Tuesday, September 29, 2009
What I'm About
I guess I'm a little different than everyone else. Or maybe I just care more. This world is where we all live and everyone on it is no better or worse than anyone else. This is how I was raised and I firmly believe it. I'm a human rights advocate. I'm really fed up with the abuse middle America always ends up taking. I can see the direction we are heading and I feel for the future generations. If you think about it, we (Americans) have only been on this continent for less than 250 years. In that time we have built a reputation as a global leader thru setting a good example and then flushed all that good will down the toilet several times. It could be coincidence that the bad times usually come on the GOP's watch. It's a good thing that Dems are good at damage control. So the cycle goes about eight good years then eight to ten bad years. The myth they want you to believe is that this fluctuation is necessary to keep the economy healthy. Think how absurd that sounds. The economy even in the good times only allows us to get back to the point we should have been at a long time before had not some companies greed sunk the economy. You understand that there is no way you can save as much as you just lost. Put it this way. If we were kids and you had a big bag of candy and every time I saw you I'd take your bag of candy, do you think that the next time I took your bag of candy you would be better off? Exactly. I think that says it. I'm pretty good at those on-the-spot analogies. It's not going to get better by itself. We could all be living happily together but we're starting to stray to far from the path. The world needs balance, not fluctuation. Something to chew on.
Who Can You Trust
That's a very good question now days. A lot of people and companies have shown a complete lack of moral fiber in the last 10 years. I've also noticed those same companies advertising on TV about how they are "there for you". I started to make a list of people and businesses I could trust but the list was very short and none of the entries on it were businesses. So this is a list of some of the ones that fell out of favor due to the same "who cares" mentality that is bringing our country down. I will grade the industry or business as to how much they contribute to the problems with 1 being the least and 10 the most
The Banking industry- Grade=10
This is the core of most of the problems today as we all know. They are doing nothing to help right the ship. Turn on the TV and they're commercials are playing all the time acting like "You're good old trustworthy bank is here to save you again. We're doing our share to help" It makes me sick.
Big Oil- Grade=8
I'm actually cutting big oil some slack here. Only because they have showed some restraint in raising the cost of gas during these hard times. Usually it doesn't matter. Big oil always gets theirs and as soon as the economy gets going (if it does) I'm sure I'll be eating my words. But if I think Big Oil is showing restraint, this economy is a lot worse off than we think.
Investment industry- Grade=n/a
I seperated this from banking because everyone for the most part had some type of retirement account that they were putting into that is now gone. Only about one third of us had an adjustable mortgage. ONLY ONE THIRD OF US!.
They aren't much of a player because most of us don't have money
Education-post HS- Grade=5
Our colleges and post graduate schools have surprisingly begun to show a very ugly side at all levels. We've seen more and more multi-million dollar salaries at a time when the schools are crying broke. Cost of admission is skyrocketing at a time when most of us have lost a lot of money.
Health Care- Grade=10
I don't have to say too much except that if we don't reign this one in, we are never going to get the economy headed the right way. Once again, it's greed. Do you realize that if nothing is done in 10 years the price of healthcare will be equal to 50% of taxes you pay? And of course they learned their accounting from
Arthur Anderson (they were sitting next to big oil in class shooting spit wads at a map of the US) so they have figured out how to manipulate the tax system so it looks good on the books.
But you know who contributes the most to this problem by far? We do. We created all of this by keeping quiet. We have nobody but ourselves to blame. Have you voiced your opinion to any elected officials? Then it will continue. Land of the free and home of the brave. Pretty soon you'll have to explain where that came from to your grandkids, but they won't care because neither did you.
The Banking industry- Grade=10
This is the core of most of the problems today as we all know. They are doing nothing to help right the ship. Turn on the TV and they're commercials are playing all the time acting like "You're good old trustworthy bank is here to save you again. We're doing our share to help" It makes me sick.
Big Oil- Grade=8
I'm actually cutting big oil some slack here. Only because they have showed some restraint in raising the cost of gas during these hard times. Usually it doesn't matter. Big oil always gets theirs and as soon as the economy gets going (if it does) I'm sure I'll be eating my words. But if I think Big Oil is showing restraint, this economy is a lot worse off than we think.
Investment industry- Grade=n/a
I seperated this from banking because everyone for the most part had some type of retirement account that they were putting into that is now gone. Only about one third of us had an adjustable mortgage. ONLY ONE THIRD OF US!.
They aren't much of a player because most of us don't have money
Education-post HS- Grade=5
Our colleges and post graduate schools have surprisingly begun to show a very ugly side at all levels. We've seen more and more multi-million dollar salaries at a time when the schools are crying broke. Cost of admission is skyrocketing at a time when most of us have lost a lot of money.
Health Care- Grade=10
I don't have to say too much except that if we don't reign this one in, we are never going to get the economy headed the right way. Once again, it's greed. Do you realize that if nothing is done in 10 years the price of healthcare will be equal to 50% of taxes you pay? And of course they learned their accounting from
Arthur Anderson (they were sitting next to big oil in class shooting spit wads at a map of the US) so they have figured out how to manipulate the tax system so it looks good on the books.
