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How to bring down the System

Bruce Krasting's picture




 

There are a lot of angry people out there. I see it every day in my
writing. All you have to do is look at the comments at a site like Zero
Hedge to realize that fact. To some extent you saw this in the last
election. Those who vote (less than half the population) sent a message
and as a result there has been a significant change in the political
landscape.

But what do the voters get for sending the message? A slap in the face.
A few weeks later we get a monster tax break for high end earners, a
roll over of the tax treatment for hedge fund mangers (just obscene),
another $120 billion “stimulus” that won’t do a damn thing but add to
the debt and an extension of unemployment payment for yet another year
(now three years!)

If you pay bills (who doesn’t) you know that all banks, credit card
companies, utilities, insurance companies and all the others are just
nickel and diming us to death. Every month I am nicked for some damn
thing or the other. I think the FinReg rules that were supposed to
protect the average Jane or Joe actually just codified what the bastards
could charge. As a result we get hit with new fees, charges and higher
costs.

The very frustrating part of all this is that there is not a thing you
can do about it. Go write you congressperson, you’re lucky to get a form
response. Get on the phone to your CC provider and bitch over a $25
late charge on a $15 balance? Good luck.

I have been doing something for the past few months that might send a
message. If I continued for the next hundred years it would not make a
dent. If a hundred thousand did as I am doing it would be noticed but
still wouldn’t mean a thing. But if the number got into the millions it
would start to make a difference.

I have been sending 1 cent more than what is due on every bill that I
get. Citi sends a CC balance of $134.82? I send them $134.83.

I have a small sample of about 30 bills that I have been doing this
with. Well more than half get it right. On the next month CC bill you
get the Prior Balance as (-0.01). What this means is that a real person
actually got the bill and the check (or electronic payment) and made the
correct entry and gives you the once cent credit you deserve. This
result should not be surprising as people make incorrect payment amounts
all the time. What I am trying to do is force more human intervention.
That is time and money.

I paid a six-month insurance bill and added a penny to what was owed. So
far I have two letters that show the credit. How much does two computer
generated letters cost? At least a dollar a pop. There is no better
measure of success of my approach than to get a letter like this.

More exciting are the bills that do not pick up the one-cent variance.
When this happens your penny is lost. It will show up in an Exception
Report. Some computer recognizes that there is a penny that is not
properly accounted for. I assume that this happens (accidentally)
thousands of times a day. But what would happen if the number of
Exceptions all of sudden exploded to 20-50 million a month? Once again,
this would force humans to get involved.

The cost of this social protest is very minimal. Say you get 4 bills a
month. 48 pennies a year is the maximum cost. Based on my experience the
net cost would only be 20 cents or so. But the rewards on the 20 cents
just keep on giving. Every month after you can see the results. Either
they do it right or wrong. Either way there is an incremental cost. Your
penny is gumming up the system.

What if 10mm people did this on a regular basis? That would be a half
billion one-penny exceptions a year. If just one in ten resulted in an
“exception” it would mean that there would be an incremental cost
someplace of at least $50 million. In my dream world 25mm people would
do this and get just two letters a year as a result. Cost of that? Who
knows? It would imply 1.2 billion exceptions a year. That would be
noticed. (It would blow their collective minds if this started to
happen)

So if you’re mad at the system and want some revenge send an extra penny
to your friends at the gas-company, electric company, insurer, bank, CC
company, etc. I highly recommend it. The cost is negligible. Yes, it is
true that this form of protest will accomplish very little unless it
catches on like a fad. But should you get (as have I) some evidence that
your lousy penny is in fact causing someone someplace to spend time and
money trying to figure it all out you will beam with happiness at your
success. I am.

 

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Fri, 12/31/2010 - 22:57 | 840980 Tsukato
Tsukato's picture

Finally! sOMEONE WITH A REAL IDEA! Thank you!!!

Sat, 01/01/2011 - 13:12 | 841538 signalfire
signalfire's picture

A guillotine on every corner.  A noose hanging from the lamp post in front of every bank, mysteriously re-curring every morning.  Make 'em think, REALLY THINK, about what they do for a living and who might possibly be getting kinda angry.

