49 Banks That Refund All ATM Fees

BANKS WITH UNLIMITED ATM REFUNDS NATIONWIDE, WITH NO OR MINIMAL RESTRICTIONS:
Acacia Federal Savings Bank No Fee Choice Checking
Unlimited, reimbursements post monthly

Charles Schwab High Yield Investor Checking
Unlimited; reimbursements post monthly

Community Bank of Pleasant Hill Rewards Checking
Unlimited; reimbursements post same day (rewards requirements do NOT need to be met)

Compass Bank
Unlimited, must mail in ATM receipts to get reimbursements

Ebank eFree Checking
Unlimited; reimbursements post same day

Etrade Max Rate Checking
Unlimited, monthly fee waived with $200 monthly direct deposit; reimbursements post same day

Fidelity mySmart Cash Checking
Unlimited; reimbursements post same day

First Republic Bank
Unlimited, requires $2,500 average balance to waive monthy fee

More details on http://consumerist.com/5115750/49-banks-that-refund-all-atm-fees

Crises Today and the Future of Capitalism

The seminar titled ‘Crises Today and the Future of Capitalism’ was organized by Institute of Social Science (ISS), Planning Commission (Government of India) and Swiss Agency for Development and Co-operation (SADC). The seminar was held on 20, December 2008 at Mavlankar Hall, Rafi Marg (near Planning Commission). The discussion started on a remark on the 9/11 event by George Matthew from ISS. He pointed out the problem with the Lehman Brothers case in the backdrop of the current recession being faced by the United States (U.S.). He informed the audience that Prof. Stiglitz’s area of research was on screening and asymmetric information. The importance of State cannot be rules out according to Stiglitz, he said. He also informed that Prof. Stiglitz worked on how coercive institutions of the State can be constrained.

