Let me tell you a little story about a girl I know.
An old friend of mine, to which we will refer to as "D", finds out that a little boy she knows has cancer. The little guy's Mother has to leave her job in order to care for her sick 2 year old son. Money is going to be tight for this family and they don't know how the bills are going to be paid. What does "D" do? She jumps into action to help her friend's family by using her blog to draw attention to the family's situation. Before you know it, hundreds of people are following this little guys' story and praying for his healing. Then the ball really starts rolling and donations start pouring into a fund set-up for the family. One person tells one person who then tells another. Complete strangers paying it forward. That is the power of community finding a solution.
When our Founding Fathers were building the framework of our Country, they believed in individuals, family, and community over government. Government interference has always been intended as an absolute last resort. There are too many belonging to the masses of our nation that believe it's the nation's job to solve their individual problems. First we had the mortgage modification plan, then we had the $7K first time home buyer rebate. Debuting April 5th, is a program that will pay banks to allow homeowners to sale their homes for a loss and give the homeowners a little extra cash for "relocation assistance". When does it end? Keep on doling out the incentives and no one will ever learn the lessons this crisis laid at our feet. This housing bubble has been a shit storm brewing for years. Cheap and easy credit....people too ignorant to care and got in way over their heads. When ignorant people are given the opportunity to walk away from mistakes, they are bound to repeat them over and over again. They will be lining up at the dealerships for the Cash for Clunkers II because they couldn't make the payments on the first vehicle they were enticed to buy at the Cash for Clunkers I program.
Do you remember a time when you knew all of your neighbors? Do you remember a time when generations of family members lived in the same home? Do you remember helping out the guy sitting next to you in church with a food drive because times were tough for his family? Or donating what you can to help out a family like the story above. Something tells me we need to get back to the basics.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Sitting On The Fence
Last week, the conservative movement had something to smile about. If you had asked me earlier in the year if I thought this was in the cards, I would have said no. However, voters never cease to amaze me. Last Tuesday, in the New Jersey and Virginia governor races, republican Chris Christie knocked off incumbent Jon Corzine (D) in New Jersey and GOP nominee Bob McDonnell pummeled state Senator Creigh Deeds (D) in Virginia with a 17 percentage point victory. What does this mean for 2010 and our chances to win back the House and Senate? Let's review the current
circumstances:
New Jersey: This is a troubled state. It made the list of the top 10 troubled states in the country. NJ is plagued by years of mishandled funds and spending more than it collects in revenue. Residents are riddled with an exceptionally large tax burden and owns an unemployment rate that hovers around the same as the national average of 10.2%. Christie won over Corzine by 4 percentage points last week - that's the largest victory by a New Jersey Republican in nearly a quarter-century. Why?
Virginia: This laundry list will read much like my own home state of PA. Virginia has a budget deficit and is facing even higher taxes. The state's Rainy Day Fund has been raided and run dry. VA has shorted K-12 education and it's own retirement system by billions. The state's gimmicks and short term fixes that robbed Peter to pay Paul are coming back to haunt Virginia. McDonnell won the governor's position by nearly 59% of the vote. How did this happen when Obama was the first Democratic presidential candidate to win in Virginia since 1964 just one short year ago?
It all came down to the Independent vote. The same voters that helped Obama carry the presidential election by large numbers, fled the Democratic party to vote for the Republican candidate. But still...the question is WHY? Could it be that voters are starting to become nervous about the amount of spending by the Obama administration? I know I am. When you look at all the legislation that could be coming down the pike such as Health Care, cape and trade, climate change, and the war in Afghanistan combined with the monstrous stimulus bill passed earlier this year...It becomes more than a little daunting. How can we afford all the tax dollars this is going to cost with a national unemployment rate of 10.2%? By the way, wasn't the stimulus bill suppose to keep that number in check? Something like under 8%? Yet, I digress..