Fri, 12/31/2010 - 20:37 | 840807 FatFingered
FatFingered's picture

Psssswwt.  I am taking this idea one step further and sending one FRN with every bill I send out.  What the hell will they do with dat?  Freaking freak out, that's what.  Thanks for the idea BK.

Sat, 01/01/2011 - 00:35 | 841114 sskid
sskid's picture

Steal it, that's what.

Fri, 12/31/2010 - 23:13 | 841006 Revolution_star...
Revolution_starts_now's picture

wouldn't one dollar short be better? be a pain in the ass.

Fri, 12/31/2010 - 20:41 | 840810 FatFingered
FatFingered's picture

BTW...my previous method, for the banks, was to call each and every one of them up and complain as long as they would listen.  I think I will continue this stealth strategy too.

Fri, 12/31/2010 - 20:30 | 840791 Revolution_star...
Revolution_starts_now's picture

"How to bring down the System"

Nope that will be a trend of the shadow market. Under the table will be through the roof. Underground brings them down.

Fri, 12/31/2010 - 20:21 | 840777 TheGoodDoctor
TheGoodDoctor's picture

Jesus get it right. Everyone thinks it is three years for unemployment. It's not. 99 weeks max. Show me differently it is simply not true.

Unless the Fed is devaluing years now. LOL.

Fri, 12/31/2010 - 20:11 | 840764 Bruce Krasting
Bruce Krasting's picture

I had a great year posting these missives at Zero Hedge. I want to thank all of you readers/participants. I particularly want to thank all the folks at Zero Hedge that made it possible.

To All. A very good new year!

Bruce Krasting

 

Thanks for all these comments. Both those in favor and those that think I'm nuts.

I regret the title. I assure you that if this "mischief" happened on a broad scale it would not bring down the system as I suggested.

As many (and I) pointed out payment errors are very common. Most of the pennies would go through the computers without a consequence. But as many others have pointed out once a penny or two is "out there" as an open item it drives the computers nuts.

The argument is that this would just increase costs that would be passed to consumers. I'm not so sure about that. If it went on for a few years that would probably be the case. In my perfect world this would catch on and in six months you would see an article in the NY Times. (I think I had the "perfect world" once, back in 57...)

Another argument is that is just burns paper/trees. Yes it does. It also burns computer storage, postage and man hours. So I argue there is some trade off. Most of this stuff is electronic.

Is there nothing we can do? Can we send the message a different way? Should we just roll over and just take the beating? I'm open to suggestions. In the meantime I am sending extra pennies.

 

 

Fri, 12/31/2010 - 22:55 | 840974 Tsukato
Tsukato's picture

Hi Bruce, thanks for wasting my time with this drivel. You need to pull ur head outta yur ass, and realised that these, sanitised, mealy mouthed, weak assed, "pranks" are a waste of fucking time. Please, take yer carefully parted hair, line of thinking, and go post this bullshit where it will be appreciated. Somewhere like Ladies Journal, or Readers Digest. Your ideas are fucking ridiculous, and I will hazzard to say, you, and people like you, are the fucking problem. Its hard enough to get through at all to the sleeping masses, and rile them up to do anything. Pieces of rubbish like this, put the effort back 30 years. Go back to sleep you fucking spineless girl-boy!

Sun, 01/02/2011 - 00:21 | 842207 Bruce Krasting
Bruce Krasting's picture

Tsukato. Actually you are wasting my time. How many dumb comments have you made on this thread?

Find someplace else to blow off your steam. Better yet. Write a blog and post it someplace so we can all see how thoughtful you are. Loser.

Sun, 01/02/2011 - 01:36 | 842284 Tsukato
Tsukato's picture

HAHA! Sorry Brusie! I was just in a dour mood. Your tips on bringing down the system are real rebellious. The time it took you to think up this crafty idea, and write it down for us, was really time well spent. By the way, I like your picture. You look like a very responsible, busy, and successful, GO-GETTER. Nice hair, and tight glasses too. Keep rockin the boat Che. HAHAHAHAHA!!!!! Dick smoking bitch!

Fri, 12/31/2010 - 21:12 | 840849 Mad Mad Woman
Mad Mad Woman's picture

Thank you Bruce.  Have a great & happy 2011.

