Europe’s Financial Crisis Leads to Suicide Surge
The harsh spending cuts introduced by European governments to tackle their crippling debt problems have not only pitched the region into recession — they are also being partly blamed for outbreaks of diseases not normally seen in Europe and a spike in suicides according to the AP.
The report goes on to say that the “worsening health was driven not just by unemployment, but by the lack of a social welfare system to fall back on. People need to have hope that the government will help them through this difficult time”.
I think that it is “nice” to have public assistance programs available for the truly needy. There is however something inherently wrong with these social programs. I believe these programs promote government dependency.
A growing dependency of government is what got us into so many of our problems, and what is our own government doing? They are promoting that very dependency. Instead of raising people up, we are keeping them down. We are creating a generational dependency on social programs.
According to the 2012 Index of Dependence on Government more people than ever before—67.3 million Americans, from college students to retirees to welfare beneficiaries—depend on the federal government for housing, food, income, student aid, or other assistance.
Once considered to be the responsibility of individuals, families, neighborhoods, churches, and other civil society institutions, Americans are looking to the government to take care of them.
The ethic of self-reliance joined with a promise to the brotherly care of those in need appears threatened, well nearly absent in today’s society. There was a time, before all of the social programs, when people took care of each other. If you were having trouble the first thing you did was —anything you could — to get back on your feet.
There was no sitting around waiting for the government to come to the rescue. Your church, or family or friends helped out, and you helped others when they were in need. We took care of ourselves without a dependency on the government.
Our social programs including Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are unsustainable in their current form.
Over the next 25 years, more than 77 million baby boomers will begin collecting Social Security checks, drawing Medicare benefits, and relying on long-term care under Medicaid. There will be no event so financially challenging to these programs over the next two decades than this shift of boomers into retirement.
More than 70% of Federal spending goes to dependency programs.
With so many Americans on or soon to be on the government dole and nearly half of all Americans not paying income taxes, there is no way we can pay for all of this and our spending will spiral out of control (it’s almost there now). With an increase in recipients and a decrease in the number of workers left paying for these programs, we will soon reach our fiscal tipping point much as other countries have already, and this will put us in a certain domestic debt crisis of our own.
In doing research for this article I have found no evidence that Americans are suffering a rise in medical ailments and suicides. But we have not quite reached the same crippling financial problems as our friends across the pond.
…but trust me when I tell you, it’s coming.
Little Known Database That Helps Debt Collectors Call You at Work
…The Surprising Way Debt Collectors Know Where You Work
BusinessInsider.com — It is “perhaps one of the most powerful and private databases of American’s personal information ever created, containing 190 million employment and salary records, covering more than one-third of US adults.”
So there is this site called The Work Number and basically what they do is employment verifications for employers. That sounds OK right? Well, it is. It keeps companies from having to spend time verifying employment, they just outsource the job. One catch however, is that the company is required to provide The Work Number with weekly salary and employment information. So to make this requirement easy to handle, most companies provide The Work Number with access to their HR database directly.
What this means is that The Work Number has the work and salary history of millions of Americans. You might think that this is no big deal, after all they have to do employment verifications, and they need that information. Here’s the problem, The Work Number is owned by Equifax, one of the big 3 of credit reporting agencies, and they like to sell information, and sell they do. They market directly to debt collectors.
…ever wonder how the bill collector got your work number? Well, there you go.
Are debt collectors allowed to call you at work? Yes and no. Let’s take a look at some of the things the bill collectors can and can’t do. Keep in mind that what applies to debt collectors doesn’t always apply to the creditor who is trying to collect their own debt.
- FDCPA (Fair Debt Collection Practices Act) is what regulates debt collectors and their practices.
- Third party disclosure — debt collectors are prohibited from disclosing or discussing your credit or debt, with any third party. There are exceptions however, they may talk to your attorney, a credit reporting agency and the original creditor. They can also contact your spouse or your parents if you are a minor.
- Debt collectors are not allowed to contact you at unusual or inconvenient times or places. Typically the time to make calls is between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m.
- They are not to contact you if you have an attorney or other agency handling your debt.
- They may contact you at work unless, your employee prohibits calls at work or you advise them that you cannot receive calls at work, it’s best that you send a letter to that affect.
