Money & Main Street

WHAT IS THE EXIT STRATEGY FOR GOVERNMENT STIMULUS?

MrSamD — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 20:15:20 GMT

That is the question asked most often by critics of the government stimulus program. They fear a return to pre-Reagan wastefulness in government programs. I concede that this is a difficult question and the risks of big government characterized by waste is a worthy concern. I also know that government is the only entity capable of making the investments needed to resurrect our crashing economy. My answer to those skeptics is "capital formation facilitated by government programs".

The first challenge is we (the people) need jobs. We need good jobs in sustainable industry. The jobs must employ people in their highest, most productive capabilities. These jobs must create productivity enhancing infrastructure through investment. The projects must be of such substantial size that the investment continues for years and that there is enough spin-off technology to fuel growth in small business through entrepreneurship. Prior programs such as the NASA space program, Interstate Highway system, and TVA rural electrification are good examples. These programs added permanent (long term employment) jobs to the economy and spawned other industries.

The second challenge is we need to pay for these initiatives and efficiently manage the infrastructures created. Government is more apt to introduce bureaucracy and resulting inefficiency in the running of the programs after the infrastructure has been built. So this is where our system of capitalism and supply side economics becomes so powerful. The government exits the program by privatizing the programs when the "construction" is complete. The government should create a corporation and IPO the stock to get a return on its investment. The return of capital plus "capital gains" would then be available for funding new programs and retiring the original debt. Private industry would run the program and the infrastructure would be owned by private investors. Many of these new companies may be natural monopolies requiring government regulation such as mass transit and electric utilities. Other programs such as education and health insurance may require a public/private partnership to assure an affordable standard of quality is maintained.

In summary, certain socially desirable projects are too big to garner private initiative and private investment. These projects would create the high value, high pay jobs of the future. The government is the most likely candidate to make these investments but does not need to be "in the business" of running the finished projects. Once large investment projects are complete and operational, government should exit the project, collect a fair return on its invested capital, redeploy the resources for new projects, and reduce debt. As the economy reaches full employment the government gradually recedes from the business of "capital formation" and pays down the debt. This fiscal restraint returns capital and resources to private enterprise where it will be most productive in a growing economy and reloads the arsenal for the future.

Arizona's Problems and Possible Solutions

xkater — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:22:25 GMT

I met State House of Representatives Minority Leader, David Lujan on November 19 2009. He was the guest speaker at a Democratic event.

He formed an exploratory commitee to "test the waters" for a possible run to be our attorney general. Our present AG hopes to run for the governor's office.

Arizona is in hopeless impass as far as the budget. With a Republican governor and both houses heavily dominated by Republicans (for decades), the democrats have very little input. Our Democrat governor went on to a cabinet post and we miss her. But even with her, the democrats lacked enough influence to keep Republicans in check.

I will focus on what Mr. Lujan had to say about our economy and unemployment figures, which place Arizona towards the bottom of stats.

I learned from Mr. Lujan and previously from another would-be candidate for office, that the Stimulus money is not used efficiently in Arizona in order to create jobs and to boost the economy. The biggest problem is that many state agencies did not prepare plans to use the money by "hitting the ground running". Many still have no projects ready to use the money. We are way behind everyone. But guess what? Most everything is run by Republicans around here. And they drag their feet at every step. Why? My opinion is that they try to sabotage Obama's plans. They hope he and the Democrats fall out of graces with voters.

We, Democrats of Arizona are hoping (and working) to make this a Blue state in 2010, like Colorado did a few years back.

For now though we are only to blame indirectly for the problems of this state. We just did not have enough elected officials here. This is changing rapidly.

As for the poor economy and unemployment situation the blame should rest entirely with the Republican-dominated legislature and the Republican governor and various agencies run by Republicans.

I thank Mr. Lujan for explaining these problems and his insight as to how to correct them. I hope he will run for the office and win.

