#term life coverage

[machidielontheway]

on a completely different subject, yes i'm absolutely procrastinating the post i'm talking about in my last ramblings, when i looked at myself in the elevator mirror earlier today it looked like i had flat/no boobs (i mean i have so little of them. but here in the reflection really flat flat) and i was in a cool hoodie where my hips weren't apparent and i thought ooooh i look COOL like that

i like my body fine, and in the end i never wore any of the binders i bought like... 13 years ago. fuck. (i still have them. who wants a free binder) because i did not vibe with them physically and it was a time of discovery and i was fine without them. and i do like when i have girl vibes aesthetically speaking. also i weirdly can't imagine changing my body for reasons unknown as of now.

BUT my idea of my ideal body is a average guy vibe with NO HIPS. like thin hips. and shoulders wider than the hips. sometimes i see young guys outside and i'm like i wish i looked like that because there's just a COOL vibe... alas i can't, bodily (also i'm too small for it too work like i imagine).

all of this to say i thought 'ah, there is still some things i can do aesthetically to be a little cool, at least to my taste'

[life-and-health-insurance]

Is ONE Life Insurance Policy Enough? Term Life Explained!

Thinking term life insurance is a one-size-fits-all solution?

Think again! This video explores whether a single-term plan is sufficient for your needs, and dives into key things to consider like increasing coverage and loans. We'll also show you how to potentially SAVE on premiums with a smart strategy! Hit that subscribe button for more insurance tips and tricks!

[kanggroupservices]

Understanding the Benefits of Permanent Whole Life Insurance and Supplemental Insurance Policies in Dallas

Are you considering securing your financial future in Dallas? One crucial aspect to explore is insurance coverage. While many types of insurance exist, two significant options to consider are permanent whole life insurance policy and supplemental insurance policies. Understanding the benefits of these policies, particularly in the context of Dallas, can help you make informed decisions about your financial well-being.

Permanent Whole Life Insurance: A Lifelong Security Blanket

Permanent whole life insurance offers lifelong coverage and comes with a cash value component that grows over time. Here's why it's worth considering:

Lifetime Coverage: Unlike term life insurance, which covers you for a specific period, permanent whole life insurance provides coverage for your entire life. This ensures that your loved ones receive financial support regardless of when you pass away.

Cash Value Growth: A portion of your premium payments goes into a cash value account, which accumulates over time on a tax-deferred basis. In Dallas, where the cost of living continues to rise, having a cash value component can provide a valuable financial cushion for unexpected expenses or retirement.

Tax Advantages: The cash value growth in a permanent whole life insurance policy accumulates tax-deferred. Additionally, the death benefit is typically tax-free for beneficiaries. These tax advantages can be particularly beneficial for residents of Dallas seeking to maximize their wealth accumulation and leave a legacy for their loved ones.

Flexible Payment Options: Permanent whole life insurance policies often offer flexible payment options, allowing policyholders to adjust their premiums based on their financial circumstances. This flexibility can be especially advantageous in a dynamic city like Dallas, where income levels and expenses may fluctuate over time.

Estate Planning Tool: In Dallas, where estate planning is essential for wealth preservation, permanent whole life insurance can serve as a valuable tool. The death benefit can help cover estate taxes, ensuring that your assets are passed on to your heirs intact.

Supplemental Insurance Policies: Enhancing Your Coverage

In addition to permanent whole life insurance, Dallas residents can benefit from supplemental insurance policies tailored to their specific needs. These policies provide additional coverage beyond what traditional health or life insurance offers. Here are some examples:

Critical Illness Insurance: Dallas, like many major cities, faces healthcare challenges, including the risk of critical illnesses such as cancer, heart disease, or stroke. Critical illness insurance provides a lump-sum payment if you are diagnosed with a covered condition, helping you cover medical expenses and other financial obligations during a challenging time.

Disability Insurance: A sudden disability can have devastating financial consequences, especially in a city as fast-paced as Dallas. Disability insurance replaces a portion of your income if you are unable to work due to injury or illness, ensuring that you can meet your financial obligations and maintain your standard of living.

Long-Term Care Insurance: With the rising cost of long-term care services, such as nursing homes or in-home care, long-term care insurance can provide financial protection and peace of mind. This type of policy covers expenses associated with extended care needs, allowing you to preserve your assets and maintain control over your healthcare decisions.

Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance: Dallas residents may face higher risks of accidents due to factors such as heavy traffic or outdoor recreational activities. Accidental death and dismemberment insurance provides a benefit if you die or suffer a serious injury as a result of an accident, providing additional financial support to your loved ones during a difficult time.

In conclusion, permanent whole life insurance and supplemental insurance policy in Dallas can play a crucial role in safeguarding your financial future in Dallas. Whether you're looking for lifelong protection, tax advantages, or additional coverage for specific risks, these insurance options offer valuable benefits that can provide peace of mind for you and your loved ones. Consult with a trusted insurance advisor, such as Kang Group Services, to explore your options and customize a policy that meets your unique needs and goals.

[getlyfe]

Whole life insurance for children has several notable advantages.

Locked-in low premiums: Premiums are based on the child's age when the policy is purchased, so the rates are guaranteed for life. Guaranteed insurability: The child will be able to maintain coverage regardless of any future health issues that may arise. Cash value growth: The policy builds cash value over time that can be accessed later for things like education expenses or a down payment on a home. Lifelong protection: As long as premiums are paid, the coverage remains in effect for the child's entire life.

[eltoncurtis]

Term Life Insurance vs. Permanent Life Insurance: Making the Right Choice in Canada

If you're considering life insurance in Canada, you're likely faced with the age-old question: term or permanent? Don't worry, though – I've got your back. Let's break down the basics and help you make the right choice for your needs.

What is Term Life Insurance?

