Notices by Mark Squires (marksquireswine@mastodon.social)

@WarnerCrocker Well put. Every time I see someone on social media go, "Lock them up," or something like that, I think, "who exactly is going to do that, and if they tried, Trump would pardon the wrongdoers."

For the record, I've ceased saying that mostly, unless that topic is initiated by others. It's too depressing.

@feld Every time you pay someone with a check, online or paper, they see your bank account number and the routing number. Which is all you give them when you want an ACH deduction. What's the difference?

Unless you're going to commit to giving them cash payments every month or going to the effort of getting a money order, they already have your account information anytime they want to take a look at it. Nothing has really changed.

@feld

I've been using auto deduct on various bills from credit cards to rent for decades.

That's never happened to me, even once. With several merchants of different types over DECADES. You must be really unlucky. But your experience is not mine or universal.

@dalias @tess I see nothing like that authorized in my ACH.

If you're confronted with a lawless crook, ultimately there's a problem somewhere. No game plan fixes everything. They will find a way to drive you crazy somehow if there is an imbalance in power. (It's one reason I became a lawyer!)

OTOH, with auto-deduct, I have never had a late fee or notice, have a great credit rating as a result, and my obligation gets auto paid even if I'm traveling out of the country. It has advantages too.

@dalias @tess Well, I'm fortunate that I point to accounts that won't have overdraft issues.

I was a lawyer. I read these once upon a time. I've had auto deductions for 20 years with some vendors. No issues.

What fine print and abuses are you talking about specifically?

@dalias @tess Many landlords/condos have auto-deduct to a tenant bank account. It's auto-processed by landlord/condo without anyone, them or renter, thinking about it, and no fee. Once authorized by the tenant, of course.

Win-win.

That may certainly not apply to every landlord! But it is in their interest to set it up since payment is now automatic and never late.

Lots of other bills, fees, credit cards, utilities, you can do the same.

@WarnerCrocker Yeah. You may have a point. At least, in any normal fashion. Eventually, things erupt. I don't think the American people will consent to be Elon Musk's serfs forever.

@WarnerCrocker A lot of this is going to be perfectly legal. That's what happens when dictators take over. The Holocaust was legal. Slavery was legal. Burning women at the stake was legal. The laws are going to change. He has already rescinded a Biden executive order on the census. Voting maps may change.

And it's all going to be legal.

@WarnerCrocker Wouldn't think so, would you? Hmmm.

So, I'm sticking with "aliens, and they don't want to admit it."

And I still have dibs on the diplomatic mission to Alpha Centauri. And I call shotgun.