Unethical? It's unethical if you are employed by a media organization to use your position to get special treatment for yourself. It's NOT unethical for any individual who's being mistreated by a company to threaten to let as many other people as possible know how they're behaving. That's really the only way businesses or governments are persuaded to do the right thing -- by the media or ordinary citizens shining light on the problem.
I think there is a big difference between an individual's blog and a media outlet in this case. When I worked for a newspaper, I had access to the very valuable resource of print space in that paper, and it was part of my job -- and my ethical duty -- to use that space for the good of the public and the readers, not for my own personal agenda. But anyone can start a blog, and if they want to share their consumer experience there, why not? A blog CAN be for your own personal agenda, and to fight your personal batles. Now, I would agree that it would be wrong if I have a very popular blog and I threaten to criticize companies there in order to get preferential treatment. That would be being a bully and extortion. But it's still not the same as a journalist at a newspaper doing the same thing. The journalist has an understanding with the public and her employer that she will work on behalf of the public, not herself. A blogger has no such covenant, unless she specifically presents herself to her readers as having done so.
In either case, the writer is risking the credibility and popularity of the venue -- the newspaper or the blog. If a newspaper becomes known as a vehicle for the publisher's pet peeves and projects, it won't be taken seriously or read much. If I started ranting on my personal blog every single day about my lousy experience at Sears, well, I might lose a readers who miss my usual budget shopping tips.
Effective January 1, 2009 Residences will no longer offer a promise to pay for rent deferment after a 3 day notice to terminate tenancy for non payment of rent has been issued to a household. all rent is due on the first of the month and is late after the 5the if outstanding balances are not paid by the 10tht of the month, eviction proceedings will begin on the 11the . those promise to pay arrangements currently in effect will be honored until December31,2008
Extreme financial difficulties requiring assistance must be approved by the regional manager at our corporate office before any future promise to pay will be granted, with a maximum of one per calendar year. all rent deferment requests must be approved before the 5th of the month. any requests made later than that date will be declined.
late rent is no longer going to be acceptable. please make certain that paying your rent is a financial priority.
in addition, we will no longer allow late fee balances to carry over from month to month. any payments made will be applied to outstanding balances before current rent charges.
Certainly I'm not suggesting blackmail. In fact, before I ever blogged, I worked in sales and got in tight with the PR departments of several health and life companies. It was through these relationships that I realized the value that the PR people placed on individual experiences and the perception of "good service." We would often see the heads of companies act only when they thought it would earn them bad PR -- which was too often too late to preserve their image.
What I'm suggesting is not to threaten anyone. It is to make a friend with influence. You don't have to blog, write, or work in media to get it done. You don't have to be nasty about it. You just have to know "who" to ask.
And as far as blogs go, there is plenty of clout behind a big blog. Companies are listening to bloggers. If they aren't -- they should.
Thank you for this article. I checked the property tax records for the house I am renting, my landlord is behind on the taxes. Only 4 days now, I will be keeping an eye on it.
I asked myself the question: why am I frustrated after only one small cup of joe in the morning?
I have quit several times. Here's a simple comparison of me on the coffee and off the coffee...
OFF the coffee:
bed time: 10:00pm with another hour to fall asleep, so 11:00pm, I'm out.
wake-up time: 7:00am
TOTAL HOURS OF SLEEP: 8 hrs minimum, sometimes I sleep in an extra hour on top of that, here and there, it just feels right sometimes.
ON the coffee:
bed time: 10:00pm with another two hours (usually) to fall asleep, so midnight, I'm asleep with my mind still racing.
wake-up time: 5:00am and can't fall back to sleep to get my other usuall two hours of sleep, so I usually just get up, rather than lay there.
TOTAL HOURS OF SLEEP: 5 hrs, complete misery and I didn't even sleep that well!
There it is.
On top of that, I get extra wrinkles around my eyes.
I've done some research on coffee and have found that the people that say it benefits are the ones making money off it in some form or another, like they do in the cigarette market.
I'm going to go cold turkey again after this post is posted. We have got to quit being dragged around by these hooks folks!
I hope this helps someone else, heck, I hope it helps me.