But you know who contributes the most to this problem by far? We do. We created all of this by keeping quiet. We have nobody but ourselves to blame. Have you voiced your opinion to any elected officials? Then it will continue. Land of the free and home of the brave. Pretty soon you'll have to explain where that came from to your grandkids, but they won't care because neither did you.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Californians-How To Keep From Becoming Them
I've lived in this state all my life. It used to be very cool to live here. A laid back vibe was widespread. You could go down to the beach in the summer and have a bonfire at night. There was every different type of person alive here. And we felt good because we were good. From the migrant farm workers to the top of the states government, people had good intentions and had the state heading in the right direction.
Then something happened. The politicians figured out how to keep us completely in the dark and to be thankful for everything we no longer have. This is the true story of something I no longer have, thanks to the state.
I'm a crane operator for a steel mill and I work THE craziest schedule you could ever think of. I was commuting 70 miles a day but I didn't mind because I was driving my baby, my cherry, loaded, Mustang GT. I have never had an accident with 30 years of driving behind me. One night I got off of swing shift which ended at 11:00 pm. Traffic was light and I was going the speed limit in the number 2 lane (2nd from the left) on the 4 lane freeway. I was about 5 miles from home when I came up over a slight rise. I'm not sure I ever saw anything, but I knew something was in front of me. It was just one of those feelings. I hit my brakes and turned towards the median slightly. The next thing I knew, I was rolling upside down in my car going about 55 mph. I finally slid to a stop. I had my seatbelt on and I found myself hanging upside down by it. I had no idea what had just happened. And then I looked over and there was a bunch of people standing on the side of the freeway yelling at me to stay in the car. My first thought was I must have lost consciousness because those people couldn't have got there before I had finished sliding. I knew one thing for sure. Californians are pretty aggressive drivers and not many of them stop or even slow down when you flip your car. So I was not going to stay there in the middle of the freeway upside down while the cars flew by on both sides of me. My airbags had worked and I wasn't really hurt considering the accident. So I released my seatbelt, slid out the window, and played Frogger until I made it to the side.
When I got there I asked the people what had happened. They pointed up the freeway to the spot I thought I had seen something and lying on the ground was a black, crushed, new Harley Davidson Roadking laying in the number 2 lane. I couldn't believe it. Then the people told me it had been there for 25 minutes while they had been calling 911 to have it removed before someone (me) hit it. Four minutes after I hit it a California Highway Patrolman pulled up and called an ambliance and tow truck. They towed my car and the bike to the same place about 1 mile from the site of the wreck. My car was totaled.
Like I said earlier, I'm a craneman. But if you read my earlier posts you know about the union. Bottom line, their pay is like their morality. Almost non existent. At the time gas was $5.00 a gallon and $750.00 a month. So I only had Liability insurance. And I really think that the insurance doesn't even matter, because they still screw you if you have full coverage. It ended up costing me $1200.00 to get my totaled car out of the impound. It turned out the motorcycle had been stolen and then laid down on the freeway by the thief who took off across the freeway and vanished. My insurance company actually said that the motorcycle had full coverage, but because it was stolen from out of state the carrier was balking at paying. They told me as long as the accident wasn't my fault, it would have to be paid by them. I knew it wasn't my fault so I didn't worry about it. Until I got the Accident Report from the Highway Patrol. They said it was my fault. Entirely. The insurance companies passed a under the radar law that is called the "Basic Speed Law" which states that if you hit something that isn't moving, it's your fault. If you're driving behind a delivery truck on the freeway and a refrigerator falls off the back, you better hope it's still moving when you hit it or you're screwed. I'm sure it saves the insurance companies a bundle by not paying claims. As we speak they are trying to pass a bill which will take away our right to have OEM replacement parts instead of the cheap crap the want us to accept.
People, we have to make a stand! We have to or we will end up regretting it. It's not the criminals that are ripping us off, it's our politicians selling us out. And they don't know me well enough to sell me out!
Then something happened. The politicians figured out how to keep us completely in the dark and to be thankful for everything we no longer have. This is the true story of something I no longer have, thanks to the state.
I'm a crane operator for a steel mill and I work THE craziest schedule you could ever think of. I was commuting 70 miles a day but I didn't mind because I was driving my baby, my cherry, loaded, Mustang GT. I have never had an accident with 30 years of driving behind me. One night I got off of swing shift which ended at 11:00 pm. Traffic was light and I was going the speed limit in the number 2 lane (2nd from the left) on the 4 lane freeway. I was about 5 miles from home when I came up over a slight rise. I'm not sure I ever saw anything, but I knew something was in front of me. It was just one of those feelings. I hit my brakes and turned towards the median slightly. The next thing I knew, I was rolling upside down in my car going about 55 mph. I finally slid to a stop. I had my seatbelt on and I found myself hanging upside down by it. I had no idea what had just happened. And then I looked over and there was a bunch of people standing on the side of the freeway yelling at me to stay in the car. My first thought was I must have lost consciousness because those people couldn't have got there before I had finished sliding. I knew one thing for sure. Californians are pretty aggressive drivers and not many of them stop or even slow down when you flip your car. So I was not going to stay there in the middle of the freeway upside down while the cars flew by on both sides of me. My airbags had worked and I wasn't really hurt considering the accident. So I released my seatbelt, slid out the window, and played Frogger until I made it to the side.