Term life insurance in Canada that covers you for a limited period of time. It's just a bare-bones version but at the end of the day, you still get what you need. A term life insurance would cover for the set duration or term, it may be from 10 years to 30 years or even more. Ease of use and affordability gives health insurance a head start over other types of insurance as family protection against the uncertainties of life is becoming too popular nowadays.

What is Permanent Life Insurance?

We also have permanent life insurance in the reverse case. This is it – the Platoon just everything included, full of all sorts of coverages. The death benefit of permanent insurance is to provide funds for your survivors for the rest of your life (as the name indicates). Yet, in addition to this, it accumulates assets that you can reclaim already in your mature age or use the money to supplement your pension. Is it the pay-out or is it the safety net, both options rid us of worries.

Choosing the Right Option

Now we are going to cut to the chase – let's deal with whether you should opt for permanent insurance or the more cost-effective term life insurance in Canada. The term life policy can be the right choice if you are young, full of health and just starting on your way. It's cost-effective and provides the coverage you need to cover your loved ones and create your safety net. Furthermore, you got the opportunity to convert it into a lifetime policy at some point in the future when your requirements become more settled.

However, in case you are looking for long-term stability and wish to enjoy the tranquility that comes with the fact that you will still be guarded against any kind of misfortunes even after your loved ones will have been taken care of, then you should think of permanent life insurance. True, it is a bit of a bigger outlay initially, however the “pros” of this match the “cost”.

Curiously, only you can answer this question. Now, that depends a lot on your lifestyle, goals for life, that you cherish and your risk level that you hold. So here is the good side of things – you do not have to go about whether to choose term life insurance in Canada or permanent life insurance. An insured agent with a valid license can help you orient you clearly in regards to life insurance in Canada and fully support you with having the exact policy that meets all your necessary needs.

[healthinsuranceobamacare]

Understanding Valuable Article Insurance and Finding the Best Term Insurance Plan

In today's dynamic world, securing our possessions and loved ones against unforeseen circumstances is paramount. Among the array of insurance options available, two vital aspects often stand out: Valuable Article Insurance and Term Insurance Plans. These serve different purposes yet play equally crucial roles in safeguarding what matters most. Let's delve deeper into these concepts offered by Kang Group Services and explore how they can provide peace of mind in different aspects of life.

Valuable Article Insurance:

Kang Group Services recognizes that some possessions hold more than just monetary value—they carry sentimental significance. Valuable Article Insurance aims to protect such cherished possessions, such as jewelry, fine art, antiques, or collectibles. These items often surpass typical coverage limits in standard insurance policies, making them vulnerable in case of loss, damage, or theft.

With this specialized insurance, policyholders gain comprehensive coverage tailored to the unique worth of their valuables. The policy can include coverage for various scenarios, like accidental damage, mysterious disappearance, or even loss while traveling. Kang Group Services' Valuable Article Insurance ensures that these items are safeguarded against potential risks, providing financial reimbursement or replacement options in case of an unfortunate event.

Moreover, the process of acquiring Valuable Article Insurance through Kang Group Services is seamless. Their experts assess the value of your items accurately, ensuring adequate coverage without overpaying for unnecessary protection.

Best Term Insurance Plan:

While Valuable Article Insurance focuses on safeguarding possessions, Term Insurance Plans offered by Kang Group Services revolve around securing the future of loved ones. Term Insurance stands as one of the simplest and most affordable life insurance options, providing financial protection to the policyholder's beneficiaries in the event of their demise during the policy term.

What makes Kang Group Services stand out in offering the best Term Insurance Plan is their understanding of individual needs. They offer a diverse range of plans, allowing policyholders to customize coverage based on their financial responsibilities, ensuring that their family's financial future remains secure.

These plans often come with additional riders, providing enhanced coverage for critical illnesses, disability, or accidental death. Kang Group Services ensures transparency, educating clients about policy details, premiums, and benefits, empowering them to make informed decisions.

Choosing the Right Coverage:

The quest for the best insurance plan, whether for valuable possessions or securing the future, involves careful consideration. Kang Group Services prioritizes understanding the unique needs of each client, providing personalized guidance to make informed choices.

When selecting Valuable Article Insurance or a Term Insurance Plan, individuals must:

Assess Needs: Understand the value of possessions or the financial responsibilities to determine the adequate coverage required.

Compare Options: Kang Group Services offers various plans—comparing coverage, premiums, and benefits helps in making a well-informed decision.

Consult Experts: Seek advice from insurance experts at Kang Group Services to ensure the chosen plan aligns with specific needs and financial goals.

In conclusion, Valuable Article Insurance and the Best term insurance plan offered by Kang Group Services serve as pillars of financial security. Whether safeguarding prized possessions or ensuring the well-being of loved ones, these insurance options provide peace of mind in uncertain times. Making the right choice involves understanding individual needs, comparing options, and seeking expert advice, and Kang Group Services stands ready to assist in this journey towards comprehensive protection.

[epicstorian]

4 types of insurance coverage and policies You Need to Know > https://bit.ly/48Grvq7

[willowser]

once you and katsuki discover you're expecting, you agree to keep it to yourselves for a little while.

you can't hide forever, but you want the chance to bask in the excitement of what's to come, together, away from outside eyes prying in. and you do: there's an immediate difference in the way you touch each other, how often, with katsuki even shifting coverage for patrol just so he can cling to your side for an extra day or two. it's like a honeymoon, almost, and you take the time to enjoy it like one.

but of course he wants to tell his parents as soon as he can, though he doesn't outright admit it; as soon as you start pushing the boundary of your waistband, he finds time in his schedule to see his dad—and then mitsuki makes time for him to see her.

katsuki tells toshinori next, who becomes quite emotional at the sight of your ultrasound, which in turn makes katsuki surprisingly emotional, too. there's much that they say and even more that they don't, but it's all communicated, regardless.

