One thing to consider that an old Christian tradition celebrates Christmas as a season or a series of feast days that begin on December 25 and ends on January 5. Any one or more of those days is Christmas for my family. We stretch out the events--Christmas Eve celebration or observances one day, gift-giving or shopping on another day, family meal on another, and traveling to releatives houses on other days. Even though we may not have all of those days off work, we can plan evening activities around the events. The 12 Days of Christmas allow lots of flexibility.
What would suck is.. that if the person you trampled over was your brother, or dad, or son.. Or mother, grandpa, grandma, sister, daughter, niece, nephew, cousins, etc. etc... Wouldn't that kill your heart?
While I agree that this measure could potentially prolong the financial crisis by propping up prices, I also think this can cushion the bottom if/when we reach it.
I think Bernanke's primary objective is to provide enough stimulus for reserve capital to come in, and buy up the excess inventory still remaining on the market. Once this goes away, the bottom shouldn't be far behind.
Our downtown revived itself with two things: free downtown parking on weekends and evenings after 6:00 PM, and police on bicycles to maintain security. Our downtown is no longer dead--it's the place to go (and the place to live).
Here in L.A. where parking is at a premium, sometimes parking at a broken meter is unavoidable - so I have learned to put a note on the street side of the windshield stating that I TRIED to put in $ at such & such a time - which, if you are not stopping long, usually avoids problems - because the meter probably has not been reported broken - I ALSO found out in another parking snafu that the number scrawled in what looked like red nailpolish on the meter was its official number - which I had to look up one time to verify that the meter had been broken at the time.
As for signs put out in the middle of the night - ILLEGAL. I found out in L.A. by going to the citycouncil person's office that they were SUPPOSED to have put up warning signs and had a GRACE period! So the ticket was wiped! So check with your local representative - that's what they are there for.
In fact, many dubious tickets can be successfully contested as irrational - who would know that obscure ordinance - You could have taken a picture (we all have camera phones now) and proved that because of the other drivers you were FORCED to park as you did.
I have made these consumer complaints mostly by mail, too. Given enough evidence, the cases usually fall apart - as they are so unused to facing any opposition whatsoever...
So I encourage you to fight these tickets whenever you feel you are in the right.
I've found that more stringent rules regarding new mortgages are the rule these days. My coworker owns a condo and she and her husband were looking to purchase a home. They had enough for 15% down, and could only qualify for a very high interest 30-year mortgage. They opted to wait it out in their 450 sq ft condo.
It really depends on where you live. Right now, there aren't any flowers blooming in Seattle (except for this one freak jasmine plant outside a neighbors house). While I love cut flowers, sometimes during the winter, it just makes sense to give more local gifts. You know? Like, if you live in Florida or California, maybe you can give flowers from your garden. But supermarket flowers are more expensive, and less ecologically viable, during the winter.
Something that I love to give are paperwhite (or other) bulbs in a glass vase filled with pretty stones or fish tank rocks. Paperwhites are lovely force-grown in dreary days of January and February. I don't buy the pre-set packs of them (pricey!); I buy the bulbs in bulk at Home Depot or another seed supplier and place them in inexpensive square, shallow vases with decorative stones and a ribbon. The host can then grow them if he/she feels like it, or pass them along to someone else who may like them more.
I disagree with not bringing flowers for your host/ess. I think it depends entirely on your knowledge of the person. Some people don't appreciate the time and care flowers need to stay fresh for awhile. But others may have free time or enjoy them immensely.
Flowers can even be a frugal option if you have your own garden, or can make an attractive bouquet from the wild plants in your area. This is especially true at the end of the year, when holiday greenery consists of ferns, pine cones, and red berries! You could even make an inexpensive door wreath for host/esses who enjoy greens, but have allergies. It all depends on what you know your host/ess will enjoy. It never hurts to ask.
I too feel that the these programs and money needs to be spent in ways that will help those that need and deserve the help. Not necessarily the people that bought beyond their needs but the average home buyer that may be struggling with the falling economy. I think home prices do need to come down to an affordable level for the average income household. Lower rates is not necessarily the answer.
I really profited from reading this article and comments.
I do not see putting the blame on any one entity or "side" has any meaning or value here.
Here are some things that no one seems to have factored in to their "decision tree."
What if our economy totally tanks and we have a long-term full blown severe depression ?
What if we have another world war?
