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THE RED TAPE CHRONICLES

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Gotchas / Consumer

John Bogle, Wall Street hero, showed us how fees could eat 80% of our retirement funds

January 16, 2019 Bob Sullivan 0

How could a lifetime of investing lead to Wall Street keeping 80% of the returns, while the consumer/investor keeps only 20%? Quite easily, as investing and fee-fighting pioneer John Bogle taught us. I explain it in Chapter 5 of Gotcha Capitalism. Here’s the relevant excerpt. I present it again today [Keep reading]

Gotchas / Consumer

Most Americans (60%) live paycheck to paycheck; that’s why we need to give federal workers theirs

January 16, 2019 Bob Sullivan 1

Missing even one paycheck matters. A lot. To about 60% of all Americans, according to a just-released survey by BankRate.com. So yes, forcing government workers to show up without pay is wrong, unfair, and in some cases cruel. I flew out of Reagan airport in DC this morning, and I [Keep reading]

Gotchas / Consumer

Comcast fee up 900% in five years — for free channels. The free market (NOT) at work!

January 15, 2019 Bob Sullivan 2

January is a good time to start looking around for simple ways to save money. Here’s a good one – stop paying for TV channels that you can watch for free. At least check your cable bill this month. January is also a “good” time for pay TV companies to impose [Keep reading]

Cybercrime / Privacy

‘Your child looks so innocent’ — hackers using school data for scary extortion scams

January 11, 2019 Bob Sullivan 2

The messages were chilling, and believable enough to force the Johnston School District in Iowa to close a school in 2017. “Your child still looks so innocent,” one text sent to parent read, according the Des Moines Register. “Don’t have anyone look outside….I’m just getting started.” The messages went on [Keep reading]

Gotchas / Consumer

Credit card interest rates hit record — just in time for holiday spending hangover

January 10, 2019 Bob Sullivan 0

January credit card bills are often very sobering — like a splash of cold water the morning after a bit too much partying. Maybe you’ve just seen the consequences of your generous December…or maybe you are too afraid to look. Either way, January is often a good time to take [Keep reading]

Gotchas / Consumer

‘I know your password’ sextortion scam my top story of 2018 (Donald who?)

December 31, 2018 Bob Sullivan 0

There’s been a lot of news this year. And it hasn’t all been about politics. It’s very hard as a reporter to break through all the noise coming out of Washington D.C. Still, I managed to do that a couple of times, as my list of 10 most popular stories [Keep reading]

Personal

My 2019 calendar: Ireland, biking across Missouri, and a crazy year

December 27, 2018 Bob Sullivan 0

Every year I make a calendar for my family and friends — been doing it 20 years. It’s my way of saying, “Here’s what I’ve been up to for the past 12 months when I probably should have been spending more time with you.” The 12 months, and the cover, are [Keep reading]

Gotchas / Consumer

After scary Christmas Eve market plunge, what should you do?

December 24, 2018 Bob Sullivan 1

Worst Christmas Eve EVER. Worst December since the Depression. Worst year since the Great Recession. Bear market. Do I have your attention now? The stock market is angry, and you are a victim now. If you’ve been brave enough to look at your portfolio in the past few days, you [Keep reading]

Gotchas / Consumer

Where’s the raises? Despite tax cuts, robust economy, majority say their pay is stuck in neutral

December 13, 2018 Bob Sullivan 1

Let’s face it: If you are doing well, you think the economy is doing well. But if you are unemployed, or underemployed, or you aren’t getting a raise this year, you probably think the economy stinks. So I’ll ask: Are you getting a (good) raise for 2019? If so, consider [Keep reading]

Cybercrime / Privacy

Someone (China?) is building an enormous dossier database from all these massive hacks

December 12, 2018 Bob Sullivan 1

Perhaps you missed the tantalizing detail I reported earlier this week that Congressional investigators believe the initial Equifax hackers entered that company’s systems with computers using IP addresses in China.  Or The New York Times reporting that U.S. authorities now blame China for the hack on Starwood / Marriott.  You probably [Keep reading]

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About me

BOB SULLIVAN is a veteran journalist and the author of four books, including the 2008 New York Times Best-Seller, Gotcha Capitalism, and the 2010 New York Times Best Seller, Stop Getting Ripped Off! His latest, The Plateau Effect, was published in 2013, and as a paperback, called Getting Unstuck in 2014. He has won the Society of Professional Journalists prestigious Public Service award, a Peabody award, and The Consumer Federation of America Betty Furness award, and been given Consumer Action’s Consumer Excellence Award.

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