Credit Cards again
JP Morgan Chase, Citibank, HSBC, Capitol One, BankAmerica, American Express and other major banks issue credit cards to make money. Credit cards can be a useful tool for an intelligent educated responsible consumer. Credit cards can be destructive for consumers who are not intelligent, educated and responsible.
On June 25, 2009, Bernanke (Chairman of the Fed) appeared before Congress to lie about the lies told by Lewis (CEO of BAC) and the lies told by Paulson (former Sec. Treasury and CEO Goldman Sachs). Each called the others, liars. Each told the truth in this case. They all give money to the banks who issue the credit cards.
The members of Congress (who are all liars) use the Congressional Hearing to enable their staff (and themselves) to solicit bribes from the financial services industry. Many issue credit cards.
At the same time, Citicorp announced they are giving huge raises in salary to their top executives and key personnel. Citigroup was given somewhere between $30-90 billion by Congress, Bernanke, Paulson, Obama and Geithner (the new Sec. Treasury). The money Citigroup received was from “bailout”, TARP and other “giveaways”. Citibank is one of biggest issuers of credit cards.
Important government employees get “free” credit cards, expense accounts, cars, gas, vacations, flowers, fine dining, computers and other stuff. The members of Congress, their aides, many relatives, friends and endless other people get the same (including the “free” credit cards and expense accounts).
City and State elected officials learned from Congress. (Or maybe it was visa versa) They get “free” credit cards and expense accounts.
Most major financial services companies, auto makers, NGOs, defense contractors and others that receive government money give “free” credit cards and expense accounts.
Question: If all these parts of government, politicians, etc. get “free” credit cards and expense accounts, who pays? The answer is the people who pay taxes. (*Note- A lot of people have stopped paying taxes.)
Many people who owe money on their credit cards have stopped paying. Issuers of credit cards have negotiated to accept less than the amount owed to settle the debt. Translation: If you stop making your credit card payments, you have a chance of settling for a fraction of what is owed or zero. In some cases the government can wipe out or pay the debt. Ask your elected representative.
Tom notes that the only people who make credit card payments are those who continue to pay. The people who do not pay, pay very little or nothing at all.
Tom suggests you send your credit card statements, bills, etc. to your Congressman or other State and Local Officials. Ask them to pay the amount owed and tell them you want “free” credit cards, expense account and other nice things they give away.
Tom also suggests that you take the money and fund a separate “debit card” account at a trusted local institution because all credit cards may be stopped.
Do you know banks package their credit card loans into securities and sell them to investors? Do you know your pension plan or retirement fund may contain securitized credit card loans? Do you know mutual funds and annuity companies and pension plans invest in credit card loans and mortgage loans and car loans? Do you know that a lot of these loans are “underwater” and will go “kaput”?
Do you know that a lot of banks, Wall Street firms, Insurance Companies, etc. give some credit card profits (bribes) to elected officials?
But … You know.
So … Send your credit card bills to your elected officials and ask them to give your “free” credit cards and all that “free” stuff.
And ... If you have any investment (Pension Plan, Mutual Fund, etc.) that contains credit card, auto, consumer, etc. loans, GET OUT!
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Student Loans #2
Goodbye $350 million: Associated Press. Monday, June 15, 2009. The federal government will spend up to $350 million to help states developing national standards for reading and math, Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced Sunday. Translation: An additional $350 million will go to “consultants”, lobbyists, union leaders, Congressional Aides, campaign contributors and create “no-show payback” jobs.
AP (6/13/09) Obama announced the U.S. will give $73-90 million to Zimbabwe as a “gesture of support”. It is expected 40-90% will go for lobbyists, campaign contributions, favored NGOs, Congressional Aides, administrative “overhead”, consultants and the usual other fees and expenses. The “gesture of support” is for the efforts of the lobbyists, Congress and campaign contributors in the U.S. and the continuing “human rights” violations in Zimbabwe.
