Fare Hikes, Rising Fees, Shrinking Paycheck

The muse for today.....

It seems that everywhere I turn, fees, prices, and fares are going up. Yet at the same time paychecks are shrinking. Why is it okay for the local towns and state governments to institute 100% price increases? What ever happened to the reasonable price hikes, you know the kind that are linked to inflation?

I will give you an example, a permit in my town cost $35 last week, this week the price was raised to $75. Why is a more than 100% price increase necessary? The town's other sneaky increase was raising the blue book value of used cars so that the excise taxes could be raised. Here's another example, a 17 year old car with 185K miles was worth $950 last year, but this year the value went to $1800. Huh - another sneaky 100% price increase.

The turnpike tolls are another area, for example - let's say last week you paid $4 to use the tunnel, in just a few short weeks the price is scheduled to go to $7, nearly double. If you are a smoker perhaps you noticed the federal tax for cigarettes just about doubled a couple of weeks back. Then the banks are chiming in with hiked fees, most likely to pay those bonuses to the non performers. It's not bad enough that we as taxpayers are paying for the bailout, now the banks are hitting us again. Our state wants to double the gas tax to pay for out of control state spending. Gee, there's a surprise.

Let's not forget that the postage stamp is going up in price in a week. Another price increase that was based on the cost of fuel, but wait, didn't fuel prices go down, so logically shouldn't the price go down or stay the same?

At the grocery store things are no better. The sizes are shrinking! Have you noticed? I have. The prices are still going up or remaining the same. The box or package looks like the same size but the weights are saying otherwise. Why is it okay to push sneaky price increases on consumers? Our local big box warehouse store reduced the cookie package by 6 and still upped the price 30%. Wow, another sneaky price increase. Have we numbed ourselves to think that this is just the way it is?

Maybe some of you have actually gotten a pay raise so that you can pay for some of these new fee hikes and sneaky increases. I know we certainly haven't, as a matter of fact, we have a pay cut. In truth most of us are thankful to still have a job.

Good thing I won't be need a permit for anything this year, and that with a bit of creativity I can find ways to get where I want to go without using the turnpike. I can do without cookies, a sacrifice, but worth it to make a statement. Perhaps a few more payments on-line will help take the sting out of the postage budget. I know that a brand new car is out of the question, who can afford the excise taxes?

What is your biggest complaint on price and fare increases?

Type A/B Fundraising

Here is the muse for the day....

Volunteering can be an interesting activity especially when it involves fundraising with other people who are different from yourself. It can really stretch one's comfort zone to let other's take the reigns. I tend to be more of a type A personality, who enjoys making lists and work plans. I like having the tasks set before me so I can plan out my time into "bit sized pieces" this also helps me see the priorities, like which task has to come before another. Some people are the more creative type who like to do things a different way. It does not necessarily mean that we won't end up at the same place in the end, it just means we have different ways of getting there.

In the end I find it helpful to split up tasks. As an example, you handle publicity, and I will handle the set up and food. I like the set up part of an event because I can run in my own lane with my charts, diagrams and plans while the others can be creative and make the place look pretty!

My hat's off to everyone who volunteers to help out. Whether you are a Type A or B, you're input is necessary. After all, what good is a perfect set up if the flowers don't look good!?

A Science Fair Winner!!!

Hello all,

Wow, guess what? (actually you can probably see from the title of this post) My kid won the school science fair!!! Way to go!!! It's okay for me to be excited, right??

If you want to see the details on her project, see my previous post.

This is a great honor for her.

Science Fair Parking Project

Hi All,

My daughter just finished her science fair project which involved parking and parking perceptions. Her question was "do people take longer vacating a parking spot when someone is waiting?"

She did an on-line survey with 100 people, 96% of the respondents thought they went faster or at least the same speed if someone was waiting. Only 4% thought they actually went slower when someone was waiting.

She found 5 parking lots and timed 100 cars, timing started when the person touched their car. The averages were interesting, when no one was waiting the average time was 31 seconds. When someone was waiting the average time was 1:17. Quite a difference. 94% of the people left the spot when no one was waiting in under 45 seconds. Only one person took more than 1:30!

A comment was made that when we were waiting for a car, one lady even lit up her cigarette, put on her lipstick and stared at us like we were rushing her. This particular person was the longest wait time of 3:08 minutes. We just sat there as she glared at us!

Overall, when no one was waiting was the fastest. Only 4% of the people were right in what they perceived would happen. Quite fascinating.

My daughter was made a semi-finalist for the science fair and was able to present to the parents last night. A comment was made that she was the only 7th grader ever to present at the science fair!

The Value of a True Friend

Here is my muse for today....

