Is it time for Revolt?

I agree with E. Don. If I loan someone money I think about it. Will they pay me back? Do I trust them? Sometimes I am paid back with housecleaning, and recently I loaned my daughter some money for a very good business endeavor doing websites for the university (a very talented individual). She now calls me every day and I love it.

My mother's problems only came to true light when she went to the nursing home and I brought all her possessions to my home. I called the nursing home and asked them to only give her personal mail and send the rest to me. The fact they saw no problem with this indicated this occurred frequently.

My mother had a paid up house that sustained her for a number of years as well as a small retirement. She did not live high but only purchased essentials. She took care of her great grandchildren after school for over ten years, and showed love to all.

She also had a $10,000 life insurance policy. It paid for her funeral expenses and the rest went to the county. We consulted with an attorney along the way. I had offered a payment to each credit card but they all refused and ended up with nothing.

Did the rest of us pay for this? No. What was owed was interest. The banks lost out, no person.

Carol

Carol, rest easy. The elderly in this country are not treasured as in other cultures. If someone wants to make something of your elderly mother's affairs, that's their problem, not yours. The taxpayer pays for plenty that is corrupt and horrid; we need to ferret out those things before we attack the elderly.

You are a kind, loving and spiritual person. I am sure your mom was the same.

P.S. There have been times when I had to prioritize which bills I paid because of economic downturns, etc. I was never a "deadbeat" and neither are many of the hard-working people who have run into economic troubles. Labels are such harsh things. People are individuals with their own issues to bear and decisions to make, some which might not be pleasing to others but are necessary in the circumstances. Today, people are divorcing to survive the insurance glitches.

I decided to brag a little here about my loan to my talented daughter.

http://www.uwstructuralgenomics.org/cesghome.htm

She has designed another website called WisconsinScience bringing together all the cutting edge scientific project of the university, just because she was part of the scientific community there and also because she could. Now she needs someone at the university to support this worthwhile project. It was a worthwhile investment for me.

Thanks DK. There were many difficult decisions made regarding my mother.

Carol

I blame the banks.

They overextend credit and charge too high interest.
Then †hey raise †heir †oo high interest even higher.
The only way to use a credit card is to pay it off every month.

That's right Alice. I do a lot of shopping online and need that credit card, but it gets paid off each month.

I might have mentioned this situation here before. But last July Tom and I both got a book of coupons from our prescription drug plan, a popular well-known insurance agency. Tom called the company to find why the coupons started in January and it was July. They said he had to pay up through July, that previously payments had been made through other means but no longer were. I checked the bank statement and the fee was not there. And I made some checking on the social security payment, which did not change except for the "cost of living" increase we got each year. So I called and asked how we had been paying for this insurance premium. They said, "you haven't, since Feb. 2007. We made an error and never completed getting the premium out of your social security, but we realize going back to February 2007 would put too much of a financial burden on our insurance holders, so we will not do that. But we do need the premiums since January."

Wow. Someone who made a mistake and took responsibility. They paid over $2000 for both our coverages. Sometimes people do the right thing.

Carol

dkchristi wrote:

Carol, rest easy. The elderly in this country are not treasured as in other cultures.

What an odd comment. I treasure my parents. I assume you treasure yours. I don't treasure yours, though, just like you don't treasure mine. I respect them.

I don't expect you to pay for my parents' retirement. I'm not sure why you expect me to pay for yours.

Strange interpretations. I am my brother's keeper to some extent, a member of the human race, connected by our common humanity and perhaps the same spiritual source from which we achieve life.

Not all of us receive the same measure of resources in this life, and I repeat that I treasure the divinity in you and your parents and would not want you to expire in poverty and despair if I had the means to make a difference.

Well, that's great. I wouldn't want yours to "expire in poverty and despair," either. What I want is for everyone to take responsibility for themelves and their families. I recognize that not everyone can do this, and I have no problem contributing to a minimum standard.

What I have a problem with is being told that my minimum standard needs to be the same to keep things "fair," or taxed disproportionately to this end (40% of our citizens pay no taxes at all. EVERYONE should have some skin in the game, no matter how "poor.")

Awhile ago you discussed your stepmother (or ex-MIL or someone), who spent many years caring for her grandkids for free, and then being kicked to the curb when she wasn't needed anymore. Sad, but not my problem. Her choice, her problem. Sorry.

Some people have an education level that is not sufficient to make good choices for their future. Others have life circumstances that create difficulties through no fault of their own. I am fortunate that I had the opportunity to seek a world view and an education. Yet, I, too, have had my share of hard knocks when a helping hand made a great difference. The good and the bad that I have experienced were not always the results of my good or bad choices, they resulted from other outside influences.

I don't believe you are as harsh as you sound; if so, I am sorry. I don't think our taxing system is fair to anyone; I am willing, like you, to pay my fair share to help others less able. Determining the fair share, however, is enough to drive one to insanity. So, rather than hate and moan about those who have learned to beat the system, hide their wealth and use all the loopholes, I just work with my accountant to pay my taxes as the rules dictate. I believe I am among many, even some of the wealthy (very few I imagine) who do the same. Otherwise, the government would be in worse financial shape than it is.

It never ceases to amaze me that with all the technology and science and financial acumen at our disposal, the government taxing structure is such a mess. Of course, it is the result of political interest, influence and greed. I shouldn't be amazed.

DK,
Too bad there are not people like you in politics.

Abe F. March wrote:

DK,
Too bad there are not people like you in politics.

?? There are. They're the ones taxing us to death to buy votes from those who want endless support. Nancy Pelosi, I'm looking at you.