When I got there I asked the people what had happened. They pointed up the freeway to the spot I thought I had seen something and lying on the ground was a black, crushed, new Harley Davidson Roadking laying in the number 2 lane. I couldn't believe it. Then the people told me it had been there for 25 minutes while they had been calling 911 to have it removed before someone (me) hit it. Four minutes after I hit it a California Highway Patrolman pulled up and called an ambliance and tow truck. They towed my car and the bike to the same place about 1 mile from the site of the wreck. My car was totaled.
Like I said earlier, I'm a craneman. But if you read my earlier posts you know about the union. Bottom line, their pay is like their morality. Almost non existent. At the time gas was $5.00 a gallon and $750.00 a month. So I only had Liability insurance. And I really think that the insurance doesn't even matter, because they still screw you if you have full coverage. It ended up costing me $1200.00 to get my totaled car out of the impound. It turned out the motorcycle had been stolen and then laid down on the freeway by the thief who took off across the freeway and vanished. My insurance company actually said that the motorcycle had full coverage, but because it was stolen from out of state the carrier was balking at paying. They told me as long as the accident wasn't my fault, it would have to be paid by them. I knew it wasn't my fault so I didn't worry about it. Until I got the Accident Report from the Highway Patrol. They said it was my fault. Entirely. The insurance companies passed a under the radar law that is called the "Basic Speed Law" which states that if you hit something that isn't moving, it's your fault. If you're driving behind a delivery truck on the freeway and a refrigerator falls off the back, you better hope it's still moving when you hit it or you're screwed. I'm sure it saves the insurance companies a bundle by not paying claims. As we speak they are trying to pass a bill which will take away our right to have OEM replacement parts instead of the cheap crap the want us to accept.
People, we have to make a stand! We have to or we will end up regretting it. It's not the criminals that are ripping us off, it's our politicians selling us out. And they don't know me well enough to sell me out!
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Look At All the Good My Taxes Do
We all pay way too much in taxes. Not because it's between 30% - 40% of our total income. Because the government both at the state and national level waste it. I can't remember the last time I felt like my taxes were actually doing something besides filling the wine glasses at some expensive dinner for some politician who doesn't deserve the time of day. I'm mean how much nerve does it take to tax unemployment? And what happened to being taxed only once on our income. That is the biggest load of BS I've heard. Both the state and the feds tax you as many times as they can on the same money. They tax you when you earn it. They tax you if you try to save it. They tax you if you invest it. They tax you if you spend it. They tax you if you give it away (in the wrong manner). The only way they won't tax you is if you are a business. (Outlaw lobbying if you want your country back). There is no bigger jackass than the IRS.
Recently I had a problem with my tax return. The IRS had sent me a bill wanting $15,000 more. I'm not working and this wasn't the first bill they had sent me that I had paid so I told my tax guy to give me a chance to talk to them. I figured if I was going to give them any more money I was also going to give them a piece of my mind. My tax guy just laughed. He said "You do know that you have to spend at least an hour on hold before they even answer the phone. And the last time this happened you remember how much effort it took just to resolve it?"
I did remember. I was dealing with a bunch of incompetent fools with attitudes. Here is what happened. Two days after I filed my taxes I got a huge bill from the IRS which I paid that day. That was over three years ago. But I kept getting notices to pay it. So my tax guy hates me now because he had to call them over 30 times (remember, one hour minimum on hold). Every time he called he had to start over because nobody knew what was going on and I really don't think they cared since they had the money I owed. So my tax guy, John, finally got thru and worked it all out. Or so they said. When the bills kept coming John had to get back on the phone to find out why. My paperwork including payment documentation had vanished. It was in Fresno, Ca. one day and a few days later nobody could find it. Then it showed up in Texas. Now remember, I had paid this so all that needed to be done to clear this up was for someone in the IRS to mark the bill as paid. The agent in Texas assured us that it would be taken care of. The bills kept coming so John got back on the phone to the IRS. Again nobody knew where my paperwork was. Again, more hours on hold. This time the papers were in Virginia. We sat there on the phone while the agent was saying, "OK, I have entered your payment as completed. This should take care of it"
The bills kept coming. Finally John said "When we have a problem with the IRS and we can't resolve it, we go thru the Franchise Tax Board, which is a group of lawyers that work for the IRS. They have the ability to straighten this out. The Franchise Tax Board sent me a questionnaire. The first question was "Did you pay the taxes in question?" I noticed about 40 more questions below it. John said to answer the question and we would send it back to them. A month later the questionare came back. They had initialed next to the question I had answered and indicated they wanted me to answer the next question, which was something to the effect of "Do you dispute the fact that you paid this?" The next question was "Do you believe you paid this in error?" I looked at John and asked "Is this going to take a month per question, because there is two pages of them?" He said yes. He then went on to explain that the IRS is the most incompetent orginization he has ever dealt with. He said the IRS auditors don't even know the tax laws. If they audit you they use scare tactics to keep you at bay. He said everytime someone gets a good lawyer to fight them the IRS loses. It takes forever, but they lose.
