Economic Portents
Fri., May 19, 11:57 AM
All of the discussion about immigration has me worried. This is a nation of immigrants, after all, and I’m pretty close to it; all four of my grandparents were immigrants, as well as my mother and her siblings, who came to the United States in 1923. I continue to believe diversity is our national strength.
Two years ago I wrote about how we all need English. I still think so, but the tone of this latest “English First” initiative is nasty. It stinks of the fear of strangers, a fear that grows when people think their way of life is threatened. The kind of fear that can lead to mob rule. It's the economy.
Well, you know my mind is somewhat eccentric (which means off-center, y’know), and I see “signs and portents” in bizarre places. I see economic indicators in strange places. For instance, take junk mail.
I’ve been receiving mail for M.D. and Son, neither of whom has lived at my house for at least ten years. Having built mailing lists long before there were computerized databases, I do have some experience in this field. Among other things, I know that one can buy mailing lists from professional sources; I also know that the validity of such lists deteriorates quickly. The old rule of thumb was that a database was good for about six months.
So when I receive this kind of mail, I know that someone was using an old – very old – list. I consider that a sign of desperation. Marketers and collection agencies aren’t getting enough hits off the lists they have, and they are either using their older lists or wasting their resources on what they think are new ones. The professional database companies may also be having trouble getting new names, inasmuch as people are a lot more skittish about releasing private information.
You do have to be on the lookout for such stuff, because a collection agency may contact you about a ten-year-old debt that you paid off five years ago. Well, you didn’t expect them to research it, did you? There’s always a chance (1) that the customer will do the research himself – no loss to the collector – or (2) that the customer will have forgotten and pay it again.
Telemarketers really have their troubles these days. One of the best investments I’ve made is my caller I.D. Whenever it says “unavailable,” I let the answering machine pick up. The message suggests they write a letter instead. Most of them hang up. Sorry, guys, I no longer have any patience for you.
Another symptom of a poor economy is what these people are selling. I picked up a call one day, and the voice asked for Husband. As I have done for the last thirty-seven years, I said he wasn’t available and could I help – as the wife, you understand. None of these callers ever believe that I could be the one in charge of the credit cards and/or bank accounts. “Well, do you have any idea what mortgage rate you are paying?” Trick question, right? We have no mortgage; we paid it off twenty years ago. “Oops, sorry.”
Here’s another obviously bogus call. The caller asked for U.D. We have separate phone numbers, although hers is unpublished. So I know the caller is either using a very old data source, or he’s just guessing that our number is hers. He was from one of those companies that I hate, fueled by nothing more than greed. They’d like to buy out her structured settlement. Aside from the fact that she doesn’t have one – and no, she didn’t “sell them one last year” – we are not doing that again. I keep telling the guy she is not interested, and he keeps telling me that this is a brand new plan, just developed last month… “You’re not getting it,” I tell him, “when I tell you no – several times – you are supposed to say thank you and goodbye.” He’s ready to start again, but I continue “…thank you. Goodbye.” And I hang up. Make a mental note, don’t talk to that number again.
Just an aside: y’know those surveys that always assure you that they will not share your information? Every time I answer the question “do you drink coffee?” I receive another e-mail from Gevalia, with whom I stopped doing business years ago. I drink coffee, I buy coffee; I do not buy theirs.
The level of personal debt (credit cards, etc.) is higher than it’s ever been. Nevertheless, in case you haven noticed, everyone is selling credit. For every ad I see that says “save you money,” I see ten that say “borrow.” Once again, I see greed. Twice in two days.
This is not the type of quiz I usually take, but my curiosity got the better of me.
You Passed 8th Grade Science |
 Congratulations, you got 8/8 correct! |
I didn’t learn any of this stuff in eighth grade. As a matter of fact, I can’t even remember who my eight grade science teacher was, though I recall – names and faces – English, math, home ec, history, even art.
