Archive for money
How is the Aid money Haiti spent
Posted by: | CommentsThere’s a storm brewing in Haiti.
Not a storm from the rainy season bearing down, but a storm over why so many are still in dire straits a full four months after the earthquake.
Why so many are facing the ravages of the rainy season without safe shelter to protect them?A storm over how that could be the case when so much international aid has been committed to help the people of Haiti.
A CBS News investigation examines the total aid committed to Haiti and explores how much has been spent so far.
Critics such as Mark Weisbrot of the Center for Economic Policy and Research say more money should have been spent up front making sure the population’s emergency needs were met. He argues that many donors who dug deep during their own tough times to give, thought they were putting immediate food in people’s mouths, giving immediate medical help, and putting a roof over victims’ heads now.
Just how much money has been collected so far? Within days of the earthquake, the United States and the
World Bank each made commitments of $100 million in aid. According to the Chronicle of Philanthropy, Americans sent private donations worth another $150 million — more than they gave after the Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina. A recent international telethon raised another $57 million.
To put these amounts in perspective, consider that the annual value of all the goods and services produced by Haiti’s economy is about $7 billion. Pledges of aid from around the world already total about 10 percent of that figure, if not more. And so far, aid has been collected based on people’s willingness to give, not on the size of the need. There has been a tacit assumption that the amount donated cannot possibly be excessive.
That may indeed be true, but it does not mean that so much money can be put to immediate use. As aid groups on the ground in Haiti have found, the country’s infrastructure — roads, the power grid, etc. — are not very well developed, and it has few businesses capable of taking on big logistics and construction projects. In this environment, it is not easy to spend a lot of money productively in a short period of time.
This problem is similar to the “resource curse” facing poor countries that discover major reserves of fuels and minerals. When they begin extracting those natural riches (or selling the rights to do so), their economies receive sudden inflows of hundreds of millions or billions of dollars. But they can’t always use all of that money right away; even if you have good intentions, you can’t double the size of an education or public health system overnight. Nor can you simply distribute the money to your people; if the economy doesn’t produce more goods and services, all that extra cash sloshing around will just raise prices. Left to sit, the money has a way of disappearing; for decades in Nigeria, billions in oil money were siphoned away annually by elites and corrupt bureaucrats.
Even saving the money for the future, as East Timor has done with its newfound oil wealth, can be dangerous. Several years ago, the Timorese knew that their government was starting to build up billions of dollars in saved funds — the process was actually quite transparent — but they wanted to see the money spent sooner, to create jobs and improve their quality of life. Riots and a change of government ensued.
If Haiti wants to spend its aid money now, it will clearly need help from overseas. But doing so will create an additional danger: that given Haiti’s lack of infrastructure and capacity, it will be dominated by foreign contractors in the same way as Iraq or Afghanistan. Foreign donors will undoubtedly employ their compatriots for big rebuilding projects — doing so makes giving aid that much easier — and they’ll risk falling into the same old traps of cronyism and unaccountability, as evidenced by no-bid contracts, shoddy work, and lack of buy-in from local people.
Business Bureaus top 10 Complaints 2009
Posted by: | CommentsThe Better Business Bureau has released a list of the top ten scams to be aware of. This year, the list focuses in on dubious practices of online commerce, such as asking consumers to read the fine print before you click “yes.” Complaints in 2009 run the gamut from teeth whiteners to premium text messages to government grants, but all tie back to consumers unwittingly consenting to sign up for the service or product.
1. Health Claim Scams
Bogus products that make “breakthrough” health claims on the Internet or promise cures for illnesses, such as cancer, target the most vulnerable consumers. Be wary of on-line swine flu remedies not authorized by Health Canada that are making unsubstantiated health claims that they kill or ward off the virus. Consult your health care practitioner before trying any new treatment. Don’t be influenced by “miraculous” testimonials discussed on websites and blogs. Think twice before buying a product that claims it can “do it all.”
QUICK TIP: If you have questions or complaints about counterfeit drugs and/or drugs purchased over the Internet, please call Health Canada’s toll-free line at 1 800 267 9675. If you suspect that a website is promoting a treatment or cure that is too good to be true.
