ravan: (451F)
ravan ([personal profile] ravan) wrote2009-03-16 01:35 pm
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Dear Banks and Insurers

When Mr. & Ms. Main Street had problems with unemployment, insolvency, medical costs and debt starting in 2000 and onward, you told your flunkies in Congress "Tough. Let the Market™ Decide". You bade them pass legislation making it harder for individuals to file a clean bankruptcy, and they bowed and did it. You told me "It doesn't matter if you're unemployed, you still owe us money. Borrow from family, get a loan, yada yada". When Citi fucked me over on the one card I was keeping current because of other cards deliquent, they said "Touigh. It's just business. It's our rules. Pay your bills now."

But now, when the shoe is on the other foot, they say "Oh, help us, help us, for the public good! We're too big to fail, waaah, waaah, waaaah!" Your obliging servants in Congress once again have said "Yessa, Massa." and passed huge bailouts. Now you're whining again, "Unfair", because the new administration wants some actual oversight and accountability for our taxpayer money! Fuck you all!

We won't forget this. We won't forget that you said "Screw You, we got the money, we make the rules." when you were riding high, and owned Congress and everything else. We won't forget that you came back, after being deregulated at your own request so that the "Market™" could decide, and begged for handouts because you got caught in the trap of your own greed, then whined because we wanted to know how you spent it and why you fucked up in the first place.

I'm still plotting how to cut you bastards out of my life. I have to do credit, because my life, medical expenses and savings are not all fully funded by my income. But I'm heading there. Each rate increase, each "late fee" (often a penalty for paying my bill a mere day before the statement comes out), each bill insert advertising junk life insurance, all of these things make me hate you more and more.

You have no fucking clue at just how deep the anger goes. You have been paying less than 1% on savings for over a decade, but charging a minimum of 15% interest on credit (often 20% to 30%), plus huge fees for the most piddling of offenses against your ever changing rules. Do you think we can't do the math? Don't you realize we wonder where the difference goes? Do you really thing we're that stupid or math impaired?

When we protest even a small fee increase, we get attitude, arrogance, and even more penalties. What rational person wouldn't be pissed off by that kind of nonsense? Do you really think that the public is made up of doormats? Do you really think that reality TV circuses will keep us distracted enough?

And insurers? More money for less coverage, less paid to the people who actually do the work, and snotty attitudes when we demand what you state we are due in our contracts? Then you go and unilaterally change the terms of those contracts to provide less benefits while increasing premiums? What kind of idiots do you take us, and our employers, for? Do you understand that the reason behind the push for single payer health care in this country is you and the obscene profits you make from people's suffering and financial ruin? Do you realize we look at our medical debts, the denial letters that you send, and then at your obscene profits and see red in more than just our own balance sheets? You take us for fools. We aren't.

You guys are lucky that Congress is holding your feet to the fire, quite frankly. You see, the mob is an ugly thing. If the mass of people even get a hint that you're not being held accountable for what you do with their money, well, they tend to form mobs and do ugly things - see the French Revolution for examples.


Go ahead and link, this post is public.

[identity profile] ladyqkat.livejournal.com 2009-03-16 10:13 pm (UTC)(link)
Two years ago we had two creditors who were merciless in trying to get money out of us even though I proved to them that we were incapable of paying anything to them because we were stretched past our income limit - two people living on the disibility income of one person ($1400/mo), me unable to find even temporary employment, and other problems.

Now, we are paying on those two debts and the creditors are bending over backwards to not antagonize us. I still do not have access to any medical treatment so if I get ill I am very SOL. My SO has some coverage through the VA, but if it is not related to his "service connected disability" he is SOL. He has some Medicare, but since we cannot even afford the 'mimimum office visit' charge, he is, effectively, SOL.

I remember when a free clinic was free. Now, you need $30 to even think about walking into a 'free' clinic.

Personally, I think that all lawyers and bankers should be forced to live on 10% of their income. They would still live grander than the rest of us, but they might get a clue-by-4.