Edgrimly

Prosper Loans - THIS STINKS!!!

2010-06-30T13:34:00.003-05:00

Ok, so back in 2007 I was told about this company called Prosper that would REVOLUTIONIZE the way we do banking. It would be the eBay for loans. I signed up and took out a $1000 loan. I also loaned money to two different people.
One of the main ideas of this site was that people would be less likely to default on loans made to them by other "real people" instead of an insured bank. Guess what... that did not pan out. I had one guy not pay quite a few time but he is back up. The one that bugs me is the professional looking ad that had all the right credentials and was supposed to just be a "bridge loan" and then they pay for part of a year and bam, bankruptcy!
Ok, so... I have religiously made payments, Even through their "quiet period" (check the internet for the full story on that but it was scary). I have delayed making the payoff just so it shows on my credit that I have made the payments, I have very little left on the loan. I applied for another Prosper loan and they say I dropped too many points from my last loan to give me a new one. So I call up and am told that my credit is excellent except I have not paid off the last loan... WHAT!!!!! So now if I pay off this current Prosper loan I still would have to wait 30 days to even apply for another one... Guess what moron Prosper, I need the money to buy a car and the car will not be there a month from now.

This is my LAST loan through Prosper and I am going to make sure and tell EVERYONE to avoid this place like the plague. If you loan out money to Prosper expect to get screwed out of half of it, if you borrow, expect Prosper to screw up your credit.

ANOTHER letter to Mike Rogers - Health care reform

2010-03-08T14:38:00.001-06:00

Mike

I read your latest information pack on Health Care reform and I was disappointed to see a couple things missing. One would be opening up Health care to Co-Op type companies. This worked great for banks and it has worked for certain colleges that have tried it (Check with Northwood University). This would be a great tie in with Health Care Savings Accounts. Speaking of which the current Health Care Spending accounts the government sponsors is ridiculous. You can put money into this account tax free but if you do not spend it all you lose it??? Why is the insurance companies being blamed for blowing money when this program penalizes you for not spending all your savings. Shouldn't someone be rewarded for not blowing all their money on this? My suggestion is to expand the Health Care Savings program to encompass the Health Care Spending Account and allow people to keep their money year after year.

Tax Revolt

2009-10-23T13:15:00.001-05:00

What is Happening to Windows 7? - my reponse

2009-09-09T09:39:00.002-05:00

Please read the Article named "What is Happening to Windows 7?" at PC Mag. What follows here is my response. I would have responded there but hey, 8 pages of other peoples responses AND I would have had to register at one more website that could send me spam... In the middle of his article he mentions "If programs were self contained within a single folder that could be transported from machine to machine without the need to re-install the entire program, none of this upgrade malaise would be a problem." and that caught my attention and prompted this response..

My Response...

Hmmm, an OS that you can carry from computer to computer and have all your needed programs and no worries about a registry???? Sounds like PUPPY LINUX to me. Super fast and runs on anything from a USB stick. Wonder why a big company like MS cannot make an OS that runs as fast as Puppy? Why must I use over 5 gigabytes just for the "base" that programs are supposed to run in? Puppy runs in the RAM!!! Yes, the RAM, not the hard drive. So, wise readers of this article, if Puppy can do that and it ships with web browser, email clients, and a whole office suite PLUS cd/dvd/blueray burners, games, networking, etc... in just over 100 meg, why does Win7 need 6 gig to do the same thing... Oh wait, it does not do the same thing does it? I still have to buy Office to make it do the same thing. Did I mention Puppy is free??? With all the stuff in it. Ubuntu,,, is Free!! with the same stuff. Why are people spending all this money in a recession for something that is designed worse then the free stuff???

Take off the blinders people... Linux works and works FREE. AND you can add programs that allow you to still use your old Windows programs inside Linux. MS would not do that for you, it makes you use Win stuff or nothing else.

p.s. There ARE programs out there that can be taken from computer to computer without the registry issues. Check out PortableApps.com for more free programs that do NOT post to the registry. It is not all a Windows problem, it looks to be a programming problem and more people need to think small instead of bloat, thin portable instead of fixed, and think multi platform instead of monopoly.

