I just got another unexpected check in the mail. This one was from the car insurance company and was for almost $22 This it the 2nd check that I have received this week and it will be added to the $20 challenge.
However, this has been an expensive month. I spent $600 on vet bills in the past 10 days and my husband went to the chiropractor yesterday for a cost of $215. He has another appointment today and 3 more next week.
I know that I am so lucky to have hardly ever been sick in my life. (knock on wood) I have only ever been to a doctor two or three times since I was a kid.
Prev. total $3856.00
today 22.00
new total $3878.00
Don't you love checks in the mail??
February 20th, 2009 at 02:15 pm
February 20th, 2009 at 04:15 pm 1235146513
February 20th, 2009 at 04:17 pm 1235146633
February 20th, 2009 at 08:19 pm 1235161158
February 20th, 2009 at 10:19 pm 1235168361
February 21st, 2009 at 01:58 am 1235181526
A Modern day “Boston Tea Party”, Americans all over America are pissed and we are not going to take our government’s bad policies and back room decision making anymore. Here is the American publics’ response to government use of taxpayer dollars.
We, the People ask that you act swiftly and without haste, prosecute, all who aided, abetted and prospered in our current economic collapse; to restore the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity--do ordain and re-establish the rules of our Constitution for the United States of America.
We, the people are formally requesting legal actions be taken to restore public trust in banking and government.” Otherwise, Democracy is government by the lowest common denominator. OR TELL ME--How do I renounce my citizenship and stay here as an illegal alien? That way I can skip out on paying taxes and still enjoy what's left of a life I once lead. Bank Behavior + Economic Crisis = TREASON. Your right hand in one of my pockets taking my tax dollars to bail out this industry's gambling addiction, while your left hand is in my other pocket aiding bankers to rip me off with ridiculous credit card interest rates.
The wizards of Government and Wall Street, through their greed and corrupt practices, have given us the people very few options: risk destitution, foreclosure and bankruptcy or save. We've chosen to save. To save, save, save ourselves. This is what the internet is all about!
Put seventy five million and growing, pissed off people with computers at work, and stand back! Our public policies are influenced and our constitution useless, unless, government takes the appropriate legal actions against corporate criminals ordering payment full monetary restitution from those who willing caused our economic demise--SEIZE THEIR ASSETS… America needs a renaissance. Regular Americans need a psychological boost in aiding in America’s recovery. Urging us to spend our money on junk produced in other countries will not work. Investing in our ability to be produce, and, to introduce new ideas and concepts to the world, would be. Here are our voices…
1. Once again, this entire argument can be cleared up by asking the question; "which is more important; people or profit?"
2. The government took away our leverage to negotiate with the banks, and failed to stop them from charging ridiculous interest rates by bailing them out. Some people are paying 30% interest on a credit card balance. On the street that’s called loan sharking and extortion, however, if you get an office, and if you are a banker its business as usual.
3. The banking industry increases rates every time they receive news of government subsidy which furthers their corrupt practices and greed with no government intervention. Today’s interest rates are not low compared to the high risk new buyers would have to take while home buying in an uncertain market.
4. The mortgage interest rates are front and back loaded with points, origination fees and high closing costs. Banking should be better regulated or nationalized since they are utilizing taxpayer money.
5. People should be rioting in the streets over this. What happened to government for the people?
6. Banks are crooked - they took money and immediately raised interest rates so they could make more profits.
7. They Government & Wall Street have their right hand in one of our pockets taking our tax dollars to bail out this industry's gambling addiction, while their left hand is in our other pocket ripping us off with ridiculous credit card interest rates. And their lecturing us about responsibility?
8. Let Citi-Bank and Bank of America fail - enough government bailout - this is not free or fair market capitalism. Its welfare and it is robbery of public wealth, with nothing being returned to the public except more debt payable to China and the Saudis.
