Just Eliminate the Aisle?
The last presidential election held in this country was historic and for many reasons. This time many young voters and many people who have never voted or haven’t voted in a long time, joined in the election balloting.
The turn out at the polls was great, but there was more to it than that. There was a feeling in the air that something different in government was about to happen and I’m not talking about any of the historic facts that president Obama carries along with his presidency.
What I’m talking about is the feeling that was felt by most everyone. The spirit that was in the air, unlike most other presidential elections. The feeling that the old way of governing things above peoples heads and behind their backs was coming to an end. It felt like the government is actually ran by the voting citizens again and that the elected officials were going to be there to do what the public wanted them to do, not what big business wanted.
It actually felt that president Obama was an independent party and not a Democrat or a Republican. The feel was in the air, that it was going to be time to stop all of the party fighting and bickering on every issue that ends up on the table and come together across the aisle as leaders, to do what was best for the most people involved regarding every issue. (You can’t please all the people all of the time.)
The time to throw out the aisle and the party lines and all the trouble they cause in politics was upon us. It was time for a president that was able to get everyone together on the issues as the elected representatives they are and not the bought out, my party is better than your party idiots they frequently appear to be.
Face it, the old two party system used to work but now all it does is hinder the actual lawmaking process more than help it. It’s time to change from something that is broken, and unrepairable because of all the hands that have contributed financially to it’s meltdown and institute a new system in it’s place.
We need to get that feeling that was in the air back. We run the government and it’s not supposed to be the other way around as it is now. We need to throw out the electoral college and the two party system we have now and just strip everyone of any party at all. No more party lines at all, Period.
That would put our elected officials in there because the people want them and free their hands on important matters, so they don’t have to vote a certain way just because their party got a huge donation for their campaign from some big businesses, that want things ran a certain way.
Lets free our bought out lawmakers from having their hands tied by a party or big business and make them all independents. All of their campaign funds would be budgeted into the annual budget and the lump sum would be divided equally to all who decided to run. That’s all they would have and they would have to make the best campaign out of the equal funds they would get.
The publics real vote would be the deciding vote. No more of this winning the popular vote and still losing the election. We the people would now elect them the way it should be, by all those who choose to vote.
Once they were in office, all they would have to concentrate on is doing the best job they can. No more worries about aisles and party lines and payola by big business. This would put that old spirit back in the air for a long time, and who knows, maybe things would actually get done properly for once.
Anybody else think it’s time for a change?
Bankruptnooption.
A Crockpot and a Crockpot Cookbook can Save You Cash.
Here at MoneysTight., we try different things on occasion and lately along with trying, we have been talking with people who use crock-pots to cook a lot of meals.
If you are not a big fan of having something cook your meal while you are out, than the key for you is practice on the weekends when you have time to watch it cook and learn exactly what it takes to start it in the morning, so you will be able to let it go until evening. That is part of the joy and freedom of cooking with a crock-pot.
Get a mid range priced pot for starters and make sure it’s as large as you can go. Always buy American and from a brand name manufacturer.
Once you have a crock-pot & cookbook and you have practiced enough meals on several weekends, than you can use it while you are gone and come home to a good home cooked meal every day if you want.
The main thing you want to make sure of, is that you leave it set on low or simmer and you want to add enough water to the bottom or juices to your broth so that it doesn’t dry out and burn the food over an extended period of time.
The great thing is that it will save you money over using a large oven for a couple of hours and it’s much easier.
There is such a wide variety of dishes and meals you can make and depending on the size of your crock-pot and your family, you may even get two meals out of one. That’s a savings in itself.
So if you want to save some money from the old utility bill, check out some of the recipes and give it a try. You save money and eat good food at the same time and that doesn’t sound to bad at all.
Bankruptnooption.
Happy Groundhog Day
Well even though it’s been a tough year for most of us, the old hog is doing well.
Three squares a day, someone cleans up after him and he still has a place to live.
Whether he see’s his shadow or not you know the story. So cheer up, we made it this far and the deep freeze is almost over. That is good news for all the homeless in the north of the country who didn’t make it south for the winter.
So you go groundhog!
Bankruptnooption.
For Those Who Care.
You know, there are many people who haven’t been affected in a single way during this recession, for them it’s blinders on and business ahead as usual. Great. However, some of them will never see what is really happening to millions of Americans out here, because they just don’t get it and just don’t care how anyone is doing besides themselves.
But to the individuals who are unaffected and still yet manage to see exactly what other people are going through, I commend you for not going through life in your own little world like the ones that still don’t get it. You are the true caring citizens of the United States of America who make it all happen. Without your recognition of just how bad it is, there would be no one left that really cares just what happens to many fellow Americans, no matter what race or class they are in. I applaud You.
