Hello readers \u2013 I\u2019ve some thoughts I\u2019d like to share: feel free to tell me I\u2019m all wet, or that you think I\u2019ve got the right idea.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
High-tech requests for money.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t know how many of you have encountered this, but while you are trying to pay your bill with a debit card at some of our local stores, you now get hit with a request on the card reader, asking if you would like to donate to a particular cause.<\/p>\n
While I am all for supporting causes, I\u2019m not supporting this.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t mind when the cashier asks me if I want to make a donation (I have done this multiple times) or when there is a can on the counter. But to actually impede my transaction by forcing me to decide about giving another entity access to my bank account?<\/p>\n
Forget about it.<\/p>\n
The point of a debit-card reader at the checkout stand is to make the line move faster (and to aid those of us with kids and therefore no folding money.)<\/p>\n
When hit with this request, I vote with my feet and hit \u201cno\u201d every time. I don\u2019t even ponder what the cause is.<\/p>\n
If you find this extra step toward paying your bill as annoying as I do, talk to the store manager.<\/p>\n
Tell them to put the can back on the counter.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
License your pet \u2013 or else<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve commented on this before \u2013 our county tacking a penalty on those people who probably can\u2019t afford a pet license, but who have pets.<\/p>\n
The penalty \u2013 totaling $75 \u2013 started April 1.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve sided with the folks who have pets, arguing that it\u2019s just one more strike against the poor, especially families who already are suffering in these economic times, and that it might encourage some to abandon their animals rather than paying yet another bill.<\/p>\n
What is sad is the way the county is publicizing this. They\u2019re calling it \u201ca proven approach to enhancing pet licensing.\u201d<\/p>\n
From the purely administrative standpoint, I\u2019m sure that it is.<\/p>\n
From the standpoint of the most financially fragile of our residents, who already are suffering from cuts to human-services programs, it\u2019s a proven approach to giving Fido to someone else, or a midnight drive to the country.<\/p>\n
We need to give these people a break.<\/p>\n
Make the penalty dependent upon household income, or waive it dependent upon circumstances. How much difference can $75 make to a bureaucracy, versus a family struggling to make ends meet?<\/p>\n
A little compassion goes a long way.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Women\u2019s football<\/p>\n
Kent, which gained a foothold in the sports world for hockey (as opposed to a tenuous toehold for lingerie) now has another sports franchise in its backyard, and it\u2019s worth a look.<\/p>\n