I feel your pain regarding how difficult it would be to understand a legal contract in another language. I, too, have lived in a country whose language was not my first, and it is certainly challenging. However, I guess that's why I wouldn't buy a house in Brazil. Because I would not understand a contract in Portugese. Or, more likely, I would learn Portugese, and once I had an understanding of what I was getting myself into, I'd go for the purchase.
I'm not sure that requires a great deal of intellect, either. Seems like common sense to me. Although perhaps I too am "smarter than the average guy" as several have stated in earlier posts. (That's sarcasm in case you missed it. I actually think that's a bunch of BS given that I feel confident that our intellects are more like a bell curve. E.g. we're all more or less of similar levels of intelligence.)
"The central bank and the Treasury are terrified about what letting borrowing drop all the way down to our current level of saving would mean. So, since the consumer is all borrowed up, they're trying to have government borrowing replace consumer borrowing.
Because of their fear, the Treasury hasn't done one obvious thing that's necessary to get the economy back on sound footing--it hasn't made it more attractive for savers to save. They're afraid that more saving would mean less spending, resulting in an even worse recession. And yet, longer term, it's that saving that will support future borrowing."
How do you feel about the Fed, the Treasury, and especially about the people who have been making the decisions on our economy, and on the welfare of the citizens...?
Are they doing their job? Is their job to protect the stock market and the investors, or to protect the people as a whole? When the people say they love their country... do they also love the way we empower our leadership?
Thanks for a clear and incisive commentary, Philip.
Thanks for the great article! I'm so glad to have a voice of reason amongst all the craziness out there. My heart just dropped when I saw the treasury secretary on tv the other day recommending another "incentive" package. And the commentators are all trying to figure out how to encourage people to just spend it instead of use it to pay down debt. Don't they have a name for it when you keep doing the same thing and expecting different results, stupidity maybe?
Earlier comment says the rare winning pieces are mailed off instead of putting on containers, let they be thrown away. This is so McD can get a tax write-off for giving away the $1M.
It's good publicity to say that someone won the $1M, but does McD really care if they "lose" the $1M? They made $2.3 BILLION last year. What do they care if they save $1M?
What I want to know:
1) Is there always a winner for each high-value category?
2) Is the list of rare pieces the same year after year?
Remember that change starts at the bottom. If enough people channel their anger into, say, contacting their government representatives, and then remember this issue when it comes time to re-elect, then we'd have people in the Senate and House that would SIDE with us responsible folks. After all, that's their JOB, to represent the rest of us and vote on bail-out bills accordingly.
People think that they have no power in any of this, and that's why they get angry. But we the people DO have power, we just have to exercise it at the appropriate time in appropriate ways.
Taxes? Well, we can't help what they do with our dollars at this particular moment, but at re-election time, you all had better study up and KNOW which person will spend your tax dollars the way you want them to. That's your right, and that's your responsibility as a citizen.
Please, everyone, take the time to write these comments in an email to your Senator or House Representative (or both!). You'll do much more good that way.
boy I wish I had read this a month ago. This happened to me and I did not realize it until after I bought airline tickets and received my monthly bill. I was over by $500 (as they had lowered my limit) and they wanted their money immediately. I called to ask how this could have happened and was informed that it had been reflected in my last bill ( I have to be honest. I never look at this line on my bill). By the way, they lowered my limit by $5000. I have never gone over or had a late fee in my life until now. I have had good credit for 30 years so did not think any of this would effect me. I was sadly mistaken.
I can't believe everyone is complaining about a chance to win. I think it's pretty cool that there are even 3 Boardwalks. I thought there would be only one. Most of these comments rank right up there with the loser who sued fast food places for making him fat. Come on, people. Be responsible. Be an adult. Don't cry and whine about not winning--I mean, there are so many people playing this game, why should you think you're special? Yes, you probably won't win. Duh. Don't eat at McDonald's if you're bothered by the greasy, fatty food, but if you like it, enjoy, and hope for the one-in-a-million chance that you can win something.
Well stated sir...It always seems to surprise, although it shouldn't, that the customers who get suckered into playing the game, end up more informed than the employees working at McDonalds.