and lastly—he has to tell his nerd-ass friends.

it happens on one of their bi-monthly outings—that katsuki has consecutively been skipping for a little while, for obvious reasons. and it's like the minute he sits down in his seat and orders his food and one beer, everything he'd planned to say dissolves in his head.

despite wanting to keep quiet, he's been trying to plot out his announcement to these exact shit heads since the moment you found out. it's just so personal, and even after everything, katsuki's still discovering how to share those parts of his life with others, still coming to terms with the fact that he wants to.

he'd considered doing it slowly, rather than all at once in front of all of them, but he very quickly realized how terrible of a plan that was; deku would not physically be able to contain such knowledge in his body for any period of time, kirishima is a notorious fucking gossip, and if shouto had given him some kind of shit ass, wrinkled-nose look, he would have had to howitzer him through a building.

so he just says it, because he's never really been one for subtlety.

right after everyone's received their food and started to take their first bites, denki makes a point to ask,

"how's things with your honeybun, kacchan?"

and normally he'd have a fit at the nickname, but instead he hears bun and feels his stomach flip like it does when he remembers, when silly little things remind him of what the two of you have made together, and into his food, he simply says,

"we're havin' a baby."

the expected silence falls over all of them, save for the scaping of utensils against katsuki's bowl. he's damn good at feigning nonchalance, but food is getting stuck in his throat and his heart is beating so hard that he can hear it deep in his eardrums. of course he knows, but it dawns on him again, how overrun he is with excitement.

across the table, denki takes his turn to speak again. "you're...what?"

and then the whole room is erupting into a mass of chaos, moving in pieces like a riot of unrefined children, and even though he's being hounded with a million questions and being shaken around by his shoulders and some of these assholes are crying—katsuki graces them all with a big, fat grin.

[darrylgreenfinancial]

A lot of accidents occur during the holiday season…

Benjamin Franklin Said…

It is a strange anomaly that men should be careful to insure their houses their ships, their merchandise, yet neglect to insure their lives!

Surely the most important of all to their families and more subject to loss.

Benjamin Franklin

How do families protect themselves from the unexpected? ?

They get life insurance with long-term care and living benefits.

Contact me for a free quote thanks

Below is my calendar so that you can schedule a free Zoom consultation with me so that I can get your quote

https://calendly.com/darrylgreenfinancial

Thanks!

Darryl

Green

https://agents.worldfinancialgroup.com/darryl-green

[life-and-health-insurance]

Term Insurance Too Expensive? Here's How to Make it Affordable!

Thinking term insurance is out of reach? Don't worry! This video reveals 2 sneaky tricks to get affordable term coverage. Want to save BIG on your premiums? Watch now and learn how to:

● Choose the right coverage term: Get the protection you need without overpaying. ● Optimize your health profile: Improve your health markers to qualify for lower premiums. Don't delay, secure your family's future today!

#TermInsurance #FinancialPlanning #SaveMoney #healthtips

[kanggroupservices]

Understanding the Benefits of Healthcare Supplement Plans and Permanent Whole Life Insurance Policy with Kang Group Services

In today's complex landscape of healthcare supplement plans and financial security, individuals often find themselves navigating through a myriad of options to safeguard their well-being and future. With rising medical costs and uncertainties surrounding healthcare coverage, it has become increasingly crucial to explore comprehensive solutions. This is where Kang Group Services steps in, offering valuable insights and guidance on healthcare supplement plans and permanent whole life insurance policies.

Healthcare supplement plans play a vital role in augmenting traditional health insurance coverage by addressing gaps and providing additional benefits. These plans, also known as "Medigap" policies, are designed to complement Original Medicare by covering copayments, coinsurance, and deductibles. Kang Group Services understands the importance of selecting the right supplement plan tailored to individual needs and budget constraints.

One of the key advantages of healthcare supplement plans is the flexibility they offer in choosing healthcare providers. Unlike some managed care plans that limit provider networks, supplement plans typically allow individuals to visit any healthcare professional or facility that accepts Medicare patients. This freedom of choice empowers individuals to access quality care without being restricted by network limitations.

Furthermore, Kang Group Services emphasizes the significance of understanding the various coverage options available within supplement plans. These may include coverage for services such as foreign travel emergencies, skilled nursing facility care, and excess charges beyond Medicare-approved amounts. By thoroughly evaluating these options, individuals can ensure comprehensive coverage that aligns with their healthcare needs and lifestyle.

Additionally, Kang Group Services highlights the importance of enrolling in a supplement plan during the initial open enrollment period, typically starting within six months of turning 65 and enrolling in Medicare Part B. During this period, individuals are granted guaranteed issue rights, meaning insurance companies cannot deny coverage or charge higher premiums based on pre-existing conditions. Missing this enrollment window may result in limited coverage options and higher premiums in the future.

In conjunction with healthcare supplement plans, Kang Group Services emphasizes the long-term security provided by permanent whole life insurance policies. Unlike term life insurance, which offers coverage for a specified period, permanent whole life insurance provides coverage for the entirety of the policyholder's life, as long as premiums are paid.

One of the key features of permanent whole life insurance is its cash value component, which accumulates over time on a tax-deferred basis. Kang Group Services educates clients on the potential growth of cash value and its versatility as a financial asset. Policyholders have the option to borrow against the cash value or even surrender the policy for its cash value, providing a source of liquidity during times of need.

Moreover, Kang Group Services underscores the role of permanent whole life insurance in estate planning and wealth transfer. The death benefit paid to beneficiaries is generally income tax-free and can help cover estate taxes, final expenses, and provide financial security for loved ones. By incorporating permanent whole life insurance into their financial strategy, individuals can leave a lasting legacy and ensure their family's financial well-being for generations to come.

