Okay, maybe it’s not scary enough to make a great horror film. But is there anybody else around here who trembles and quakes as I do at the prospect of trying to solve a problem when the only contact a company will allow you is the Dreaded 800 Number? I’m not against 800 numbers in general. Obviously, they can be handy for signing up for a service, checking a balance, or asking a minor question. I’d rather do all that online, if I have to do it at all. But the 800 number is a quick and easy alternative for…
Category: Money
Posts about being frugal, getting out of debt, staying out of debt, spending practically and splurging joyfully. This category may also contain posts about hard money and what the government is doing to all that “soft money” it creates.
Just going through the motions. Even more moronic than we thought. (Tip o’ hat to Joel and Jim B.) But they sure do seem to enjoy their jobs. Man lets house go into foreclosure over $25 fee. Cutting off face to spite nose? Or method to his madness? Me, I think it’s clear he’s not doing it over the fee, but for the principle of the thing: because the bank did him wrong and now won’t even acknowledge him as a human being and a customer. Companion piece: Just when you thought you understood mortgage securitization. A few months ago,…
In these once-great united States of America, one state long ago led the way toward freedom. (No offense to you, Virginia; you produced magnificent radicals. But Massachusetts was first to kick ass.) More recently, that state has been leading the way toward third-world status — beginning with plundering the productive and promoting corrupt cronyism. I have friends who are unfortunate enough to live in Massachusetts and who, for various reasons, can’t leave. One of those, a small business owner, wrote me two doleful emails last week about his problems with both the local plunderers and those national vandals, the IRS.…
I’ve got a question to open up for comments. It feels like a dumb question — even a prejudiced one. But I have to ask it. Is there something about banking that’s inherently immoral or corrupting? I know bankers (“usurers”) have been hated throughout history. But I always figured that was mainly sour grapes and jealousy of anyone who has or controls money. It’s always seemed to me that bankers provide a needed service and one worth paying for. It also seems that banking, as a profession, is one that ought to inspire the greatest trust and trustworthiness. Granted, it…
This is what it looks like when absurd taxes, hyper-regulation, and high (yet not hyper) inflation make it impossible for ordinary people to trust their country’s money and institutions.
Having already posted my whoo-hoo news, I’ll keep today’s miscellany short. More on the ringing declaration on the failure of the drug war from those most authoritative medical and public-health sources. Some insights into why such a vital statement is being resoundingly ignored. Still … there’s progress. For the first time, a federal agency is condoning medical cannabis. Well. Kinda, sorta. (Via Freedom’s Phoenix.) Speaking of progress … Over how many years and how many times has somebody announced that encrypting our phone calls would soon be as easy and cheap as encrypting our emails? Maybe it’s finally happening. “Thinking…
Y’know, there’s one thing nice about government. Really. There is. One thing. Government is very consistent. That is, once any government anywhere embarks on a stupid course, you can be sure that nothing short of the heat death of the universe will stay the bureaucrats from their dedicated stupidity. You gotta admit, that’s impressive consistency. To wit: You recall a teeny little flap the economy had a few years back involving subprime loans? Yes, I think you probably do. In fact, you don’t have to remember very far back — not more than 30 seconds ago — because we’re still…
Sorry for the “lite” posting this week. I hope I made up for the lack of volume with the quality of Wednesday’s post. (The quality of response to that post has certainly been outstanding.) I had some bad news Wednesday. Nothing earth-shattering, but a setback that … well, it drove me to eat four whole squares of chocolate (a huge indulgence at the very end of my month of primal-nutrition purity). It’s kept me in the doldrums since then. You may remember that I’ve been debating options about where to live. The more I explored, the more I realized I…
Common sense comes to a public school near you. Can’t possibly last. You heard the tut-tutting because more than a quarter of Americans recently polled didn’t know what country the famous forefathers won independence from. But what if respondents were just funnin’? C’mon. Everybody knows it was the Soviet Union. Which brings back fond memories of the witty (and now retired from writing) Patty Neill and her hysterical take on “How We Got the Data for the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse” Old. But timeless. On the more serious side, here’s an excellent Forbes piece from Michael Pento on…
Oh yes. Having centralized, government-managed online ID would be a great way to end Identity theft. You betcha. And it would give such a boost to e-commerce because everybody knows the fedgov is far more trustworthy and more concerned for your privacy than Amazon.com or eBay could ever be. And — of course! — your government-managed online ID would be voluntary. Strictly and always voluntary. And you can believe that with all your heart. Because “We’re from the government and we’re here to help you escape your dangerously ‘outdated’ decentralized logins.” Biggest load of codswallop I’ve read all week. And…