Bouncing Hedgehog

Posts Tagged ‘money’

I recently received my yearly “give us money” missive from our local fire department. Nothing too unusual there. I am sure that most Americans get similar letters too. This year though, there is an added twist. This year it’s not the usual “we need your help” type letter – it’s a “give us money or else” demand.

“Or else what?” I hear you ask. Well may you ask. My local fire department has now adopted the practice (totally illegal in many states but not West Virginia apparently – of billing anyone who uses their services who hasn’t coughed up the “voluntary” donation.

What a fine shining example of capitalism. Making money out of other people’s misery. And don’t think for one second that if you have insurance and the fire department bills you that they will cover the cost – insurance companies are fighting that one and refusing to pay up. So… if you haven’t met their demands donated to them but you do have insurance it’s probably cheaper to let your house burn.

And what happens if your neighbor calls them out because your house is on fire? Who gets the bill then? Inquiring minds (well.. mine anyway) want to know.

It’s time this iniquitous practice was stamped out nationwide.

It seems the lipsticked one – Sarah Palin – is at it again with her claims of “Death Panels.” Well… this is old news isn’t it? Don’t insurance companies already fulfil that role?

Frankly I’m not prepared to waste my time on this fine example of brain power, suffice to say…

It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you’re a fool, rather than open it and prove it.

This is all about money and profit. Not health care. $1.5 million per day to speak out against the “evils” of universal health care says it all. Is America really dumb enough to fall for this baloney again?

You have to laugh. You do. Really. The alternative is crying. Trina Thompson a graduate of Monroe College in the Bronx is apparently sueing her former college because she couldn’t get a job. “They have not tried hard enough to help me,” she wails in her lawsuit.

Poor little sausage. Finding a job by herself is obviously all too much for her. Welcome to the real world Trina. Perhaps anyone who has ever had an education could also sue if they can’t find a job. After all… God forbid that anyone anywhere should ever have to take responsibility for their own life. Whatever next?

I am all for colleges helping their students try to get a job, but to hold the college responsible when the student can’t find one they like? Give me a break. Read the rest of this entry »

I was absolutely gobsmacked to read that medical bills are the leading cause of bankruptcy in the US. I know of no other country where this is the case.

The figures are really quite staggering. An estimated 1,500,000 Americans will declare bankruptcy this year. Now many people would put that down to Americans chasing the myth of the “American Dream” and buying crap that they really don’t need and certainly can’t afford. A new study (to be published in the August issue of The American Journal of Medicine) however, suggests that 60% of those declaring bankruptcy this year will do so because of medical bills. Read the rest of this entry »

My wife and I usually donate to a few of our charities of choice each year and do so online. Recently we made what appears to be a mistake. We don’t (or didn’t) receive many requests through the mail but got one recently to which we chose to donate. Just $10. Not a fortune by anyone’s standards, but we aren’t rich and times are tough.

As a result we seem to have gone on the mailing list of every damn charity out there.

We are very selective about whom we donate to and do not donate to charities that do not conform to the criteria we have. Which is most of them. Read the rest of this entry »