I saw where Trump went to Louisiana and took a filled semi with food, clothing, supplies and toys. He didn't notify the media that he was going. He just went. I don't know if the man will make a good president or not, but I seriously doubt that he can be any worse than what we have had for decades. There has not been one damn person in that office that worked for the taxpayer. They work for foreign entities, illegal aliens, the rich, anyone but the people who carry the weight of the country on their backs. And that would be the very small middle class and getting smaller every day. And Trump was trashed for going to Louisiana. Well, guess what I was impressed. And no we don't expect any help from the government here in the south because we are always an afterthought. Ever wonder why those politicians from the south voted against aid for SuperStorm Sandy? We get really tired of being ignored as though we don't count. Katrina got attention simply because the news media could get good ratings from showing the suffering of the people. A few weeks later, Rita hit western Louisiana and East Texas. Where was the media then? Where was the help? We still have people living in homes that they could not afford to repair. One of our local grocery store chains set up shop in several parking lots with generators they furnished themselves to furnish food for the people. East Texas did without power for two weeks after Rita. Help? Well, Fema was nowhere to be seen.
Ike. Ike hit the Texas Gulf Coast at Galveston, moved through Houston and up through East Texas. A reporter asked Bill White, who was mayor of Houston at the time, if FEMA had been to Houston. His reply." Yeah a fellow from FEMA came by my office before Ike made landfall. He told me not to worry. That FEMA was there and we would be joined at the hip through this. That is the last time I saw anyone from FEMA." Galveston was pretty much destroyed. Federal help? Nope. George Mitchell rebuilt Galveston with his money. He was born and raised in Galveston and had the money. The only thing they got from the fed was fury that there had been no public housing rebuilt. Mitchell told them he would not build public housing. His money was not going to that. If they wanted public housing, build it. I guess they did. Crystal Beach and Boliver Penesula was destroyed. It is coast land and the fed was supposed to move in and search the debris for bodies. They never showed up so Perry ordered Texas disaster recovery to do the job. We take care of our own. If we don't, there is no help. And that is why our politicians voted against Superstorm Sandy funds. Sandy was a cat 1. On the coast, for a cat 1, we only evacuate those within the storm surge. And that is pretty much right on the beach. And we are still; hearing about Superstorm Sandy.
Tuesday, August 23, 2016
Banks
Banks have been given a license to steal. I lost a job in 2014. As a result, I got behind on my credit cards. I know, my fault for even having them. Well, they closed the accounts after I had begun making payments. I was not notified they had closed the accounts. I found out when I went on line and tried to set up to view my accounts. So this was in February. I have been trying since to get in touch with someone with this bank. All calls go to India. And those taking the calls speak very little English. I finally got in touch with someone in Orlando today and he was perfectly happy to let me call in and make payments. No, I could not mail them in. I could not have them draft a checking account. I could not view them online. Basically, what I would do is just call them, give them my account number and routing number and tell them how much I wanted to pay. I was told that this was an "unofficial" payment plan. So I asked, well if you charged off the account, should I not have gotten a 1099-C. Oh, yes, they mailed me a 1099-C. No, they did not. So then it gets really crappy. I will have to pay income taxes on that money, but they will allow me to pay it back to get it off my credit report. So, in essence, they write it off, take the tax deduction, then take my money to pay it back. I would be paying double and they would bury the payments somewhere and it would never get reported. I told them to stick it. Oh, and if I want them to mail me "another" 1099-C then I have to deal with those idiots in India. They want your name, social security number, date of birth and your mother's maiden name. Nope. Not happening. I will just write it up, file an amended return and attach a statement telling them that this bank did not give me a 1099-C. This just confirms that banks are the new Mafia. They can steal and face no repercussions. Wow! I will not deal with a bank again. I am going credit unions all the way. This crap is really scary.
Friday, August 19, 2016
The illusion that is our democracy
We all think we have a say in our government. That our vote counts for something. Well, that is just an illusion. Unless you are very wealthy, your vote and you count for nothing. Nothing. Your congressman only ever considers you when he needs that vote that he can't bypass to get into the halls of the legislature. Other than that, you are non-existent. And the same holds true with businesses you deal with.
