a99kitten's Musings

http://finance.yahoo.com/retirement/article/110553/jackpot-winners-just-as-likely-to-go-bust

This article is about a study done on lottery winners and how they go bankrupt too…just a bit later.

While I do believe that on occasion a lucky winner who spent $1 or $5 on lotto tickets every so often and can win and – bang! Wow! Lucky! Most people spend a lot of money, money that can probably not afford, buying tickets in search of the big payout. Am I against the lotto? No. Not at all. But it should be seen as a FUN thing. With disposable income spent on it. Like Bingo or something. Just like any form of gambling. Not your rent money, not your grocery money, not your kid’s lunch money.

The main reason, in my personal opinion, that lotto winners (or any type of big payout really – insurance settlement anyone?) still end up with nothing is that they simply don’t know how to manage money. They don’t know how to plan for the future. Oh kinda like people who took more and more equity lines out on their homes when they had no business accessing that money.

What were they thinking when they did this? Were they thinking how they were going to pay off their home anytime in the future? Or using the money to improve their home’s value? Were they doing the math on how they were going to pay it back? Quite a few took the cash and bought newer cars, bigger TVs, nice vacations and more crap. I’m all for shopping and keeping the global economy alive and well – if you can afford it. And definitely not if somehow my tax dollars is going to have to bail your irresponsible ass out some day.

I know there were plenty of unscrupulous mortgage brokers getting these loans approved but at the end of the day – you signed the papers and took their money and spent it. You are responsible for your own condition. Period. No one else is. Unless you are 5 years old. If you didn’t understand the ARMs and interest rates then you should not have signed those papers.

The study has policy implications for governments deciding how to help heavily indebted people who are struggling during economic downturns, Hoekstra says. It appears the simplest solution — giving them cash — doesn’t enhance longer-term financial stability, and only postpones, rather than avoids, bankruptcy. The lottery findings are consistent with a 2007 research paper that showed consumers initially used their 2001 federal rebate checks to reduce debt, but eventually debt returned to its pre-rebate level.

“Our research suggests that perhaps there is something more systematic about the types of people who get themselves into financial trouble — and the appropriate policy prescription for helping them out is going to be considerably more complex than giving them additional resources,” says Hoekstra.

This is fact. You cannot give people money and expect them to fix their own problems and improve their lives. And you can’t give people something for nothing. See the never-ending money pit of government entitlement programs for proof.

Giving people money for, or cutting what they owe on, their mortgage loans is not the solution. And penalizing and vilifying the banks while allowing the loan holder to skate is BS. And having more and more government control over banks and lending is a GIANT mistake. See any government body for their efficiency and ability to get anything done.

So play the lotto if you have a spare $2 in your pocket. I do when it gets up to the giant gazillion dollar pots! I love fantasizing about my 100 acres in Wyoming and shopping trips! It’s fun. But if you are going in and spending $20-$50 a week (and I’ve been there behind the people buying them) in hopes of hitting it rich…well…I sure as hell hope you don’t have a mortgage loan you are defaulting on or kids who need new shoes.

Today I took Angelus for a loooong walk.  We hit one of his favorite spots first – the Pillar Point Harbor beach. He doesn’t like waves too much so he prefers the beach at the harbor over Surfer’s Beach which is right on the other side of the break wall.  This could be because when he was a puppy, he and I were walking on Surfer’s Beach during high tide (and a storm was brewing) and a giant wave came up and got us. I scooped him up and pressed us against the bluff wall but I was pretty wet from the waist down. We weren’t in any real danger or anything but he could probably sense my stress and probably didn’t like getting so wet! So yeah – he likes calm water – the lake is BEST!

Anyway, on today’s walk we came across the “normal” garbage we see in the RV parking lot after a weekend beach day. Tourists = suck. You people come over here and wreck a beautiful environment. Your complete disregard for the environment sickens me. Now, I am not a tree-hugging environmentalist. But who doesn’t want their beaches, oceans, lakes, roads, and parks to STAY CLEAN??? WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU A**HOLES? Don’t you like nice things??? This really isn’t an issue with differing opinions, or viewpoints. You leave trash – you are 100% wrong and suck. Easy.

How hard is it to take your garbage to the numerous trash cans placed along the entrances of the beach or in the parking  lots? I am talking a lot of garbage too. Not a stray piece of garbage that might have flown out of your trash bag. I am talking about you F-WADS that left a PILE of garbage by the breakwall.