Bankruptnooption.
The New Displaced Workers Guidebook (Michigan) is Out
Well, apparently there is someone in Michigan that does see what is going on and wanted to help. The Dean of the House of Representatives, John Dingell had a displaced workers guide on his site, listing many ways to find help in Michigan.
Problem was, unless you visit his site regularly, most people who are loosing or lost their job will never ever know the guide exists. I never did and I wish I had known about it when I was laid off for 14 months! Well it does exist and it has been revised.
The New displaced Workers Guidebook ( for Michigan) is now available and is like the encyclopedia of “Where is What” for anyone loosing or who has lost their job.
Moneys Tight. is here to let the country know about things like this. That’s why we are here. We spread the word to you and you pass it on. So pass this on to anyone you know who is down right now and needs a little help.
Thanks Mr. Dingell for helping people when they can use it the most.
I would like to see some of the other states representatives step up to the plate for their citizens who need help badly also. If anyone knows of resources for other states such as this then by all means let us know so we can get the word out to those who need it.
Click the following link to get to the Guide and remember to let anyone who you think may need it, know it is here for them, thanks to the Honorable John D. Dingell. He’s one representative that knows we are all in this together folks!
Click — The New Displaced Workers Guide.
We will add it to the GET HELP page so it’s easy to refer to.
Awrey’s Bakery Celebrates 100 years
Happy Birthday to Awrey’s bakery in Livonia Michigan.
People, Awrey’s has been baking sumptuous goodies since I was a kid and they are still going. They are one of the companies similar to Sander’s and Vernor’s (two other great MI companies) that developed recipes for what they make and have consistently followed those recipe for years.
They know how to bake and they make some of the best baked goods this side of the US.
If you ever see anything on your local baked goodies rack that says Awrey’s on it, you know it’s gonna be good!
I know times are tough, but now my question to Awrey’s and all other successful businesses out there is, what are you going to do to show customer appreciation for all of the years your loyal customers have been buying your products.
You see Mr. Business men and women, just having loyal customers is not enough. If you show them in some regular way that they are loyal customers and that you care about them, than you will retain them for life and not only them, but their children as well and your business will thrive from generation to generation.
There’s more to business than meets the eye!
Bankruptnooption.
Haiti – Donate to the Red Cross
Just imagine sitting in the hot sun with dirty crying people all around you. You sit and sit because you have nothing left that you owned but the clothes on your back. Your bed is now a park or a street filled with hundreds of strangers in the same situation as you.
No food, no pillow, no water, no bed except a piece of scrap cardboard pulled from the rubble. Your bathroom is anywhere you can find a space that isn’t near anyone else and totally visible by everyone.
Hunger and thirst start to set in day after day as you hear people constantly fighting for some scraps they found in the rubble. Someone near you offers a little corner of a slice of bread they stole from someone else because they can see that you are starting to get weak.
Deadly fights for anything that is edible or drinkable are the norm now and you don’t have the strength left to fight. You just go over to where the fight took place to look for something edible that may have dropped to the ground during the last fight.
Life has stopped and now you just sit with people you befriended and wait for some help to arrive. All the while looking at a backdrop of death surrounding you, unable to escape the smell of rotting flesh that lingers in the breeze.
One can only imagine what those poor people are going through.
Send every cent you can, to a reputable charity that has pledged to help the victims of the Haiti Earthquake. They surely need it.
Set up a Simple Budget, it’s Your Money!
I was always someone who was dead set against what some people call budgeting. I think that was mostly because I was younger and just didn’t realize the importance of setting one up.
I had more money than bills at that point in life and I just didn’t care about finances. But now that I have a lot more years under my belt and have all of the bills and things that other people do, I realize that a budget isn’t something you make up to limit your spending. A budget is something you make up to be sure that you spend wisely and to let you know where you stand as far as your bills, other debts and savings are concerned. (You can opt to leave out any savings items from your budget if you want to, just don’t write any of them down. Simply take any extra cash each month and save or spend it like normal.)
So let’s get a spiral and make up a quick budget sheet you can use for every month of every year, to let you know at a glance where you stand financially for the month. This will enable you to save more and be able to afford more things that you want.
Let’s start by creating a spending sheet for your spare cash. You will only make one of these when you need to figure out what things you can eliminate from your spending, to give you extra cash to get the things that you want. You can even use it to figure out how much you spend in a month on a particular item, such as groceries, or clothes if you are not sure how much to budget every month for things like those.