Let's take "credit" for starters. What the term credit entails is the use of credit cards. Nothing more, nothing less. If you are one of the few who does not use credit cards, then you have no credit. You can have purchased a house on a mortgage, ie creditl. You can have purchased and paid off several cars on credit. But if you do not have credit cards, you are non-existant in the "credit" department. And your credit worthiness hinges on three little numbers. And those three little numbers are arbitrary. They will change daily or even hourly. If you have credit cards pay them in full every month, not good. If you use them only for large purchases, not good. If you carry balances on them, not good. So there is realistically no way for you to keep those three little numbers high. Businesses that collect all your personal information, and I do mean all your personal information, decided whether you are an honest person or not. Three. Little. Numbers. I was in the mortgage business way back in the day. Back in the day, if you had more than a couple of those credit cards, that went against you. We collected proof of employment, how long you had been with your present employer, what your monthly bills were. We talked with your employer. And unless you qualified for a VA or FHA loan, you put 20% down. Most people did qualify for FHA or VA loans by virtue of being poor but with a stable history, or you were a veteran. And FHA and VA sent their own home inspectors out and those home inspectors worked for the home buyer. If they found something wrong with the house, the seller was told to fix it. I have been out with those inspectors. House on a slab, he crawled under the house. He inspected everything. Plumbing, electrical, dry rot, roof, everything. I was taught by the best in how to assess a house. Not anymore. If you want a halfway honest inspection, then you have to hire and pay your own inspector. And you have to pay for a plumber to inspect the pipes and an electrician to inspect the wiring. Otherwise, it is ignored.
But back in the day, a lending institution was concerned 1) for the buyer because he was going to be paying for the house and 2) the soundness of the structure because in the case of a foreclosure, they wanted that structure in good shape so they could resell quickly.
So much has changed in my lifetime and I have watched it unfold and both political parties are guilty of selling off of the country. Only those with money count. Only big business counts. Ask any small businessman about all the taxes and fees he has to pay. Back in the day you could start a business and make it successful. Try it today.
And for the consumer, we had savings accounts with a guarenteed 5% interest. Every one saved. Now good luck with .05%, And I have watched this happen over the years. It started with Nixon and has only gotten worse. We were shocked, as a nation, when Nixon pulled his tricks. Now Nixon seems like a babe in the woods. And those town hall meetings, they only call on pre-selected people with pre selected questions. I took part in one of those telephone town hall meeting when Flores first started them. I was not allowed to ask any questions of Flores because what I wanted to ask would have made him look bad. However, he took calls from people not even in his district. There is a book out by a former congressman detailing how the congressmen spend their days fundraising. They are being paid by the taxpayer and all they do is fundraise. Feel like you have been royally screwed yet?
Let's take "credit" for starters. What the term credit entails is the use of credit cards. Nothing more, nothing less. If you are one of the few who does not use credit cards, then you have no credit. You can have purchased a house on a mortgage, ie creditl. You can have purchased and paid off several cars on credit. But if you do not have credit cards, you are non-existant in the "credit" department. And your credit worthiness hinges on three little numbers. And those three little numbers are arbitrary. They will change daily or even hourly. If you have credit cards pay them in full every month, not good. If you use them only for large purchases, not good. If you carry balances on them, not good. So there is realistically no way for you to keep those three little numbers high. Businesses that collect all your personal information, and I do mean all your personal information, decided whether you are an honest person or not. Three. Little. Numbers. I was in the mortgage business way back in the day. Back in the day, if you had more than a couple of those credit cards, that went against you. We collected proof of employment, how long you had been with your present employer, what your monthly bills were. We talked with your employer. And unless you qualified for a VA or FHA loan, you put 20% down. Most people did qualify for FHA or VA loans by virtue of being poor but with a stable history, or you were a veteran. And FHA and VA sent their own home inspectors out and those home inspectors worked for the home buyer. If they found something wrong with the house, the seller was told to fix it. I have been out with those inspectors. House on a slab, he crawled under the house. He inspected everything. Plumbing, electrical, dry rot, roof, everything. I was taught by the best in how to assess a house. Not anymore. If you want a halfway honest inspection, then you have to hire and pay your own inspector. And you have to pay for a plumber to inspect the pipes and an electrician to inspect the wiring. Otherwise, it is ignored.
But back in the day, a lending institution was concerned 1) for the buyer because he was going to be paying for the house and 2) the soundness of the structure because in the case of a foreclosure, they wanted that structure in good shape so they could resell quickly.
So much has changed in my lifetime and I have watched it unfold and both political parties are guilty of selling off of the country. Only those with money count. Only big business counts. Ask any small businessman about all the taxes and fees he has to pay. Back in the day you could start a business and make it successful. Try it today.
And for the consumer, we had savings accounts with a guarenteed 5% interest. Every one saved. Now good luck with .05%, And I have watched this happen over the years. It started with Nixon and has only gotten worse. We were shocked, as a nation, when Nixon pulled his tricks. Now Nixon seems like a babe in the woods. And those town hall meetings, they only call on pre-selected people with pre selected questions. I took part in one of those telephone town hall meeting when Flores first started them. I was not allowed to ask any questions of Flores because what I wanted to ask would have made him look bad. However, he took calls from people not even in his district. There is a book out by a former congressman detailing how the congressmen spend their days fundraising. They are being paid by the taxpayer and all they do is fundraise. Feel like you have been royally screwed yet?
