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RANTZ & RAVEZ - You Pay your Federal, State and Local Taxes along with an assortment of monthly bills for your Car Loan, Home Mortgage or Rent, Water, Electric, Gas and a variety of Credit Card balances and other Bills from vendors you do business with. You try to pay on time to avoid the costly interest charges that are added to your current balance. Interest charges continue as time passes month after month. It is not usual for some with a low FICA score to pay a very high interest rate on some outstanding balances. As the months pass, you pay more and more in interest payments without seeing a significant reduction on your monthly bill for the original purchase. This is all tied to your ability to purchase a product and pay without seeing growing interest payments month after month.
Your Credit score is known as your FICA rating. That is where credit card companies make their millions in profits when they size you up for any type of loan. It could be for a new car, home improvements or a medical emergency for you or a member of your family. All of a sudden, you need fast money to pay an important bill and your credit score determines what interest rate you will pay. If your FICA score is too low, you may not be able to obtain a loan and if you do, it will be with an extremely high interest rate.
The term FICA stands for Fair Isaac Corporation. Around Thirty years ago FICA became the gold standard to determine your worthiness of obtaining a loan. If you qualify for a loan, the interest charge will reflect your FICA score. A good score will permit you to obtain a loan without a lot of delays and a reasonable interest rate on the repayment. The following list provides current FICA score ratings…..
580. Poor. Not a good number to obtain any type of loan.
669. Fair. Many lenders will approve a loan with this score.
670. Good. Most lenders consider this a Good Score.
740. Very Good. Responsible and Dependable borrower.
800+. Exceptional. You can go out and purchase most products.
Before you decide to make the next big purchase, check your FICA Score to determine if you should buy now or wait until your Score improves and your interest rate reduces. It will save you more money in the long run.
You can obtain your FICA score online or with your credit card holder.
Who should we blame for the increasing Insurance Costs, Rising Crime Trends in Los Angeles, Out of Control Homeless Population, and reduced Quality of Life in and around Los Angeles?
There is just one main group of elected people who carry the responsibility for establishing the Quality of Life, Safety and all that it takes to maintain a Quality of Life for all living, visiting, and establishing business in the City of Los Angeles. That select group of people are those Elected to serve all of us in Los Angeles and beyond. In Los Angeles City, the group consists of the Mayor, Controller and 15 representatives on the Los Angeles City Council. From the Mayor to your local city councilmember and Controller, we place the responsibility in their hands to represent each of us and provide us with Safe Neighborhoods and a quality of life.
It does not matter which political party those elected to serve are members of. What matters is that the elected officials carry out their responsibilities to establish and maintain a Safe Quality of life for all living in the boundaries of Los Angeles. From the Pacific Ocean on the West to the Eastern portion of the city and from the San Fernando Valley to San Pedro we place our Trust, Hopes and Dreams in the hands of The Mayor, Controller and 15 Elected Councilmembers. Are they doing as we expect them to provide a quality of life for each of us in our neighborhoods?
There are those few Councilmembers who appear to care about their residents and business owners and try working to resolve problems in their districts. Examples are John Lee and Bob Blumenfield from the San Fernando Valley and Traci Park from the Westside. Then there are others who do everything in their power to undermine the LAPD and the Residential and Business community they represent. The most recent example that received wide media interest is the out of control Homeless, Crime and neglect in and around McArthur Park near 7th Street and Alvarado. Norm Langer, who I have known for many years, finally had it with the Crime, Violence and neglect near his famous Langer’s Restaurant known for the very popular Number 19 sandwich that costs $25.50 before tax or tip! I might get a few of my friends to join me on a Metro ride to Langer’s for lunch. We can ride the Metro from the Valley and see if we can survive the adventure. Good idea for a future RantZ and RaveZ column?
When we examine the recent history and continuing alleged corruption at Los Angeles City Hall and beyond, it is easy to understand why Los Angeles is such a mess when it comes to providing a Safe and Secure City. We are the Voters and we can change who we send to City Hall to represent us. Should we all continue to live in fear of crimes taking place throughout Los Angeles? Robbery, Murder, Car Theft and all the rest. It can and will change when the people rise up and VOTE to send District Attorney Gascón out to pasture! More on the upcoming election and my recommendations for you to consider in November.
As far as the current out of control crime and homeless situation at McArthur Park and the Langer’s restaurant neighborhoods goes, I put the blame directly on the Out of Touch “Crazy Train” Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez. Truly one Los Angeles City Councilmember who does not care about the Residents, Business Owners, or the members of the LAPD.
(Dennis P. Zine is the author of RantZ and RaveZ. Dennis is retired from law enforcement and the L.A. City Council. Dennis can be heard on KABC Radio and other Los Angeles Media broadcasts.)
