I want to know if anyone else sees what I see happening.. Just recently Time Warner increased their rates over the last 3 months on my parents by $40. And I read daily about how credit card companies are increasing their intrest rates and scaling down credit lines. I guess it happens. But why is this burden being passed along to consumers who have paid their bills on time. Recently Wells Frago jacked their rates to their credit card holders. All the while they posted a loss in revenue for the year , Yet they took money from the Govenment ( bailout funds) to buy Wachovia..And they aren't the only ones.. I feel like they take their losses and pass them onto what people that still have good credit. Its like they are trying to make it up on someone else's back...

Yup.

greed is the way it is anymore or was it that way all the time?
just more evedent now.

I think greed was always the way it was or still is. It's just finally coming around to being obvious. Thre was a time when we all lead out lives without it being so noticable and now I believe it is ruining this country. Yes, t he rich do get richer and they will never allow any economic issues effect them. Therefore, we have millions of Americans losing their jobs, and large and small company owners and CEO's giving themselves bonus's. Is a tragity for all of us.

And I'm passionate about this topic because I lost my job after 7 years (along with 11 others) because the owner of the business, very wealthy needs gas for his plane,and he and the other managers managed to go on their yearly ski trip the same week. Sick. Sorry for the long post.

It is because the value of the dollar is going down down down on the world market. They can't keep up.

People should start learning to barter and trade.

I socked away my money, paid cash for a home here in Tucson and retired at 55. As long as gold stays up, I'm, well, golden.

This "greed" you speak of has been taking place over the last thirty or more years. It started with "free-trade" (then called "Reaganomics"), which allowed for big business to send work and industry outside to Japan. Then CFIUS (the Committee for Foreign Investment in the United States) decided to get VERY lax with how foreign investors take control over (what used to be) American companies, which necessitated even MORE off-shoring of labor to points unknown.

Along the way, you had Wall Street robber-barons like the Keatings and the Millikens with their junk bond and Saving and Loan ripoffs that swept the legs under the mom-and-pop investors who for the most part were just looking to have a nest egg for their retirement.

Then NAFTA came along which gave big business an even BIGGER excuse to off-shore work to other parts of the world including Canada and Mexico.

And now we have our current trade fiasco with China, which has been shoving their crap down our throats for the better part of a decade now.

This "bailout" of the credit/banking/auto industries is nothing more than another way to hand money to the economic elite while also screwing over the general populous. Not only are the organizations getting the money NOT spending our money responsibly (as was the case with Citi and their purchase of a $50-million private jet on TARP money), but most of the money isn't even going to domestic interest- a great majority of TARP money is going to international investors who started screaming for their money after the crash.

The raising of pricing and interest rates of credit cards is just a drop in the bucket compared to the REAL thievery that's going on out there.

Well Kewl!

I am living free as an artist, web designer, care giver etc. and compared to the average middle-class citizen, I am below the poverty level. So far, the recession we hear about on television every day has not trickled down this far. (It may never get down this far.)

I like that the gas prices have gone down but that does not even effect me much as I live in a small town, (I can walk) and I don't drive to work ~~ (I work at home.)

My biggest expense is utilities and property taxes... oh and food. But I can live on eggs, spaghetti, beans and oatmeal if I have to. (I do like steak though.)

I consider myself rich because I don't have a huge mortgage to pay off and not many debts. But mostly because I don't have to punch a clock every day.

Life is grand.

as long as there is humanity.. there will be greed.

Here's to us bypassing the rat race.

I love all your little icons. Does that site allow your hotlinking?

My hope is with government regulation of some of these businesses that when tax payers and congressmen/senators hand out money they will require more restrictions and stop paying obscene salaries to people that really don't have that unique of skills. I believe that most of the work is actually done by people much further down the food chain.

The reason the credit system is so foul is if people who have never had credit or not used it for years are not required to show credit worthy habits now. Because many people can't even if they wanted to afford houseing, medical care, and trasportation costs things have to change.

The people who will get through will be the people who do not depend on credit or insurance to subsidize their expenses. A budget will be something that all of us have to live on.

Well it seems some of us are doing ok ...I too am set for life right now.. I don't have to work and yet I have a home and can put food on the table, pay my bills... The point is this corporate greed is getting others who can't afford those increases.. BTW Citi did not buy that jet, it went back. I can't understand how our leaders can't see this on the little guys level.. They rant and rave about all they plan to do. But they have not stopped the greed these corporations cotinue to have.

We live in a capitalistic society where greed is the name of the game.

I had Time Warner cable/roadrunner package and was paying like 121.50 a month with didnt seem like any saving at all.
I switched to DirectTV for $55 a month and still use RoadRunner for $43 a month and save almost $30. Next is dumping AT&T for Vonage and saving like $36.
Alot of these Institution companies are charging themselves into an early grave. At least I hope so.

And they will, once they figure out that the people they've been taking to the cleaners no longer have the money to pay for their lousy services and stuff.

That's what corporate America just doesn't seem to understand about their customers- take away their jobs and overcharge them for shoddy service, and eventually that well of money will run dry.