Senate is still talking about Credit Card Relief

 

 

 

 

 

Senate Judiciary subcommittee is going though the proposed bill that Suze Orman has been talking about.  The bill won’t even go into effect until next year but it would give consumers a big leg up when trying to negotiate lower interest rates with credit card companies.  Interest rates on credit cards have become usury.  The article details how Douglas Corey’s interest rate jumped from 13% to 29% when he made less than the minimum on his payment for two months.  Credit card companies have started raising interest rates and crunching credit in a big way…and sometimes for customers who haven’t even had a late payment or less than the minimum.  But just like Suze, I think we need this bill now…now…not next summer. The average family has something like $10,000 in credit card debit-with a high interest rate that total could sky rocket by next summer.  

Senate Considers Relief for Credit Card Holders – washingtonpost.com.

Mad about the bailout? Get enraged!

With the stock market gaining ground again and the administration declaring the economic meltdown to be over and the country back on the road to recovery, it’s important that we all understand exactly what happened, how it happened, and start working to prevent it from EVER happening again.  People are upset about the bailout but view it as necessary…was it?  Is it?  Dave Chapelle talked about the “real” white man and said that there are men you think control the world and then there are the REAL men…the few richer than god men who are actually pulling the puppet strings that control us all.  I’ve seen some things in my day that imply that’s actually the way of it…that the high rollers who donate the most get the meetings…they get the phone numbers that make the difference…and they have the name recognition that gets their calls put through.  This article talks about a great many things that should give all American’s pause…give us some things to think about…and some things to vote on.  It also talks about our good friend Joseph Cassano…of Che t-shirt fame!  Sounds like he’s pretty much a Grade A douche who enjoys parading around lawn parties wearing his Che T-shirt ironically…just like a hipster who doesn’t get the joke.

We need regulation.  That much is crystal clear…but how can we engineer change if the people who influence the most change are the same people engineered the market’s deregulation?  It’s just like the Obama administration not repealing so many of the Bush Administration’s executive power extensions…

Anyhoo, it’s depressing but important so please read it

The Big Takeover : Rolling Stone.

And the Captain Obvious Award goes to…The NY Times for this Headline!

White House Optimism Not Shared by Republicans – NYTimes.com.

Wow…Really?  You’re kidding?  Republicans don’t SHARE the White House’s Optimism?  That’s SHOCKING.  That’s never happened before.  I don’t know what the next year holds or what the next decade holds.  But I do know that it took lot’s of different people around the globe in many different fields to dig the economic hole we’re currently in.and it’s going to take a united effort involving everyone-from main street to wall street and around the globe to fix this.  Republicans can say whatever they want about plans…until they have something better, we’re sticking with what we’ve got.  Also, who got us into this mess?  8 years of a Republican White House…specifically George W. Bush.  Has anyone else noticed that Bush’s name is RARELY used now?  It’s almost as if they are trying to make American’s forget who was at the helm when the warning flares were signally…as if they want American’s to forget how many lives have been lost and how much money has been spent on wars in Afghanistan and Iraq…wars that we’re no closer to winning now than we were when we invaded.  Bankruptcy?  Oh yeah…Obama is the reason the country might be bankrupt in a few years…it has NOTHING to do with the tax cuts or stimulus checks or the FDIC not making banks pay their annual dues or unchecked spending by the former administration.

Suze Changes Her Mind

It seems like Suze Orman has been telling the masses 4evah to pay down credit cards and THEN work on building up your savings.  Sound advice…usually…except that the recent credit crunch has credit card companies changing their ways.  Suze’s advice was based on people being able to use some of their newly freed up credit as part of their emergency fund…But times have changed and now credit card companies are slashing credit limits and closing cards left and right even if you’ve always been on time and have done everything right. So Suze has changed her tune.  NOW she says you should pay your minimum payment and put EVERYTHING else towards an 8 month emergency fund. Once you’ve reached your 8 month savings goal, THEN you can make paying your credit cards your number one priority again…start with the highest interest rate, put a little more towards that one…then when you’re done with that one, roll what you were paying per month towards that card onto the next and so on.

I’m happy to see she’s reversed her stance.  It is an interesting and subtle change but it can make all the difference in the world for people in crisis.  I have LOADS of student loan debt and if I hadn’t put some savings away, I’d be up shits creek sans paddle right now.  And don’t forget-you can’t always count on unemployment…there are a number of factors that could exclude you from unemployment benefits.  Unemployment benefits differ from state to state so check your local benefits office to find out what you need to do to qualify.

The Suze Scoop from Suze Orman.

Soap Opera? Or the story of CEO of Citibank?

