Pretty sure fees are not subject to income tax. Just another way corporations can make more profits and pay less taxes. Thank god for republicans, pretty soon all these corporations will hire more people with all the money they saved 😏
I had a $50 printer "credit" every semester, but never had professors who wanted hard copies. Everything was turned in digitally. Each page cost 10¢ to print. So, at the end of the semester, I'd go to the library and print a bunch of recipes or activities for the kids I nannied or anything I could think of that I might want on paper until I reached my $50 credit. It was stupid, but I wasn't going to dump $400 into something I never used. Some of my classmates just printed lined paper and used that for notes.
The Flea Yeah, I went back to college at 30. The hell do I need student activities for? I had a job and a life and I'm not gonna go watch Finding Dory in the quad and make bracelets with 18 year olds. That fee sucked.
Bill is right there are way too many fees in our society I believe it was the great Thomas Jefferson who said that "a fee is nothing more than a fine for doing nothing wrong"
And I agree 90%. But when the government outs restrictions on things, like what electric companies can charge in my state. You paying what it cost them to accept a credit card payment is not as much a fee but you paying what they are getting charged to take your payments, and it was 2.50. Mind you when you factored in all the meters the service, including major businesses that pay thousands and tens of thousands a month at a rate triple yours in thatbone bedroom apartment,the profited a total of 20 per meter for the YEAR! So that means your electric likely made them all of $5.00 for the year in profit. Now the only reason that allows them to operate is because of the cast number of people. Your $5 profit individually means nothing, so you complaining is amusing because the cost to get it to you is so high.
From Idaho, can confirm that we do in fact have a very strong organ black market. I think it constitutes 37% of our GDP, with the rest of it being potatoes. Also offer a 2 in one deal, buy enough potatoes, and we'll give you a kidney free
HBO is basic? If HBO was free then their shows and movies would have commercials. That's kind of the point of premium channels. You pay a subscription so they don't have to have ads every 5 minutes.
It's the incentive model. It used to be a case of rewarding persistence and punctuality, but then someone decided that rewarding people for doing something cost too much, so they switched it to penalising lateness and laziness. Shame the same standards cannot be applied to the people who really need to get their act together - politicians who sacrifice diligence and professionalism for partisan identities.
Evan Davis i have commented payday loans companies are advertising on the television at rates of one thousand three hundred percent interest in the UK.
I’m not sure it should be illegal to charge those kinds of payday loan rates but there ought to be consequences. The credit card rates are bad enough. The best solution is to work and be responsible so you don’t have to borrow money from such entrepreneurial piranhas.
Richard you make it sound like you can see emergency costs coming, and even if you have cash for an emergency how do you know you'll even have enough? Life's full of shitty and costly surprises, so being responsible guarantees nothing, you'd need to be lucky too.
Last hotel room I booked included a linen fee, a resort fee, a cleaning fee, and a "fee fee." Yes, you read that right. (Making the switch to Airbnb, Homeaway and other options.)
Anyone who does it should be put in irons and led slowly through the streets in an orange jumpsuit, except with a piece cut out revealing their bare ass. "Kick Me" is written in Times New Roman black on the back of the suit. Members of the public can, if they wish, kick this scumbag's derierre as hard as they like. The sentence is only over when they have been through EVERY street in their city (could take several months) - or when 3 independent doctors determine that their ass is so black and blue that it's too numb for any pain to be registered anymore. But why stop at payday lenders? Any cheapskate scumbag that fleeces people should get the same treatment under the new crime of "Gross Avarice" ... I suggest the first prisoner to undergo this punishment might be someone who hires hardworking people to do a job, and then doesn't pay them ... hmmm, someone like Donald Trump.
Mai Nem That was awfully detailed, good job. It made me laugh. Whenever I drive by the payday loan places near my town I get an urge to do something like that, thinking of how many lives each of those places has ruined. I mean, if they're still in business, it has to have been A LOT of people. What a heartless thing to do, destroying the lives of their own neighbors.
The real problem is the American system. In Europe you only spend money you got on your bank account. First you earn your salary, then you spend it. In America, many people have spend their entire salary by the time they get the paycheck. And if there are unexpected expenses, like a broken down stove or car for example, they need to take a short-term loan at ridiculous interest rates.
Ziim I'm from Spain and living in the U.S. and this is true. You can buy anything on credit here, even groceries or a TV. In Spain you would only ever get a loan for a house, car, or business.