Fri, 12/31/2010 - 19:59 | 840738 Obiwan
Obiwan's picture

While I appreciate the spirit of the "penny" idea, there is a much more effective and properly targeted tack.

All of us should convince the peope we know to stop using the big banks and go with local community banks. 

If we do a good job educating our friends, they will be inclinded to do likewise with people they know.

I am speaking from experience, it works. 

If enough poeple did just this, the big bank parasites would go down.

Sat, 01/01/2011 - 04:49 | 841297 chumbawamba
chumbawamba's picture

Even community banks are still part of the Federal Reserve System.  You're still dealing with Satan.

I have an account with a local community bank but even then I keep my account as empty as possible.  I only use it as a convenient way to cash checks, for the occasional ATM withdrawal, and to pay some bills online.  Otherwise, it's all cash.

And soon (perhaps), only coin.

I am Chumbawamba.

Fri, 12/31/2010 - 19:37 | 840703 Hannibal
Hannibal's picture

Why not just max out all of your credit cards (fico scores are designed to keep you the chump consumer by the balls) and stick it to the banks by paying a mere $1.11 or 1.09 etc. each month. Cancel all of your insurance policies. Keep just minimum cash in the bank and lets see who got who really by the balls...eh!

 

Fri, 12/31/2010 - 23:42 | 841048 honestann
honestann's picture

Exactly the right kind of idea.

They fight asymmetrical economic war against us every day.  Hell, their main weapon is the "corporation", a "fictitious entities" that hides the real human predators who lie, cheat, steal, defraud, destroy and enslave us all.  They do this so we don't know where to go, or who to shoot for their endless crimes.  That is massive asymmetric warfare against all honest, ethical, productive human beings.

The only way to fight such massively unbalanced asymmetrical warfare (economic or otherwise) is by finded and practicing even more leveraged, more asymmetrical techniques against them.

If everyone did what you suggest... they're toast.

Fri, 12/31/2010 - 19:33 | 840698 RalfMalf
RalfMalf's picture

Bruce,

I did this a few years back. In school I needed a few extra bucks to get by (worked 40hrs per week while going to FT undergrad).  I took one of those "check in the mail" loans and signed it - not a lot of choices at the time, hated to do it, and paid it back as quickly as possible.

With the final pmt I sent 25 cents more than was necessary.

I think I received letters and checks from them for the 25 cents for something like 1.5 years (DEFINITELY at least 12 months).  I would never cash the checks. 

Totally worth it on my end - still makes me feel good (boy do I need a life).

 

 

 

Fri, 12/31/2010 - 18:29 | 840572 topcallingtroll
topcallingtroll's picture

I believe that Romans welcomed the final fall of Rome to that German barbarian what's his name. They were tired of the system too. However they lost their sewer system for about 500 years, and the city dropped to a population of about thirty thousand for the next hundred years after the Roman system fell apart. I'm not so convinced that many of you who have plenty to eat and have air conditioning in the summer are aware of what a true system collapse looks like. We may have problems in our system, but the fact that most of you have the leisure and the money to spend time on the internet indicates to me that you are probably much better off now than if the system collapses. System collapses don't evolve into warm fuzzy socialist egalitarian governments. Oligarchy and dictatorship are the usual results, and the poor people are hurt the most.

Sat, 01/01/2011 - 04:43 | 841295 chumbawamba
chumbawamba's picture

Cool, bring it.  I'd rather take my chances in a societal collapse than be made a legal prey in a world of superlegal predators.

I am Chumbawamba.

Fri, 12/31/2010 - 20:29 | 840787 Dugald
Dugald's picture

A truth that many will not wish to face up to.

Fri, 12/31/2010 - 23:46 | 841052 honestann
honestann's picture

The masses of human waste have been well trained to deny reality, even after they're living in it.  Hell, just look what people believe and do today!  Boy are people gonna be surprised when the real collapse comes.  They'll still deny the truth, but they'll need to hide under their beds to even pretend everything is okay, or will be okay soon, or will be okay... ever.