Just a thought. I'm not sure how one puts together a farmer's market, but I believe there is a way to start up a food coop using local producers. I think there is a national coop directory availble. If you contact one of the coops and ask someone there how they got started, that may give you enough info to start one locally. Just before we moved to South Dakota many years ago, someone had started a food coop. Items were sold in bulk monthy. Those recieving goods had to put in so many hours of work above wholesale prices. But the price differences were considerable and with planning you could split larger amounts (like a 25lb. bags of rolled oats) with others and share costs.
As a former journalist, this post makes me cringe. It's unethical to threaten bad press to get a company or an individual to do something you want (or to stop doing something).
Are bloggers journalists? That seems very ambiguous to me. Some certainly aspire to it. Some blogs that are doing good journalistic work don't have readerships large enough to cause anyone much trouble; others that are not journalism--not on a professional level, at least--do have very broad penetration.
I won't say I'm above remarking to some wretch at ohhh...say, Qwest...that I'm writing about my adventures with the company to an audience that averages around 7,500 readers a month. But neither would I say that's a good thing to do.
The piano and bench were free, two of the chairs found in the street and fixed, furniture bought off a family that was moving, etc.
I often get flack because I send my kids to private school and have a membership at the co-op and buy organic. But I think this is totally offset. Our family values art, literature, health and education our household reflects that. There are tons of art supplies, used books, music, film, etc in our house but our TV is tiny and doesn't get reception. We have one car (a used Prius) whereas most of our neighbors have giant trucks, summer cars, SUVs and usually at least three). I venture to say in our little hamlet we probably do make the same money as most of our neighbors but we spend it differently. I don't shop at Wal-Mart on principle. I drop $200 on a good pair of leather shoes in a heart beat and pair them up with thirftstore skirts I got for under $2.
We don't have tons of electronic games systems, we live in a house that previous owners referred to as their little cabin. We organize vacations around where we can stay for free by housesitting or visiting friends and family. We invite people to come stay with us to reciprocate. But by some of the definitions above, I'm being an elitist.
When I was younger I made friends with a family who rented, had no matching furniture of any kind, all slept on old futons, etc. Every one of their kids went to Europe after they graduated from high school. They taught me more about what you can do with very little than anyone else. I plan on sending my kids traveling when the time comes as well. They can negotiate the $6 motel rooms like their mother in Asia. They'll know to go to the makeshift garage next to the temples to get $1.00 and under vegan meals.
And when they come home, they can join us in being elitists because we spend our cash differently.than the status quo.
Poor boomer - I take it you live in the US. Have you called your student loan company? Many lenders will recalculate your monthly loan amount based on your income level. They may even forgive part of your debt, if you qualify for very low income.
Explain your problem - you're barely making ends meet and can't afford the monthly payment. Many lenders would rather have a smaller monthly payment than non-payment.
The poor and middle class are not in the same boat, if you define inclusion and exclusion based on whether someone "buys local". They are in the same boat if you widen the discussion to include trade liberalization and affordability of locally produced necessities.
One of the peculiar side-effects of globalization, in the US, has been that the increase in consumer choices and decrease in the prices of imports, is happening at the same time that health care, education, and housing have become less affordable.
Simply, those things we can import are more affordable than ever, but those things which we must produce and consume locally, are less affordable.
The most visible reason why this has happened is, medium-skilled manufacturing jobs have been eliminated from our economy. These were jobs that were open to people who hadn't gone to college, but provided a middle-class income.
Things cost more back then, but the wage gap between the poor and upper-middle class was smaller. Additionally, the tax base that was willing to fund social programs was larger. This, in turn, created a situation where working class people could afford to live in a functional home, and purchase a better education for their kids. Also, the relatively higher wages allowed the working class to purchase things locally, at small businesses.
Not only that - health insurance was more affordable, and more working class jobs provided health insurance.
With trade liberalization, these high-wage jobs have declined. The middle class is slowly vanishing because the wages for the remaining jobs haven't increased.
