I always put any change that's less than a pound into the plastic thingys at the checkouts in Tesco's etc. One suggestion I always liked was that Banks rounded down the amount in your account at the end of every month, and gave that to charity. It wouldn't really affect most people, but it could make a lot of money.
Banks are pure evil The amount of money they are allowed to make off people is inhuman, but who's going to stop them? Corrupt governments who are collecting all that tax from disgraceful yet highly profitable organizations such as banks? Sure, people aren't going to notice all their decimal places being rounded down, but I wouldn't ask a bank or any other company to take even more money from the average Joe. I'd ask a company to contribute a small share of their massive profits, and they can feel free to brag about this in their advertising, which would easily make them their money back.
^My bank account is free, my transfers are free, and my debit card which can also make online purchases cost me all of 5 quid with a custom picture. Banks don't force average Joe into taking out a loan or living off credit after draining their account below zero. Average Joe does it willingly because he lacks discipline.
Or if you make a purchase the store rounds UP to the nearest dollar and the extra is given to a charity. Wal-Mart here was doing that a month or so ago. It's less than a dollar and I dont need pennies and dimes, etc taking up space, so why not?
I wasn't talking about people using credit to buy luxuries, and i'm not talking about how the banks let you keep your money with them for "free" ...they are making money with your money whilst you let them hold it for you, a free account is the least they could do! I was talking about how the average Joe isn't give a roof over his head for free, he takes out a loan to buy a place to live, and the banks start charging interest... they do this to millions of people, and make billions in profits. If that isn't enough, they charge ridiculous fees at any opportunity, such as taking out a loan from them... which is doing them a favour! The loan will make them a lot of money!!! Why are they charging me, to let me give lots of money to them
I don't believe in charitable organisations. As I see it they merely mitigate the symptoms of larger systemic problems. In doing so they deprive us of our currency for real change (which just happens to be real currency) and give us with the sense that we've "done our part" - A product whose utility is a sense of altruism. For example, the best case scenario for an anti-povery charity would be to eradicate poverty in a sub-saharan african country. What then? Well, then the World Bank or IMF see that their GDP has risen and forcefully renegotiate the terms of the country's loan, increasing interest-only repayments, causing that government to raise taxes, causing more poverty. The renegotiation is to bolster the economies of developed countries (afterall there's poverty there too!) and with that bolstered economy we can pay more to charity to mitigate the symptoms of the systemic problem we are a part, if not the cause, of, without ever taking steps towards real systemic change.
They don't "do" it to anyone, in the sense that you imply. You have options. 1) You're filthy rich and you buy a house with cash 2) You stay with your parents untill a) you save up enough to buy a house for your retired years b) they die and you inherit their house 3) You rent a place and try to save up enough for a house while paying rent 4) You take out a loan and get a house right now, but it'll cost you a lot more in the long run Granted, their business model is based on the weakness of human nature and the fact that in today's society, homes take unreasonably long to obtain for the Average Joe, and that's debateable from a moral standpoint. Yes, the rich get richer. But from the business side of things, how is it their fault that you want your own house but can't whip out your stack and pay for one, or don't want to save for one. Oh my god, a business making money! How dare they! I am not trying to defend "the corporation", i just don't agree with your notion that they're forcing people to do things. Without banks, it might take average Joe a good part of his productive life to be able to have his own separate home. They know it and they also know that average Joe doesn't enjoy this fact, thus he will pay through the nose to avoid it.
I didn't say banks are forcing anyone to take out a loan, but a company making billions, whilst their customers and employees are struggling to make ends meet? And yes, they are doing this by taking advantage of what the average Joe wants in life! That's what gets my goat
Yeah, the rich do get richer. It's a kick in the nuts, but you can hardly fault the banks. What do you expect them to do, redistribute their wealth? Maybe we should all give socialism another shot and shove every average Joe in a panel building. Lovely innit? Pick your poison :/
I give what little money i can spear to my chosen charity's [which are all nonprofit], i help fund raising, and im directly involved in making this world a better place and saving lives. I do my bit.
