(Click Here to Return to Down, But Not Out Show Homepage)
The only sure thing in life, we are told, is death and taxes. That could be restated more accurately as death, taxes and the bill collector. Few people are aware of the problems facing the funeral industry (and other creditors) when it comes to collecting on the deceased and/or their estate. A NYTimes article, “You’re Dead? That Won’t Stop the Debt Collector,” identified this form of debt as being the “new frontier” in debt collection and more lucrative than even collecting on the living.
The Wall Street “Occupiers.” Who are these people? What are their demands? Why do they believe they need to be heard? Exactly what is the – or, are the – messages they want us to hear? This show, recorded at the Ground Zero (Liberty Plaza) of America’s first true people’s movement since the days’ of the Vietnam War protests, addresses the mixed “reviews” from the public at large.
Paul D. Burley is an engineer and environmental geologist who has researched world mythology, pictographic and architectural symbolism, and sacred landscapes expressing spiritual traditions around the world. An advocate for indigenous peoples and the need for returning to sacred lifeways that promote world unity, his journey to understand the meaning of Native American medicine wheels led him to study sacred symbolism exhibited by cultures over tens of thousands of years. His analysis of that symbolism has resulted in a new understanding of the sacred lifeways of ancient and indigenous peoples.
Te Taru White, Director at Te Taru White Consultancy in Waikanae, New Zealand, is an International speaker, Scientist, Entrepreneur, Facilitator, Strategist, Cultural Heritage Leader, and more importantly a passionate advocate of self determined development – something he credits to the wisdom of his Indigenous Maori ancestors. His achievements in numerous tribal leadership roles and at the helm of the Museum of New Zealand and the Maori Arts and Crafts Institute, attest to this.
Steve Ruderman, a 20-year veteran of the financial services industry, is an equal-opportunity spokesman for both the credit grantor, the consumer, and the collections industry. In addition to running ELSOS, a sales outsourcing company dedicated to developing high-powered sales people, he also runs Credit and Collection News (CCN). CCN is a daily newsletter for the C&C marketplace with a subscriber database of over 50,000 readers. His resume includes national sales for Amerix and The Fanuel Group, Equifax, and serving on the board of Consumer Credit Counseling Services of San Diego and as National Sales Advisors for the National Foundation of Credit Counseling.
Steve has a BS in Business Administration from San Diego State University and an MBA from Cal State University at San Marcos, Ca. He resides in La Costa, CA with his wife, Holy, and two children.
We know that people can be “heroic,” but what about entities that cannot speak up for themselves but just as surely have pulled themselves “back from the brink?” I am speaking of towns, cities, urban and suburban areas that have met this and previous recessions head-on and triumphed. When walking through beautiful sections of a city or park, we seldom pay tribute to the people, vision and perserverance that made this possible.
We are fortunate today to have a spokesperson for our towns and cities, and that is Kate Coburn. A breaker of “Glass Ceilings” (very first woman President of NYC’s “Young Men’s Real Estate Association) and sought-after speaker and consultant, she delivers a “Master Class” in what it takes to meet today’s challenges and solutions in urban planning and development.
Helping people help themselves! In this long & diverse challenges career, Seamus (Jim) Boylson, has witnessed almost every extreme of human needs/suffering, ranging from the folly/rare successes of US & UN efforts to alleviate same and the very shameful wastes of human, environ-mental, ecological & material resources, in the process. His solution(s) are to apply 21st Century Solutions to the Mentality that produced 20th Century disasters. The are: A) Applied Appropriate Technology; B) Fullest possible involvement of assisted groups; C) Assured Sustainability of efforts.
Gary Rivlin is the award-winning author of Fire on the Prairie; Drive By (a New York Times Notable Book of the Year); and The Plot to Get Bill Gates. A two-time Gerald Loeb Award winner, he has worked as a writer and reporter for the New York Times, Industry Standard, East Bay Express, and the Chicago Reader. He is presently reporting for The Daily Beast and writes incisive articles for Newsweek.
The U.S. has witnessed two sweeping pieces of legislation in less than a decade, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the Dodd-Frank Act. Moreover, far-reaching international laws such as the UK Bribery Act have a broad impact on global organizations. How does this inform the internal compliance expert, the one who is brought in to ensure integrity? One thing is for sure – the quality of the ethics and compliance systems will be a relevant factor when judging the good faith and fiduciary duties of a company’s leadership and management.