At the same time, the cost of basic goods and services have declined, so someone earning near minimum wage can "get by" shopping at Wal Mart or 99 Cents. The problem here is, the strongest motivator for working people to organize themselves to demand higher wages is immediate need. If someone is hungry, and they can't afford food, they are more likely to request a raise, or to seek other work. If they are all hungry, they will form a union.
Cheap goods tend to reduce this immediate need. The problem here is, this holds wages down, and the poor are less able to afford the longer-term expenses, like health care, education, and housing.
Even worse, with education increasingly out of reach, there will be a shortage of people to provide future generations with heath care and education. (Actually, we already have a shortage, because we're asking other countries to let doctors and teachers emigrate.)
Also - @Guest who wants a $10 apartment cleaning.
Those rates stated are not enough money for a large metro area.
Local services are not sustainable if the wages are too low. A $20/hr massage nets the masseur only $13/hr after taxes, and before expenses. Factor in the fact that there's downtime between clients, and that job becomes a poverty-wage job.
I absolutely agree with you about buying 2nd hand - you can get goods of MUCH higher quality inexpensively than at a big box store. (I rarely go into any - as I find their goods overpriced and in the case of furniture - shoddy.)
The truly poor have fewer choices as the sources of food in their neighborhoods is limited and often over-priced, coming from Mom and Pop stores, rather than big grocery chains. But they may also be generally making bad economic choices out of ignorance or for other reasons...It would seem obvious to us, the educated, that getting an education is key - but that sadly doesn't compute among the truly poor - part of the reason they stay that way...
These issues are why I think my daily L.A. Times subscription is a good value! I recently read there that all apartments In the City of L.A. under rent control (mine is) are protected from eviction from landlord foreclosure - and they are extending the protections to other renters (altho I am hazy on the details here).
If you face this sort of situation CONTACT YOUR LOCAL GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVE for help and info! Also get the Nolo Press Book on Evictions and Tenants' problems from the library! If you are broke enough, perhaps a legal clinic can help you, too!
I have successfully fought a mistaken notice of eviction - by doing my own paperwork - Keep copies of everything and send ccs to everyone, too!
There is much good information in this article. I've got a list of links in a post at http://paycheck-chronicles.military.com/2008/11/what-if-your-la.html. As you said, it can be hard to figure out your individual situation because it is nearly always covered by state law and therefore varies by state.
If you are entering into a new rental agreement, you can ask to do a credit check on your landlord(s) similar to the check they will be doing on you. The court records that you mention are excellent sources of information.
The more you know, the better you will be able to make good choices during these challenging times.
Guest, you ask for your security deposit back from your landlord, but if they're strapped you might not get it back. Sometimes people go over small claims court over this, but it doesn't always work.
Walt, if you read my article then you'll see I already mentioned the Fannie Mae change, but Fannie Mae doesn't own all the foreclosed homes out there. They're only helping around 4000 displaced renters, but there are a lot more.
I've been scrolling through the comments and have thus felt the need to add my own. God bless the interwebs. Anyway.
My family had a particularly hard year one Christmas and we came home after the dinner at my grandparents to find a rather large lump of presents sitting on the front step. To this day, I have no idea where they came from and thus I can only assume they were from Santa. (Perhaps it is worth while to note that I'm 22 at this point)
And when we opened them on Christmas morning, these certainly weren't second hand gifts or anything remotely practical, and definitely not cheap. But what they were, were things that me and my sisters had been wanting for *years* but my family simply hadn't been able to afford them. And never in my life has a Christmas meant more to me. It wasn't the fact that the items were expensive, it was that someone (or Santa) had cared enough to select a gift for each of us that was truly at the top of our wish lists, and had been for quite some time. The memory of that has stayed with me and will do for the rest of my life, and I hope at some point, when I'm done being a poor student, that I can give another family that.
We can get into arguments all day about a sense of entitlement or not even providing your kids with extravagant gifts. That's fine, not everyone can do that, nor should everyone be expected to. But what really is so wrong about the poor kids, who are always the one's wearing hand-me-down clothes, being looked down upon by their peers because they don't have the right toys, or electronics, or whatever, to wish for Christmas for something that will make them feel more normal and will genuinely touch their hearts.