Keep America Beautiful, Inc. Crowdsources New Logo To Indonesian Designer

PublicDomain — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:01:50 GMT

Where does the graphic designer who created a well known American non-profit's new logo live?

a. New York

b. Los Angeles

c. Chicago

d. Indonesia

Answer: d. Indonesia

Keep America Beautiful, Inc., the organization that in its words, "follows a practical approach that unites citizens, businesses and government to find solutions that advance our core issues of preventing litter, reducing waste and beautifying communities." is paying an Indonesian graphic designer $750 to create their new Keep America Beautiful logo.

http://www.crowdspring.com/projects/graphic_design/logo/keep_america_beautiful_logo_design_for_nonprofit__1

http://www.crowdspring.com/projects/graphic_design/logo/keep_america_beautiful_logo_design_for_nonprofit__1/details

Here are the facts.

Robert Wallace, Vice President of Communications for Keep America Beautiful, Inc. sponsored a logo contest via Crowdspring, LLC, a graphic design crowdsourcing website.

Crowdsourcing is described by Wiktionary as "delegating a task to a large diffuse group, usually without monetary compensation."

In this instance, there were 462 designs submitted and only 1 was chosen, meaning dozens of graphic designers received no compensation for their work.

The surely unintended irony is that the crowdsourced design chosen for the new Keep America Beautiful logo was created by an Indonesian designer who goes by the name Fabiola.

According to Wikipedia "The ethical, social, and economic implications of crowdsourcing are subject to wide debate. For example, author and media critic, Douglas Rushkoff, in an interview published in Wired News, expressed ambivalence about the term and its implications."

A Wikipedia article about the crowdsourcing website Crowdspring includes the following. "The company and its business model have received some criticisms for being spec work. This is the process of asking professionals to complete custom work for the chance of getting payment."

Banks - Above the Fee

boudap — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 12:22:51 GMT

To the consumer, a debit transaction is perceived as occurring in real-time; i.e. the money is withdrawn from their account immediately following the authorization request from the merchant, which in many countries, is the case when making an online debit purchase.

This is a story that all consumers who have or plan to have a bank account should be aware of:

I have been a loyal patron of Washington Mutual Bank before it was acquired by Chase Bank. While washington Mutual was managing my account I never incurred any problems with my money. Since Chase Bank took over my account, there have been repeated errors and discrepancies. One example that really drives my point home is described below.

On the morning of November 18, 2009 I woke around 6:00am to check on my ACH deposit of my payroll check. I accessed my account and my transaction history showed that my payroll check had posted and there were 4 authorized debits pending. I withdrew some of my funds and proceeded with my day. Later that day I attempted to use my debit card again and it was declined. Needless to say I was embarrassed and confused. I contacted Chase customer service department and was advised that the bank debited funds from my account. For what? I asked. The customer service representative could not tell me the reason for the debit. I was transferred to three different departments before I was informed that the bank had made an error on a 10/20/2009 debit. They pushed through the funds they had debited unauthorized, and they returned two of the authorized debits that were showing pending when I check my online transaction history after speaking with Chase.

Previously, on 10-20-09 I contacted Chase to inquire and complain about the unfair posting of my debit transactions and the excessive overdraft fees. After speaking with a Chase representative on this date, I was advised that the matter would be looked into.

I distinctly remember making an ATM withdrawal on 10-20-2009. When I arrive back home on 10-20-2009, I immediately check my bank transaction history. My transaction history reflected the debit transaction.

On the morning of October 21, 2009 I check my transaction history again there was a posting for my debit on 10/20 and a credit which posted on 10/21. I assumed that this was credited back to my account due to my incessants complaints on the previous day regarding the unethical posing of my debits to the account.

This was not the case. After getting bounced around several different departments at Chase I was advised that the ATM where I withdrew the funds made an error. I advised them that I withdrew funds that had been deposited into my account on the morning of 10/20 and I did not touch the money that was credited to the account on 10/21.

If there was an error and they did credit my account, I never used the money, so why was it debited from my paycheck?
I checked my statement online and now, there is no record of any debit or credit on 10/20/2009 for the amount that the bank specified.

If there was an error, why was I not informed by Chase of htis error. Chase can contact me via phone, email, or US mail. I called several times to Chase during the period of 10/20/09 - 11/18/09, and no one advised that there even had been a mistake.

Can the bank debit your account without authorization due to their mistake without notifying the comsumer? There were no account alerts posted regarding the bank error. Also, Chase changes my transaction history when my account is low on funds, or when it suits them; so that they can apply as many fees as possible. Can they change a customer's transaction history to reflect what they want on and account? They are holding debit transactions for three, four, sometimes five business days. Unbelievable!!