Rich Garboski is the Founder and Managing Member of eTechHelp, a an online consulting firm that provides technical advice, strategies, and implementation & support services to small to mid sized companies anywhere with an internet connection. With 29+ years of experience and a background in Electrical Engineering, he has vast experience designing, implementing and managing all aspects of technology in today’s business which includes; Local and wide area networking, VoIP Telephony, Internet technology , web and business software applications.
Ray Rogers, founder and director of NYC-based Corporate Campaign, Inc. (CCI) has championed labor, human rights and environmental causes for three decades. Born into a Union family in Beverly, MA, he graduated from the U of Mass in 1967, spent two years working in Tennessee as a VISTA volunteer and from that point forward devoted himself to bring “power to the people.” The Boston Herald described Rogers as labor’s most innovative strategist and “one of the most successful union organizers since the CIO sit-down strikes of the 30’s.”
Steve Beseke has been a corporate communications executive for nearly 30 years with companies like Medtronic, Opus Corporation and the National Marrow Donor Program. His worldwide resiliency site, which has more than 3 million viewers in the last 18 months, is ranked as one of the top four personal branding sites in the nation. The site is http://resiliencyfirst.com.
Today’s show is an educational, thought-provoking and entertaining “tag team match” between two multi-year veterans of the collections industry. Guest Michelle Dunn and Interviewer Jerry Ashton trade stories and barbs about an industry that generates considerable controversy – and especially during the Great Recession where more and more Americans pick up the phone to find a “bill collector” on the other end of the line. Are collectors “good guys,” or mindless soldiers in the War on Debt? You will come away with a greater appreciation for this work and the people engaged in it…and perhaps even identify a new career path for yourself.
Are all Indian rich from their casinos? Is there actually a viable and thriving Native American culture here in the U.S. that can exist without gaming revenue? Leonard Ludi, a veteran of the New Mexico construction industry, took on an Indian Gaming executive position in 1995 and has spent the past seven years researching the challenges of business triumphs as well as lost opportunities to come to the decision that it is critical that native communities support the business entrepreneur who will bring their passion back to the people.
The Man Corporations Love to Hate is a feature length documentary in the making about Ray Rogers, a labor and human rights activist best known for his campaign against the notoriously anti-union J.P. Stevens & Co. (on which the Academy Award winning film “Norma Rae” was based). Nancy’s documentary will feature Ray’s “Stop Killer Coke” campaign and, by its subject matter alone, will be controversial. Listen in and learn why.
Mark Trahant is an independent journalist. He writes a weekly column, posts often on Twitter (including daily news poems). Trahant was recently a Kaiser Media Fellow writing about health care reform and is the former editor of the editorial page for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Mark is a member of Idaho’s Shoshone-Bannock Tribe and a former president of the Native American Journalists Association. He is the author of The Last Great Battle of the Indian Wars, about Henry Jackson, Forrest Gerard and the campaign for American Indian self-determination. He lives in Fort Hall, Idaho.
This week, Jerry Ashton discusses the law school industrial complex with guest Nando from “Third Tier Reality” to learn some startling information about the industry we call “law schools.” They manipulate employment and starting salary figures, raise tuition recklessly; do not advise of the shrinking job prospects, and, worst of all, do not fully explain to the prospective student the effect of soul-crushing debt on one’s future.
Nando is a 2009 graduate of Third Tier Drake. He is the author of law school scam-blog “Third Tier Reality,” a site devoted to informing prospective law students about the dangers inherent in attaining a “legal education.” Using industry statements, charts and figures, he has been beating the living piss out of overpriced third tier commodes and fourth tier trash pits, since August 2009.
