The signs for apartments go up like street lights. The paving costs money, a small town in NJ has much power, they pretend not to, but they do. The secret town meetings that are posted too late, speak to building owners, businesses and the like. The paving will be charged to the building owners, after much complaining about the great idea is spoken. Charge the tenants, the business renting, the families that would have no choice. Just do what you have to because each of you will pay to fix the streets.
The businesses must strive in order to be charged so the meeting people decide that paving will be done at night, during the week when the stores are closed. To hell with those that work and must get sleep.
The rents are increased, stores complain, tenants complain, the town council shrugs.
I write this while sitting in building that with the exception of myself and the owner, as of today is empty. The rent increase (phenomenal at best) were too much for families that either lost their jobs, haven't received increases or are already paying rents that are too high. Rents for buildings that are not taken care of, falling to pieces with each storm. Wood deteriorating with each rain. Stairs and sidewalks crackling with each snow storm.
So the tenants leave. In the night, leaving their deposits behind. They pack and leave while the owners sleep. They go to live with others or take an even more decrepit apartment that may cost less than what their current ones are raised to.
It is an eerie feeling at best knowing that I sit here alone. The quiet is profound. If the landlords thought they had a problem before, their problems just grew since their main source of income have vanished with the night. The long vacations, fishing trips, expensive cars and second homes the equivalent of mini mansions at risk. If only greed came with a warning......
I turn on the TV and find that channel 5 and 9 don't exist, there is a dispute for fees and charges on channels that are FREE. Or were free. All of a sudden everyone that has a TV must subscribe and pay a phenomenal monthly charge whether they want 100+ channels or not. Most seniors I know don't even watch more then 3 channels. They can't even afford food with their monthly stipend let alone pay a corporation to watch the news.
We are taxed on a local, state and government level, anything in between is classified as 'fees'.
Free? Are we really free or just down right ignorant?
In order to refinance a home that you may lose due to this economy, you must have a good amount of money in the bank, great credit and actually no need to refinance, otherwise they want you to wait until you are in foreclosure so that they may begin a 3 month process (way past the foreclosure time frame) to 'see' if they can assist.
Free? Are we really free or just down right ignorant?
You need insurance in order to drive a car, the insurance will give you a cost that is based on your credit score. So....even though if you don't pay your insurance they will cut if off, hence eliminating the chance of people not paying, they will charge you a phenomenal fee to insure you, based on something that has nothing to so with auto insurance. They will charge you what you can't afford, what will in fact cause you to not be able to pay, as a punishment for something that had nothing to do with auto insurance. It doesn't matter if you never paid late or not paid auto insurance for decades. SCAM at best.
Free? Are we really free or just down right ignorant?
Some countries shut down a city for an entire day or days to protest. We protest for a couple of hours within the rules provided by the same organizations we are protesting about.
Free? Are we really free or just down right ignorant? That's the question we should be asking.
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