Just label a page “Spare Cash” and every time you spend money write down what for and how much. Do this whenever you need to figure out just how much you average each month for an item. (To get an average, just add the monthly totals together for the item you are figuring, and then divide that total by the number of months you added up.) That is your average monthly amount that you spent for the item. Put down on this page everything you bought down to the penny, use several pages if you have to, and you will quickly see after a couple of months, just where all the spare money you have left after paying your bills, is actually going.
Someone I knew did this and found out that the candy bar he bought ever day after lunch, could easily pay for his cable TV bill! He quickly gave up the candy to pay for the cable and he also lost weight by doing so. A Doubleheader!
You will be surprised to see just how much money you spend on things and may even end up with more money than you ever thought you would have, just by finding and then cutting out a few unnecessary items.
Once you have done this until you are satisfied that you know where your extra cash is going, we can now start to keep a budget. (You can actually skip the “Spare Cash” part and get straight to the budget if you want. But if you are ever wondering where all that extra money you may have each month is actually going, then make one up. It’s a real eyeopener!)
Now take one page and write the month and year across the very top. Draw a line down the middle of the lined section. On the top line to the left, label it “Income“. List all of the income you expect to earn after taxes for this month. As close to the penny as you can figure. Every dollar you know you will earn or get from somewhere or someone to bring home to spend this month. Total up this column.
On the right top line label it “Expenses and Savings“. This is the column where you will list every expense you will have for the month or anything you are saving for each month. Put your bills first. Every bill that will be due during this month and some of these you may have to estimate until the bill comes in. It could also be something you want to spread out over a long period of time and make monthly payments on. (Like a loan from a friend or a tax bill due in three months. Figure out how much you want to save every month for each item and write those down also.) Everything you will spend or save money for in a month gets labeled and has an amount in this column.
From bills, to food and clothing, to lunches and movies, to bank savings accounts and investments. If you plan to spend money on it or save for it, than it gets labeled with an amount in that column. Just remember to list the important “have to pay” items like bills first and then the “adjustable” ones like movies or vacation funds, or new sheets or clothing expenses, or savings accounts near the end. Use the back of the page or more pages if needed.
When doing your budget, you can choose only to include the major items, if your the type of person who doesn’t sweat the little things and just spends pocket cash for movies, gasoline and such, or you can include everything you will put out money for and budget down to the penny! It’s up to you but even if you only include the have to pay expenses, at least you know if you are covered for those!
Once you have the total amount for everything you spend or save for in a month, including all of your bills, rent, car payments, utility’s, cable, food, clothing, gas, lunches, doughnuts, movies, bowling, pop, new sheets, tools, work clothes, savings accounts, IRA’s etc., than you can figure out just where you stand financially for the month. So total this column, now.
Now Subtract the total of the “Expenses and Savings” column from the total of the “Income” column and this will give you a total dollar amount that you will be either short or over your “Expenses and Savings” for the month. This is an important number to know. It tells you whether or not you can afford everything you listed in the “Expenses and Savings” column for that month or if you have to hold off spending money on something until next month.
Learn to adjust the dollar amount for “adjustable” items listed near the bottom of the “Expenses and Savings” column for each month. You can put in things that you are saving for every month, like an expensive vacation and adjust that amount to be less or more every month to cover other bills if needed. You can make an extra column after the amount budgeted for each item, (savings or bills) and use it to keep a running total of how much you have saved or spent for each item. This way you will know when you will afford the item or how much you spent on something so far and your budget now becomes a Spending and Savings record log also.
Budgets are great because they actually put you in control of your money. If you have enough money for all the necessary things after eliminating the “adjustable” things, than you are doing good. But if you are short on paying a few bills for the month, than you can use it along with your “Spare Cash” page to figure out just what you can cut out so you can pay those bills.
When dealing with creditors it’s a handy tool to let you know just what you can afford as far as a reduced payment is concerned. Deal with your creditors and tell them your whole story and they may very well cut you some slack, especially if you know just what you can afford to pay them without getting behind on all your other bills.
If you get laid off and start to collect unemployment (make sure you have them take taxes out of your check) then redo your budget with the new income figures and see just what else you can eliminate in order to get by on the lower amount.
Remember, budgeting is nothing more than putting a jar on the table for each thing you will spend money on or save money for during that month and then taking all of your money and filling up the jars as needed. The only difference is that you are writing the jars on paper and writing in the money, that’s it!
Putting your finances on paper like this every month will help you control your money and why not control it, after all it’s yours isn’t it!
You can even get generic budget books at office supply stores or make your own custom pages with everything you need on them and have them copied so all you have to do is put in the amounts for each month. Make sure to leave a little extra space in the columns for any extra items that may crop up. Copy a dozen or more for each year and you will be set to spend your money wisely!