What if we change from being the sovereign USA to the North American Union region of the one world government, with no more national economies or philosopies and no more regional money systems, but only a one world system?
What if there are a group of moneyed people at the very top who have controlled our economy for decades and who have deliberately brought about the current economic "downturn" and have plans, at the time of their choosing, to totally bust out the USA?
What if having a fiat money system, fractional reserve banks, IRS and Federal Reserve is always bound to end up like we are now?
What if people start fighting each other in the streets and martial law is instituted and people are carted off to "detention centers"?
What we can do via our own bootstraps is much more limited than what seems to be being discussed here. The wealth has been redistributed for the last century and it has gone into fewer and fewer hands of the super internationalist elites.
Share insights, experiences and ideas and pray for guidance and the ability to do right.
Obama is no change from the last 20 years of horrible presidential administrations. All of them are puppets of the trillionaire globalists who want a one world death and slavery system for all.
I lived in Chicago for 9 years and can say without reservation that it's a very hostile city for residents. The city no longer collects fees from its citizenry to promote the good and ensure services, now it collects fees for the sake of collecting fees. As a resident, you are always discovering the new, creative and painful ways the city disrespects its taxpayers and reaches further into your wallet.
I disagree that lowering the mortgage rate will artificially prop up housing prices as long as the stringent lending guidelines are followed - that means the borrowers must have at least 10% down (or even more depending on location), a good credit score, and the income stream to qualify for the loan. While it may be true that it will help those with money more than those without, but truth is, those without money should not be buying houses in the first place.
As for the super-rich who will reap the most reward from this per your last paragraph, they probably won't be the majority of those who are helped. Instead, the lower mortgage rate will benefit many who have sat out the bubble because they make their purchase decisions on the value of what they are buying!
Remember, it's not the mortgage rate that got us into the mess we are in now -- it's the careless lending practice of giving loans to those who obviously cannot afford the payment!
I've been doing this almost all of my life and didn't even realize it was a big deal. Growing up, my family always spent Christmas at home so that we could be with my mom's family (they lived about 12 miles away) and then packed up and drove to visit my dad's family the day after Christmas. We did "Christmas" with that side of the family sometime after we arrived when it was convenient for everyone who lived there.
Now that my grandparents are all gone and my immediate family is spread between three different states, we all travel to be together for Christmas but we've started not doing so for Thanksgiving. We started that a couple of years ago when my parents were out of the country (discovering the joys of off-season vacations). I can honestly say that Thanksgiving has gone from being a stressful, too short time to visit with my family to being a great, relaxing long weekend that I can spend with my family that I'm not related to. And I couldn't be happier. I try to coordinate a visit to my sister's place when my parents go in the fall. The time is a little shorter, but it's also a lot less stressful. We also all get together sometime in May around when my nephews' birthdays are (conviently they're about two and a half weeks apart).
I am very fortunate to be blessed with a family that puts more importance on just spending time together rather than worrying about being together on a certain day.
If I ever get a parking ticket like this I take the oppurtunity for a spot of creative writing! So I will work out whatever the fine is, say £30, then with the minimum wage being £5 something an hour. For me to recoup that money from them in fun will take about 12 letters if we assume it takes about half an hour for them to deal with each letter.
Now the fun part! Write to them with a completely crazy letter that asks lots of questions and just rambles on and on for a good few pages (A4 size as a minimum) it doesn't matter if you go off topic, just keep writing as much as you can. For some reason this has gotten me out of two (unjust) parking fines :P After reading the first letter they just seem to not want to deal with you and cancel the fine!
We tried to convince my MIL that if she could deal with us not coming home for Thanksgiving or Christmas we would come back for a longer visit in the summer when there is not a holiday involved.
Driving across the midwest in the winter is not fun. It frequently involves ice storms or blizzards and flying is just too crazy over the holidays.
My siblings have been making a habit of heading home at random times in the summer to coordinate with birthdays, weddings or an impromptu family reunion. Everyone is far less stressed and the weather is better so the entire experience is more positive.
That's just ridiculous. Either Denver is getting really desperate for revenue or you got a meter reader with a chip on his/her shoulder, but you should not stand for that. You can't contest by mail?