9. They should have been allowed to fail, and be shown the same mercy that they show homeowners and credit card holders.
10. We need to all admit that Capitalism FAILED! The credit score system is crooked and is also at the core of the problem.
11. If everyone stopped paying everything, the system would also fail and the industry would be forced to be revamped. Many people are now considering NOT paying their mortgages, quitting their jobs, to get their "entitlement" of the bailout.
12. The problem is the people attempting to correct our problems are wealthy men related to the stock market and banking. They know of no other way to deal with a system failure. We need some people off the street, working people, people from factories and construction workers that understand the masses and what they are going through.
13. Americans Perhaps we are looking at this the wrong way. Instead of treating us like bankers, perhaps we should be treating bankers like the rest of us. Let's see...no money, no job, no credit, and for some, no home. Not people, just accounting entries and dollars.
14. With More pacification talk from the Ivy League geniuses who did not see the demise of their own industry coming. Enough of these overpaid, self important, corporate welfare recipients. Harvard and Yale have produced some most ethically bankrupt Americans.
15. Give the large amounts given to the banks etc., to the American people and they will start spending it and our economy will respond. America needs a renaissance. Regular Americans need a psychological boost in aiding in America’s recovery. Urging us to spend on cheap junk produced in other countries is not it. Investing in our ability to be creative and to introduce new ideas and concepts to the world would.
16. The lending organizations that made the loans and mortgages to people-- that they should have known would not be able to pay it back, make them eat the loans. Bring the credit card interest rates down to 3 or 4 % where they should be.
17. The movement of funds in America is generated from Wall Street—stocks, banking--insurance interests-- to politicians, and then to influence public policy. Chains you can believe in.
18. Con-artistry and taking full advantage of the ignorance and inabilities of others is an American tradition.
19. They will say whatever to continue to fraud. None of these people CARE about anything except money. Our government has little or no clue what most heads of financial companies do nor do they have the guts to do anything about it when it is fraud.
20. From the top of our government down, is out of touch with the lifestyle of the middle class. They allowed lenders to shove these bad loans through as fast as they could get signatures. There need to begin to putting some of them in jail. Appraisers, real estate agents, real estate brokers, lenders of all types, and investment bankers make up the group who stole from people by selling them a dream fronted with lies.
21. Social change never happens until the "bellybutton touches the backbone" and so it goes and so it will be with this nation. Those who are caught between the con-artists and the laws which are designed to protect them sooner or later rebel through violence and many other kinds of civil unrest which, of course, is resisted by those who can afford to use force to quell the unrest.
22. Americans in general are far too ignorant and far too cowardly to ever rebel legally or otherwise until, now through financial revolution.
23. Bank Behavior + Economic Crisis = TREASON (1. the offense of acting to overthrow one's government or to harm or kill its sovereign. 2. a violation of allegiance to one's sovereign or to one's state. 3. the betrayal of a trust or confidence; breach of faith; treachery). And, banks are still engaging in treasonous behavior by raising interest rates on credit cards, mortgages, cars, etc. during the economic crisis they created. Government stop giving them power by giving them our money to use.
24. The US government and the banks have been in bed together all along. They are interdependent. It's a symbiotic relationship. When the banks fail, the government fails. If you are a politician, you don't want the big banks to fail because this debt ridden country will fail. It’s the house of cards we all support through consumerism. Stop buying for you are sealing your own financial coffin and giving them license to abuse us.
25. Proof $45 million in government money to retrain investment bankers, traders and others who have lost jobs on Wall Street, as well as provide seed capital and office space, for, new businesses those laid-off bankers might create.
26. Perhaps we are looking at this the wrong way. Instead of treating us like bankers, perhaps we should be treating bankers like the rest of us. Let's see...no money, no job, no credit, and soon, no home.
27. Is this a surprise to anyone? Our private banking cartel isn't finished bankrupting the middle class and system yet. And, the poor--just keep pushing them down until they become homeless and die on our streets. We only need two classes in America anyway as far as the American politicians are concerned…they are a drain on our system unless they are foreign born poor—then, they are entitled to a good life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, at American taxpayers’ expense.
