Paying with plastic cards is not magic

I get my gas at Casey's (pre-pay)

Inflation is less painful when we pay with plastic so much? Credit and debit cards. I use them myself as a late-adopter who thought it quite alien at first. Same with electronic bill-pay. Paying with plastic does not mean you are not paying. We can stay in denial longer? I would never eat at Stone's Throw Restaurant if I didn't use debit cards. The cash would make me think "my God!" I do enjoy dining there. 

All the new funky systems get revised and updated, testing our focus sometimes. One of my favorite economic commentators, who goes by "Jeremiah Babe," advised against using the plastic cards for gas purchases. I shared this with a friend. The friend who has more savvy than I, pointed out that the advisory depends on the specific means of payment: "at the pump" or inside. I get my gas at Casey's. Here's an email I sent to him on June 24.

So, this morning: went to get gas and decided, for first time in a while, to use debit card. You assured me the problem is with "pay at the pump" and not pay-inside. For a long time I'd use a $20 bill to get gas, but $20 doesn't go as far now, so I decided on $25. It's pre-pay so I went inside, then I got the nod from the clerk before putting my card in, as per suggestion there. I put card in, and shortly got the "please remove card" message. But then the clerk said I'd have to put it in again. Sheesh. Well, I did, and this time the system asked for my pin number. So I typed it in, and then everything was supposedly fine. I asked for a receipt of course. But it was a little unnerving. I'll have to check my bank statement now to verify the purchase. Now I'm resolved to just use cash in the future.

 

You probably have noticed these systems are continually evolving. When I first got card from Cyrus bank, there was a little sticker with two phone numbers on it. I called the first one as most rational people would do, and this was to the bank itself. A human answered. So, she said the card was now activated, fine and dandy. But, I shortly realized I had gotten no pin number. I took that card to Casey's one day, was asked for the pin number, and at that time I always had my paper checkbook with me "just in case." So I wrote a paper check. Recently I had the Cyrus card renewed, got a new card. This time I was "smart enough" to call the SECOND phone number which was non-local, to something called "shazam." This was the number I should have called all along. No human on other end this time, but no problem. They activated the card and I got the pin number. Once you've done this a couple times, it's simple, just like the McDonald's kiosk would probably be simple. The first time is a problem.

Fewer businesses are requiring the pin number, as you have probably noticed. One night at Don's, the waitress pushed the device toward me for typing in the pin, but then a more experienced waitress came over and said to "bypass" that. Willie's is holding firm with requiring the pin, but I heard someone say that if you're in a pinch and don't know your number, you can do the "tap" there. I wonder if the "tap" is taking over everywhere. I'm still inclined to stick the card in. Change just happens too fast sometimes.

All of this electronic stuff scared me in the early days. My fear wasn't completely unfounded, because Brent Waddell told the story of signing up for electronic bill-pay (I think with Otter Tail Power) and getting charged a "late fee" one month. He told me the story of how he called them and actually had to go back-and-forth for a while. But you don't want to mess with Brent, as he is an attorney.

I'm a little sad, because if I had pushed to get on board with all the new systems earlier, it would have relieved Mom of some stress. She was committed to "balancing the checkbook" with such strictness. Nobody has to do that any more, really, unless you are close to going under your balance.

My anxiety is building as I may have to leave the banks with my savings. The Fed is raising interest rates but I notice that Dakotah Bank has not raised the interest it pays on a long-term CD yet.

 

Update: Just before publishing, I notice that Dakotah Bank has upped the interest paid on a 60-month CD to 1.15 percent! I congratulate them and hope this reflects the norm.

 

Friend elucidates

My acquaintance shed more light on these matters with his response. Sometimes we just have to huddle with others and share "war stories" or whatever. I'd like to huddle with someone who could show me how to use the ordering kiosk at McDonald's. Here is my friend's edifying response: 

Speaking of debit/credit cards, the “tap and pay” is by far the most secure as there is no danger of your card number being skimmed upon sticking it into the reader. But not all cards, nor all card readers, can accommodate that – and the only way you know for sure is to try it. Also, as not all readers are the same, not all respond to the cards the same - as you have found. If your card has “chip” on it, some card readers will take that and then won’t require a pin number. I have used my credit card at Willie's, which has a chip, and works fine there (credit cards don’t ever use pins). In my opinion, which as you know is worth nothing, credit cards are better than debit cards in that with a credit card, you pay your balance used at the end of each month, so you have a little “float”. But a debit card takes the money out of your checking account immediately. We evil business people use “float” to our advantage a lot.

 

Returning to old subject

We ought to continue paying attention to the ballyhooed softball complex in Morris. You know, on east edge of town, out by the water treatment plant. I have shared concerns or issues for some time. It never hurts to be vigilant, to try to ensure that public money is spent well. To make sure plans are sensible. The following is an email I shared with a different friend. It veers into a couple other topics.