Lower Credit Limit

jcarlsen — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:52:55 GMT

On a tight budget, any family does what it must to beat the recession. In this trying time, my family has decided not to apply for more credit. We have one credit card with only a $500 limit.

This ensures that if we max it out, we can pay it back in 1-2 months. We are trying to not build a debt that may potnentially cripple us.

That said, my wife and I are both students, so we need the credit card at times when we do not have money to pay for books. It can be a hefty sum of money to buy six or seven textbooks.

Growing bottom line profits with cash back from your lease

MrSamD — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:21:26 GMT

In this tough economy wouldn't you like to get a nice check back from your landlord? That's the question Richard Nahodyl, founder of ADVANCE Lease Audits, asks CFOs when he walks into their office. CFOs have tightened the bolts on their businesses to the point they're about to blow the hatch, but this is one gold mine that most CFOs overlook. It all starts out when your corporate attorney negotiates terms for your lease. Your terms are different from the the guy next door. Additionally, your attorney probably inserted an nice clause that allows you to audit your landlord's expenses; at least those that are being billed back to you or used to calculate your rent increase. The reality is that your landlord probably overlooks some of those hard fought negotiated items when your rent was recalculated. That's where Richard Nahodyl and his team of CPAs come to your rescue. They audit your landlord's records to find you savings. The best part? Their fee is derived from the savings they find for you!

Richard's service is known in the industry as a lease audit; but he explains that the term "lease audit" is a bit of a misnomer. "We don't really audit the lease. We audit the invoices used by the landlord to calculate variable costs, escalation clauses, and common area charges. We then compare what the landlord used to calculate the charges with the terms of the lease. Frequently we'll find things like marketing expense charged back to tenants and that's not allowed!"

Richard grew up on Long Island and lived for several years in Canada before settling in the South. He started his career in commercial real estate when doors were open and he could just walk in the front door of a business, sit down with a CFO, and pitch his services. He was always a top tier performer in business development. Mix together the tenacity of a native New Yorker with thirty years in commercial real estate and garnish it with southern hospitality and you have Richard's recipe for success. He knows this is a difficult area for landlords to comply with - they typically leave it up to the tenant to audit. He also understands tenants want a good relationship with their landlord. Handling the audit must be done cordially and professionally.

Companies who lease space in excess of 25,000 square feet in multiple tenant facilities are most likely to benefit from a lease audit. Every lease has unique negotiated terms and the landlord's accounting isn't usually sophisticated enough to parcel out the costs as required by the different lease agreements. There are some big firms offering lease audit services in New York and Los Angeles but the market is quite nascent in the southeast. Richard expects his first on the scene advantage in Atlanta coupled with his deep knowledge of the theory and ability to touch the landlords will eventually propel ADVANCE Lease Audits to a preeminent position in the region.

When Richard isn't shaking hands with CFOs and directing audits, he loves to paint abstract art. For Richard, it lets him keep the left and right side of his brain active. "It's such a release to shift gears from looking at numbers and details to expressing myself with rich color and texture on the canvas."

If your company could use a little cash in your checking account or your bottom line needs a boost let Richard Nahodyl and his team mine the gold in your lease agreement. For more information about ADVANCE Lease Audits visit them on the web at: www.advlad.com

Photography and reporting by Sam Dobrow. Sam Dobrow is a freelance writer and photographer based in Atlanta, GA for more information about Sam Dobrow visit www.samdobrowphotography.com on the web.

So You Want to Build an Electric Drift Car?

mpgomatic — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:48:55 GMT

Have you ever thought about converting your car to run on electric power? MPGomatic caught up with Gerry Martselos of http://idriveelectric.com in the SEMA 2009 Making Green Cool Zone. We got the word on how Gerry replaced the gasoline engine and gas tank in his Nissan 240SX drift car with an electric motor and a slew of batteries.

Fifth of Five SEMA '09 reports from http://MPGomatic.com ...

