Who am I? I’m a piece of string wrapped around the finger of a few babies and toddlers. I like to play with toys again. I give a toddler a quarter and get a million dollars worth of pleasure. I provide child care by talking to the babies and toddlers, not to my cell phone and by playing with them not my ipad. I wouldn’t let anyone else do it, but I let a toddler play with my cell phone, my watch, my wallet, my laptop and my hair. When I’m around babies and toddlers my mind and heart feel much younger than at other times, but my body feels much older. I’m better than anyone else at spoiling babies and toddlers. If there is more than one toddler around at a time, they fight over my lap. I’m a toy that toddlers figure out how to work in just a jiffy. Who am I - I’m a grandpa, of course. Our third grandchild’s birth is due in a week or two, as I type this. My wife Janet has already warned me not to let him play with my new laptop or my cell phone. But I already know I will. I can’t help it. Though in my profession I spend a lot of time encouraging people to be accountable and saying no to some of their requests, I can’t even raise my voice or finger when it’s my grandchildren. It’s a good thing my grandchildren have parents or they would grow up to be a mess. As I am, you may be concerned and somewhat fretful of the future for your children and grandchildren. Alarming is the increasing extremes of violence by earth and by people and of weather and market prices and politics and philosophies. Earth is a dangerous place and seems to be getting more so. What are we to do to prepare our children and grandchildren for whatever the future holds? Here’s one of the things President Obama said he’s doing for our children, “I'm committed to moving our country from the middle to the top of the pack in science and math education over the next decade…This is probably going to make more of a difference in determining how well we do as a country than just about anything else that we do here.” Senator Kohl of Wisconsin said this is the way to prepare our children for the future, “a focus on strengthening elementary and secondary education, I have also been a strong supporter of providing our children with quality child care, the opportunity to participate in afterschool programs, and the nourishment they need in school breakfast programs.” Barbara Frank, an author and teacher writes, “preparing our children for a challenging future means…giving our children the opportunity for free exploration, hands-on learning and discovering the upside to failure. These are important components for raising children to thrive in the rapidly changing 21st century.” Selected verses from Psalm 37 in the New Living Translation read, “Trust in the LORD and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper. Take delight in the LORD, and He will give you your heart’s desires. Commit everything you do to the LORD. Trust Him, and He will help you. He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn, and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun. Be still in the presence of the LORD, and wait patiently for Him to act…Day by day the LORD takes care of the innocent, and they will receive an inheritance that lasts forever. They will not be disgraced in hard times; even in famine they will have more than enough…Turn from evil and do good and you will live in the land forever. For the LORD loves justice, and He will never abandon the godly. He will keep them safe forever,…Look at those who are honest and good, for a wonderful future awaits those who love peace. But the rebellious will be destroyed; they have no future. The LORD rescues the godly; He is their fortress in times of trouble. The LORD helps them, rescuing them from the wicked. He saves them, and they find shelter in Him.” Showing and teaching our children and grandchildren the truths of Psalm 37 will prepare them well for the future, no matter what the future holds. Happy living and teaching Psalm 37!
The 2011 Kansas wheat harvest is in the history books for the most part and the one consistent factor was the variation. It seemed everyone had a little less than their usual average crop but almost everyone had that field or two that was terrible and the occasional really good yielding field. Of course the market had to drop like a rock at harvest. It has rebounded some and who knows where it will go? I went to the Hoisington area Wednesday the 20th. It is right at the edge of the hot dry disaster area. Corn is not faring well with most being cut for silage. Milo is still OK and will be OK with some rain soon. The beans are showing stress from hot dry conditions, somewhat dependent upon their maturity. The smaller later planted beans appear less affected than the more advanced fields with more leaf exposure. The cattle market has rebounded a little but with the relatively high price of grain the cattleman has to be careful to retain any profit for his time and effort. The drought in Texas and Oklahoma is likely the reason for the temporary downturn in the feeder cattle market. Everyone down there wants hay to retain a few good cows but at the price it is upon delivery, about $140/ton, it is really hard to justify. By the time you receive this correspondence the Washington debt financing fiasco will be history and the fallout will be what we are dealing with. Being on the fringe of the financial world I do have some concern that the politicians need to have a more firmly rooted background in finance than oration, debate, and posturing. Whatever happens may or may not be corrected by the stroke of a pen. Some things can put you on a slippery path downhill where you cannot stop until you hit the bottom. I hope this is not one of those situations but one whereby a signature in the nick of time averts disaster. If even that is the eventual situation there needs to be more cleaning out of Washington DC and newly assigned seating after the next election. I read an article recently about how the direct payments to farmers were not necessary since the commodity prices were at all-time highs. I do know that loan deficiency payments are a thing of the past for now at least and that the agricultural safety nets that are in place are just that, safety nets. The problem I see is that there are so many entitlement programs that are suppose to be safety nets yet turn out to be more like trampolines. There is a significant difference in the two. Crop insurance for example is a safety net. Farmers pay subsidized premiums to protect them from catastrophic losses and unrecoverable injury. Here at GSB we rely on safety nets of crop insurance to lessen the risk of our farmers but hope they never have to use them. It appears to me however, that some segments of our society enjoyed being caught and want to keep jumping up and down in the net. To me that is a trampoline and the intended purpose of the safety net is being abused. We need to do like the trapeze acts and roll clumsily out of the net get our feet on the ground and dig out of the mess we are in.
