Rusty Law

Bamboozled

The Federal Trade Commission has found greenwashing in the spin cycle of the bamboo textile industry.  Bamboo fabric is luxuriant and soft…it is rayon!  

The 1958 Textile Fiber Products Identification Act requires that clothes be labeled according to their content, and not as “biodegradable” or “antimicrobial” if they have been dissolved in toxic chemicals.  Sure bamboo can be grown without irrigation, pesticides or fertilizers, but after you chop it into little bits and put it through the same solvents used to make rayon, the all-natural part left the building.  Stem to store, bamboo fabric is a synthetic.  

A giant panda eats about 30 pounds of bamboo per day which is 10,950 pounds per year, exceeding the chocolate intake per Swiss citizen by 10,927.64.  It is not known if pandas prefer chocolate bamboo fondue, or if they like chewing gum.  What is known is that judicial robes are available in a cotton-poly blend, and labeled as such.  

Small Claims Court

$5,000 is the limit to small claims court, but the patience is seemingly boundless of a small claims court judge.  

It only costs $300 to file a small claim, but that does not shortcut court procedures.  All the jobs of the court have to be fulfilled, and the judge has to extract properly information.  The trial goes on no matter how well-educated defendants are regarding legal procedure.  

The Florida Bar has a new focus on public education that stretches beyond middle school civics class.  Public education is an important defense for judges who must follow the law in making decisions, even when those decisions are not popular.  Regardless of the size of the claim, the importance of a fair and impartial court system remains.  The more knowledge the public has of this system and the procedures to ensure it, the more efficient and effective our third branch of government can be.  

Small claims court handles a lot of credit card debt.  Most of the defendants admit to the debt.  Most of them have not asked a lawyer’s opinion on the matter, which is another failure of education.  

Whether it is a small claim or foreclosure debt, have an attorney look at your case.  There may be a defense to the claim.  At least use the information issued with the summons to contact a legal aid office.  Get some counsel.  

Musical Shares

The music has stopped.  Shareholders are not holding very much, and anyone without a seat is in a vast majority.  Wealthcare reform is in session, and consumers are putting their heads down on their debt, shrinking credit card spending, and bringing borrowing to a crocodile metabolism.  

An atlatl is a labor-saving device that allows a user to throw something much faster much farther, like a credit card that allows you to buy something you cannot immediately afford—it extends your purchasing power.  But no one is throwing credit around these days.  Consumers are instead de-leveraging themselves, reducing their amount of revolving credit at a rate of 13% annually. 

A crocodile can stay under water for two hours without coming up for air, reducing its heart rate to 2 or 3 beats per minute, and it can live for 115 years.  That is where nonrevolving consumer credit is now.  Nonrevolving consumer credit includes auto and student loans and has slowed to a 1.5% annual rate.  

While consumers have embraced more primitive forms of spending, that is not necessarily helpful in the modern world, seeking rapid economic recovery.  Consumer spending makes up about 70% of the US gross national product.  Conservative attitudes towards spending and borrowing contribute to a slower ballad of recovery, but may better support long-term growth.  

Plastic Power

If the credit cards in your wallet have more worth as recycled plastic than they have buying power, here are some alternative slogans to curb your plastic habit. 

What else is in your wallet?

It’s everywhere you wish you were.

My life.  My card.  My gigantic bill. 

There are some things money can’t buy, and some things it really shouldn’t.  

Please don’t hesitate to share your alternative slogans in the comments.  

Fair Debt Collection Practices Act protects you from receiving unsolicited calls from credit card companies with whom you do not have an account, but it can’t guard against what’s already in your wallet.  Credit cards seem so innocent, little plastic chips that slide through your finances at the speed of an impulse buy.  Those are funds you don’t have in the first place, and you can’t really feel the deficit (until you get the bill).  Plus with more and more and more offers for credit cards, it’s easy to get sucked into a dungeon of debt.  

Everything piles up on your credit report, which can affect your ability to buy a house, a car, a lot of things.  While you’re busy trying to pay your mortgage, credit card bills get pushed aside.  Unemployment has been linked as a key factor of unpaid bills, and with more than 6 million Americans receiving unemployment benefits, this is not a portrait of fiscal fitness for our country.  

There are some programs available and you may wish to seek help from a credit counselor or legal representation to build a way out from under a mountain of debt.