I always appreciate getting the things I need when I need them, but there is something extra special about getting something you really want. Doesn't hurt a kid to dream anyway.
Wow, that's really scary to think I can be evicted because of irresponsible landlords. Naive as it might be, I didn't even consider that the foreclosures could affect me because I'm a tenant. Thanks for bringing this topic up. I'm definitely going to check the public records on my building!
Paying with credit cards at foreign restaurants, cafes and even souvenir shops saves you the trouble of carrying different currencies and wondering what to do with the leftover money when you return home. I use this option when only a couple days in one country. There's no additional charge and you can see on your monthly bill both the amount in local currency and USD.
Don't use your credit card for cash. If you want to keep transaction fees to minimum and avoid the danger of carring too much cash with you, use your debit card at ATMs. I ususally get the maximum allowed per transaction, costs me $2 and is safer than exchange bureaus.
We somehow have wrangled ourselves a 1-week trip to Mexico without the kids, our first much-needed respite since becoming parents nearly 5 years ago. Now I've been trying to decide on a balance between making the most of our time and avoiding unnecessary spending. For instance, I opted AGAINST the popular money saving measure of getting a room with a kitchen. I feel liek I spend most of my life right now preparing meals and washing dishes, and I just do. not. want. to. do. that. on vacation.
Instead, our big cost-saving measure is to fly into a popular destination (where we could get a direct FF miles flight), then get on a bus to a cheaper town that's also on beautiful beaches, where we can stay and eat for less.
Going organic or local or to be 'environmentally conscious' requires wealth. It is the province of yuppies or would-be yuppies. It isn't realistic or sustainable.
When you're scraping by price is paramount. Everything else is secondary.
I know some here will disagree telling me that they are environmentalist or organic consumers and yet not wealthy. It's a matter of degree. Almost everyone reading this is wealthy compared to most of the rest of the world.
3rd world countries are the least environmentally correct countries on the planet. They simply don't care, or can't afford to care.
I would imagine when someone is on the bread line that they couldn't give a monkey's about ethical buying! Survival instinct overrides everything else.
In small towns certain goods are not readily available so of course you have to reach our farther afield for them.
Gold will wind up being one of the ONLY investments that will finish the year above where it started. Gold should be looked at as insurance for the common man. It will never go to zero, unlike stocks and bonds. IF the financial meltdown continues, and I believe it will, you need insurance.
J, Insightful and motivating. It *is* hard for full-time working class to go off the mainstream grid and elect sustainable options. But your call for the middle-class to lead action inspired me to organize recycling here in our complex.
When referring to "the poor" or "working class," I want to underscore it isn't just about being broke or lacking money in economic terms. (Kudos to people earning under $15,000 a year who make educated and conscientious decisions; most of us lived the poor student life.) Endemic poverty is socio-cultural and there are swaths of folks who just aren't informed consumers, living in poor communities that aren't constructive, where local businesses prey and rip off its residents.
Large distribution chains like Wal-Mart, which not only offers affordable commodities but its own line of guaranteed Equate alternatives AND a liberal return policy if you're not satisfied, may well be among the most trusted establishment here. These may not be the cheapest nor top quality, but for those who don't have time (nor car, nor internet saavy, nor English) to price compare, the overall positive experience keeps the poor loyal.
To keep money circulating within a locality, the answer isn't to get rid of mass distributors of cheap goods, it is create more occupations that serve needs and increase the quality of life there, at a price affordable to us. (If massages were $20-an-hour, manicures and pedicures were $5 each, hair wash and styling were $10, if bouquets of flowers were $5, apt-cleaning were $10, and if someone could come by and sell common groceries door to door, if someone can cook great dinners at home, you can be sure I'd be be paying for these appointments weekly instead of... never. And several people would have steady jobs.)
But for now, I want to know: We've got plenty of poor people desperate for work. HOW does one start a community farmer's market?
Unethical? It's unethical if you are employed by a media organization to use your position to get special treatment for yourself. It's NOT unethical for any individual who's being mistreated by a company to threaten to let as many other people as possible know how they're behaving. That's really the only way businesses or governments are persuaded to do the right thing -- by the media or ordinary citizens shining light on the problem.