Chicago's city council is as I type this plotting to quadruple our meter rates and eliminate free Sundays. I have such mixed feelings about this. On one hand, since street parking in Chicago has long been much cheaper than private lots, the city has been subsidizing drivers for years. It's actually good policy to charge a higher rate for the luxury of driving downtown than for taking public transit. BUT ... anyone who lives in Chicago knows that the money the city takes from us does not do us any good. It doesn't improve the El or other public transit. It disappears into the pockets of insiders and their cousins.
Go to the suburbs for the parking? We moved *from* the suburbs at great cost just to get away from mile after mile of concrete, strip malls and chain restaurants. We live in the Highlands, and were able to donate one of our cars because we can walk everywhere. But we're also fans of population density and its efficiencies, and we'll do whatever we can to encourage people to use alternative methods of transportation to their cars.
New meters have the ability to eliminate the free parking 'float' that occurs when the previous occupant of a parking space pays for more time than they use.
There are new meters that, when fed, print out a ticket with the expiration time and date. These tickets have a gummed tab (like a sticky Post It note) that the driver sticks to the inside of the door (driver or passenger - varies locally) window so that the ticket faces out. When the driver leaves, they take the ticket with them, and the next driver has to pay for their own ticket.
And a common way time restrictions are enforced is to mark tires (on the tread) with chalk - in a two-hour zone, a car with a chalk mark is in violation if it's still there two hours after being marked. When the driver leaves, the chalk wears away from road contact.
Check the meter (usually inside the glass) for hours of operation. Meters are usually enforced during daytime hours Monday through Saturday, often 7am to 6pm, sometimes later.
My family does this for Christmas every year. Our immediate family celebrates Christmas together on a day other than Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Not only are there in laws that want to be visited with the grandkids but it's just so hectic on the actual Holiday. We have dinner together open gifts and enjoy each others company. Santa even makes a visit. This leaves Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to be less stressful. We've actually moved Easter egg hunts to Saturdays some years so that hopeful we (my immediate family) can be together. Works out great for us!
Park in front of a fire hydrant at your own peril! :)
There's a picture on the 'net of a fire hose going through a car's windows because it was parked in front of a fire hydrant. LOL!
One thing to consider that an old Christian tradition celebrates Christmas as a season or a series of feast days that begin on December 25 and ends on January 5. Any one or more of those days is Christmas for my family. We stretch out the events--Christmas Eve celebration or observances one day, gift-giving or shopping on another day, family meal on another, and traveling to releatives houses on other days. Even though we may not have all of those days off work, we can plan evening activities around the events. The 12 Days of Christmas allow lots of flexibility.
What would suck is.. that if the person you trampled over was your brother, or dad, or son.. Or mother, grandpa, grandma, sister, daughter, niece, nephew, cousins, etc. etc... Wouldn't that kill your heart?
I would die right there....
While I agree that this measure could potentially prolong the financial crisis by propping up prices, I also think this can cushion the bottom if/when we reach it.
I think Bernanke's primary objective is to provide enough stimulus for reserve capital to come in, and buy up the excess inventory still remaining on the market. Once this goes away, the bottom shouldn't be far behind.
Here in Albuquerque, hybrid owners can obtain a sticker for their vehicles which allows free parking at meters.
Our downtown revived itself with two things: free downtown parking on weekends and evenings after 6:00 PM, and police on bicycles to maintain security. Our downtown is no longer dead--it's the place to go (and the place to live).
Here in L.A. where parking is at a premium, sometimes parking at a broken meter is unavoidable - so I have learned to put a note on the street side of the windshield stating that I TRIED to put in $ at such & such a time - which, if you are not stopping long, usually avoids problems - because the meter probably has not been reported broken - I ALSO found out in another parking snafu that the number scrawled in what looked like red nailpolish on the meter was its official number - which I had to look up one time to verify that the meter had been broken at the time.
As for signs put out in the middle of the night - ILLEGAL. I found out in L.A. by going to the citycouncil person's office that they were SUPPOSED to have put up warning signs and had a GRACE period! So the ticket was wiped! So check with your local representative - that's what they are there for.
In fact, many dubious tickets can be successfully contested as irrational - who would know that obscure ordinance - You could have taken a picture (we all have camera phones now) and proved that because of the other drivers you were FORCED to park as you did.
I have made these consumer complaints mostly by mail, too. Given enough evidence, the cases usually fall apart - as they are so unused to facing any opposition whatsoever...
So I encourage you to fight these tickets whenever you feel you are in the right.
