I wanted to write about holiday cards today, but I saw two things on the morning news that caught my attention.
The first is that a financial company is offering a credit card to customers considered high risk that carries a 79 percent – I am not kidding – interest rate. They want to extend credit, God bless their generous souls, to those who would otherwise not have it. And thanks to the compromises our elected officials are willing and ready to make as long as there’s enough money at stake, this company is operating within the law, which states that new regulations don’t have to be adhered to until February. This is exactly the sort of shit that makes my undies steam every time I see and hear Barney Frank spewing his carefully crafted indignation. He chairs the oversight committee, the committee that supposedly keeps an eye on the money, and when things get outrageous enough he and his cronies hold hearings and yell at the bankers. Their hearings are entertaining, to be sure, but if this is an example of oversight, I’d hate to see what lax looks like.
But enough about interest rates: thanks to the recession, the children are stressed out this holiday season because they’re not getting as many gifts as they have in years past, and the gifts themselves, well, they’re not quite as lavish as we’d all hoped. So one of these life coach types came on the local morning news to offer some advice to concerned parents. Don’t focus on the negative, she advised. Focus on what you have, rather than what you don’t have because of what you cannot afford. Focus on the fact that you’re together, and while you’re at it start a few new traditions of your own, memories of which your children will cherish for many years to come. The coaches usually make me nervous. I’ve met very few of them who do not appear to relish playing the role of guru, but this woman seemed okay. Especially toward the end of her interview, when she pointed out that if children aren’t inundated with images of expensive toys and electronic gadgets, they’re not as aware of what they’re missing, materially speaking. And one sure way to work toward that state of blissful ignorance, she pointed out, on the morning news no less, is to watch as little television as possible.
The first is that a financial company is offering a credit card to customers considered high risk that carries a 79 percent – I am not kidding – interest rate. They want to extend credit, God bless their generous souls, to those who would otherwise not have it. And thanks to the compromises our elected officials are willing and ready to make as long as there’s enough money at stake, this company is operating within the law, which states that new regulations don’t have to be adhered to until February. This is exactly the sort of shit that makes my undies steam every time I see and hear Barney Frank spewing his carefully crafted indignation. He chairs the oversight committee, the committee that supposedly keeps an eye on the money, and when things get outrageous enough he and his cronies hold hearings and yell at the bankers. Their hearings are entertaining, to be sure, but if this is an example of oversight, I’d hate to see what lax looks like.
But enough about interest rates: thanks to the recession, the children are stressed out this holiday season because they’re not getting as many gifts as they have in years past, and the gifts themselves, well, they’re not quite as lavish as we’d all hoped. So one of these life coach types came on the local morning news to offer some advice to concerned parents. Don’t focus on the negative, she advised. Focus on what you have, rather than what you don’t have because of what you cannot afford. Focus on the fact that you’re together, and while you’re at it start a few new traditions of your own, memories of which your children will cherish for many years to come. The coaches usually make me nervous. I’ve met very few of them who do not appear to relish playing the role of guru, but this woman seemed okay. Especially toward the end of her interview, when she pointed out that if children aren’t inundated with images of expensive toys and electronic gadgets, they’re not as aware of what they’re missing, materially speaking. And one sure way to work toward that state of blissful ignorance, she pointed out, on the morning news no less, is to watch as little television as possible.