2. Not So “Free” Trials
You may want to try out a new diet product, an acne cream or teeth whitener, but be careful about signing up for ‘free’ trial offers. Many websites offering a free trial for products do not disclose the billing terms and conditions or do not have such details prominently displayed on their website. Before providing any credit or debit card information, review the website fully to avoid in repeated billing. Remember that money transfers and direct debit are two of the main methods by which scam artists seek to obtain your money.
QUICK TIP: When considering trial offers, be sure to first determine whether you are enrolling in a membership, subscription or service contract that allows the company.
3. ID Theft
Often people find out that they are victims of identity theft after they are contacted by a collections’ agency for an account they never set up or because their credit has taken a hit. ID theft is when someone uses your information to obtain loans, goods, or services and does not pay the bills. Increasingly, people are being lured online into revealing personal information.
QUICK TIP: Do not fall for requests for information, or other scare tactics. Online scammers send emails that look legitimate, requesting that your “account information needs to be updated.” Another new tactic called “scareware” has a pop-up message showing that your computer is infected with a virus and that you need to visit a website to purchase and download anti-virus software that would fix the problem. These are all phishing tactics, ways to get you to reveal personal or financial information. If you receive these messages just delete them and do not click on any links. Doing so may compromise your computer’s security. If you are a victim of ID Theft call your financial institutions to request that your current cards be cancelled and that new cards be issued. You should also contact your local police and Canada’s main credit reporting agencies: TransUnion Canada at tuc.ca (1 866 525 0262) and Equifax Canada at equifax.ca (1 866 779 6440).
4. Home Repair Rip-Offs
Imagine hearing that your furnace is leaking dangerous carbon monoxide into your home. Many times homeowners are told that they need to do an immediate replacement due to a crack in their heat exchanger or because the contractor has a gas-sniffer device which shows high carbon monoxide levels. This high pressure safety situation often ends up in unnecessary and costly repairs.
QUICK TIP: Do not make a decision to repair right away. Start with the Better Business Bureau and search for a company reliability report at bbb.org. Ask the person to provide a gas permit and a license with the BC Safety Authority and call to verify it at: 1 866 566 7233.
6. Free Government Money Schemes
Do you think you are entitled to free money from the Canadian government? Be suspicious of companies offering “free” advice on obtaining government grants. Often social networking sites and online ads will point to blogs that appear to be written by everyday people who are sharing the secret of how they received thousands of dollars in grants from the government to pay off their debt. In reality, this is a mass marketing scheme that does not provide an easy way for you to get a government grant. Rather, it costs you money to participate.
7. Business Opportunities
Your friend or a family member may have invited you to attend a presentation involving an investment opportunity. You don’t know anything about the company, and are desperate to hear that it is legit. These investments appear lucrative, but often involve more hype than substance. The promoter convinces investors that they can be part owners of an exciting investment portfolio, provided that they enlist new recruits. The promoter may even offer promising commissions in cash and bullion.
QUICK TIP: In reality, this could be an illegal pyramid scheme. The new capital brought on by new investors is keeping this imaginary investment afloat. Get the facts. If you attend an information session, be sure to collect business cards and promotional materials
8. Cashback Fraud
Cashback fraud usually begins when you advertise something for sale, such as a car. A buyer agrees to pay your asking price, but sends you a cheque or banker’s draft for a larger sum. The person asks you to bank his cheque and send him a money transfer for the difference. Sure enough, his or her cheque bounces a few days after your money transfer has left your account. You’re now out of pocket and looking for a bogus buyer who’s out-of-reach.
QUICK TIP: Criminal cashback works because cheques take longer to clear than electronic bank transfers. Do not ever wire money to a stranger. Do not allow greed to be your guide – be careful of offers higher than the asking price.
9. Hidden Cell Phone Charges
If you own a cell phone and see new and unexplained charges on your bill each month, it may be due to premium text message services. People complain that they did not realize they were signing up for this service when they agreed to play an online game or to take an IQ test. In the end they receive monthly billings which do not come from their cell phone service providers, but through other third-party companies.