There's much to consider here. How will this sit with moderate Democrats who sit precariously on the fence on such issues as listed above? As they say, time will tell but it has to have them thinking. And don't get me wrong...just because McDonnell and Christie were elected doesn't mean they still don't have to prove themselves. If they don't contain spending and turn their state's problems around, they should be held accountable. However, if they are able to make progress, the 2010 elections should prove to be very interesting. We'll be keeping a close eye on this one and I'm sure the Independent voters will be too.
circumstances:
New Jersey: This is a troubled state. It made the list of the top 10 troubled states in the country. NJ is plagued by years of mishandled funds and spending more than it collects in revenue. Residents are riddled with an exceptionally large tax burden and owns an unemployment rate that hovers around the same as the national average of 10.2%. Christie won over Corzine by 4 percentage points last week - that's the largest victory by a New Jersey Republican in nearly a quarter-century. Why?
Virginia: This laundry list will read much like my own home state of PA. Virginia has a budget deficit and is facing even higher taxes. The state's Rainy Day Fund has been raided and run dry. VA has shorted K-12 education and it's own retirement system by billions. The state's gimmicks and short term fixes that robbed Peter to pay Paul are coming back to haunt Virginia. McDonnell won the governor's position by nearly 59% of the vote. How did this happen when Obama was the first Democratic presidential candidate to win in Virginia since 1964 just one short year ago?
It all came down to the Independent vote. The same voters that helped Obama carry the presidential election by large numbers, fled the Democratic party to vote for the Republican candidate. But still...the question is WHY? Could it be that voters are starting to become nervous about the amount of spending by the Obama administration? I know I am. When you look at all the legislation that could be coming down the pike such as Health Care, cape and trade, climate change, and the war in Afghanistan combined with the monstrous stimulus bill passed earlier this year...It becomes more than a little daunting. How can we afford all the tax dollars this is going to cost with a national unemployment rate of 10.2%? By the way, wasn't the stimulus bill suppose to keep that number in check? Something like under 8%? Yet, I digress..
There's much to consider here. How will this sit with moderate Democrats who sit precariously on the fence on such issues as listed above? As they say, time will tell but it has to have them thinking. And don't get me wrong...just because McDonnell and Christie were elected doesn't mean they still don't have to prove themselves. If they don't contain spending and turn their state's problems around, they should be held accountable. However, if they are able to make progress, the 2010 elections should prove to be very interesting. We'll be keeping a close eye on this one and I'm sure the Independent voters will be too.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
The Company You Keep
Late Saturday night, on September 5th, a man by the name of Anthony "Van" Jones handed in his resignation to the White House. Even though he only served six months as the White House's Special Advisor for Green Jobs, he left quite an impression. Never heard of the guy or his resignation? Let's just take it one step at a time......
Jones had a seemly normal childhood. He graduated High School and went on the receive a BA from the University of Tennessee at Martin. Things started to change upon entering law school at Yale. Reflecting back at that time, Jones admits that he considered dropping out of Yale but decided to stay because an ivy league education would gain him legitimacy. He has been quoted as saying "...if I'd been in another country, I probably would have joined some underground guerrilla sect but as it was, I went to an ivy league school.". While still at Yale, Jones was arrested during a protest of the Rodney King case in San Francisco. Although the charges against Jones were later dropped, it was at this time he met other young radicals immersed in the beliefs of communism and anarchy. He says he felt like he had found something he needed to be a part of.
After graduating for Yale in 1993, He founded the group STORM (Standing Together to Organize a Revolutionary Movement). This group was devoted to the teachings of Marx and Lennon. Each member was to develop a basic understanding and commitment to revolutionary Marxist policies, Third World Communism, revolutionary feminism, revolutionary internationalism, the central role of the working class, and revolutionary democracy. By this time, Jones was a self-proclaimed rowdy nationalist and communist.
In 1999, Jones led a group that tried to get arrested while rallying to free convicted Philadelphia cop-killer Mumia Abu-Jamal. In 2005, The Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, of which Jones is the founder and long time director, produced an anti-Iraqi war album entitled: Wartimes: Reports from the Opposition. This album was a compilation of tracks hosted by none other than Mumia Abu-Jamal himself.
In January of 2002, Jones' Ella Baker Center organized a march in San Fransisco, CA in order to raise their concerns over the "War on Terrorism" and demand an investigation into the events of 9/11. In 2004, Jones signed a petition from the group 911Truth.org that questioned whether officials in President's George W. Bush's administration "may indeed have deliberately allowed 9/11 to happen, perhaps as a pretext for war.".
