I don't want to be a great leader; I want to be a man who goes around with a little oil can and when he sees a breakdown, offers his help. To me, the man who does that is greater than any holy man in saffron-colored robes. The mechanic with the oilcan: that is my ideal in life.
-Baba Amte, social worker and activist (26 Dec 1914-2008)
California researchers gave homeless people $750 a month. Here’s what they found
People who received the money also reported that they were closer to being able to afford all of their basic needs compared with people who did not receive the funds. More than a third of the money was spent on food, according to self-reported budgets given to researchers. Housing accounted for about 20% of the spending, followed by transportation at 13%, clothing at 12% and health care at 6%. About 14% was categorized as “other,” a category that included the 2% of funds that were spent on alcohol, drugs and cigarettes.
To Kevin Adler, the founder of Miracle Messages, the San Francisco nonprofit that helped distribute the funds, the findings were not surprising.
“People used the money better than we could have used it for them,” he said. “When we trust people, they can resolve their issues. They know what they need.”
Cable lobby and Republicans fight proposed ban on early termination fees
"Today's action proposes to adopt customer service protections that prohibit cable operators and DBS (Direct Broadcast Satellite) providers from imposing a fee for the early termination of a cable or DBS video service contract," the FCC said. "Additionally, the NPRM recommends the adoption of customer service protections to require cable and DBS providers to grant subscribers a prorated credit or rebate for the remaining whole days in a monthly or periodic billing cycle after the subscriber cancels service."
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said, "Consumers are tired of these junk fees. They now have more choices when it comes to video content. But these friction-filled tactics to keep us subscribing to our current providers are aggravating and unfair. So today we kick off a rulemaking to put an end to these practices."
Billions are on the line for lenders as White House finalizes credit card late fee cap
Late fees upward of $41 “are significantly higher than the pre-charge-off collection costs” cited by an unnamed credit union trade group, per the NPRM.
Instead, the $8 fee cap shows the CFPB “dug down, did their research, looked at industry data and came out with a number that they thought best reflected a bank’s ability to recover the cost associated with a late payment,” said Shahid Naeem, senior policy analyst at AELP.
“The fact that the CFPB has determined that $8 is sufficient to cover the costs and banks are charging $41, that’s significant,” said Christine Hines, a legislative director for the National Association of Consumer Advocates. “And it shows that somewhere, there’s conduct that needs to be curbed. Clearly.”
CFPB Director Rohit Chopra told senators last month that banks should support the proposal “if it’s not a core part of their profit model.”