10. Mystery Jobs Scams
The scenario sounds too good to be true, and it is. You have been led to believe that you will be paid to mystery shop via a wire-transfer service. You receive a cheque, which you are told to deposit, keeping a small percentage of the money as your wage. You are then asked to send the back difference via a wire transfer and to complete a survey on the service you encounter. In the end, the cheque bounces and you lose all your money.
QUICK TIP: Be skeptical of mystery shopper ads in newspapers or online. In most cases these are bogus services requiring you to pay money upfront. Avoid companies that promise guaranteed jobs, and that sell directories of companies that provide mystery shoppers
Calgary hit with snow-complaint avalanche
Posted by: | CommentsCars were stuck in snow-packed roads and many people still couldn’t get out of their neighbourhoods Monday–leading to more than 1,100 complaints coming in to 311 over the weekend –but city staff and politicians said crews are doing a good job cleaning up after the weekend storm.
With major roads scraped down to the pavement and equipment being sent to clear impassable residential streets, Dean Bell, the city’s manager of road maintenance, said they are on top of the situation.
“I understand people’s frustration when they can’t get to work or are sliding down a hill,” he said. “I think we’re doing a pretty good job, considering the money we get.
“Every storm’s different.”
He expected those streets so clogged by snow or frozen-in vehicles that residents can’t get in or out would be cleared by this morning’s rush hour.
“Our number one focus right now is to get all those impassable residential roads cleared up,” he said, adding there were about 40 locations that were impassable.
But while the city threw every available plow and person at the storm that dropped up to 20 centimetres on parts of the city and saw high winds blow snow into even higher drifts, residents were scrambling to extricate themselves from snowed-under neighbourhoods.
Oliver Ennis said there were still a bus and five cars stuck in the road in front of his Saddle Ridge home Monday. And Grant Galpin, another Saddle Ridge resident, said the hard-hit area was a “nightmare” over the weekend.
“People couldn’t go 10 feet without getting stuck,” he said. “If there had been an emergency case, it’s endangering lives.”
Ald. Ray Jones says while city crews did a great job at attacking the storm and doing what they could, council needs to ensure they are able to do more.
He’d like to see money pulled from the reserve fund in unusual storms such as the one that hit Friday.
“People were not very happy and understandably so,” he said.
With its annual budget of about $24 million, it clears roads with lanes totallingabout 8,000kilometres. The city has more than 14,000 lane kilometres of roads.
By comparison,Winnipeg’s snow clearing budget is $25 million this year, includingwhat it pays to retain outside contractors to call in during a storm. With that money it clears all its streets, including residential, a total of almost 3,300 lane kilometres. That is a distance shorter than Calgary’s priority one roads.
Calgary spends $23 per capita on winter maintenancecosts, compared to $62 in Edmonton, $44 in Winnipeg and $25 in Saskatoon.
It’s super expensive and it’s super expensive for the amount of man hours that it takes,” he said. “It’s a ton of money to put up snow fencing and a lot of times it’s not either effective or itwasn’t required anyway.”
Trump Network Complaints Reviewed
Posted by: | CommentsDonald Trump is no stranger to publicity. Now he’s in the spotlight again with his purchase of multi-level marketing company Ideal Health. In the fall of 2009 he is going to re-launch the company as the Trump Network. Complaints about this new venture exist, but they mainly have to do with Donald Trump himself, and not with the company’s products.
First among the Trump Network complaints are those who remember what Donald Trump has said about multi-level marketing in the past. Way back when Johnny Carson hosted The Tonight Show, Donald Trump was a guest. He openly mocked the MLM Company Amway, and the people involved in that business.
A couple of years ago, apparently Oprah Winfrey asked Donald Trump what his plans would be if he hit the bankruptcy jackpot again. He said he’d start up an MLM. The audience went crazy booing him. In typical humanitarian form, he said “That’s why I’m up here and you’re down there.” Since he actually bought Ideal Health, I suppose his real estate holdings are still worth a little money. I expect more Trump Network complaints about “The Donald” in the future.