The first point that Prof. Stiglitz said was that the world is facing depression. The problem is similar to the crisis that happened in the 1930s. He informed that what started in the United States (U.S.) has spread worldwide. He asked what is the nature, the consequences and the responses to the present economic crises. He emphasized upon the required reforms to tackle these kinds of crises. He said that the central banks are too much worried to curb inflation at the cost of growth and fiscal expansion. He asked for the need of better monetary policies. The crisis is similar to the Great Depression in the era of 1930s, he informed. 75 years back the banking system was relatively easier. Today, the banks are more into complex financial and business relations. The banks are more into gambling like buying derivatives, which is risky, Prof Stiglitz said. He emphasized upon the point that financial system is a means to an end for a steady and sustainable economy. The financial system should look at raising gross domestic product (GDP) and productivity. The banks in the U.S. did not mobilize savings. Instead, they created risks. There was a contradiction between private investments and social returns. The CEOs and management of these banks have walked out with the money that belonged to the society. The Central Bank took the credit of low inflation. There was no attention on the asset market. There existed loose monetary policy. It was the housing bubble that led to consumption boom. The savings rate in the US has gone down to zero. There is short sightedness in the policies pursued by the U.S. In the early 1990s, banks in the U.S. used to engage in securitization. There was under-estimation of the problem of price decline. Students of Stiglitz often forgot to understand the warnings that he delivered. The U.S. has sold many toxic mortgages to Europe in the past, Prof. Stiglitz informed. Diversifications of asset do not help in the time of recession. There is a notion that has cropped up, which is called self-regulation. But this thing would not work in the present scenario. The credit rating agencies need to be criticized. There is a need to understand the present macroeconomic problem. One has to understand the bubbles created by the U.S. economy in the past. The U.S. is facing both social and economic tragedy, according to Prof. Joseph Stiglitz. People do not have money to educate their children. But why bubbles?—asked Stiglitz. The reason: the Central Bank thinks there should be lesser regulations for achieving more economic growth. The U.S. in the past faced consumption led boom. The tax-cut for the rich Americans is a bad decision by Alan Greenspan. There is need to give tax-cut to the poor. President George Bush (junior) made a mistake to go for the Iraq war, according to Prof. Stiglitz. There was price associated with war, he informed. In the decade of 1970s, there was a depression. The import bills of the U.S. used to be high due to high value of petroleum and petro-products. Latin America used to survive just by borrowing, during those days. However, in the 1980s L. America faced poverty, recession and unemployment. In the present scenario one should mention that the problem started in August, 2007. The problem related to bail-outs should not be ruled out, he said. Almost 50 million Americans do not have health insurance. There was a Bill to ensure them health insurance. But it was due to President Bush the initiative never materialized because he vetoed the Bill. Recovery of the banking system is necessary but not sufficient. The U.S. is going to face national debt, Prof. Stiglitz informed. Fiscal responsibility in itself is not enough. He also talked about the case of Freddie Mac. He informed that initially AIG said that it owns a debt of US$ 20 billion but later it increased the amount to US$ 80 billion in order to get debt relief from the U.S. government. It is quite important that the money given for debt relief is spent well. In fact, the United Kingdom wanted such kind of regulation but it was the U.S. which opposed a mechanism for monitoring the spending of the money given as debt relief. Prof. Stiglitz informed that the trickle down policy is not working at all. It is good news that Obama has been elected as President. Obama has promised creation of 2.5 million jobs. But there is need for creating 8.0 million jobs because due to recession unemployment has increased. The banks have gambled enough. They have not kept their balance sheets well. If the US$ 700 billion is used to create new accountable institutions rather than supporting old, corrupt institutions, then that would have been good. The present crises would change the entire debate on sustaining capitalism. The World Bank and the IMF need to look at the problem in a different way. Probably, the Congress men have been bribed in the recent case of bail-outs, he alleged. There is need for regulations in the derivative market. The U.S. has privatized profits at the cost of social losses, which is against the basic theory of capitalism. In the economic classes, much is lectured on 19th century capitalism, rather than on 20th and 21st capitalism. Many Central Bankers were using excessively simpler models. The entire economics profession has failed. Today, everybody claims to be a Keynesian. But there are various kinds of Keynesians. Globalisation has failed because of pursuing failed economic ideology. The Washington Consensus has failed. People have not understood market failures. Money is leaving developing nations to the U.S., where the crisis is taking place. Globalisation is managed in an asymmetric way. India and China need not feel shy. The United Nation has some level of legitimacy. So, it has to be brought into the picture. The problem has to be solved at the global level. There is insufficiency in global effective/ aggregate demand. Many countries have learnt from the problem that happened in 1997. Money has gone to the people who do not have needs. There is need for regulatory arbitrage. The offshore secret banks need to be exposed. There are companies who evade taxes. The kind of lending, which the U.S. is giving is not fair. Corporations in the developing countries should have access to credit. There is need to address the governance problem. Capital outflows are taking place from the developing countries to the U.S. Not only global equity but also global stability is required. The fall of the Berlin wall indicates the end of Communism. There was problem with the Communist system. September 15, 2008 can be regarded as the defining moment of market fundamentalism. The invisible hand is invisible because it is not there at all. There is a need to make globalization work for all.

Mr. Somnath Chatterjee, Speaker, Parliament of India, thanked Prof. Stiglitz and said that the pitfalls of globalization need to be understood. He said that public sector banks in India are relatively more insulated from the current global crises. He said that there are needs for more regulations. He asked for more transparency and accountability in governance. He added that India pursued mixed economic planning in its early days after Independence in order to avoid the pitfalls of extreme communism and extreme free market.

Americans Struggle With The Concept Of Spending Less Than They Earn

These are some quotes from people who are repentant now.

"We live in a small town, and everybody looks at your clothes and what you drive and where you have your hair done," said Ms. Gamble, who earns about $2,600 a month as a grievance counselor at a local prison.

Now, she and her husband — a prison guard who brings home $2,000 a month — are grappling with $10,000 in high-interest debt. They no longer go to the movies or out to eat, except occasionally to McDonald's. They quit their Internet service. Their car was repossessed. "What we say now is, 'If we can't afford it, we can't buy it,' " Ms. Gamble said.

I want to dig into some old stats related to American savings. Americans are spending more than they are earning, pushing the national savings rate to lows not seen since the Great Depression. The Commerce Department released a report saying that personal savings fell to a negative 0.5% in 2005.

This means that people spent everything they earned and more. This is the third time that the savings rate has been negative, the previous two times were both during the Great Depression in 1932 and 1933. The savings rate has been declining since 1984 when it stood at 10.8%, in 2004 it was 1.8%.

One more repentant..

Fran Barbaro has an M.B.A. and a résumé of computer industry jobs with salaries reaching $150,000 a year. She used to have a stock portfolio worth about $1 million. She hung original art on the walls of her three-bedroom house in Boston.
But divorce, illness and motherhood drained her savings. Her home is worth less than she owes, and she owes another $200,000 to credit card companies, banks and tax collectors.

Ms. Barbaro, 50, said she knew she was living beyond her means. But her house demanded work. Her two boys needed after-school programs running $25,000 a year. Medical bills multiplied.

"These were simple day-to-day expenses," she said. "The money was always there."

Until it wasn't. Her take-home pay is $5,200 a month, but her debt payments reach $4,400.

Top 10 Reasons People Spend More Than They Earn

Rule #1 of financial freedom is spending less than you earn. If you can’t do that, you’ll never be financially successful no matter how hard you work, how many hours you put in, how many promotions you receive, or how much money you make.

It’s a simple rule, and most would consider it common sense. But, the U.S. has a negative savings rate, meaning this common sense rule may not be so common place. I recently saw a statistic that claimed that about 43% of American families spend more than they earn each year.

It’s helpful to understand why people over spend, and be aware of any that might apply to you.

10.Keeping up with the Jones’ - Psychology plays a big role in our spending habits. We want to feel as successful or more successful than those around us. We spend a lot of money to keep up that image. The reality is, the neighbors probably can’t afford that new boat either.

9. Avoiding the truth - It’s easy to overspend when you don’t keep tabs on how much you have. People will go for years unaware of their true financial situation because they’re afraid to look at what kind of mess they are in. It’s easier (temporarily) to just avoid it. They’ll pay their minimums and add new credit cards as necessary ignoring the growing debt total.

8. Counting the chickens before they hatch - In National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, Clark Griswold made a large down-payment on his swimming pool expecting that his upcoming Christmas bonus would cover it. Instead, he was enrolled in a Jelly of the Month club. We are often similarly optimistic about incoming money. It’s spent before it’s received, and it’s often not as much as was expected nor received when expected.

7. Plastic doesn’t feel like real money - It’s common to spend more when using credit cards than cash. The experience of hading over a card that you get back is just not the same as handing over some cold hard cash and seeing it disappear.

6. Immediate gratification - It’s all around us. We’re bombarded with the immediate gratification mentality. “Instant pain relief”, “fast food”, “on demand video”, and the big financial one, “buy now, pay later”. We’re too used to getting what we want now even if we don’t know how we’ll pay later.

5. Lifestyle maintenance - Most people increase their expenses as quickly as they increase their income. The same cannot be said for decreases in income. Once we become accustomed to a certain lifestyle, it’s pretty difficult to cut back, even if our financial situation changes for the worse.

4. Poor as a child - Whether they’re trying to make up for their deprivation as a child, a fear of money being taken away that isn’t spent immediately, or a lack of financial understanding, being poor as a child is an often used excuse of overspending adults.

3. Sense of power - Spending money actually makes some people feel powerful. The more they spend, the more powerful they feel, and the only way to get that rush is to spend more money.

2. Prove self worth - Buying that fancy new car proves you are somebody, right? For some people spending makes them feel like they are worth something to the world.

1. Can’t say no - Some people feel like a failure when they can’t meet the wants of others. Whether it’s new toys for the kids, new outfit for the spouse, or a night out with the friends, some people just can’t say no, even when they can’t afford to say yes.