next “great white hope” to enter the NBA in a few years is a kid named Ricky Rubio. He is from Spain and is supposed to be Magic, Nash, and Pete Maravich, all rolled into one. At 17, he played for the Spanish National Team and is said to have held his own against the United States team. At 18, just a few months ago, Rubio was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves. And needless to say, he isn’t very happy about it. The wolves have been AWFUL since the “Big Ticket“, Kevin Garnett left a few years ago. And the Wolves are pulling out all of the stops to get Ricky to come to Minnesota. But isn’t he only 18 years old? Wouldn’t that be against the NBA rules?
Continue reading “How old are you again?” »
10
This economy has been a boon for people who prey on other people. Both legal and illegal. People trying to get your personal information are using both online and offline means to try and trick you into revealing your social security numbers, bank account numbers, and financial institution’s passwords. These losers are even using Job boards like Monster.com and Careerbuilder.com to get your Full name, address, and your phone number from your online resumes. So while you are innocently trying to find a job to support your family, predators are looking to steal your identity. And the newest twist on the bottom feeder Hall of Fame are debt collectors calling the family of deceased people and attempting to get money from THEM!
Legally, you aren’t responsible for that debt. The estate of that person is responsible for the debt. If you are the executor of the estate, any assets can be seized or sold to pay off the debt. But someone calling you and saying that “aunt Maybel” had a $326.00 debt at a local business, often not local to YOU, and they want to get paid. Many times out of sense of duty, you feel bound to pay off that debt. DON’T! If the debt doesn’t belong to YOU, don’t fall for it! It’s another ruse to separate you from your money. Is that kind of business practice LOW OR WHAT??
I myself am a victim of another scam. A debt that by their own BOTTOM FEEDING paperwork was 10 years old, was allowed to be filed. I was IMMEDIATELY hit with a loss of $180.00 to “answer the filling” YUP, I was out $180.00 right out of the gate. And it was $180.00 I really couldn’t afford to spend either. If I had failed to answer the case, I would have lost right then and there. That is what these BOTTOM FEEDERS hope the consumer does. If you don’t respond, THEY WIN! What a great legal system we have, don’t we!
Continue reading “Dead are good for Debt Collectors!” »
12
Somewhat lost among the Wallstreet meltdown is the fact that one man, Bernard Madoff, created and ran one of the biggest Ponzi schemes EVER! His victims are not only everyday people who worked their whole lives to save money for children’s college fund and for their own retirements, but they also include people like movie director Steven Spielberg, Hall of Fame Baseball player, Sandy Koufax, talkshow host Larry King, and actor Kevin Bacon and his wife Kyra Sedgwick. Zsa Zsa Gabor is also included on this “victim’s list” and is said to have lost between 7-10 million dollars! Also included on the list of victims is his wife, his sons, brother and other relatives! Talk about an equal opportunity criminal. Stealing from your own family. His actions have cost hundreds, if not thousands, of people their live savings and at least two fellow billionaires took their lives in response to becoming insolvent. Translation? They killed themselves because they lost all of their money! One would think that a man that ran a 50 BILLION dollar pyramid scheme would be up under the jail. But that is not the case. Mr. Madoff is under “house arrest” in his penthouse apartment in Manhattan, New York! He went from the penthouse to the penthouse!
I guess this could almost be called the chicken watching the hen house because Madoff was at one time the chairman if the NASDAQ stock exchange. Wouldn’t you know exactly how to find the loopholes if you were once the person who was supposed to close them?
The most galling part of this whole mess is that this man is not sitting in a jail cell. We jail poor people who steal $20.00 video games for months on end before they even get to court. Yet this man who has caused people to committ suicide, is free. And before anyone says he isn’t really “free”, his penthouse is said to be 2 stories high and is worth 7 million dollars. The average jail cell is 8 feet wide, 8 feet high, and 12 feet long. Compared to other criminals who have allegedly committed crimes, Madoff is free. Make no mistake about it!
The failout from the Madoff affair is far reaching. People who recommended Madoff to their friends and family are now being made to feel unwelcome. The people who promoted Madoff and probably lost money also, are being held accountable for what has occurred. For a scheme to have gone on that long, it had to have been well hidden. While it might be unfair to hold the people who gave “street cred” to Madoff, that comes with the territory when you “have someone’s back!”
Continue reading “From the Penthouse to the Penthouse!” »