Tag Archives: Brad Miller

Elections Have Consequences

More and more the election of 2010 is proving to beneficial to the Republicans.  Not only did it take away the 60 vote majority that allowed the Democrats to pass any political agenda they desired, but it also gave the House of Representatives to the Republicans.  Suddenly the Democrats were faced with having to compromise if they wanted to pass an agenda.

Gone were the antagonistic and obnoxious divisive attitudes of the new President and his lieutenants.  Gone were the days of Obama snidely remarking:

“Well, we won.”

Yes, the 2010 elections were great just because of that.  But now were seeing even more.  We’re seeing a nation with more Republican governors.  We’re seeing the awesome work that Scott Walker is doing in Wisconsin.  We’re seeing the similar work that Ohio is doing, and Florida.  Further, the state elected officials were impacted as well.  Gone were the days of a North Carolina State House being dominated by Democrats.  For the first time in 140 years the Senate and the House are controlled by Republicans.

And now, in the election of 2012, we’re seeing the benefit of that.  We’re seeing congressman decline to run:

Washington — Thirteenth District Congressman Brad Miller said Thursday that he will not run for re-election.

The five-term member of the U.S. House said North Carolina’s Republican-controlled legislature “dismantled” his district when they redrew voting maps in July.

The new maps put Miller into the 4th District with political ally and fellow Democrat David Price. Miller said he didn’t want to run against Price.

Republicans are drawing election maps.  And those maps no longer favor generations of democrats.  They are now favoring Republicans.  And high time.

 

 

Brad And Britt And Congressman Miller

I mentioned that North Carolina has the dubious distinction of having elected the latest legislature to try and “regulate” the banks into behaving.  Well, in addition to ignorant congressmen, we have talk radio as well.  And this morning, Brad and Britt had Brad Miller on their show to discuss his new proposed legislation.

As you can imagine, much goodness ensued.

While discussing Mr. Miller’s proposed legislation, Brad admitted to being a customer of one of the big banks.  The conversation drifted into the details of the proposed law and how “hard” customers have it today when dealing with and switching banks.  During that conversation, Brad mentioned how hard it would be to switch banks, and he cited the reasons:

  • Direct deposit
  • Electronic bill pay
  • On line banking
  • Centralized banking for the whole family

All of which struck me as hilarious.  Brad is basically complaining that he doesn’t wanna switch banks because the services offered by his current bank ROCK.  Somehow the convenience of his current provider is SO good, that he just can’t imagine switching.  And, by gawd, we need a law to fix that!

Further into the conversation, Britt asks Rep. Miller what he would say to those people who have been “preached to” about the evils of government regulation? What would you say to those folks who have been told how to think and what to say?

Miller’s response?

That’s just silly.

Ahhh…

And THAT folks, sums up the entirety of the Left’s response to their actions.

Bank of America added this fee to us customers as a direct, a DIRECT, result of the Durbin amendment.  And now, Brad, Britt and and their guest are shocked, SHOCKED, I tell you, that we people would rather they quit.

But never mind facts guys, keep on keepin’ on.

The Right Way And The Wrong Way

When faced with an unpleasant situation, there is a right way to handle it and then there is a wrong way.

First, the unpleasant situation:

Bank of America announced late last month that it plans to start charging debit card users a monthly fee starting early next year.

Now, the right way:

Due to the fee, Roger Goodwin is considering leaving Bank of America and getting an account with a local credit union.

“They do not have fees, and I also have an account with another bank that is also going to start charging for checking,”

Then, the wrong way:

U.S. Rep. Brad Miller said the fees should be illegal, according to WMFY.

Guess which way is going to produce the greatest change in the debit card market?

I’m With The Government, I’m Here To Help You

I wish life were a Jon Stewart show.

I love watching me some Stewart.  Now, I don’t watch it daily, in fact, I don’t watch it weekly, but I record it and watch 4-5-6 episodes a night every so often.  And I’m always glad I did.  He’s hilarious.  His comedic rhythm is very nearly unmatched, his voices are crazy funny and the physical communication he brings to his verbal communication is nothing short of perfect,

The man is mad skilled.