I think there is a big difference between an individual's blog and a media outlet in this case. When I worked for a newspaper, I had access to the very valuable resource of print space in that paper, and it was part of my job -- and my ethical duty -- to use that space for the good of the public and the readers, not for my own personal agenda. But anyone can start a blog, and if they want to share their consumer experience there, why not? A blog CAN be for your own personal agenda, and to fight your personal batles. Now, I would agree that it would be wrong if I have a very popular blog and I threaten to criticize companies there in order to get preferential treatment. That would be being a bully and extortion. But it's still not the same as a journalist at a newspaper doing the same thing. The journalist has an understanding with the public and her employer that she will work on behalf of the public, not herself. A blogger has no such covenant, unless she specifically presents herself to her readers as having done so.
In either case, the writer is risking the credibility and popularity of the venue -- the newspaper or the blog. If a newspaper becomes known as a vehicle for the publisher's pet peeves and projects, it won't be taken seriously or read much. If I started ranting on my personal blog every single day about my lousy experience at Sears, well, I might lose a readers who miss my usual budget shopping tips.
I blog at www.shopliftingwithpermission.com.
I've just got the letter form my landlord
" Attention All resident "
Effective January 1, 2009 Residences will no longer offer a promise to pay for rent deferment after a 3 day notice to terminate tenancy for non payment of rent has been issued to a household. all rent is due on the first of the month and is late after the 5the if outstanding balances are not paid by the 10tht of the month, eviction proceedings will begin on the 11the . those promise to pay arrangements currently in effect will be honored until December31,2008
Extreme financial difficulties requiring assistance must be approved by the regional manager at our corporate office before any future promise to pay will be granted, with a maximum of one per calendar year. all rent deferment requests must be approved before the 5th of the month. any requests made later than that date will be declined.
late rent is no longer going to be acceptable. please make certain that paying your rent is a financial priority.
in addition, we will no longer allow late fee balances to carry over from month to month. any payments made will be applied to outstanding balances before current rent charges.
************************
my questing do you think we are in good hand
thanks
Certainly I'm not suggesting blackmail. In fact, before I ever blogged, I worked in sales and got in tight with the PR departments of several health and life companies. It was through these relationships that I realized the value that the PR people placed on individual experiences and the perception of "good service." We would often see the heads of companies act only when they thought it would earn them bad PR -- which was too often too late to preserve their image.
What I'm suggesting is not to threaten anyone. It is to make a friend with influence. You don't have to blog, write, or work in media to get it done. You don't have to be nasty about it. You just have to know "who" to ask.
And as far as blogs go, there is plenty of clout behind a big blog. Companies are listening to bloggers. If they aren't -- they should.
Linsey Knerl
Thank you for this article. I checked the property tax records for the house I am renting, my landlord is behind on the taxes. Only 4 days now, I will be keeping an eye on it.
I asked myself the question: why am I frustrated after only one small cup of joe in the morning?
I have quit several times. Here's a simple comparison of me on the coffee and off the coffee...
OFF the coffee:
bed time: 10:00pm with another hour to fall asleep, so 11:00pm, I'm out.
wake-up time: 7:00am
TOTAL HOURS OF SLEEP: 8 hrs minimum, sometimes I sleep in an extra hour on top of that, here and there, it just feels right sometimes.
ON the coffee:
bed time: 10:00pm with another two hours (usually) to fall asleep, so midnight, I'm asleep with my mind still racing.
wake-up time: 5:00am and can't fall back to sleep to get my other usuall two hours of sleep, so I usually just get up, rather than lay there.
TOTAL HOURS OF SLEEP: 5 hrs, complete misery and I didn't even sleep that well!
There it is.
On top of that, I get extra wrinkles around my eyes.
I've done some research on coffee and have found that the people that say it benefits are the ones making money off it in some form or another, like they do in the cigarette market.
I'm going to go cold turkey again after this post is posted. We have got to quit being dragged around by these hooks folks!
I hope this helps someone else, heck, I hope it helps me.