Saturday, August 13, 2016
Our Politics
I keep trying to step back and ignore politics. Washington D.C. has become worse than the swamp it was built on. It is a toxic cesspool. And the players do not change, just the names do. Clinton is still promising citizenship to any and all who want to just waltz across our border. Trump is Trump. Will he do what he says? I can only hope so and many, many others in this country are hanging onto him because he is our last ditch effort to take back a shadow of our once great country. The is total disconnect between those in Washington and those of us who have to work for a living. We, quite simply, do not matter and if they could find a way around the elections, we would truly be relegated to the trash heap for that is how we are view now--simply a necessary evil because the pesky Constitution is in the way. There is a bumper sticker I see every day. It states "How can you trust a government that does not trust you with guns?" My question is a lot more in depth. How can you trust a government that sees you as basically cannon fodder to be trotted out, lied to, and used to get those votes to get into office. And it does not really matter who we want in office. It boils down to who will the democrats trot out for us to vote for and who will the republicans trot out for us to vote for. And no one cares if they are good for the country. No one cares if they will put the citizens first. The only thing these people care about is their bank accounts. Pure and simple, politics had evolved into how much money can I get from it. And it has been this mess since Nixon. Actually Barry Goldwater started us on this trip. Republicans are in the back pockets of business. Democrats are as well, but they try to cloak it in civic responsibility.
And we have recent arrivals coming here and making their own demands and getting their way. Let's just talk about Silicon Valley. One of the new billionaires who is from India is going to jail for assult and battery. He should be deported and if he has gained citizenship, revoke it and boot him out. The two graduating seniors who stood on the podium and rubbed our noses in the fact that they are illegal and have stiffed the taxpayer for their education, they get very good offers from places like Harvard because they are illegal. Those offers would never have been made to a poor citizen who really needs the help. Nope, that poor citizen is screwed. I look at my grandchildren. They are brilliant. And they are white and poor. They will have no chance. I will take out a second mortgage on my house to put them through college. There will be no help for them otherwise. However, if they are illegal or the children of illegals, those parents show no income because they work under the table. So they can get all kinds of grants, loans, and scholarships. They will get a free ride right through college. They will be rewarded for being criminals. What message is that sending to the world? That the Americans are suckers and can be used and stolen from and nothing will happen to them for it. And our politicians sit on their welfare rears in Washington and let it happen and have been doing so since the 1970's. Your elected officials do not work for you, the voter. They work for big business and lobbyists. Tom Cotton was paid a cool million for trying to block the Iran deal in congress and no one has yet to charge him with taking a bribe. Why not? Because congress has fixed the laws that allow them to take these bribes. Nancy Pelosi made millions on insider trading. Martha Stewart went to prison for the same thing. And yet none of these congressmen and women are ever going to face any repercussions from these illegal acts because they are not illegal for congress. So now you have an understanding of why we will keep those guns. We may, God forbid, actually need them at some time in the future. Bottom line is we are on our own. If you are not at least in the upper middle class, you are person non grata as far as your elected representatives are concerned. They don't give a damn.
And we have recent arrivals coming here and making their own demands and getting their way. Let's just talk about Silicon Valley. One of the new billionaires who is from India is going to jail for assult and battery. He should be deported and if he has gained citizenship, revoke it and boot him out. The two graduating seniors who stood on the podium and rubbed our noses in the fact that they are illegal and have stiffed the taxpayer for their education, they get very good offers from places like Harvard because they are illegal. Those offers would never have been made to a poor citizen who really needs the help. Nope, that poor citizen is screwed. I look at my grandchildren. They are brilliant. And they are white and poor. They will have no chance. I will take out a second mortgage on my house to put them through college. There will be no help for them otherwise. However, if they are illegal or the children of illegals, those parents show no income because they work under the table. So they can get all kinds of grants, loans, and scholarships. They will get a free ride right through college. They will be rewarded for being criminals. What message is that sending to the world? That the Americans are suckers and can be used and stolen from and nothing will happen to them for it. And our politicians sit on their welfare rears in Washington and let it happen and have been doing so since the 1970's. Your elected officials do not work for you, the voter. They work for big business and lobbyists. Tom Cotton was paid a cool million for trying to block the Iran deal in congress and no one has yet to charge him with taking a bribe. Why not? Because congress has fixed the laws that allow them to take these bribes. Nancy Pelosi made millions on insider trading. Martha Stewart went to prison for the same thing. And yet none of these congressmen and women are ever going to face any repercussions from these illegal acts because they are not illegal for congress. So now you have an understanding of why we will keep those guns. We may, God forbid, actually need them at some time in the future. Bottom line is we are on our own. If you are not at least in the upper middle class, you are person non grata as far as your elected representatives are concerned. They don't give a damn.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)