I'm guessing all the major credit card companies have a fraud division. That's one place I'd expect artificial intelligence on their computers. It's pretty easy for them to figure out that if wife buys a plane ticket to Tampa and then next week a zillion charges from Florida show up. But how do they account for that purchase I made from a company in Podunk, Kentucky, clear out of the blue? The amazing thing is they know I bought those USB memory sticks from an outfit in Kentucky, but they can't always figure out that I bought 5 dozen donuts at the bakery on the south side of town. They will send me an e-mail saying my account will be suspended if I don't verify the purchase. I'm certain I had a choice, by the way, of getting the e-mail or a phone call. I chose the e-mail because I'm more likely to see that than to answer the phone. One time I didn't see the e-mail and the merchant called about my card not being accepted. As it happened, I had to get a new card because they already killed the old on. I do have a backup CC and that's what I had to use to satisfy the merchant.
I also know there must be a lot of losses due to fraud that is identified too late in the transaction. If somebody else bought those donuts they would all be gone by the time the CC company figured it out. I would not be charged, but did that bakery get paid or not? Yes and no is my answer. LOL The transaction was declined, which is why the CC company sent me the email. But, it is my understanding that there is loss prevention insurance that can be purchased for just such occasions. So, if the bakery didn't collect from the CC company, they could have collected from their business loss insurance company. I know the CC company has similar insurance, but I'm sure not all their loses are recovered.
We Are All Connected
Re: We Are All Connected
I had a Merchants Account for several years.
I was guaranteed payment if a card was swiped or even if manually entered, as long as it was pre-approved by them.
I could also take checks electronically, but had to enter them by hand all the time. There was a 3 minute delay on checks as to whether or not the company would pre-approve them, which meant I got paid, even if it later turned out to be a bad check.
Due to the nature of my business, taking a CC or check was rare to start with. And I doubt I ever took in more than what my monthly fee was anyhow.
I had a small garage sale, and a lady bought my daughters doll house. She was going to leave and come back with the money until I told her I took credit cards. This floored her, hi hi.
Then a month later I get a call about a disputed charge. Fortunately it was a 3-way call with the person who bought the doll house on the phone with the CC company. I had told her the name of the company that would appear on her CC statement. I guess she forgot, even though it was a first for her, hi hi. When I said she bought a doll house at our garage sale, she said Oh Yeah, I forgot. That ended that conversation. I really was surprised she forgot after exclaiming how unusual it was for a garage sale to take a credit card, hi hi.
I was guaranteed payment if a card was swiped or even if manually entered, as long as it was pre-approved by them.
I could also take checks electronically, but had to enter them by hand all the time. There was a 3 minute delay on checks as to whether or not the company would pre-approve them, which meant I got paid, even if it later turned out to be a bad check.
Due to the nature of my business, taking a CC or check was rare to start with. And I doubt I ever took in more than what my monthly fee was anyhow.
I had a small garage sale, and a lady bought my daughters doll house. She was going to leave and come back with the money until I told her I took credit cards. This floored her, hi hi.
Then a month later I get a call about a disputed charge. Fortunately it was a 3-way call with the person who bought the doll house on the phone with the CC company. I had told her the name of the company that would appear on her CC statement. I guess she forgot, even though it was a first for her, hi hi. When I said she bought a doll house at our garage sale, she said Oh Yeah, I forgot. That ended that conversation. I really was surprised she forgot after exclaiming how unusual it was for a garage sale to take a credit card, hi hi.
Re: We Are All Connected
All that makes sense. Apparently the CC companies are self-insured too. Every business has to expect some losses, but the opportunities seem greater for CC fraud than with most other companies. As I mentioned with comments about insurance companies, the losses for CC companies have to be covered by the transaction fees. That would suggest less than 5% of the transactions are unrecoverable losses. I dunno. My instincts say it should be greater.
Re: We Are All Connected
I assume CC companies go by each individuals card whether things are approved without a signature or with one.
I used to find it weird that I could charge 150 bucks and not have to sign anything, but then only get 30 bucks from the same store and have to sign.
The nearest I can figure is, the CC company keeps track of the things I buy, and if I'm buying the normal stuff I usually buy, I never have to sign. But let me buy something I've either never bought before, our out of sync with the types of things I normally buy, poof, I then have to sign.
Also at any store I normally don't shop at I have to sign, and at some I shop at all the time, even though I buy the exact same three items each and every time.
I'm also thinking, maybe it is only the big stores, and they are doing the tracking and not the CC company.
Some things have me curious though. I've even asked the bank about it, since it is my debit card.
The company who takes care of our bugs, needs my debit card number, expiration date, and the code on the back, and they have me set up to automatically run it through when they do a service.
