The coming financial crisis

[shorebird]

What really pisses me off is that I've been investing in retirement ever since I started working. It's called social security. I've watched my money get pissed away, and experts say there won't be enough left to live on without having a diet of catfood and water. Hell, people collecting it now have a hard enough time living on it without help.

Tell the farging irs to take my social security money and put it in mutual funds, that would be a hell of a lot more than 300 bills every year. shtein, I would be able to retire right now.

[Wingspan]

Stop whining, nancy.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

Tell the farging irs to take my social security money and put it in mutual funds.

Shhhh.  The Democrats would have you believe that privatizing social security is actually MORE risky than the current system.

[ATV]

I refuse to let go of the NFL Sunday ticket.

I did. If Gibbs didn't leave I probably wouldn't have but then again the NFL keeps raising the price. Just like their stadium tickets. They'll take what they can get.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

I refuse to let go of the NFL Sunday ticket.

I did. If Gibbs didn't leave I probably wouldn't have but then again the NFL keeps raising the price. Just like their stadium tickets. They'll take what they can get.

We have something in common.  I also might not invest in the ticket this year.  I still wish you were dead.

[Diomedes]

At the end of the day the difference between privatized social security and government social security isn't much because no matter which one fails, we'll all be left to pick up the pieces just the same.   Just like we are doing now with the housing/energy/credit/Iraq disaster.

There are only 2 real questions regarding privitize vs. government control:  a:should the extremely weathly get richer off managing social security as they run it into the ground, or should the inefficient governement waste those would-be profits on beaurocracy and redundant jobs for club fed workers as they run it into the ground?  And b, a secondary question which might be made moot given the right laws (but which isn't likely):  do you value transparency in the social security system...if so, you will side with government, if not, with the financial industry..

[Father Demon]

Was absolutely planning on getting NFL Ticket this season - and today I saw how much it is.  $269.  Assuming I spend $40 per visit to Buffalo Wild Wings (they have a new manager, and I've talked to him about the last icehole. He assured me he only talks shtein of shtein has been spoken to him - 100% fair), that's almost 7 visits to break even.. I'm going to 2 games in person (hopefully), and assume 3 are on national TV.  That's 5, plus the 7 to break even.  That leaves 4 game to decide if I want the Ticket, and to give up the bar atmosphere and delicious wings.

[Diomedes]

So I'm at a food co-op while visiting my moms last month, and I see a placard at the cash register that says:

Please Consider Cash or Check

Electronic Transaction Costs

Debit Card:   .45 per transaction
Credit Card:   1.8% of sale
Rewards Card:    2.3% of sale
Corporate/Business Credit Card:    3.0% of sale

We paid x,xxx.xx in bank fees last year to process electronic payments.   As your non profit co-op, we want to reduce that payment as much as possible to keep prices down and use our revenue for improved service to our community.

I don't remember how much they paid in bank fees of course, and it doesn't really matter.  It's good co-op, offering all kinds of healthy shtein at reasonable prices (better than Fresh Fields/Whole Foods, etc.), sells a lot of locally grown foods and very little out of season stuff that has to be trucked, etc.  But I digress.  I don't mean to talk about that store.

That placard has stuck in my head.  Holy shtein, the fees the credit card companies charge are outrageous.  I've read about how gas stations are losing money selling gas because their margins are so slim, and the total value of sales have increased so much, that the percentage charge from the bank on credit card transactions actually consumes their profit and then some. 

And bear with me a sec here...it's also true that credit card companies bear NO fraud risk.  If you call and say, these charges aren't mine, they take them off your statement and it's all good.  Except it's not all good...the bank then goes back to the vendor and says, we're taking this money back, it was fraudulent.  Now the vendor/store is stiffed for the goods/services.  They can call the cops of course, but fat chance they can/will do anything about it.

Credit cards are issued to anyone, with interest rates approaching 25%, and minimum payments explicitly designed to keep you from every repaying your balance.

So now that I've railed off a bunch of this, we get to my rather obvious and boring conclusion:

Use cash.  It's good for you, it's good for America, it's good for everyone.  Use cash especially at stores you really like, that have slim operating budgets, at the family owned gas station around the corner.

farg the credit card companies.  It's not enough to pay off your balance every month, they need to be starved of transaction payments too.

[rjs246]

Solid rant.

[Seabiscuit36]

Use creditcards, give me bonuses

Actually, if Visa or Mastercard finds out about that placard, the co-op will lose their debit/credit machines. 

[Wingspan]

Or...if it's so hard for a store or a business to accept other forms of payment...they should put up a sign that says cash only.

[Diomedes]

Actually, if Visa or Mastercard finds out about that placard, the co-op will lose their debit/credit machines. 

interesting...stores aren't allow to publicize the cost of electronic transactions?

Or...if it's so hard for a store or a business to accept other forms of payment...they should put up a sign that says cash only.

yeah, because it's that cut and dried. 

everyone has been scared into thinking cash is dangerous, with no small input from the banks on that front, forever pushing how safe and risk free their cards are, not to mention the banks have done everything they possibly can to make credit cards more and more convenient and acces to cash less and less convenient/more expensive...to the point that if you do not accept credit cards, you can't stay in business.

"tough luck" you would say, I suppose.  yay you

[ice grillin you]

how am i supposed to get all my free eagles stuff if i dont use a credit card

[Wingspan]

It is "tough luck"

You don't care about the gas station owner having to raise their prices to make a profit. But when it's a food co-op that you patronize...then it's cry me a river? ha.

You, sir, are no different than the "me generation" you rail against time and time again.

I never carry any more than $20 in cash any more. And I dont intend to change that. If its so hard for a store to take credit or debit cards, then they should just invoke a minimum purchase, or stop taking them, we don't need a pity party at the register about how much things are costing the store. Especially when the people shopping there are stretching an unemployment check to pay for the gas to even get there.

[ice grillin you]

btw i wanna murder people who still write checks at grocery stores