Text 30632, 145 rader
Skriven 2009-04-01 13:01:12 av Roy Witt (1:397/22)
  Kommentar till text 30582 av Robert Bashe (2:2448/44)
Ärende: Changes
===============
31 Mar 09 19:43, Robert Bashe wrote to Roy Witt:

 RB>>> But I'm aware of the horror Americans feel about carring more than
 RB>>> $10-20 around.

 RW>> If they do, it's because they realize that it's not enough to buy
 RW>> the family dinner at a fancy restaurant tonight.

 RB>>> I was surprised to hear that from my sister one time, particularly
 RB>>> surprised when you consider how little that is nowadays.

 RW>> It must be her environment that scares her, not the cash. Cash is
 RW>> actually not frightening at all Bob.

 RB> I didn't understand that either, but mybe I'm falsely equating my
 RB> sister's attitude with Americans in general.

You know there are places in US cities that would scare the bejesus out of
someone who is 6'6", 250lbs and carrying a Colt 1911a1 with a fully loaded
clip in it, locked and cocked with a round in the chamber. Smart people
don't go there without a good reason. That's one thing.

But, being scared to carry $20 in your pocket in places not as dangerous
is rediculous.

 RB> She lives and works in Cincinnati, and I still remember the time she
 RB> came home one day and told us that some nut had walked into an office
 RB> a mile or so from hers and shot 5-6 people willy-nilly. Must be some
 RB> rough territory where she lives.

Probably not as scarey as San Antonio on any given night.

 RB>>> Europeans don't have the same horror, and I often have several
 RB>>> hundred Euros in my billfold when I go shopping. But most people
 RB>>> don't pay bills with credit cards here, either.

 RW>> I carry that much and more here. Never know when a deal comes along
 RW>> where money talks and bullshit walks. [checking] I've got over $1200
 RW>> in my wallet this afternoon.

 RB> ;-) At the moment, I have only around EUR 150 in mine, but I have to
 RB> get a prescription filled tomorrow.

Yeah, I put a thousand of that in the safe after counting it... :o)

 RW>> I still pay my bills with checks, including my credit card (No 's')
 RW>> I like the paper trail.

 RB> And I consider checks slow, cumbersome and a gold mine for the US
 RB> Postal Service. They'd probably go out of business if the USA adopted
 RB> the direct account-to-account transfer system we have in the EU.

Probably not. The advertising sent to your home by mail is overwelming.
I've tried to get the PO to stop delivery, but they want you to go thru so
much paperwork that it's easier just to toss it in the garbage can on the
way in the house. I suppose I could leave it in the mailbox until it's
stuffed full, but then the mailman won't deliver anymore mail. Hmmmm.

 RB> I use electronic banking software here (with a RSA public key
 RB> encryption and a direct link to the bank's server), and it's very
 RB> easy to keep up with payments - much easier than by hand, balancing
 RB> checkbooks. I never have to leave my chair before the computer to
 RB> transfer funds from one account to another or to any account in the
 RB> EU - and there's no cost for the service either. Checks do exist in
 RB> Germany, but are only very rarely used.

I can do all that plus print out the checks, stuff them in their
respective envelopes and don't even have to lick a stamp (or envelope)
before putting them in the mailbox out front.

 RB> Incidently, "electronic bill paying" in the US means that the bank
 RB> will send a paper check to your payee through the mail, not that they
 RB> will do a direct account-to-account transfer.

Don't know about from across the pond but they do transfers A2A here.

 RB> This is a big pain when I have to send my sister money. I was
 RB> goggle-eyed the first time I saw this and was asked for a street
 RB> address instead of the account number and bank I wanted to transfer
 RB> to.

That's how the bill paying thingy online works. I used it for a while, but
it was such a pain in the ass to use, I went back to checks.

 RB> All bills here come with the bank account number, owner of the
 RB> account and the bank ID (8-digit number), plus an ID number for the
 RB> bill. You just transfer the sum to the account owner with the
 RB> indicated account at the indicated bank, giving the bill ID number
 RB> and other details if you wish, and the bill is paid. Legally, such
 RB> bank transfers inside Germany must be completed within three business
 RB> days. It may take a couple of days more for EU transfers outside
 RB> Germany.

Most businesses here want you to give them the right to withdraw the
amount of the bill directly from your account. They actually want to
charge you for that, thinking it's a convenience to the customer not to
have to write a check. It doesn't cost anything to pay the bill by check
though.

 RB> And of course, there's never a "lost check".

There's never one here either. My software makes a record of when I wrote
it and when I printed it. Book-keeping is done by the software too.

 RB>>> Of course, it's almost unknown to be robbed at gunpoint on an open
 RB>>> street here.

 RW>> That's very doubtful.

 RB> To be robbed at gunpoint? But it's true.

If they can use one to shoot a school full of people, there's a good
chance that someone is robbed at gunpoint and you don't hear about it.

 RB>>> Maybe that's the difference.

 RW>> Again, doubtful. It's a rare occasion to be robbed at gunpoint on an
 RW>> open street in Texas. A would be assailant never knows who's
 RW>> carrying these days and crooks don't take the chance to find out the
 RW>> hard way. Of course, in those 'won't issue' states, carrying isn't
 RW>> an option and probably why your sister is afraid of her environment.

 RB> Texas, with it's liberal gun laws (concealed weapons), is probably
 RB> different than Ohio, where my sister lives.

Ohio has the same gun laws as we have here in Texas. Both states recognize
each others conceal carry permits too. If your sister wants to feel safer,
she should apply for a concealed carry permit and buy a firearm to protect
herself. i.e. you have to pass a 'safe handling' and 'know how to shoot'
your firearm before they'll issue you a permit.

 RB> The size of your city would probably also be important - bigger
 RB> cities tend to have more crime.

That's not necessarily true. San Diego is now the 2nd largest city on the
west coast, yet being robbed on the street at gunpoint is seldom heard of
there. Being robbed as a convenience store clerk is more likely.

                R\%/itt




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