I'm leery about them keeping that code from the back on the files, which means anyone who works there could debit my card and I would be libel for the charge.
But other companies I have a standing auto-pay account with, they don't need the number on the back of the card. So I wouldn't be libel if a fraudulent debit was made.
The way the bank explained it was that code on the back represents my signature.
It is normally only requested for a telephone or electronically placed order, like as if I order something on-line.
But their biggest suggestion was use a credit card instead of a debit card whenever and wherever I can.
Sounds good except some places you have to use a debit card for standing orders.
I used to find it weird that I could charge 150 bucks and not have to sign anything, but then only get 30 bucks from the same store and have to sign.
The nearest I can figure is, the CC company keeps track of the things I buy, and if I'm buying the normal stuff I usually buy, I never have to sign. But let me buy something I've either never bought before, our out of sync with the types of things I normally buy, poof, I then have to sign.
Also at any store I normally don't shop at I have to sign, and at some I shop at all the time, even though I buy the exact same three items each and every time.
I'm also thinking, maybe it is only the big stores, and they are doing the tracking and not the CC company.
Some things have me curious though. I've even asked the bank about it, since it is my debit card.
The company who takes care of our bugs, needs my debit card number, expiration date, and the code on the back, and they have me set up to automatically run it through when they do a service.
I'm leery about them keeping that code from the back on the files, which means anyone who works there could debit my card and I would be libel for the charge.
But other companies I have a standing auto-pay account with, they don't need the number on the back of the card. So I wouldn't be libel if a fraudulent debit was made.
The way the bank explained it was that code on the back represents my signature.
It is normally only requested for a telephone or electronically placed order, like as if I order something on-line.
But their biggest suggestion was use a credit card instead of a debit card whenever and wherever I can.
Sounds good except some places you have to use a debit card for standing orders.
Re: We Are All Connected
About the only time I need to sign when using the CC is at restaurants. This is very peculiar to me because the signature means nothing. You would think the purpose of having you sign the bill is for the clerk to compare your signature with that which is on the back of the card. Well, I haven't signed a physical credit card in umteen million years and only one place questioned it. That one place was the US Postal Service. He told me it was an internal thing and that signatures on the plastic was required to complete a CC transaction. Obviously nobody else in the world sees it that way, but the USPS is different.
The grocers in town used to require a signature when the order went over $50. They don't do that anymore, and there has been a time or two with the bill approached $300. My thinking is that the signature, or security code on the back, is only a warranty that the card owner will pay the bill. They don't care who you are, but only care about being reimbursed.
My ATM card happens to be a credit card too. Rarely do I give anybody my banking information and only with great pain will I do a debit transaction. If you read the fine print you are giving up all rights to withhold payment on a direct debit. I rather have them come after me than me try to get my money back from them.
The grocers in town used to require a signature when the order went over $50. They don't do that anymore, and there has been a time or two with the bill approached $300. My thinking is that the signature, or security code on the back, is only a warranty that the card owner will pay the bill. They don't care who you are, but only care about being reimbursed.
My ATM card happens to be a credit card too. Rarely do I give anybody my banking information and only with great pain will I do a debit transaction. If you read the fine print you are giving up all rights to withhold payment on a direct debit. I rather have them come after me than me try to get my money back from them.
Re: We Are All Connected
The frau and I have written in the signature area, ASK FOR ID.
This rarely happens since you really no longer give the credit card to anyone, just stick it in the machine.
I use a business check when I buy stamps or pay to ship something from the USPS.
And then while at the same counter I will buy a booklet of stamps for cash.
I often get a strange look, but I say these are for business use and these are for personal use.
Then I get a knowing nod from some of them, if they understand business at all.
One never wants to get caught co-mingling of funds, because it blows the corporate umbrella out of the water.
I have no way to prove I didn't use some of the business stamps for personal use, but at least I have the receipts showing I bought stamps for both purposes, and of course a checkbook showing business payments and a personal checkbook showing personal payments. And they usually come out about the same as far as the number of stamps I buy.
Don't laugh, it is these small things the auditors really dig deep to find.
As a florist, we got into trouble a couple of times on allowed and not allowed super small expenses.
On hot summer days, one of my uncles who handled the growing end of the business would come up and get some money from the petty cash box to buy a round of refreshments for the employees. This did not happen all that often either.
Employees are not clients, so the food and entertainment deduction is not allowed.
Now it could be shown as a perk or a bonus, but then you have a lot of bookwork to account for and it must be included on the employees W2 as a benefit.