I agree - but you're wrong. Here in the UK, we had "Wonga" ... it was sold on primetime free-to-air advertising. With fluffy puppets, like the muppets, putting a fun face on loansharking in the commercials. 540%? Is that all??? These cunts were doing the equivalent of 2400% if you got into trouble. This crap exists wherever capitalism has been left unattended for too long. (Like under this Tory government where all social safety nets have been removed, and a loan shark is the only possible way of surviving for many people before they inevitably turn to crime) The government finally did something about it - Wonga was forced to cut their interest rate to a measly 1000%. And they were fined by financial standards for sending out fake "lawyer" letters to people in arrears. If you're thinking "only in America" - you are SO wrong.
insurance period, fire damage and heat damage aren't the same thing and neither is flood and water insurance nor wind and tornado and hurricane insurance. There are no rules and insurance companies can have different stipulations for the same things, they are able to take money from you with the understanding of protection and security but then after years and years of paying all it takes is one technicality one stupid stipulation and they hit you with "Sorry your insurance doesn't cover this specifically thanks for the money dumbass, i can say that cus its not like you can go anywhere and insurance is a requirement for a lot of things so HA HA HA now will that be cash or check?"
Not to mention insurance plans that have you pay but when you actually need the money you put into it they can't give it to you. Like in health insurance where you can be "too sick" or "cost to much to pay for treatment" or oh you where born overweight sorry but we can't help you thanks for paying us though
All insurance is a scam / gamble. Think of it like the lottery. You are likely to never need the insurance and will have wasted money, but the few who do the small number of times they will need it usually aren't even helped that much if at all. Shouldn't need health insurance, should just be looked after for "free" although things like taxes are supposed to pay for keeping medical staff paid and equip, the government is meant to look after this shit so the people have help when they need it and don't have to worry about starving having used the last of the money they had to live or just outright getting no help because they have no money to pay for it. So before anyone says "well how is it meant to be supported, who pays for all this medical shit" The government does with YOUR money anyway, so fuck paying more to a middleman company to dish out YOUR money they TOOK when and IF you ever need it.
I LOVE BILL MAHER! WHAT HE SAYS MOST OF THE TIME IS THE TRUTH!! I HIGHLY ENJOY HIS HONESTY & KNOWLEDGE REGARDING THE ISSUES HE ADDRESSES..!!! Smart guy!!
My mom got me a Visa gift card for Christmas. There is a $3/month fee. If I forget that $100 gift card in my wallet until next Christmas. . . it will be a $64 gift card.
But… Who stand in line for a phone? I am a liberal, 42 years old and I have never stood in line for a phone in my life. Also, I’m not sure Bill ever said that. Certainly didn’t in this video.
I’m from Canada and they teach you how to vote in high school and you have to sign a paper ensuring you will vote and fulfil one of your only responsibilities as a citizen
Quinn Lapish yeah but who exercises that right? I'm from Canada too but I'm underage so it pisses me off that people don't vote. Some of us want to and can't.
He's got a point, I've seen the lines for the newest iPhone, multiday camp outs for tickets to concerts, postings on the internet of every ordinary "guess what I'm doing now" nonevent in their lives
How your cell carrier steals your money: 1. Don't shut off mobila data 2. Don't shut off background data 3. Don't shut off high accuracy location services 4. A million other ways I don't know
I actually really love getting gift cards as gifts. To me, it translates from "Here's a gift I have no idea if you'll like" to "Here's a gift you can get yourself, on my dime. Enjoy!" It's the same thing but one extra step and I really don't mind if it stops my uncle from buying me another goddamn jacket.
And a narcissism pandemic, ignorant rude people, obesity, gun violence, corporate corruption, political bribery, women thing men are toxic....the USA fucking sucks, but we think we're great and anyone who disagrees is just a hater.
What if there are others who don't believe in voting and object to democracy? It's not the only regime type out there, if you don't believe in the intellectual freedom of others and their right to self determination you are not worth the matter which composes you. "The Classical Greek philosopher Plato discusses five types of regimes (Republic, Book VIII). They are Aristocracy, Timocracy, Oligarchy, Democracy, and Tyranny." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plato%27s_five_regimes
I'm no stranger to "Fee fucking" the bank I used to be with: bank of America charged me a $35 overdraft fee for even a $1 overdraft! And the maintenance fee for savings accounts was $25 a month. Bank of America is possibly the worst bank in America. Their business model punishes people who make mistakes and punishes them hard! And don't get me started on Sprint mobile contracts...they take "Fee fucking" to a whole new level.
I love those people that buy gym memberships and don’t go. Nicer equipment for me. And no asshole standing in front of the weights for 10 min doing nothing.