Kelja: I WOULD move to a "socialist" country. (I LAUGH that a 39.5% tax rate on the highest income bracket would make this a socialist country). I've lived in the EU, and would do it again.
If, yanno, any of them wanted American workers.
Or if I could sell my house for a profit.
Orrrr if my husband spoke any language besides English.
Yeah, your solution is real innovative there *rolls eyes*.
"Death of the individual." Yeah, what's so great about the individual? We all like to think we're beautiful and unique snowflakes, but in the end we all basically want the same things. Right-wing politics focus on individual prosperity and say screw it to anyone who can't compete, automatically making a moral judgment on someone who may have acted completely morally. That seems like a real magical system to me.
It's already been said in this thread, but homeowners in distress are utterly the wrong place to put blame in this market. Blame the predatory lending tactics and debt-shifting behavior of the entire mortgage industry, who specifically targeted people who couldn't pay back their mortgages.
Everyone who says mortgages are so easy to understand should try going through the hundreds of pages of paperwork in Chinese, for giggles, since many of these distress homeowners are IMMIGRANTS. In one condo complex near me, populated largely by Brazilian immigrants, one had to app with Countrywide to even buy a unit. They were offering extremely low teaser rates on ARMs. Most took them. Over half are now in foreclosure. Who would you blame here? Hint: imagine yourself buying a home in Brazil without speaking Portuguese before you give an answer.
This chart is quite embarrassing to me. We are suppose to be the leading economy in the world and too many people are trying to cheat the system. Money is too easy to be made to try to make it illegally. All of this happened because banks started lending people money that they knew could not pay it back. Now everybody has to reap the benefits.
I think this is the biggest issue I have with credit scores. Since they base your score on usage to available credit, how is it fair that they can manipulate your score by lowering your limit, then dinging you because you have high credit usage?
hoping to win 50K or something to make it all worthwhile. If you finally do win the money, you'll need to put it toward your quadruple bypass surgery to clean out the Big Macs and Fries in there. Can anybody win at this game?
Thanks for bringing this up. I probably wouldn't have thought of it.
One question, are there places where you can get a free credit score? I know you can get 1 free credit report each year but the report doesn't include the actual credit score.
Why are people still suspicious of the government, when, it's patently obvious that some parts of the market can inflate values exponentially, allowing some people to accumulate so much real money and power, that they can squeeze a bailout from the government?
I recall that derivatives were supposed to be totally awesome. They would smooth out the fluctuations, and thus, free up more capital for investment, and if managed properly, could create increased wealth with less risk. That was the market doing its magic.
How about we give government a chance? The government, when it's told to do so, can focus on the basics: land, labor, goods, and social security.
This is a great article. HELOC's (Home Equity Line of Credit) are being cut at a much more rapid pace than your typical credit card. It has become standard for banks to slash them by more than 50% without any forewarning. This is happening in all markets including the markets where home values are holding (yes there are a few).
I agree i know its easy to get hooked on the game but people need to stop and think dont go to McDonald's and buy food just so you can get game pices use that money to go in your gas tank or buy real food at the grocery store and if you relly think about it the game is relly like the lottery! so dont get hooked or buy stupid pices from people on the internet its just a big rip off!!! so stop and relly think about it
Good to hear! I am so jealous of those of you with a CVS. Refund Cents always shares the good deals for that store, but sadly we don't have one for many miles. We did just get a Walgreens in the next town, so I'll be starting there!
I'll agree that not everyone will need that many items. Some of them kindly donate their extras to charity. Others freeze or store items to use all year long (do you know how many blocks of cheese a family of 6 can eat in just 3 months?) It's a delicate balance for many. If I find even one really good deal on cold medicine or shampoo or something else I really like, I'll do the deal one or two times max. It's worth it to get even a few items for free, even if you don't buy as much as others do.
wow, it must be nice to be homeless and have access to a computer
Lise:
I feel your pain regarding how difficult it would be to understand a legal contract in another language. I, too, have lived in a country whose language was not my first, and it is certainly challenging. However, I guess that's why I wouldn't buy a house in Brazil. Because I would not understand a contract in Portugese. Or, more likely, I would learn Portugese, and once I had an understanding of what I was getting myself into, I'd go for the purchase.