In 2007, Jones founded the group Green for All which is dedicated to "building an inclusive green economy strong enough to lift people out of poverty". He released his first book, The Green Collar Economy. In March of 2009, he was appointed by President Obama to the newly-created position on the White House Council on Environmental Quality...which brings us back to the beginning.
In July of 2009, Jones became so weighted in controversy over his past political activities, he was forced to resign his post by early September due to "..a vicious smear campaign against me.". Smeared....maybe....but with his own deeds and words. Here we are at the heart of the matter concerning Jones.....How did he ever get a job in the White House in the first place? If you or I apply for any position requiring special clearance, we would be subject to a background check. And, had we the same political ties in our backgrounds, we would have been denied. Considering the embarrassment the administration has already suffered due to lacking procedures in the vetting process, how was he able to pass through without being properly investigated? I'm just an average citizen. I do not have the powers of the FBI and CIA to gather information. Yet, I was able to obtain loads of background information concerning Mr. Jones. How did this administration not?
Yes, Van Jones is entitled, under the protection of our Country's constitution, to say and believe anything he wants. If wants to join the communist party...so be it. If he wants to lend his support to a death-row cop-killer....so be it. If he believes the past administration was a part of a conspiracy on 9/11....he can. As a kid, my parents used to tell me to be careful of who my friends were because I may be judged by their actions. Isn't that the truth! Rev. Wright, Bill Ayers, ACORN...fool me once, shame on you....fool me twice, shame one me. How long will the American public be made fools?
"You have to be creative how you engage the enemy, because if you do it on his terms, the outcome is already known." - Van Jones
Jones had a seemly normal childhood. He graduated High School and went on the receive a BA from the University of Tennessee at Martin. Things started to change upon entering law school at Yale. Reflecting back at that time, Jones admits that he considered dropping out of Yale but decided to stay because an ivy league education would gain him legitimacy. He has been quoted as saying "...if I'd been in another country, I probably would have joined some underground guerrilla sect but as it was, I went to an ivy league school.". While still at Yale, Jones was arrested during a protest of the Rodney King case in San Francisco. Although the charges against Jones were later dropped, it was at this time he met other young radicals immersed in the beliefs of communism and anarchy. He says he felt like he had found something he needed to be a part of.
After graduating for Yale in 1993, He founded the group STORM (Standing Together to Organize a Revolutionary Movement). This group was devoted to the teachings of Marx and Lennon. Each member was to develop a basic understanding and commitment to revolutionary Marxist policies, Third World Communism, revolutionary feminism, revolutionary internationalism, the central role of the working class, and revolutionary democracy. By this time, Jones was a self-proclaimed rowdy nationalist and communist.
In 1999, Jones led a group that tried to get arrested while rallying to free convicted Philadelphia cop-killer Mumia Abu-Jamal. In 2005, The Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, of which Jones is the founder and long time director, produced an anti-Iraqi war album entitled: Wartimes: Reports from the Opposition. This album was a compilation of tracks hosted by none other than Mumia Abu-Jamal himself.
In January of 2002, Jones' Ella Baker Center organized a march in San Fransisco, CA in order to raise their concerns over the "War on Terrorism" and demand an investigation into the events of 9/11. In 2004, Jones signed a petition from the group 911Truth.org that questioned whether officials in President's George W. Bush's administration "may indeed have deliberately allowed 9/11 to happen, perhaps as a pretext for war.".
In 2007, Jones founded the group Green for All which is dedicated to "building an inclusive green economy strong enough to lift people out of poverty". He released his first book, The Green Collar Economy. In March of 2009, he was appointed by President Obama to the newly-created position on the White House Council on Environmental Quality...which brings us back to the beginning.
In July of 2009, Jones became so weighted in controversy over his past political activities, he was forced to resign his post by early September due to "..a vicious smear campaign against me.". Smeared....maybe....but with his own deeds and words. Here we are at the heart of the matter concerning Jones.....How did he ever get a job in the White House in the first place? If you or I apply for any position requiring special clearance, we would be subject to a background check. And, had we the same political ties in our backgrounds, we would have been denied. Considering the embarrassment the administration has already suffered due to lacking procedures in the vetting process, how was he able to pass through without being properly investigated? I'm just an average citizen. I do not have the powers of the FBI and CIA to gather information. Yet, I was able to obtain loads of background information concerning Mr. Jones. How did this administration not?