And let’s not ignore the jacka** who brought his chair/awning thingy along with one of those cheap white syrofoam coolers and left them there when he was done. He/she is a stellar example of humanity.

It’s already so ridiculously annoying when the “fishermen” (not pros) leave their used line (for seagulls to get caught on or dogs to get tangled in), beer cans, food wrappers, etc.

And I know the teenagers/young people who have their nighttime bonfires with their leftover pizza boxes, fast food containers and beer cans and Mickey’s bottles are likely not tourists and I detest you just as much. Just take it to the garbage cans you losers. Again – how hard is it? If this is too much for you to be responsible for – then please do us all a favor and remove yourself from society now. Because we are likely going to have to pay for your welfare check, WIC food and/or prison stay later…

But any nice or long/holiday weekend is sure to wreck the beaches and parks. I personally am in favor of a HUGE toll to get here (and a huge parking fee for beaches or parks) and a huge fine for violators. The fees/fines would pay for the staff in no time with this amount of losers in the world. Charge by the person so the single person or couple doesn’t have to pay as much as the family of 10. Because guess what – they ARE using more of the natural resources and making more of a mess.

Because let’s face it, if your personal responsibility level is so low that you can’t take your own garbage to the garbage can what hope do you have to ever raise a child who isn’t a loser like you? Or hold any type of job that is a mid-to-high functioning level job? The fact that you take up space on this planet and breathe oxygen is a crime. If you are so irresponsible and unable to see what’s wrong with your actions, then I am personally hoping for your demise because you offer no benefit to society.

So do us all a favor – off yourself now and don’t waste anymore space…

OR take a little a little responsbility for your own actions and clean up behind you. It’s not that hard. If you can’t do that. F off and die.

This morning I was driving to work. Several cars ahead of me was the garbage truck.  In the span of 1-2 minutes, they lost several beer cans, a soda bottle, the box container for Bud Light, some plastic wrap/packing stuff and other bits of garbage. I watched them fall out and bounce across/around the 2-lane road we were driving on.

Now, this annoyed me on several levels…First, what the hell? You are the garbage collectors. Your job is to pick it up. Not drop it all over the street to blow around and possibly end up in the ocean since we were right by the beach entrance.   I’ve seen the guys when they empty the trash on my street or neighboring streets as I walk the dogs. They take NO care to pick up anything they drop.  I’ve walked around my street and picked up garbage, lying in the street, on sidewalks or on the grass median, that fell out as they were dumping it (or apparently as they drive away.) How hard is your damn job?? Get the garbage you pick up from trashcans and get it into your truck????  I appreciate the service, but you get paid a pretty decent wage to perform this function so do it right (our neighbor works for the local trash collection company – he does pretty darn well.)  But why bother right?? You probably wanted to finish your shift and be done for the day. GRRRR.

Second reason it annoyed the heck out of me, it was almost all recyclables falling out and now littering the street (we have different trucks for trash, recycling and yard-waste recycling.)  Cans, plastic bottles and box/paper. So apparently the trash guys picked up garbage that some lazy jerk filled with easily-recyclable items.  The coastside trash company gives you FREE recycling bins to use. And they will deliver them to you when you move in and start your trash service. Again – how hard is this really?  Why the heck are you so frackin’ lazy that you can’t be bothered to use the free recycle bins, which is then picked up by the company weekly (free – cost for trash collections includes recycling so you pay the same fee even if you never use the recycling service.)  All you have to do is use them and put them out on trash day.

I am not a NorCal coastside-living, tree-hugging, crazy environmentalist. But seriously, how hard is it for people to recycle correctly.  And then for the garbage company to not litter the street with people’s trash?? I love my planet. I really love my country and I sure as hell love where I live and don’t want it to be a craphole due to stupid lazy people and negligence. Have you ever been to Mexico? They don’t do plastics recycling. So after all the soda and juice companies switched from glass to plastic bottles they now just end up in the garbage. Or as we saw a lot of – in piles by the side of the road. Just gorgeous…

So really – use the dang recycle bins and quite being lazy or even worse, just jerks. And to the people whose actual job description (and paycheck) says “trash collector” or “garbage man” – collect the trash the correct way, and keep it in your truck on the way to dumping it. Thanks.