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What does CEO stand for? Chief Embezzlement Officer?
Some men are music lovers. Others make love without it.
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After Christmas, I used my gift money to buy a HDTV for the kitchen and a DVR to replace my old VCR. I wonder if that counts?
RickG
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Portmanteau,
That is absolutely brilliant satire. You are truly gifted.
Thanks,
Brad
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Just to be sure, I feel terrible for people who are up to their eyeballs in debt. They are victims of the highest order and I believe that credit card banks and most other lending institutions should be prosecuted -- and not bailed out AT ALL -- for predatory lending practices that positioned consumer debt as a key to financial freedom. I'm not rich. I am a full-time student who is broke enough to qualify for grants. I work for the school in the sense that I earn straight A's and they compensate me by paying for my tuition and books. I am purchasing education for myself because I want to continue doing what I've always done: solve people's problems -- but in ways that I need some higher learning to achieve. No matter what your financial situation is, if this current financial fiasco has caught you in its clutches, may I highly recommend "Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money--That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! -- by Robert T. Kiyosaki It's available in paperback, is a quick read, and will completely upend how you look at money, assets, liabilities and debt and set you on a course for true financial freedom.
Full-Time Music/Entrepreneurship Major: (Why not compose music AND businesses?) Former Piano Industry Professional ************ Steinway M Roland Atelier AT90R ************ All Posts are Snarky Unless Otherwise Noted ************
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Originally posted by ChatNoir: A house without a piano is no home. Hear, hear!!! But I already blew my wad so I can't help out.
You will be 10 years older, ten years from now, no matter what you do - so go for it!
Estonia #6141 in Satin Mahogany
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Portmanteau: Your piece is sheer genius! You should get it published in the Wall Street Journal.
"Playing the piano is my greatest joy...period."......JP
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Originally posted by U S A P T: I feel terrible for people who are up to their eyeballs in debt. Fair enough. They are victims of the highest order Some of them might be foolish with their finances. But they are not victims. I believe that credit card banks and most other lending institutions should be prosecuted -- and not bailed out AT ALL -- for predatory lending practices that positioned consumer debt as a key to financial freedom. What predatory practices are you referring to?
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What predatory practices are you referring to? You're kidding right? balloon mortgages, securitization issues (Countrywide comes to mind), negative amortization, single payment credit life insurance, loan flipping (refinance scams), jacking up credit card fees and interest rates and then soliciting the same customer to refinance them through an installment loan through the same bank, requiring people to buy morgage insurance and only allowing them to use the bank's choice of insurer, offering $2000 in credit but charging $1,750 in fees etc., payday loans etc. Sure I could just say they are all foolish but that doesn't solve any problems. It just causes more.
Full-Time Music/Entrepreneurship Major: (Why not compose music AND businesses?) Former Piano Industry Professional ************ Steinway M Roland Atelier AT90R ************ All Posts are Snarky Unless Otherwise Noted ************
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Are people who are going bankrupt today victims or merely foolish? I think in most cases, the truth is somewhere between the polar opposite positions given above. If, two years ago, you felt like a fool for not going into debt and flipping a house in six months because your brother-in-law did it and made a killing - and so you bought a much bigger house that you couldn't really afford - and now you have negative equity in it and may go under financially, who's to blame - you? the lenders? your brother-in-law? the zeitgeist? All of the above?
My wife and I are big-time savers. We're in good shape. But I feel for those who gave in to the get-rich-quick temptation. So I'd like Congress et al to be compassionate when doling out aid to the somewhat foolish/somewhat victimized folks who need help to just stay in their homes.
Meantime, we going to enjoy our new piano!
Brad
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Originally posted by U S A P T: balloon mortgages, securitization issues, negative amortization, single payment credit life insurance Those things are unacceptable. When offered any of those, you just say no. You don't have to purchase a balloon mortgage. You don't have to buy an interest-only loan. You don't have to buy credit life insurance. Those are money wasters. ... jacking up credit card fees and interest rates and then soliciting the same customer to refinance them through an installment loan through the same bank Just say no to credit cards. The proper amount of credit card debt is $0. ... requiring people to buy morgage insurance and only allowing them to use the bank's choice of insurer Put 20% down and you won't have to buy any mortgage insurance. ... offering $2000 in credit but charging $1,750 in fees etc., payday loans etc. These are perhaps the worst traps for the unwary. Just say no. ... I could just say they are all foolish but that doesn't solve any problems. It just causes more. When people accept the unacceptable, they've made a mistake. Blaming the banks won't solve it. Education might.