WSJ (6/4/09) Congressmen/women get $1.5-4.5 million just to run their offices (despite the fact they get “free” offices in Washington, DC). In addition they get “free” luxury cars, credit cards, flowers, expensive meals, vacations, etc. for their relatives, friends and contributors. In addition they give “bonuses” to their aides, assistants and other random people. This is not audited and Congress refuses to make the information public. It is estimated the average Congressman/woman costs the taxpayer $15-$60 million per year.
WT (6/12/09) Obama fired the Inspector General for the Corporation for National and Community Service. He was looking into stealing and illegal use of taxpayer money involving Obama’s buddy, Kevin Johnson, the Mayor of Sacramento, California.
June 17, 2009. Obama spoke before Congress promising to stop consumer rip-offs, thefts, scams, etc., including student loans. (Congress laughed.)
June 18, 2009, U.S. Senators trying to find out why Neil Barofsky, I.G. appointed to investigate the $700 billion “bailout”, is denied access to information by the Sec. Treasury and threatened to “keep away” from Goldman Sachs, major banks and Wall Street pals of Obama and the current administration.
What does all this mean?
It means that corruption, waste and fraud permeates every function and every level of the U.S. government. It is well known and documented that colleges, banks, Wall Street firms, Congress, lobbyists and other sleazy entities conspire to take money from the ignorant foolish students and their families.
A recent estimate is that the average graduating college student owes in excess of $27,000 in student loans and will be in debt for their entire lives.
Education is treated by our elected and appointed officials as a source graft and corruption. Student costs are vastly inflated due to theft, kickbacks, bribes to Congress, lobbyist costs and a vast variety of “scams”.
According to Karen (Karen is a consultant and participant of CACTUSA) students can justify sending the “bills” for student loan payments to their Congressperson. Karen also advises students use the money to create their own retirement plan as Social Security will probably not exist by the time they are ready to retire. Karen believes there is ample evidence that most student loans were fraudulently originated.
Bottom line: Education costs are inflated. Many student loans are not justified. Send you bills, payment documents to your elected officials. Use saved money to start a retirement plan because relying on government is not a good idea.
Have a nice day.
AP (6/13/09) Obama announced the U.S. will give $73-90 million to Zimbabwe as a “gesture of support”. It is expected 40-90% will go for lobbyists, campaign contributions, favored NGOs, Congressional Aides, administrative “overhead”, consultants and the usual other fees and expenses. The “gesture of support” is for the efforts of the lobbyists, Congress and campaign contributors in the U.S. and the continuing “human rights” violations in Zimbabwe.
WSJ (6/4/09) Congressmen/women get $1.5-4.5 million just to run their offices (despite the fact they get “free” offices in Washington, DC). In addition they get “free” luxury cars, credit cards, flowers, expensive meals, vacations, etc. for their relatives, friends and contributors. In addition they give “bonuses” to their aides, assistants and other random people. This is not audited and Congress refuses to make the information public. It is estimated the average Congressman/woman costs the taxpayer $15-$60 million per year.
WT (6/12/09) Obama fired the Inspector General for the Corporation for National and Community Service. He was looking into stealing and illegal use of taxpayer money involving Obama’s buddy, Kevin Johnson, the Mayor of Sacramento, California.
June 17, 2009. Obama spoke before Congress promising to stop consumer rip-offs, thefts, scams, etc., including student loans. (Congress laughed.)
June 18, 2009, U.S. Senators trying to find out why Neil Barofsky, I.G. appointed to investigate the $700 billion “bailout”, is denied access to information by the Sec. Treasury and threatened to “keep away” from Goldman Sachs, major banks and Wall Street pals of Obama and the current administration.
What does all this mean?
It means that corruption, waste and fraud permeates every function and every level of the U.S. government. It is well known and documented that colleges, banks, Wall Street firms, Congress, lobbyists and other sleazy entities conspire to take money from the ignorant foolish students and their families.
A recent estimate is that the average graduating college student owes in excess of $27,000 in student loans and will be in debt for their entire lives.
Education is treated by our elected and appointed officials as a source graft and corruption. Student costs are vastly inflated due to theft, kickbacks, bribes to Congress, lobbyist costs and a vast variety of “scams”.
