The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

What were your best and worst consumer experiences this week?

What were your best and worst consumer experiences this week?

Which consumer experiences cheered you recently and which ones made you want to scream or weep? 



Here are my best and worst consumer experiences this week:

My best: Getting my bulk order of toilet paper just in time

For years, I’ve been ordering toilet paper by the case so I can get the kind made out of recycled paper.

This week, my timing was great. Just as I got out my last roll, my bulk order came in.

When you run out of toilet paper, you’re in bad shape.

My worst: Director’s chair covers that didn’t fit

I have three director’s chairs. One has a stain on it, and another is showing wear.

When I was shopping for other items, I decided to look for replacement covers. I found three at Pier 1.

I hung them out in the sun to get the chemicals out, like I do for new clothes.

A day or so later, I noticed that the sticks to put in the slots on the seats were flat and wide rather than round and thin. I decided I’d better see if the new covers fit in my chairs.

I put the thin round sticks in the fabric hems. I was able to insert them in the round slots.  However, the new cover sagged badly. It looked terrible. I thought maybe it would be comfortable to sit in anyway. It wasn’t.

I took the director’s chair covers back to Pier 1 and received a refund. I’ll try again and get the measurements for that I need to find the right size.

Copyright 2010, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Veterans Affairs says it’s improving services for women veterans

It’s troubling to hear radio reports and read newspaper articles about the problems women veteran’s experience, including sexual assault.

Women make up 8 percent of military veterans and within 10 years that’s expected to double.

The Department of Veterans Affairs is working on improving its services for women veterans as the government braces for an increasing demand for services from them, reports The Washington Post article “VA Is Stepping Up Its Services for Female Veterans.”

At a conference in Washington, D.C., this week, clinicians, benefits experts, VA leaders, and veterans discussed the problems women veterans face including:

Injuries from explosions while driving in convoys.

• Sexual assaults.

• Post-traumatic stress disorder.

• Severe back pain and other musculoskeletal problems from carrying up to 80-pound of gear.

• Problems with the fitting of artificial limbs.

• Difficulties getting benefits.

Each of the 144 veterans health-care systems in the country now has a full-time care manager for women, the article reports. In addition, primary care is being redesigned so a single physician addresses preventive care, routine gynecological care, and other medical issues for women. Health-care providers can now enroll in refresher courses on women's health needs, and more training is scheduled.

The agency also launched a $5.6 million study last fall of women who served in the Vietnam War to explore the effects on their mental and physical health.

I hope these efforts improve the lives of women veterans. It’s certainly time for more efforts to be made on their behalf.

Copyright 2010, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

What’s the real problem with the economy in Greece?

When the media reports came bursting forth about the troubles in the Greek economy, I wondered how better than average social programs could cause the downfall of a country.

While overspending by the government on social programs may have caused some of the countries economic difficulties, the Greek crisis essentially comes from the same frenzied drive of finance capital to draw profits from the massive indiscriminate extension of credit that led to the implosion of Wall Street.

That’s the opinion of Walden Bello, a contributing editor for Yes! Magazine, in the article “Greek Mythology: The Real Story of the European Debt Crisis.”

In the article, Bello says:

Periods of frenzied speculative lending are inexorably followed by government or sovereign debt defaults, or near defaults. Like the Third World debt crisis of the early 1980s and the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s, the so-called sovereign debt problem of countries like Greece, Europe, Spain, and Portugal is principally a supply-driven crisis, not a demand-driven one.

The frenzied Greek credit scene didn't only feature European financial actors, Bello says.

Wall Street powerhouse Goldman Sachs showed Greek financial authorities how financial instruments known as derivatives could be used to make large chunks of Greek debt ‘disappear,’ thus making the national accounts look good to bankers eager to lend more. Then the very same agency turned around, and, through a kind of derivatives trading known as ‘credit default swaps,’ bet on the possibility that Greece would default, raising the country’s cost of borrowing from the banks but making a tidy profit for itself.

If ever there was a crisis created by global finance, Greece is suffering from it right now, he says.

Take a look at Bello’s article for more information on the growing financial crisis in Europe. It's fascinating reading.

Copyright 2010, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Foods to avoid if you have trouble sleeping

For me, the food I need to avoid if I want to sleep is sugar. Also caffeine near bedtime.

But in her article, “More Foods Hinder Than Help Sleep,” Washington Post reporter Jennifer LaRue Huget found that fat was the main nutrient associated with getting less sleep.

