So trivial, yet it really ticks you off.

[tonyb]

I pretty much lost a friend over his getting into the reverse mortgage business. His incessant trumpeting about what a great service he was doing for humanity (never stop selling!) got to be too much.

There's no doubt that reverse mortgages put money in old people's pockets and may go some way toward making for a more comfortable retirement. So of course I can see the appeal to those with less than secure finances. And for those with no heirs, well, why should they care one whit about the value of their estates when they croak?

Among the legacies of slavery we still live with a century and a half on is the great disparities in family wealth between black and white people. Now, some of that data should be taken with a large grain of salt. The overwhelming majority of the super-rich are not black folks, so that skews waaaay upward the averages for white family wealth. If in a sample of 1000 white families we include that of one Jeff Bezos, well, we all on average got a whole lotta dough, even if I can't afford a Big Mac.

Still, though, having a grandma who helps finance one's college education is a big leg up that is afforded many white people and very few black people. Getting Dad's 8-year-old car because he wants a new one and can afford to lose the few thousand dollars he might have gotten in trade-in happens pretty much all the time in white families.

I've never inherited a dime, and doubt I ever will. I have this in common with a large percentage of white people and a much larger percentage of black people. Reverse mortgages make it all the likelier that the progeny of working-class people will remain in the working class. It's another way for wealth to trickle up.

What's needed is for lower-income whites and blacks (and Hispanics, and … ) to make common cause, because we are the clear majority, and it remains in the interest of others to keep us squabbling among ourselves. Alas, we have this legacy of racism that keeps getting in the way. As Lyndon Johnson put it, "If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you."

 

[LizzieMaine]

Absolutely right.

 

[tonyb]

I just love it when I’m accused of fomenting class warfare. It tickles me every time.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I didn't enlist, I was drafted.

 

[Edward]

What's needed is for lower-income whites and blacks (and Hispanics, and … ) to make common cause, because we are the clear majority, and it remains in the interest of others to keep us squabbling among ourselves. Alas, we have this legacy of racism that keeps getting in the way. As Lyndon Johnson put it, "If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you."

Some things are universal; in the shipyards in Belfast they endured all sorts of conditions for generations because they preferred sectarianism over progress. Even Big Jim Larkin gave up on them, and he went on to fight the Dublin lock-out!

From the US perspective Dylan, as ever, nailed it...

A South politician preaches to the poor white man
"You got more than the blacks, don't complain
You're better than them, you been born with white skin, " they explain
And the Negro's name
Is used, it is plain
For the politician's gain
As he rises to fame
And the poor white remains
On the caboose of the train
But it ain't him to blame
He's only a pawn in their game
The deputy sheriffs, the soldiers, the governors get paid
And the marshals and cops get the same
But the poor white man's used in the hands of them all like a tool
He's taught in his school
From the start by the rule
That the laws are with him
To protect his white skin
To keep up his hate
So he never thinks straight
'Bout the shape that he's in
But it ain't him to blame
He's only a pawn in their game

This is exactly how I feel about cash. I almost always have a couple hundred dollars in my wallet because I prefer to pay in cash. I agree that it makes it easier to keep track of how much money you’re spending and it seems much more real to me then holding your phone in front of a scanner just right to complete a transaction.

I'm aso uneasy about tying too many things together. You can't go off-grid now. Having a loyalty card in the supermarket I don't mind (I can always not use it if I want certain purchases to be unregistered), having a debit card, having a travel pass for the tube.... but putting them all in one, vulnerable place like a phone? So some one stals my phone and I can't get the tube home, or they steal my phone and get access to spe d my money all in one go? No thanks.

 

[Edward]

I gotta believe that personal mobility is a primary driver in all of this. When generations of people occupied the same housing, when people stayed in the same jobs for their entire working lives, those people had something other than their money invested in the neighborhood. The monetary value of the family home was of little concern to a person who had no intention of selling the place anyway. He or she expected to live there until dragged out cold.

And now? Now we have "reverse" mortgages. It's just another way for wealth to trickle up.

I am alays in teo minds about this. I like the idea of a community like that in theory; in practice. I grew up in s small village whre everyone knew my business and to escape to the relative anonymity of the big city was very heaven!

 

[tonyb]

I am alays in teo minds about this. I like the idea of a community like that in theory; in practice. I grew up in s small village whre everyone knew my business and to escape to the relative anonymity of the big city was very heaven!

Oh yes, that sword does indeed cut both ways. I once held romantic notions about rural or small-town life, but I am much more suited to larger cities and metropolitan areas.

But even in larger cities are families who have for generations lived in the same districts, if not the same structures.

I’ve been in greater Denver going on five years now, and I still feel a bit unrooted. Older people don’t make friends as readily as youngsters do. The people with whom I most frequently communicate are in the Seattle area and in and around Madison, Wisconsin, where I have many long-standing associations. These people know me, and vice-versa.

 

[tonyb]

...
I'm aso uneasy about tying too many things together. You can't go off-grid now. Having a loyalty card in the supermarket I don't mind (I can always not use it if I want certain purchases to be unregistered), having a debit card, having a travel pass for the tube.... but putting them all in one, vulnerable place like a phone? So some one stals my phone and I can't get the tube home, or they steal my phone and get access to spe d my money all in one go? No thanks.

I was thoroughly miffed by the insurance company charging five bucks to supply me with paper documentation of our auto insurance coverage. Carrying liability insurance is required by law, and so is providing documentation of same when requested by law enforcement.