College Book Scam - ongoing

2009-09-03T08:22:00.005-05:00

The internet is a great place to find just about anything. Even what you are NOT looking for. I happened across a page that talked about the College book scam that every text book publisher pulls and dramatically increases college costs. When you hear about tuitions going up and the rising costs of higher learning, think about the simple things... BOOKS. It was not so bad when I was going after my associates degree but when I was studying for my MBA I had a very hard time buying used books because they kept changing the revision and you HAD to buy the new one. I was working during the day, going to school at night, trying to support my wife and child on anything that was left after college costs and then these yahoos want me to buy all new books at $100 a pop???? I actually almost failed one course as I could not afford the book so I tried to get by on my notes. That would have worked IF the instructor had actually showed up once in awhile. Stupid law class instructor kept going to court during class periods - nice ethics study there... get paid for teaching and do not show up. I digress....
I am NOT a minority, I am NOT "poor", I am NOT going to get any help with my tuition or books. I had to pay for the whole shot out of my pocket and yet this seems fair to the college that I cannot buy used books to help take the edge off my costs. I really wonder what other places colleges are not helping to cut corners...

The very very sad part of my poor little tale is that I went to Northwood University and I know for a fact that Northwood does everything it can to keep expenses down unlike Government funded Universities that cost 4 times more (MSU, UofM, etc...). Northwood even uses a co-op health insurance program that it designed itself that saves the instructors on health care. Wish I could buy into it... :'(

Anyway, I wish I could do more but I did what every college student does,,, pay the fees and complain about it later... College students, complain NOW. It is your money, and technically the college is selling a service NOT doing you a favor. The government and the colleges have forgotten this but COLLEGE IS A BUSINESS and is SELLING education. That is the way it should be, they just need to be reminded of it.

Ed

SAVE OUR HSA's (and our health care)-various ramblings

2009-08-04T07:22:00.005-05:00

Once again I am writing to you about Mike Rogers...
This time he has taken up the Health Care Reform mantra and he has some good points.
The bill as approved Friday night by the Energy and Commerce Committee will almost surely eliminate our private health care system as we know it. We will be forced to accept government run health care and any benefits from our HSA (Health care Savings Account) will be thrown out the window. In other words if you have been RESPONSIBLE with your health care programs. Paid all your bills and worked hard to put your families well being first, the YOU are screwed. Now if you have not gone out and supported your family by working hard then hey, this program is for you. Of course all the hype is that "Oh My... There are people without INSURANCE !!!"... I say "SO WHAT" I have been in jobs with no health care but I was 18 and in college. That is part of growing up. Since I have gotten out of college I have worked hard and have either had a job with insurance provided or I found a way to get it. Funny how the State mandates that you "have auto insurance or you don't drive", why don't they just say you must have health insurance too and be done with it. Then people could pick and choose the right programs for themselves (Geico, Progressive, State Farm...) AND save money. Instead the Government screwed it all up by making it only tax deductible if you get it through your employer. Hey, If I am self employed or a student or working at a low end job I do not have that luxury. If the government wanted to do it right they would give tax breaks on ALL health care related expenses and drop the whole employer provided model that exists. For that matter, open up the whole 401K program too and drop Social Security !!!! If I had the 14% the Government is taking out of my pay (7% out of me and 7% from the employer which is basically out of my paycheck) I could have a whole lot more in my mutual funds then they are gonna pay me when I retire!!!

The whole thing is about RESPONSIBILITY!! The government (Democrats/Liberals) feels that you the people should not have to worry about responsibility and they will gladly do everything for you. They know that if they do, then they can control you and they have the power. If this bill passes you will now be going to work and laboring for less then half of your paycheck.