Debt Hope: Down and Dirty Survival Strategies for the Harried Debtor. Both in his book and in his practice as an attorney, Mark Hankins intends to fill a void in the financial “self help” world of literature by providing in-depth and current information on topics that other books only touch on. As the number of unemployed and underemployed Americans continues to grow and as banks seek to shore up their balance sheets by “rate-jacking” and fee harvesting, consumers need to know all they can about effective – and legal – countermeasures. Especially important when the bill collector comes knocking…
Mark S. Hankins, a fourth-generation Floridian, graduated from the Univ of Virginia and University of Florida School of Law. Beginning as a collections attorney for the Florida Dept. of Transportation, he began researching debt collection from the consumer perspective in 2003 and intensified his research with the objective of writing a book. In 2008 when the Great Recession swept over the U.S., his book “Debt Hope: Down and Dirty Survival Strategies” was published.
Cobell V hopes to educate the public about this important piece of American history. She consider it a privilege to be a part of this story and I am grateful that on December 8, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Cobell Settlement Claims Act for $3.4 billion. Now we have a small measure of justice for 500,000 Indian Trust beneficiaries.
Melinda Janko (Producer, Director, and Writer) is founder and President of Fire in the Belly Productions. Janko was the past President of Turning Point Productions, a Massachusetts based company that produced promotional videos and public service announcements for the non-profit sector.
Again…give me some thoughts.
I would like to explore the “survival” skills that you have acquired along the way – which are considerable – and then move to your role in creating and developing NewsPrime. What need is this filling – and why hasn’t someone stepped forward up to this point.
Be prepared to pitch your ideas. Should they conflict with your intended Private Offering, be sure to consult with an attorney so as to keep yourself from putting this at risk.
In Physics, it is said that every force creates an equal and opposite force. Nowhere is that more true than in the industry we call Debt Collection. Unsophisticated consumers (aren’t we all?) are awed and intimidated by the seemingly irresistible force of Collection Agencies when they come after you for dollars owed.
It ain’t necessarily so. The “immovable object” of savvy and competent counsel can be placed between you and their efforts to very good effect. In fact, it is not uncommon for a debtor and his/her attorney to file lawsuits in those cases of illegal or extortionate activities.
Listen in as we interview Erik kardatzke, attorney and founder of the Debt Defense Law Firm to see how the “big guns” of collection agencies can be silenced by the even “bigger guns” of consumer attorneys.
Jerry Ashton queries Cryn Johannsen about the student lending crisis in the U.S. and what solutions need to be constructed to help solve the problem. Ms. Johannsen is the managing editor for EduLender’s blog, EduTrends. She is also the founder & executive director of All Education Matters, a 501(c)(4). AEM raises public awareness about the student lending crisis, advocates for student loan debtors, and seeks to influence Congress to develop legislation that will positively affect millions of student loan borrowers.
In 1776 by way of a small pamphlet written by Thomas Paine titled, simply, “Common Sense” brought about the first successful anticolonial action in modern history. In 2011 in Egypt, Social media in its many electronic forms delivered by the Internet was the first to topple a mideastern dictatorship.
“Given what I have just described, we are incredibly fortunate to have as our guest, Judah Freed, author of “Global Sense” – a modern day extension and recasting of Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense.” Freed is an international journalist, book coach, life coach, and healer based in Hawaii who will share his insights to explain the social effects of new media and the impact of media visionaries on the tectonic shifts brought about by revolution.
Anastasios, I know that you would like to be seen as a motivated entrepreneur, but with a difference. What is that difference that gives you the opportunity to go deeper into finance or economics – and exactly how does that help your present operation, your clients, and Greece itself?
I need a description here of the episode as you would like to see it featured. How can the listener – from the U.S. as well as around the world – be benefited by listening? Let’s have some “beef,” my friend.
With a background of some 30 years of executive-level interaction with fortune 500 companies, Robert Doner has a wealth of real-world experience. Having learned that execution at the top is not always in tune with what consumers really need or want, combined with a personal experience (bad) with “customer service,” Robert set about to create www.Groubal.com. (Group-Global) as a platform to galvanize action and provide a crowd-sourced system to get corporate America’s attention. It is his intention to make sure that this happens by championing opportunities for consumers to stand up and connect their concerns to real calls of actions. It’s not just complaining – that’s not powerful enough. It’s Groubaling.
The collection industry has been a necessary facet of every economy since the dawn of trade. Though regarded by some as a “necessary evil,” 97% of adult Americans believe that if a person owes a debt for goods or services, that person has a responsibility to pay what is owed. However, other studies show that 66% of adult Americans believe that government should not.
