Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/6220
4A – Daily News – Saturday, January 23, 2010 A MediaNews Group newspaper Greg Stevens, Publisher gstevens@redbluffdailynews.com Chip Thompson, Editor editor@redbluffdailynews.com Editorial policy The Daily News opinion is expressed in the editorial. The opinions expressed in columns, letters and cartoons are those of the authors and artists. Letter policy The Daily News welcomes let- ters from its readers on timely topics of public interest. All let- ters must be signed and pro- vide the writer's home street address and home phone num- ber. Anonymous letters, open letters to others, pen names and petition-style letters will not be allowed. Letters should be typed and cannot exceed two double-spaced pages or 500 words. When several letters address the same issue, a cross section of those submit- ted will be considered for publi- cation. Letters will be edited. Letters are published at the discretion of the editor. Mission Statement We believe that a strong com- munity newspaper is essential to a strong community, creating citizens who are better informed and more involved. The Daily News will be the indispensible guide to life and living in Tehama County. We will be the premier provider of local news, information and advertising through our daily newspaper, online edition and other print and Internet vehi- cles. The Daily News will reflect and support the unique identities of Tehama County and its cities; record the history of its com- munities and their people and make a positive difference in the quality of life for the resi- dents and businesses of Tehama County. How to reach us Main office: 527-2151 Classified: 527-2151 Circulation: 527-2151 News tips: 527-2153 Sports: 527-2153 Obituaries: 527-2151 Photo: 527-2153 On the Web www.redbluffdailynews.com Fax Newsroom: 527-9251 Classified: 527-5774 Retail Adv.: 527-5774 Legal Adv.: 527-5774 Business Office: 527-3719 Address 545 Diamond Ave. Red Bluff, CA 96080, or P.O. Box 220 Red Bluff, CA 96080 Opinion This year we will be perplexed about how our lives will be simpli- fied by the new regulations designed to make our lives easier, such as new credit cards rules. These changes take effect Feb. 13. As you know, the credit card issuers went a little astray over the last few years, and all of us will have to pay for that, even if it is in a simplified way. Our card limit on VISA, for example, was increased for no apparent reason by several thou- sand dollars the last few years. Generally we pay our card off each month, and we do not accumulate debt on our card, but if we had gone on a spending spree to justify our new credit limit status, we would have no one to blame but ourselves. Credit card debt is fairly straightforward, or so I thought. If you do not pay off your card in full, you will have to pay interest on the unpaid balance. That interest is generally greater than what might be considered usury, an old, but accurate term, credit card compa- nies refuse to use. Our VISA credit card was orig- inally issued by a bank in North Carolina; over time that bank merged with larger banks and is now part of the Bank of America, a huge bank that once behaved like a local bank, right here in Red Bluff. Now when you go into what was that local bank, they talk about "products" and refer to their bank as a store; they use other terms that try to obfuscate that they are in the same business as the paycheck and speedy loan shops spread through- out town. A lot of good bank people have had an exodus from Bank of America to work at other local banks, and most of them will tell you they feel refreshed by their new work environment and they also feel they make a positive dif- ference for our community. Well, in imitation of their old self the Bank of America sent us a Pre Sorted First Class Mail letter from Green Bay WI, with a return address post office box in Phoenix. I could tell from the fact that two offices were involved in creating and sending this letter that the let- ter was important. In the 1970s a local employee would have just called to fill me in. I could also tell it was important because the bot- tom of the front of the envelope said that the contents were "Impor- tant Amendments to Your Bank of America Credit Card Agreement and Introducing your Clarity Com- mitment TM." I could hardly wait to see what was clearly in store for us in 2010. Although it sounded like the bank was going to commit itself to more clarity, based on recent bank history, I was unsure what to expect. After all, part of the recent financial mess was caused by banks and loan salespeople clearly stating their borrowers were clear- ly capable of paying off the loans they were granting them; however, there must have been some unclar- ity on the part of the banks, the bor- rowers, or the banking regulators; perhaps, I thought, the banks are now willing to let people know just how risky their loans might be, how much interest is possible if only minimum payments are made, and what the consequences of late or non payments might be. In fact the banks and other lenders must have caused so much "non-clarity" new legislation in California for 2010 makes it illegal for them to mislead borrowers or to mislead lenders about the borrower's ability to pay; these are practices that do not lead to fiscal stability. While they may have been unethical until this year, now they are illegal in California. Fur- thermore, the federal government is trying to get some money from Bank of America about its unclarity regarding losses and bonuses sev- eral months ago. So I was a bit sur- prised that the first two things the bank tells us are: the Annual Percentage Rates (APR) on existing balances can only be raised if you do not make your minimum monthly payment within 60 days of the payment due date. And the second item is: We can also increase your Annual Per- centage Rates for future transac- tions even if you are not 60 days late. I am not sure who proofed this letter, either the Green Bay or the Phoenix office, but clearly some- one at Bank of America has not grasped what "clarity" and a "com- mitment to clarity" mean. It may be that at one office or the other, it means