After an audit where dad learned there was no way out of giving the employee's refreshments that way, and thankfully the auditor understood and knew our business so let us off the hook with a small fine, instead of the one he could have hit us with. After that, my dad just took the money out of his own pocket and put it into the petty cash box and took the receipt for himself as a personal expense. He could never tell that particular uncle what he was doing was not allowed, hi hi. It stemmed all the way back to the 1900's and later, when grandpa would send someone over to the tavern to bring back buckets of beer for all of the employees. But back then, everything was allowed, hi hi.
I don't like beer myself, but how grandpa and the rest of the Kraut's that worked for him could stand to drink HOT Black Beer is beyond me. Bach Beer they had their own pails filled with. Days long gone!
This rarely happens since you really no longer give the credit card to anyone, just stick it in the machine.
I use a business check when I buy stamps or pay to ship something from the USPS.
And then while at the same counter I will buy a booklet of stamps for cash.
I often get a strange look, but I say these are for business use and these are for personal use.
Then I get a knowing nod from some of them, if they understand business at all.
One never wants to get caught co-mingling of funds, because it blows the corporate umbrella out of the water.
I have no way to prove I didn't use some of the business stamps for personal use, but at least I have the receipts showing I bought stamps for both purposes, and of course a checkbook showing business payments and a personal checkbook showing personal payments. And they usually come out about the same as far as the number of stamps I buy.
Don't laugh, it is these small things the auditors really dig deep to find.
As a florist, we got into trouble a couple of times on allowed and not allowed super small expenses.
On hot summer days, one of my uncles who handled the growing end of the business would come up and get some money from the petty cash box to buy a round of refreshments for the employees. This did not happen all that often either.
Employees are not clients, so the food and entertainment deduction is not allowed.
Now it could be shown as a perk or a bonus, but then you have a lot of bookwork to account for and it must be included on the employees W2 as a benefit.
After an audit where dad learned there was no way out of giving the employee's refreshments that way, and thankfully the auditor understood and knew our business so let us off the hook with a small fine, instead of the one he could have hit us with. After that, my dad just took the money out of his own pocket and put it into the petty cash box and took the receipt for himself as a personal expense. He could never tell that particular uncle what he was doing was not allowed, hi hi. It stemmed all the way back to the 1900's and later, when grandpa would send someone over to the tavern to bring back buckets of beer for all of the employees. But back then, everything was allowed, hi hi.
I don't like beer myself, but how grandpa and the rest of the Kraut's that worked for him could stand to drink HOT Black Beer is beyond me. Bach Beer they had their own pails filled with. Days long gone!
Re: We Are All Connected
Dad came from a family with 11 siblings. It wasn't so obvious with the women but every one of the men were alcoholics. A couple died from liver problems. Well, dad enjoyed a good shot and a beer but basically he was a beer drinker. He had his own metal mug for his beer too. The reason it was metal and a mug is that he would heat it up on the stove before he drank it; every time. His drinking buddies thought he was nuts. I recall there being a certain time of the year where Boch Beer was available, and only at that time of the year. It was great looking stuff with a marvelous head of foam, and also got heated before dad drank it. The only other weird thing I recall him doing was putting a raw egg in his beer. That was the only time he did not heat it up. LOL
I have heard more than a few stories about IRS audits. Fortunately I never had the experience and hope I never do. I could be one of the random audits they do, but there is nothing complicated about my taxes. Generally I end up with the standard deductions and the IRS gets a copy of all my income statements before I do. So, it's pretty straight forward. Missouri is very complicated compared to what I had to do in Illinois. I could do my Illinois taxes on one two sided page online. Missouri is way more complicated. I know it's an extravagance, but I have a tax service do my taxes now. I started doing that the year I moved down here. I had income from two states, real estate sales, and some stock liquidations too. It was a mess. However, I liked what they did so well that I just retained them. It will be a learning process if I decide to do my own again.
I have heard more than a few stories about IRS audits. Fortunately I never had the experience and hope I never do. I could be one of the random audits they do, but there is nothing complicated about my taxes. Generally I end up with the standard deductions and the IRS gets a copy of all my income statements before I do. So, it's pretty straight forward. Missouri is very complicated compared to what I had to do in Illinois. I could do my Illinois taxes on one two sided page online. Missouri is way more complicated. I know it's an extravagance, but I have a tax service do my taxes now. I started doing that the year I moved down here. I had income from two states, real estate sales, and some stock liquidations too. It was a mess. However, I liked what they did so well that I just retained them. It will be a learning process if I decide to do my own again.
Re: We Are All Connected
Although I was a young tyke at the time, it seems grandpa used to set all the beer buckets on top of the hood of an old black truck out in the hot sun. Must be something to heating up the buckets first. I guess that fad died out, hi hi.
One of my early girlfriends used to ask her dad if he wanted egg in his beer, he would say no, just the beer, hi hi.