According to Karen (Karen is a consultant and participant of CACTUSA) students can justify sending the “bills” for student loan payments to their Congressperson. Karen also advises students use the money to create their own retirement plan as Social Security will probably not exist by the time they are ready to retire. Karen believes there is ample evidence that most student loans were fraudulently originated.
Bottom line: Education costs are inflated. Many student loans are not justified. Send you bills, payment documents to your elected officials. Use saved money to start a retirement plan because relying on government is not a good idea.
Have a nice day.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
(Goodbye Credit Cards 2) AXP
Kenneth Chenault is the CEO of American Express (AXP). His compensation for 2008 was $43,933,172. That means he made over $21,900 per hour. His compensation was determined by the AXP Board of Directors.
AXP (December 2008) asked for and then received $3.9 billion “bailout” funds from the US Taxpayer. AXP’s gross profit for 2008 was $3.4 billion.
Why did the U.S. Government give AXP $3.9 billion? Maybe, it is because AXP gave Congress and other politicians a lot of money? (*1)
AXP makes money the “old fashion” way. They take money from the public and small businesses by charging high interest rates and imposing fees and penalties. They also inflate the cost of merchandise and services by charging high “merchant fees”. This means that even if you do no business with AXP you pay more for goods and services.
AXP also makes our government corrupt by bribing (“contributions”, jobs to relatives, speaking fees, rebates, envelopes stuffed with cash, etc.) politicians and their staff.
Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA) owns a lot of AXP. Warren Buffet (BRKA’s CEO) profits from companies (Coke, Insurance, etc.) that deliver little value, inflate costs and benefit from the stupidity of the American consumer.
Davis Advisory, Vanguard, T. Rowe Price, State Street and other funds also own a lot of AXP. The Board of Directors of AXP is elected by the big shareholders.
The members of Board of Directors are the people directly responsible for paying the CEO of AXP over $21,900 per hour. This means that that the mutual funds (who vote for the Directors) that hold AXP are partially responsible for giving the CEO of AXP over $21,000 per hour and bribing Congress.
Therefore … Davis Advisor, Vanguard, State Street, etc. are all responsible to some extent for the “bad things” AXP does.
What does this mean?
According to Albert (a participating member of CATUSA), it means that AXP is part of the evil that is destroying America. It means the Board of Directors is acting against the interests of the shareholders. It means that mutual funds and pension plans that hold AXP they are acting “against” their shareholders/members by electing the Board of Directors who are looting the company.
What should we do? According to Albert … If you owe interest or fees on an American Express credit card, the amount you owe was probably inflated by the illegal and/or immoral acts of the Credit Card Industry. And if you spent money you didn’t have, you may have been “entrapped” by lies of the Banking/Credit Industries and Wall Street. And … According to Albert, AXP and the banks and Wall Street have already received you tax dollars to make up for their stupidity and losses, including non-payment of credit cards.
So … Albert recommends that you send your credit card bill to your Congressperson, the President and your credit card company and ask them to pay or use the tax dollars they are stealing to settle any outstanding balances.
Do you own shares of AXP? Why? Do you own a mutual fund that owns shares of AXP? Does your pension plan own shares of AXP? Ask them.
If or when AXP (or the funds that hold AXP) collapses, it is better to be first out (SELL NOW)
What about other credit cards?
Do you know that the amount of people who “default” or don’t pay their credit cards is sharply increasing? Do you know that politicians, government employees, government “contractors” and countless others with political “influence” get “free” credit cards? (“Free” credit cards mean the US Taxpayer and your children and grandchildren pay.)
Credit cards may be stopped. Many have already been cancelled, revoked or limited. People trying to buy gas or food with credit cards will be stopped. It is already happening.
What to do? Albert suggests, open a “debit card” account at a new, and hopefully smaller, neighborhood bank. When credit cards are cancelled, debit cards should work. That’s what Albert says and we trust Albert.
(We do not trust or believe what politicians or the banking industry or Wall Street say.) So .... Goodbye AXP.
*1 It works like this, you (taxpayers) give money to government. Congress gives your (taxpayers) money to AXP. AXP give some of the money back to Congress.
*2 According to CCA (Compensation Consultants Associates), the maximum compensation for the top AXP executives should be no more than $325,000.