The attitude is the same at all levels of government. They think they can screw us because so many of us let them. That's what people don't get. IF YOU LET THEM DO IT ONCE IT WILL HAPPEN AGAIN. Stupidity follows the path of least resistance. We run this country. People who tell me not to get upset can go screw themselves because that is the attitude that has got us to where we are now. If you don't want to hold government accountable then leave because you're screwing it up for the rest of us. And if you don't think there is anything wrong, then go back to the start of this nation and think about why our forefathers founded it. This is the sweet land of liberty.
Recently I had a problem with my tax return. The IRS had sent me a bill wanting $15,000 more. I'm not working and this wasn't the first bill they had sent me that I had paid so I told my tax guy to give me a chance to talk to them. I figured if I was going to give them any more money I was also going to give them a piece of my mind. My tax guy just laughed. He said "You do know that you have to spend at least an hour on hold before they even answer the phone. And the last time this happened you remember how much effort it took just to resolve it?"
I did remember. I was dealing with a bunch of incompetent fools with attitudes. Here is what happened. Two days after I filed my taxes I got a huge bill from the IRS which I paid that day. That was over three years ago. But I kept getting notices to pay it. So my tax guy hates me now because he had to call them over 30 times (remember, one hour minimum on hold). Every time he called he had to start over because nobody knew what was going on and I really don't think they cared since they had the money I owed. So my tax guy, John, finally got thru and worked it all out. Or so they said. When the bills kept coming John had to get back on the phone to find out why. My paperwork including payment documentation had vanished. It was in Fresno, Ca. one day and a few days later nobody could find it. Then it showed up in Texas. Now remember, I had paid this so all that needed to be done to clear this up was for someone in the IRS to mark the bill as paid. The agent in Texas assured us that it would be taken care of. The bills kept coming so John got back on the phone to the IRS. Again nobody knew where my paperwork was. Again, more hours on hold. This time the papers were in Virginia. We sat there on the phone while the agent was saying, "OK, I have entered your payment as completed. This should take care of it"
The bills kept coming. Finally John said "When we have a problem with the IRS and we can't resolve it, we go thru the Franchise Tax Board, which is a group of lawyers that work for the IRS. They have the ability to straighten this out. The Franchise Tax Board sent me a questionnaire. The first question was "Did you pay the taxes in question?" I noticed about 40 more questions below it. John said to answer the question and we would send it back to them. A month later the questionare came back. They had initialed next to the question I had answered and indicated they wanted me to answer the next question, which was something to the effect of "Do you dispute the fact that you paid this?" The next question was "Do you believe you paid this in error?" I looked at John and asked "Is this going to take a month per question, because there is two pages of them?" He said yes. He then went on to explain that the IRS is the most incompetent orginization he has ever dealt with. He said the IRS auditors don't even know the tax laws. If they audit you they use scare tactics to keep you at bay. He said everytime someone gets a good lawyer to fight them the IRS loses. It takes forever, but they lose.
The attitude is the same at all levels of government. They think they can screw us because so many of us let them. That's what people don't get. IF YOU LET THEM DO IT ONCE IT WILL HAPPEN AGAIN. Stupidity follows the path of least resistance. We run this country. People who tell me not to get upset can go screw themselves because that is the attitude that has got us to where we are now. If you don't want to hold government accountable then leave because you're screwing it up for the rest of us. And if you don't think there is anything wrong, then go back to the start of this nation and think about why our forefathers founded it. This is the sweet land of liberty.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Can the Blind Lead the People Who Can See?
This is the story of Johnny. Johnny was in elementary school and wasn't good at math at all. He wasn't dumb by any means, he just didn't get numbers. But Johnny was popular with the other students. He had a magnetic personality and kids instantly liked him when they met him. So someone came up with the idea that Johnny should run for class treasurer and all the kids agreed. Of course, Johnny had his eye on class president, but that spot is filled so to get his foot in the door he also agreed.
Every year the class would takes the money it makes from it's carnival and bake sale and use it to pay for a field trip. It has been like this for as long as anyone can remember, even Johnny. As the field trip got closer the kids start asking Johnny where they were going on the field trip. Johnny, being bad at math, wasn't sure how much money he had already spent or how much he had to spend, so he would put off the questions with one excuse or another. He figured that when the time comes if they didn't have enough money then they would have another carnival to make more.
One week before the trip and all the kids wanted to know where the trip was going to take them. Finally, Johnny said "I don't think we have enough money to go anywhere" Johnny was taught how to plan ahead, but apparently he felt this wasn't important enough, even though all of his class had elected him to do just that.
Well, when the class found out Johnny hadn't been doing his job they were all dumbfounded. Any one of them could have done a better job than Johnny because Johnny didn't even try. Johnny knew what he was supposed to do, but he didn't do it. In fact, he never even attempted it. And the class year had just ended so there was no way a carnival could work because everbody had left for summer vacation.
Johnny noticed that nobody else was around, so he helped himself to the rest of the money and went on vacation too. Besides he thought by the time school started again next year everyone will have forgotten what had happened and they would probably re-elect him as treasurer, so he could do it again.
Epilogue:
Johnny never did become good at math. He never learned what a budget does. But he didn't need to. He took his magnetic personality and moved to California where he changed his name to Arnold and ran his own carnival.
