It seems as the economy is finally on the upswing. After all of the hoopla about Obama’s first 100 days in office and his progress, many like myself wonder when the stimulus bill will actually trickle down and start helping the middle class. Our taxpayer money has invested millions into banks to keep their liquidity up. These banks in return are supposed to be giving homeowners and businesses access to credit they deserve.
However, I think the banks have taken advantage of the bailout and have tightened their lending criteria compounding the original issue. It’s just another way the consumer is held accountable for a greedy industry. One point that I agree on with Obama is his fight to end senseless credit card rate hikes. Many companies, fearing new legislation to ban increases, have started notifying good customers that their limits have been slashed and their rates have been increased.
I guess being a small business owner that takes responsibility for his original terms and agreement won’t ever understand how corporations can hide behind their customer service and take advantage of lengthy terms that their lawyers so masterfully created for situation like this.

Tags: banks, Business, Cards, Credit, middle class, obama, rates

I am a small business owner that started a company without any outside investment. I am going on my third year in which I believe I have survived the hardest times, including the current economic recession. There have been times in which I have had outstanding customer balances in the thousands. However, it is my responsibility as a business owner to pay my bills and manage the money coming in and going out. This leads me to the use of credit cards and their recent practices.

I recently transferred a balance to a card of a major bank that I have done business with for years. They gave me an offer of a zero interest credit card for 6 months on the balance and actually increase my limit on the card the following week to $29 thousand. I was pissed when I received a letter in the mail today saying they were going to adjust my rate to 24% or I could reject and close the card. I called rejected, and told them that they were losing a good customer that had never missed a payment or failed to pay off a balance.

These companies are in a mad dash to jack up your rates before June when impending legislation will disallow the common scam practice. These companies gave money away like candy and are now punishing consumers for their bad choices. It is unfair. Make sure that you compare credit cards and make sure that you follow up on the letter.

Tags: credit card, rates, Scandal

If you are a young person like myself that has the capability to buy a house, do it.  Home prices have fallen close to 30% nationally since last year.  You can steal a house worth $400,000 in 2008 for $250,000 today.  I really do feel bad for the people that are losing their homes, but we must also make somebody else benefit from these banks risky investments.  I grew up in a middle class neighborhood where home prices have been above $300,000 for the last 8 years.  Two homes are currently on the market for the low to mid threes.  I was pissed when I saw that one of my neighbors homes was stolen at auction for $130,000.  Rates are at historical lows.  Foreclosures are definitely risky, but do your research and you will benefit.  Even if you can’t manage interesting ways to come up with the down payment, offer homeowners on the brink of foreclosure rental agreements with options to buy.  Set up a legal binding agreement where you will rent the home for two years with 66% of the rent going towards a down payment.  Think about it, they can’t sell and you pay the mortgage saving them foreclosure embarrassment.  You get an agreement with sales price based on current market value and a way to leverage your rent towards a down payment.

Tags: foreclosure, middle class, rent

I once worked in Binghamton for IBM.  So when I heard the recent news that a mass murder had taken place it kind of took me off guard.  Apparently, a gunman barricaded one door and ambushed another at an immigration services center.  The gunman proceded to kill 13 people before ending his own life.  The authorities have named the gunman as Jiverly Wong, who is believed to be in his early 40’s. Wong apparently had ties to the civic association, but no motive has been determined.  I am currently wondering if this was an attack on immigrants trying to become U.S. citizens or something else.

Tags: Binghamton, IBM, Jiverly, Mass, Murder, Wong

The stock market has posted positive gains for the 4th consecutive week. The stocks rallied Friday despite a negative March jobs report. Ever since the market hit a 12 year low on March 9th, all three major indexes have risen more than 20%.
The job market doesn’t scare investors as much as company failures because it has always been a lagging factor during recessions. Basically, even though employers cut 650,000 jobs, many investors feel that the governments infusion of money may start having an effect on the economy in 2009. The G-20 summitt of countries last week pledged over $1 Trillion for the International Monetary Fund. I feel as if the bottom of the recession is here and that the economy will not start fully recovering until 2010. I think the country has seen part of the mortgage problem; however, I feel as if the consumer credit card problem will come more into play during the latter part of 2009.