It is essential to note that both healthcare supplement plans and permanent whole life insurance policies require careful consideration and evaluation of individual circumstances. Kang Group Services offers personalized consultations to assess clients' needs, preferences, and long-term goals. By leveraging their expertise and industry knowledge, clients can make informed decisions that provide peace of mind and financial security.

In conclusion, Kang Group Services serves as a trusted partner in navigating the complexities of healthcare supplement plans and permanent whole life insurance policy. Through comprehensive guidance and tailored solutions, individuals can safeguard their health and financial well-being, both now and in the future. Contact Kang Group Services today to embark on a journey towards greater security and peace of mind.

[actioninsurancegroup]

Term life insurance protects you at a guaranteed level premium for the duration of the policy’s “term.” Typical terms might be anything between 10 and 30 years. You’ll need to decide on what to do next when the insurance term is set to expire.

You might believe that once the term is through, you won’t have as many financial commitments, and insurance won’t be as crucial. That might be acceptable if you’re confident that the people you care about won’t require financial protection for another 15 or 20 years.

It makes sense. However, life always has plans, and it’s better to be safe than sorry.

[asjinsurance]

Term Life Insurance: Why You Must Consider It? : 5 Benefits of Your Term Life Insurance

Term Life Insurance is an essential part of your financial portfolio.  In the realm of financial planning, securing your family’s future is paramount. Among the various insurance options available, a term life insurance stands out as a foundational element in safeguarding your loved ones’ financial well-being.  Let’s delve into the compelling reasons why having a term life insurance is important…

[katebishopsbow]

MISSING PIECE • F1 GRID

pairing: f1 grid x driver!reader (platonic)

summary: you have always taken pride in your ability to handle the press, until a journalist mentioned a sensitive topic that you had tried desperately to avoid – your estranged father. you struggled to give a response, and your fellow drivers showed no hesitation to jump in and defend you.

tags: angst, hurt/comfort, daddy issues, mentions of abusive parent, found family

word count: 3k

(image is not mine)

─────── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───────

Formula 1 journalists have always been known to be brutal – asking questions that teetered on the brink of privacy violation and unnecessarily hostile probing with the excuse of “providing insightful coverage” on the highly competitive sport.

That was why media training existed – to prepare drivers for the harshest, most demanding questions thrown at them and rewire their brains such that instead of lashing out, they would be able to gracefully divert the focus to something else while also preserving their pristine image.

You had always excelled at handling the media, and your ability to constantly remain level-headed even when they asked the most ridiculous of questions was something you took pride in – until a journalist purposefully asked about a subject you had desperately tried to avoid ever since your F1 career started.

The relationship you and your father had was rather difficult to explain. The two of you became distant since the day your parents divorced and you decided to walk away from his constant emotional unavailability and manipulation he so skillfully disguised as paternal love. He didn’t bother asking you to stay – well, he never bothered doing anything when it came to you. He called occasionally, only when he needed something from you and your mother, and sent birthday cards out of obligation a month late because god forbid he remembered your birthday if your mother hadn’t reminded him.

Then the calls became less frequent, and then they stopped altogether, and his empty promises of visiting became blatant lies that you no longer believed in. Your father gradually turned into a stranger, a missing piece, a clouded memory left behind in the childhood days of your life.

It was a hard subject for you to talk about, something you would much rather keep away from the limelight and scrutiny of the world. Unfortunately for you, secrets weren’t really a thing in F1, and the obvious absence of one of your parents on the grid and in all your victory celebrations had been noticed by the public’s watchful eyes.

So your secret was no longer a secret. All the drivers on the grid were aware of it, and a few closest to you had known the full truth of your strained relationship with your father, but they all avoided mentioning it as they knew it was a family matter you wanted to remain private. Most journalists were also respectful enough to avoid asking insensitive questions when interviewing you, phrasing their words like “How will you celebrate the win with your family?” instead of using the term “parents”, and you were more than appreciative of that.

So when the voice of a certain reporter who was known to be ruthless with his questioning echoed through the press conference, directing the uncomfortable and out-of-the-blue question toward you, you suddenly found yourself at a loss for words.

“Rumors have been circulating the Internet recently about you and your father. There are accusations against you claiming that you were ‘selfish’ and ‘ungrateful’ for cutting off ties with your parent, that a callous and unforgiving person such as yourself does not deserve a seat or to be the inspiration for young minds. What are your comments on such claims, and have you ever experienced regret for turning your back on your family – your very own flesh and blood?”

The sudden silence in the room was suffocating, and the only sound you could hear was the heartbeat that was drumming loudly in your ears as the colour drained from your face. The discussion revolving around your relationship with your father wasn’t anything you were unfamiliar with, but to hear it being brought up so directly in front of the press and all your fellow drivers, and all the demeaning names that people had called you – it had felt so demoralizing.

What happened between you and your dad was entirely private, people outside of your family who had never gone through what you had experienced should never have the right to make comments on your decision to leave. They didn’t know what it was like to have a father who was never there, who constantly let you down with his lies and broken promises, who subjected all his volatile temper and toxic outbursts to his daughter and wife.

You had enough of his bullshit and were simply sick of pretending to be the perfect little family, so you left with your mother and told yourself that you would never look back. It would be a lie if you said that you didn’t miss the presence of your dad every now and then – the palpable emptiness he left behind had and would continue to haunt you – but you also never once regretted your decision.

“I – I don’t think… these accusations… umm –” The composure you had always displayed in front of the media was long gone, and you struggled to find the right words to say in response to such an uncomfortable question. Every pair of eyes in the room was fixated on you while that journalist watched you with an inspective expression on his face, just waiting for the moment when you break – wanting you to lose control so that he could have the reaction he needed to write his article.

And all of a sudden, you were back in your childhood home, standing in the living room with your head hung low, fighting back tears as your father unleashed his wrath at you over the smallest, most trivial things. “What’re you crying for, huh? You want me to give you something to cry about?” he would say to you, his voice harsh and venomous as he screamed out insults that scarred your fragile little heart.