And he’s able to see the funny in the everyday.

Yes indeed, I wish that everyday was a Jon Stewart show.

Today, I have good news for you.  Today is a Jon Stewart show kinda day.  The day when you blissfully walk through life and the normal inane aspects of the day strike you as hilarious.  Simply hilarious.

So, we all know that the bankers on Wall Street caused the crash in 07 ’cause they’re greedy.  Right?  And after the crash of 07, the government bailed out those bankers in order that our financial system didn’t completely crash.  And, after getting bailed out by said government, those banks went on to report record profits and lavish themselves with more high salaries and bigger bonuses.

With me still?

So, then, in response to the unfairness of the whole thing, the government, led by the Intrepid Due of Frank and Dodd, crafted and then passed legislation into law that would protect the consumer from the predatory actions of those mean banks that crashed the system and then stole the government’s bailout money.

One of the things that said legislation did was to restrict the amount of money that banks could charge merchants for using a debit card at the point of transaction.  See, banks have record profits already and by the use of those fees, they were strangling economic growth at the checkout counter all over America.

Poof.  Just like that, the fees used to pay for the use of a debit card were sliced in half.

Thank gawd for that, right?

Wrong.

It turns out that managing debit card transactions isn’t free.  Further, that cost isn’t negligible.  And now that the banks are unable to charge the merchant, the banks went after another target to gather their money; the consumer!  Ahh yes, the very consumer that Dodd and Frank were trying to protect.  The irony is as delicious as it was unpredictable.  Certainly NO ONE would have seen this coming.

Dear Government, thank you for trying to save me from myself by passing ignorant laws that only make matters worse.  However, the consequences of your well intentioned law is that I am actually worse off now than I was before.  Can you please help me?

Love,

pino

And just like a great Jon Stewart show, the hits just keep coming:

WASHINGTON — North Carolina Democrat Congressman Brad Miller has introduced legislation he said will make it easier for customers to change banks if they aren’t happy with new fees.

The bill will modernize and streamline the opening and closing of personal checking and savings accounts, Miller said Tuesday.

“As megabanks flirt with menus of new fees, an increasing number of Americans will want to switch banks,” Miller said. “That is the way things work in a competitive, free market as unrepentant banks are still trying to rake in vulgar profits from their customers.”

With such flowing and beautiful language, I’m sure, just SURE, that this bill is gonna be a good one!

Miller’s legislation would allow customers to close an account without being charged a fee, even if the account has a negative balance. Customers would also be allowed to close accounts without actually showing up in person.

It would also prohibit banks from levying fees to a customer’s account after the account has been requested to be closed.

The great thing about great comedy is that future riffs are set up by hilarious content early in the show.  A great comic is able to set himself up for future use.  Most often this is done within the context of the single show and will have to be re-created for the next one.  But the truly great are able to so skillfully build content that it can span episodes.

This is one of those times.

I predict nothing but really great news for consumers should Brad Miller’s bill make it to law.

Okay okay okay.  In all seriousness.  I have already demonstrated that Liberals don’t understand things like economics.  So the fact that Miller is proposing this legislation isn’t so much surprising as it is an argument for better public education.

Quid Pro [Not] Quo

Serious!  Stones the size of cookie jars!

This from the American Bankers Association:

As part of an agreement reached Thursday with key Senate and House Democrats, Citigroup has agreed not to oppose legislation that would allow bankruptcy judges the authority to modify mortgages that were set up prior to the enactment of the bill. “The ABA has consistently opposed proposals that would give bankruptcy judges broad authority to unilaterally modify the terms of mortgages,” the bank lobby wrote in a statement. The majority of ABA’s members are banks with less than $125 million in assets.

Now for the quiz.  Who should be ashamed here?

pssst…..key sponsors, Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., and Rep. Brad Miller, D-N.C., are hopeful the measure will be included as part of President Elect Barack Obama’s stimulus bill