Michiganders To Work For Welfare

[SquidInk]

Example of 'perverse incentive':

I was at one time contemplating starting a used car company specializing in the sale of very nice 'muscle cars'. I owned 5 already, but needed a car with extra 'eyeball' to set it all in motion.

I found the perfect car. I had 85% of the cash required to buy it, so I went to the local bank where I had kept an account for 15 years. They said no way to the loan, even though I brought in the flyer they had mailed me advertising their awesome used car loans.

I returned later with documentation proving that the car in question (1970 Challenger, 440 sixpac, 4spd, #'s matching) would be rising in value for years to come, and that if they had to repo the car they would make big money. They still said no.

I then asked about a Honda Accord, two years old. I told them I had 5% down and needed the rest. They actually said yes to that deal - a sure loser if they have to repo. I asked the branch manager to explain this policy. He simply shrugged and said we can't loan on a car over 25 years old.

Today the Challenger is worth three times what I was going to pay, and the Accord is in the junkyard. The bank was sold, and that branch manager is f*cking up in some other cubicle somewhere.

It's a no win. Welfare sounds pretty good.

[voguy]

((snip))I simply want to provide low cost interstate transport for pets who are about to be killed due to lack of space/funds. However, if I need to accept donations, or apply for private sector grants, I have no choice. The process is maddening.((snip))

The way one group got around this was for "friends" of the shelter to solicit Walmart and other pet stores for donation of stock, then they would re-donate them to the shelter. No money trading hands. And a coordinated effort by "friends" to hit various stores in a 50 mile radius did/does not raise the ire of officials because it's not that much. It works for them, and has for 14 years.