You went to school (government run) and to college (government funded), and worked hard for your grades. You went out and got a low end job and worked hard to work your way up and along the way you started a family. Now all that work, studying, labor and stress is going to pay the government to tell you what you can do with your money. After all you are NOT taking it home, you are giving over half of it (or will soon) to other people who did not go to school, did not work hard, and did not show responsibility to their nation or family. Oh BTW,,, some of those that DID go to school did not pay much for their education (I bet you did) as the money came from the government. They are also the ones who got the job you really wanted because the employer needed to be "diverse" so they could get the government off their backs. Of course you worked hard to pay for your education and you worked hard to get good grades and learn something... Too bad you did not get the job.

NOW comes the time to make yourself heard. NOW is the time to stand up and say, my money is my money, quit giving it to other people. Government is for the people by the people. "The people" is YOU, why are you getting screwed by the government.

Governments role is to protect me and my stuff, not to take my money and give it to other people. Education is nice, but I want to pay for my education, not someone else's. Health care is nice, but I want to be rewarded for keeping myself healthy not penalized by paying for some slob who has to be rescued by Jerry Springer by knocking a hole in his house to get him out. Car insurance is nice, I want to pay for MY insurance and not for someone who is driving illegally without insurance (Michigan charges 100 bucks of a $200 policy for uninsured motorists that motorcycles can not apply for...).

I was once thanked by a business for "complaining" about the service at a store/restaurant because if I had not, they would not know there is a problem. Let your reps know there is a problem, a very big problem, called government spending. Tell them to "Get out of my wallet", and start cutting into the budget. In a recession, cutting spending is the only way to go. Makes sense doesn't it??? If the country does not have money, don't spend more....

Cash for Clunkers - My note to cashforclunkersfacts.com

2009-06-29T08:55:00.000-05:00

I have been reading the comments left on here regarding the Clunker Bill... Why did the complainers NOT contact their representatives BEFORE this got passed? I know I did! There are a couple of inconsistencies in the complaints.
One is people complaining about sub 18 mpg in cars that classically have done better then 27 mpg. Quit complaining and get your foot off the gas. Even the best cars get bad mileage at 80 mph.
Two is, what happened to Toyota being so great on fuel mileage and quality? I have never seen so many people whine about poor economy on Toyota cars. Check out any number of mid 90's Gm cars and find 27+ mpg even on big daddy's like Old Delta 88 and Pontiac Bonneville (30+ if driven below 70 not 80+mph)with the 3800 V6. Even the Dustbuster (Pontiac Transport) gets 24 mpg (mine has 250,000 miles and gets 24 mpg) which is great for a van. Stick to US built/ US owned companies to support the US economy.

In closing, from what I am reading on these postings is that America does not need government to buy them cars, America needs the government to teach them how to drive. Accelerate slowly, drive at a reasonable speed (sub 70), and take your foot off the gas wayyy before the stop signs and lights. Any time you use the brake you are wasting fuel.

p.s. I don't think the Gov should be buying anybody anything with my money. Make your voice heard before the votes to stop goof ball bills like this from occurring.

Plan for Health Care Reform - My Letter to the Honorable Mike Rodgers

2009-06-26T13:59:00.002-05:00

Dear Congressman Rogers

I have read your recent e-mailing regarding health care reform and while I agree there needs to be a change in the Health care system I know that Government intervention/funding needs to be reduced not increased. Government caps on profits, and fees lead to less available product from the manufacturers. This is one problem other countries have run into with Government capped pricing. They are now buying US made drugs instead of producing product in their own country. If the manufacturers cannot make a profit, then they no longer want to produce the drugs. Hillary found this out when she capped the Flu Vaccine price. The next year we ran out of vaccine since no one was making it because there was no profit. Now YOU want to do this on a grander scale? Sorry, history shows it does not work. Forget caps, and help eliminate wasteful legislation and allow US businesses to do what they do best, manufacture goods (drugs) people want.