24 Hours to Make a Deal with BofA's Collection Agency - or Else...

Floridata — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:03:50 GMT

I found out how to instead file a dispute with BofA. If nothing else this might buy me a little time... Then I take drugs.
Then I recognize a new symptom in my loved one who suffers from dementia - it's called visual agnosia, which means his brain isn't correctly processing the objects he sees. This is bad news.

This is the November 16, 2009 entry for the Down in Dementialand - Caregivers Video Diary at:

http://www.floridata.com/briarpatch/briarpatch.cfm

Credit Card rate restrictions blocked by GOP

Weehawk — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 03:15:25 GMT

Thanks GOP, you have the average man's best interest at heart.

Republican senators on Wednesday blocked an effort to debate a bill that would prevent credit card companies from raising interest rates ahead of new regulations coming into force next year.

The move angered congressional Democrats who were pushing for an emergency freeze on credit card rates.

"I’m extremely disappointed that the financial health of millions of American taxpayers has been completely brushed aside by a handful of Wall Street banking interests in the US Senate," Rep. Betsy Markey (D-CO) said, as quoted in the Coloradoan.

Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT), who heads the Senate Banking Committee, had authored a bill that would have prevented credit card issuers from hiking interest rates ahead of a new law coming into effect in February that restricts how and when rates can be raised.

Earlier this year, Dodd wrote and passed through the Senate the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act, which requires credit card issuers to give customers advance notice before hiking rates and fees.

That bill comes into force in February. But, as news sources reported earlier this year, credit card companies took advantage of the delay to hike interest rates before the bill became law.

Dodd's latest bill would freeze credit card rates where they are now until the new law comes into effect next year. It would also require credit card companies to review all interest hikes going back to the beginning of 2009 to see if customers were overcharged.

But when Dodd asked for the Senate's unanimous consent to discuss the bill, Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MI) "objected on the behalf of several of his GOP colleagues, preventing debate," reports The Hill.

"Knowing that the Credit CARD Act would finally protect consumers from these abuses, the industry has tried to make one last grab for their customers' pocketbooks," Dodd said Wednesday.

"The reason we allowed a gap period between the passage of the legislation and the imposition of the regulations or the statutory requirements was because the industry came to me and said, you know senator, we're going to need some time to administer, to change how we provide these kinds of benefits to people. So would you give us a little window here to operate?" Dodd said.

"Unfortunately they've taken that window and used it as a way to jam in on the consumers of this country," Dodd said.

A Rasmussen poll released Tuesday shows that about half of Americans -- 50 percent -- saw their credit card interest rates go up in the past six months.

Jack Recaps His Story for BofA

Floridata — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:56:25 GMT

Jack describes his hardship case and learns he has twenty-four hours to beat the clock and make a deal with Bank of America's collection agency or else...

This is the November 16, 2009 entry for the Down in Dementialand - Caregivers Video Diary at:

http://www.floridata.com/briarpatch/briarpatch.cfm

Still Room In The Jungle..

BetweenUnI — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:16:21 GMT

Foreclosures hitting more people with good credit

WASHINGTON – The foreclosure crisis likely will persist well into next year as high unemployment pushes more people out of homes, pulls down housing prices and raises concerns about the broader economic recovery.

By ALAN ZIBEL, AP Real Estate Writer

The latest evidence was a report Thursday that a rising proportion of fixed-rate home loans made to people with good credit are sinking into foreclosure. That's a shift from last year, when riskier subprime loans drove the housing crisis.

The report from the Mortgage Bankers Association also found that 14 percent of homeowners with a mortgage were either behind on payments or in foreclosure at the end of September. It was a record-high figure for the ninth straight quarter.

The data suggest the housing market and the broader recovery will remain under pressure from the surge in home-loan defaults, especially as unemployment keeps rising. Lost jobs are the main reason homeowners are falling behind on their mortgages.

Banks and Credit Bureaus are the worst!

Lambros1 — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:44:55 GMT

Banks and Credit Bureaus are killing the people

I am a loan officer looking to help people in this temporary bad economy.

Go for a home mortgage today, and see what you will have to provide the banks.

They got our money from the feds and hide behind the credit bureaus to deny your mortgage loan or give you a high rate or charge us added fees.

The gov should add 100 or more points to every credit score to make up for the economy problems. After all, they gave the auto makers money with bad credit…