*3 10 years ago AXP was worth over $60 per share. 5 years ago, AXP was worth over $50.
Bottom line: Shareholders lose. Taxpayers lose. Public loses. Only politicians and AXP top executives and Board of Directors win.
(According to Albert) DON’T PAY! SELL!
AXP (December 2008) asked for and then received $3.9 billion “bailout” funds from the US Taxpayer. AXP’s gross profit for 2008 was $3.4 billion.
Why did the U.S. Government give AXP $3.9 billion? Maybe, it is because AXP gave Congress and other politicians a lot of money? (*1)
AXP makes money the “old fashion” way. They take money from the public and small businesses by charging high interest rates and imposing fees and penalties. They also inflate the cost of merchandise and services by charging high “merchant fees”. This means that even if you do no business with AXP you pay more for goods and services.
AXP also makes our government corrupt by bribing (“contributions”, jobs to relatives, speaking fees, rebates, envelopes stuffed with cash, etc.) politicians and their staff.
Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA) owns a lot of AXP. Warren Buffet (BRKA’s CEO) profits from companies (Coke, Insurance, etc.) that deliver little value, inflate costs and benefit from the stupidity of the American consumer.
Davis Advisory, Vanguard, T. Rowe Price, State Street and other funds also own a lot of AXP. The Board of Directors of AXP is elected by the big shareholders.
The members of Board of Directors are the people directly responsible for paying the CEO of AXP over $21,900 per hour. This means that that the mutual funds (who vote for the Directors) that hold AXP are partially responsible for giving the CEO of AXP over $21,000 per hour and bribing Congress.
Therefore … Davis Advisor, Vanguard, State Street, etc. are all responsible to some extent for the “bad things” AXP does.
What does this mean?
According to Albert (a participating member of CATUSA), it means that AXP is part of the evil that is destroying America. It means the Board of Directors is acting against the interests of the shareholders. It means that mutual funds and pension plans that hold AXP they are acting “against” their shareholders/members by electing the Board of Directors who are looting the company.
What should we do? According to Albert … If you owe interest or fees on an American Express credit card, the amount you owe was probably inflated by the illegal and/or immoral acts of the Credit Card Industry. And if you spent money you didn’t have, you may have been “entrapped” by lies of the Banking/Credit Industries and Wall Street. And … According to Albert, AXP and the banks and Wall Street have already received you tax dollars to make up for their stupidity and losses, including non-payment of credit cards.
So … Albert recommends that you send your credit card bill to your Congressperson, the President and your credit card company and ask them to pay or use the tax dollars they are stealing to settle any outstanding balances.
Do you own shares of AXP? Why? Do you own a mutual fund that owns shares of AXP? Does your pension plan own shares of AXP? Ask them.
If or when AXP (or the funds that hold AXP) collapses, it is better to be first out (SELL NOW)
What about other credit cards?
Do you know that the amount of people who “default” or don’t pay their credit cards is sharply increasing? Do you know that politicians, government employees, government “contractors” and countless others with political “influence” get “free” credit cards? (“Free” credit cards mean the US Taxpayer and your children and grandchildren pay.)
Credit cards may be stopped. Many have already been cancelled, revoked or limited. People trying to buy gas or food with credit cards will be stopped. It is already happening.
What to do? Albert suggests, open a “debit card” account at a new, and hopefully smaller, neighborhood bank. When credit cards are cancelled, debit cards should work. That’s what Albert says and we trust Albert.
(We do not trust or believe what politicians or the banking industry or Wall Street say.) So .... Goodbye AXP.
*1 It works like this, you (taxpayers) give money to government. Congress gives your (taxpayers) money to AXP. AXP give some of the money back to Congress.
*2 According to CCA (Compensation Consultants Associates), the maximum compensation for the top AXP executives should be no more than $325,000.
*3 10 years ago AXP was worth over $60 per share. 5 years ago, AXP was worth over $50.
Bottom line: Shareholders lose. Taxpayers lose. Public loses. Only politicians and AXP top executives and Board of Directors win.
(According to Albert) DON’T PAY! SELL!
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