The main problem I see with our health care program is that people (insurance customers) have no reason to watch their choices, no reason to negotiate with doctors on price, and no reason to choose cheaper medications that are available. IF the US had a reason to watch their spending you would DEFINITELY see a reduction in Health Care Spending, a reduction in Health Care Pricing, and a happier more informed populace.
HSA is a very good program (Health Care Spending Account) that allows reduced monthly fees, savings account for copay and deductible that rolls over and collects interest, and a sense of investment that encourages thrifty use of health care dollars. Existing Health Care system encourages "get the most I can for my dollars" and increases spending and decreases Insurance company profits (thus higher prices to end customer).
HSA should be expanded to include the current Flexible Spending Account system that encourages users to blow their money in a "use it or lose it" system that benefits no one.
Government needs to get out of the way and make people responsible for their Health Care spending and allow the insurance companies to offer more savings incentive programs and drug companies to develop new drugs while making the older ones cheaper.

Bottom line... The insurance industry and drug companies were developed BY INDIVIDUALS. NOT the government. So why should it be controlled BY the government. It would not exist without Profit, Incentive, and a Need.

Cash for Clunkers - My letter to The Honorable Mike Rogers

2009-04-02T10:03:00.003-05:00

I am writing in opposition to the "Cash for Clunkers Bill". As a proud owner of older cars (1985 Cavalier 30 mpg and a 1994 Pontiac Transport 27 mpg) I am frightened by the high and mighty thinking of those in Congress that believe that everyone should drive brand new cars. If this bill passes I will in the very near future be forced to pay much MORE for a used car since now ANY old car is essentially worth $4500 as a trade in. This is more money out of my pocket in wasteful government spending AND more money in purchasing my next used car PLUS I will most likely have to take a loan out for my next one (all previous purchases have been cash in hand "responsible" buying) including all the bank fees PLUS I will then need "Full Coverage" insurance since it is funded by a bank. This is 4+ times more than I have previously spent on cars due to needless government interaction. This defiantly hurts my ability to survive in this recession.

I guess when someone makes $150 thousand a year and gets a raise every year since 2000 http://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/97-1011.pdf (I have not had a raise in Michigan since the 90's and not likely too in the future) you can tell everyone to "buy new".

I personally respect cars as historical objects and worthy of preservation. If some of this garbage legislation had happened years ago there would be NO Model A or T Fords, No Auburns/Cords/Dusenbergs, NO 52 Chevy Pickups, NO 1957 Chevys, NO 1965 Mustangs, NO 1969 Chargers, NO 1984 Buick Grand Nationals, NO 1985 Cavaliers, left anywhere, and ABSOLUTELY NO supporting aftermarket industry, NO Custom Industry, NO Classic Car restoration industry, and NO incentive to look back and see older cars as beautiful and historical pieces of AMERICAN art. IF the current "older" cars (past 8 years??? I cannot afford a 2001 right now...) are scrapped, then there will be NO used parts, NO reason to make aftermarket parts, NO reason to continue an industry based on "older" cars.

My running comment to people is when I see a new car I like I say "I am going to have one of those... 10 years from now". With this bill, that will not come true, since it will be over 8 years old.

In closing (and I doubt you actually get to read this) the Cash for Clunker bill is harmful to the supporting aftermarket/parts industry, harmful to taxpayers depending on the used car market for transportation, and harmful to those wishing to collect these future classics. The Cash for Clunkers bill is lopsided thinking that everyone wants and deserves a new car. You only deserve a new car if you want and work for it, not given to you by government. The Cash for Clunkers bill is a clunker in itself and the cash should be given back to the taxpayers instead of eating up funds and killing an industry for the sake of socialism. p.s. Hitler funded VW "The Peoples Car", another classic older historical vehicle.

BTW this clunker bill is redundant as last years high steel prices generated a record amount of older vehicle scrapping for recycled steel. Even fully drivable cars were sacrificed as they were worth more as scrap then for resale. See, the FREE market has a use for everything if left to it's own devises instead of government controlled.

Government is "BY the people and FOR the people", not just for the people that fit the little mold that is established by government.