HOT TIP. If you are having trouble with several bills being due close together, than call each company and explain ( to a manager ) how all the bills due at once is hard for you and ask them to adjust their due dates so they will be all be spread out during the month, if you need to.
Bankruptnooption.
Economic Figures. Are We in a Third World Country?
Well there are economic figures that have been in for a while now and figuring something good to write about them is not possible. So here goes nothing.
The national unemployment rate is over 10 percent. The unemployment rate now is higher than 12 percent in California and greater than 15 percent in Michigan. The Department of Agriculture has done some research and found that nearly 50 million Americans struggled at some point in 2008 to get enough to eat.
There are more than 40 million Americans who are officially living in poverty. For 2008, the poverty threshold for a single person under age 65 was an income of $11,201, or less than $1,000 a month. For a family of four, the threshold was $21,834. For a family of six, $28,769.
40 million people out of every man woman and child is nearly 13% of all US residents who are living in poverty. Now if you take the number of people who have job incomes, (every working person in America) and divide that number by 40 SORRY I AM INTERRUPTING THIS REPORT FOR THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. I have just tried to find the total number of working people in America, which sounds very simple, but I have searched through several search engines along with many Government sites leaving me mad and without the necessary data to continue.
EVEN if 13 % of all people is only halfway close to being true, that puts us in a third world category.
I have nothing more to comment on this except wages are consistently dropping and raises are fewer and farther between, unless you just happen to be in one of the lending institutions that caused this whole mess, then you are doing good.
I would like to see someone make up one of those perpetual time clocks that tells the new number of those living in poverty every minute of the day, I bet it would make the headlines and will be many years before we will see the numbers actually go down instead of up!
Sad America, I thought Obama was supposed to be the new change and get everything running on a fair and just playing field again? Anyone seen it yet? Well I guess there is still time before the next election.
Bankruptnooption.
Be Wise and Organize
We all have a lot going on in our lives and sometimes the paperwork that goes with everything can become very disorganized and overwhelming, especially if we are really busy.
After you lose a job is an especially good time to be wise and organize your personal business. Even without loosing a job, most of us could use a good system to help us out with all the paperwork of life. So help yourself out by getting all the paperwork in your life organized right now, while you have the time to do so.
Go out and buy a good box of 100 security envelopes, plus stamps for all, 100 large and small paperclips, one black sharpie marker, a couple dozen different colored two pocket file folders, a dozen perforated 8 1/2 x 11 spiral writing pads 100 pages each and a couple blue and black pens and a couple of pencils with erasers. Get a small calendar for this year and next year also. A small stapler and staple remover would be nice too. Now don’t go haywire here, just get what you can afford right now and gather the rest later. You may already have some of these items and the rest can be gotten at a good dollar store.
Once you have your items, find a small box, or a little shoe box for the little things and then find a bigger box to keep everything in. Everything should fit in the big box neatly with room to spare and you should be able to just reach in and get what you want. Your folders and spirals should fit standing up inside the box next to each other, like they were standing up on a bookshelf. That is where you will keep them also. Make sure the box has several extra inches in it next to the folders. They will fill up fast and get pretty thick. That’s why you need the extra room. If they become to heavy you can separate them into smaller boxes, just remember to keep them all in one place.
You now have a portable office and file storage system that can go anywhere you go. Keep the top closed when not in use and label the top with your sharpie marker in big bold letters with something silly like “old magazines” or “extra packing beads” just to keep the nosy people out.
Now lets start by labeling the folders as follows; Important Papers, Old Work, Job Search, Interview, New Work, All Unemployment, Regular Bills, Credit, Mortgage or Lease, Taxes, Home Maintenance, Auto Repair, and any other categories you have to deal with also. That will be a good start.
Also label the pads as follows; Daily Notes #1, The Budget #1, Job Search Notes #1, Remember To Do #1.
What you are doing by doing this, is you are setting yourself up for the best comeback into the working world you could possibly have, whether you just lost your job or loose it in the future.
This way you will be organized and ready for all the things that are thrown at you when you need them and without the hassle of having to dig and search for all the information you will be required to have for those requesting it from you.
Now let’s look over all the categories we labeled things and how we will use them to our advantage. After going through these and adding in some of your own, you should be set up with everything you need to handle all of your personal business transactions on a daily basis. Without wasting a lot of time on your part looking for papers you need on a regular basis, either. This gives you much more time to use for finding a job, spending time with your spouse or kids or whatever you need it for.
Everyone always says their should be more hours in a day, and by doing this you may even end up with a little extra time to spend on yourself.