Yes, Van Jones is entitled, under the protection of our Country's constitution, to say and believe anything he wants. If wants to join the communist party...so be it. If he wants to lend his support to a death-row cop-killer....so be it. If he believes the past administration was a part of a conspiracy on 9/11....he can. As a kid, my parents used to tell me to be careful of who my friends were because I may be judged by their actions. Isn't that the truth! Rev. Wright, Bill Ayers, ACORN...fool me once, shame on you....fool me twice, shame one me. How long will the American public be made fools?
"You have to be creative how you engage the enemy, because if you do it on his terms, the outcome is already known." - Van Jones
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
The Style of Common Sense
Our Country's Founding Fathers really knew how to say what they meant. What is even more amazing is how their essays were written hundreds of years ago but are still very much relevant. Common sense never goes out of style.
I would like to share with you an excerpt of an essay written by Benjamin Franklin:
...and there will always be a party for giving more to the rulers, that the rulers may be able to in return to give more to them. Hence, as all history informs us, there has been in every state and kingdom a constant kind of warfare between the governing and the governed, the one striving to obtain more for its support, and the other to pay less. And this has alone occasioned great convulsions, actual civil wars, ending either in dethroning of the princes or enslaving of the people. Generally, indeed, the ruling power carries its point and we see the revenues of princes constantly increasing, and we see that they are never satisfied, but always in want of more. The more the people are discontented with the oppressions of taxes, the greater need the prince has of money to distribute among his partisans, and pay the troops that are to suppress all resistance, and enable him to plunder at pleasure.
There is great distrust of government leaders mounting....storms are brewing. The PEOPLE want their Country back. The average American may not know the words of The Founding Fathers but they know in their gut when something isn't quite right. I encourage you to look around at what is going on around your community, township, state, and federal government. Be Bold. No time like the present to steer this thing back around to our founding principles. Investigate your Senators and Representative and know what they stand for. We have a very important election coming up in 2010. If your elected representation is not representative of you, do something about it.
I would like to share with you an excerpt of an essay written by Benjamin Franklin:
...and there will always be a party for giving more to the rulers, that the rulers may be able to in return to give more to them. Hence, as all history informs us, there has been in every state and kingdom a constant kind of warfare between the governing and the governed, the one striving to obtain more for its support, and the other to pay less. And this has alone occasioned great convulsions, actual civil wars, ending either in dethroning of the princes or enslaving of the people. Generally, indeed, the ruling power carries its point and we see the revenues of princes constantly increasing, and we see that they are never satisfied, but always in want of more. The more the people are discontented with the oppressions of taxes, the greater need the prince has of money to distribute among his partisans, and pay the troops that are to suppress all resistance, and enable him to plunder at pleasure.
There is great distrust of government leaders mounting....storms are brewing. The PEOPLE want their Country back. The average American may not know the words of The Founding Fathers but they know in their gut when something isn't quite right. I encourage you to look around at what is going on around your community, township, state, and federal government. Be Bold. No time like the present to steer this thing back around to our founding principles. Investigate your Senators and Representative and know what they stand for. We have a very important election coming up in 2010. If your elected representation is not representative of you, do something about it.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
A Full Plate
I admit. I'm getting more than a little nervous. Unemployment is still rising, the markets are still rolling around, we are borrowing 50 cents of every dollar we spend and our government is STILL trying to ram more spending projects....BIG SPENDING PROJECTS...down our throats. In a recent interview with CNN, Colin Powell has also expressed concerns with President Obama's spending agenda. He has cautioned the administration against taking on too many things that we can't afford while debt is piling up. He believes "We can't absorb it all". Powell has asked the administration to take a hard look at the cost of Obama's initiatives and determine if the effectiveness justifies the cost. Here are a few more things I wish the President would apply that same effectiveness vs. cost analysis to:
1. His first executive order as President: Shutting Gitmo down. I'm willing to spend the money to keep this baby afloat. Where are all of these prisoners going to go? Obviously, my backyard since Senator Murtha is one of my go-to-guys. It was just in the news, a few days ago, a recently released detainee has resumed his place in the al Qaeda network and is working on opposing US lead campaigns yet again. The costs are high and the prison is set to close in 6 months. Feeling any less nervous yet?