The company is trying hard to make sure there are no Trump Network complaints about distribution. They are crunching numbers like crazy to make sure they have enough products ready when they launch in November.
Trump Network complaints will be aimed from two different directions, since the company is also a network marketing company. They will either come from unhappy customers who buy the products, or from the members of the marketing aspect of the company. If there are strong policies in place in the company before hand, they should not have much trouble.
Speaking of the Trump Network complaint department, here’s my big issue. It’s not with this company in particular; it is with all of internet marketing in general. I don’t think MLM companies give their members the education they need to truly be successful.
To have big time success you need to have a strong marketing knowledge base. MLM companies are not really all that up to date with the latest marketing techniques, and they focus only on the techniques that make the most people make the most money. But there are people everywhere making amazing money using one or two obscure techniques they didn’t learn from their MLMs.
Thanks to the internet, new marketing strategies can literally be created over night. These large companies just can’t adjust their educational materials quickly enough. An independent marketing school can.
Why Are Women So Unhappy At Work especially after 40 ?
Posted by: | CommentsMost people are good at being unhappy at work
There are so many people who are already unhappy at their work. So probably I don’t need to teach them since they are already so good at this. But for those who want to change bad habits a reminder sometimes is a good idea.
1 Work for JUST the money
When you work for JUST the money after 40 you will start to resent your work. Work will start to seem like an obligation. Everyone around you will feel like competition. The money will not be appreciated and it will be spent quicker. When you work JUST for the money, it is easy to lose track of one’s sense of purpose and values about their life and what is most important.
This is a great way to be unhappy at work especially for those over 40 who have been unhappy for many years at work due to society pressures and expectations.
2 Make money doing something you don’t care about
Make the money you need in ways which make no sense to you. Work in areas which the work is not coherent to you. That is, work in areas which do not make sense to you at the end of the day. Go to sleep after doing work all day which provides no joy or meaning. This will be great for restless sleep, worry and of course unhappiness about one’s work!
3 Ensure that your work really DOES NOT interest you
After 40, this is very important. Work which provides no interest will set you up for retirement and then a quicker death. Work which does not interest you will impact your sense of self, your happiness and affect how you relate to those around you. This will be great for becoming anti ’social and unhappy.
After 40, ONLY work at things which clearly do not align your interests and abilities
4 Only work at things which you are good at
This is a great strategy for being unhappy at work. Do work which you are really good at but no longer interested in. This will keep you in dead end jobs for years JUST for the money. Human Resource policies around performance management will always make you the winner ensuring many more years of making money and unhappy work.
5 Have no sense of urgency about your life and work
This is another great way to stay unhappy at work. Just wait for good luck or better hope something will happen to make your life and work better without action a sure recipe for unhappiness!
6 Work in JOBS and careers after 40
This is one of the best ways to ensure unhappiness in mid ‘life. Just work in defined jobs with nice titles and even better career tracks with hopes to someday retire and finally be happy and do what you want. Just waiting for someday will almost guarantee your unhappiness at work.
7 Look forward to retirement
Plan your retirement and all the things you will finally be able to when you stop working. This is one of my best recommended strategies for unhappiness at work. For sure life or the economy will get in the way and you just might have to work forever at just jobs.
8 Actually, retire!
Just stop working and join activities with other retired people. Enjoy the good life. This is a great strategy for unhappiness. Soon a life without new goals or meaningful work and contribution will set in and the water will boil before you notice it. This will speed your progress towards unhappiness.
9 Work around people who enjoy what you don’t
This is a great way to become unhappy at work. Work in areas which everyone around you seems to enjoy except you. Soon you will feel like you are broken and that something is wrong with you. A sure path to unhappiness!
10 Have a job and DO NOT have your life’s work
This is my favorite. JUST have a job that one day you can retire from. For sure don’t think deeply about the world and where you want to make a greater difference especially after 40. Forget contribution, joy, meaning, and all those silly concepts of vocation. Just assume a job is work and the rest of your life happens after you get home.