Fri, 12/31/2010 - 18:22 | 840554 Trader7
Trader7's picture

I for one do not want to "break the system" and then live in a social morass of chaos and anarchy. I first heard of slightly overpaying your bills in the early 70s. The idea was to gum up the works by having the amount you paid not match the punchcard. It seemed a cool way to thumb ones nose at the utility company, but then again, I was 13 and lots of things seemed cool then that no longer are. I see people on this forum saying to stop paying your mortgage. What kind of person does that? There would not even exist lending institutions if most people thought like that. A mortgage is a business arrangement one willingly enters into. There is no codicil that says you can stop paying if your house fails to appreciete. If you break your mortgage agreement while you actually have the income to make the payment, you are a dishonest person, and not worth doing business with.

Sat, 01/01/2011 - 00:46 | 841125 Rotwang
Rotwang's picture

I guess you conveniently choose to forget that part of the business arrangement where the loan/obligation was fully secured by the interest in the underlying property, and when circumstance dictates, you choose to whine when the security is delivered in full per the agreement.

Fri, 12/31/2010 - 23:55 | 841061 honestann
honestann's picture

What kind of person stops paying their mortgage?  Are you serious?  That's so easy to understand, so I'll explain it.

In a world where you borrow the hard-earned savings of another productive human being... you never stop paying your mortgate - you find a way, any way if necessary, to keep paying it.

In a world where some criminal cartel simply changes the 0s and 1s in the computer memory in your bank to "credit your account" for $300,000 so you can buy that house you want... then takes all the interest on the so-called "loans" that you and thousands or millions of others "borrowed" and becomes filthy, filthy rich without ever producing one single thing in their entire lives... then you freaking well stop paying your fraudulant so-called mortgage any freaking time you wish.  And since the house you "bought" is the collatoral and guarantee of that loan, according to the agreement written by the so-called "lender", you do not feel one tiny bit guilty as you wait for months or years in your house for the normal legal process (that they created via their lobbyists) to play out, and lead to your removal from their house.

Morons like you believe you have sound ethics and morals, but in fact, people like you are the reason the predators rule the earth... because you cannot see through the smoke-and-mirror lies they spew.

You totally ignore the difference between borrowing real, physical gold money earned from years of honest, ethical, diligent work by a real, living, breathing, and productive human being... versus... totally bogus scams perpetrated by the most egregiously destructive, non-productive, unethical slime the world has ever known.  And you defend who?  The predators.  The slime.

Wake up!

Sat, 01/01/2011 - 04:41 | 841294 chumbawamba
chumbawamba's picture

Haha!  He junked you.

I am Chumbawamba.

Sat, 01/01/2011 - 18:40 | 841864 Terminus C
Terminus C's picture

Yay, lag DP, my first ever... I feel so special.

Sat, 01/01/2011 - 18:34 | 841856 Terminus C
Terminus C's picture

Some people just cannot see reality... When it is demonstrated to them, they get angry.

Fri, 12/31/2010 - 21:11 | 840845 Mad Mad Woman
Mad Mad Woman's picture

Relax. We are just blowing off steam here and getting a few laughs at some of these ideas.

Fri, 12/31/2010 - 19:02 | 840640 penisouraus erecti
penisouraus erecti's picture

+

Fri, 12/31/2010 - 18:14 | 840534 snowball777
snowball777's picture

This works with your bank(s)...and you can use the biz reply envelopes from the other guys (who likely bought your name from your bank anyway) to mail each one of them a random item you couldn't sell on e-bay.

 

Fri, 12/31/2010 - 18:03 | 840515 flacorps
flacorps's picture

This reminds me of Lily Tomlin's suggestion back in the era of bills that came on IBM punchcards ... she wanted people to wet the punchcards and iron them so that they would shrink slightly.

For my part, I have written a book that helps people who have defaulted debt in their lives pay as little as possible (or nothing at all) on that debt without the necessity of using the bankruptcy system, which is twice as hard to use as it once was and provides half the relief.

Nothing hurts the institutions worse than defaulters, and defaulters who eschew using bankruptcy and getting back on the debt treadmill hurt them even worse.

Sat, 01/01/2011 - 04:38 | 841293 chumbawamba
chumbawamba's picture

Title, please.

:)

Sat, 01/01/2011 - 09:12 | 841372 flacorps
flacorps's picture

Debt Hope: Down and Dirty Survival Strategies

Fri, 12/31/2010 - 17:52 | 840486 dark_matter
dark_matter's picture

Always pay by check and sign your checks with a glue stick with glitter sprinkled on top. Scanning machines should love that.

