So, can somebody explain to me what this thing called a 'bank' is? The banks here do not take coin, even rolled coin. The banks do not change Canadian cash into American or vice versa. The bank would not take a partial bill (more than half) even though the freakin Federal Reserve told us that they are required to by law. The bank would not take paychecks, DRAWN ON THEIR BANK, from Josh's work, a major corporation. Josh signed the checks over to Paul and Paul tried to cash them at his own branch and they won't do that either. So...what exactly does a bank do? I must be confused here because banks, I thought, dealt with monetary issues and yet in the past week we have had numerous monetary issues and the bank won't deal with any of them. Do banks simply exist now to give out credit cards and sit back and enjoy the interest coming in? I notice that some banks are now called 'wealth management centers', does that mean that they cater only to the wealthy, is that the problem?
Really, I'm goddamn tired of money stuff. Servers down here get $2.13 an hour and must rely on tips, yet people are so fucking cheap that it's not enough. Just the other day there was a problem with a woman's bill at work and one of the things she said was ' I tipped really well'. You know what 'really well' was in her books? $4 on $50some. So, significantly less than 10% at a good restaurant? Nice. Then the government takes out their chunk of the tips and paychecks of course. Then we have to pay for health insurance. (I'm not trying to complain about America here...it's just as bad in Canada, you just pay in different ways) So, basically, Paul works his ass off 6 days a week, sometimes 8 days in a row, for barely enough to scrape by. And I sit on my ass at home watching him be miserable and there is nothing that I can do.
This was on Oprah a while ago and it is so true - we think of 'the poor' as people who don't work hard enough or don't even have jobs or never went to college or what have you, but what about the millions that work their asses off for minimum wage, many even after getting a 'good college degree'? Minimum wage isn't enough to rent an apartment and eat, never mind for those who have children. And what about the student loans that the people who went to school have, how do they pay those back? The rich get richer, and the hard working average joe can barely scrape by. And there is nothing whatsoever that we can do.
3 comments:
Oh man, don't even get me started on all this. This is a touchy subject with me. I used to wait tables, I know how people are about tipping and service and yadda yadda. However, that job was all non-taxed, so let's not really go there. :)
I don't have the same bank issues you're having, I love my bank. It's a credit union, which is a bit different than a regular bank. How? I couldn't quite tell you. I think most banks would prefer you to DEPOSIT a check than cash, and if you don't have an account they won't cash it. I rarely cash checks, they almost always go into the account so that I can pay bills with it. I get cash from time to time as bonuses from bosses here, and otherwise we just dont' carry cash around.
As for rolled or loose coin, find a grocery store that has a machine that counts it. They are all over the place here. Most banks should have them by now, too. Some charge a small fee, other don't if you have an account....that may not work for you. I don't know what branches of banks you have there. My bank has one that's free if you bank there, and at least one other bank has one that is free even without an account there...you just dump the change in and it counts it, gives you a slip and you go to the counter for the cash. We cashed in Bubba's piggy bank that way a few months ago and put it in his account.
And I'm also one of those people with a college degree that is struggling. My loan is paid off, but still. I'm struggling. I have the husband issue, but even when he was working, things were still really tight.
I wish I had a magic wand to wave to correct a whole bunch of things in our society, but the choice would be what to fix first?
Love ya babe. Hang in there!
Struggle is the right word. Imagine having put years of loyal service into a company and then getting screwed on the pension plan. Social Security doesn't cut it, either. It's nice to get the money you've contributed into all your working life, but then they penalize you if you decide to take a joy to have a better life and if you make over a certain amount annually, they take away $1 of your SS for every so many dollars earned at working during the year. It think that sucks! I think if you worked solidly for ten years to qualify for SS, they should let you take it and if you're the ambitious type that wants to work while you're collecting SS, good for you! The world needs dedicated people. Mom2
Okay, lemme address all of these things. First, jenna, you are absolutely right about credit unions, I don't know exactly how they are different, but they always are, they always seem to treat you like a human being rather than a money machine. I should try and find us a credit union.
As for the change, yeah you are right. Our local grocery store has a machine. It charges 5% which I think is piss poor. But it is very handy. It's more the point of that one, that they don't let you cash in change at a BANK.
And mom, you are totally right...if people want to work they should be rewarded not penalized. Typical of the system isn't it?
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