I guess banks would probably have to not charge me any interest or fees to make me happy We were actually discussing the problems with making a small panel building for the homeless, something like they give us all of their dole money, we provide them with food, shelter, even educational resources are cheap and easy to provide, but I can't imagine it working without running the place almost like a prison We were also trying to imagine building an orphanage, but trying to adequately or even slightly care for the kids, would be damn expensive to run, unless you managed to somehow find a small flock of heavenly nuns, monks, or some sort of saints, that have basically devoted their lives to raising other people's children. The one common problem we noticed trying to imagine attempting anything grand: humans Most of them cannot be trusted! I still really like your earlier suggestion DragunovHUN, of just helping out with whatever good cause that comes along, wherever we may be No stress, no obligations, and also rewarding in that we'd probably make a heap more friends that could end up helping us one day with something or other = win/win
Sorry to keep an off-topic sub-subject alive, but: That's the mentality of affluent societies. You must have your own house, and you must live seperately from your parents past a certain age, regardless of your financial ability to do so. There are quite a number of people currently in debt who would be in a better financial situation if they swallowed their pride and made do with less luxuries. That is most certainly not to say that this mentality is logical. Banks happen to exploit it and people fall right into their plans, but as you say: no one is forced. They just make bad decisions on their own then blame others for the repercussions.
If I had 500k coming and I only needed half of it, then half of it would go away to charity... but it all depends on my living conditions and whatnot.
Yep, that was kind of my point with that. I can't say i judge them though as i'm guilty of it myself. With today's social expectations i can't imagine not having my own place in a few years. That's the only loan i'm willing to take out. We're pretty much screwing ourselves over.
Hey guys, yes bad debt is a bad idea, but there is also good debt Good debt is a powerful thing, used well it can make you even wealthier than if you won the lottery, but sure, used poorly can make you very poor Of course i'd much rather just win the lottery than have to deal with banks, but there's next to no chance of that happening
"the government can take care of all the charities" I don't know about you. But I have a lot of causes which are close to my heart. Which I know from first hand basis either don't get any government grants or get so little that they couldn't survive just from government grants. Charities like british heart foundation and cancer research need donations from the public to keep on doing what they need to do. How much I give away to charity.. well that would be telling, and I prefer not to disclose that. But I certainly do my bit.
Remember this post of yours, mvagusta? You asked "... could you trust people running the place?" Well here's the documentary evidence. Narrated by Morgan Freeman, IMAX Born to be wild 3D is a Warner Bros documentary featuring the charity I spoke of, the trust of whose staff you indirectly questioned above. Why not watch it, or even go see the movie, if you're at all interested in expanding your knowledge and faith in others (If you have trouble loading it here's the direct link http://www.imax.com/borntobewild/#/video/trailer/elephants) http://www.imax.com/borntobewild/carepackage/
I just watched that youtube trailer, and I admire their work. If you're not in the mood to read about the sort of stuff that floats around in my head, then it's probably a good idea to close the window about now Even if every single animal was to be harvested by other humans for their meat, skin, blood and bones, I think that it's still nice to know, that they had a chance to enjoy life before we used them. I wonder if all the staff, can afford to enjoy the same sort of luxuries we do? If not then that's a real shame. I'm not taking the mickey, just saying what I think. I was working at a large panel style housing commission site yesterday, lots of people there that sure seem like they deserve a helping hand, but of course, there are also some complete scumbags, obviously just taking advantage of the taxpayer funded charity But who's to say if the seemingly nice people aren't scumbags either? And how the hell are we supposed to decide who actually deserves help I have similar thoughts when I work at the children's hospital. It's the saddest place you could visit, those kids sure deserve a hell of a lot better, but I don't really feel like giving the parent's money, as if that will cure the kids anyway. It's one thing to try and copy the blues brothers, and feel noble just by throwing some money at a charity... but without actually knowing exactly who you're giving it to, and exactly what what will be done with it, you won't know that you've really made a difference, to people who deserve it. Imagine how the blue's brothers would feel, if the orphanage they went to jail saving, looked after a bunch of kids that grew up to become criminals. Maybe some people would be happy with thinking "We tried to help, it's not our fault", but I'd be kicking myself, wishing I never wasted my time. I think bugger trying to sort out anyone's life for them. If someone needs a helping hand, sure, but that's about it. Call me greedy, but I just wanna have some fun with friends and family. I can't be bothered devoting my life to helping others, animal or human.
