HallSlug.com

Modern Day Government Subsisdized Loansharks

Where is the help for the hard working men and women that helped to build and maintain this great country of ours?

US banks stand to collect a record $38.5bn in fees for customer overdrafts this year, with the bulk of the revenue coming from the most financially stretched consumers amid the deepest recession since the 1930s, according to research. The fees are nearly double those reported in 2000.

The finding is likely to increase public hostility towards the financial sector, which has been under political pressure to ease the burden on consumers by increasing credit availability and lending more fairly after being bailed out by taxpayers.

The median bank overdraft fee has this year rose from $25 to $26, according to Moebs, the first time it has gone up in a recession for more than 40 years.

“Banks are returning to a fee-driven model and overdraft fees are the mother lode,” said Mike Moebs, the company’s founder.

Overdraft fees accounted for more than three-quarters of service fees charged on customer deposits, he said.

The most cash-strapped customers are the hardest hit by such fees, with 90 per cent of overdraft revenues coming from 10 per cent of the 130m checking accounts in the US. Regular use of overdrafts is most common among consumers with low credit scores, Moebs discovered.

How much is Joe American, used to being middle class,  expected to suffer?

We are all getting tired of being raped by the so called suffering financial institutions in this country and the Fed.

Yet they somehow find the funds to pay out billions in exorbitant  bonuses, while denying credit to the businesses that can help get America and the GDP moving more positive.

Maybe it’s time for the average consumer to pay cash or put it away, like the old days on layaway.

I’m thinking that we all have responsibility in this crisis, but many of us are also getting tired of being plugged in the ass dry.  Cash is king for now and if you can’t afford to pay cash maybe it’s more of a want than a need. To be truthful I’m looking forward to a simper, kinder, and more loving America.

Ironically it seems like those who are most affected by the economy,  are also the same families and individuals who are best coping with our current economic crisis.

If this is capitalism, then I suppose I’m guilty of being a socialist.

I believe in the fair and equitable distribution of wealth.  The hypocrisy in this nation never ceases to amaze me.  We claim to be a God Fearing and loving Nation, yet we turn a blind eye to those who can’t take care of themselves.  Unless they are in the womb, then after they are born they are on their own.

The real travesty of justice, is that this country has more than enough resources to take care of everyone.  The elite 1% could still have their 24K gold plated fixtures on their G550′s and mega yachts.  They just need to pay more taxes.

Is anyone else tired of seeing  the rich housewives of  New York, New Jersey, and California  paying more for a purse then it would cost a family of four to pay for health care in the U.S?

Not too mention the state of CA is going broke.  They are issuing IOU’s to pay bills.  Does anyone besides me see a problem with that.  Why should we continue to subsidize the rich when they are more than capable of paying their fair share of taxes?

We are spending hundreds of billions if not trillions fighting wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.  Mostly for the protection of an antiquated fuel source called oil and the cheap economy it supports.

Don’t kid yourself, we are not spending billions in Iraq and Afghanistan to save humanity and the democratic/capitalistic way of life, or in a futile attempt to eradicate opium.  It’s all about fossil fuels and the upcoming energy wars.

The Afghans have been living in turmoil for 30 years or more.  Most of them are illiterate which makes the dissemination of information difficult if not very improbable.

Afghanistan brought down the U.S.S.R. with our help in the 80′s.  They may very well do the same to to the United States of America,  maybe this time with Russia and China’s help.   Unless cooler and more intelligent heads prevail, I fear we are heading down that very road.

The U.S.S.R didn’t get it, until it was too late.  Hopefully we can and history doesn’t repeat itself again.  It’s about time that we got over ourselves and realized just because we have the most nukes doesn’t give us the right to be the worlds bully and police force.  Maybe someday we can really give peace a try.

The Afghanistan war will cost us much more than the Vietnam War, both in human and monetary cost.  Do we even have proof that they are enemies?  Or are they for the most part poor illiterate uneducated farmers trying to provide for their families.

These are people that have known nothing but war for over 30 years, are we really that arrogant to think we can win this war?  Let’s face the truth, most American have no idea of the true horrors of war.  It’s become something we put on a balance sheet.

If we learn nothing from the past,  I Pray that we can learn quite quickly that we will never win in Afghanistan.  Look what it did to the Russians and the empires before them.  Afghanistan brought down the Soviet Union and it will do the same to us if we don’t learn from past mistakes.   The U.S simply cannot afford to be the world’s policeman at this time.

Bottom line most middle class Americans are living on borrowed time.  Once the credit is exhausted shit will really begin to hit the fan.

How much more are the working men and women of this great country supposed to endure?  All the while the fat cats of Wall St. grow richer at the taxpayers expense.

Why do we think that as Americans we have the right to tell the rest of the world how to live and run their governments, when we can barely run our own country?

Maybe it’s time for us to get our own country into better fiscal shape, before we take on the world.

The Romans thought they had a good plan too,  until they realized it was too late.

Let’s hope that the United States of America doesn’t have to make the same mistakes by spreading our military strength too thin, until we realize it is economically and politically unsustainable.