- They may not harass or threaten you. Specifically they cannot:
- Threaten violence
- Any harm or threaten to harm you or another person’s reputation or property
- Use profane or abusive language
- Call you repeatedly, or
- Make calls to you without identifying themselves as bill collectors
- Collection companies are not allowed to add interest of fees or charges that are not authorized by the original agreement or by state law
- …and many others
There is one tried and true method to get the debt collectors off of your back… pay your bills! I know it sounds easier than it is. If you find yourself overwhelmed with debt the best thing to do is contact a professional to help you get your life back.
If you are currently past due, the benefits of a debt management program will provide you with a fresh start. The biggest long-term benefit of the debt management plan is the reduction in interest. Reduced interest allows you to pay off your principal balances faster while saving you possibly thousands of dollars in finance charges.
In order to determine your eligibility you can fill out an online budget application form Now and then you will speak with one of our Certified Personal Finance Counselors © at (800) 920-2262.
HTTN No. What? Oh. Ok. Fine
2013CLEbytheSeacover Here’s her DRAFT – click through to see the final work 🙂
My thirteen year old budding artistic daughter has a friend who is the Marketing and CLE Coordinator at the Arizona State Bar. Where she meets these riffraff, I’ll never know… #?!*
The Bar was to hold a CLE Event at the Hotel Coronado in California at the same time as Comic-con; so the Marketer had the idea to make a comic book style cover to cross market the two events. That meant he needed art, and as a fan of my daughter’s work, he asked her to draw a picture of the Hotel Coronado for him.
She promptly and clearly said “No”.
She doesn’t like drawing buildings and that was final; which is odd because she loves Athena’s daughter Annabeth from the Percy Jackson Series and Annabeth is all into architecture. Whatev.
So the idea was presented a little more differently to her.
My daughter wants to enroll in the Dreyfoos School of the Arts next year. Hmmm…Opportunity.
“Dear”, “Um”, “Sweetie”, (fill-in the blank how you would talk to a 13-yr old disagreeable girl) “You could possibly add this piece to your portfolio for your school application…” …waiting…
“Oh”, she says. “Fine.” “What’s a bar anyway?”
“It’s a bunch of lawyer and lawyer types.” I tell her and I wait for the reply. I get nothing. Typical. She gets a deadline. She has about five days and two pictures of the hotel to work with.
She gets fast to work, right? HTTN. She is 13. She does what every kid does. She finishes it in the last hour the night before and leaves the final scanning and turning in part to me. Thanks kid 😉 In her defense, I suppose I volunteered.
A little bit later after some magic potion from the Marketing and Graphic Designer was added to it, the cover of the brochure for the July 17, 2013 CLE Course by the Sea, presented by the Arizona State Bar, has my kid’s artwork on it with inside credits for her as the artist. I think it’s not too shabby.
Incidentally, I told my daughter the publication went out to 50,000 attorneys in the States of California and Arizona and I thought I heard her say “So what.” Turns out I was wrong, she said “That’s a lot.”
Shannon publishes her art online at http://www.deviantart.com under the screen name:
A Free Way to Happiness
Giving isn’t as easy as it once was. Many charities in the community are asking for more help due to the bad economic times, but it is for that very reason that a financial gift isn’t always possible. However, the gift of your time is never frowned upon.
Many organizations need volunteers for all sorts of jobs. Also, since there are so many charities, it is nearly impossible to find an organization that won’t hold your interest or your heart. Volunteering doesn’t just bring joy to your life, it improves your community, brings happiness to those whose lives you’ve touched, and best of all it is easy and free for you.
Finding a place to volunteer at is easier than ever. Check out websites like http://www.volunteermatch.org/ and http://www.serve.gov/about.asp. These sites are easy to navigate through and were created just to help people find some place they would really enjoy volunteering at.
If you are unable to dedicate a few days to volunteering at an organization in your community, start in your own home and neighborhood. Try cleaning out your closet and dresser. Whatever you haven’t worn in a while and that’s still in good condition, donate to the Goodwill. You’ll be supporting this organization and may even get a tax write off.
Next, look around and see if any of your neighbors need help, especially if you have elderly neighbors. Offer to help someone wash their car, or see if they have any two person jobs that they couldn’t previously complete.
Overall, volunteering is easy and can be fun too. Look for something that peaks your interest and you can never go wrong!
DEBTHELPER.COM 