 

The place sucks for fan viewing.

As always I walk by the softball complex often. A couple nights ago, cars were parked all over the place by the water treatment plant. Is that acceptable? So, a game was being played at the easternmost diamond.

I hope people realize about this complex, that it was not developed "from scratch." There were pre-existing facilities there, especially the fine UMM softball diamond. Take a look out there now: don't you think the batters at the field under construction now will be looking into the sun too much? I actually check these things out.

As for the south diamond and the east one, the only improvements from before are the outfield fences. Those fields have a total "sandlot" quality, which I feel rather offended by, because the term "softball complex" had such a grandiose ring to it. I was expecting everything out there to end up with a professional, polished look. At the eastern field, the foul lines are painted only as far as first and third bases, not into the outfield.

The fan viewing issues will never be fixed at "Holmberg Field," unless they tear it up and start over. The secondary field has better fan viewing opportunities than Holmberg Field. Take a look, if you haven't already.

Last night, I again saw vehicles parked on both sides of Prairie Lane, even though there are signs on north side "no parking this side." Will tickets be issued at some point?

I looked at Morris paper in library yesterday, and if you read between the lines, it seems there is some discontent in city government right now. In old days I'd know the details of course. I wonder if Blaine has been city manager too long. I actually feel for the people who had their cars towed last winter. I had my own issues with the water treatment plant, especially the city's lack of clarity in communicating with citizens. Hill had a nice little system where he'd go to Marshall at the radio station every time he got in a disagreement, he'd get his own point of view across. Marshall isn't there now. I wonder if Jeff Backer complained about Marshall (Hoffman). Marshall sort of "ambushed" Backer with a question a while back: "Have you been vaccinated yet?" Everyone would know that Backer the big Republican would say "no," but he probably didn't want to be put on the spot about this. So maybe he contacted radio station manager and objected. Republicans are so asinine.

Well, another day of hearing about the Trump ridiculousness. On and on. It's a cottage industry for the media. But we may all pay the price for it. What would Eisenhower say? What would "Ike" say about Trump calling General Mark Milley a "fucking idiot?"

 

Expanding on City of Morris

A different friend shared his insights on possible turbulence in City of Morris matters. To quote an email from this individual:

 

The big topic concerning Morris residents now was the misinterpreted statement by Blaine (Hill) relative to the police department merging with the sheriff’s department. He almost made it sound like that liberal mantra to dissolve all police departments. The merger had been discussed before, but no one raised an eyebrow. Now, because of George Floyd, people get their panties in a bunch about that stuff. The shoeshine guy tells me that what you said about Blaine (has been city manager too long, maybe gets a little too assertive or bull-headed) is an opinion shared by many in these parts. Not me, mind you – I like the guy. It’s a tough job that can’t please everyone, but somebody’s got to do it. Of course, I’ve known him since he was a Cub Scout in my mom’s Cub den and I was the Den Chief, so that may distort my view.

 

Remembering Minnesota Twins

Maybe we have to remind ourselves that the Twins continue to exist? The way we consume media now, we are not "pushed" toward paying attention to the baseball team, not like in "the old days." Not long ago, Fargo radio was abuzz with talk about how so many people had committed themselves to YouTube TV, then of course the Twins' network departs that network. Suppose we have lost our sense of shock about this. 

And maybe we have lost much of our old emotional attachment to the Twins. Frankly I have. Others might demur. So I shared my observation about my loss of interest with a friend. He wasn't quite so convinced of my interpretation, but he admitted to the media trends in question. What he wrote to me in response:

 

I don’t understand your “emotional attachment” comments regarding Minnesota sports. I think there’s an attachment to the Vikings that runs quite deep – many peoples’ moods are up or down depending on game results. More so with the Vikings now than the Twins, but back in the day the Twins were very much a part of everyone’s lives. I try to listen to the games now, but for some reason don’t care as much, largely because I don’t recognize the players’ names anymore. Could that be due to the lack of TV coverage now because of the disputes with various providers? But in the 60s and 70s, the only games televised were some away games. The present-day rights disputes are greatly hurting the club, so I’m surprised the Twins aren’t doing more to resolve the issues. They’ve lost a huge part of their fan base the last 3 or 4 years.

 

Thanks for reading

This has been one of my "fan mail from some flounder" blog posts, wherein I share portions of emails both sent and received. I am hardly "in the know" about Morris matters like I used to be. Nevertheless I seek to pay attention. I was not blogging at the time of the proposed Stevens County jail. But I remember leaving some people voice mail messages about it! 

Maybe I'm a "policy wonk."

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com