Fri, 12/31/2010 - 23:58 | 841066 honestann
honestann's picture

All that glitters is not gold?  Hahahah.

Fri, 12/31/2010 - 21:07 | 840842 Mad Mad Woman
Mad Mad Woman's picture

LMAO      That's a good one. All that glitter stuff will eventually gum up the machine.

Fri, 12/31/2010 - 17:46 | 840465 penisouraus erecti
penisouraus erecti's picture

Not sure what this would accomplish, except raise costs to consumers, and/or generate  regs enabling these entities to charge even more fees for erroneous amounts?

Fri, 12/31/2010 - 17:14 | 840381 Internet Tough Guy
Internet Tough Guy's picture

If you fill in the circles on the MICR line (the numbers on the bottom of your payment stub) the machine can't optically read it. It gets rejected and a human has to enter the information. That costs money...just saying.

Fri, 12/31/2010 - 21:06 | 840839 Mad Mad Woman
Mad Mad Woman's picture

I like that idea & the staple in the MICR line.

Fri, 12/31/2010 - 17:03 | 840350 MiningJunkie
MiningJunkie's picture

Please forgive stupid fucking double post...

Fri, 12/31/2010 - 17:03 | 840348 MiningJunkie
MiningJunkie's picture

What a stupid fucking idea...total waste of time and effort.

Fri, 12/31/2010 - 17:01 | 840345 LeBalance
LeBalance's picture

Golly...

Will any extra corporate costs be not passed on to the consumer?

So who is that !!!!!! that added all these nuisance fees to my cheap service!

They certainly did get passed right down the line.

????????????????

Fri, 12/31/2010 - 16:59 | 840336 Miles Kendig
Miles Kendig's picture

I got a check for .03c when I closed an account   :)

Make the systems work outside of established parameters and send the love back, .01c at a time ... At least until it becomes expected, then withhold it as a negative cash flow projection.

Fri, 12/31/2010 - 16:49 | 840318 malek
malek's picture

Bruce, you are not starving the monster, you are feeding it with that approach.

Our system is dying of complexity, but your feeble attempt will not destroy it by overload... instead in the medium term it will burn more money to get the penny problem under control. Money that will somehow be charged to YOU.

Try something to reduce overall use of complexity!

Fri, 12/31/2010 - 19:24 | 840674 super elite
super elite's picture

Can those of us who agree that complexity is the problem get together and create a simpler system? Anyone have any suggestions besides competivism?

Sat, 01/01/2011 - 00:03 | 841071 honestann
honestann's picture

Simplicity is certianly better than complexity, but it is most certainly not complexity that is the problem.  The problem is the current system composed of:

the predators-that-be
the predators
the parasites

... versus ...

the producers

Until the producers "just say no"... and stick to that, they will be sucked dry by the ever-increasing hoard of predators, and parasites who vote for predators.

In theory, this is easy.  In practice, productive humans have become soooo dumb, soooo misled, soooo confused, soooo brainwashed, sooo braindamaged, and soooo intimidated... that they are like deer caught in the headlights - disabled and incapable of defending themselves, which only requires they "just say no"... then stick to that.

Human Beings : RIP : a herd of total loser sheep.

Tue, 01/04/2011 - 03:12 | 845977 malek
malek's picture

You have just demonstrated in your own words why complexity is the problem.

Even saying no requires understanding the situation, especially is everybody else around you is saying yes.

Are the people really that more dumb than, say, 50 years ago? Or hasn't the complexity (and number) of problems thrown at them increased all the time? And every person has a level where his intellect cannot keep up anymore, and that one can only be raised very slowly (if at all).

Fri, 12/31/2010 - 16:42 | 840308 DB Cooper
DB Cooper's picture

I nominate Bruce as head of the Mischief Committee.

Fri, 12/31/2010 - 16:34 | 840288 Monday1929
Monday1929's picture

I believe the brick is from Abby Hoffman's "Steal This Book".

Funny how the "international economic crime wave" has radicalized even former Wall Street traders.

Fascism will do that. And Banker welfare queens sucking at the publics teat while soiling their diapers. Little Jamie Dimon needs changing now, he shit himself.

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