Because I had so many small side businesses going, plus starting Wonder Plants, and having like four sometimes five W2s. I ended up getting audited seven times in a row. Each and every time when they worked out my taxes, they ended up owing me more than I claimed. I was happy with that, and finally they quit auditing me. I guess they figured it was costing them too much money out of their till, hi hi.
Later when I was dealing in real estate, I had a real estate attorney who worked with a real estate tax attorney and they took care of my taxes during those years. Didn't get audited once, until the very end when I sold everything off. They thought they would catch me on capital gains, until they looked through all the paperwork. Once again, they owed me money, not much but enough I think they learned their lesson. Have not been audited once since then.
Although I always did my own taxes, except during my real estate years, I've never found them hard to do, albeit like you said, Missouri was complicated. Since I lived there my whole life and was always involved in business, or a business owner, I had what forms and data I needed down pat pretty good.
I do wish I knew some of things in my early years that I know now, but then too, I don't think LLCs were around then either. LLCs have been a boon for small businesses, even larger businesses, since it stopped double taxation pretty well.
Because of our greenhouses, and of course my Wonder Plants which I never used chemicals in. I had to have a Missouri Pesticide Applicators License, which I always kept up to date. We have to keep a report for each pesticide or other controlled chemical or gas we purchased, when and where it was used, how much each time, and where and how we disposed of the empty containers.
What they got me on was a loophole in their law. Although we had all the records required, since we did have other licensed applicators using the chemicals in our greenhouses and they filled out the book pages for each chemical as was required by law. But when it comes down to the last page, only the person who signed for the purchase of the product could sign off for the disposal of the container and fill in that information. Plus initial each usage entry.
I was no longer working there at the time several containers were empty and disposed of properly and signed off by the department head. In other words, there was no problem with the paperwork itself, ONLY the fact the closing signature did not match the purchasers signature. The fine was supposed to be like 500 bucks for each purchase and book the company turned in. I forget now how many books had my signature as the purchaser. But our company attorney ended that problem almost instantly. He dug out an old paper from one of the files regarding our chemicals documentation, wherein he had everyone with an Applicators License sign Power of Attorney over to the acting Head of the Department. It didn't matter that the paper was over twenty years old, or that the Head of the Department had changed a few times. This gave the Head of the Department the right to sign off on the books. It still cost the company some money, especially the attorneys fees, but I did not have to pay any fine myself.
There was another minor issue with the in-truck log-books. Each driver had to keep their own log-book, that's the one required by law. But the truck had to have a log-book also for tax purposes.
When a driver went to haul a load, he would write down the mileage before he took off in his log book. Plus all the other pertinent trip information. Then when he parked the truck back on the lot he wrote down the odometer reading.
Then in the trucks log-book he would write down how many miles he used the truck and from what date and time to what date and time. So far so good. EXCEPT, he did not leave a blank line to account for the mileage put on the truck on the property moving it around or using it to shuffle trailers back and forth to the doc.
This got to be a habit, so at the end of each quarter, when the odometer was read, any mileage unaccounted for was written down as used on the property.
It was also not uncommon for one of us to use a tractor to pull one of the small utility trailers to help move one of the cousins from one apartment to another. I'm talking about a small trailer like one would normally pull using a pick-up truck with a mini-5th-wheel, but a little too large to be pulled behind a car. We had mini-5th-wheel attachments on our trucks to pull service wagons around the property.
Since the vehicle was not used for a commercial purpose, none of us ever wrote down in our own log-books these short little trips. We didn't have to legally, no more than running a truck to a service shop or down the street to refuel.
But on Missouri Tax, every mile must be accounted for, in writing, with 37 8x10 color glossy photographs with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one explaining what each picture was for. Then the tax collector comes in with his seeing eye dog, he sits down, the dog sits down, etc. you know the rest, hi hi.
In any case, they always disallowed the entire on property mileage based on the odometer reading on our taxes. On property use is not tax deductible, nor can it be deducted from our road use taxes which IS based on the total mileage no matter where that mileage was put on. So they get you on both counts every time.
One of my early girlfriends used to ask her dad if he wanted egg in his beer, he would say no, just the beer, hi hi.
Because I had so many small side businesses going, plus starting Wonder Plants, and having like four sometimes five W2s. I ended up getting audited seven times in a row. Each and every time when they worked out my taxes, they ended up owing me more than I claimed. I was happy with that, and finally they quit auditing me. I guess they figured it was costing them too much money out of their till, hi hi.
Later when I was dealing in real estate, I had a real estate attorney who worked with a real estate tax attorney and they took care of my taxes during those years. Didn't get audited once, until the very end when I sold everything off. They thought they would catch me on capital gains, until they looked through all the paperwork. Once again, they owed me money, not much but enough I think they learned their lesson. Have not been audited once since then.