Does this sound familiar?
Does your work fit into any of these ten steps? The good news is by following of course the opposite direction of these steps WILL ensure you a lifetime of happiness and joy and a sense that your work matters. Now this can ENABLE happiness!
Complaints against Date.com/ Matchmaker.Com
Posted by: | CommentsI hope that this situation interests you in the interest of all the victims Matchmaker.COM, Fraud, Scam and Negligence
It has been only eight days since I have joined Matchmaker.COM, the date.com site. In the eight days, I communicated with thirteen or more girls who had shown interest in my profile.
All girls had posted false profile and false photos taken mostly from model agencies including, Hawaii Modeling Agency. Once I communicated with those young ladies, they immediately had a story to tell and asked for financial assistance. While most of the stories are similar, some were quite unique. One needed money for a birthday party; another needed money to help her sick mother; another needed money to see a doctor as she suddenly had gotten ill; another needed money, and top open a Pay-Pal for her, so that she could pay for her Internet access to chat with me.
After the first seven scammers, I contacted Matcchmaker.Com to complain and explain. I sent them t pages of chats; they ignored it and did not respond. Here is the message I had sent:
“These girls are Scammers from Africa – Their profiles are not the truth–They all have the same story and ask for money after the second communication. They also have false photos taken from modeling Agencies. Please address the matter seriously.
Matchmaker would delete the file and indicate that the profile has been deleted because the persons found their matches. They do nothing to protect their clients.
Another annoying aspect of eHarmony and Match is that they invite people to create free profiles and have a free three day membership. What unfortunately happens is that those member profiles are kept on file and come up in the search criteria for your matches. Since they don’t have a current subscription they can’t respond to you unless they pay. eHarmony was better about this in screening out non-current users but Match really doesn’t care.
The best sollution I have found is PlentOfFish.com, firstly its free! They don’t want your credit card info unless you want to add personality matching and even then their price is minimal compared to the big dating sites. The site was actually created by a guy that was fed up with eHarmony and even has a forum where you can strike up conversations with other members you may be interested in, I think that’s awesome because you have more than just e-mails and winks in your icebraking toolbox.
i am attaching a screen shot of what the page looks like where you pay. i dont know if there is a trick using fine print somewhere, it shouldnt matter whether there is any fine print anywhere because using fine print to trick people and make money by tricking people is a crime. they are pigs making money from unsuspecting people.
not to go off the subject but yes i also received emails from a girl who first claimed to be in Ohio, but she gave me turned out to be a number from nigeria. they use the Ohio claim because the ohio area code happens to be the same as the first 3 numbers of the international code for nigeria.
Criticism Of The Stimulus continues
Posted by: | CommentsEven Democrats in Congress are now criticizing the pace of stimulus spending and its effect on the unemployment rate. One major issue is that the states with the highest unemployment, like Michigan, are not receiving large amounts of funds to helpfully try and get more jobs. There is now discussion of possibly rewriting the legislation to make it more equitable and spend money quicker.
There are starting to be a great deal of complaints that the “Stimulus” Bill pass in March by Congress at the urging of the Obama Administration is not really working. Specifically that the U.S. unemployment rate has grown since the law was implemented faster and higher then predicted without the bill. The goal with this spending was to “create or save” jobs according to the President. Measured in that way it has not really done anything.
Much of the first wave of stimulus funds delivered to the states were used to balance their budgets or pay for existing programs. This was not the intent of the money, although now Obama is arguing without that money unemployment would have been higher as the states would have laid off many more workers. So those are jobs “saved”.
Like the TARP program passed in the Fall to help financial institutions a significant portion of the money must go to run the offices and programs that manage the funding. The way the government contracts and the amount of reporting required by Congress, executive agencies and the state this was going to be a given. At the same time the government is trying to get as much publicity out of this as possible which leads to the focus on making information about the spending public. It can be expected that over the next three years there will be more spent on lawyers, web sites and government employees to do this. So at least parts of the economy are being stimuluated.