Your friend,
Patrick
Just a thought. I'm not sure how one puts together a farmer's market, but I believe there is a way to start up a food coop using local producers. I think there is a national coop directory availble. If you contact one of the coops and ask someone there how they got started, that may give you enough info to start one locally. Just before we moved to South Dakota many years ago, someone had started a food coop. Items were sold in bulk monthy. Those recieving goods had to put in so many hours of work above wholesale prices. But the price differences were considerable and with planning you could split larger amounts (like a 25lb. bags of rolled oats) with others and share costs.
As a former journalist, this post makes me cringe. It's unethical to threaten bad press to get a company or an individual to do something you want (or to stop doing something).
Are bloggers journalists? That seems very ambiguous to me. Some certainly aspire to it. Some blogs that are doing good journalistic work don't have readerships large enough to cause anyone much trouble; others that are not journalism--not on a professional level, at least--do have very broad penetration.
I won't say I'm above remarking to some wretch at ohhh...say, Qwest...that I'm writing about my adventures with the company to an audience that averages around 7,500 readers a month. But neither would I say that's a good thing to do.
Maybe we need a blogger's code of ethics?
The piano and bench were free, two of the chairs found in the street and fixed, furniture bought off a family that was moving, etc.
I often get flack because I send my kids to private school and have a membership at the co-op and buy organic. But I think this is totally offset. Our family values art, literature, health and education our household reflects that. There are tons of art supplies, used books, music, film, etc in our house but our TV is tiny and doesn't get reception. We have one car (a used Prius) whereas most of our neighbors have giant trucks, summer cars, SUVs and usually at least three). I venture to say in our little hamlet we probably do make the same money as most of our neighbors but we spend it differently. I don't shop at Wal-Mart on principle. I drop $200 on a good pair of leather shoes in a heart beat and pair them up with thirftstore skirts I got for under $2.
We don't have tons of electronic games systems, we live in a house that previous owners referred to as their little cabin. We organize vacations around where we can stay for free by housesitting or visiting friends and family. We invite people to come stay with us to reciprocate. But by some of the definitions above, I'm being an elitist.
When I was younger I made friends with a family who rented, had no matching furniture of any kind, all slept on old futons, etc. Every one of their kids went to Europe after they graduated from high school. They taught me more about what you can do with very little than anyone else. I plan on sending my kids traveling when the time comes as well. They can negotiate the $6 motel rooms like their mother in Asia. They'll know to go to the makeshift garage next to the temples to get $1.00 and under vegan meals.
And when they come home, they can join us in being elitists because we spend our cash differently.than the status quo.
Margaret Garcia-Couoh
Poor boomer - I take it you live in the US. Have you called your student loan company? Many lenders will recalculate your monthly loan amount based on your income level. They may even forgive part of your debt, if you qualify for very low income.
Explain your problem - you're barely making ends meet and can't afford the monthly payment. Many lenders would rather have a smaller monthly payment than non-payment.
The poor and middle class are not in the same boat, if you define inclusion and exclusion based on whether someone "buys local". They are in the same boat if you widen the discussion to include trade liberalization and affordability of locally produced necessities.
One of the peculiar side-effects of globalization, in the US, has been that the increase in consumer choices and decrease in the prices of imports, is happening at the same time that health care, education, and housing have become less affordable.
Simply, those things we can import are more affordable than ever, but those things which we must produce and consume locally, are less affordable.
The most visible reason why this has happened is, medium-skilled manufacturing jobs have been eliminated from our economy. These were jobs that were open to people who hadn't gone to college, but provided a middle-class income.
Things cost more back then, but the wage gap between the poor and upper-middle class was smaller. Additionally, the tax base that was willing to fund social programs was larger. This, in turn, created a situation where working class people could afford to live in a functional home, and purchase a better education for their kids. Also, the relatively higher wages allowed the working class to purchase things locally, at small businesses.
Not only that - health insurance was more affordable, and more working class jobs provided health insurance.
With trade liberalization, these high-wage jobs have declined. The middle class is slowly vanishing because the wages for the remaining jobs haven't increased.