Although I always did my own taxes, except during my real estate years, I've never found them hard to do, albeit like you said, Missouri was complicated. Since I lived there my whole life and was always involved in business, or a business owner, I had what forms and data I needed down pat pretty good.
I do wish I knew some of things in my early years that I know now, but then too, I don't think LLCs were around then either. LLCs have been a boon for small businesses, even larger businesses, since it stopped double taxation pretty well.
Because of our greenhouses, and of course my Wonder Plants which I never used chemicals in. I had to have a Missouri Pesticide Applicators License, which I always kept up to date. We have to keep a report for each pesticide or other controlled chemical or gas we purchased, when and where it was used, how much each time, and where and how we disposed of the empty containers.
What they got me on was a loophole in their law. Although we had all the records required, since we did have other licensed applicators using the chemicals in our greenhouses and they filled out the book pages for each chemical as was required by law. But when it comes down to the last page, only the person who signed for the purchase of the product could sign off for the disposal of the container and fill in that information. Plus initial each usage entry.
I was no longer working there at the time several containers were empty and disposed of properly and signed off by the department head. In other words, there was no problem with the paperwork itself, ONLY the fact the closing signature did not match the purchasers signature. The fine was supposed to be like 500 bucks for each purchase and book the company turned in. I forget now how many books had my signature as the purchaser. But our company attorney ended that problem almost instantly. He dug out an old paper from one of the files regarding our chemicals documentation, wherein he had everyone with an Applicators License sign Power of Attorney over to the acting Head of the Department. It didn't matter that the paper was over twenty years old, or that the Head of the Department had changed a few times. This gave the Head of the Department the right to sign off on the books. It still cost the company some money, especially the attorneys fees, but I did not have to pay any fine myself.
There was another minor issue with the in-truck log-books. Each driver had to keep their own log-book, that's the one required by law. But the truck had to have a log-book also for tax purposes.
When a driver went to haul a load, he would write down the mileage before he took off in his log book. Plus all the other pertinent trip information. Then when he parked the truck back on the lot he wrote down the odometer reading.
Then in the trucks log-book he would write down how many miles he used the truck and from what date and time to what date and time. So far so good. EXCEPT, he did not leave a blank line to account for the mileage put on the truck on the property moving it around or using it to shuffle trailers back and forth to the doc.
This got to be a habit, so at the end of each quarter, when the odometer was read, any mileage unaccounted for was written down as used on the property.
It was also not uncommon for one of us to use a tractor to pull one of the small utility trailers to help move one of the cousins from one apartment to another. I'm talking about a small trailer like one would normally pull using a pick-up truck with a mini-5th-wheel, but a little too large to be pulled behind a car. We had mini-5th-wheel attachments on our trucks to pull service wagons around the property.
Since the vehicle was not used for a commercial purpose, none of us ever wrote down in our own log-books these short little trips. We didn't have to legally, no more than running a truck to a service shop or down the street to refuel.
But on Missouri Tax, every mile must be accounted for, in writing, with 37 8x10 color glossy photographs with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one explaining what each picture was for. Then the tax collector comes in with his seeing eye dog, he sits down, the dog sits down, etc. you know the rest, hi hi.
In any case, they always disallowed the entire on property mileage based on the odometer reading on our taxes. On property use is not tax deductible, nor can it be deducted from our road use taxes which IS based on the total mileage no matter where that mileage was put on. So they get you on both counts every time.
Re: We Are All Connected
Methinks you have been watching too many Arlo Guthrie movies, or at least the only one I know he starred in. You've recently made a couple not too subtle references to the movie's title song and got me smiling from ear to ear. My wife and I are not movie fans. During the 50+ years of our marriage we have been in a movie house maybe half a dozen times. I can only recall four of those times at the moment, and Alice's Restaurant was one of them. Besides being topical this movie broke some barriers because it had a short scene with a naked young woman in it and with her back to the camera. It was totally out of context for the story but they included it so that the movie could be rated 'R' and bring in more money than it normally would. We were shocked and awed at that ten seconds of nudity back then. Now and days you see that and more in many TV commercials. Anyway, wife and I have fond memories of watching people sit on the group W bench. Not too long ago we saw a few of them in town. I think they were going to WalMart or something.
Re: We Are All Connected
I never saw the movie, or if I did I don't remember it, but still play the long song every now and then.
My grandpa on my mom's side met Arlo's dad Woody a few times and had almost all of his records.
I was never much into country style music, but some of the older country songs were great.
I'm bad at remembering names, but remember tons of little skits that for some reason stuck in my gray matter.
I had several I could not say in front of my wife because she hates the persons who coined them with a passion now.