In Canada we don’t have those gift card fees. Also we can electronically transfer money from banks account just by email. We can also pay for things by tapping our cards on terminals at restaurants and stores. No signature or passwords
You remember the days when banks primarily made their money by investing the money you trusted them with? They profited by investing money that wasn't theirs. It was yours. Do you remember the days when Savings Accounts returned more than the inflation rate? I do, but it's been so long it's a long faded memory that reaches back to Reaganomics. Banks aren't banks anymore. They're wire service providers with all the billing ethics of Comcast and Centurylink.
banks are exacly as they were 50 years ago... they are banks. they are not here to help you, they are not here to vdeliver a service they exist to make money. and the dirtiest sectors when making money is involved are those that either decide politics economy or health/general wellbeing. they would have done that at any point had they though of it and thought they could get away with itt. A bank 50 years ago stacking fees on your shoulders would have been instantly bankrupted by the competition and boycutted by outraged customers. today they all more or less do it so there is no disadvantage for a bank to engage in the practice in fact there is strong economic incentive and mild risk
When I was growing up in New York City in the '50s and '60s they still had pay toilets in public buildings like museums, convention centers, even bus stations. They were finally struck down by a court decision and banned.
He's right, oh so painful right about this one. It isn't just in the economy though, as Bill stated at the end people fucking up and not caring (until it bites them in the ass) is what Republicans bank on. Sadly, as a nation I feel we've gotten to the point where any fuck up must be blamed on the nearest target rather then learned from and not repeated.
Senior Woodz Thank you!! Bernie Sanders *won* the popular vote in several States, but the superDelegates still gave Hillary more delegates overall. Now Hillary knows how it feels to win the popular vote and still get less delegates. The entire electoral-college system is bullshit and needs a complete reHaul 😒
Your vote didn't get overwritten. The system the Dems have worked just like it's supposed to. If they had invented the idea of superdelegates 5 seconds after Bernie "won" those states, maybe then you'd have a point.
Uh, bro, do you know how superdelegates work? My vote counts as one vote. A superdelegate's vote counts as 10k votes. For a party that calls themselves democratic that is the least democratic voting system I've ever heard of. It's legalized voter suppression. Why would I vote for or give money to a party that allows such an undemocratic voting system? Until the Dems get rid of superdelegates (and stop taking corporate and pack money) they can lick my balls. Unless a grass roots candidate in my district runs on helping to abolish those two things there's not point in getting off my ass to vote for another puppet politician from the "Democratic" party.
If that's what you have to tell yourself then great I guess. But when the party that you agree with maybe only some % of the time loses, the party that you agree with an even smaller % of the time wins, and they get to make decisions for years and years. Decisions still happen whether or not you decide to show up. So don't think not showing up is some grand noble choice. I personally have a hard time supporting any of the examples for Sanders (about why the process is bad) because he's not even a Democrat. Surely he was aware of the existence of superdelegates before the primaries began, and he even advocated for them switching their vote to him at the end of the primaries, even though she got overall more votes nationally. undrtakr900 above said " Now Hillary knows how it feels to win the popular vote and still get less delegates." as if Bernie won the popular vote in the primary when he didn't... Not to mention Bernie did much better in the caucus states overall than in the primary states, with the caucus process being more "undemocratic". Washington (state) did a caucus and a primary and guess what? Sanders got over 70% in the caucus, and Clinton narrowly won in the primary. So it's not some very simple analogy that you're making here. Here's an interesting read: fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-system-isnt-rigged-against-sanders/
Gift cards are clever, how many actually spend ever cent of the money on the card not that its always possible. They get the money in the end and even if its pennies that adds up over years and by the number of people
Well..now they have places(atleast around here they do) that buy them for .50 on the 1$. Which Ive never fully understood why they do that...how is there a profit on that?
I make it very specific about the places my wife and I go to and we would like gift cards for. We usually use them all up by June (our birthdays are each about a month apart from Christmas).
Kenniff Kanniff You have a $1 bill, I give you (buy) it for 50 cents, I have earned or am ahead by 50 cents. A very profitable business if I can get enough people willing to sell me their unused cards
The airline baggage fee is especially crap... having to pay a 50.00 fee to have a bag over 50 lbs is just a scam. Lets say you take a 100 lb bag... They claim to need 50 more dollars to carry the weight? Why? that 50 lbs certainly isn't going to cause the aircraft to burn 20 more gallons of fuel. If 100 people on the aircraft bring an extra 50 lbs and pay 50.00.... Not a chance that aircraft is going to burn 2000 more gallons for the same leg... it MIGHT burn an extra 150-300... MAYBE
That bit about roamimg fees in Vancouver actually happened to me with at&t. They tried to charge me $250.00 when I was in Vancouver for one day. I didn’t even make a call or text. Fortunately I got it straightened out. Beware of the roaming charge bullshit.