Every year the class would takes the money it makes from it's carnival and bake sale and use it to pay for a field trip. It has been like this for as long as anyone can remember, even Johnny. As the field trip got closer the kids start asking Johnny where they were going on the field trip. Johnny, being bad at math, wasn't sure how much money he had already spent or how much he had to spend, so he would put off the questions with one excuse or another. He figured that when the time comes if they didn't have enough money then they would have another carnival to make more.
One week before the trip and all the kids wanted to know where the trip was going to take them. Finally, Johnny said "I don't think we have enough money to go anywhere" Johnny was taught how to plan ahead, but apparently he felt this wasn't important enough, even though all of his class had elected him to do just that.
Well, when the class found out Johnny hadn't been doing his job they were all dumbfounded. Any one of them could have done a better job than Johnny because Johnny didn't even try. Johnny knew what he was supposed to do, but he didn't do it. In fact, he never even attempted it. And the class year had just ended so there was no way a carnival could work because everbody had left for summer vacation.
Johnny noticed that nobody else was around, so he helped himself to the rest of the money and went on vacation too. Besides he thought by the time school started again next year everyone will have forgotten what had happened and they would probably re-elect him as treasurer, so he could do it again.
Epilogue:
Johnny never did become good at math. He never learned what a budget does. But he didn't need to. He took his magnetic personality and moved to California where he changed his name to Arnold and ran his own carnival.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Am I The Only One Left
I'm coming at banks again because a friend of mine said she felt anger coming thur my writing. Am I the only one left who thinks we should all be angry at what just happened to the economy? Come on people! Speak your mind even if your voice shakes!
I'm going to remind you of some of the problems that our banks have caused all of us thur their greed. And people, I'm getting tired of hearing "I can't do anything about it". That's a cop out and if you really think that, then you're right. You can't do anything about it and go read someone else's blog.
Here is the path the banks have put us on:
Thousands upon thousands of hard working middle class Americans have had their house foreclosed on and they and their families have been put out on the street.
Many of those same people have filed for bankruptcy.
Those same people now have to find a place to live, but their credit is in the toilet so nobody will rent to them.
If the same people had a nest egg for retirement or to send their kids to college it is now completely gone.
The bailout is going to cost each of us $30,000
Now maybe you got lucky and avoided most of these. You still lost your nest egg if it was invested. And all of this courtesy of the people who are supposed to be in the business of managing money. But that isn't what upsets me. What upsets me (and it should you) is the fact that the banks are repeat offenders because nobody holds them accountable. Did you know that these same banks that screwed all of us are listed with the Better Business Bureau? Incredible.
Usually by the time we figured out that the banks have screwed us, the economy is in such major turmoil that the priority isn't placing blame and holding accountability, it's can we right this ship before it sinks. And when the dust clears the banks have usually finished recouping their losses and started figuring out how to take more of your money.
I never thought I'd say this but tell me why the government shouldn't take over the banking system? They have demonstrated they can't police themselves and when they don't the results are devastating. And their track record looks like a felons rap sheet.
My retirement is gone. Most people I know have lost almost all of theirs too. Now I wouldn't care if the banks were just sticking it to the rich. But they're not. Why should we work all of our lives just to have the same people make us start all over with nothing every twenty years. I've had it and hell yes I'm pissed. And if your not then loan me $30,000. Or let me steal it from you.
I'm going to remind you of some of the problems that our banks have caused all of us thur their greed. And people, I'm getting tired of hearing "I can't do anything about it". That's a cop out and if you really think that, then you're right. You can't do anything about it and go read someone else's blog.
Here is the path the banks have put us on:
Thousands upon thousands of hard working middle class Americans have had their house foreclosed on and they and their families have been put out on the street.
Many of those same people have filed for bankruptcy.
Those same people now have to find a place to live, but their credit is in the toilet so nobody will rent to them.
If the same people had a nest egg for retirement or to send their kids to college it is now completely gone.
The bailout is going to cost each of us $30,000
Now maybe you got lucky and avoided most of these. You still lost your nest egg if it was invested. And all of this courtesy of the people who are supposed to be in the business of managing money. But that isn't what upsets me. What upsets me (and it should you) is the fact that the banks are repeat offenders because nobody holds them accountable. Did you know that these same banks that screwed all of us are listed with the Better Business Bureau? Incredible.
Usually by the time we figured out that the banks have screwed us, the economy is in such major turmoil that the priority isn't placing blame and holding accountability, it's can we right this ship before it sinks. And when the dust clears the banks have usually finished recouping their losses and started figuring out how to take more of your money.
I never thought I'd say this but tell me why the government shouldn't take over the banking system? They have demonstrated they can't police themselves and when they don't the results are devastating. And their track record looks like a felons rap sheet.