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Originally posted by scharlott: Portmanteau,
That is absolutely brilliant satire. You are truly gifted.
Thanks,
Brad Thanks for the praise. I hope it is as much fun to read as it was to write.
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Joined: Aug 2008
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Originally posted by U S A P T: Just to be sure, I feel terrible for people who are up to their eyeballs in debt. They are victims of the highest order and I believe that credit card banks and most other lending institutions should be prosecuted -- and not bailed out AT ALL -- for predatory lending practices that positioned consumer debt as a key to financial freedom.
I'm not rich. I am a full-time student who is broke enough to qualify for grants. I work for the school in the sense that I earn straight A's and they compensate me by paying for my tuition and books. I am purchasing education for myself because I want to continue doing what I've always done: solve people's problems -- but in ways that I need some higher learning to achieve.
No matter what your financial situation is, if this current financial fiasco has caught you in its clutches, may I highly recommend "Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money--That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! -- by Robert T. Kiyosaki It's available in paperback, is a quick read, and will completely upend how you look at money, assets, liabilities and debt and set you on a course for true financial freedom. I would be skeptical about any book that promises an easy way to wealth. Books like this always seem to raise the same question. If his method is so profitable, why does this fellow waste his time on the lecture circuit marketing his book? People like this are rarely altruistic. I have not read, nor do I intend to, the book rich dad poor dad, but the 3rd or 4th link on google turns up this criticism: http://johntreed.com/Kiyosaki.html I have not bothered to evaluate the veracity of these claims, but they do seem to undermine the credibility of the book.
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Originally posted by jazzyprof: Portmanteau: Your piece is sheer genius! You should get it published in the Wall Street Journal. Thanks for your kind words. I doubt they would accept it. If they did they would probably insist on editing it until it doesn't make sense anymore. What amazes me is that the parties involved in this still act as if they did nothing wrong.
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I have a chain letter, which I would like to mail to 20 of you. If you all follow the instructions, which includes sending me $5, I can guarantee you that one of us will be $100 richer. So let me know your addresses.
Thanks in advance,
Brad
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RickG
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What amazes me is that the parties involved in this still act as if they did nothing wrong. Well didn't you know? WSJ says it's all Barney Franks and Maxine Waters' fault!
Full-Time Music/Entrepreneurship Major: (Why not compose music AND businesses?) Former Piano Industry Professional ************ Steinway M Roland Atelier AT90R ************ All Posts are Snarky Unless Otherwise Noted ************
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OMG, Steve's original post was just a light hearted "call to action." Some need to lighten up a little; starting with TheSockPuppet. Let's all just send a check to to Steve Cohen. He'll know what to do with it!
I find it incongruous on a piano enthusiast's website that folks are saying "for God's sake, don't buy a piano." I've got mine, but you can't have one even if you've got the money.
Co-Author of The Complete Idiot's Guide To Buying A Piano. A "must read" before you shop. Work for west coast dealer for Yamaha, Schimmel, Bosendorfer, Wm. Knabe.
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Joined: May 2001
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Yikes! 10000 Post Club Member
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Originally posted by Marty Flinn: OMG, Steve's original post was just a light hearted "call to action." Some need to lighten up a little; starting with TheSockPuppet. Let's all just send a check to to Steve Cohen. He'll know what to do with it! C/O Jasons Music Center 8149-B Ritchie Highway Pasadena, MD 21122
Piano Industry Consultant
Co-author (with Larry Fine) of Practical Piano Valuation www.jasonsmc@msn.com
Contributing Editor & Consultant - Acoustic & Digital Piano Buyer
Retired owned of Jasons Music Center Maryland/DC/No. VA Family Owned and Operated Since 1937.
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Piano
by Gino2 - 04/17/24 02:34 PM
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Piano
by Gino2 - 04/17/24 02:23 PM
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