I've found that more stringent rules regarding new mortgages are the rule these days. My coworker owns a condo and she and her husband were looking to purchase a home. They had enough for 15% down, and could only qualify for a very high interest 30-year mortgage. They opted to wait it out in their 450 sq ft condo.
Thanks for the advice, steve. Much appreciated.
Agree with Carrie on the booze. And baking bread is a really, really sweet idea. If only I was good at it. :)
It really depends on where you live. Right now, there aren't any flowers blooming in Seattle (except for this one freak jasmine plant outside a neighbors house). While I love cut flowers, sometimes during the winter, it just makes sense to give more local gifts. You know? Like, if you live in Florida or California, maybe you can give flowers from your garden. But supermarket flowers are more expensive, and less ecologically viable, during the winter.
Something that I love to give are paperwhite (or other) bulbs in a glass vase filled with pretty stones or fish tank rocks. Paperwhites are lovely force-grown in dreary days of January and February. I don't buy the pre-set packs of them (pricey!); I buy the bulbs in bulk at Home Depot or another seed supplier and place them in inexpensive square, shallow vases with decorative stones and a ribbon. The host can then grow them if he/she feels like it, or pass them along to someone else who may like them more.
I disagree with not bringing flowers for your host/ess. I think it depends entirely on your knowledge of the person. Some people don't appreciate the time and care flowers need to stay fresh for awhile. But others may have free time or enjoy them immensely.
Flowers can even be a frugal option if you have your own garden, or can make an attractive bouquet from the wild plants in your area. This is especially true at the end of the year, when holiday greenery consists of ferns, pine cones, and red berries! You could even make an inexpensive door wreath for host/esses who enjoy greens, but have allergies. It all depends on what you know your host/ess will enjoy. It never hurts to ask.
(I love getting flowers- can you tell?)
I too feel that the these programs and money needs to be spent in ways that will help those that need and deserve the help. Not necessarily the people that bought beyond their needs but the average home buyer that may be struggling with the falling economy. I think home prices do need to come down to an affordable level for the average income household. Lower rates is not necessarily the answer.
I'm puzzled by #6. The city is still getting the money you add to the meter. Are there really cases of people getting in trouble for helping others?
I really profited from reading this article and comments.
I do not see putting the blame on any one entity or "side" has any meaning or value here.
Here are some things that no one seems to have factored in to their "decision tree."
What if our economy totally tanks and we have a long-term full blown severe depression ?
What if we have another world war?
What if we change from being the sovereign USA to the North American Union region of the one world government, with no more national economies or philosopies and no more regional money systems, but only a one world system?
What if there are a group of moneyed people at the very top who have controlled our economy for decades and who have deliberately brought about the current economic "downturn" and have plans, at the time of their choosing, to totally bust out the USA?
What if having a fiat money system, fractional reserve banks, IRS and Federal Reserve is always bound to end up like we are now?
What if people start fighting each other in the streets and martial law is instituted and people are carted off to "detention centers"?
What we can do via our own bootstraps is much more limited than what seems to be being discussed here. The wealth has been redistributed for the last century and it has gone into fewer and fewer hands of the super internationalist elites.
Share insights, experiences and ideas and pray for guidance and the ability to do right.
Obama is no change from the last 20 years of horrible presidential administrations. All of them are puppets of the trillionaire globalists who want a one world death and slavery system for all.
Quit shopping downtown and let merchants know why.
I lived in Chicago for 9 years and can say without reservation that it's a very hostile city for residents. The city no longer collects fees from its citizenry to promote the good and ensure services, now it collects fees for the sake of collecting fees. As a resident, you are always discovering the new, creative and painful ways the city disrespects its taxpayers and reaches further into your wallet.
I disagree that lowering the mortgage rate will artificially prop up housing prices as long as the stringent lending guidelines are followed - that means the borrowers must have at least 10% down (or even more depending on location), a good credit score, and the income stream to qualify for the loan. While it may be true that it will help those with money more than those without, but truth is, those without money should not be buying houses in the first place.
As for the super-rich who will reap the most reward from this per your last paragraph, they probably won't be the majority of those who are helped. Instead, the lower mortgage rate will benefit many who have sat out the bubble because they make their purchase decisions on the value of what they are buying!
Remember, it's not the mortgage rate that got us into the mess we are in now -- it's the careless lending practice of giving loans to those who obviously cannot afford the payment!