28. Notice how there was no problem AND government intervention until the rich started to be threatened. Once that happened we started seeing phrases like "TOO BIG TO FAIL".
29. Flawed thinking has been on full display in the way we have approached the foreclosure crisis -- particularly the notion that we can postpone dealing with the crisis while we focus our attention (and hundreds of billions of dollars) on saving Citi, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo.
30. The public interest -- people being able to keep their houses -- is not aligned with the banks' interest. Banks don't want to adjust nonperforming mortgages down to their actual current value because it would lead to marking down the value of the massive asset pools they have rolled the mortgages into.
31. With banks being essential for the economy to function, the government is allocating a lot of money to protect them from collapse. The recession was caused by – treasonous greedy bankers--let’s call it as it is - pyramid scheme lending sprees, which are affecting everybody.
32. The biggest losers are the American people, democracy and the American way of life. We were made promises to win elections. All awhile your bills are mounting up, your mortgage is upside down and you have no savings. Living in a shelter, credit in the toilet and flat screen TV in a pawn shop or on the curb. But your President urges you to buy more junk.
33. To refinance your mortgage you would need a job, closing costs and financial closing fee money unless you are 5% upside down. If you are more than 5% upside down, barely making the mortgage now where do you get the money needed? Stick up the banker who first ripped you off?
34. We are disgusted, sad, disappointed, and flat out insulted by what we are hearing and reading about all these bailouts except ours. If our president wanted us to be able to refinance our mortgages he should have sent us, out, a bailout check to be able to do so.
35. It's about time, our voices are heard because we are sick and tired of all this. Although, I'm happy some of the money will be helping some of us now. There is a saying, too little too late.
36. Here is another thought about Obama"s mortgage bailout plan. It is so small, and helps so few people; it isn’t really a bail out at all. Those who do qualify will have to run a gauntlet of qualifications and paperwork
37. Current Available Economic Fixes: No. 1: Increase the capital gains and dividends taxes for higher-income taxpayers, No. 2: Eliminate all oil and gas tax loopholes, No. 3: Eliminate capital gains taxes for small businesses and start-ups, 4: Expand the earned income tax credit, No. 5: Require publicly traded financial partnerships to pay corporate income tax, No. 6: Close loopholes in the corporate tax deductibility of CEO pay, No. 7: Create a retirement savings tax credit for low incomes, No. 8: End income tax for seniors making less than $50,000. No. 9: Repeal the Bush tax cuts for higher incomes. No. 10: Phase out exemptions and deductions for higher earners. No. 11: Make the top players complicit in the economic demise of America, liquidate, their assets as repayment to bring down the deficit. These would have made more sense to be economic stimulus and to help bring down national debt.
38. We were promised transparency but both houses of congress were asked to vote on the largest economic bill in history, without, us, the people, having a chance to read or respond to what’s in the final version. The reason there was nothing in it for us. We would have been outraged if we had seen it before signed. The bait and switch. Promises of relief, but reality it is about keeping the system that is abusing ordinary Americans alive.
39. Recent data showing just how sharply growth in the U.S. and elsewhere has declined in the final months of 2008 have cast a deepening shadow over 2009.
40. Increases in shelters are being reported across the country.
41. Homelessness: Is now the Family Portrait.
42. JOBS: White collar jobs have been replaced by blue collar ones for American workers. Stimulus jobs are government, construction and teacher's union, you are on your own. We were promised 4 million new jobs but now that might be all in "saved" jobs.
43. ILLEGAL ALIENS HAVE BEEN GIVEN MORE RIGHTS THAN AMERICAN CITIZENS IN THAT STIMULUS BILL. IT IS ESTIMATED THAT 300,000 OF THOSE JOBS WILL GO TO ILLEGAL ALIENS WITH NO SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS NEEDED TO GET A JOB.