Then you were back in your grade school classroom, standing in front of the whole class and staying completely silent after your teacher assigned you the speech topic “My dad is my hero”. Your classmates looked at you as if you had grown a second head, confused by the way you were struggling to speak about a topic they could so easily blabber on for hours. You just couldn’t bring yourself to say anything – your dad was never your hero, he was a distant stranger who struck fear within you whenever he was around.

Then you were back in the bedroom at your new home, reading the birthday card that your dad had sent to you a month late. Written in the top left corner of the page was a scribble of your name, completely misspelled. You closed the card with tears brimming in your eyes, knowing that your existence was slowly beginning to fade from your father’s memories. You tried to remember what his voice sounded like, his calloused hands, his boisterous laughter on the rare days when he wasn’t screaming profanities at you and your mother, and then you realized that he was beginning to fade from yours, and it had felt so, so painful.

Blinking away the hectic memories, you were quickly dragged back to the reality of the press conference. Everyone was still waiting for your response, and the reporter continued to wait for you to crumble under pressure, but all you wanted to do was to run out of the room and hide from people’s blazing eyes, to not have the world criticize you on how you dealt with your family trauma.

“I think that is an absolutely unprofessional question to ask if I am being honest.” Max’s stern voice finally broke the silence, and you were still attempting to process the situation when he continued to chastise the overstepping journalist with an irritated scowl, “The focus of the press conference is to discuss the races and the drivers’ performances on the track, not to delve into people’s personal matter and bring up their family situations which clearly do not have any relevance to the sport.”

The Dutch driver had always been brutally honest, never afraid to speak his mind and call out the press for their bullshit, and this was no exception. Having a complicated relationship with his father himself, he knew the hardships of being in your situation and struggling with toxic family dynamics, and he experienced first-hand how the media loved exploiting such issues for the sake of a story. More importantly, you were his friend, and he would do anything to defend you.

You exchanged thankful glances with the driver next to you, feeling the warmth that blossomed over your heart when Max placed his hand over your trembling ones beneath the table, giving it a reassuring squeeze in a way that meant “Don’t worry. I got your back”.

Upon hearing what Max had to say, the reporter was quick to defend himself. “I was merely hoping to get some insights on whether or not the recent rumors had affected her performance on the track. That’s all,” he attempted to reason, trying to rationalize his intrusive question but was interrupted by another driver who frankly also had enough.

“I think everybody in this room is well aware that is not your intention,” Charles spoke up from his seat, staring at the lying journalist with a tight-lipped smile that was far from friendly. Being one of your closest friends on the grid, Charles was also no stranger to your father’s abusive tendencies and knew how tough it was for you to open up to him about such horrible memories. To see the press tried to take advantage of your vulnerability and blatantly lie about their ill intention sickened him, and he was not going to just sit and watch it happen.

The McLaren driver sitting beside him nodded as he let out a light chuckle, “Yeah I mean – I’m literally an idiot at reading the room but even I can tell that getting racing insights was not your only intention, mate.” The audacity some of these journalists and reporters had was astounding, thinking they could get away with asking disrespectful questions just because of their job titles. When it came to snapping back at their baleful antics, Lando did it once on camera with his iconic “Who are you?” and he would certainly do it again.

Carlos couldn’t help but smirk at Lando's cleverness – masking his reproval at the journalist with a self-deprecating joke. When his attention landed on the audience seated before him, he allowed himself to enjoy the caught-off-guard look on the journalist's now reddened face. “Serves him right for asking stupid questions,” Carlos muttered in a hushed voice just loud enough for himself to hear before turning his head to catch your eyes, shooting you a quick smile as a sign of support. You returned the kind gesture, thankful that your friends were standing by your side when you needed help.

As the journalist busied himself with trying to recollect his composure, an awkward silence hung upon the room once again. That was when Daniel perked up from his seat, the usual cheerful smile on his face as he proceeded to do what he did best – easing the tense atmosphere and diffusing the tension with a touch of humour. “Well, I can totally affirm that Lando can be an idiot sometimes,” he joked while grinning mischievously at the papaya driver, and the mood in the room visibly lightened as a few reporters laughed at his playful words.

“But on a more serious note though, I do believe it’s important to remember that drivers are also human beings, and we all have our own struggles and difficulties both on and off track. It’s crucial to respect drivers’ boundaries and not exploit their personal struggles, and our sole focus should always be on the sport and racing,” Daniel voiced out respectfully, emphasizing the one thing that people always seemed to forget – that drivers deserved privacy and owed nobody any explanations on their personal lives, even if they lived under the spotlight.

Oscar and Pierre who were seated at the further end of the table also nodded at Daniel’s resonating words, expressing their agreement on the importance of maintaining a respectful and uplifting environment for all drivers. “What are your thoughts, y/n?” A female reporter in the crowd raised the question, subtly giving you an encouraging smile as she steered the attention back to you, offering you the chance to speak your truth and address the situation directly.

The fear and dread within you slowly dissipated, replacing them was the heartwarming gratitude at your fellow drivers who showed no hesitation in defending you in the face of intrusive questioning. It was then that you realized you were never alone in this journey, that the other drivers on the grid were not only your competitors but your family who understood what you had gone through and would unconditionally have your back.

It was their reassuring glances, their wholehearted support, and their willingness to stand up for you that enveloped you with the strength and courage needed to finally speak up for yourself. “I would like to start off by thanking all the drivers here with me, and thank you to the journalist for that rather personal question,” you spoke clearly at your microphone, your voice emboldened by the newly found determination as you watched the journalist shift uncomfortably in his seat.