Other culprits inhibiting sleep are caffeine, spicy food, and alcohol.

Huget, who set out to find foods that help people sleep, didn’t find much definitive information.

The benefits of milk, herbal tea, and other comforting remedies help by aiding relaxation not by making you sleepy.

Eating or drinking tryptophan – an amino acid found in meat, poultry, dairy foods, bananas, and chocolate – also doesn’t help you sleep, a researcher told Huget. Certain old-fashioned cures for sleeplessness were based on the consumption of foods with tryptophan.

See Huget’s article for details.

Copyright 2010, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

A look at the Americans With Disabilities Act on its 20th anniversary

How effective has the Americans With Disabilities Act been in its first 20 years of meeting the needs of the disabled?

Opinions vary. Some say the law was an innovative political compromise that left enforcement up to individuals who file lawsuits rather than regulations. Others say the promise of the ADA hasn’t been achieved and significantly more needs to be done to help those with disabilities.

In an executive order marking the anniversary, President Obama set as a goal the hiring of more federal employees with disabilities. Training programs also will be provided. Obama said Americans with disabilities are underrepresented in the federal workforce.

About 54 million Americans are living with a disability.

What are the strengths of the ADA?

• The ADA protects people with disabilities against discrimination in employment and access to public entities, accommodations, and telecommunications.

• Curb cuts, ramps, wider doors, and parking spaces have been created. Braille has been installed on elevators, and ATMs for the blind are available.

• Americans with disabilities are gaining access to the Internet and all the information and sites that can help them there.

• New accessible design standards have just been established for recreational facilities, including swimming pools, playgrounds, golf courses, amusement rides, recreational boating facilities, exercise machines and equipment, miniature golf courses, and fishing piers; as well as for public facilities as courthouses, jails, and prisons.

• The ADA was amended to clarify that people with diabetes are included under the law.

What are weaknesses of the ADA?

• Not enough economic opportunities are available for the disabled.

• Extensive upgrading is needed of an aging infrastructure put in place before the ADA came into being. 

• More needs to be done to help disabled college students graduate.

• People with hidden disabilities continue to have problems.

• Even though information technologies and other technologies have provided new levels of access for people with disabilities, access to the Internet needs to be improved for the disabled.

Copyright 2010, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Helping people in wheelchairs

Last week, I saw a young woman in a wheelchair heading toward a long incline by a schoolyard.

Years ago, I stopped to ask a man in a wheelchair who was working his way up a very steep hill if he needed help. “Are you kidding?” he replied. He was happy to have help.

So I asked the young woman if she’d like assistance. She, too, was grateful for the help. It was her first day in a wheelchair after knee surgery on a ligament.

When we got to the top of the incline, I asked her if she wanted me to push her several more blocks to the bus stop. She said yes.

I was surprised how difficult it was to negotiate the wheelchair around the narrow spaces next to the streetlights on the corners.

When we reached the bus stop, the woman thanked me warmly. It made my day.

About 3.3 million people age 15 and older use a wheelchair, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s “20th Anniversary of Americans with Disabilities Act: July 26.”

See “What Can You Do?” on Dizabled for suggestions on how to help a person in a wheelchair.

Copyright 2010, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Recall of the Week: Baja Motorsports mini bikes and go-carts due to fire and burn hazard

Baja Motorsports is recalling about 308,000 mini bikes and go-carts.

The gas cap can leak or detach from the fuel tank on the recalled mini bikes and go-carts, posing a fire and burn hazard to consumers. Also, the throttle can stick due to an improperly positioned fuel line and throttle cable, posing a sudden acceleration hazard to consumers.

The firm has received nine reports of the gas caps leaking and detaching, including one report of a serious burn injury to a child. The firm has also received 25 reports of stuck throttles – possibly due to the fuel line and throttle cable being improperly attached – with injuries to the face and other parts of the body reported.

The recall involves Baja Motorsports mini bikes with model numbers beginning with HT65, MB165, WR65, MB196, DB30, WR90, and DR90 and go-carts with model numbers BB65, SD65, DN65, and TR65. The model number is located on the mini bikes’ fenders and/or decorative fuel tank and on the go-carts’ roll cage. They both have black plastic gas caps.