I've been doing this almost all of my life and didn't even realize it was a big deal. Growing up, my family always spent Christmas at home so that we could be with my mom's family (they lived about 12 miles away) and then packed up and drove to visit my dad's family the day after Christmas. We did "Christmas" with that side of the family sometime after we arrived when it was convenient for everyone who lived there.
Now that my grandparents are all gone and my immediate family is spread between three different states, we all travel to be together for Christmas but we've started not doing so for Thanksgiving. We started that a couple of years ago when my parents were out of the country (discovering the joys of off-season vacations). I can honestly say that Thanksgiving has gone from being a stressful, too short time to visit with my family to being a great, relaxing long weekend that I can spend with my family that I'm not related to. And I couldn't be happier. I try to coordinate a visit to my sister's place when my parents go in the fall. The time is a little shorter, but it's also a lot less stressful. We also all get together sometime in May around when my nephews' birthdays are (conviently they're about two and a half weeks apart).
I am very fortunate to be blessed with a family that puts more importance on just spending time together rather than worrying about being together on a certain day.
If I ever get a parking ticket like this I take the oppurtunity for a spot of creative writing! So I will work out whatever the fine is, say £30, then with the minimum wage being £5 something an hour. For me to recoup that money from them in fun will take about 12 letters if we assume it takes about half an hour for them to deal with each letter.
Now the fun part! Write to them with a completely crazy letter that asks lots of questions and just rambles on and on for a good few pages (A4 size as a minimum) it doesn't matter if you go off topic, just keep writing as much as you can. For some reason this has gotten me out of two (unjust) parking fines :P After reading the first letter they just seem to not want to deal with you and cancel the fine!
We tried to convince my MIL that if she could deal with us not coming home for Thanksgiving or Christmas we would come back for a longer visit in the summer when there is not a holiday involved.
Driving across the midwest in the winter is not fun. It frequently involves ice storms or blizzards and flying is just too crazy over the holidays.
My siblings have been making a habit of heading home at random times in the summer to coordinate with birthdays, weddings or an impromptu family reunion. Everyone is far less stressed and the weather is better so the entire experience is more positive.
That's just ridiculous. Either Denver is getting really desperate for revenue or you got a meter reader with a chip on his/her shoulder, but you should not stand for that. You can't contest by mail?
Chicago's city council is as I type this plotting to quadruple our meter rates and eliminate free Sundays. I have such mixed feelings about this. On one hand, since street parking in Chicago has long been much cheaper than private lots, the city has been subsidizing drivers for years. It's actually good policy to charge a higher rate for the luxury of driving downtown than for taking public transit. BUT ... anyone who lives in Chicago knows that the money the city takes from us does not do us any good. It doesn't improve the El or other public transit. It disappears into the pockets of insiders and their cousins.
Go to the suburbs for the parking? We moved *from* the suburbs at great cost just to get away from mile after mile of concrete, strip malls and chain restaurants. We live in the Highlands, and were able to donate one of our cars because we can walk everywhere. But we're also fans of population density and its efficiencies, and we'll do whatever we can to encourage people to use alternative methods of transportation to their cars.
New meters have the ability to eliminate the free parking 'float' that occurs when the previous occupant of a parking space pays for more time than they use.
There are new meters that, when fed, print out a ticket with the expiration time and date. These tickets have a gummed tab (like a sticky Post It note) that the driver sticks to the inside of the door (driver or passenger - varies locally) window so that the ticket faces out. When the driver leaves, they take the ticket with them, and the next driver has to pay for their own ticket.
And a common way time restrictions are enforced is to mark tires (on the tread) with chalk - in a two-hour zone, a car with a chalk mark is in violation if it's still there two hours after being marked. When the driver leaves, the chalk wears away from road contact.
Check the meter (usually inside the glass) for hours of operation. Meters are usually enforced during daytime hours Monday through Saturday, often 7am to 6pm, sometimes later.
My family does this for Christmas every year. Our immediate family celebrates Christmas together on a day other than Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Not only are there in laws that want to be visited with the grandkids but it's just so hectic on the actual Holiday. We have dinner together open gifts and enjoy each others company. Santa even makes a visit. This leaves Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to be less stressful. We've actually moved Easter egg hunts to Saturdays some years so that hopeful we (my immediate family) can be together. Works out great for us!