Until next month. Myron
Introduction to Identity Theft
Videos
AVOID ID Theft - Provided by the Federal Trade Commission
Protecting Your Identity
The number of Americans who have experienced identity theft has surpassed 27 million, with the incidence rate increasing every year. Substantial measures are in place at your bank to protect your identity and your accounts against theft and fraud. For example, stringent bank privacy policies protect your personal and financial information. Password protection for online transactions help assure online security. When using our online services, you develop a secret password that only you know. Encryption of online transactions with your bank converts your information into secure code, protecting you against hackers.
Maximum security is possible only with your help. Here's what you can do to stop these crimes before they happen:
Do not give out financial information such as checking and credit card numbers, or your Social Security number, unless you know the person or organization.
Report lost or stolen check immediately. Your bank will block payment on them.
Notify your banker of suspicious phone inquiries such as those asking for account information to "verify a statement" or "award a prize."
Closely guard your ATM Personal Identification Number and ATM receipts.
Shred any financial solicitations and bank statements before disposing of them.
Put outgoing mail into a secure, official Postal Service collection box.
If regular bills fail to reach you, call the company to find out why.
If you bills include questionable items, don't ignore them. Instead, investigate immediately to head off any possible fraud.
Periodically contact the major credit reporting companies to review your file and make certain the information is correct. (See related article on the FACT Act to learn about obtaining free reports.)
Credit Reporting Bureaus
Equifax (www.equifax.com)
Place a fraud alert: 1-888-766-0008
Order a credit report: 1-800-685-1111
Experian (www.experian.com)
Place a fraud alert: 1-888-397-3742
Order a credit report: 1-888-397-3742
TransUnion (www.transunion.com)
Place a fraud alert: 1-800-680-7289
Order a credit report: 1-800-888-4213
The bottom line: If you have any questions or concerns about protecting your financial identity, come in and visit your banker.
FACT Act Helps to Fight Identity Theft - Free credit report, other provisions help consumers
The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT Act) will help reduce identity theft according to Congress and the Federal Trade Commission. For example, one provision requires the three major credit-reporting agencies to provide consumers with a free copy of their own credit report.
Another provision to help prevent identity theft is the National Fraud Alert System. Consumers who reasonably suspect they have been or may be victimized by identity theft, or who are military personnel on active duty away from home, can place an alert on their credit files. The alert will put potential creditors on notice that they must proceed with caution when granting credit.
Other measures will help consumers recover their credit reputation after they have been victimized:
Credit reporting agencies must stop reporting allegedly fraudulent account information when a customer establishes that he or she has been the victim of identity theft.
Creditors or businesses must provide copies of business records or fraudulent accounts or transactions related to them. This information can assist victims in proving that they are, in fact, victims.
Consumers will be allowed to report accounts affected by identity theft directly to creditors - in addition to credit reporting agencies - to prevent the spread of erroneous information.
Have you used The Guaranty's telebanking service? This service allows you to monitor your checking and savings account balances, verify a particular check amount, see if a check has cleared your account, transfer between accounts and even make a loan payment!
Try this service out - just phone 738-9988 (Beloit) or toll free 866-738-9988. It is simple and easy to use!