So I voice my objection to the local agent, who says the company supplies the “documentation” in electronic format at no extra charge, so that the customer can have it on his smartphone to show a cop. But what if someone else is driving and I’m not in the car? Or if I left the phone at home? Or if the phone battery dies?

 

[The Jackal]

I was thoroughly miffed by the insurance company charging five bucks to supply me with paper documentation of our auto insurance coverage. Carrying liability insurance is required by law, and so is providing documentation of same when requested by law enforcement.

So I voice my objection to the local agent, who says the company supplies the “documentation” in electronic format at no extra charge, so that the customer can have it on his smartphone to show a cop. But what if someone else is driving and I’m not in the car? Or if I left the phone at home? Or if the phone battery dies?

Every time my policy renews they send me an email telling me to print the insurance card and maintain it in the vehicle. Its really the only way I can get one, as my insurance company doesn't have a local office and they use very little mail correspondence.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I always get two insurance cards in the mail automatically, and immediately lose them. Never heard of the electronic option, but then Allstate isn't exactly the most Silicon Valley of companies.

 

[Harp]

An early start to last night's Cubs v Cincinnati forced missing Darvish resuming form;
however, the resultant pen fold against a one run lead, and inadequate closure I caught, ahhh.

 

[Trenchfriend]

Are "Birkenstock(s)" or any other bio-pantolettes really such a big deal in the U.S., actually??

 

[GHT]

So I voice my objection to the local agent, who says the company supplies the “documentation” in electronic format at no extra charge, so that the customer can have it on his smartphone to show a cop. But what if someone else is driving and I’m not in the car? Or if I left the phone at home? Or if the phone battery dies?

Or if your phone is not internet connected. There's something that I have discovered, letters, as in snail mail, are so rare that they get noticed. More so if you have tidy handwriting, I'm able to write in italic script, so when I come up against the sort of problem that you have just described, I write, in ink, with a fountain pen, and does it get a response, or what?

 

[LizzieMaine]

Are "Birkenstock(s)" or any other bio-pantolettes really such a big deal in the U.S., actually??

They're still beloved by a certain demographic, but you seldom see them worn these days by anyone under sixty.

The wearing of any sandal-type footwear by men -- especially older men -- is an issue of rampant controversy these days. A condemnation of "Mandals" in the Boston Globe last week has generated a barrage of letters from aggrieved gentlemen who see their right to display knobby, hairy, yellowed feet to the public gaze as one of the inalienable rights guaranteed by The Founders in their holy wisdom. Anyone understanding the nuances of American history knows that Benjamin Franklin would have worn Birkenstocks. And Alexander Hamilton would have made fun of him for it.

 

[tonyb]

They're still beloved by a certain demographic, but you seldom see them worn these days by anyone under sixty.

The wearing of any sandal-type footwear by men -- especially older men -- is an issue of rampant controversy these days. A condemnation of "Mandals" in the Boston Globe last week has generated a barrage of letters from aggrieved gentlemen who see their right to display knobby, hairy, yellowed feet to the public gaze as one of the inalienable rights guaranteed by The Founders in their holy wisdom. Anyone understanding the nuances of American history knows that Benjamin Franklin would have worn Birkenstocks. And Alexander Hamilton would have made fun of him for it.

As to odd footwear ...

A couple days ago at a garden center I witnessed a young woman wearing bib overalls and high-heeled shoes. I was left to ponder if this is what the on-trend gardener is sporting this season.

And then yesterday, on a downtown sidewalk, I saw another young woman in bib overalls and heels.

It’s all okay by me. I think white pleated formal shirts look good with blue jeans, and have often appeared in public so attired. You can get the shirts cheap if they show any sign of wear, they’re machine washable, and there’s no need for cuff links if you’re gonna roll up your sleeves anyway.

 

[Zombie_61]

...A couple days ago at a garden center I witnessed a young woman wearing bib overalls and high-heeled shoes. I was left to ponder if this is what the on-trend gardener is sporting this season...

If they were the high and narrow "spike" heels they could potentially be used to aerate the young woman's lawn as she walks across it, so...

Back under the heading of trivial, my wife and I have been watching The Big Bang Theory from the beginning; all 12 seasons. We sat down to watch the final episode of the series last night, but our DVR didn't record it for whatever reason.

 

[3fingers]

If they were the high and narrow "spike" heels they could potentially be used to aerate the young woman's lawn as she walks across it, so...

I saw a video online a few days ago showing a woman walking one foot in front of the other in high heels poking holes in the dirt while a man followed behind dropping peanuts into the holes. I doubt that this is the reason for Tony's stylish shoe bib wearing neighbors, but who knows.

 

[Lean'n'mean]

I saw a video online a few days ago showing a woman walking one foot in front of the other in high heels poking holes in the dirt while a man followed behind dropping peanuts into the holes.

I may have seen that one, was the guy wearing a spiked dog collar & leash ?

 

[3fingers]

I don't recall that part. What kind of websites are you spending time on?

 

[Trenchfriend]

Every day is National Cat Day. Which is as it should be.

I'm also a big supporter of National Cheese Week. "Serve Cheese -- And Serve The Nation!"

And:

"FREE HUGS!" day

For better smalltown vitalization.

Lizzie, you got the cultural institution, you got the girls and you got the smalltwown there.
So, thumbs up!!

-------------------------------------------------------------
FREE HUGS!!
(But you can donate a dollar, if you like.)
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Something like that...