44. Americans check construction job sites and put pressure on any employing illegal aliens or undocumented (NON TAXPAYING) immigrants. YOU PAY NO TAXES YOU GET NO RIGHTS!
45. MEXICO WON HUGE. THINK… IT CONDONES MAKING HIRING ILLEGAL ALIENS AS LEGITMATE...THERE IS AMNESTY INCLUDED IN THE STIMULUS BILL. THIS WAS A HUGE WIN FOR THE HISPANIC CAUCUS.
46. Remember to vote all incumbents out EVERY election cycle—to reshuffle the deck, whoever, they are, and, whatever party. Don't let this go unchecked. Our government (system) is the problem. We must crash the system for our own country’s future survival and for benefit of the taxpaying people.
47. There is something disturbing about media suggestion of unquestioned allegiance to consumerism and government backed bullsh*t, its cult like.
48. SO WE THE CITIZENS HAVE STARTED A FINANCIAL REVOLUTION, and decided to stop patronizing corporations and save our money, to collapse the system of the elite! More power to us! Keep on fighting people, for it is working.
49. We have reduced our spending (to only what we NEED, not what we want) because we NEED our own money more than traitorous US corporations WANT it. We have no loyalty to corporate America because they have no loyalty to us or our fellow citizens. Guess what ...
50. Consumers have cut back sharply on food spending, shunning restaurants, opting for generic products over brand names, trading in lattes for home-brewed coffee and shopping for bargains. "Congress has done a great job of killing the ECONOMY AND PROTECTING CORPORATE businesses”.
51. Things Are In Our Favor: Retail Sales… Don’t Start a Recovery. The buck stops here and now with us.
52. U.S. household wealth appeared to have plummeted in 2008 in the face of falling values for stocks and homes.
53. The government is responsible for the root cause of this mess. It drove up consumerism and promoted the financial industry—and distorted mortgage risk on a national scale. Private corporations simply DO NOT work for public good. They look for maximum profits at any costs. These same government-corporate partnerships subverted our republic and brought us TARP the biggest give-the-rich a party legislation in history. It was Wall Street companies who conceived an economy built on debt, along, with public policy and enlisted an army of felons, tax evaders, liars, cheaters, imposters, extortionist, and smooth talkers. With the economy slaughtered they lobbied government into cooperation, to act as mortgage brokers making them complicit in using our money and passing the bad debt onto taxpayers.
54. What doesn't work capitalism? It promotes radical inequality, worship of greed and money, preying on the ignorant masses that just buy into the agenda of the wealthy elite, and encourages monopolies that pose as competitive enterprises.
55. The average guy has woken to the fact that the last round of raises, the ruling elite gave itself – it did so, on the average guy’s back. Outsourcing jobs to foreign workers—encouraging the jobs being offered to foreign workers as being low paying jobs. Sure tech support and customer service jobs are low paying to the elite. Have you called your bank for customer service or for tech support for a consumer product lately to reach India whose middle class has grown as a result of these low paying jobs? Your president is a liar.
56. Reducing our medical benefits, freezing and curtailing pension plans. Obstructing unemployment benefits. Massive layoffs and stealth wage reductions through the increased use of part-timing. And, lending for everything: payday, credit cards, medical & dental care, cars, houses – and college education - at usurious rates.
57. The average guy is not outraged because Tom Daschle made five million dollars. He’s outraged because the money came by the increasing of his co-payments, reducing his flexibility in selecting doctors, raising his credit card interest rates, denying his legitimate medical claims, fazing out his job or outsourcing to cheaper labor, and of inflating his home value and charging him three times what it worth as a loan with interest; over taxing, then giving tax credits, cuts and rebates as false pacification.
58. Changing presidents or congressional members doesn’t change the lives of average Americans. True change can only come from the American people through what we choose to support or not support. Three quarters of the American GDP is based on consumerism. American people buying things. Stop buying and you will see the change we are seeking. The banks got billions and the American people got $13 a week. Throw up your middle finger at government by stopping consumerism. Purchase only the things you need.