“While I do appreciate the public’s concern regarding my family issues, I would prefer to keep my personal life private. The decision to distance myself from my father to prioritize my well-being and emotional health is not something I regret doing, and it is not fair for people outside my family who don’t understand the complexities of our relationship to make assumptions on the matter.”

Taking a deep breath to gather your thoughts, you made the closing remarks to your statement, “Which is why I kindly ask for your understanding and space moving forward, to respect the privacy of not only me but everybody on the grid and allow us to deal with our personal matter privately, and ultimately create a respectful community within Formula 1.”

You looked around the room when you had finally finished speaking, meeting the eyes of your fellow drivers and the rows of reporters sitting before you. Your hands were still shaking from the nerves that pulsated through you, but a firm squeeze of Max’s hand pulled you back to the present before you could begin spiraling. “It’s okay. You’re okay,” he said with a gentle smile.

The media training sessions had come in handy once again, and you managed to address the situation in a graceful manner without revealing more details than you were comfortable sharing while also highlighting the importance of personal boundaries in the world of motorsports. “Thank you, y/n,” the previous female reporter nodded at you with a proud smile, glad that you put those unprofessional reporters who had no sense of boundaries back in their place.

Among the sea of cameras and eager reporters who could so easily expose the vulnerabilities of the drivers with a simple flick of their pens, some suddenly found themselves becoming the subject of such exposure, called out for their prying questions and insatiable need to twist people’s words for a click-worthy story.

It was evident that what you and the other drivers said had struck something within them as they silently began reflecting on their roles and responsibilities as reporters, and perhaps remembering the reason why they had chosen journalism in the first place – to report the factual truth to the public, or to fabricate things in exchange for views and attention?

The press conference proceeded to continue, but the shift in the atmosphere was apparent when journalists asked their questions with more sensitivity and introspection, mentioning topics that genuinely mattered instead of blindly chasing exclusive headlines. When the conference finally ended, you and all the drivers collectively exuded a breath of relief, feeling a weight being lifted off your shoulders now that the far-from-enjoyable media day was over.

As you exited the room and were away from the cameras and people, you turned around and gave your friends an appreciative smile. “Thank you all… for standing up for me.” You must have sounded like you were close to tears because Daniel began cooing at you teasingly as if he were comforting a crying child, “Aww… don’t worry about it, kiddo.”

Charles leaned forward to ruffle your hair almost like what an older brother would, and he said to you tenderly, “We’re a team, and we’ll always have your back.” You were not going to cry initially, but now you weren’t so sure. At that moment, you had felt so loved, so supported, and it made you want to hide under the covers and bawl your eyes out from the rush of emotions that crashed over you.

Your friends, understanding the depths of your emotions, gathered around to offer you their words of encouragement and gentle pats on your back. “I love you guys, really…” you whispered quietly, looking at them with such sincerity and gratitude. How lucky were you to be able to have these people as your competitors, your friends, your found family?

“Who wants to go and eat because I’m actually starving,” Lando exclaimed as he began walking in the direction of the restaurants, and a few of the drivers tailed behind him as they joined in on the rant about how hungry they were. You watched them with an overwhelming sense of fondness, and when Max reached out his hand for you to take, you gladly accepted it.

Listening to the light-hearted banter and laughs that filled the air with your best friend right next to you, you knew that this was exactly where you belonged. Not in the tiny living room with your father screaming at you, not in the classroom with the kids who didn’t understand what you had been through, not in the bedroom where you cried over your fading memories with your father, but right here – with your favourite people who would always be there to fight your battles with you.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

How to shatter the class solidarity of the ruling class

I'm touring my new, nationally bestselling novel The Bezzle! Catch me WEDNESDAY (Apr 11) at UCLA, then Chicago (Apr 17), Torino (Apr 21) Marin County (Apr 27), Winnipeg (May 2), Calgary (May 3), Vancouver (May 4), and beyond!

Audre Lorde counsels us that "The Master's Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master's House," while MLK said "the law cannot make a man love me, but it can restrain him from lynching me." Somewhere between replacing the system and using the system lies a pragmatic – if easily derailed – course.

Lorde is telling us that a rotten system can't be redeemed by using its own chosen reform mechanisms. King's telling us that unless we live, we can't fight – so anything within the system that makes it easier for your comrades to fight on can hasten the end of the system.

Take the problems of journalism. One old model of journalism funding involved wealthy newspaper families profiting handsomely by selling local appliance store owners the right to reach the townspeople who wanted to read sports-scores. These families expressed their patrician love of their town by peeling off some of those profits to pay reporters to sit through municipal council meetings or even travel overseas and get shot at.

In retrospect, this wasn't ever going to be a stable arrangement. It relied on both the inconstant generosity of newspaper barons and the absence of a superior way to show washing-machine ads to people who might want to buy washing machines. Neither of these were good long-term bets. Not only were newspaper barons easily distracted from their sense of patrician duty (especially when their own power was called into question), but there were lots of better ways to connect buyers and sellers lurking in potentia.

All of this was grossly exacerbated by tech monopolies. Tech barons aren't smarter or more evil than newspaper barons, but they have better tools, and so now they take 51 cents out of every ad dollar and 30 cents out of ever subscriber dollar and they refuse to deliver the news to users who explicitly requested it, unless the news company pays them a bribe to "boost" their posts:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/04/saving-news-big-tech

The news is important, and people sign up to make, digest, and discuss the news for many non-economic reasons, which means that the news continues to struggle along, despite all the economic impediments and the vulture capitalists and tech monopolists who fight one another for which one will get to take the biggest bite out of the press. We've got outstanding nonprofit news outlets like Propublica, journalist-owned outlets like 404 Media, and crowdfunded reporters like Molly White (and winner-take-all outlets like the New York Times).