More Junk Mail

2008-10-03T12:38:00.001-05:00

Just an FYI... I got ANOTHER junk mail ad supporting Obama the very same day I posted how O' supports junk mail and spam. Just another proof that our inconvenience or imposition means nothing to Obama...(or at least his staff eh?)

OBAMA supports junk mail and spam

2008-09-30T09:33:00.004-05:00

Hey, if Obama can talk about all the big business tax cuts and how the White House will be run by Lobbyists if McCain gets in, then I guess I can talk about how OBAMA supports junk mail and spam.
Thursday I got a large flyer from Obama. It was big, full color and full of Obamaisms. Too bad that I as a taxpaying business man cannot afford to send out fliers like this due to all the taxes that Granholm (DEM) has implemented. Actually in the flier it says that Obama will end tax breaks for businesses. Lucky us in Michigan, Granholm has already done that. Technically it says he is going to end them for companies that deal with overseas, but in this day of WalMart and Harbor Freight, there is no way to compete unless you do at least something overseas. Nice global thinking there O'.

So then Friday, I get ANOTHER flyer from O'. Now mind you, I am NOT a Democrat (really???) and I have never voted DEM, registered DEM, or ever even hinted I may be open to DEM, and yet O' thinks I may be swayed to his side by a high dollar flyer with the nice picture of grumpy looking Cheryl VerEllen saying the economy is crashing. Apparently the implication is that McCain IS Bush and it is Bush's fault that Michigan slid from high status to almost last. Guess she does not realize that the slide happened AFTER she voted Granholm in TWICE!!! Look at how Michigan fell and that is how the rest of the country will fall if we tax the heck out of it.

Funny how these fliers have a lot of pictures and very little text... Hmmmm...

Do you really want more junk mail???? Do you really want more SPAM???? According to OBAMA, poor John McCain does not even know how to work a computer... How is he going to send you spam???

Vote for less Spam, Vote for less junk mail, vote McCain.

A lesson from the United Way

2008-07-23T13:56:00.003-05:00

What do you think about when you think United Way? Worthy charity? Doing good for other people? Helping your fellow man? You would be correct. United Way has actually been around since 1887. In fact it is older than the act that created a "non-profit" status.
How about "Goodwill"? They help those with disabilities and "cannot work" situations. They started back around 1902. Are they doing good work? Have they failed miserably? If so why are they still around?

So.. If the United Way and Goodwill (and many many other charitable organizations) are doing such a great job then WHY does the government need to do it? All of these "programs" that Obama wants to implement, and many that are in place (welfare to name one) are already being done by other people. Actually being done by other people BETTER then the government can do it. The thing the government is good at is taking your money and giving it to someone else (and losing half of it on the way there) without YOU choosing to do so. What the next president should do is instead of taking my money they should give me a 1 to 1 credit for giving donations to Goodwill, United Way, and the whole slew of other worthy organizations the I CHOOSE to give it to. That way the government does not need to waste time, energy, and my money, by giving away to people I do not even think deserve it.

A little history, the government is "for the people, by the people". That does not mean "for the poor people", it does not mean "for the uninsured people" and it definitely does not mean "for the I do not want to work so I am gonna get welfare people". It means "for the people", ALL the people, of which the MAJORITY have jobs, work, and make money so they can survive themselves. Why take "the peoples" money and give it to those who do not contribute? Groups like United Way and Goodwill have stipulations about who gets money, the government cannot do this since it is by all the people. YOU can decide who to give your money to when you donate and you can be assured it gets used correctly. With the government, do you think it is getting used correctly??? Who has his hands in the pot? Who is influencing what state gets the most of it? You just do not know!

Let your government representatives know that you want to be in control of who gets your money. Tell them to back off on government spending and let we the people handle our own charities instead of the government acting like one big mandatory charity.

Duncan Freehand YoYo

2008-06-06T07:54:00.000-05:00

Duncan Freehand YoYo

Bush Vetos Stem Cell Bill

2007-06-21T13:15:00.000-05:00

Yeah Bush !!!!!
Veto that thing and veto it hard.