59. Americans, we are nowhere near angry enough, time to up the ante. We have to continue organizing protests. Get together our masses--of the newly unemployed, students, and those concerned who may have never been given a chance as productive citizens; get together to protest on Wall Street, in front of the White House, and on the National Mall. On Capital Hill, at our Congress member’s district offices, and in front of all the corporations that received taxpayer money.
60. Only, when we take our emotion, energy, and organization to the streets, in a non-violent manner will our politicians get the message. They won’t be able to get to work because they will have to get through us first, therefore, we cannot be ignored. They will see the same people on the way in, as they will see on the way out. Every election give them their pink slips by voting them out.
61. Remember during the protest period, to continue to save your money. Do not spend it! If you must spend it; spend it very wisely.
62. Many Americans are angry about how cavalier those in Washington appear to be about their own sense of entitlement and their total obliviousness to the plight of many of us who used to feel secure about calling ourselves middle class and American citizens.
63. Americans, we cannot simply under react. Keep speaking out in OUTRAGE.
64. The Great American Con-Job is government and corporate businesses. Citizens we are being rolled by our own government.
65. Whoever is in office be it Democrat or Republican makes no different. American government is about keeping the system going. The system is for the elite; corporate America, our elected officials and keeping capitalism alive. The masses of people are inconsequential and expendable at every level, until now.
66. DIG IN DEEPER PEOPLE its working…ignore media and government’s cries—of, we will create jobs and put you all back to work to spend.
67. Make them feel your pain each time they have to struggle to make the national budget work they will KNOW how you feel EACH MONTH trying to make your money work in tough economic times. And, the money is there, with all the tax breaks the wealthy and corporations get, they could close those LOOPHOLES and bring down the national debt. Translation: They want to continue riding our backs, to feed the system. You know how it goes…they need THE MASSES, us, to help, the rich get richer.
68. AGAIN, Americans, we are nowhere near angry enough, time to up the ante. TAKE THE (NON VIOLENT) FIGHT DIRECTLY TO THEM.
American people while the old way of “storming the fort” was applicable in that day and age to signal revolt, this is modern America’s way, by us staging a “financial revolution”. Not buying into the consumerism that keeps THEM from rolling us.
We have seen our annuities shrink by tens of thousands of dollars, and likewise, the value of our homes. Of course we are not spending. We may never spend. One reason is that we are so ANGRY at the corporations. We are tired of being subjected to social engineering every time we enter a store, tired of cheap junk merchandise from China, tired of our government being bought instead of representing us, tired of the government being taken over by armband religion, tired of our healthcare, tired of lousy schools that are unaffordable, tired of bailouts which is really nothing but more robbery of the people, specifically, the middle class.
We have no representation, no free press, and no recourse of any kind, except, not spending. So, by golly, we are not spending. It's practice for when we won't be able to spend anyway, because the government will end up with every last cent that we ever earn anyway and they just give it away freely to Wall Street as bailouts while they make us beg for help like the lady in Florida.
Note: All citizen bailout is back ended…we will do something for you, after, you do something for the system (FILE YOUR INCOME TAXES & pay taxes). Whereas bank bailouts are cash infusions and front end (no documents needed).
Congress, American government, consider yourself notified. Americans are no longer “buying” the swampland, of buy, buy, buy, or, consume, consume, consume. It is now save, save, save ourselves. Unless you start infusing capital directly to the American people to help bail us out, to get us through this depression, expect it to go on for as long as it takes, to bring down the system of the elite. You left us no other recourse. We are no longer going along with the program (stimulus, relief, bailout, TARP or whatever you decide to call the next “chump change” pacification); you heard it, first, from us…
February 21st, 2009 at 04:49 am 1235191786
They're trampling your blog, Ima Saver!