I have recently been dealing with creditors and the fair debt collection act. I am amazed at how little most people understand everyday economics and live way beyond their means. I can't get over it. I was brought up in a household where if you didn't have cash you didn't buy it.
Don't get me wrong, I understand there is good debt and bad debt. Mortgages are good debt. Owning a home is the major investment for most people, besides which you get a hefty deduction for interest paid on a mortgage. Student loans are usually good debt. Education can increase lifetime earning in addition to making you more marketable to employers. The real problem I have seen is credit cards.
I have no problem with credit cards per se. More with how people use them and the enormous balances they have. Two of my close friends have balances roughly equal to half a years salary for them. How does that happen? I hate to be paternalistic, but how do these companies justify giving people such great amounts of credit.
How do people expect to ever retire? I don't get it.
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
My kind of law.
Now here is the kind of law that the government should be passing. One that really gets to the heart of problems that exist today. Does it tackle the homeless problem? Does it help law enforcement? Does it provide better public education? Of course not, it does however prevent physicians from writing prescriptions in cursive. I mean come on.....
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/274707_cursive21.html
I am sure thousands of taxpayer dollars went into this. Couldn't doctors figure this one out for themselves?
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/274707_cursive21.html
I am sure thousands of taxpayer dollars went into this. Couldn't doctors figure this one out for themselves?
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Cops
Did you ever have a week where your life felt like you were watching the TV show cops. Whatcha going to do when the come for you?
In the lastweek, in addition to a friend of a friend going to jail, another friend of said friend, got charged with felony theft. This friend, of my friend, happens to be an attorney who is a self-professed "lousy business woman." In otherwords she is unable to keep her trust account correctly to the tune of $50k. This allegedly goes beyond simple malpractice. I shudder to think what the real story is. I am doubtful that $50k for a solo practitioner is a simple case of mistake and I know they wouldn't charge her if this was the only incident.
Then today I witnessed a hit and run. This is a first for me. I watched a white four door sedan hit a grey SUV. A young blond man got out of the car and surveyed the damages. He looked not quite twenty. He then got into his car pulled up alongside a friend and left. This wasn't a little scratch but rather a REALLY big dent in the hind quarter of the car. I saw this and so did another woman. The other woman got the license plate number. I wrote it down and she ran to the police office.
The officer looked up the license plate we had taken down and it turns out the offending car was stolen! The officer took my statement and told me that since I got a good look at him, if they compile a list of suspects that I might need to look at a photo montage or do a line-up.
In the lastweek, in addition to a friend of a friend going to jail, another friend of said friend, got charged with felony theft. This friend, of my friend, happens to be an attorney who is a self-professed "lousy business woman." In otherwords she is unable to keep her trust account correctly to the tune of $50k. This allegedly goes beyond simple malpractice. I shudder to think what the real story is. I am doubtful that $50k for a solo practitioner is a simple case of mistake and I know they wouldn't charge her if this was the only incident.
Then today I witnessed a hit and run. This is a first for me. I watched a white four door sedan hit a grey SUV. A young blond man got out of the car and surveyed the damages. He looked not quite twenty. He then got into his car pulled up alongside a friend and left. This wasn't a little scratch but rather a REALLY big dent in the hind quarter of the car. I saw this and so did another woman. The other woman got the license plate number. I wrote it down and she ran to the police office.
The officer looked up the license plate we had taken down and it turns out the offending car was stolen! The officer took my statement and told me that since I got a good look at him, if they compile a list of suspects that I might need to look at a photo montage or do a line-up.
Monday, June 12, 2006
First time in Jail
I did not get arrested but rather a friend of a friend got arrested. Of course it happened on a Friday night and they could not get arraigned or bonded until Monday morning. As a super-friend it was my responsibility to visit said friend of a friend in lock-up, because of course non-attornies were not allowed to visit.
If you didn't know, I am not a criminal attorney. I have never, ever, even once wanted to be involved in a criminal case. That being said, my first experience visiting a jail went well well. I was buzzed in, produced my id and bar card (who would have known I would have ever used my bar card for something), and then I was buzzed into the room with the glass where you can sit across from someone and talk on the phone. I only interacted with someone briefly, besides the person I was meeting. Mostly I talked through little speakers in the wall to the jailers. (Are they called jailers anymore) Overall, quite an interesting experience.
The most interesting part is that in the local jail, the inmates are actually dressed in scrub typed outfits with GIANT BLACK STRIPES, just like in the old movies! Although they do wear long sleeved orange shirts underneath. In any case the most interesting part of my weekend by far was going to jail. For the record, I did not pass go or collect $200.
If you didn't know, I am not a criminal attorney. I have never, ever, even once wanted to be involved in a criminal case. That being said, my first experience visiting a jail went well well. I was buzzed in, produced my id and bar card (who would have known I would have ever used my bar card for something), and then I was buzzed into the room with the glass where you can sit across from someone and talk on the phone. I only interacted with someone briefly, besides the person I was meeting. Mostly I talked through little speakers in the wall to the jailers. (Are they called jailers anymore) Overall, quite an interesting experience.
The most interesting part is that in the local jail, the inmates are actually dressed in scrub typed outfits with GIANT BLACK STRIPES, just like in the old movies! Although they do wear long sleeved orange shirts underneath. In any case the most interesting part of my weekend by far was going to jail. For the record, I did not pass go or collect $200.
Joyce Copyright case
It will be interesting to see how this one comes out. I personally think that scholarly works are completely beyond the pale of the copyright clause, but in reality the legality of it is somewhat in the air.
It bothers me completely that the same people who believe in limited government want it to expand in the direction of protecting copyrights to the detriment of the public good.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060613/ap_on_en_ot/james_joyce_lawsuit
It bothers me completely that the same people who believe in limited government want it to expand in the direction of protecting copyrights to the detriment of the public good.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060613/ap_on_en_ot/james_joyce_lawsuit
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