whatever they want it to mean. It seems clear to me that I am supposed to understand the terms and conditions for my credit card will retain as much arbitrari- ness as the bank can muster. Then the bank tells me I will not be charged a fee for exceeding my credit limit. The letter adds that any transaction that could cause me to exceed my credit limit could be declined. Two things occurred to me when I read that. Is the bank saying that prior to now it let excess charges though? Why would a conservative fiscal institution allow that? Is this their way to say we need to be more responsible with credit cards or that they are going to be more responsible? Or is this a cover up of some other unclarity? We were told that any amounts you pay over the minimum pay- ment will now be used to pay down the balance with the highest Annual Percentage rate first. It sounds like the bank has been paying off the lowest interest rates first, which must have been good for them, but certainly not for all of us. To this reader, the bank's letter could be construed as an admission of sin, yet nowhere does the bank make such a confession, nor does it make a clear commitment to expressing any regret for its prior unclarity with us, an unclarity which will end when the new law takes effect on Feb. 13, 2010. It must have been very difficult for them to wait that long. You have to admire their patience. Joe Harrop is a retired educator with more than 30 years of service to the North State. He can be reached at DrJoeHarrop@sbcglobal.net. You can count on your bank to count on you Commentary N EWS D AILY RED BLUFF TEHAMA COUNTY T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U N T Y S I N C E 1 8 8 5 Joe Harrop STATE ASSEMBLYMAN — Jim Nielsen (R), State Capitol Bldg., Room 4164 P.O. Box 942849, Sacramento 94249; (916) 319-2002; Fax (916) 319- 2102 STATE SENATOR — Sam Aanestad (R), State Capitol Bldg., Room 2054, Sacramen- to, CA 95814. (916) 651-4004; Fax (916) 445-7750 GOVERNOR — Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), State Capitol Bldg., Sacramento, CA 95814; (916) 445-2841; Fax (916) 558-3160; E-mail: gover- nor@governor.ca.gov. U.S. REPRESENTATIVE — Wally Herger (R), 2635 Forest Ave. Ste. 100, Chico, CA 95928; 893-8363. U.S. SENATORS — Dianne Feinstein (D), One Post Street, Suite 2450, San Francisco, CA 94104; (415) 393-0707. Fax (415) 393-0710. Barbara Boxer (D), 1700 Montgomery St., Suite 240, San Francisco, CA 94111; (415) 403-0100. Fax (202) 224- 0454. Your officials California's budget crisis has impacted every level of govern- ment: state, county, and city. Painful cuts have been and will continue to be made in all areas. Inevitably up and down the state, counties and local govern- ments are looking at another year of reduced budgets and additional cuts. Unfortunately, the governor cites the budget crisis as the need to make tough choices. Communities need to know that the effect of this proposal is to unwisely dump state prison inmates into county jails that are not able to safely accommodate the increased population. In addition, AB 900, which was supposed to increase capacity and reentry planning for inmates' return to the communi- ty, is bogged down in bureau- cratic red tape and cumbersome processes, and has not yet result- ed in a single new county jail bed or reentry facility being opened. The governor's budget proposal dumps inmates from overcrowded prisons into over- crowded jails with no solution contemplated. On Jan. 25, SBX3 18 takes effect. This measure increases sentencing credits for jail inmates, creates "summary parole" (unsupervised parole), and will require what would have previously been parole vio- lators to now face new prosecu- tion and increased time in coun- ty jail rather than return to state prison custody (without benefit of daily jail rate paid to counties to hold parole violators). Taken together, these changes and pro- posals will put further strain on county jails and on local public safety in general. Currently, 32 county jails are under court ordered population caps and other county jails are forced to implement early releases to alleviate overcrowd- ing issues. In Tehama County, I'm proud to say that due to sound management, conserva- tive budgeting and innovative ideas over the past 11 years, we do not have a court ordered cap and we do not have to release inmates early. However, if the current budget proposal is approved as is, all 58 counties will be faced with severe over- crowding and early releases will take place. In February of 2009, local public safety programs switched to be funded by a modest increase in the Vehicle License Fee (VLF). VLF was projected to replace General Fund support for COPS on the street; jails; district attorneys for prosecutions; juve- nile justice programs; booking fees and m e t h a m p h e t a m i n e interdiction programs. Since February, rev- enues have been well under projections. Even after years of cuts to these programs, VLF to local public safety is down as much as 27 percent per quarter from what was project- ed. What's worse, the VLF authorization for local public safety is set to expire in June 2011. Police, sheriffs, district attor- neys and probation departments are being asked to implement sweeping new policy changes against the backdrop of declin- ing and expiring revenue sources like VLF. Dumping state prison inmates into this mix exacerbates an already unstable situation for local pub- lic safety agencies and creates increased concern about public safety in our commu- nities. California State Sheriffs' Association has historically worked in a coopera- tive and collegial man- ner with the governor and legislature and we expect to continue that stance this year. How- ever, we are increas- ingly concerned about proposals related to parole, county jails and increased local responsibility at a time when we are struggling to fund and manage our current responsibilities and inmate populations. We urge very careful scrutiny of these proposals and that you weigh fis- cal benefit against public safety impact before making further changes this year. Clay Parker is Tehama County sheriff. How the governor's budget affects public safety Clay Parker