I always though they were phunny myself! Bill Cosby and Redd Foxx on TV not on stand-up.
Mom: Oh Lord what died in here?
Kids: It was an invisible elephant!
Mom: If it was invisible how did you see it?
Kids: It lifted dad off the chair about two feet!
Now the People of Walmart filled most of social media with Meme's, hi hi.
My grandpa on my mom's side met Arlo's dad Woody a few times and had almost all of his records.
I was never much into country style music, but some of the older country songs were great.
I'm bad at remembering names, but remember tons of little skits that for some reason stuck in my gray matter.
I had several I could not say in front of my wife because she hates the persons who coined them with a passion now.
I always though they were phunny myself! Bill Cosby and Redd Foxx on TV not on stand-up.
Mom: Oh Lord what died in here?
Kids: It was an invisible elephant!
Mom: If it was invisible how did you see it?
Kids: It lifted dad off the chair about two feet!
Now the People of Walmart filled most of social media with Meme's, hi hi.
Re: We Are All Connected
I don't recall Alice's Restaurant, the movie, getting rave reviews. It was a great show in that it brought to life the ballad made famous by Arlo Guthrie. From what I recall his dad was the star in country music and Arlo is famous only for one thing. Back then there were a lot hippies protesting the war so that I think the movie and the song benefited from that popularity. We saw the movie and had the song on vinyl. Must have played it a million times back then. Memes weren't invented yet when we were battling the Viet Gong. I'm not sure WalMart was around either; they probably were. The times have certainly changed.
I liked Bill Cosby on his television shows. He and Redd Foxx also had to clean up their acts for prime time. But, to me Foxx was too crude to be humorous. Cosby always impressed me as being a nice guy, but I guess he had a dark side too - no pun intended.
I liked Bill Cosby on his television shows. He and Redd Foxx also had to clean up their acts for prime time. But, to me Foxx was too crude to be humorous. Cosby always impressed me as being a nice guy, but I guess he had a dark side too - no pun intended.
Re: We Are All Connected
Walmart got their start by building small stores in the most rural areas where there was no other place to shop.
I think it was a smart move to open stores where he had no competition first.
Most of them did not make a huge profit, but he kept opening them anyhow.
A little profit from each one eventually added up to a huge combined profit.
My first wife's uncle did something similar, only with shoe stores.
He was up to like 25 stores when the chain of Hill Brothers Shoes started sprouting stores like gnats on a bumper.
There was no way he could compete with them, especially selling shoes for $2.50 each.
They were not the quality of his shoes, but they looked just as well made.
At least Hill Brothers bought about 18 of his stores, and he closed down the others, sold most of them to a new pharmaceutical company chain that was flourishing.
He didn't get wealthy but retired quite comfortably.
The Rock n Roll musician Chuck Berry lived in Ladue, MO and owned a restaurant out in Wentzville, MO
He also bought a lot of land out there, but I forget why, in any case it became a popular area because of it.
He got into all kinds of trouble all the time, but the zinger was cameras in the women's rest rooms.
We used to bump into each other quite often down at the Delmar Loop, but only because I was working in the area.
In any case, although it is not talked about much, his crudeness and vile mouth meant most local folks wouldn't even talk to him anymore.
I liked the show Sanford and Son, which is about the extent of what I knew Redd Foxx from.
But Bill Cosby, I think I had every single one of his comedy records, and several 8mm+ films of his routines.
I did have a couple of 16mm also, but no working projector to run them on.
8mm+ did have a sound track, but it was not very good, because it worked like a record works, a groove track for sound.
Although I've never watched much TV, and rarely even look at a TV these days.
I did catch a few of Bill Cosby's TV shows.
I think it was a smart move to open stores where he had no competition first.
Most of them did not make a huge profit, but he kept opening them anyhow.
A little profit from each one eventually added up to a huge combined profit.
My first wife's uncle did something similar, only with shoe stores.
He was up to like 25 stores when the chain of Hill Brothers Shoes started sprouting stores like gnats on a bumper.
There was no way he could compete with them, especially selling shoes for $2.50 each.
They were not the quality of his shoes, but they looked just as well made.
At least Hill Brothers bought about 18 of his stores, and he closed down the others, sold most of them to a new pharmaceutical company chain that was flourishing.
He didn't get wealthy but retired quite comfortably.
The Rock n Roll musician Chuck Berry lived in Ladue, MO and owned a restaurant out in Wentzville, MO
He also bought a lot of land out there, but I forget why, in any case it became a popular area because of it.
He got into all kinds of trouble all the time, but the zinger was cameras in the women's rest rooms.
We used to bump into each other quite often down at the Delmar Loop, but only because I was working in the area.
In any case, although it is not talked about much, his crudeness and vile mouth meant most local folks wouldn't even talk to him anymore.
