Unbanked? grab your ankles!

[hornadylnl]

I think charity and services to the poor are a good thing if administered correctly. Someone much smarter than I said that people won't change until the pain is staying the same outweighs the pain of the change. 90% of government programs and private charities do nothing more than write lifetime prescriptions of oxycontin to these people. They are higher than a kite and don't feel a lick of pain. I refuse to be a drug dealer and feed these peoples addictions to stupidity and irresponsibility. A lot of the homeless won't even go to shelters because they are unwilling to follow the few simple demands placed on them. I firmly believe that a good percentage of those who give money to bums or do charity work do it for their own selfish reasons. Give the bum money, walk away and give no further thought about whether they actually helped that person. It makes them feel warm and fuzzy inside.

 

[Lucas156]

Some of these banks are scum though. If you have ever listened to Clark Howard you know the fees they charge and the bs ways they come up with them? They will hold a deposit on an account for two days so they can bounce a check the same day and get fees from it. Its ridiculous. My girlfriend overdrew her account grant it was her fault but they charged $70 for an overdraft fee-seventy dollars! That is outrageous. That bank is Old National and I told her they are ripping her off she just wont change banks-again her fault but still-seventy dollars! I would tell them where they can put their fee!

 

[theweakerbrother]

I'd encourage more of you to seek out business from legitimate credit unions or responsible banks rather than poor investment banks or government seized credit unions (it has happened recently).

 

[BloodEclipse]

People with good accounts will end up paying for this.
As far as over-drafting is concerned if you don't have the money in the account don't spend it. If you know the debit card can cause you pain, USE CASH!
I have a shell card that is tied to my checking account and I save 5 cents per gallon. They simply debt out the amount I spend.
Being irresponsible is not the banks fault.

 

[Mgderf]

What this is, is another attempt to buy votes from those uneducated, unemployed, unmotivated, an unwilling to contribute to society in a meaningful way.

 

[5.56'aholic]

While there are certainly some risks and potential concerns with these plans, the motivation is not as sinister as you might think.

I'm a board member of our local United Way, and through our community needs assessment- independent of this study, and the overal United Way of America study - we determined that a major hurdle for many in our community is financial independence.

That lack of independence in turn creates dependence on social welfare programs that taxpayers do in fact subsidize. We are going to work on a similar local effort to help folks get set up with bank accounts so that they can put more of the money they do make into their pocket, so they can do things like pay their bills, feed their families, etc.

Right now someone who is working, but makes less than the poverty limit wage spends a very large % of their annual income on check cashing fees, money order fees to pay bills, and tax filing fees.

As an example, lets say you make $7 and hour. You work 40 hours a week, 50 weeks a year. You make $14,000 per year before taxes. (Granted income taxes on $14,000 are more or less nil). So lets assume you spend $1000 a year to have your paycheck cashed and pay money order fees so you can pay your bills (many utilities and other companies don't accept cash payment anymore, or have collection centers out of town that require payments to be mailed in - shouldn't send cash via mail). That is 7% of your annual income that is immediately gone. Now try to pay the rest of your bills with $13,000 a year. Could you do it?

Even if you make $100,000 a year, would you really want to spend $1000 on fees? Wouldn't you want to keep that money rather than pay it away? Certainly the banks that participate will make some money from these programs in the form of fees and interest, but is that a bad thing? Isn't that basic capitalism? Sure there is some government backing to reduce fees and such.

This program is by no means perfect, but I can assure you it is not another government ploy to gain control over the general population.

While i understand your concerns, and feel for the people in these situations, many need to learn to help themselves. What ever happened to personal responsibility? Rewarding people for making poor decisions is what is dragging this country down. Government is guilty of it, Wall Street is guilt of it, and so on down the line.

 

[jblomenberg16]

While i understand your concerns, and feel for the people in these situations, many need to learn to help themselves. What ever happened to personal responsibility? Rewarding people for making poor decisions is what is dragging this country down. Government is guilty of it, Wall Street is guilt of it, and so on down the line.

I think we are in agreement...but just want to make sure.

If nobody offers to help (and I'm refering to the UW program I am helping with) how can these people help themselves? Are they going to just wake up one morning and say "you know, I think I'll teach myself to balance a check bookn today, so better go open a checking account."

What I'm not sure of, is how this is rewarding people for a bad decision?

 

[5.56'aholic]

What I'm not sure of, is how this is rewarding people for a bad decision?

Simple, by using the rest of the banks customers to subsidize the lifestyle of those who are fiscally irresponsible. Any one else would have to pay fees for poor money management. By giving them a free pass, it is rewarding bad choices. Now, if they use the system to correct their bad habits, that is another story.

 

[jblomenberg16]

Simple, by using the rest of the banks customers to subsidize the lifestyle of those who are fiscally irresponsible. Any one else would have to pay fees for poor money management. By giving them a free pass, it is rewarding bad choices. Now, if they use the system to correct their bad habits, that is another story.

I see what you are saying. I hadn't looked at it that way. I was looking at it from the other standpoint...we're using the system to help correct bad habits, or in most cases, help people get started with good financial habits.

 

[hornadylnl]

I don't know why they don't require a 1 semester class for graduation in accounting. Teach people how to manage a checkbook, income in vs bills out, etc. Most people leave school not having a clue as to how many bills have to be paid when they get out on their own. It sure would do them more good than the suzie has two mommies agenda.

 

[Phil502]

I don't know why they don't require a 1 semester class for graduation in accounting. Teach people how to manage a checkbook, income in vs bills out, etc. Most people leave school not having a clue as to how many bills have to be paid when they get out on their own. It sure would do them more good than the suzie has two mommies agenda.

When I was in high school we learned to do a simple tax form and I did them for me and my friends. I guess thats not necessary anymore.

 

[5.56'aholic]

I see what you are saying. I hadn't looked at it that way. I was looking at it from the other standpoint...we're using the system to help correct bad habits, or in most cases, help people get started with good financial habits.

I knew where you were coming from, but in this day and age, everyone wants something for free without responsibility, unfortunately. They do not want to work or pay for it, they just want it.