But as Hamilton Nolan points out, "that pot of money…is only large enough to produce a small fraction of the journalism that was being produced in past generations":

https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/what-will-replace-advertising-revenue

For Nolan, "public funding of journalism is the only way to fix this…If we accept that journalism is not just a business or a form of entertainment but a public good, then funding it with public money makes perfect sense":

https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/public-funding-of-journalism-is-the

Having grown up in Canada – under the CBC – and then lived for a quarter of my life in the UK – under the BBC – I am very enthusiastic about Nolan's solution. There are obvious problems with publicly funded journalism, like the politicization of news coverage:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/jan/24/panel-approving-richard-sharp-as-bbc-chair-included-tory-party-donor

And the transformation of the funding into a cheap political football:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/poilievre-defund-cbc-change-law-1.6810434

But the worst version of those problems is still better than the best version of the private-equity-funded model of news production.

But Nolan notes the emergence of a new form of hedge fund news, one that is awfully promising, and also terribly fraught: Hunterbrook Media, an investigative news outlet owned by short-sellers who pay journalists to research and publish damning reports on companies they hold a short position on:

https://hntrbrk.com/

For those of you who are blissfully distant from the machinations of the financial markets, "short selling" is a wager that a company's stock price will go down. A gambler who takes a short position on a company's stock can make a lot of money if the company stumbles or fails altogether (but if the company does well, the short can suffer literally unlimited losses).

Shorts have historically paid analysts to dig into companies and uncover the sins hidden on their balance-sheets, but as Matt Levine points out, journalists work for a fraction of the price of analysts and are at least as good at uncovering dirt as MBAs are:

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2024-04-02/a-hedge-fund-that-s-also-a-newspaper

What's more, shorts who discover dirt on a company still need to convince journalists to publicize their findings and trigger the sell-off that makes their short position pay off. Shorts who own a muckraking journalistic operation can skip this step: they are the journalists.

There's a way in which this is sheer genius. Well-funded shorts who don't care about the news per se can still be motivated into funding freely available, high-quality investigative journalism about corporate malfeasance (notoriously, one of the least attractive forms of journalism for advertisers). They can pay journalists top dollar – even bid against each other for the most talented journalists – and supply them with all the tools they need to ply their trade. A short won't ever try the kind of bullshit the owners of Vice pulled, paying themselves millions while their journalists lose access to Lexisnexis or the PACER database:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/24/anti-posse/#when-you-absolutely-positively-dont-give-a-solitary-single-fuck

The shorts whose journalists are best equipped stand to make the most money. What's not to like?

Well, the issue here is whether the ruling class's sense of solidarity is stronger than its greed. The wealthy have historically oscillated between real solidarity (think of the ultrawealthy lobbying to support bipartisan votes for tax cuts and bailouts) and "war of all against all" (as when wealthy colonizers dragged their countries into WWI after the supply of countries to steal ran out).

After all, the reason companies engage in the scams that shorts reveal is that they are profitable. "Behind every great fortune is a great crime," and that's just great. You don't win the game when you get into heaven, you win it when you get into the Forbes Rich List.

Take monopolies: investors like the upside of backing an upstart company that gobbles up some staid industry's margins – Amazon vs publishing, say, or Uber vs taxis. But while there's a lot of upside in that move, there's also a lot of risk: most companies that set out to "disrupt" an industry sink, taking their investors' capital down with them.

Contrast that with monopolies: backing a company that merges with its rivals and buys every small company that might someday grow large is a sure thing. Shriven of "wasteful competition," a company can lower quality, raise prices, capture its regulators, screw its workers and suppliers and laugh all the way to Davos. A big enough company can ignore the complaints of those workers, customers and regulators. They're not just too big to fail. They're not just too big to jail. They're too big to care:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/04/teach-me-how-to-shruggie/#kagi

Would-be monopolists are stuck in a high-stakes Prisoner's Dilemma. If they cooperate, they can screw over everyone else and get unimaginably rich. But if one party defects, they can raid the monopolist's margins, short its stock, and snitch to its regulators.

It's true that there's a clear incentive for hedge-fund managers to fund investigative journalism into other hedge-fund managers' portfolio companies. But it would be even more profitable for both of those hedgies to join forces and collude to screw the rest of us over. So long as they mistrust each other, we might see some benefit from that adversarial relationship. But the point of the 0.1% is that there aren't very many of them. The Aspen Institute can rent a hall that will hold an appreciable fraction of that crowd. They buy their private jets and bespoke suits and powdered rhino horn from the same exclusive sellers. Their kids go to the same elite schools. They know each other, and they have every opportunity to get drunk together at a charity ball or a society wedding and cook up a plan to join forces.

This is the problem at the core of "mechanism design" grounded in "rational self-interest." If you try to create a system where people do the right thing because they're selfish assholes, you normalize being a selfish asshole. Eventually, the selfish assholes form a cozy little League of Selfish Assholes and turn on the rest of us.

Appeals to morality don't work on unethical people, but appeals to immorality crowds out ethics. Take the ancient split between "free software" (software that is designed to maximize the freedom of the people who use it) and "open source software" (identical to free software, but promoted as a better way to make robust code through transparency and peer review).

Over the years, open source – an appeal to your own selfish need for better code – triumphed over free software, and its appeal to the ethics of a world of "software freedom." But it turns out that while the difference between "open" and "free" was once mere semantics, it's fully possible to decouple the two. Today, we have lots of "open source": you can see the code that Google, Microsoft, Apple and Facebook uses, and even contribute your labor to it for free. But you can't actually decide how the software you write works, because it all takes a loop through Google, Microsoft, Apple or Facebook's servers, and only those trillion-dollar tech monopolists have the software freedom to determine how those servers work:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/05/04/which-side-are-you-on/#tivoization-and-beyond

That's ruling class solidarity. The Big Tech firms have hidden a myriad of sins beneath their bafflegab and balance-sheets. These (as yet) undiscovered scams constitute a "bezzle," which JK Galbraith defined as "the magic interval when a confidence trickster knows he has the money he has appropriated but the victim does not yet understand that he has lost it."