Important Papers: They are any deed, document, diploma, birth certificates, certificates, adoption papers, marriage license, divorce decries, custody papers, licenses, lease, title, loan papers, IRA papers, contracts, insurance contracts, stock portfolios, passports, or anything else you have along these lines that would be a pain to get a copy of. Something official and legal that shows proof of something. Simple as that. You should have at least one or two copies of each item for that folder and the originals should be kept locked away in a safe place where you can get them if you need to show an original. NOTE… NEVER SEND OR GIVE AN ORIGINAL OF ANY PAPERS YOU HAVE TO ANYONE! NOT EVEN THE POLICE OR GOVERNMENT! DOING THAT PROMOTES IDENTITY THEFT! GIVE THEM A COPY ONLY AND MAKE SURE YOU ARE POSITIVE OF WHO IS REQUESTING IT!
Old Work: These are all of the papers you have brought home from your current or former place of employment. Forms, certificates, insurance copies, health and benefit information, 401k papers, and anything else you have collected over the years you worked for them.
Job Search: Any papers you collect from looking for a job. Keep your contacts, your notes, lists of places you applied to and anything else you write down daily while looking for a job.
Interview: Any and all papers you must have to show your employer during an interview. Remember to include a page of personal references with contact numbers and many copies of your resume, along with copies of your licenses and certificates if needed. (This is the only folder that will have some of the same papers as the Important Papers folder has, but that’s OK because you need to have them in both places to be prepared for your job search.)
New Work: This is where you will keep all of your new work papers you bring home, just as you did in your Old Work folder.
All Unemployment: Any and all notes and paperwork you have that deals with your unemployment claims. Take notes while on the phone with them also and make sure you get names and dates. The unemployment agency is fussy about you having these types of things if you call back with a problem.
Regular Bills: File all of your bills in the front pocket of the folder as soon as you get them and when you pay them, just mark them paid with the date and then move them to the rear pocket in the folder. Move the paid credit card bills to the rear of the credit folder. This way with only a quick glance a couple of times a week you can determine what you owe, when you owe it and to who it is owed.
Credit: This is where you put all of those paid credit card bills. Include any notes of phone conversations or anything they send you in the front pocket along with copies of any letters or information you have sent to them.
Mortgage or Lease/Rent: Keep all of your monthly rent receipts and anything to do with this category in this folder. You will still be keeping your mortgage, lease or rental agreement copies in your Important Papers folder and the original in that safe place with all of the other originals.
Taxes : Here is where you will keep all of your tax information needed to file your taxes at the beginning of the year. All forms, papers, and receipts. You will take this folder with you when you have your taxes done and you will also put your filled out tax copies in it along with copies of any checks you owed or got back. Use one folder per year and write the year it was for on the front with a sharpie. Once you are done with your taxes in this folder, immediately start a new folder for next year.
Home Maintenance : Here is where you keep all of your receipts, contracts and warranties for everything that you do or have done to your home or property.
Auto Repair : Keep all of your repair bills, warranty’s and receipts for all the stuff you buy for your car. Make one folder per vehicle.
If you need a folder for something else just make it up like the rest. Now you should label the spirals.
The first is Daily Notes #1 : It is for every time you need to write something down, like when you are on the phone with a credit company or if you just need to make a list. You should leave all the notes you take right in this spiral, that way they will be easy to find when you need to refer back to them. If you quickly fill up a spiral just start a new one. Oh yea, when you take a note, put the date on the side of the page next to your note. This helps you find things faster! (Fill up the pages also, they will last longer.)
The Budget #1 : This is where you will use a couple of pages for every month and figure out your rough budget. There is much information about setting up a budget on the internet and we will have a section dedicated to that later. For now you can just try to keep up with your bills by cutting out anything that is not absolutely necessary! Good Bye Cable!
Job Search Notes #1 : This is the spiral for getting you that job. It is only for job search notes you take when you look for a job or talk to anyone about a job. Keep it handy and use it daily, because you never know when the phone will ring with a job offer.
Remember To Do #1 : Here is where you keep a page for every day as you would in a daily planner. You can make lists and keep your appointments written down so you don’t forget things. It will be helpful for remembering everything you need to do, send, mail, buy, call, contact, get, or whatever.
Here is where we start using our portable office. Keep the box or boxes in a place where you usually make out your bills or handle household business. Start by collecting all the papers that are required for each folder and use the folders and spirals only from now on.
Do not go back to your old system for anything except to transfer papers that you need to your new system. Start working with your new system, being religious about taking notes and filing papers. The more you use it the more you will like the familiarity of it and the ease of finding anything you are looking for. If a folder or spiral gets to thick, then just label a new one with the next number for it and continue on knowing confidentially that you have everything under control!