2. The Stimulus Plan: As of the first of the month, less than 10% of this alloted money has been spend. Really? How is it that a second stimulus plan is already being talked about? Our Country is facing mounting national debt that has never been heard of before and is looking at a multi-trillion dollar budget. Joe Biden remarked earlier in the week that perhaps they had underestimated how badly damaged the economy was. And he thinks a second stimulus bill is going to fix it? He better hope China likes to throw buckets of money away on his crap shoots.
3. Cap and Trade: Obama is looking to overhaul our whole energy systems through a carbon tax. When has new taxes ever achieved it's intended goal? I've said this before and I'll say it again....cap and trade is going to kill jobs, business, and industry. It's going to chip away at the poor and middle class who will not be able to afford their energy costs. I'm all for developing new innovations and new sources of power but let's not limit ourselves. Let's use everything that is on the table...wind, solar, natural gas, oil, coal, nuclear, etc. Let the markets push the agenda and not the lawmakers in Washington, DC that would like to dictate our lifestyle to us.
4. Universal Healthcare: We already have a universal healthcare system in our Country that doesn't work....Medicare and Medicaid. We simply can not afford to keep saddling the average taxpayer with more entitlement programs that are mishandled. Why has the government been recommended for the job when they clearly do not have the resume for it. What else can I say about this initiative that hasn't been said already?
What about you? What has gotten the hairs on your arms standing on end in the past 6 months? I am proud to say that between our blogspot and Facebook followers, we are almost 70 strong and growing by the week. Keep introducing friends to The Rising Patriot....you never know where the next great idea may come from.
1. His first executive order as President: Shutting Gitmo down. I'm willing to spend the money to keep this baby afloat. Where are all of these prisoners going to go? Obviously, my backyard since Senator Murtha is one of my go-to-guys. It was just in the news, a few days ago, a recently released detainee has resumed his place in the al Qaeda network and is working on opposing US lead campaigns yet again. The costs are high and the prison is set to close in 6 months. Feeling any less nervous yet?
2. The Stimulus Plan: As of the first of the month, less than 10% of this alloted money has been spend. Really? How is it that a second stimulus plan is already being talked about? Our Country is facing mounting national debt that has never been heard of before and is looking at a multi-trillion dollar budget. Joe Biden remarked earlier in the week that perhaps they had underestimated how badly damaged the economy was. And he thinks a second stimulus bill is going to fix it? He better hope China likes to throw buckets of money away on his crap shoots.
3. Cap and Trade: Obama is looking to overhaul our whole energy systems through a carbon tax. When has new taxes ever achieved it's intended goal? I've said this before and I'll say it again....cap and trade is going to kill jobs, business, and industry. It's going to chip away at the poor and middle class who will not be able to afford their energy costs. I'm all for developing new innovations and new sources of power but let's not limit ourselves. Let's use everything that is on the table...wind, solar, natural gas, oil, coal, nuclear, etc. Let the markets push the agenda and not the lawmakers in Washington, DC that would like to dictate our lifestyle to us.
4. Universal Healthcare: We already have a universal healthcare system in our Country that doesn't work....Medicare and Medicaid. We simply can not afford to keep saddling the average taxpayer with more entitlement programs that are mishandled. Why has the government been recommended for the job when they clearly do not have the resume for it. What else can I say about this initiative that hasn't been said already?
What about you? What has gotten the hairs on your arms standing on end in the past 6 months? I am proud to say that between our blogspot and Facebook followers, we are almost 70 strong and growing by the week. Keep introducing friends to The Rising Patriot....you never know where the next great idea may come from.