The purpose of Hunterbrook is to discover and destroy bezzles, hastening the moment of realization that the wealth we all feel in a world of seemingly orderly technology is really an illusion. Hunterbrook certainly has its pick of bezzles to choose from, because we are living in a Golden Age of the Bezzle.

Which is why I titled my new novel The Bezzle. It's a tale of high-tech finance scams, starring my two-fisted forensic accountant Marty Hench, and in this volume, Hench is called upon to unwind a predatory prison-tech scam that victimizes the most vulnerable people in America – our army of prisoners – and their families:

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865878/thebezzle

The scheme I fictionalize in The Bezzle is very real. Prison-tech monopolists like Securus and Viapath bribe prison officials to abolish calls, in-person visits, mail and parcels, then they supply prisoners with "free" tablets where they pay hugely inflated rates to receive mail, speak to their families, and access ebooks, distance education and other electronic media:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/02/captive-customers/#guillotine-watch

But a group of activists have cornered these high-tech predators, run them to ground and driven them to the brink of extinction, and they've done it using "the master's tools" – with appeals to regulators and the finance sector itself.

Writing for The Appeal, Dana Floberg and Morgan Duckett describe the campaign they waged with Worth Rises to bankrupt the prison-tech sector:

https://theappeal.org/securus-bankruptcy-prison-telecom-industry/

Here's the headline figure: Securus is $1.8 billion in debt, and it has eight months to find a financier or it will go bust. What's more, all the creditors it might reasonably approach have rejected its overtures, and its bonds have been downrated to junk status. It's a dead duck.

Even better is how this happened. Securus's debt problems started with its acquisition, a leveraged buyout by Platinum Equity, who borrowed heavily against the firm and then looted it with bogus "management fees" that meant that the debt continued to grow, despite Securus's $700m in annual revenue from America's prisoners. Platinum was just the last in a long line of PE companies that loaded up Securus with debt and merged it with its competitors, who were also mortgaged to make profits for other private equity funds.

For years, Securus and Platinum were able to service their debt and roll it over when it came due. But after Worth Rises got NYC to pass a law making jail calls free, creditors started to back away from Securus. It's one thing for Securus to charge $18 for a local call from a prison when it's splitting the money with the city jail system. But when that $18 needs to be paid by the city, they're going to demand much lower prices. To make things worse for Securus, prison reformers got similar laws passed in San Francisco and in Connecticut.

Securus tried to outrun its problems by gobbling up one of its major rivals, Icsolutions, but Worth Rises and its coalition convinced regulators at the FCC to block the merger. Securus abandoned the deal:

https://worthrises.org/blogpost/securusmerger

Then, Worth Rises targeted Platinum Equity, going after the pension funds and other investors whose capital Platinum used to keep Securus going. The massive negative press campaign led to eight-figure disinvestments:

https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2019-09-05/la-fi-tom-gores-securus-prison-phone-mass-incarceration

Now, Securus's debt became "distressed," trading at $0.47 on the dollar. A brief, covid-fueled reprieve gave Securus a temporary lifeline, as prisoners' families were barred from in-person visits and had to pay Securus's rates to talk to their incarcerated loved ones. But after lockdown, Securus's troubles picked up right where they left off.

They targeted Platinum's founder, Tom Gores, who papered over his bloody fortune by styling himself as a philanthropist and sports-team owner. After a campaign by Worth Rises and Color of Change, Gores was kicked off the Los Angeles County Museum of Art board. When Gores tried to flip Securus to a SPAC – the same scam Trump pulled with Truth Social – the negative publicity about Securus's unsound morals and financials killed the deal:

https://twitter.com/WorthRises/status/1578034977828384769

Meanwhile, more states and cities are making prisoners' communications free, further worsening Securus's finances:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/14/minnesota-nice/#shitty-technology-adoption-curve

Congress passed the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act, giving the FCC the power to regulate the price of federal prisoners' communications. Securus's debt prices tumbled further:

https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/117/s1541

Securus's debts were coming due: it owes $1.3b in 2024, and hundreds of millions more in 2025. Platinum has promised a $400m cash infusion, but that didn't sway S&P Global, a bond-rating agency that re-rated Securus's bonds as "CCC" (compare with "AAA"). Moody's concurred. Now, Securus is stuck selling junk-bonds:

https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/117/s1541

The company's creditors have given Securus an eight-month runway to find a new lender before they force it into bankruptcy. The company's debt is trading at $0.08 on the dollar.

Securus's major competitor is Viapath (prison tech is a duopoly). Viapath is also debt-burdened and desperate, thanks to a parallel campaign by Worth Rises, and has tried all of Securus's tricks, and failed:

https://pestakeholder.org/news/american-securities-fails-to-sell-prison-telecom-company-viapath/

Viapath's debts are due next year, and if Securus tanks, no one in their right mind will give Viapath a dime. They're the walking dead.

Worth Rise's brilliant guerrilla warfare against prison-tech and its private equity backers are a master class in using the master's tools to dismantle the master's house. The finance sector isn't a friend of justice or working people, but sometimes it can be used tactically against financialization itself. To paraphrase MLK, "finance can't make a corporation love you, but it can stop a corporation from destroying you."

Yes, the ruling class finds solidarity at the most unexpected moments, and yes, it's easy for appeals to greed to institutionalize greediness. But whether it's funding unbezzling journalism through short selling, or freeing prisons by brandishing their cooked balance-sheets in the faces of bond-rating agencies, there's a lot of good we can do on the way to dismantling the system.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/08/money-talks/#bullshit-walks

Image: KMJ (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Boerse_01_KMJ.jpg

CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en

[assurancelifellc]