I was mildly amused until he got to the Republican Party. Then I said aloud "Hell, yes!" Are we going to allow them to republicanize America permanently or are we going to once again be the America with a heart and a soul? If you didn't vote last November, please learn from that and do your civic duty in the future, okay? Unless you enjoy living under Trump's thumb, in which case there's no hope for you anyway.
Isnt it obvious people shouldnt have the ability to specifically sign up for a loan if they have horrible credit and want immediate cash? That's like a mystery fee and totally unnecessary for the task they are trying to do which is get free money.
Oh Bill! You just don't get it! If I stand in line for a phone, I end up with a phone. If I have time for a tattoo, I end up with a tattoo. If I find the after party, I enjoy the after party. But if I have the time to find the voting booth in order to stand in line to vote, I end up with President Donald J. Trump. For that hassle I get the privilege of a politically unqualified narcissist in the White House. Get why I don't vote?
Etienne Aubert You should still vote, because there are many ballots for local/state propositions & representatives that will directly affect you. The presidential race isn't the only thing on the ballot.
Well, I might need to add that I'm not eligible to vote in the US. My comment referred to what I would respond to Bill Maher when he compared voting in a democracy to standing in line for the new iPhone, getting a tattoo or finding the after party. The presidential election turned out to be a race between a crooked woman and an incompetent man and the "lesser of two evils" I would have voted for lost anyhow. Now, I agree with you that your vote carries much more weight in state elections. On top of that, you're voting for people/issues that will have much more of an impact on you personally. That's why I always vote in Switzerland, where we receive all the voting material by mail twice a year and can easily fill out the ballots and return them by mail.
That's actually a good point, nukejello! I realized that direct democracy wasn't necessarily a good thing, when you see how complex some of the issues tend to be. The problem is that you're asking uneducated working-class citizens to vote on issues that might have dire financial, social or environmental consequences in the future. So, many people simply vote based on what their favorite political party has to say. This tends to reach such absurd levels that the Swiss sometimes vote against their own interests. In 2012, the Swiss voted predominantly "no" on an initiative suggesting that all employees deserve a minimum of five weeks of vacation per year. On top of being manipulated by their party, many Swiss also vote emotionally, giving preference to any form of obstruction towards certain groups, rather than voting for the ethical or beneficial solution for everyone. One such initiative they're trying to get people to vote on is whether people holding dual Swiss citizenship should have to renounce their other citizenship: it basically doesn't bring the single Swiss citizenship holders anything, but they still somehow consider it worthwhile complicating the lives of dual citizens beneficial for themselves. Personally, I always read the brochure that comes along with the voting material and make up my mind based on what is most beneficial to most people living in Switzerland.
The key issue about the ID is obtaining one. Rural impoverished areas lack efficient public transportation so a person has to find a ride to a distant location & a driver willing to hang out for hours at the DMV, etc.
The frugal consumer benefits from fees. Product prices are lower and fees add to that when you want extra service, are lazy, or stupid. Planes actually work using fuel, same as your car, the heavier it is, the more fuel is used. If there were no luggage dimension and weight rules then the average consumer eats those costs, not the airline. I know it sucks to pay more than what you expected, but you're probably more of a financial burden to the company than most customers. Maher's rants have been super elitist and ignorant lately.
You must be fun to go shopping with. You would stand at the checkout with your new mobile phone, reading ALL of the terms and conditions (24 pages of small print). I'm a private tutor - I drive around the city teaching kids how to play music. I have agreed a price, verbally, with each parent. NEVER EVER would I treat my customers like shit by charging them a hidden fee ... "Terrible weather today - that means an extra 'wear and tear transportation fee' of £2 today, unfortunately ..." "Traffic was hardly moving today - that'll be an extra £5 for the 'excessive fuel' fee ..." "Today, I used 2 pieces of music manuscript paper in the lesson - that's 2x the standard "materials fee" of £1 per material used ..." "Today, I demonstrated 2 songs on my instrument - timed at a total of 4:25 minutes .. that carries a 'performance fee' of £4.25 today ..." It's bullshit ... if, over a long period of time, you see that your costs are increasing ... then you put your price up! Simple as that. Everyone knows where they stand, and the customer doesn't ever feel like they've been stung. My mechanics go in the opposite direction - on two occasions now, they quoted me £200 for car repairs. When I went to collect my car, "it wasn't as bad as we thought - that'll be £160" ... and we're talking welding here. Or "all it needed was the belt tightening up - that'll be £12" (they could easily have charged my at least £25 for a half hour's work ... but it, apparently, only took them 1/4 of an hour ... so that's what I was charged). The point being that my mechanics are expensive - more than £50 labour costs per hour - by no means the cheapest in my city. But they keep my car working and are clearly honest to a fault - and that's extremely important to me. Hidden fees are a dishonest way of dealing with customers - and, indeed, a cowardly way of doing business. As a business - like an airline - you have lots of costs. So just put your price up to cover them. Don't cheat the customer.