If you have some time on your hands and are interested in reading a long gossipy article about Vikram, here it is!  It’s a fun read and let’s you peak behind the curtain at the small group of men on wall street pulling the invisible puppet strings that keep us all dancing on these financial highs and lows.

How Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit Became the Most Powerless Powerful Man on Wall Street — New York Magazine.

Tired of Looking for Work, Some Create Their Own – NYTimes.com

As my job hunt enters it’s fourth week and prospects are looking worse and worse, the idea of starting my own business is sexy and alluring.  No more bosses or offices!  I can work as hard or as not hard as I want.  Unfortunately, finding that *special* skill that separates me from the maddening crowd…that passion that drives me…that one thing I can bring to the internet market place that no one else can continues to elude me.  Fortunately, for this dude, jellyfish are hot right now and so is the technology that allows you to keep them in your home…as pets?  Oh and he also knows how to make the tanks!

In all seriousness starting your own business and doing your own work right now is a fabulous idea…and it’s new business ideas like this one that will help pull the economy out of recession and even depression.  But it’s important to avoid assuming too much personal financial risk when setting up a new business.  Suze Orman has a WHOLE book on it.  Check it out before you start your own Cash-4-Gold shop out of your basement.

Tired of Looking for Work, Some Create Their Own – NYTimes.com.

Wanting to divorce, but unable to afford it – Economy in Turmoil- msnbc.com

What’s worse than getting laid off?  Being trapped in a loveless, ruined marriage…and being unemployed.  I loved Family Law but one of the things it ruined for me was marriage.  I have been affraid of marriage any everything that comes with it ever since.  Husbands and Wives can do some serious damage to each other and you are li-ah-ble.  Freaky shit.  Seems like a lot of Americans really don’t know what they are signing up for when they get married and they should…because it’s serious…and it is seriously hard to untangle your lives once you’ve gone there.

Wanting to divorce, but unable to afford it – Economy in Turmoil- msnbc.com.

File this under “R U Shittin’ Me?”: Banks Didn’t Pay Into FDIC Coffers From 1996 To 2006

 

 

 

Who knew politicians were such optimists?  Apparently most banks didn’t have to pay into the FDIC from 1996 to 2006 because officials at the time thought “the good times would last and that bank failures would not be a problem”…

I really don’t understand the logic behind this…it’s like banks charging poor people to keep their money in the bank and giving rich people money back!  The banks were FLUSH-go and get what they OWE.  It’s not like the IRS says to me “You know what…actually…we’re doing pretty good this year…I don’t think we’re going to need your money.  This year is on us.”  And you know why that is?  Because the IRS knows better!  They knew that THIS year would come…that the good times would NOT keep going for me and that I would need unemployment!  So why are they surprised that banks suddenly need money?  The banks are just like me!  I am the bank!  The bank is me!  And neither one of us saved up for this day because we had you FDIC!  And stupid Congress.  Not to sound like a crazy c-o-n-spiracy person, but this HAS to be the result of some SERIOUS lobbying.  Not charging fees to banks is not an idea Congress or the FDIC came up with on their own…Any of Abramoff’s dirty little prints on this?  The timeline fits but I’d hope they’ve turned over every rock by now.  Who knows?  They might have been too busy telling banks to forget about the fees!

Fdic: Banks Didn’t Pay Into FDIC Coffers From 1996 To 2006.

SURE! We’ll take it back…plus interest of course

Apparently some banks are balking at the rules and restrictions the fed is placing on the bailout money.  They don’t like the fact that Congress and regulators can impose new rules as they see fit and worry that it will keep weaker banks afloat when really they are doomed to failure.  The rules and restrictions are a result of the increasing public ‘outrage’ over the bailout.  As a member of the public at large, I tend to agree with the ‘outrage’.  If banks don’t want to follow these rules, then don’t take the money.  Clearly if you can choose NOT to take the money, you don’t really need it.  The bailout money should be a last resort.  This isn’t something to cushion coffers…this is a stopgap.  I’m getting unemployment and take all of the restrictions that come with that government subsidy…if they want me to fill out a survey, I fill it out!  

Some Banks, Citing Strings, Want to Return Aid – NYTimes.com.

Sisters are doing it for themselves

As the product of a dual income household, I’ve always kind of thought of mother’s staying at home as a luxury for super-rich.  My mom was also the main bread winner so the idea of women not working has always been strange to me.  It was never easy and I appreciate the sacrifices both of my parents made for my brother and I growing up.  They worked very hard for us and became excellent role models.  None of it would have been possible if my father hadn’t stepped right up and taken on a fair half (if not more) of the domestic responsibilities.  I don’t really understand why this is such a big deal…the person who’s at home, does the home stuff!  That said, I’m having some major issues with my new role as hausfrau.

Grass/greener: Is The Recession The Newest “Excuse” For Moms To Go Back To Work?.