My retirement is gone. Most people I know have lost almost all of theirs too. Now I wouldn't care if the banks were just sticking it to the rich. But they're not. Why should we work all of our lives just to have the same people make us start all over with nothing every twenty years. I've had it and hell yes I'm pissed. And if your not then loan me $30,000. Or let me steal it from you.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
You Have To Support The Troops Even If You're Against The War
Most people don't realize what it takes to serve your country. It a six year chunk out of the prime of your life given completely to your country. Twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, three hundred and sixty five days a year the government owns you lock, stock and barrel. And the government gets their moneys worth. They take you out of your element and in most cases you end up in a foreign country where you don't know anybody except whose in your company. Remember those Christmas days with the family? You better because it's going to be six years before you get your next one. Did you plan on seeing your first child being born? Or being around on your first wedding anniversary? It's not going to happen. And as far as sacrifices go that is just the tip of the iceberg. The government asks the world of our military and the military delivers. It's a complete transformation to go from your senior ball to the combat zones overseas. And one of the hardest things for people in the military to understand is how come they are out there risking their lives and we don't appreciate it.
So if you don't agree with the why, understand that the troops are only following our leaders orders. And only the leaders can change what's happening so don't go out and protest at the recruiting stations and don't burn flags. If you want to have your voice heard, do it without showing discontent in public.
I'm not saying to sit passively by while some president carries out his own agenda. I'm saying after you put that yellow ribbon sticker supporting our troops on your car, sit down and fire a letter or email off to your district representative, senator, congressman and as many people who you think will listen and tell them what you think. These are our sons and daughters lives on the line and while they are out there representing us, we should be doing everything we can to make sure they come back.
So the next time you see some of our troops getting killed in the news, think about whether or not you agree with the reason they are there. Most times our leaders use their heads and don't create senseless wars. But recently they did and they have to hear it from us when they do. It's a small price to pay compared to the price our sons and daughters have to pay.
So if you don't agree with the why, understand that the troops are only following our leaders orders. And only the leaders can change what's happening so don't go out and protest at the recruiting stations and don't burn flags. If you want to have your voice heard, do it without showing discontent in public.
I'm not saying to sit passively by while some president carries out his own agenda. I'm saying after you put that yellow ribbon sticker supporting our troops on your car, sit down and fire a letter or email off to your district representative, senator, congressman and as many people who you think will listen and tell them what you think. These are our sons and daughters lives on the line and while they are out there representing us, we should be doing everything we can to make sure they come back.
So the next time you see some of our troops getting killed in the news, think about whether or not you agree with the reason they are there. Most times our leaders use their heads and don't create senseless wars. But recently they did and they have to hear it from us when they do. It's a small price to pay compared to the price our sons and daughters have to pay.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
We must fix what is broken and here is a start
I came up with this idea when I was, well, I'll tell you how old I was later. The idea is what holds the value here. Most voters know that they're votes don't really mean anything because the districts are already known to vote either democratic or republican. The politicians like it this way because their party retains ownership of the elected position. Unless a scandal puts them in a bad enough light that people get fed up.
With all the voting problems of late (Bush vs Gore, unreadable ballots, etc) a change is needed. I live in California where we set the best example on how stupid politicians can be. The "Sunshine" state has the highest sales tax, the highest price of gas (more sales tax revenue) the highest cost of living, the highest unemployment rate, the highest cost of car registration; everything that directly effects Americans like you and I is in the worst shape in the country. And every year the same morons can't even make a budget. Of course I understand that a budget isn't something that comes up every year so I can see why they have problems (I like sarcasm). So we give them all that money and what do we get in return? Our roads are terrible because every year our politicians (from now on they will be referred to as "morons") take the money meant to repair the roads and use it for something else. And they do this with quite a few of the moneys we allocate for projects. Because they don't even know how to make a budget work. Actually, because they don't care after we elect them. They've got their "insulation"
So here it is:
Have all elections use an 800 number to call in and vote. Your SSN would be your voter ID. Elderly, disabled, and overworked people could simply look at the ballot sheet and press the corresponding number for their selection. I have built 800 number call routing applications and they are very secure. It would save everyone at least an hour an election just because you wouldn't have to drive to the polls and back. There would be no doubt about your choice and if there was a problem for whatever reason, just dial the number again and vote correctly (until 11:59 pm that day). This would remove all voting machines. Also it would facilitate numerous other cost saving benefits. But cost is secondary. Wouldn't you like to know your vote actually counted. The people would have the power again which is how this government was originally supposed to operate.
Because as it is now, politicians have insulated themselves from the people who elected them. You can pretty much count on all of the campaign promises to be forgotten. Once elected, it's all about their agenda. And we're not part of it. But if we implemented a true voting system, politicians couldn't ignore us because the results would be too costly for their careers. We have to do something people. This country was built by the people for the people. Not for a handful of slackers (morons) who see themselves above everyone else.
By the way, I came up with this idea when I was 11 years old.