Friday, June 19, 2009
The Big Cheese
On Tuesday, I went to a doctor visit with my Dad. He had a heart attack several years ago and is seen regularly by a cardiologist to stay on top of things. Before being seen by his doctor, we spent some time in the waiting room. Instead of reading a magazine or newspaper, I did a little people watching. All around me sat older individuals. Most of them were well into their sixties and seventies and, I presume, part of the current universal healthcare system we currently have.....Medicare. Then I got to thinking, what if these people lived in Canada or England? Would they even be in the position of eligibility to receive the kind of treatment and care they are receiving now in this country?
For example, in England, there is a health board that decides if you are worthy of the treatment you seek. They consider your age and disease verses your presumed life expectancy and cost of treatment to determine if you're worth the expense. If you are too old and the treatment is deemed to costly......you are SOL.....simply out of luck! Then where do you go and what do you do? If the government controls all the healthcare, there are no other choices....no other options. Even if your course of treatment is approved, how long do you have to wait for it? Ask the citizens in Canada that have crossed our borders for heart surgery. Many claim that would have died on the waiting list and chose to come to the United States and pay out of pocket for care.
Let's not forget the cost of research and development. This is a big one to consider. New medical breakthroughs take money and LOTS of it. Is the government ready to take on that expense too? Since I've just visited a cardiologist this week with my Dad, let's talk about bypass surgery for example. When the medical community first started performing bypass surgery, it was a very risky procedure and very costly because it was experimental. Many times the surgery resulted in death. But, as the years went by, the surgeons got better and better at it and improved upon the procedure. Fast forward decades later to present day and bypass surgery is almost done like an outpatient procedure. The patient is out of the hospital in days time with significantly less cost and risk than earlier years....but it has taken time and money to get to this point. What will happen with drug research? New breakthrough procedures? Cancer treatments? Talk to anyone in the medical or drug field and they can enlighten you on the costs associated with research, development, and clinical trials. For every win, there are dozens of failures left on the killing floor.....and even the failures cost money.
Who recommended the government for this job anyway? They have already butchered Medicare and Social Security to the point where it's going to implode. Do we really think we can trust them to be the Big Cheese on Healthcare? We teabaggers will have to fight this one tooth and nail because if they can pull this off and pass the legislature....GOD HELP US ALL.
For example, in England, there is a health board that decides if you are worthy of the treatment you seek. They consider your age and disease verses your presumed life expectancy and cost of treatment to determine if you're worth the expense. If you are too old and the treatment is deemed to costly......you are SOL.....simply out of luck! Then where do you go and what do you do? If the government controls all the healthcare, there are no other choices....no other options. Even if your course of treatment is approved, how long do you have to wait for it? Ask the citizens in Canada that have crossed our borders for heart surgery. Many claim that would have died on the waiting list and chose to come to the United States and pay out of pocket for care.
Let's not forget the cost of research and development. This is a big one to consider. New medical breakthroughs take money and LOTS of it. Is the government ready to take on that expense too? Since I've just visited a cardiologist this week with my Dad, let's talk about bypass surgery for example. When the medical community first started performing bypass surgery, it was a very risky procedure and very costly because it was experimental. Many times the surgery resulted in death. But, as the years went by, the surgeons got better and better at it and improved upon the procedure. Fast forward decades later to present day and bypass surgery is almost done like an outpatient procedure. The patient is out of the hospital in days time with significantly less cost and risk than earlier years....but it has taken time and money to get to this point. What will happen with drug research? New breakthrough procedures? Cancer treatments? Talk to anyone in the medical or drug field and they can enlighten you on the costs associated with research, development, and clinical trials. For every win, there are dozens of failures left on the killing floor.....and even the failures cost money.
Who recommended the government for this job anyway? They have already butchered Medicare and Social Security to the point where it's going to implode. Do we really think we can trust them to be the Big Cheese on Healthcare? We teabaggers will have to fight this one tooth and nail because if they can pull this off and pass the legislature....GOD HELP US ALL.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Paper or Plastic?
You hear the statistics every day. And they're NOT encouraging. The majority of Americans are swimming in credit card debt. The most consistent figure I've heard is that the average household carries $10,000 - $12,000 in credit card debit. What has happened to us? Credit has become too cheap and way too easy. Millions of Americans, once again, have bit off more than they can chew, just as they have done with real estate, and we are all going to end up paying for it.