At the same time, the cost of basic goods and services have declined, so someone earning near minimum wage can "get by" shopping at Wal Mart or 99 Cents. The problem here is, the strongest motivator for working people to organize themselves to demand higher wages is immediate need. If someone is hungry, and they can't afford food, they are more likely to request a raise, or to seek other work. If they are all hungry, they will form a union.
Cheap goods tend to reduce this immediate need. The problem here is, this holds wages down, and the poor are less able to afford the longer-term expenses, like health care, education, and housing.
Even worse, with education increasingly out of reach, there will be a shortage of people to provide future generations with heath care and education. (Actually, we already have a shortage, because we're asking other countries to let doctors and teachers emigrate.)
Also - @Guest who wants a $10 apartment cleaning.
Those rates stated are not enough money for a large metro area.
Local services are not sustainable if the wages are too low. A $20/hr massage nets the masseur only $13/hr after taxes, and before expenses. Factor in the fact that there's downtime between clients, and that job becomes a poverty-wage job.
I absolutely agree with you about buying 2nd hand - you can get goods of MUCH higher quality inexpensively than at a big box store. (I rarely go into any - as I find their goods overpriced and in the case of furniture - shoddy.)
The truly poor have fewer choices as the sources of food in their neighborhoods is limited and often over-priced, coming from Mom and Pop stores, rather than big grocery chains. But they may also be generally making bad economic choices out of ignorance or for other reasons...It would seem obvious to us, the educated, that getting an education is key - but that sadly doesn't compute among the truly poor - part of the reason they stay that way...
These issues are why I think my daily L.A. Times subscription is a good value! I recently read there that all apartments In the City of L.A. under rent control (mine is) are protected from eviction from landlord foreclosure - and they are extending the protections to other renters (altho I am hazy on the details here).
If you face this sort of situation CONTACT YOUR LOCAL GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVE for help and info! Also get the Nolo Press Book on Evictions and Tenants' problems from the library! If you are broke enough, perhaps a legal clinic can help you, too!
I have successfully fought a mistaken notice of eviction - by doing my own paperwork - Keep copies of everything and send ccs to everyone, too!
There is much good information in this article. I've got a list of links in a post at http://paycheck-chronicles.military.com/2008/11/what-if-your-la.html. As you said, it can be hard to figure out your individual situation because it is nearly always covered by state law and therefore varies by state.
If you are entering into a new rental agreement, you can ask to do a credit check on your landlord(s) similar to the check they will be doing on you. The court records that you mention are excellent sources of information.
The more you know, the better you will be able to make good choices during these challenging times.
Thank you for such an important post.
Guest, you ask for your security deposit back from your landlord, but if they're strapped you might not get it back. Sometimes people go over small claims court over this, but it doesn't always work.
Walt, if you read my article then you'll see I already mentioned the Fannie Mae change, but Fannie Mae doesn't own all the foreclosed homes out there. They're only helping around 4000 displaced renters, but there are a lot more.
how would i get the security deposit back if it's foreclosed?
Today, Fannie Mae changed their policy, and is allowing renters to stay in foreclosed homes...
http://money.cnn.com/2008/12/15/news/economy/fannie_housing/index.htm?po...
I've been scrolling through the comments and have thus felt the need to add my own. God bless the interwebs. Anyway.
My family had a particularly hard year one Christmas and we came home after the dinner at my grandparents to find a rather large lump of presents sitting on the front step. To this day, I have no idea where they came from and thus I can only assume they were from Santa. (Perhaps it is worth while to note that I'm 22 at this point)
And when we opened them on Christmas morning, these certainly weren't second hand gifts or anything remotely practical, and definitely not cheap. But what they were, were things that me and my sisters had been wanting for *years* but my family simply hadn't been able to afford them. And never in my life has a Christmas meant more to me. It wasn't the fact that the items were expensive, it was that someone (or Santa) had cared enough to select a gift for each of us that was truly at the top of our wish lists, and had been for quite some time. The memory of that has stayed with me and will do for the rest of my life, and I hope at some point, when I'm done being a poor student, that I can give another family that.