With all the voting problems of late (Bush vs Gore, unreadable ballots, etc) a change is needed. I live in California where we set the best example on how stupid politicians can be. The "Sunshine" state has the highest sales tax, the highest price of gas (more sales tax revenue) the highest cost of living, the highest unemployment rate, the highest cost of car registration; everything that directly effects Americans like you and I is in the worst shape in the country. And every year the same morons can't even make a budget. Of course I understand that a budget isn't something that comes up every year so I can see why they have problems (I like sarcasm). So we give them all that money and what do we get in return? Our roads are terrible because every year our politicians (from now on they will be referred to as "morons") take the money meant to repair the roads and use it for something else. And they do this with quite a few of the moneys we allocate for projects. Because they don't even know how to make a budget work. Actually, because they don't care after we elect them. They've got their "insulation"
So here it is:
Have all elections use an 800 number to call in and vote. Your SSN would be your voter ID. Elderly, disabled, and overworked people could simply look at the ballot sheet and press the corresponding number for their selection. I have built 800 number call routing applications and they are very secure. It would save everyone at least an hour an election just because you wouldn't have to drive to the polls and back. There would be no doubt about your choice and if there was a problem for whatever reason, just dial the number again and vote correctly (until 11:59 pm that day). This would remove all voting machines. Also it would facilitate numerous other cost saving benefits. But cost is secondary. Wouldn't you like to know your vote actually counted. The people would have the power again which is how this government was originally supposed to operate.
Because as it is now, politicians have insulated themselves from the people who elected them. You can pretty much count on all of the campaign promises to be forgotten. Once elected, it's all about their agenda. And we're not part of it. But if we implemented a true voting system, politicians couldn't ignore us because the results would be too costly for their careers. We have to do something people. This country was built by the people for the people. Not for a handful of slackers (morons) who see themselves above everyone else.
By the way, I came up with this idea when I was 11 years old.
Friday, September 18, 2009
My Thoughts on Unions-The End
If you read part one and two, your probably saying "There has to be some accountability somewhere in the union. If there isn't, why would anybody want it?" The answer is most people don't want it. But the fact of the matter is if you were to try and get rid of the union, you would have to have them decertified, which takes a 2/3 vote. It's illegal to talk to people about it on company property, so to garner support for it you would have to do it off site. Otherwise, it's not going to happen. That's a federal law so prosecution would take place in the Federal Court system.
Unions were good until they became too self serving. One of my pet peeves is people who sell out their friends/co-workers/whoever. But it's a fact of life. I just don't buy into that. But the real factor here is that the people who are in the unions leading up to now have let it get this way. And I'd be a hypocrite if I didn't share some of the blame because I'm still in the union. But I'm trying my hardest to stop them thru their system. And it can be done. Just don't expect any help. But the rest of the employees where I work aren't trying to stop them. They don't value what they have enough to fight for it. So it will continue to be taken from them. And pretty soon, it will all be gone.
This is the same mentality that the banks used to put us in this mess they call our "economy" They rip the hard working folks off, tank the economy, and turn around and demand a bailout. Of course they're going to continue doing it. It's not stealing if nobody enforces the law. The banks have a history of it because the people always end up bailing them out. And it can all be traced back to greed - at The Root of it.
Unions were good until they became too self serving. One of my pet peeves is people who sell out their friends/co-workers/whoever. But it's a fact of life. I just don't buy into that. But the real factor here is that the people who are in the unions leading up to now have let it get this way. And I'd be a hypocrite if I didn't share some of the blame because I'm still in the union. But I'm trying my hardest to stop them thru their system. And it can be done. Just don't expect any help. But the rest of the employees where I work aren't trying to stop them. They don't value what they have enough to fight for it. So it will continue to be taken from them. And pretty soon, it will all be gone.
This is the same mentality that the banks used to put us in this mess they call our "economy" They rip the hard working folks off, tank the economy, and turn around and demand a bailout. Of course they're going to continue doing it. It's not stealing if nobody enforces the law. The banks have a history of it because the people always end up bailing them out. And it can all be traced back to greed - at The Root of it.
My Thoughts on Unions part 2
I need to clarify something. When I said my union was absolutely worthless, I meant my local chapter. USWA Local 1440 out of Pittsburg, Ca. But I'm sure if the abuse is here, then it's "there" too. Protected by Federal laws, the unions have figured out how to manipulate their members thru backdoor deals selling them out at every turn. The only way to prevent it from happening to you is get a papertrail going. And you can count on resistance at every step.
The first four Grievance people I had, well this is the breakdown of what happened when I tried to file four different open and shut grievances that were no brainers.
1) My first Grievance person took my grievance and told me "no problem, I'll take care of this right away" Then after I left he threw my grievance in the garbage like he had been doing with most of the ones he was in charge of.
2) My second grievance and my second Grievance person in six months. He intentionally filled the grievance out wrong because after it's filed, it can't be re-filed so it has to be right the first time.
3) My third grievance, third Grievance person. He flat out told me that he couldn't file my grievance because it would come in between his relationship with my manager. I'm not joking.
4) Fourth grievance, you guessed it, fourth Grievance person. Straight up lied to me and said I didn't have a valid grievance. After I hung up on him he said he was going to kick my ass.
So there it is. In the last two years alone I've had four worthless Grievance people, who get paid basically double for their added "responsibility" and the last thing they care about is what is their job and their responsibility to you as a dues paying union member. You know I'm not done with this one yet.
The first four Grievance people I had, well this is the breakdown of what happened when I tried to file four different open and shut grievances that were no brainers.
1) My first Grievance person took my grievance and told me "no problem, I'll take care of this right away" Then after I left he threw my grievance in the garbage like he had been doing with most of the ones he was in charge of.
2) My second grievance and my second Grievance person in six months. He intentionally filled the grievance out wrong because after it's filed, it can't be re-filed so it has to be right the first time.