President Obama signed the most sweeping credit card reform bill in the Country's history on May 22, 2009. The bill's intent is to rein in the penalties and fees banks can charge, prohibit raising of rates on previous balances, establish minimum time periods for "teaser rates", impose age limits, and etc. It's a long laundry list of reforms that is intended on preventing the middle class from being ripped off. And, yes, it all may look good on the surface but that gold plated finish doesn't look so pretty after you scratch the surface.
Once this bill takes effect, nine months from now, what do you really think is going to happen? Or, better yet, who do you think is really going pay for all the lost revenue the credit card companies are going to have to suck up? Not a hard one to answer if you are one of the few that have been responsible with your use of credit cards. Please step to the head of the class! Say "Bye-Bye" to reward programs, cash back, frequent flyer miles, 30 days grace periods, and no annual fee cards. The credit card companies will seek to make up lost cash by putting the screws to you. In a year from now, will it be worth having a credit card? Once again, you will be answering the age old question of "Paper or Plastic?".
Like you, I'm assuming, I've been notified about changes concerning my credit cards. I actually took the time to call one of the companies about the informed changes because I'm a very responsible customer. Frankly, I was angry about this particular card changing my interest rate because I consider myself a good credit risk and it's really the only one we ever use. The customer service agent on the other end of the line reassured me the changes wouldn't be forever (Right!!), things would get "back to normal" after we get through this economic downturn, and she was willing to allow me to keep my locked in low rate for 10 more months.....because I threatened to drop them after a 12 year relationship!
People need to wake up and make some changes in habit. We are doing this to ourselves. There are choices to be made and life is all about making choices. We see if over and over again. A select few are being tapped on the shoulder and receiving a bailout. And you have to ask.....is this really going to help? My hunch is that those who are already up to their necks in debt are going to end up defaulting with or without the government putting their spoon in the soup. Which leads you back to the Forgotten Man who will end up paying the greatest price when it's all said and done.
As for me, I view credit cards as a convience not a necessity. If things change drastically enough, due to government regulations or otherwise, I will no longer be a "card" carrying member of society. Paper, please!
President Obama signed the most sweeping credit card reform bill in the Country's history on May 22, 2009. The bill's intent is to rein in the penalties and fees banks can charge, prohibit raising of rates on previous balances, establish minimum time periods for "teaser rates", impose age limits, and etc. It's a long laundry list of reforms that is intended on preventing the middle class from being ripped off. And, yes, it all may look good on the surface but that gold plated finish doesn't look so pretty after you scratch the surface.
Once this bill takes effect, nine months from now, what do you really think is going to happen? Or, better yet, who do you think is really going pay for all the lost revenue the credit card companies are going to have to suck up? Not a hard one to answer if you are one of the few that have been responsible with your use of credit cards. Please step to the head of the class! Say "Bye-Bye" to reward programs, cash back, frequent flyer miles, 30 days grace periods, and no annual fee cards. The credit card companies will seek to make up lost cash by putting the screws to you. In a year from now, will it be worth having a credit card? Once again, you will be answering the age old question of "Paper or Plastic?".
Like you, I'm assuming, I've been notified about changes concerning my credit cards. I actually took the time to call one of the companies about the informed changes because I'm a very responsible customer. Frankly, I was angry about this particular card changing my interest rate because I consider myself a good credit risk and it's really the only one we ever use. The customer service agent on the other end of the line reassured me the changes wouldn't be forever (Right!!), things would get "back to normal" after we get through this economic downturn, and she was willing to allow me to keep my locked in low rate for 10 more months.....because I threatened to drop them after a 12 year relationship!
People need to wake up and make some changes in habit. We are doing this to ourselves. There are choices to be made and life is all about making choices. We see if over and over again. A select few are being tapped on the shoulder and receiving a bailout. And you have to ask.....is this really going to help? My hunch is that those who are already up to their necks in debt are going to end up defaulting with or without the government putting their spoon in the soup. Which leads you back to the Forgotten Man who will end up paying the greatest price when it's all said and done.
As for me, I view credit cards as a convience not a necessity. If things change drastically enough, due to government regulations or otherwise, I will no longer be a "card" carrying member of society. Paper, please!
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