I'm not sure that requires a great deal of intellect, either. Seems like common sense to me. Although perhaps I too am "smarter than the average guy" as several have stated in earlier posts. (That's sarcasm in case you missed it. I actually think that's a bunch of BS given that I feel confident that our intellects are more like a bell curve. E.g. we're all more or less of similar levels of intelligence.)
I particularly appreciate your post.
...and about this part:
"The central bank and the Treasury are terrified about what letting borrowing drop all the way down to our current level of saving would mean. So, since the consumer is all borrowed up, they're trying to have government borrowing replace consumer borrowing.
Because of their fear, the Treasury hasn't done one obvious thing that's necessary to get the economy back on sound footing--it hasn't made it more attractive for savers to save. They're afraid that more saving would mean less spending, resulting in an even worse recession. And yet, longer term, it's that saving that will support future borrowing."
How do you feel about the Fed, the Treasury, and especially about the people who have been making the decisions on our economy, and on the welfare of the citizens...?
Are they doing their job? Is their job to protect the stock market and the investors, or to protect the people as a whole? When the people say they love their country... do they also love the way we empower our leadership?
Thanks for a clear and incisive commentary, Philip.
my opinion only
@ Amy:
Yeah, Will wrote an article on a free credit score recently:
http://www.wisebread.com/get-free-credit-score-monitoring-with-credit-karma
It really is free.
Thanks for the great article! I'm so glad to have a voice of reason amongst all the craziness out there. My heart just dropped when I saw the treasury secretary on tv the other day recommending another "incentive" package. And the commentators are all trying to figure out how to encourage people to just spend it instead of use it to pay down debt. Don't they have a name for it when you keep doing the same thing and expecting different results, stupidity maybe?
Excellent headline, excellent post. This bread is delicious!
Earlier comment says the rare winning pieces are mailed off instead of putting on containers, let they be thrown away. This is so McD can get a tax write-off for giving away the $1M.
It's good publicity to say that someone won the $1M, but does McD really care if they "lose" the $1M? They made $2.3 BILLION last year. What do they care if they save $1M?
What I want to know:
1) Is there always a winner for each high-value category?
2) Is the list of rare pieces the same year after year?
Remember that change starts at the bottom. If enough people channel their anger into, say, contacting their government representatives, and then remember this issue when it comes time to re-elect, then we'd have people in the Senate and House that would SIDE with us responsible folks. After all, that's their JOB, to represent the rest of us and vote on bail-out bills accordingly.
People think that they have no power in any of this, and that's why they get angry. But we the people DO have power, we just have to exercise it at the appropriate time in appropriate ways.
Taxes? Well, we can't help what they do with our dollars at this particular moment, but at re-election time, you all had better study up and KNOW which person will spend your tax dollars the way you want them to. That's your right, and that's your responsibility as a citizen.
Please, everyone, take the time to write these comments in an email to your Senator or House Representative (or both!). You'll do much more good that way.
boy I wish I had read this a month ago. This happened to me and I did not realize it until after I bought airline tickets and received my monthly bill. I was over by $500 (as they had lowered my limit) and they wanted their money immediately. I called to ask how this could have happened and was informed that it had been reflected in my last bill ( I have to be honest. I never look at this line on my bill). By the way, they lowered my limit by $5000. I have never gone over or had a late fee in my life until now. I have had good credit for 30 years so did not think any of this would effect me. I was sadly mistaken.
I have a ps2 game that I have but is really scratched up with deep and small scratches how can I fix it.
I can't believe everyone is complaining about a chance to win. I think it's pretty cool that there are even 3 Boardwalks. I thought there would be only one. Most of these comments rank right up there with the loser who sued fast food places for making him fat. Come on, people. Be responsible. Be an adult. Don't cry and whine about not winning--I mean, there are so many people playing this game, why should you think you're special? Yes, you probably won't win. Duh. Don't eat at McDonald's if you're bothered by the greasy, fatty food, but if you like it, enjoy, and hope for the one-in-a-million chance that you can win something.