By being organized we feel more in control of what is going on. We become more efficient in handling things and that in turn boosts our confidence level dramatically!
Time no longer is our enemy working against us with each misplaced bill. Time becomes our friend because we are organized and no longer have to rush and search for papers at the last moment.
We are in control of our lives and the time we spend doing things. When we organize it gives us time to do so much more. You will be better off for doing so!
Now start gathering up the scattered paperwork and filling those folders so you to, can Be Wise and Organize.
Bankruptnooption.
A to Z Heating and Cooling, High Priced
I recently needed a part for a furnace and on a slow Saturday morning, with no one else at the counter, I showed the man what I needed. He vanished, but quickly came back and showed me the new one. Without hesitation I said I’d take it.
He rung up the bill and charged me $49.00 I thought this was a little high but was happy to have it. So I left.
Once the furnace was back up and running, I decided to go online and check out that part. Upon checking several places, I was finding a disturbing trend.
Every heating and cooling place I checked, had the same part. The only problem is that they all were charging between 1/2 to 3/4 of what A to Z Heating and Cooling on Van Born rd in Dearborn Heights MI charged me.
At that point, feeling very ripped off, I began calling other Heating and Cooling places only to find out that I had been ripped off, and bad. Most of the prices out the door were about half of what I had been charged.
A to Z Heating and Cooling has been in the area for eons and have always been quite fair about their pricing. I love the place. They always have everything. Everyone I mentioned this to had nothing but good to say about them. But after hearing my story and laughing at me and calling me a sucker, most said they would double-check on their prices before ever doing business with them again in the future.
A to Z used to be a nice community oriented business. But with pricing like that, I guess that part is out the window now.
There are laws in every state that dictate how much something can be sold for above the dealers cost and there aren’t any that allow for a 100% markup.
If you ever find that you have been overcharged for an item, contact the Consumers Protection Agency or the Attorney General for your state. They regularly investigate these claims and are happy to help.
Bankruptnooption.
Jury Duty – Who’s on Trial?
Serving jury duty is getting bad, especially in Michigan. I don’t know if they have this law in other states but in Michigan, if you are selected to be a juror on a trial, you will not be allowed to use your cell phone to text until the trial is over.
This law will be up to the judges to enforce and many are expected to, especially in high-profile cases.
You see the problem is that they think that the jurors will do searches for information about the case or post things about the case, which will influence their decision about the trial.
I think that they have crossed the line with this one. They should have to provide phones with no internet service, so the jurors can still use one of the rights they have from being a productive citizen.
The jurors are not the criminals and it is bad enough that that’s how many people end up feeling, with all of the restrictions that are placed on them.
Now with this one added in the mix, it is only making many more jurors feel like their rights are being violated by having to serve jury duty.
This is where the first complication comes in. Many people have been called for duty several times or more. Then there are those who are never called and have never served and there is no real reason why they haven’t been called.
It used to be thought that if you don’t register to vote they don’t select you. There has been many people called who never registered to vote in their life. They get the names from driver license data bases and a couple of others all compiled together to make up the pool of possible jurors.
So the idea that everyone has to do their civil duty by serving jury duty is bunk and nothing more. After talking with many selected people, I actually feel that once they get a person to come down one time, you are kept in the name pool forever. You have been made their professional juror for years to come, until you can’t do it any more. That’s why someone who is 40 has served twelve times and someone older has never been called once.
The next problem that immediately puts my back up is that they send you a nice official summons for you to appear. The only way out is with a doctor’s note and that just gets you a postponement on your service date. If you do that then you get a letter telling you, you can miss the first date but it has a new date in it. You better not miss the new date for any reason or you can be thrown in jail or have your driver’s license revoked. No way there, no money, nothing is accepted as an excuse. Nice hey.
Summons are nice and warm to get when you are a good citizen. And the threat of jail leaves you feeling good all over if you have never been in trouble before.
Then you have to go somewhere you may not normally go, like Detroit or some other major city. There is not one person who wants to go to a major city like Detroit to serve jury duty in some justice building, if they are unfamiliar with the area or the city itself. So now they are making you go somewhere you wouldn’t normally go and that doesn’t feel very good either. Especially if you have to get a ride, because the courts don’t care how you sit financially or otherwise. They demand you be there and that’s that.
I once saw a judge tell an elderly lady who only had a ride for that day and after the court bused her the other jurors to the other side of the county for duty, that the judge didn’t care about her not having any transportation and that she would be there each and every day of the trial, even if she had to walk the twenty-five miles or she would be held for contempt of court and thrown in jail. The elderly lady actually cried and the judge told her to stop immediately or she’d throw her in jail right there on the spot. Needless to say, one of the taxpayers other jurors gave her a ride every day of the trial.
