Top Senior Concerns in Houston
Welcome to the Houston Elder Learning Project home page which is devoted to providing information which protects the interests, income and investments of all seniors (age 50+) of Houston.
In the coming issues we will be focusing on issues which informed seniors will find helpful such as, in this issue, whether seniors should be more aware of the HISD financial accountability question. Also, seniors are no more susceptible than others when it comes to scams or poor business practices, but information is key to avoiding situations which place us at risk for being targeted by the less than honorable among the business community.
Unfortunately we all have a bit of the "get rich quick" in us, and that allows scammers to take advantage of our good naturedness. If someone offers you a "share" of his/her lottery winnings if you will "hold" his deposit...beware. To get more information about this, and other scams head to the Texas Lottery Web Page at : www.txlottery.org
One of the more common words heard at HISD offices this past two years is OOPS ! Hardly a month goes by without some news item about a breakdown in their system which costs us (seniors) money. After Tropical Storm Allison there was repair work galore to be done. Was it done ? Yes and No. Was it done well ? Well, not really in many cases.
Everyone running for office during the past two years has come out in favor of raising teacher wages even higher. Now there is serious questioning about the validity of scores on the standardized tests used by the district. It seems some of the results were not as accurate, nor as good, as initially reported (oops). And now, even more recently (July '03) there is a question about the dropout rates being accurate in areas around the city (oops, again). HISD says they will now look to withhold bonus money in the future for administrators and principals who exhibit "sloppy" reporting errors. We're wondering what the difference is between "sloppy' reporting and intentionally inaccurate reporting of these numbers.
Meanwhile our tax rate climbs higher still, our property tax valuations increase almost yearly and the only ones accountable for performance is us; we must pay the taxes or else. Many of the 50+ group are empty-nesters, or folks who had no one in these school districts at all. There is a ground swell of opinion that either tax valuation should be capped, or tax responsibility should be eliminated for those folks who have already "paid their fair share" of school taxes. While everyone benefits from better educated youth, there seems to be no pro rata benefit for our seniors.
One of the prime lessons we have learned recently is to never leave your car in an automotive chain shop without having a written estimate in hand. One reader needed his brakes worked on, and went to a local chain store. The prices were listed, in ascending order. He asked for the basic service (about $90), and was told that they had no "parts" for his model car, but the more expensive service work might be available. Smelling trouble, he went to another shop.
At that shop there were no prices listed anywhere. He was told to leave the car there as they were busy; they would "check it out" and call him later. When they called, they had checked thoroughly, and the work needed was in excess of $200. Essentially, the work was the same as the mid-price service at the first shop (their price $129). Rather than waste more time he authorized the service, and asked that they call when the work was done.
They called before closing time and indicated the work would take until the next day, and said that he needed new CV joints as well. He said "no thanks" to that, but call when the work was completed. The next morning the shop called to say that the work was "almost ready. And do you want us to put in those CV joints we talked about yesterday ?"
There are two morals to this story. One, get a written estimate before you leave your valuable car in a shop; comparison shopping is always best. And Two, know your car well enough to understand what to expect when you ask for repairs.
This web site was developed through the good offices of The Windsor Group, a not-for-profit organization specializing in promoting business ethics in small businesses and other non-profit organizations.
Our Recommended Web Sites
Texas Lottery Information and results
Dynacraft - discounted golf equipment
Houston Performing Arts-for senior discount info
DOTS - Democrats Online for Texas