Well stated sir...It always seems to surprise, although it shouldn't, that the customers who get suckered into playing the game, end up more informed than the employees working at McDonalds.
Kelja: I WOULD move to a "socialist" country. (I LAUGH that a 39.5% tax rate on the highest income bracket would make this a socialist country). I've lived in the EU, and would do it again.
If, yanno, any of them wanted American workers.
Or if I could sell my house for a profit.
Orrrr if my husband spoke any language besides English.
Yeah, your solution is real innovative there *rolls eyes*.
"Death of the individual." Yeah, what's so great about the individual? We all like to think we're beautiful and unique snowflakes, but in the end we all basically want the same things. Right-wing politics focus on individual prosperity and say screw it to anyone who can't compete, automatically making a moral judgment on someone who may have acted completely morally. That seems like a real magical system to me.
It's already been said in this thread, but homeowners in distress are utterly the wrong place to put blame in this market. Blame the predatory lending tactics and debt-shifting behavior of the entire mortgage industry, who specifically targeted people who couldn't pay back their mortgages.
Everyone who says mortgages are so easy to understand should try going through the hundreds of pages of paperwork in Chinese, for giggles, since many of these distress homeowners are IMMIGRANTS. In one condo complex near me, populated largely by Brazilian immigrants, one had to app with Countrywide to even buy a unit. They were offering extremely low teaser rates on ARMs. Most took them. Over half are now in foreclosure. Who would you blame here? Hint: imagine yourself buying a home in Brazil without speaking Portuguese before you give an answer.
This chart is quite embarrassing to me. We are suppose to be the leading economy in the world and too many people are trying to cheat the system. Money is too easy to be made to try to make it illegally. All of this happened because banks started lending people money that they knew could not pay it back. Now everybody has to reap the benefits.
I think this is the biggest issue I have with credit scores. Since they base your score on usage to available credit, how is it fair that they can manipulate your score by lowering your limit, then dinging you because you have high credit usage?
hoping to win 50K or something to make it all worthwhile. If you finally do win the money, you'll need to put it toward your quadruple bypass surgery to clean out the Big Macs and Fries in there. Can anybody win at this game?
i have ink cartidge hp 74black and 75 color do yourefill them? pa please e mail me back soon
Thanks for bringing this up. I probably wouldn't have thought of it.
One question, are there places where you can get a free credit score? I know you can get 1 free credit report each year but the report doesn't include the actual credit score.
If you have Boardwalk...Congratulations you should be a millionaire. If you need a park place..I have three
Why are people still suspicious of the government, when, it's patently obvious that some parts of the market can inflate values exponentially, allowing some people to accumulate so much real money and power, that they can squeeze a bailout from the government?
I recall that derivatives were supposed to be totally awesome. They would smooth out the fluctuations, and thus, free up more capital for investment, and if managed properly, could create increased wealth with less risk. That was the market doing its magic.
How about we give government a chance? The government, when it's told to do so, can focus on the basics: land, labor, goods, and social security.
This is a great article. HELOC's (Home Equity Line of Credit) are being cut at a much more rapid pace than your typical credit card. It has become standard for banks to slash them by more than 50% without any forewarning. This is happening in all markets including the markets where home values are holding (yes there are a few).
I agree i know its easy to get hooked on the game but people need to stop and think dont go to McDonald's and buy food just so you can get game pices use that money to go in your gas tank or buy real food at the grocery store and if you relly think about it the game is relly like the lottery! so dont get hooked or buy stupid pices from people on the internet its just a big rip off!!! so stop and relly think about it
The point is that your credit limit might be lowered, so keep an eye out.
Good to hear! I am so jealous of those of you with a CVS. Refund Cents always shares the good deals for that store, but sadly we don't have one for many miles. We did just get a Walgreens in the next town, so I'll be starting there!
Linsey
I'll agree that not everyone will need that many items. Some of them kindly donate their extras to charity. Others freeze or store items to use all year long (do you know how many blocks of cheese a family of 6 can eat in just 3 months?) It's a delicate balance for many. If I find even one really good deal on cold medicine or shampoo or something else I really like, I'll do the deal one or two times max. It's worth it to get even a few items for free, even if you don't buy as much as others do.
Linsey