The boys arrived back from their graduation trip, but missed their connecting flight in Philly, which seems to be the rule rather than the exception for U.S. Airways. They were able to get on a later flight — to Los Angeles though, not Orange County — so the parents drove out to pick them up at LAX at 11:45 p.m. “We should sue the airline,” one of the moms said. “That’s a good idea,” I replied, not because I thought it was a good idea, but because I wanted to hear the plan. “Five sets of parents have to drive all the way to Los Angeles,” she said. “Gas is expensive! Then there’s punitive damages. Frustration. Loss of income.” “How is there a loss of income?” “Some parents might have to work at night. You don’t know.” “How much do you think we should get — a million dollars?” “No,”… Read more →
EppsNet Archive: Money
What Happened to the Hippies? Where Are They?
On behalf of UC Berkeley we are sending this message to Cal families to update you on recent news regarding the 2011-12 tuition . . . A 9.6 PERCENT TUITION INCREASE!? I THOUGHT YOU WERE A BUNCH OF GODDAMN HIPPIES WHO DON’T CARE ABOUT MONEY! Read more →
Opting Out
What we need is competition and a chance for people to opt out of the system. You talk about opting out of ObamaCare? Why can’t we opt out of the whole system and take care of ourselves? — Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) That’s a great question that I’ve wondered about for many years. For example, why can’t people opt out of Social Security? It seems to be in pretty bad shape. Why can’t I say to the government, “Do not take any Social Security deductions from my income. Let me keep all that money, and when I retire, you owe me nothing.” Why is that not an option? You might say, “Because you’ll screw it up. You’ll spend all the money now, and when you’re too old to work, you won’t have anything in the bank.” Why is that your problem? Read more →
All Politics is Local
California Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a state spending plan today (June 16) that would have deepened the cut in financial support for the University of California by another $150 million for the coming fiscal year. — University of California – UC Newsroom In principle, I like cuts in public education funding, but since I have a kid entering the University of California in the fall, I applaud Gov. Brown’s commitment to high-quality yet affordable education via the UC system. Read more →
Amazon’s $23,698,655.93 (Plus Shipping) Book About Flies
Via The Berkeley Blog: Read more →
Baggage Buddies: How to Save $3,500 on a Flight from OC to SF
A large group of kids from the music program at Northwood High School are traveling to San Francisco next week. Half are flying up on United and half are flying on Southwest. As you probably know, Southwest doesn’t charge for checked luggage. United does. Each kid on the United flight will give his or her suitcase to a “baggage buddy” on the Southwest flight. Each Southwest kid will check two bags while each United kid will check none. Using this arrangement on both legs of the trip cuts the travel cost by $3,500. Read more →
Wisconsin’s Smoking Gun
If you cut the pay of an overpaid worker, he’ll generally scream bloody murder. After all, overpaid workers like to stay overpaid. But if you cut the pay of a non-overpaid worker, you haven’t really damaged him. He just quietly leaves and gets a job elsewhere. After all, the ability to find a comparable job elsewhere is pretty much the definition of not being overpaid. Now how are the Wisconsin public workers reacting to projected pay and/or benefit cuts? As if the rug’s been pulled out from under them, that’s how. Every time a worker says “These cuts will cause me severe pain,” that worker is saying, in effect, “I can’t get anyone else to pay me at the level I’m accustomed to,” or, in briefer words, “I am overpaid!” So yes, they’re overpaid. And the louder they get, the surer you can be. — Steven Landsburg Read more →
The Worst Week Ever
According to MSN, Charlie Sheen just had the worst week ever. Yeah, all he’s got left is money, fame and hookers. My heart is breaking for this asshole. Read more →
More People I’m Sick Unto Death Of: Blue Man Group
Hey fellas — mime died out with Red Skelton. It doesn’t become entertaining again because you paint your head blue. I say to my kid, “You know what I would do if I owned the Blue Man Group concept is have multiple shows all over the world so I can make more money.” “You can’t do that,” he says. (It turns out they actually do do this, BTW.) “Why not? It’s not like going to see the Beatles, where people actually care who’s in the group. It’s more like going to see Lion King. Why would there be only one Lion King show?” “If you’re making more money, then I’d want you to pay me more money.” “Well, that’s the beauty of my idea, Clem Kadiddlehopper, because as I said, nobody cares about you. You want more money, you can take a hike. I’ll get another guy in here and… Read more →
Frugal Tip of the Day
Once you finish a fruit smoothie, the empty cup makes a nice air freshener for your car. Read more →
The Work is Its Own Reward
To make this point to my team members, I rip my pay envelope in half in front of them. Thank god for direct deposit . . . Read more →
Hope and Change
I well remember the last time the Republicans rode into town to get our fiscal house in order and curb the growth of government. That was in 1994. Twelve years later, when our Republican heroes were themselves ridden out of town, they still hadn’t managed to eliminate the goddamned National Endowment for the Arts. — Steven Landsburg Landsburg offers a few bits of advice to the newcomers. Maybe things will be different this time . . . Read more →
Twitter: 2010-09-12
RT @NikkiGlaser: Tell me I'm not the only one who has to get drunk to look at my checking account. # RT @eddiepepitone: Capitalism's last ad- "Since the nuclear devastation we are slashing prices! Everything Must Go!" # Read more →
Twitter: 2010-08-26
RT @eddiepepitone: Prophets of doom make 13 dollars an hour, life coaches 35 an hour. So who’s full of shit now? # RT @thesulk: “Who’s that actor?” “I don’t know, and I may never know.” (Watching TV Before the Internet) # RT @capricecrane: “Heidi Montag Wants Huge Breast Implants OUT.” She’s getting good at cutting giant boobs out of her life. # Related Articles Heidi Montag Regrets Breast Implants (mtv.com) Read more →
Living in Beverly Hills
LOS ANGELES — Donald Bren’s two out-of-wedlock children testified Monday in the fraud case they brought against their billionaire father that they didn’t lack any material things growing up in Beverly Hills, but that his absence in their lives made them feel angry, hurt and abandoned. — ocregister.com Hey kids, that feeling — is called “life.” Read more →
Twitter: 2010-08-05
RT @eddiepepitone: If everyone would just relax about death, love, finances and their legacy maybe we could enjoy a day or two. # RT @eddiepepitone: I have a message for all the murderers, thieves and other scum on twitter: please follow me. # Spent 15 minutes looking for my car in a parking lot before remembering I've got a loaner car today 🙁 # Read more →
Twitter: 2010-08-01
RT @eddiepepitone: If only there was a way 2 turn crushing debt, despair & horribly awkward interactions w/ people into lifelong happiness! # RT @SarahKSilverman: I try not to be as hard on myself as I am on other people. # Read more →
Too Rich to Live?
If Congress doesn’t change the law soon–and many experts think it won’t–the estate tax will come roaring back in 2011. On a $5 million estate, the tax consequence of dying a minute after midnight on Jan. 1, 2011 rather than two minutes earlier could be more than $2 million; on a $15 million estate, the difference could be about $8 million. — Too Rich to Live? – WSJ.com THANK GOD I DON’T HAVE 5 MILLION DOLLARS! I’d be sleeping with my eyes open from now till New Years, lest I meet my demise at the business end of a pillow stuffed in my face by a greedy heir. IT’S KILL OR BE KILLED NOW! Read more →
Signs That Things Aren’t Going Well
All your money is tied up in a pack of lifesavers. You think celebrities are fascinating. — Eddie Pepitone Read more →
Twitter: 2010-06-22
Name someone who has ever objected to profiting from the devotion of the faithful. Other than Jesus, I mean … # Read more →