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Not long ago there was a call to raise the reconnect fees for utilities, by the utilities of course. Will that help the person who had their gas or power cut off for late payment or non-payment of the bill? It will help; it will help the utility company raise its bottom line so it can continue to pay bonuses to its executives and dividends to its stock owners.
Why do the rich think the poor can afford $29, $39, $80 fees, (over limit, late payment, reconnect)? If the poor are in financial trouble, what makes the rich think raising the fees will help anyone but themselves?
Raising fees only hurts the poor; fees make it impossible for the poor to catch up, and causes them to choose between one bill or the other or food and fuel.
If the poor could borrow enough money to get debt free, except for the one payment and living expenses, could they then live on their income? I think so; at least the majority of them would take that one chance to get right with the money side of their life and keep it in the black from then on.
Our government is giving the rich a huge windfall, billions that they do not have to lend to anyone, billions they do not have to use the help anyone except themselves, I think it is time for the rich to start sharing their wealth by helping the poor.
Here is my challenge to the rich: Find 1, 10, 100, or 1000 people that you can help get out of debt with money you have. Charge them a low interest rate, less than 5% and then reap the benefits, mostly satisfaction. Help them once and if they fail to pay or they ask for more, write them off and forget them, you tried they didn’t.
Rich people, forget giving your money to some charity or foundation, give it directly to those who need it, that way there is no chance it will end up in the wrong pockets.
Along this same idea is traffic fines, we, the people who the laws are written to protect have no say in how high our elected government raises the fines for breaking a minor law while driving our vehicles. There are even laws out there that specify how much revenue a community can raise each year by issuing citations, otherwise the police department will get rich while the taxpayers go to the poor house for parking to far from the curb!
I'm not saying fines are wrong, all I'm saying is they are getting too high for a minor offense. When it takes 3/4 of your weekly paycheck to pay a speeding ticket, there is something wrong with the system. It is especially wrong when half the time the speed zones are not very well marked and a person gets caught at highway speeds after passing the city limit sign without ever having seen a reduced speed ahead sign (because it isn't there or is covered in vines).
We citizens are having a hard enough time making ends meet with layoffs, plant shutdowns and other financial difficulties without our local, state and federal governments sticking it to us without our ability to say NO MORE!
Obama said he was going to do something about the credit industry; I'm still waiting for my credit card companies to lower their fees and interest rates so I guess he was just blowing smoke.