Tags: g-20, IMF, jobs, obama, rally, stocks

Michael Vick is still serving his prison term for being an ignorant moron.  However, he did come up with a brilliant bankruptcy plan but U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Frank Santoro     felt otherwise “This Plan does not work.”  Apparently, Vick is scheduled to work for a construction company for 40 hours a week after his release.  His debtors, agents, and dog fighters are hoping that the NFL commissioner  will reinstate Mr. Vick this Fall.  Vick once landed a 10-year $140 million deal with Atlanta before he made multiple bad investments and moral choices.  His plan got rejected because it proposed him keeping two multi-million dollar hopes and had no hard cash for all his debtors.  Personally, I don’t think that we should allow him to play professional football again.  He knew what he was getting into and squandered it.  We need to transition professional sports to real role models and class act citizens, not thugs and immature idiots.

Tags: Atlanta, Construction, Prison, Santoro, Vick

The American consumer wants dirt low prices.  However, they also want domestic, helpful customer service.  I hate to say it, but it’s not feasible with a U.S. Median wage nearing $14.00/hr.    The average call from a consumer to U.S. based customer service rep costs about $7.50.  Call centers in India average $2.30 a call.   As a result, the next time you decide to racially punish the foreign accented person on the other side of the line, channel your anger towards yourself for being cheap.

The other option for customer service is Julie, the infamous celebrity voice from Boston.  Julie Stinneford is the voice of Amtrak and handled over 18.1 million calls last year.  About a third of those required no human interaction.  She saved Amtrak over 100 million dollars last year.  She has actually become famous with stints on “Saturday Night Live” and more.

Tags: amtrak, customer, india, julie, service, stinneford, US

The Bush administration is being considered responsible for about 1-2 million Americans losing money last year.  First Madoff, now the government?  The administration changed legislature that gave companies the ability to automatically enrolls employees into a tax-free 401k retirement fund.  The stipulation is that the mandate required the company by law to invest them heavily in stock related portfolios when they failed to identify their own strategy.

The administration also quelled a more conservative approach that would have seen the assets rise about 4.7 percent.  In contrast, the assets from close to two million workers dropped at least 25 percent in every case.  The change in legislation came before the market crash and is sure to be on our socialist regime’s agenda.

Tags: bush, madoff, obama, retirement

Be Prepared

The best way to be prepared to sell your skills during a job interview is to start at least a few days ahead. Anticipate the questions you’ll be asked and plan some answers. Make sure you’re ready to be convincing about pointing out how your skills and experience make you the ideal choice for the job.

Bring a neat looking folder or case to hold any items you’ll need on the interview day. Don’t forget to bring a stack of business cards plus extra resumes. Even though you most likely submitted your resume before the interview, it’s still a good idea to bring extra ones. Interviewers see many resumes and you want yours to stand out even if that means giving it to the company twice. Besides, you may end up having more than one interviewer and if you are prepared to give each person your business card and resume at the interview you’ll seem very professional as well as organized.

One thing many job seekers forget is to be prepared with questions for the interviewer. Many interviewers form an unfavourable opinion about job seekers that don’t have one or two questions about the position. Have two or three questions prepared and adjust them during the interview to fit in with the particular discussion you have with the interviewer.

Sell Your Skill Set

You’ve made it to the interview stage, so presumably they’ve seen your resume and figured you looked good on paper. Now, during the interview, it’s up to you to promote your skills and background to let the interviewer see that you’re the right person for the job. Bringing extra resumes with you is a good idea because if all of the interviewers have your resume, they can ask you questions from it. You should be prepared to discuss anything on your resume in a convincing way.

When you get a question during an interview that you didn’t expect, your interviewer will likely be taking notes on how you react. Stay calm and poised and think before rushing to answer. Make sure to really listen to the interviewer and don’t be either too short in your answers or too long. If he or she discusses the job duties with you, be sure to mention why you’re the ideal person to handle these responsibilities. The interviewer’s job is to find the right person to do the work needed, so convince him or her that you’re the one.

Use Appropriate Body Language

You’ve probably heard it said many times how important it is to maintain eye contact in job interviews. There’s no getting around it. It’s very important. If you feel nervous about this, practice in a mirror or with another person. The idea is to maintain eye contact comfortably and naturally. Don’t stare the person down!

Posture is important too. Sit up straight during the interview, but don’t lean forward in the chair as this may be seen as aggressive. Keep from fidgeting such as wringing your hands or tapping your feet.

Be Ready to Follow Through

Tags: Interview, jobs, Promote, questions, Unemployment