Have you ever encountered a phony person who acts like they like you but what they really want to do is stab you in the back when you aren't looking? Or maybe say something about you to under-mind your credibility or reputation? Or post something awful about you on facebook? If this ever happens we all need someone to help us get away from the drama. I believe this person would be an actual true friend. Someone who stands up for us, listens, cries with us if we are hurting. We should all have someone like this. A true friend who would not reveal our secrets even if the bamboo was being shoved under their nails. Ouchie! Hurts just to think about it. Maybe if we act like a true friend to others maybe they will respond in kind and we will have a happy place to go when we need it the most! I have a friend and two sisters who fit into this category. I am a very blessed person indeed.

Family Waiting Room Photo

Hi,

This is the long awaited family photo from the Haartz Family waiting room. I have more of the actual waiting room. Does anyone want me to post what it actually looks like? This is a preview of our 2009 holiday card photo. It was taken by professional photographer Tony Rinaldo and is (c).

Headed out to Pasture

Got to musing again today about my volunteer term ending soon. It has been a long road of over 10 years of volunteering, which culminated in being President for the last 21 months. Every day, seven days a week I work on my Auxiliary responsibilities. All for the good of the patients our hospital serves. Some days there are many hours others just a few follow ups or small tasks.

For the last 9 months I have been training my replacement. It is hard to think of the person as a replacement because I have been so attached to the organization. But change does and will happen. People will arrive that do not think like us or act like us. As a matter of fact, they will be abrasive. And why you might ask is this? Because they think they can do better and be better. It won't be done "our" way any longer it will be "thier" way.

I wonder what the future will bring.... I suppose I find myself saying yes to some other organization who needs my assistance. I am looking forward to giving of my time and talents in new and different ways elsewhere. When I join up with a new group I might be the new fresh face they are looking for!

Doubt Worry Fear & The Economy

Hello All,

Got to musing today about the current trend... we are all working harder and getting less. I don't care if you are in a secular job or a non-profit job. It may be in the form of a pay cut, a benefit loss, time off without pay, your co-worker being downsized, your 401K match went poof. The general mood is not a good one that's for sure. Panic and fear seems to be taking root in a lot of the minds of the people around me. I have to be careful because fear is contagious. In my way of thinking fear is bad.

It's easy to let fear take root. I think that fear starts with doubt. When you have doubt about something you start obsessing. For example, if I doubt that the economy will get better, I will start thinking about it all the time. If I doubt I can keep up with extra work load, I will starting thinking about that as well. If I doubt that I can pay my bills that's a meltdown waiting to happen. Doubt starts harassing most of my thoughts. So then this doubt moves into a new category which I call worry.

When it hits the worry phase, things go down hill fast. Worry causes stress and anxiety. Then when I'm stressed and worried I really can't keep up with the work load. It would be easy to find myself not sleeping laying awake worrying. No sleep = more stress and sometimes immune system weakening which leads to getting sick, yucky! Worry is draining and time consuming.

If left unchecked the doubt and worry move decisively into the fear category. A full blown panic attack can occur when we realize that everything around us is in a full scale downward spiral. We go to work wondering if this is the day we might lose our job. We fear that our car will breakdown and we won't have the money to fix it. We fear that our bills will cause us to default. We fear other things as well.

So what can we do about all of this? First, we must learn to stop the worrying so it doesn't keep progressing. This isn't always easy but it is well worth the effort. Maybe our co-worker does get laid off and we have more work as a result. Should we worry about it? Well, can you change the situation? If not, try to keep positive and tell yourself you will do your best to adapt. Keep your chin up, so to speak. Resist all temptations to to say negative things about what you are dealing with. Try to find a positive spin on things. This is difficult, I know this from personal experience. Let's all try to keep positive and banish the negative thoughts, they lead to too much stress.

The Turkeys are Back!

Hello everyone,

A sure sign that spring is here.... a pair of turkeys showed up in my back yard today! How exciting! Last year we had a pair and 7 babies. We watched the babies grow up through out the summer and into November. I found out that wild turkeys really like birdseed with sunflower seeds and corn. They would wait for me in the trees to come out with the food. One by one they would fly out of the trees.

Have you ever seen a turkey in a tree? It is a very strange sight indeed. This year I want to video tape their take off sequence in the backyard. Imagine 9 turkeys standing in a straight line taking off one by one, barely making it off the ground landing on the lowest branch they can find. It was especially enjoyable when the older birds taught the babies how to fly. Quite funny.

I had wondered if the turkeys were hunted for Thanksgiving last year. All 9 of the turkeys disappeared the Monday of Thanksgiving. It was hard thinking that someone ate them for dinner. So much so, that I refused to have turkey and made two chickens instead! Somehow I just could not bring myself to eat turkey after having 9 pets for 5 months.