SDS Update (Get a cup of coffee before opening)
Greetings Everyone,
I know you are probably very busy, so I will apologize in advance for the length of this update. I will attempt to keep this explanation of the state of affairs regarding SDS, as concise as possible, while hopefully conveying the circumstances leading up to the current state of affairs, where we are now, and the reasons for expecting an optimistic outcome. However, it is complicated, so will take some explaining. There are several compounding issues adding to the current delays, some business related, and others personal. In the final analysis, business does not come first. Serving God comes first, then my family, and then business. However, the SDS project, encompasses all three, and is therefore a priority in my life. But it has to be dealt with, within the context of my current realities, and that is what I am doing. I’m, going to break this down into the past, present, and future, in order to provide as clear of an understanding as possible.
Past
My SDS Loan project evolved out of my desire to help people with disabilities to earn a living from home, using their computers, and to help my family and friends to benefit from my online investments. I had researched MLM and other types of Home based businesses for many years seeking to find the right formula to assist people with disabilities, who were unable to find traditional employment, to earn a living from home. My search eventually, lead me to the online, MLM income arena, HYIP's, and paid-to-surf, programs. The presence of the Internet seemed to solve many of the obstacles inherent in the offline counterparts, which required the recruiting of family and friends, which most people with disabilities are not going to excel at.
After researching the online income arena, and developing my skills at DD and a strategy of diversification, and retrieving principle quickly, I started doing very well. Several of my family members started asking me about what I was doing, and wanting to know if I could show them how to do it also. However, I had learned from my recruiting efforts to earn referral fees, that it's not wise to put one's reputation on the line by constantly recommending programs in this arena, due to the fluidity of the environment. So, I offered to accept personal loans from them, where I would guarantee them a certain return on their money, and would therefore have more control over the outcome.
I offered to pay them 200% per year, paid out in 12 equal payments, for loans under $2,500, and 200% per year for five years, paid out in 60 equal monthly payments, for loans over $2,500. I used the $2,500 benchmark because I had determined that this was the amount I needed, on average, to help people with disabilities to become self-sufficient.
Many of my online colleagues who were actually placing their money in a lot of the same places I was, were not getting the same results, due to not exercising the discipline to diversify, and retrieve principle quickly. After Pinnacle Holdings and some other HYIP’s stopped paying, about a year and half ago, several of them came to me to see what I recommended as a replacement. I told them the same thing I had told my family, and made them the same offer. And thus the SDS Loan project was born. So, unlike many programs, this really was started with the lenders best interests in mind, because the original lenders it was created for, were my family and friends. I didn't change anything when I offered it to my online acquaintances, except adding the referral fee system, because some of them didn't have the funds to do the $2,500 level, and wanted a way to earn enough to get there. The project has grown to approximately 300 lenders over the course of 18 months exclusively through word of mouth. I have never promoted it, but several of the lenders who had websites, and followers of their own, have.
Okay, as for the mechanics of how it works; when I receive a loan, I invest that money into any number of potential income earning activities, some online, and others not. I then use the profits from these investments, to both repay the loans, and help people with disabilities to get started making money from home. I will loan these people seed money, and recommend a strategy based on what's working at the time, plus teach them to do due diligence, and plug them into the knowledge base which exists online. I don't mind making recommendations to this group, because they are using money provided by me in the first place. This is much different than recommending others to put their money into something.
Since the money loaned is from profits, there is no pressure on these people to repay the loans. I am in this to help them, not put them further in debt. I actually try to identify projects to invest in that have a referral system, so that the program will repay me through referral fees. That way, I get the best of both worlds. I am not putting pressure on the people I'm helping to repay, but yet, I am getting repaid. This also helps them retain some self-respect, because they feel better knowing I'm getting my money back, in this way.
For many of the people I help, either the state government, or the federal government will pay me for helping them, which adds another source of revenue, for the same efforts. And keep in mind, that this was funded through profits. I also do other types of work with people with disabilities, such as helping them to find work in traditional employment, or start businesses. I also get paid from these activities, which does not pull funds from the loans or the investment profits. So, this income acts as a back up, to insure that the loans are covered, as well as providing additional funds to fuel investments. So, everything works together synergistically.
Okay, at this point, you're probably asking if this all works so well, then why am I currently having problems? This is a valid question, and one that will take a bit to explain. There are, as I stated earlier, several compounding issues adding to the current payment delays, some business related, and others personal.
Much of the activity previously recommended to the people I am working with revolved around the auto-surf industry. This required them to do something for the money, but it was easy enough that most had no problem completing the required tasks. Again this adds to their self-esteem by giving them a sense of “ earning†the money. It started with the success of 12 Daily Pro, and a few others, last year. Then, several people whom I had come to know decided to start their own surf programs, and HYIP's. So, I put a lot of funds into these programs directly, and provided funds for the people I am working with to do the same. Unfortunately, all of the above eventually failed.
What made these failures so disheartening was that I was already hurt by previous events, and was counting on these admins, whom I considered reliable, to help me turn that around. You see, I am still paying people who submitted their loans via INTGold, Stormpay, and EMO, even though most of those funds are no longer accessible, to varying degrees. As most of you know, most programs either stopped paying on those accounts funded through these resources, or shut
down altogether when those accounts were frozen. But I am taking the high road here, and honoring my commitments. In fact, my promissory notes do not give me any leverage to do otherwise, and I wrote them that way on purpose.
Stormpay was the biggest hit, financially speaking. However, both, the INTGold and EMO closures, significantly disrupted my system for moving money around, as well as depleting available funds directly. I live within an hour drive of INTGold's offices, so when I started all of this, I could take them any amount of cash, and have it deposited into my account for a $1 fee, and then move it around into other e-currencies as needed. So, there closure not only took a chunk of my change, but it also disrupted my methods for moving money around, which increased my workload. This wasn’t devastating, but definitely a major inconvenience, and expense.
This all took place very shortly after I had been told I had prostate cancer, and both were during the holiday season, of last year. So, I really didn’t even pay much attention to the cancer diagnosis, since I was going to wait until after the holidays to deal with it. Then In December, they closed INTGold, so January got off to a rickety start as it was, and then, the Stormpay fiasco hit at the first of February, taking $25,000-$30, 000, in actually funds, and an enormous amount of earning potential, with it. That really hurt, because not only did it take my funds, but also the money of the people I was helping, since most of them were making the lions share of their earnings from 12 Daily Pro at that time. This meant that all of the gains I had made in helping people for the previous six or seven months was wiped out, almost instantly. So, I had to step in to assist them to get back on their feet again, resulting in more drained funds, not to mention the time and energy it took to reassess the whole online income arena after the initial auto-surf crash. This raised the amount of funds being provided to these people from the initial estimate of $2,500, to an average of $5,000-$10,000, due to the recovery process.
In the mean time, I had learned to use EMO as a replacement for moving funds around between E-gold and E-bullion, and sending money orders. It was working very well for this purpose, after some initial adjustment time. But, of course we know what happened there. Another $4,000, or so, was directly lost in that mess, as well as another disruption to my cash-flow management methods, and more funds that were tied up in various programs invested into via EMO funds. And again, not just for myself, but for the people I was helping as well.
So, I came to people I knew, to help me recoup those losses. Up to that point, those bumps in the road were major inconveniences, and expenses, but were not devastating, as I still had money to invest, without it affecting my ability to make payments. However, when these newer programs, all stopped paying, pretty much simultaneously, along with some others, it made a bigger impact
than I initially realized. So, for about four months between March and June, we were regrouping, and trying to get things recovered that had been lost in the payment processor messes. I forget exactly where in there EMO was closed, but it was during this time as well.
Then came July, which got off to a rocky start from the beginning, as I had planned a 4th of July vacation, months in advance, which I was unable to go on the first part of, due to waiting on some much needed funds to arrive, which did not come before time for me to leave. Even though the person sending them was well aware of my planned departure date, they did not bother to spend the extra few dollars to insure prompt delivery. Once the funds did come, I was able to join my wife and daughter for the second half of the vacation, but I did not have time, or enough funds on hand, to pay everyone up in advance for the time I was going to be away. So, when I returned, I was behind immediately.
Then, several other programs stopped paying, which dealt a severe blow. I still had/have other more stable, long-term investments, but they pay less than I do (16.67% per month), and the amount I have invested in them is not equal to the sum of my loans. So they cannot keep the payments flowing for my outstanding loans. I was able to make it through July on those smaller payments, my reserves, personal credit sources, and offline business payments. I was still struggling to get caught up from being gone, when a personal crisis hit, which totally devastated me emotionally, making it impossible to think clearly, much less to focus on the intricate financial dealings needed to get things caught up. Just to give you an idea of how devastating this event was; I still had not even gone back to the doctor about the cancer, because I was too wrapped up in dealing with SDS. So as you can see, I’m not devastated, or distracted from SDS, easily.
August rolled around, with me pretty much in a daze, and not being able to focus much on work at all. As a result, I had to rely almost solely on the smaller payments, and new loans to make payments. I also made a few large investments in projects without doing my usual legwork, due to being too disassociated with the whole process at the time, to give the attention it requires. I lost a bundle, and missed several lucrative opportunities at the same time. Of course, this was/is very upsetting to me, as this project was never set up to operate that way. But I looked at it as necessary bridges to get over the hump, until I can get my focus back, and deal with the hard work of keeping the earnings flowing as they had been, and get the investments built back up again. Unfortunately, the bad decisions made at a time I shouldn’t have been making them, had catastrophic results.
I didn't even realize how bad it was until after the end of July, because initially, I was just playing catch up from taking a vacation, and then I was just in a daze for weeks. But as the month of August wore on, I started realizing that the money was running out much too soon for me to keep things moving smoothly, as is. But I was still not thinking very clearly due to the crisis situation, which had really blindsided me. I know the system will work, without being dependent on new loans, as it has for over a year. And, keep in mind, I took a few days off at the beginning of July, so I started the month out behind as it was, and then several of my remaining programs, which were paying, stopped as well.
In addition to these issues, around the end of July, or beginning of August, Western Union decided that I send too much money to people through their system, so they banned me from using their services any more, after charging my credit card for a large sum which I was sending to a lender due to a bank wire fiasco that left their payment several days late. It took days of debating with them over this to just get the funds put back on my card, which of course resulted in more time and energy wasted, at a time when I had neither to spare. I never did get them to realize what they were requiring from me was unrealistic. They wanted me to have the people receiving the WU payments from me, to send them an itemized budget, complete with receipts, documenting that they were using the money I was sending them, for rent, groceries, utilities, etc… I tried, unsuccessfully, to convince them that this was not only excessive, and ridiculous, but also impossible. I mean, how are people going to provide receipts for how they spent money, or are going to spend it, before they receive it? Due to the expense of their system, I only used it in emergency situations, to begin with. And people in crisis, shouldn’t be subjected to the type of intrusion of privacy they were demanding. Money Gram was the only beneficiary of that ordeal.
This was yet, another disruption in the cash flow system, but this affects the people in crisis more than the lenders and their payments, except for the fact that there is only so much of me, and so many hours in the day, and this was a major drain of on my limited mental reserves, and time, which were, at that moment, at a minimum already. You probably can’t imagine much of the hassles that created, but that was just one transaction of many which were affected. So again, you can see if one transaction took up that much time and energy, and I have 300 people to pay each month, how disruptive the whole thing was/is. Not to mention the folks coming to me for help, and all of those transactions, which had be reassessed, and alternate methods of payments devised, all at a time that most of my attention was forced elsewhere.
In addition to everything else, the bank really messed up on several bank wires for the second month in a row. I think it had to be something to do with additional reporting of my activity, due to the large number of bank wires I send, or something. There's not much else which can explain the recent problems I'm having there. They did hire some new staff, and originally cited that as the issue, but they've now informed me that due to the amount of activity on my account, and the number of bank wires I send, they are closing my account, because they “no longer feel they are the best financial institution for my needs.†After the last few months, I have to agree with them. LOL
So, as you can see, among other issues, the Patriot Act was causing havoc in multiple ways, with moving money around, at a time that I was very distracted. Plus, the money doesn't just fall into my lap to begin with. I have to really work to produce 17% per month on $250K, and being so distracted with the family crisis, caused me to miss lots of income producing opportunities, some of which could have gotten payments caught up all around.
One of the additional factors causing everything to temporarily get to this point is that the later part of July, August, and September, are sort of "Lame Duck" months in the state/federal VR system in Texas. Which is just as well, since I would not have been functionally capable of doing much within the VR realm of things during this time anyway. The federal fiscal year starts on August 1st, and our state fiscal year begins September 1st. So, everything starts winding down in July as these agencies have spent most of their budgets for the year, because if they don't spend all of the money they had allocated for this year, they can't justify asking for more next year. LOL Anyway, for Texas, they get their new allocation from the feds on August 1st, but they are still operating from the last state fiscal year's budget, and legislation. When the new federal fiscal year comes out, so do some new rules for how the states can spend the money, which brings about adjustments, which often takes until the middle or end of September to get ironed out, and everyone (state employees and vendors) comfortable with how to proceed.
This year is a particularly unique one in this respect, as Texas merged several agencies in 2003, and each fiscal year change since, has included additional steps toward a joint approach for these agencies in the way they operate, culminating with a massive merger of their budgets, as well as other sweeping changes, this year. And since none of this took affect until September 1st, the employees aren't even comfortable with it yet. Now that they have it all figured out, they will start issuing "vouchers" again, which is the promise to pay us vendors for our services, as soon as the new contracts are signed. I hope to have this accomplished in the very near future, so that vouchers will be forthcoming soon. These vouchers give the vendors assurance that when we provide a specific service, for a specific client, or consumer as they are called in VR these days, we will be paid a certain amount. Of course, we still have to provide the service, then bill for it, and then wait for the payment to come, before the vouchers translate into cash in hand.
I do feel you all deserve to know the whole situation, but the family crisis was just too personal to share the details with the masses. And this is really what caused me to be distracted, which let some of the other issues swell, rather than being nipped in the bud. Had I not had this situation, I probably would have been focused enough to rebound in time to avoid the current delays. I am only telling you all this much, because of the amount of faith you all have put in me, in order to provide the loans you have. I feel you deserve an explanation of what has had me so distracted, that things got to this point. If not for being temporarily devastated by this revelation, some of the movement of funds, which were affected, could have been resolved sooner, as well. As you can tell from the above descriptions, I needed my full focus during this time to deal with SDS, and suddenly, it was no longer even the priority, which of course did not help me get things reeled in, and dealt with, which needed dealing with.
So, what all of this adds up to, is both of my major income streams being reduced by a significant amount, temporarily, but simultaneously, and at a time when I had major personal demands on my time, and emotional reserves, not allowing me the time, or energy, to spend, which was needed to get caught up as quickly as everyone would like.
Present
As many of you know, I am working on raising $100K-$150K, which is what I need to get everything caught up, and back on track. I actually need to get the higher end of that range at this point, because every day that goes by, more payments become due, and I'm further behind.
I have tentative commitments for most of this, I just don't have the cash in hand, and as we all know, you can't count on anything, until you have the money in your possession. Once I do have the funds, it will still require me getting much of it into e-currencies to be used for most people's payments, and rebuild the investment portfolio, in order to get the investments back to a position of self-sustainability .
Some people are flexible, and can accept wires, cash, and/or checks, which helps tremendously right now. I prefer using e-currencies whenever they are self sufficient, but as they are right now, having the ability to send payments via other means really helps. That's why some people are getting paid before others, who may be before them in the chronological scheme of things. Given all of this, there are also, some folks who are just slipping through the cracks as a result of the chaotic and urgent nature of the recent situation. Whenever we try to do too much, with too little time and/or other resources, things get missed.
Add to all of this, the fact that the people in crisis are still coming to me needing help, and now I am having to make decisions as to whether to pay lenders who fully deserve to be paid the funds promised, or to save a family from eviction, and other similar hardships, on a daily basis, and you can hopefully sense the strain all of this is causing. If not for my faith in God, and my knowledge that this is what He wants me doing, I would have thrown in the towel long ago. There were days when I didn't even want to open my emails, because the lenders, and people in need were wondering what is going on with me, at a time I didn't want to talk to the world about what was going on with me and my family. It's sort of a minor dose of what celebrities go through, I guess. I never envisioned the level of interest people would have in what's going on with my life, just as I never envisioned the urgent sense of a need for privacy as I have right now.
I knew it would be very difficult to explain to everyone the current state of affairs without setting off a large scale public debate about the situation, which might result in the needed funds being withheld, thus sabotaging the whole thing. Plus, it is very uncomfortable even telling as much as I have about the crisis situation, to this many people, when it is such a personal and private matter, knowing that there will be speculation, and murmuring. But I know that without that piece of the puzzle, the rest really wouldn’t make sense, and every day which goes by, draws more concern and scrutiny. That's why I am working as hard as I can, to get the needed funds, without causing unnecessary panic among the ranks. If I can get these funds in the next few days, then I can get everyone caught up, investments replenished, and get back to normal, just in time for the VR funds to start flowing again next month, as well. Then we can all hopefully relax a bit for the holidays. The Lord knows I’m, ready.
People, who have only participated in programs as investors, or lenders, can't really understand all of the little things that can happen, good and bad, which affect a project of this nature. Some people are making thoughtless, critical, inflammatory, and often just plan false, posts in public forums and blogs, but what they don't realize is, that some of the people who are considering helping me raise the funds needed to turn this around, are members of these groups and forums as well. And that those posts cause them quite a bit of concern, which has ultimately delayed, and in some cases, prevented the funds from coming, making the negative posts self defeating behavior.
People have the right to post when they are not paid, especially if their emails are not being responded to. But many people are making more of an effort to post negative comments in the forums, than they are to communicate with me. Plus, it’s sort of like the pedestrian having the right of way at an intersection. Just because the pedestrian has the right of way, doesn’t mean it’s always advisable to exercise it. In the end, if a car squashes you, it doesn’t matter who was in the right. The same is true for this arena. If the negative posts cause or contribute to the demise of an honest program, it doesn’t matter that you had the right to make the posts. If the end result is needed funds are withheld, and payments stop, everyone loses.
This is a minority of the people. And, I acknowledge that some emails have slipped through the cracks, not intentionally, but they have. But given the above circumstances, hopefully more of you can now understand why. I mean put yourself in my situation. Try to imagine paying 17% per month on $250K, to over 300 people, and have life sucker punch you with the one of the most devastating things you can think of happening to your family, and think about how long it would take for you to get behind on payments, and let other things slip. I am human, and I had an emotionally devastating experience, which knocked me on my tail for a while. Fortunately, God and time, heals all wounds, and I am now getting back in the swing of things.
I knew that given the current state of affairs that others would likely jump on the bandwagon, once this got started. It is actually quite a nice testimony to the maturity of the majority of the SDS participants that more didn't, since there are other members who had much more cause for concern than some of those who are posting. On the whole, I think most of the members know that I will come through. Of course the newer participants have more reason to be concerned, as they don't know me as well. That's why it's frustrating when older participants, who have been getting paid for many months, unnecessarily sound an alarm. And of course in this arena, each day that goes by without all payments getting current, is a time bomb waiting to explode, as more members will likely start complaining on the forums, which could squash any remaining potential for raising the needed funds in a lump sum.
While some of these sources are still reportedly in various stages of sending me funds, I am still pursuing others, just in case something doesn't go as planned with the existing options. And again, all of this is going on at a time when money was not the foremost concern in my life. And this is obviously not something I will be sharing the details of, with the lenders at large. So, as you can all hopefully see, an acceptable explanation of the current situation could not be easily presented. Especially when different people are at different levels of being current, or behind. Payments, and payments alone, will silence the murmurs. So, this is where my attention is focused.
Many people are offering some constructive advice. And I do appreciate it. Others have just criticized, and called me unprofessional, among other things. LOL Well, actually, you will never see a claim from me to be a professional program admin, or anything else. I am considered to be a Rehabilitation Professional by my peers, as that is what my degree is in, and what I have had journal articles published about. But as far as I am concerned, I am just a guy who went through the deaf/blind vocational rehabilitation process as a client, and didn’t like what I saw, so I went to school to become a part of the solution, only to find that many of the problems are so deeply systemic, that the only way to really create change, is to implement a new privately funded system. So, I set out to do just that, with God’s guidance. And through Divine guidance, was shown a way to create a system where everyone wins. Governments, and all of their professionals, have been trying for centuries to create self-funding social services. The SDS loan project has accomplished this, with your help. Had it not been for me driving a program while under the influence of delirium, we would still be fine today. In terms of income programs, I can’t even remember the names of all of the failed programs reportedly run by professional traders, and such. So please, keep in mind that the Titanic was built by professionals, but the Ark was built by one man and his family, with God’s guidance. Which boat would you have rather been on?
It’s easy with the advantage of hindsight to sit back and pass judgment on my decisions, as some are doing. I cringe when in think of some of the choices I ’ve made myself. But how many of us, one year ago, could have predicted the turmoil in the payment processor arena, and the aftermath it has caused? None of us could. If we had been able to predict this outcome, then Stormpay would not be sitting on so much money right now, would they? So, like any new innovation, my project has had to be tweaked, and refined, and probably always will. But the concept is solid, and it has worked for well over a year, despite the turmoil. So, when you read reviews talking about how risky my project is, and how it is doomed to fail, take into consideration, that I am one of the only people I know of still paying people from loans made with INTGold, Stormpay, and EMO. I am also the only one I know of willing to sign a personal promissory note for the loans received, rather than hiding behind an escape clause buried in the fine print of some complicated TOS. I know that many people have not received theirs yet. I am working to get this resolved. But hopefully, after having read this far, it is easier to understand why they have fallen through the cracks. Everything had to be prioritized, and from the very beginning, making the payments and helping people in need were the priorities.
Future
With the low number of other honest programs out there, to recover from this, will most likely set us up head and shoulders above most of the rest. Which in turn would benefit everyone involved by restoring the solid foundation we once enjoyed. There aren't any programs that I can think of paying more than I do, for as long as I have been paying. I may be missing some, but I can't think of any. So, that is where my attention is focused.
I am still looking for individuals/ organizations who can see the value in the services I provide to both the lenders, and the people in need, and will be drawn to the opportunity to receive a nice return on their money, while helping me to help many people in the process. We need new money coming in to replenish the investments, to help me get this turned around. Therefore, I am going to announce a few changes coming to the project, which I hope will facilitate an increase in participation, by both current and new lenders.
First and foremost, as of November the 1st, all future loans will be for 12 months only. This will not affect current loans, or any that come in before the 1st. The recent events lead me to realize the need for an amicable exit strategy, which will allow me to discontinue committing myself for five years out. I love this program, and what it has allowed us together, to do for people in need. But I also need to reel in the time frame of the commitments, in order to give myself the flexibility of gradually getting to the point of only committing myself from year to year. This will also have the added benefit to the program of requiring people to resubmit loans each year if they want to keep receiving the payments. This will put us on much more solid ground in the coming years.
There will still be an advantage to providing the larger loans, in that they will now pay 20% per month for 12 months, while the smaller ones will stay the same. In order to cover this extra 3% per month, I am also doing away with referral fees as of November 1st. They have been a headache to keep up with, from the very beginning, and I need to streamline the process as much as possible. With that in mind, change number four, is that all new loans as of 11/1/06 will need to be made via either e-gold, or e-bullion. I have been absorbing the cost, and the time to exchange cash/check payments into e-currencies, and that has to stop. There may be exceptions to this, but they will be the exceptions, not the rule.
The bottom line is, that we need to get more money coming in, if I am going to be able to pull this out of the hole. So, unfortunately, there really isn't any option other than to keep accepting new loans right now, if I want to pull this thing out of the hole. The situation now is that I need to raise additional funds to get things turned around. This is sort of a microcosm, of economics in general.
When people perceive that there is an economic problem, they tend to stop spending, which creates economic problems. When people perceive there is a strong economy, they circulate money, creating a strong economy. So, the challenge I'm facing is how to get people to look beyond the current problems, and see the benefits of circulating money through SDS again.
An example of how well the circulation of new money can kick start an economy or company out of the ruts, can be seen in the not so distant past. After 9/11 everyone in the US stopped spending money. People were stuck. They just sat at home in a daze, watching replays of the attacks. This went on for two weeks. Finally, someone who deserves a lot more credit than they've been given, at GM, came up with the bright idea of offering 0% interest on new cars. And BAM! People suddenly got a ray of hope. "Why not get a new car now, because I won't get a better offer than this," they started thinking. People were getting approved for new car loans who never would have had a chance before. The next thing you know, dealerships are selling cars again. That put money in the salespeople’s pockets, got the assembly lines rolling again, and sent people to the gas stations. So all of these folks had money to spend again, and when they spent it, someone else had money to spend again, and so on, and so on. The point is, that once the big-ticket items started moving again, so did everything else. Sure, it took a while, but it got moving.
Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not talking about using new money to pay existing loans. I’m talking about new money to invest with, in order to have money to help people with disabilities, in order to generate the government payments, and to have profits to pay the loans back with. I'm hoping that my 16 months of making timely payments, will provide some leverage, and evidence of my ability to pull this out of the current situation. If I do not find an amicable solution quickly, it is very possible that one or more of you will complain to my local DA, and even though I am operating perfectly within the law, I could be shut down immediately, and questions asked later. Then, it’s possible that nobody gets any more payments. I obviously do not want this, as I’m sure none of you do. That is why I am working so hard to get this turned around. There is much more at stake than any one person's livelihood. There are
literally dozens, if not hundreds of people counting on me to make this work.
My heart is broken by the emails I get each day asking for help, which I have to turn away right now, because all funds are going to making payments, not to mention the people depending on their monthly payments. I am doing the best I can under the circumstance, and will get you all paid as quickly as is humanly possible. But you can help. Take out new loans, and refer others, so
that we can get this moving again.
I appreciate your time that it took to read this far, and would certainly be most appreciative of any assistance, guidance, or resources, which you might be able to provide, or direct me to. Take care, and God bless.
Thanks,
Dennis
*Dennis post it in one mailing list
I know you are probably very busy, so I will apologize in advance for the length of this update. I will attempt to keep this explanation of the state of affairs regarding SDS, as concise as possible, while hopefully conveying the circumstances leading up to the current state of affairs, where we are now, and the reasons for expecting an optimistic outcome. However, it is complicated, so will take some explaining. There are several compounding issues adding to the current delays, some business related, and others personal. In the final analysis, business does not come first. Serving God comes first, then my family, and then business. However, the SDS project, encompasses all three, and is therefore a priority in my life. But it has to be dealt with, within the context of my current realities, and that is what I am doing. I’m, going to break this down into the past, present, and future, in order to provide as clear of an understanding as possible.
Past
My SDS Loan project evolved out of my desire to help people with disabilities to earn a living from home, using their computers, and to help my family and friends to benefit from my online investments. I had researched MLM and other types of Home based businesses for many years seeking to find the right formula to assist people with disabilities, who were unable to find traditional employment, to earn a living from home. My search eventually, lead me to the online, MLM income arena, HYIP's, and paid-to-surf, programs. The presence of the Internet seemed to solve many of the obstacles inherent in the offline counterparts, which required the recruiting of family and friends, which most people with disabilities are not going to excel at.
After researching the online income arena, and developing my skills at DD and a strategy of diversification, and retrieving principle quickly, I started doing very well. Several of my family members started asking me about what I was doing, and wanting to know if I could show them how to do it also. However, I had learned from my recruiting efforts to earn referral fees, that it's not wise to put one's reputation on the line by constantly recommending programs in this arena, due to the fluidity of the environment. So, I offered to accept personal loans from them, where I would guarantee them a certain return on their money, and would therefore have more control over the outcome.
I offered to pay them 200% per year, paid out in 12 equal payments, for loans under $2,500, and 200% per year for five years, paid out in 60 equal monthly payments, for loans over $2,500. I used the $2,500 benchmark because I had determined that this was the amount I needed, on average, to help people with disabilities to become self-sufficient.
Many of my online colleagues who were actually placing their money in a lot of the same places I was, were not getting the same results, due to not exercising the discipline to diversify, and retrieve principle quickly. After Pinnacle Holdings and some other HYIP’s stopped paying, about a year and half ago, several of them came to me to see what I recommended as a replacement. I told them the same thing I had told my family, and made them the same offer. And thus the SDS Loan project was born. So, unlike many programs, this really was started with the lenders best interests in mind, because the original lenders it was created for, were my family and friends. I didn't change anything when I offered it to my online acquaintances, except adding the referral fee system, because some of them didn't have the funds to do the $2,500 level, and wanted a way to earn enough to get there. The project has grown to approximately 300 lenders over the course of 18 months exclusively through word of mouth. I have never promoted it, but several of the lenders who had websites, and followers of their own, have.
Okay, as for the mechanics of how it works; when I receive a loan, I invest that money into any number of potential income earning activities, some online, and others not. I then use the profits from these investments, to both repay the loans, and help people with disabilities to get started making money from home. I will loan these people seed money, and recommend a strategy based on what's working at the time, plus teach them to do due diligence, and plug them into the knowledge base which exists online. I don't mind making recommendations to this group, because they are using money provided by me in the first place. This is much different than recommending others to put their money into something.
Since the money loaned is from profits, there is no pressure on these people to repay the loans. I am in this to help them, not put them further in debt. I actually try to identify projects to invest in that have a referral system, so that the program will repay me through referral fees. That way, I get the best of both worlds. I am not putting pressure on the people I'm helping to repay, but yet, I am getting repaid. This also helps them retain some self-respect, because they feel better knowing I'm getting my money back, in this way.
For many of the people I help, either the state government, or the federal government will pay me for helping them, which adds another source of revenue, for the same efforts. And keep in mind, that this was funded through profits. I also do other types of work with people with disabilities, such as helping them to find work in traditional employment, or start businesses. I also get paid from these activities, which does not pull funds from the loans or the investment profits. So, this income acts as a back up, to insure that the loans are covered, as well as providing additional funds to fuel investments. So, everything works together synergistically.
Okay, at this point, you're probably asking if this all works so well, then why am I currently having problems? This is a valid question, and one that will take a bit to explain. There are, as I stated earlier, several compounding issues adding to the current payment delays, some business related, and others personal.
Much of the activity previously recommended to the people I am working with revolved around the auto-surf industry. This required them to do something for the money, but it was easy enough that most had no problem completing the required tasks. Again this adds to their self-esteem by giving them a sense of “ earning†the money. It started with the success of 12 Daily Pro, and a few others, last year. Then, several people whom I had come to know decided to start their own surf programs, and HYIP's. So, I put a lot of funds into these programs directly, and provided funds for the people I am working with to do the same. Unfortunately, all of the above eventually failed.
What made these failures so disheartening was that I was already hurt by previous events, and was counting on these admins, whom I considered reliable, to help me turn that around. You see, I am still paying people who submitted their loans via INTGold, Stormpay, and EMO, even though most of those funds are no longer accessible, to varying degrees. As most of you know, most programs either stopped paying on those accounts funded through these resources, or shut
down altogether when those accounts were frozen. But I am taking the high road here, and honoring my commitments. In fact, my promissory notes do not give me any leverage to do otherwise, and I wrote them that way on purpose.
Stormpay was the biggest hit, financially speaking. However, both, the INTGold and EMO closures, significantly disrupted my system for moving money around, as well as depleting available funds directly. I live within an hour drive of INTGold's offices, so when I started all of this, I could take them any amount of cash, and have it deposited into my account for a $1 fee, and then move it around into other e-currencies as needed. So, there closure not only took a chunk of my change, but it also disrupted my methods for moving money around, which increased my workload. This wasn’t devastating, but definitely a major inconvenience, and expense.
This all took place very shortly after I had been told I had prostate cancer, and both were during the holiday season, of last year. So, I really didn’t even pay much attention to the cancer diagnosis, since I was going to wait until after the holidays to deal with it. Then In December, they closed INTGold, so January got off to a rickety start as it was, and then, the Stormpay fiasco hit at the first of February, taking $25,000-$30, 000, in actually funds, and an enormous amount of earning potential, with it. That really hurt, because not only did it take my funds, but also the money of the people I was helping, since most of them were making the lions share of their earnings from 12 Daily Pro at that time. This meant that all of the gains I had made in helping people for the previous six or seven months was wiped out, almost instantly. So, I had to step in to assist them to get back on their feet again, resulting in more drained funds, not to mention the time and energy it took to reassess the whole online income arena after the initial auto-surf crash. This raised the amount of funds being provided to these people from the initial estimate of $2,500, to an average of $5,000-$10,000, due to the recovery process.
In the mean time, I had learned to use EMO as a replacement for moving funds around between E-gold and E-bullion, and sending money orders. It was working very well for this purpose, after some initial adjustment time. But, of course we know what happened there. Another $4,000, or so, was directly lost in that mess, as well as another disruption to my cash-flow management methods, and more funds that were tied up in various programs invested into via EMO funds. And again, not just for myself, but for the people I was helping as well.
So, I came to people I knew, to help me recoup those losses. Up to that point, those bumps in the road were major inconveniences, and expenses, but were not devastating, as I still had money to invest, without it affecting my ability to make payments. However, when these newer programs, all stopped paying, pretty much simultaneously, along with some others, it made a bigger impact
than I initially realized. So, for about four months between March and June, we were regrouping, and trying to get things recovered that had been lost in the payment processor messes. I forget exactly where in there EMO was closed, but it was during this time as well.
Then came July, which got off to a rocky start from the beginning, as I had planned a 4th of July vacation, months in advance, which I was unable to go on the first part of, due to waiting on some much needed funds to arrive, which did not come before time for me to leave. Even though the person sending them was well aware of my planned departure date, they did not bother to spend the extra few dollars to insure prompt delivery. Once the funds did come, I was able to join my wife and daughter for the second half of the vacation, but I did not have time, or enough funds on hand, to pay everyone up in advance for the time I was going to be away. So, when I returned, I was behind immediately.
Then, several other programs stopped paying, which dealt a severe blow. I still had/have other more stable, long-term investments, but they pay less than I do (16.67% per month), and the amount I have invested in them is not equal to the sum of my loans. So they cannot keep the payments flowing for my outstanding loans. I was able to make it through July on those smaller payments, my reserves, personal credit sources, and offline business payments. I was still struggling to get caught up from being gone, when a personal crisis hit, which totally devastated me emotionally, making it impossible to think clearly, much less to focus on the intricate financial dealings needed to get things caught up. Just to give you an idea of how devastating this event was; I still had not even gone back to the doctor about the cancer, because I was too wrapped up in dealing with SDS. So as you can see, I’m not devastated, or distracted from SDS, easily.
August rolled around, with me pretty much in a daze, and not being able to focus much on work at all. As a result, I had to rely almost solely on the smaller payments, and new loans to make payments. I also made a few large investments in projects without doing my usual legwork, due to being too disassociated with the whole process at the time, to give the attention it requires. I lost a bundle, and missed several lucrative opportunities at the same time. Of course, this was/is very upsetting to me, as this project was never set up to operate that way. But I looked at it as necessary bridges to get over the hump, until I can get my focus back, and deal with the hard work of keeping the earnings flowing as they had been, and get the investments built back up again. Unfortunately, the bad decisions made at a time I shouldn’t have been making them, had catastrophic results.
I didn't even realize how bad it was until after the end of July, because initially, I was just playing catch up from taking a vacation, and then I was just in a daze for weeks. But as the month of August wore on, I started realizing that the money was running out much too soon for me to keep things moving smoothly, as is. But I was still not thinking very clearly due to the crisis situation, which had really blindsided me. I know the system will work, without being dependent on new loans, as it has for over a year. And, keep in mind, I took a few days off at the beginning of July, so I started the month out behind as it was, and then several of my remaining programs, which were paying, stopped as well.
In addition to these issues, around the end of July, or beginning of August, Western Union decided that I send too much money to people through their system, so they banned me from using their services any more, after charging my credit card for a large sum which I was sending to a lender due to a bank wire fiasco that left their payment several days late. It took days of debating with them over this to just get the funds put back on my card, which of course resulted in more time and energy wasted, at a time when I had neither to spare. I never did get them to realize what they were requiring from me was unrealistic. They wanted me to have the people receiving the WU payments from me, to send them an itemized budget, complete with receipts, documenting that they were using the money I was sending them, for rent, groceries, utilities, etc… I tried, unsuccessfully, to convince them that this was not only excessive, and ridiculous, but also impossible. I mean, how are people going to provide receipts for how they spent money, or are going to spend it, before they receive it? Due to the expense of their system, I only used it in emergency situations, to begin with. And people in crisis, shouldn’t be subjected to the type of intrusion of privacy they were demanding. Money Gram was the only beneficiary of that ordeal.
This was yet, another disruption in the cash flow system, but this affects the people in crisis more than the lenders and their payments, except for the fact that there is only so much of me, and so many hours in the day, and this was a major drain of on my limited mental reserves, and time, which were, at that moment, at a minimum already. You probably can’t imagine much of the hassles that created, but that was just one transaction of many which were affected. So again, you can see if one transaction took up that much time and energy, and I have 300 people to pay each month, how disruptive the whole thing was/is. Not to mention the folks coming to me for help, and all of those transactions, which had be reassessed, and alternate methods of payments devised, all at a time that most of my attention was forced elsewhere.