We can get into arguments all day about a sense of entitlement or not even providing your kids with extravagant gifts. That's fine, not everyone can do that, nor should everyone be expected to. But what really is so wrong about the poor kids, who are always the one's wearing hand-me-down clothes, being looked down upon by their peers because they don't have the right toys, or electronics, or whatever, to wish for Christmas for something that will make them feel more normal and will genuinely touch their hearts.
I always appreciate getting the things I need when I need them, but there is something extra special about getting something you really want. Doesn't hurt a kid to dream anyway.
Wow, that's really scary to think I can be evicted because of irresponsible landlords. Naive as it might be, I didn't even consider that the foreclosures could affect me because I'm a tenant. Thanks for bringing this topic up. I'm definitely going to check the public records on my building!
Paying with credit cards at foreign restaurants, cafes and even souvenir shops saves you the trouble of carrying different currencies and wondering what to do with the leftover money when you return home. I use this option when only a couple days in one country. There's no additional charge and you can see on your monthly bill both the amount in local currency and USD.
Don't use your credit card for cash. If you want to keep transaction fees to minimum and avoid the danger of carring too much cash with you, use your debit card at ATMs. I ususally get the maximum allowed per transaction, costs me $2 and is safer than exchange bureaus.
We somehow have wrangled ourselves a 1-week trip to Mexico without the kids, our first much-needed respite since becoming parents nearly 5 years ago. Now I've been trying to decide on a balance between making the most of our time and avoiding unnecessary spending. For instance, I opted AGAINST the popular money saving measure of getting a room with a kitchen. I feel liek I spend most of my life right now preparing meals and washing dishes, and I just do. not. want. to. do. that. on vacation.
Instead, our big cost-saving measure is to fly into a popular destination (where we could get a direct FF miles flight), then get on a bus to a cheaper town that's also on beautiful beaches, where we can stay and eat for less.
Going organic or local or to be 'environmentally conscious' requires wealth. It is the province of yuppies or would-be yuppies. It isn't realistic or sustainable.
When you're scraping by price is paramount. Everything else is secondary.
I know some here will disagree telling me that they are environmentalist or organic consumers and yet not wealthy. It's a matter of degree. Almost everyone reading this is wealthy compared to most of the rest of the world.
3rd world countries are the least environmentally correct countries on the planet. They simply don't care, or can't afford to care.
I would imagine when someone is on the bread line that they couldn't give a monkey's about ethical buying! Survival instinct overrides everything else.
In small towns certain goods are not readily available so of course you have to reach our farther afield for them.
@Jim
Gold will wind up being one of the ONLY investments that will finish the year above where it started. Gold should be looked at as insurance for the common man. It will never go to zero, unlike stocks and bonds. IF the financial meltdown continues, and I believe it will, you need insurance.
J, Insightful and motivating. It *is* hard for full-time working class to go off the mainstream grid and elect sustainable options. But your call for the middle-class to lead action inspired me to organize recycling here in our complex.
When referring to "the poor" or "working class," I want to underscore it isn't just about being broke or lacking money in economic terms. (Kudos to people earning under $15,000 a year who make educated and conscientious decisions; most of us lived the poor student life.) Endemic poverty is socio-cultural and there are swaths of folks who just aren't informed consumers, living in poor communities that aren't constructive, where local businesses prey and rip off its residents.
Large distribution chains like Wal-Mart, which not only offers affordable commodities but its own line of guaranteed Equate alternatives AND a liberal return policy if you're not satisfied, may well be among the most trusted establishment here. These may not be the cheapest nor top quality, but for those who don't have time (nor car, nor internet saavy, nor English) to price compare, the overall positive experience keeps the poor loyal.
To keep money circulating within a locality, the answer isn't to get rid of mass distributors of cheap goods, it is create more occupations that serve needs and increase the quality of life there, at a price affordable to us. (If massages were $20-an-hour, manicures and pedicures were $5 each, hair wash and styling were $10, if bouquets of flowers were $5, apt-cleaning were $10, and if someone could come by and sell common groceries door to door, if someone can cook great dinners at home, you can be sure I'd be be paying for these appointments weekly instead of... never. And several people would have steady jobs.)
But for now, I want to know: We've got plenty of poor people desperate for work. HOW does one start a community farmer's market?