You may think I am being hard on "all those poor people who need this research", but I am NOT. What the news agencies are NOT telling you is that this ONLY applies to "Embryonic" research and NOT ADULT stem cell research. The media keeps hyping embryonic as the last possible hope for Parkinson's and numerous other bad things. And yet,,, More hope has come out of adult stem cell research than ANY embryonic stem cell research. The ONLY reason there is such a push for embryonic is because it is patentable. The big drug companies (the very companies that are sooo bad at lowering drug prices) are pushing the embryonic so the can patent the cure and make BIG MONEY off the poor Parkinson's (and others) people. The people who are voting and pushing for this to happen are either extremely deluded by the hype OR are on the take from the Big Money Drug companies.

Next time you read a news article, check the fine print and notice he hasd vetoed "Embryonic" stem cell research and NOT adult stem cell research.
BTW: Adult stem cell research has led to many breakthroughs and has help thousands of people where Embryonic stems cells have not produced any clinical successes. Ask yourself WHY the push for something that looks like a dead end? Money!

Response to comments on other blogs

2007-06-12T09:32:00.000-05:00

Yes.. Granholm is trying to recruit some outside factories to come to Michigan. Unfortunately she is cauing more to leave with her wasteful spending and anti small business tactics. She INSISTS on "replacing" the small business tax and therefore burdening the poor small business owner with the taxes we as Michigan citizens already removed. Too many times we vote for lower taxes and more personal responsibility and Democrats apparently think we are stupid and come in and put them right back in place.

Yes, Toyota has some nice paybacks to the cities it occupies, but GUESS WHAT... so would other cities if our small businesses were not taxed so bad. Trickle down man trickle down. Small businesses help the communities, big government only takes away money.

People forget that in a true FREE society, government is only there to protect me and my stuff, not take it away and give it to other people. Michigan is currently stealing money from me to pay for other peoples food , other people housing, other peoples kids rides to school , other peoples college tuition, and on and on. Yes it is a nice thing but it is not really MY responsibility to send someone else's kid to school, or feed them. I work hard to do that for my own kids.

If all you have to worry about is WiFi and cool places to go then I envy you... envy you a lot.
And when has Michigan had a Republican base? If it does why is SHE in charge?

P.s. Check out the Mackinaw Center for Public Policy.We CAN balance the budget and not raise taxes. www.mackinac.org

Various ramblings about Michigan

2007-05-30T09:13:00.000-05:00

I firmly believe that Michigan is currently overspending and overstepping its bounds as an extension of its voters and taxpayers. I believe that the "programs" should benefit Michiganders as a whole and not take money from the whole and give to the select. "Programs" such as welfare, school funding, grants, and other spending should be reviewed in depth and revised to allow the taxpayer to utilize those programs they are paying for. We cannot forget that taxpayers are PAYING the bills for these programs, it is not free money, hard working people gave up thier time for these programs to exist. Every dollar spent in a bill or program came out of someones time and every dollar should be spent as if you were spending someones life.

I believe that school funding and grants should be based on each individual student. If someone decides he should go to LCC instead of MSU then he should have the same funding (totally,not just his grant but the money given to the school as a whole: other funding, special programs etc..) to go to LCC as someone going to MSU. If Michigan truely wants to "invest" in the future of its children (and not just rhetoric) then Michigan should insure that ALL children have the same opportunity and that schools who cater to students (taxpayers) be rewarded for thier efforts.

When I graduated and went to college I was unable to obtain any grants since my parent "made too much money" (they were both school teachers and mom taught at the christian school for basically tuition money). I guess that it did not matter that I was paying for college myself. I worked three jobs just to pay for it. I had no credit at the time so no student loan. I went to LCC and LOVED it. And yet now I am paying taxes that help fund schools that I could not and can not ever hope to go to. If I could I would pull that portion of my taxes and give it to LCC or Northwood, or any number of "lesser" schools that actually try to help the students. p.s. I was accepted to MSU and it was only after they took my application fee did they tell me they had no programs towards my goal.