I liked the show Sanford and Son, which is about the extent of what I knew Redd Foxx from.
But Bill Cosby, I think I had every single one of his comedy records, and several 8mm+ films of his routines.
I did have a couple of 16mm also, but no working projector to run them on.
8mm+ did have a sound track, but it was not very good, because it worked like a record works, a groove track for sound.
Although I've never watched much TV, and rarely even look at a TV these days.
I did catch a few of Bill Cosby's TV shows.
Re: We Are All Connected
You taught me a little bit of history regarding Chuck Berry. This is the first time I've read that he did business in Wentzville. That's just down the street from me. LOL I grew up on moldy oldies and Chuck was right in there showing Elvis how to do it. Those were the days my friend, I thought they'd never end. Or something. By the time the Beatles invaded this country I was maxed out with R&R and moved on to other things. I'm totally shocked to learn he grew up in good old Missouri. I'm not surprised at all that he alienated all his neighbors. People around here are pretty straight laced.
Re: We Are All Connected
I don't know if you can find all the bad stuff he did on-line. He probably made sure it disappeared into oblivion, hi hi.
When Chubby Checker was on his downhill slide, he played out at the Barn Dinner Theater.
It was out in Grover, MO, now a part of Chesterfield, MO.
He made nearly everyone who paid to see him and have dinner so made, almost a third of them walked out, and there were no refunds either. We almost did, but due to the cost of the show and dinner, we stayed.
He really showed his arrogant and nasty side of himself that night.
I think the theater started on its downhill side too after that night. I know we never went back.
When Chubby Checker was on his downhill slide, he played out at the Barn Dinner Theater.
It was out in Grover, MO, now a part of Chesterfield, MO.
He made nearly everyone who paid to see him and have dinner so made, almost a third of them walked out, and there were no refunds either. We almost did, but due to the cost of the show and dinner, we stayed.
He really showed his arrogant and nasty side of himself that night.
I think the theater started on its downhill side too after that night. I know we never went back.
Re: We Are All Connected
I read a few things in passing about Ike and Tina Turner and it make my blood boil. Apparently Ike was worse than Chuck and Chubby combined, especially when it came to the way he treated Tina. It's amazing that all these sadistic and masochistic people became so popular in their field. I guess the music was good, but the minds it came from were rotted. Then, too, I've not lived here long enough to get a real good feel for the environment. It seems the folks here are a lot more conservative than the folks around Chicago. Back home the dark side of rock stars would not be so shocking albeit just as offensive.
My daughter who used to live in Clayton called me this morning. I asked her if she knew about Chuck Berry and apparently she was one of the crowd who took offense at the racket he made in the neighborhoods. If she ever told me about it previously, I don't remember. All these revelations about familiar names is news to me. And, I'd never suspect some of those great names came from Missouri. Amazing.
My daughter who used to live in Clayton called me this morning. I asked her if she knew about Chuck Berry and apparently she was one of the crowd who took offense at the racket he made in the neighborhoods. If she ever told me about it previously, I don't remember. All these revelations about familiar names is news to me. And, I'd never suspect some of those great names came from Missouri. Amazing.
Re: We Are All Connected
Most of them, although their music was good, didn't get really bad until they made their money and thought they could then get by with anything.
I've seen it not just in music, but in sports and the movie world as well.
Although nearly everyone in Missouri was a democrat back then, they were on the conservative side of the wire and Republicans were more of the problem.
But then too, we all could see the left moving further and further to the left, as if going off the beaten path and sliding downhill fast.
There's a big difference between being asked if we want to fund something to make it free for everyone, and voting to do so, and being TOLD we have to fund something we don't want at all for anyone. This alone is one of the major reasons for the shift from democrat to republican as I entered adulthood.
I've seen it not just in music, but in sports and the movie world as well.
Although nearly everyone in Missouri was a democrat back then, they were on the conservative side of the wire and Republicans were more of the problem.
But then too, we all could see the left moving further and further to the left, as if going off the beaten path and sliding downhill fast.
There's a big difference between being asked if we want to fund something to make it free for everyone, and voting to do so, and being TOLD we have to fund something we don't want at all for anyone. This alone is one of the major reasons for the shift from democrat to republican as I entered adulthood.
Re: We Are All Connected
Well yeah, the people in power have ... all the power. It's impossible to satisfy the wants and needs of the entire population, but there were days when the opposition could at least be tolerated. That's not how things are done anymore. The division of the powers has deepened and so has the animosity. The majority of Americans are not satisfied with the way this country is being run these days. It's the same dissatisfaction that you note; they don't like being told and not given a fair vote. I guess that's the problem with power. Some people have it and some don't. Never will those without it be satisfied.
