Last week, USA Today ran a story about how leaders of the American Postal Workers Union are outraged about a pilot program that the U.S. Postal Service is testing in four states. The Postal Service has arranged for the installation of 84 postal counters to operate within Staples office supply stores in California, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts.
You may have heard of bitcoins, a digital currency that is being used by various individuals to purchase items on the Internet. There are a lot of people who think that the adoption and use of bitcoins is a solution to some of the problems caused by the runaway creation of money by various governments throughout the world. I have my doubts about the viability of this so-called new form of money. Here’s how Wikipedia describes Bitcoin:
When I was growing up in the 1960’s, it was a common practice to give a young boy or girl a piggy bank as a birthday present. Parents routinely gave piggy banks to their children and then repeatedly reminded them to “put your money in your bank.” Ask any boy or girl today what a piggy bank is and the only response you’ll get will most likely be a blank stare. Of course, they would be able to give you a detailed description of Lady Gaga and tell you what an iPad is, but they wouldn’t have a clue as to what a piggy bank is.
Last week a woman that I know called my office in tears. She and her husband are solid Catholics who are doing their best to raise their children as good Catholics and productive members of society. Although they both have full time jobs, they’ve been having financial problems for the last couple of years. About five or six months ago, one of the banks they owe money to filed a lawsuit against them. The bank is now in the process of seizing some of their assets. When the woman called she was in a state of panic. (She should have called me a year ago, but like most people, she put it off because she thought they could work things out on their own.)