the ultimate corporate tax | a meal with visa

I recently, or less recently now, had a meal at Jasmine Deli. Jasmine is an age old institution with a younger brother around the corner (Jasmine 21, I believe).

Whenever I find a business owner willing to talk disparagingly about credit card fees, I'm all ears. (It should be said here that Jo at Plan B Coffee Shop considers credit card fees a fully legit 'cost of doing business.') So there are plenty who consider it absolutely fine.

I consider it an administrative tax on a massive percentage of all transactions globally. Most credit card fees for small businesses, for most transactions, depending on how often they "batch out" run in the neighborhood of 2-3% not including a basic per transaction fee of 25 cents or more.

This is why so many businesses have signage re: "NO Credit Card purchases for under $5."

Because at $5, they're hemoraging, directly from some likely marginal profit at the corner store or mom and pop coffee shop, about 30 cents or more of that $5 - that's a solid 6%. Not too far from what local American municipalities and states charge citizens on cash transactions.

Except all this money is going directly to VISA. How much money is that? From The International Herald Tribune April 2, it becomes clear just how much cash is flowing through this taxation system, "One euro in every nine is spent using a Visa card and the company has set itself a target that by 2015 one euro in every five euros will be spend using one of its cards."

That's a lot of tax for a service that, if applied correctly, could pretty much run itself. It's not a lot unlike state and municipal taxes going exclusively to the bureaucracy that collects the tax.

In response, a group of ex-Visa employees have responded with Noca. " The headline reads, "NOCA Targets Transaction Fees with New Online Payment System. Now, if we can get retailers hooked up via the WWW, maybe we can start getting past these modern parasitical relationships.

But, back to Luke at Jasmine. He confirmed he pays some steep fees, but more importantly he makes this point. "Just use cash!" When you put $20 on your debt card, you'll be paying at least that much back as a customer - and your retailer isn't even getting close to all the money.

please make comments | survey says

hello readers,

I know you are out there. I monitor my site statistics.

I also think you probably have opinions on my many opinion pieces or thoughts in general. I'd like to have evidence of your presence. Can y'all leave a comment?

I don't believe a login is necessary to do so. I know my opinions aren't necessarily right or popular or good for turning the wheel of cash flow to grease the global economic supply chain - but hell. Can you give a little shout anyway?

Also: Coming soon: The Creditland Online Survey - to begin gathering information for the lauch in July....

heads up on HMO funded counseling

I just came from the HMO counseling clinic on Riverside where I was able to get an appointment at 2pm today. They told me to come in at 1:15pm to fill out a 20 page questionaire which covers, extensively, personal and medical histories for yourself and for your family - along with very specific and frank self-evaluations regarding personal problems, alcohol and drug use, family history, mental history, etc.

At first I thought the intake form was an excellent way to lay out the ground work, and I took the opportunity to lay it all out completely onto their extensive records. However, I had no idea what their confidentiality agreement was regarding what the HMO could utilize from the forms I was filling out, so I did not sign any release forms.

My counselor, who I immediately recognized as the kind of soft-ball guy that would get steam rolled by my mind, was very nice. I asked him if he shared his office because there was just a piece of paper in the office door name area. He said it was indeed his office but he had made the sign himself. He joked the HMO wouldn't pay the $10 to get a permanent one.

Insurance companies looking for reasons not to pay.

My counselor opens immediately to the release part of the page. I ask him about confidentiality and he begins to describe what rights I have regarding keeping information from the government. I tell him I am concerned about information getting to the HMO from the paper work he just filled out. There is a tremendous amount of information in the packet I have just handed him. Luckily he only has it open to the HMO's release page - we're talking about that and here is what he says:

My question is, "Does the HMO have access to these records for any reason?"

He answers, "If the HMO does not agree with a diagnosis and wants to do their own evaluation to determine what level of treatment you will be insured for, they have the right to all of these records." He went on to describe other instances the HMO can look at the records: Pretty much whenever they feel like it.

My next question: "Can the HMO use the information contained in my counseling records to deny service, diagnosis pre-existing conditions, catch me doing something they don't like and otherwise finding reasons to not offer me coverage for future problems."

He answers, "They can do whatever they want with the information contained in your counseling records."

"And then, for all I know, when I switch insurers, this information has passed into the free trade information vortex for HMOs and could easily come up for the rest of my life?"

"I can't say that definitely would not happen."

That settled it. I was out of there. How could I be frank with a man who has been made the agent of an insurance company? Everything I tell him can possibly be used against me for the rest of my life. I asked him if this was true of every counseling service paid for by the HMO, he said they all must agree to these terms to hold an account with the HMO and that any covered counseling service is subjected to the same standards.

What an incredible trap.

I asked him about outside counseling. He said I could pay for it myself. I said I can't pay for it myself. He then referred me quite quickly, like he'd done it before a hundred times, to the "Walk In Counseling Center" on Chicago and 24th (612-870-0565). It's free for 10 sessions he says, run by volunteers - grad students and the like, ask for donation, much like NIP in Uptown.

He even called them on the phone to get the hours and ask if they charged anything. I swear it was a practiced performance. During the hours, which include non-business hours, you can just walk in and get counseling. No HMO. No permanent record they can use against you. He said you don't even have to use your real name.

The paperwork took me - and I am fast yet thorough - 45 minutes solid. I was in the session at 2:05pm with the HMO counselor. He was shaking my hand, saying "I completely understand you want your privacy." and sending me on my way by 2:15pm. He said he wouldn't even charge me the copay, mark it as a cancellation. I swear to god he was happy to see an intelligent person flee the system. And I was happy as hell to get out of there.

I took my paperwork with me, as you might imagine.

"Did you get your parking validated?" was the last thing I heard on the way out. I don't think he's a big fan of the system either.

-Tobin

you heard it here first | the health care system is incredibly inefficient

("you first heard it hear" is a joke. you live it.)



Holy mantras of navigation. Get me on a seaworthy vessell I'm diving into the ocean of privatized, individualized, decentralized, capital intesively planned world of health care planning. This vast ocean of free range providers roam under the oversight of several major non-liable entities. Yikes!

whoa is the efficiency of ever finding what you are looking for. That is out of the question according to their being no plan, just a sprawling, unchecked growth inefficiency in health care service. If ever there was a car that needed counseling for self-esteem - it's not here in Minneapolis. This car, forever in use, shuttles people from one capital intensive spot to the next, as inefficiently as possible. Perhaps this is what create jobs.

In the healthcare industry it creates a whole lot of driving, unless you like fishing in the ocean without a rod. In which case the bus will gladly take you where you are going if you have half a day to dedicate to the pursuit of your own care. I need to declare my phobia of driving so the healthcare industry can provide me with my driving!

After a bad accident under a very large bridge in Queens involving a t-bone collision and decent speeds and a totally destroyed bus kiosk interrupting our path towards a giant brick wall right on the corner, let me tell you: Intersections completely fuck me up! I am a bonafide phobic driver!

I am going to throw parties for people who are also phobic of driving, or just don't like it, if you have 10 bucks and your insurance is so lame they won't cover you. The parties will be a celebration of face time. A celebration of face time.

two surveys and a whopper - I must be American

I voluntarily took an online survey and a phone survey today. This kind of free participation in market research is exactly the kind of activity I have been hell bent against - then I thought about it from the perspective of the surveyors and decided: It's something I might find useful someday.

Then I went to Burger King and at a Whopper.

Go figure