It’s these kind of things that really make people feel all warm and fuzzy about doing jury duty and I have only scratched the surface. There’s herding, sequestering, threats, demands from the judge, hidden information and many many more things that go along with your duty to serve that will leave you feeling like you are the criminal instead.
Why in the heck don’t they just get large pools of retirees, or unemployed citizens who would like to earn some extra cash (above their unemployment or SSI) and have them sit on these trials, similar to our Senate and House representatives up in Washington, or in the states we live in. Test them to see if they are sane and able to make an unbiased opinion, then give them a schedule and let them try the cases.
Make it easy on them and have video courts in many locations across each county that are closer to their homes, where they can participate without going to a major city every time.
There are better ways of trying the innocent and its high time in America that we change the system to a better one.
Ask any one who has done jury duty and they will all tell you there has to be a better way. Well Most Will. That means that the current system needs to be changed! So let’s get with the New Century and change it.
Bankruptnooption.
p.s. I think we will get a whole jury category going in the future. So keep an eye out.
WEEKLY NEWSBITS 12/25-12/31
This weeks stories.
…..Kansas hunter gets 27 point Doe?
…..Woman on toilet for two years.
Here’s the stories——-
Kansas hunter gets 27 point Doe?…..
Yes, in fact it may be the all time world record for a doe with antlers. Do you know of any bigger racks taken on a doe?
Check out the picture – PICTURE.
Woman on toilet for two years.….
Get this, in Kansas, go figure– An obese woman sat on her boyfriends toilet constantly without ever getting up for 2 years. He fed her daily and use another bathroom in the home.
Finally after calling in help to get her to move she was taken to the hospital, seat and all. The woman had to be surgically removed from the seat. Her fatty tissue had actually grown together with the seat material and was a part of her body.
They are investigating to find out why the boyfriend waited 2 years to call in help and whether she was there on her own accord.
Strange to say the least.
Credit History, Not Really
I would like to start this post by taking a look at the definition of the word – HISTORY.
In the Dictionary the word history relates to a long-term, passing of time, in which facts and or the reasons behind the facts have been recorded for a long period of time.
Why then in the world of credit, does the word history mean, only your current score and without explanation of what contributed to that score?
The credit reporting system in this country is so flawed that there are people out there getting loans who shouldn’t and people being denied loans who should be able to get one.
Is it fair to rate the past however many years of credit worthiness for an individual by their current credit score on the day it is checked? No.
Only looking at someones current score does not reflect all the ratings that lead to the current score, or give any reason as to why it may be at where it is.
This seems highly unfair to those individuals who have been hurt by loosing their jobs. We have had people working all their lives and all the while having great credit ratings until they lost their job.
Most of these individuals will continue on paying their bills as they have learned to do in the past, after once again finding gainful employment.
So I challenge anyone who makes financial decisions about loans or mortgages to explain to the Moneys Tight readers how the current system of credit reporting is fair for those people.
If you had good credit until loosing a job and it crashed while trying to find a new job, does one simple number fairly represent that persons credit worthiness. NO.
I, You, and The finance guys can’t explain why it is fair, because it isn’t. We all know that it isn’t a fair judgement of a persons true credit worthiness and that’s why they are afraid to explain it, they CANT!
The reason they use one number is that they generally don’t have the competence to look at a full credit history and decide whether or not an individual is a good credit risk. It is as simple as that. That is why anyone who suffered a long-term job loss will be left out of the system for many years to come.
In the bankers eyes you are simply trash for not coming up with money to repay your debts when you had no income for an extended period of time. You should have sold your soul to the DEVIL to get it and that’s that!
Banks and mortgage companies ran into trouble and they themselves had to be bailed out by the taxpayers. Isn’t this just getting more and more absurd by the minute.
Now all those companies we saved are telling you that you are a bad person and a high credit risk for not paying them while you were unemployed.
Wow. And the most unbelievable part of it all, is that out of all the money they got, they never passed a single dime down to the people who were struggling to pay off what they owed.
They took the taxpayers cash you paid to the government as repayment for the payments you missed to them and the whole irony of it is, that when they took the cash for those payments they never scratched off one payment missed from anyone’s accounts, not even ONE!!!
I have to stop here because if I continue on we will all end up hating anyone in finance and I may just do everything in my power to act just like they see us, from now on.
Bankruptnooption.
Will it be Fair to FINE the POOR for not having Health Insurance?