3) My third grievance, third Grievance person. He flat out told me that he couldn't file my grievance because it would come in between his relationship with my manager. I'm not joking.
4) Fourth grievance, you guessed it, fourth Grievance person. Straight up lied to me and said I didn't have a valid grievance. After I hung up on him he said he was going to kick my ass.
So there it is. In the last two years alone I've had four worthless Grievance people, who get paid basically double for their added "responsibility" and the last thing they care about is what is their job and their responsibility to you as a dues paying union member. You know I'm not done with this one yet.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
My Thoughts on Unions
My first union job was in the Carpenters Union. It was back in 1988 and unions, at least mine were still an effective method of protecting employees pay and benefits from the greedy companies. Employee abuse was pretty much a non-issue. When you had a problem and your rights were being violated you could take your case down to the union hall and feel confident that the wrongs would be righted with no backlash. I felt like the union dues I was paying was deserving of the people getting it.
Fast forward to now. I belong to the United Steelworkers. My union is absolutely worthless. The union hierarchy are there so they can collect the extra pay given to union officers. From the bottom all the way up is corrupt. It starts with the Grievance people who’s job is to file your grievances and see them thru the grievance process until they ultimately succeed or fail. But if the grievance you filed is valid, and most of them are, then it is going to piss off the manager who violated the collective bargaining agreement. Normally this shouldn’t matter, but the unknown here is that all of management are ex-union employees who sucked up to the company so they could get offered a lucrative management/contractor job.
Right now I’m laid off. We have a “Lean Management” clause in our contract and there are 275 managers and 540 employees. I’ll do the math for you. That’s 1.96 employees for every manager. And only a handful of them know anything about their job. The rest are basically like ticks on a dog. Or leeches.
It’s one thing to pay someone to handle problems for you and not have them do it. It’s an entirely different matter when you pay someone to handle problems and they don’t handle them and in the process actually create more problems. And speak of the devil. My grievance person is calling me. I want to take this. I’ll finish tomorrow.
Fast forward to now. I belong to the United Steelworkers. My union is absolutely worthless. The union hierarchy are there so they can collect the extra pay given to union officers. From the bottom all the way up is corrupt. It starts with the Grievance people who’s job is to file your grievances and see them thru the grievance process until they ultimately succeed or fail. But if the grievance you filed is valid, and most of them are, then it is going to piss off the manager who violated the collective bargaining agreement. Normally this shouldn’t matter, but the unknown here is that all of management are ex-union employees who sucked up to the company so they could get offered a lucrative management/contractor job.
Right now I’m laid off. We have a “Lean Management” clause in our contract and there are 275 managers and 540 employees. I’ll do the math for you. That’s 1.96 employees for every manager. And only a handful of them know anything about their job. The rest are basically like ticks on a dog. Or leeches.
It’s one thing to pay someone to handle problems for you and not have them do it. It’s an entirely different matter when you pay someone to handle problems and they don’t handle them and in the process actually create more problems. And speak of the devil. My grievance person is calling me. I want to take this. I’ll finish tomorrow.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
BofA Aftermath
After watching the events in my previous entry and how shamelessly Bank of America acted I couldn't sit by and not do anything. He was my father so I took up his cause. I contacted 7 On Your Side, which claims to be a consumer rights advocate. The show is aired on a local news affiliate of ABC here in the bay area. After filling out the complaint form I received a call about a week later. The gentleman said he was from 7 On Your Side and he had read my complaint. He then went on to tell me that Channel 7 had reached an agreement with Bank of America not to investigate any complaints involving overdrafts or excessive fees. In exchange, he told me Bank of America had given them an 800 number that people who had complaints about overdrafts or excessive fees could call. He gave me the number and hung up. When I called it, it was the Bank of America online banking number that is better known as "customer support". The same number a customer calls to find out if a check has cleared their account.
So my question is how much "hush" money did it take from Bank of America to buy off the ABC affiliate channel 7?
Integrity is not a four letter word. Don't be ashamed to have some.
So my question is how much "hush" money did it take from Bank of America to buy off the ABC affiliate channel 7?
Integrity is not a four letter word. Don't be ashamed to have some.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Bank of America needs more suckers
Recently my father was diagnosed with terminal cancer. So he decided to take one last trip with my mom on a cruise to Alaska. Before he left he went online to pay a credit card bill. Because he was fresh out of chemotherapy and under medication, he forgot that he had already paid the bill so he paid it again. But he didn't have the money to cover the erroneous payment. Nine days later he left on the cruise unaware that anything was wrong with his checking account. When he returned a week later he found $360.00 worth of overdraft fees mailed to him by Bank of America with no processing date. My dad had banked with Bank of America for 45 years and had his house mortage with them. He had never had a problem that whole time until now. When he went to the bank to try to straighten it out, Bank of America refused to budge except to give him $30 back. Even though Bank of America didn't send the overdraft notices for the first 9 days they said it was all they could do. And these are the people we just gave billions of dollars to after they tried and succeeded in ripping almost 1/3 of the nation off. And they'll do it again because, like I said, we just gave them billions to screw us. We just didn't have to pay until the services had been rendered.
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