Right now Michigan businesses are having a hard time making it here. Any taxes applied to businesses are getting passed straight on to it's customers and that is making it hard for customers to buy goods. Remember the trickle down theory? If you "stick it to the big guy" the little guy will feel it. The guy that owns the business is not going to take the hit, he will pass it on to his customer which means higher prices and a higher cost of living to reside in Michigan.
In a nutshell there is no such thing as a tax to the upper class or unfair taxes to the middle and lower classes, the tax will get spread around to everyone, seen or unseen.

Render onto Ceaser that which is Ceasers. But in this case Ceaser is taking more than his share and giving it to his friends.

I think welfare is a sin. It is not up to the government to take care of the poor. It is up to churches and charitys. Welfare is taking time and life from working people and giving it to non working people with no real strings attached. Churches and Charitys will make sure the poor have ways to become productive again, the government has only loop holes that people can jump through and waste more time.
Welfare in the US has only been in place for just over 70 years. It was put in place due to the depression and the lack of people saving money and for those who were incapable of working. Now people still don't save money. They live on credit and depend on bankruptcy. There is no severe repurcussion for not holding your own.

Mackinaw Center for public policy

2007-05-30T07:16:00.000-05:00

Check out the Mackinaw Center for Public Policy. They make sence !!!
http://www.mackinac.org/depts/ecodevo/

Why oh why will our Governor NOT listen to them??? Oh thats right, she has an agenda to raise taxes. She does not want a solution, she is already totally convinced that she can handle YOUR money better than you can (socialism??). You, the taxpayer, have no clue what your money should go to and she should take it from you and hand it back out as she deems fit.

Remember, BiPartisan does NOT mean "Do it my way".

Simple Math

2007-05-17T15:25:00.000-05:00

So, is it just me? Or does the Governor of Michigan not know simple math? She INSISTS that we as Michigan residents pay MORE TAXES !!! Taxes are a %percent% NOT a fixed figure SO,,, if Michigan is hurting then there will be less money from taxes. Fix Michigan's hurt and there will be MORE money from taxes. Grabholm insists that she must have higher taxes to "fix" Michigan. She will fix us all right, and NOT in a good way.
Simple math is what it is, a value of a % of an amount will go up when the base amount goes up. Say a hard working Michigander makes $50,000 (aint me thats fer sure) and Granholm takes $16,500 (33%) that leaves the taxpayer with $33,500 to spend on goods here in Michigan (Gas is a good). $16,500 for what??? Welfare, health care, and education. The first two ain't goin to me since I earn my living and my health care, and the last one I really don't like what they are trying to teach my kids anyway or that schools don't even have recess anymore. Do I get a rebate if I send my kids to a private school??? no.....
Anyway.. different rant.
Back to the point.
IF the taxpayer makes $60,000 then the State gets $19,800. Imagine that, people make money, the State makes money. So GRANHOLM Concentrate on making the people in Michigan some money and then your administration will get some money NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND.
By the way "Programs" in Granholm speak is her giving YOUR MONEY to other people. How does paying a guy NOT to work help me? How does giving my money to schools to educate other peoples kids help me? Since she seems intent on over-taxing small businesses why would these "investment students" stick around Michigan when they can make more money out of state and live better with lower cost of living???

She insists on a BiPartisan budget but also insists on a tax hike. How is it BiPartisan if she is holding a knife to their throat and forcing them to vote against conscience and raise taxes? Keep up the good work Michigan Legislature and keep our taxes low.

BTW2: Anyone who wants one, I will sell at cost a "Granholm! No New taxes" tee shirt. Either that or I am thinking about a "Michigan, the NEW Canada" shirt ;-)

Best Buy and the decline of America

2007-01-03T08:53:00.000-06:00

Ok. Christmas is over and it is time to return all those thoughtful gifts you were given. Actually, I do not return presents myself, until THIS year. This year I received a Best Buy gift card that I would like very much to return. Guess what... You canNOT return it. You can buy something at Best Buy with it and return that BUT they give you another gift card. HEY BEST BUY !!! I do not want to buy at your store. That is why I want to return it!!! Your prices are high, your customer service sucks, and your policies are not in the interest of customers.
Now I really have a dilemma. I am a cheep skate and I know that the "best buy" is not at Best Buy but I am stuck buying from them. I have had people say, "Use it anyway, the price does not matter, the card was free!" but my demented mind refuses to let me think that way. Someone spent 5 hours of thier life working to pay for that card. I do not want to throw away that gift on someplace overpriced for something I really do not need.
Then I watch the news and they are talking about these online places you can auction your cards. From looking at these sites it looks like you will lose a couple bucks on your card. Looks like almost 4% of the value of the auction + minor expenses. So a $100 dollar gift card may only get you $95 in the auction and then the site gets $3.50 + listing fees. So out of the $100 your friend/family worked hard to get for you, you could actually get $90 in cash. The other alternative is to "Trade" your gift card for a card you can actually use (Say Lowes or Home Despot). This still costs you a little BUT you can now get something you can really use.
Here is one of many of the places you can do this http://www.cardavenue.com/ or http://www.swapagift.com/ I still don't know which is better, so let me know your thoughts.

Good luck.

The pondering of human interaction

2006-08-28T08:24:00.000-05:00

So... the basic question is WHY humans cannot exist at least in small groups and get along? Every club, hobby, and job I have been involved with started out well but the longer I was involved the worse the place seemed. The wonderful interaction and comradere that made the experience so great evaporates and leaves a nasty bickering and infighting within the group. People come and go and disrupts the flow and makes a bigger mess of hurt feelings and misunderstood intentions. After a while it seems to be a competition of who can tough it out the longest and survive until all else have left and that person is now the dominate member of the group.
Currently I am in a club and have been in it for 2 years. There is no training for new members so they are pretty much clueless and need lots of help. A little training would go a long way towards reducing bickering, stress, and confusion. BUT... There is no program in place to train the new people and the elected officials in charge never had one so the figure the new people do not need one either. A kind of "I did not get it and I came out OK" mentality. Instead of trying to raise people up and help, they tear down the people trying to change for the better.
I am torn between staying in the club, applying for an office, and trying to make a change OR say screw ya all, I am going home... I have found other people in the club with a similar feeling yet I do not know if I can depend on these people to continue on in the club and help make a change or are they going astalavista also?

I want to make a difference at MY club. I want to contribute to MY club. I keep getting the feeling that my contributions are NOT wanted and yet they keep saying that the club needs people to help. IS it just ME? IS it the CLUB? IS it just a handful of people that feel their position of power is in jepordy?

Construction zones - Michigan

2006-07-20T10:16:00.000-05:00

I do not know how it is in the rest of the country (betting not much different) but in Michigan this (summer) is the time for construction zones.
What is it about people in construction merge areas? The places before the construction lead to some of the biggest cases of road rage I have seen. People will get into one lane about 5 miles before the construction zone. It is no big deal that they are preparing themselves BUT WHY do the feel they need to impose thier driving habits on everyone else? I still have 5 miles to merge !!! and yet they will swerve over in front of you to keep you from passing. It is like they are the highway enforcer of merge lanes.
This year in Michigan they have signs in some zones that say to stay in both lanes until arriving at the construction zone and then merge appropriately. Guess what... Road enforcer cannot read either !!! (billboard I saw once said "Are you illiterate? Call 1-800 ###-####. Wonder how many calls they got)
Anyway... For all of you who feel that you MUST control everyone around and how they drive, You are making it WORSE !!! It slows down traffic, ticks off others at YOU, and in general makes a great case for escalating road rage.
My advice... Stay in your lane, Quit tailgating (too keep out merging traffic), and just listen to your self help tapes.