jesse Addresses the Financial Institutions
I was raised on welfare. Government cheese isn't an abstract concept to me. I remember counting food stamps. We shopped at pawn shops and second hand stores. Were my folks poor? Yes. Were they like most poor people? Probably not. My mother so hated the military industrial complex that she vowed not make enough money to get taxed. She didn't want her taxes being used to kill people in other countries.
That probably sounds pretty extreme, but to me it just made common sense. I grew up with a 'common sense' view that increasingly strained under the systems around me. When I got a job they wanted a photo ID. I didn't have one. I bicycled everywhere. I didn't need a drivers license, and my folks believed if I had one their car insurance would cost more. I was able to get employed with an SS card and a birth certificate. So that worked out, but when I got my first paycheck I realized I would need a bank. Sure, I had been raised to distrust banks, but I knew better than to cash a check at the check cashing place.
I couldn't find a bank that would open an account without a state photo ID. I was really angry about it. I didn't really see what driving a car had to do with having a bank account. I was being treated like a criminal. After all: I was GIVING this bank MY money. I was OK with them lending it to others, but it was mine. I didn't see why they needed me to prove to them I was a driver before they would take my money.
So I paid the state govt. for a photo ID, and then went to college with the money I made working on my own. I paid my own way through college, with my parents helping a great deal. (They dissolved an IRA to help pay my way!) Back then my Houston bank wasn't around in New England, so I opened an account there. Under deregulation my bank changed names three times during my time in college. Heck, my Houston account ALSO changed names at least once.
Each Spring I ran out of money and lived on a tight budget. Each spring my bank would 'creatively' process my deposits and withdrawals. They would wait for the end of a work day to process my deposits, but process my debits first thing in the morning. The they would charge me an overdraft fee, and drain my account quickly with this kind of crap. I fought them when they did this. I would go into the bank with my balance book, deposit slips, and my check stubs. In '93 they were pretty understanding. They explained it was a mistake, suggested I open a savings account to avoid problems in the future (with what money?!) and refunded their BS charges.
When they changed names in '94 they tried to play hard ball with me. I angrily escalated the issue and asked to speak to the branch manager. Oddly, I GOT that chance! I calmly explained my position, and the bank manager explained their policy. Then I explained that I understood that I was a nobody to them. I knew it was probably a pain in the ass to process my checks, and that they probably didn't make any money off of student accounts. The manager tried to tell me they didn't see it that way, but I put my hand up and said it was OK. I told her that some day I WOULD have money, and at that point I would remember them. They had a choice to make a friend now, or make sure that I never let a cent of my savings pass through their network again. They waived the fees, and several years later I opted out of a class action against them for this 'creative' accounting practice. (I had never been hurt by their actions, and thus felt I should opt out.)
Since then I HAVE become somebody with a bit of money. I stayed with that bank, but I have watched them get less and less reasonable about fees and customer service. They now pay customers (by waving fees) to never set foot inside the bank. I'm pretty uncomfortable with that attitude.
So, when these same institutions (or, in this case, their cousins) ask me for a huge bailout, I must admit I'm not feeling charitable. I'd like to see their drivers license! I'd like to charge them usurious fees and double digit interest. I'd like to make them take a day off of work to go down and argue with me about accidents I make in accounting. Basically: they made stupid decisions, and it angers me that their idiocy puts us all at risk. Yes, we should save the economy, but just because I want to save the airplane doesn't mean the drunk pilot should get off scott free.
and can we have a presidential debate already?
That probably sounds pretty extreme, but to me it just made common sense. I grew up with a 'common sense' view that increasingly strained under the systems around me. When I got a job they wanted a photo ID. I didn't have one. I bicycled everywhere. I didn't need a drivers license, and my folks believed if I had one their car insurance would cost more. I was able to get employed with an SS card and a birth certificate. So that worked out, but when I got my first paycheck I realized I would need a bank. Sure, I had been raised to distrust banks, but I knew better than to cash a check at the check cashing place.
I couldn't find a bank that would open an account without a state photo ID. I was really angry about it. I didn't really see what driving a car had to do with having a bank account. I was being treated like a criminal. After all: I was GIVING this bank MY money. I was OK with them lending it to others, but it was mine. I didn't see why they needed me to prove to them I was a driver before they would take my money.
So I paid the state govt. for a photo ID, and then went to college with the money I made working on my own. I paid my own way through college, with my parents helping a great deal. (They dissolved an IRA to help pay my way!) Back then my Houston bank wasn't around in New England, so I opened an account there. Under deregulation my bank changed names three times during my time in college. Heck, my Houston account ALSO changed names at least once.
Each Spring I ran out of money and lived on a tight budget. Each spring my bank would 'creatively' process my deposits and withdrawals. They would wait for the end of a work day to process my deposits, but process my debits first thing in the morning. The they would charge me an overdraft fee, and drain my account quickly with this kind of crap. I fought them when they did this. I would go into the bank with my balance book, deposit slips, and my check stubs. In '93 they were pretty understanding. They explained it was a mistake, suggested I open a savings account to avoid problems in the future (with what money?!) and refunded their BS charges.
When they changed names in '94 they tried to play hard ball with me. I angrily escalated the issue and asked to speak to the branch manager. Oddly, I GOT that chance! I calmly explained my position, and the bank manager explained their policy. Then I explained that I understood that I was a nobody to them. I knew it was probably a pain in the ass to process my checks, and that they probably didn't make any money off of student accounts. The manager tried to tell me they didn't see it that way, but I put my hand up and said it was OK. I told her that some day I WOULD have money, and at that point I would remember them. They had a choice to make a friend now, or make sure that I never let a cent of my savings pass through their network again. They waived the fees, and several years later I opted out of a class action against them for this 'creative' accounting practice. (I had never been hurt by their actions, and thus felt I should opt out.)
Since then I HAVE become somebody with a bit of money. I stayed with that bank, but I have watched them get less and less reasonable about fees and customer service. They now pay customers (by waving fees) to never set foot inside the bank. I'm pretty uncomfortable with that attitude.
So, when these same institutions (or, in this case, their cousins) ask me for a huge bailout, I must admit I'm not feeling charitable. I'd like to see their drivers license! I'd like to charge them usurious fees and double digit interest. I'd like to make them take a day off of work to go down and argue with me about accidents I make in accounting. Basically: they made stupid decisions, and it angers me that their idiocy puts us all at risk. Yes, we should save the economy, but just because I want to save the airplane doesn't mean the drunk pilot should get off scott free.
and can we have a presidential debate already?