Our guest, a woman extremely credentialed in this industry, will discuss these statistics and more – along with her perspective on the state of the collection and debt purchasing industry at a time when the “C” word which complicates everything is – Consumer.
The collection industry and society in general needs to improve the way it views someone who is a debtor. This is especially true since any one of us as a creditor today could become a debtor tomorrow due to a sudden layoff, illness, or other extraordinary circumstance that completely undermines our financial stability.
It is because of this remarkable sympathy and respect for the debtor that this session’s interview subject, Steven Gan, was selected. The collection industry is not known for being willing – or even able – to appreciate and work with people who have been “written off” by their creditor and to bring accounts successfully through contact and payment.
Among the classic photos used to describe the Depression, few resonate more than the ones showing people selling apples on the street. Selling apples for five cents – is that the best that was possible for people who were obviously “down and out?” Well, that is what they did, and that is how many of them survived.
When you consider the number of people who have left respected professions and now find themselves unemployed – and unemployable – it would be frightening to think that selling anything – much less apples – might be their best and only source of income.
Jim Chandler, President of Sales Force Advisors, makes a strong case that one of the best ways to get out of this Great Recession is to SELL yourself out of it. Sales is the answer. Out of a Job? Sales is the answer. Need to re-invent yourself? Sales is the answer. An hour with Jim Chandler, a master salesman and sales trainer, will convince you that Sales IS the answer.
Deeper! It would be easy to “write off” someone who barely survived high school, but what he has to say, and how he says it, is “deeper” than you would expect from someone with a Ph.D.
Getting into the mind of a visionary. What in the world would a famed Hip-Hop photographer – who is also an American Indian – have to tell us about the financial meltdown we are in and how it can, and will be, survived. A student of life will view Ernie’s art/work/life with great respect – one exemplifying the qualities it takes to overcome odds, marching left when others march right and moving to your own distinct drumbeat. Any man who reveres David Lynch, John Coltrane, Richie Havens, The Dalai Lama, Public Enemy and Lee “Scratch” Perry and has done books on PUNK, HIP HOP and COLLAGE, is a member of The Universal Zulu Nation and a honorary member of The Black Panther Party, should be considered a free thinker worth emulating.
Join host Jerry Ashton for an exclusive interview with Darrell O’Deagadh author of the controversial book “Bank of Ireland…this way out” . This is a movement to get the “Bank of Ireland” to leave Ireland by or before noon the 25th. December 2010. According to O’Deagadh, “Bank of Ireland have Raped, Pillaged, Plundered and Murdered our people down through the ages and generations and continue to do so. They will not stop unless we ALL stop doing business with them today, point blank.”www.BankOfIreland.ME
A main-street perspective on what really lies at the heart of the financial system, why we have continually failed to rein it in, and why it now poses a greater risk than it ever has. Amer Chaudri, the author of “Diatribe”: A Scathing Journey Into The Heart of the Financial Corporate Culture, has worked in Finance and Banking for 15 years and on three continents. He has worked as a Bankcards administrator, Treasury Funds Manager, Branch Manager, Senior Financial Analyst and Region Finance Controller in one of the largest Banking and Finance conglomerates in the world.
Abe “Walking Bear” Sanchez is an International speaker and trainer who has engaged – and sometimes outraged – credit managers and business owners around the globe with his unique approach to the credit function. It’s not what the credit manager (or CFO) thinks it is. Walking Bear is a founding member of PCCG,www.profitcreditgroup.com, an international group espousing the Profit System he has pioneered and developed. WB has authored hundreds of business articles, Profit Centered Credit and Collections 1999, co-authored STAFDA’s Foundations of a Business 2007, and co-authored of the new international book, “The Best Kept Profit Secret: The Executive’s Guide to Transforming a Cost Center 2009.” “Prior to serving as a Corporate Credit Manager he owned a small business and understood first hand the Profit Imperative. What he found in Corporate Credit Management was a mindset fixated on risk and not on profit. Having seen how his own organization, their suppliers and their business customers misunderstood and underutilized the Credit and A/R Management (not collections) function, he entered the business consulting and training field in 1982.
CLICK TO RETURN TO DOWN, BUT NOT OUT SHOW HOMEPAGE