Manufactured in China, the various mini bike and go-cart were sold at mini bike and go-cart retailers nationwide from November 2004 through June 2010 for between $200 and $2,000. They also were available from the following web sites: Costco.com, Amazon.com, toysrus.com, northerntool.com, sears.com, and kmart.com.

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled mini bikes and go-carts and contact Baja Motorsports for a free replacement gas cap and to schedule a free repair of the fuel line and throttle cable, the firm advises.

For additional information, contact Baja Motorsports toll-free at 888-863-2252 between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or visit the firm’s website at www.bajamotorsports.net.

For details on other recalls, see www.recalls.gov.

Copyright 2010, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

What were your best and worst consumer experiences this week?

Which consumer experiences cheered you recently and which ones made you want to scream or weep? 



Here are my best and worst consumer experiences this week:

My best: Having lunch with my family at an Italian restaurant

I enjoyed a nice salad at Tutta Bella in Seattle with my daughter and her family.

She had an exchange vacation for two weeks, where you trade homes with another family.

My worst: Trying to order photos from Ritzpix.com online

As a photojournalist, I enjoy taking hundreds of photos. I use them on my blogs, on greeting cards I’m selling at local food co-ops and gift shops, and to share with friends and family.

When I went to my local Ritz Camera store to pick up some photos, the staff said Ritzpix.com was having a 25 percent off sale until 7 p.m.

I thought I’d try getting the bargain price for an order of 20 photos, even though I’ve had considerable trouble in the past ordering photos from Ritzpix.com online.

Sure enough, problems continually cropped up. I had to load the photos one at a time. I missed the deadline by half an hour.

The ironic thing about Ritzpix.com is the staff at Ritz Camera, where the photos are printed, isn’t able to give customers any help in figuring out the problems with the site. They say, “Oh, it’s a different company.” One clerk said she’d help me find out how to order more than one photo of some of the order. She never followed through.

Also, it turns out, I didn’t get the correct instructions for getting the sale price. I was told you always need to use your Digital Photo Card, if you have one, when ordering from Ritzpix.com. But a sales associate told me to get the sales price you shouldn’t use the your photo card because the Internet program can only subtract the number of photos from your card, not give you a lower price.

Copyright 2010, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist 

Newsman Daniel Schorr had a life many baby boomers want to emulate

Flickr Photo by Michael Foley

As a regular listener of National Public Radio, I often marveled at Daniel Schorr as he continued his news commentary into his 90s.

It’s the type of life many baby boomers want to experience as they grow older: continue making a contribution until they pass away.

Thank you, Daniel Schorr, for your wisdom and insight.

As a journalist, I appreciated Schorr’s work and professionalism.

Schorr died today at the age of 93. See “Journalism Legend Daniel Schorr Dies at 93” for an account of his life and work.

Copyright 2010, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

President signs financial reform bill to aid consumers, block Wall Street excesses

As expected, President Obama signed the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act yesterday.

The act is the most significant change in federal regulatory policies of Wall Street and financial institutions since the Great Depression. It creates a new bureau to protect consumers and sets out rules to curb Wall Street excesses that could lead to another recession.

In a signing ceremony attended by members of Congress, consumer advocates, consumers, bankers, and federal officials, Obama said passing the bill was no easy task:

To get there, we had to overcome the furious lobbying of an array of powerful interest groups and a partisan minority determined to block change.

Obama said the financial industry is central to the nation’s ability to grow, to prosper, to compete, and to innovate:

This reform will help foster innovation, not hamper it. It is designed to make sure that everybody follows the same set of rules, so that firms compete on price and quality, not on tricks and not on traps.

He said the bill will curb unfair rate hikes for credit cards and huge bank overdraft fees. Other benefits for consumers:

With this law, we’ll crack down on abusive practices in the mortgage industry. We’ll make sure that contracts are simpler – putting an end to many hidden penalties and fees in complex mortgages – so folks know what they’re signing.

With this law, students who take out college loans will be provided clear and concise information about their obligations.
 
And with this law, ordinary investors – like seniors and folks saving for retirement – will be able to receive more information about the costs and risks of mutual funds and other investment products, so that they can make better financial decisions as to what will work for them.

In addition to consumer protections, Obama said the bill will “rein in the abuse and excess that nearly brought down our financial system” and ensure that “the American people will never again be asked to foot the bill for Wall Street’s mistakes.”

For more information on the new law, see “How Does the Wall Street Reform Bill Benefit Consumers?"

Copyright 2010, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist