Bait and Switch

Speed recording cameras mounted on pick-up trucks in work zones – an ingenious revenue generating vehicle.

Six months ago, signs went up in the beltway construction zone near my exit. Warning Signs adorned with orange flags announced: “Caution Work Zone, Speed Limit Radar Enforced.” The local paper even reported on this new clandestine ‘pick-up truck method’ of traffic enforcement.

The speed limit? 65 miles per hour. Ridiculous, I thought . With all the jersey walls and orange cones, how many people will be caught going 10 miles an hour over that limit. The rubbernecking alone will keep the traffic at a reasonable pace.

Little did I know a bait and switch was in the works. This week,
the signs have a slight alteration. The speed limit reads: 50
The reduced speed will be a safer work environment for the construction crews, but it may take a while for routine travelers
to notice the subtle difference.

More revenue for the county. Perhaps it will refill the budget deficit resulting from all the snow removal expenses this winter.

Economic Stimulus – Courtesy of Mother Nature

A recent Government Report out of Washington DC claims job market improvement may be slowing. Look out your window gentlemen. New jobs abound in the snow-ravaged mid-Atlantic!

Folks are still digging out from the storm of the century. Millions are being spent on snow removal. Anyone with a plow hitch, a back hoe or a shovel has new income opportunities.

BGE employees, past and present, are gainfully employed. Auto body shops are at full capacity. Bread, milk and toilet paper sales realized a significant jump (at least in snow-phobic Baltimore) as did salt, sand and cat litter.

As the great meltdown occurs, new job prospects arise. Plumbers, roofers and maintenance repair folks of all variety are hard at work on falling gutters, leaking roofs and flooded basements.

New employment opportunities will continue with pot hole repairs, sidewalk re-pointing and road resurfacing. Even arborists will have a full Spring calendar, trimming damaged trees and vegetation encroaching power lines.

As we brace for yet another run of the white stuff, don’t grumble. Remember, Mother Nature’s got her own economic stimulus plan.
It’s working its magic right here in Maryland.

New Year's Resolution: Read more junk mail.

Junk mail arrives more often than many wish. Stopping the flow of unsolicited mail can be more difficult than canceling a newspaper subscription. (See prior blogs.) Mail arrives routinely for past homeowners, even though I've lived here 6 years. Occasionally, mail arrives for my ex. We split 14 years ago and he has never lived at this address. Apparently the mail marketing gurus did not get the memo.

In early December a fancy letter arrived. “Thank you for transferring your portfolio to L____ M____. Please sign and return the enclosed confirmation to make your file complete.” I threw it in the trash. Who has not received one of these cleverly disguised replicas? I have no desire to change mortgage companies, banks or credit cards.

Yesterday, I lost $35,000. Seems one of my investment funds sold its portfolio to L___ M____ and closed my account. Three phone calls later, I had the money back. That was one harrowing hour.

Unsolicited mail delivery to my house arrives in bundles. I consider myself adept at quickly spotting and disposing of unwanted items. I don’t have time to read every piece of junk mail, but I can’t afford to lose $35,000 either.