Re: We Are All Connected
Those without THE POWER could be satisfied if they had a say-so, namely a vote, in the things that are forced upon them against their will. Most of the laws that get passed each year, even though we already have more than enough laws, are basically power struggle laws for those in power to control those not in power. It's almost like a dictatorship instead of a republic or democracy.
Re: We Are All Connected
Now you are touching on a point that will be the end of this country as we knew it. Every day the news tells us about events that bring us closer to a total authoritarian dictatorship. Only the historians of some future century will be able to analyze it and come to a conclusion why it was allowed to come this far. It's obvious to you and to me that the original intent in the minds of our founding fathers has gone awry. I know I've mentioned this a few times already, but the number of people who support this change of direction is shockingly large. When Donald Trump was elected president the facts of life suddenly became clear. Most prognosticators didn't think he had the talent to lead a country like ours and that fact alone would deny him the office. There was nothing in my previous 7 decades of existence that suggested his election was possible, or if it did happen it would be corrected immediately. That's how good is the design of our system of government. Or, so I thought.
We don't agree on most political issues, but I think you and I have a common interest in preserving the high quality of life for which America is noted. The power in our government was designed to be shared equally by three distinct and separate branches. That's what allows the notion of checks and balances to work. As individual citizens we do not get a vote on every bill that comes through the legislative branch, but we do vote for the people to represent our interests in congress. This is true on the federal as well as the state level. As it stands today, the thinking behind the party with the power is that democracy is a failed concept. It's failure is in the corrupt establishment; meaning those people not in power. Their solution to the chaos and division is a strict authoritarian rule. I'm not quoting this out of some political science book. It's the explicit policy of the current president on down to those congressional members who represent us. How can a representative who believes were are corrupt, divided into a state of chaos, and failures at knowing what we want possibly vote in our best interests?
As of this year, 2020, the ordinary people of this country still have the power of voting. That power is being eroded and subverted, but it's still in place. It remains to be seen if we can retain it.
We don't agree on most political issues, but I think you and I have a common interest in preserving the high quality of life for which America is noted. The power in our government was designed to be shared equally by three distinct and separate branches. That's what allows the notion of checks and balances to work. As individual citizens we do not get a vote on every bill that comes through the legislative branch, but we do vote for the people to represent our interests in congress. This is true on the federal as well as the state level. As it stands today, the thinking behind the party with the power is that democracy is a failed concept. It's failure is in the corrupt establishment; meaning those people not in power. Their solution to the chaos and division is a strict authoritarian rule. I'm not quoting this out of some political science book. It's the explicit policy of the current president on down to those congressional members who represent us. How can a representative who believes were are corrupt, divided into a state of chaos, and failures at knowing what we want possibly vote in our best interests?
As of this year, 2020, the ordinary people of this country still have the power of voting. That power is being eroded and subverted, but it's still in place. It remains to be seen if we can retain it.
Re: We Are All Connected
Although it has been drifting that way for over a century. In my own lifetime I've seen the will of the people eroded by poly-tick-ians who are only concerned about themselves, and who vote for what they want, not what the people want.
Most of them make false promises to get elected, and then do the exact opposite once they were in office.
Every election year they make the same false promises and the sheeple keep electing them. Many times because they are unopposed by a same party member, and folks stick to a party rather the a person right or the job.
Once elected to congress they should have absolutely no party affiliation and work for the people, period.
Most of the poly-tick-ians have been in so long, and have always been so far out of touch with reality, they have no idea what is going on out in the world. They live in their own little world of all big shots and have become more like a closed group in and of themselves, and only for themselves. At least that's the way I see it!
When states joined the Union, they agreed to abide by the Constitution. I can't think of one state that fully does!
All states now have laws that defy our Constitution and Bill of Rights.
And they keep making more laws at the rate of about 20,000 per year.
Which in the end only convoluted the excellent laws we did have, watering them down to nearly meaningless.
Most of them make false promises to get elected, and then do the exact opposite once they were in office.
Every election year they make the same false promises and the sheeple keep electing them. Many times because they are unopposed by a same party member, and folks stick to a party rather the a person right or the job.
Once elected to congress they should have absolutely no party affiliation and work for the people, period.
Most of the poly-tick-ians have been in so long, and have always been so far out of touch with reality, they have no idea what is going on out in the world. They live in their own little world of all big shots and have become more like a closed group in and of themselves, and only for themselves. At least that's the way I see it!
When states joined the Union, they agreed to abide by the Constitution. I can't think of one state that fully does!
All states now have laws that defy our Constitution and Bill of Rights.
And they keep making more laws at the rate of about 20,000 per year.
Which in the end only convoluted the excellent laws we did have, watering them down to nearly meaningless.