Jan 18, 2010

Don't give to charities through credit cards!

Friend George is at it again, educating me about the ways of the world. It hadn't occurred to me that giving to Haiti relief, or any other charity for that matter, through my credit card means less for the relief agency and more for the card company and banks. Here's a NY Times article documenting the practice, and reporting that "some" card fees have been waived for Haiti relief.
Why not stay away from giving through credit cards altogether? I'm afraid I was lazy and ignorant this past holiday season and used credit cards to give to some of my favorite charities online. Now I'm reformed. It's direct checks from here on in, with my own postage attached. That has the added bonus of helping the struggling but vastly improved newly privatized US Postal Service stay solvent. (No, I'm not being sarcastic. Have you checked out how hard the USPS is trying these days? There's nothing like competition.)

Jan 11, 2010

Wellness Discounts in Health Reform a real problem

Having already admitted that I cannot read the 4000+ total pages of legislative language in the two final bills (House and Senate) without giving up all other aspects of my life, I'm depending on secondary sources to uncover aspects of one or the other bill that are problematical. Here is what Kaiser Family Foundation says about one provision that sounds discriminatory against those with "lifestyle" issues. This affects people with employer based health insurance. Read KFF News on Wellness Program.