I have heard word about something dealing with the proposed health insurance coverage for everybody and it doesn’t settle well with me or anyone I’ve spoken with. If I am wrong about this than Good, I am glad to be wrong about this, so just move on to the next article.
The fact of the matter is, I have heard in the news that the government wants everyone to have health insurance and you will have to pay something for it. It won’t matter how much you make per hour, you will have to have the coverage required and pay the price.
What disturbs me is this. If you do not get the insurance coverage as required, than you will be fined by your government for not having it. That’s right, FINED!
Can you believe it! I know I just fell off the chair I was sitting in. You have got to be kidding me! Isn’t this still America.
How the hell can anyone call it fair to punish those people who can’t afford it, by imposing FINES on them.
What if you are barely getting by, paying for your health insurance and your car craps out? You need to buy a new one to get to work with. Should you then continue paying for your health coverage so you don’t get FINED and lose your job because you can’t get to work, or use the insurance money to pay for a used car loan so you don’t lose your job, but get FINED for not having insurance?
Come on here, We Are Americans. And This still is America you know! Has the time really come in this country where the government is actually telling the citizens what to do, and pressuring us with the fear of FINES if we don’t do it?
If this is passed and carried out by the government and just one poor soul is FINED for not taking out the insurance coverage when they can’t really afford it, than I don’t ever want to hear the words ” Of the People, By the People and For the People” again as long as I shall live.
This is something really bad that is happening here folks, and it can’t happen without changing the whole idealism that our country was founded on. A government ran For The People and by The People who it is For!
Bankruptnooption.
How do I get the free phone.
Click on either one of the providers blue links below. Then, Follow their instructions. SIMPLE !
Facebook, My Space and Twitter are Cool but Watch your Privacy
We all love Facebook, My Space and Twitter, well maybe not all, but most generally do.
It’s really cool, for keeping up with old friends and family that live far away. You can find people from your past or present and that gives you a way to contact them. There is just one thing you have to remember. It doesn’t matter that you can block the information that is viewed by the public, because if you are on there and are friends with anyone, than they most likely have posted stuff that they know about you on their Facebook, My Space pages or Tweets.
If something big happens to you and you keep it private on your pages, you can reasonably bet that one of your friends who personally knows about it, will mention it on their pages.
I guess that’s OK unless someone undesirable like an Ex- , or an enemy, or baby’s daddy is looking for something on you. If any of those people know any of your Facebook or My Space friends, than that is an open door for them to find out about you through what your friends posted about you on their pages.
Privacy is something that is hard to protect now days. With a thousand friends on Facebook and My Space, some who contact you directly or daily, much of your life can be posted on many of your friends pages without you even knowing it.
So be careful with what you do online and how you do it. The World is Watching You.
Bankruptnooption.
HAPPY NEW YEAR ALL
Craig Ferguson speaks from the heart. Alcoholism. Start here for the New Year and I promise you this, it may be difficult but you will feel better for it!
The McLaughlin Group and many more.
Do you think him or any of his distinguished panelists or any other political talk show host and their guests really know how bad it has been? No.
How can that show or any other political show actually justify that they know haw bad the American public really has it when all they are doing is looking at the “Latest Figures” or “Reports”.
The hard times that many Americans are currently or have already gone through are well represented in their figures, but that’s all they are dealing with is just figures. They don’t see the faces of the people who are out here and who have been hurt by the economy, all they see is numbers.
There hasn’t been a single political show on American TV that has taken the chance of inviting to their show, some regular mom’s and dad’s who are loosing their homes so they can let those who haven’t been affected, know what the rest of America is going through.
These people on those shows are highfalutin politicians or political wannabees that haven’t the slightest clue as to what we are going through out here in America because all they see is numbers and they themselves are not hurting a bit.
They sit up there and have a good time hashing over their big ideas of what needs to be done in order to renew the economy.
Sure they have their reports and can say the words bankrupt and foreclosure, but until you actually see each and every one of them standing in a food pantry line for hours, waiting for 70 lbs of food to feed a family of three for a month, then they can’t justifying sitting there in front of the cameras and talking about just how bad it is out here for everyone, much less how to fix it.
And the government is open to all suggestions that go along with what they were going to do in the first place and nothing more. You don’t see a regular meeting between the people and the politicians every week or month now do you.
Until we get someone in the white house that actually opens the doors to the American public by seeing what they think on all of the important issues that are affecting us real people out here, nothing will ever change around here and that’s a fact.
So the next time you change channels on your TV and run across one of those political talk shows, the best idea is to keep on pushing the button that took you there in the first place. That way your blood pressure won’t spike and you won’t have to hurry up and wait in a clinic because you have government health care.
Bankruptnooption.
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