You must be fun to shop with? I actually never read the terms and accept that fees apply for extra services and they are non-negotiable (find a different company if you want - capitalism yay). But thanks for that super long winded response to absolutely none of the points I made. Ur a private tutor, good for u, how exactly are you comparing the services of a single person company to that of a multi-billion dollar enterprise? U have a customer base with a range of incomes where some may be reaching to provide the service while others its just a drop in the bucket. Raise ur rates and screw the little guy, honestly whatever u want to do. U live in the UK obviously, but car mechanics in america screw u big time. I have never had a positive experience fixing my car and it looks like you found a rare honest mechanic, congrats. Or ur a woman and get treated different, I know many mechanics who will fix do an easy fix for a woman or older person because it's something super easy any man can do. Hidden fees are not dishonest, when stated up front. Just a broad character generalization about you is ur a single woman with none of her shit together. Ur the reason fees exist.
I'll never understand people's obsession with getting people who don't vote to vote. Fuck, I actually think less people should vote than do vote. Imagine the following scenario: There's going to be a wedding. The extended family gets together and votes on what kind of cake they should have at the wedding. Half the people don't vote but the other half refuse to make a decision until everyone votes. So everyone votes and now you're stuck eating chocolate chip cookies at the wedding because the half who initially didn't vote don't know what a fucking cake is! (Yes, I know you personally love chocolate chip cookies. Sure, feel free to mention it in a reply.) It's the same thing with voting in elections. Call me crazy but if people who can't name all three branches of the government don't vote, that's not a fucking bad thing!
I actually want voting rights taken away from a vast majority of the population. Only the veterans should be able to vote for president, and only net tax payers should be able to vote for anything else.
Shadow Ranger what if that happens and then they change the rules so that it doesn't include you? Are you sure you want arbitrary rules on who gets to vote?
What TheBloodypimp said and that doesn't actually address the fucking issues, namely people being uninformed idiots. Neither of the two criteria you gave actually ensure people know shit about what they're voting on. Also, if it can be arbitrarily suspended, it's not a fucking right anymore, now is it?
TheBloodypimp Except there's not just some bullshit gerrymandering reason behind why I want it that way, if net tax payers vote for congress, then suddenly the people who are spending tax money are accountable to the people who's money they're spending. Suddenly, the guy who's sending people to war is accountable to the warriors, no more of these fucking retarded communists that don't produce dogshit demanding free money from the state, and winning out and causing our humongous deficit because they happen to be the majority. Its not that i want voting rights to be exclusively be for me, i'm not a veteran but I can see the merit of the warriors who have experience backing the guy who calls the shots vs random people panicking over 9/11. Now just because that's the way it should be doesn't mean I think there's a snowballs chance in hell it'll happen. Once you give people voting rights YOU'RE FUCKED. You only get to make the decision for once, because they'll never give it up without violence.
Yes, because as we all know everyone in the military is an expert in geopolitics and declaring war is the only thing the president does. What the hell are you smoking? Again, paying more in taxes than you receive from the government (although in my opinion that's an inaccurate way to look at it but sure, let's roll with it) doesn't magically make you not a moron. Even under this system the republicans can yell "Deficit!" as if that means anything by itself and stupid people will go "Oh, my. We better vote for the people who want to reduce it.".It's the equivalent of someone yelling "There's a fucking 1 meter long Babel fish in the garden!". Unless you know what 1 meter is, what a Babel fish is, what's the natural size of a Babel fish and whether they're dangerous or not, the person yelling just told you a bunch of gibberish in an alarmed tone. They didn't actually impart any useful information to you. Or here's another example. About two decades ago the British did a little experiment. They asked people what kind of spending should the government prioritize. Railroads were nowhere near the top so the funding got cut. A couple of years down the line everyone was complaining about the state of railroads. To reiterata: the criteria you gave in no way ensure the people voting are not fucking morons. Not that I would agree but at least if you suggested there was a political literacy test that would make some sense. You're ensuring that the people who vote understand how the system in which they are voting functions.
Fees & Fines. America's revenue process. When government becomes enamored with punishment as an incentive for themselves as the goal, rather than public safety, which was the initial laudable goal, then the people will fight back.