In addition to everything else, the bank really messed up on several bank wires for the second month in a row. I think it had to be something to do with additional reporting of my activity, due to the large number of bank wires I send, or something. There's not much else which can explain the recent problems I'm having there. They did hire some new staff, and originally cited that as the issue, but they've now informed me that due to the amount of activity on my account, and the number of bank wires I send, they are closing my account, because they “no longer feel they are the best financial institution for my needs.†After the last few months, I have to agree with them. LOL
So, as you can see, among other issues, the Patriot Act was causing havoc in multiple ways, with moving money around, at a time that I was very distracted. Plus, the money doesn't just fall into my lap to begin with. I have to really work to produce 17% per month on $250K, and being so distracted with the family crisis, caused me to miss lots of income producing opportunities, some of which could have gotten payments caught up all around.
One of the additional factors causing everything to temporarily get to this point is that the later part of July, August, and September, are sort of "Lame Duck" months in the state/federal VR system in Texas. Which is just as well, since I would not have been functionally capable of doing much within the VR realm of things during this time anyway. The federal fiscal year starts on August 1st, and our state fiscal year begins September 1st. So, everything starts winding down in July as these agencies have spent most of their budgets for the year, because if they don't spend all of the money they had allocated for this year, they can't justify asking for more next year. LOL Anyway, for Texas, they get their new allocation from the feds on August 1st, but they are still operating from the last state fiscal year's budget, and legislation. When the new federal fiscal year comes out, so do some new rules for how the states can spend the money, which brings about adjustments, which often takes until the middle or end of September to get ironed out, and everyone (state employees and vendors) comfortable with how to proceed.
This year is a particularly unique one in this respect, as Texas merged several agencies in 2003, and each fiscal year change since, has included additional steps toward a joint approach for these agencies in the way they operate, culminating with a massive merger of their budgets, as well as other sweeping changes, this year. And since none of this took affect until September 1st, the employees aren't even comfortable with it yet. Now that they have it all figured out, they will start issuing "vouchers" again, which is the promise to pay us vendors for our services, as soon as the new contracts are signed. I hope to have this accomplished in the very near future, so that vouchers will be forthcoming soon. These vouchers give the vendors assurance that when we provide a specific service, for a specific client, or consumer as they are called in VR these days, we will be paid a certain amount. Of course, we still have to provide the service, then bill for it, and then wait for the payment to come, before the vouchers translate into cash in hand.
I do feel you all deserve to know the whole situation, but the family crisis was just too personal to share the details with the masses. And this is really what caused me to be distracted, which let some of the other issues swell, rather than being nipped in the bud. Had I not had this situation, I probably would have been focused enough to rebound in time to avoid the current delays. I am only telling you all this much, because of the amount of faith you all have put in me, in order to provide the loans you have. I feel you deserve an explanation of what has had me so distracted, that things got to this point. If not for being temporarily devastated by this revelation, some of the movement of funds, which were affected, could have been resolved sooner, as well. As you can tell from the above descriptions, I needed my full focus during this time to deal with SDS, and suddenly, it was no longer even the priority, which of course did not help me get things reeled in, and dealt with, which needed dealing with.
So, what all of this adds up to, is both of my major income streams being reduced by a significant amount, temporarily, but simultaneously, and at a time when I had major personal demands on my time, and emotional reserves, not allowing me the time, or energy, to spend, which was needed to get caught up as quickly as everyone would like.
Present
As many of you know, I am working on raising $100K-$150K, which is what I need to get everything caught up, and back on track. I actually need to get the higher end of that range at this point, because every day that goes by, more payments become due, and I'm further behind.
I have tentative commitments for most of this, I just don't have the cash in hand, and as we all know, you can't count on anything, until you have the money in your possession. Once I do have the funds, it will still require me getting much of it into e-currencies to be used for most people's payments, and rebuild the investment portfolio, in order to get the investments back to a position of self-sustainability .
Some people are flexible, and can accept wires, cash, and/or checks, which helps tremendously right now. I prefer using e-currencies whenever they are self sufficient, but as they are right now, having the ability to send payments via other means really helps. That's why some people are getting paid before others, who may be before them in the chronological scheme of things. Given all of this, there are also, some folks who are just slipping through the cracks as a result of the chaotic and urgent nature of the recent situation. Whenever we try to do too much, with too little time and/or other resources, things get missed.
Add to all of this, the fact that the people in crisis are still coming to me needing help, and now I am having to make decisions as to whether to pay lenders who fully deserve to be paid the funds promised, or to save a family from eviction, and other similar hardships, on a daily basis, and you can hopefully sense the strain all of this is causing. If not for my faith in God, and my knowledge that this is what He wants me doing, I would have thrown in the towel long ago. There were days when I didn't even want to open my emails, because the lenders, and people in need were wondering what is going on with me, at a time I didn't want to talk to the world about what was going on with me and my family. It's sort of a minor dose of what celebrities go through, I guess. I never envisioned the level of interest people would have in what's going on with my life, just as I never envisioned the urgent sense of a need for privacy as I have right now.
I knew it would be very difficult to explain to everyone the current state of affairs without setting off a large scale public debate about the situation, which might result in the needed funds being withheld, thus sabotaging the whole thing. Plus, it is very uncomfortable even telling as much as I have about the crisis situation, to this many people, when it is such a personal and private matter, knowing that there will be speculation, and murmuring. But I know that without that piece of the puzzle, the rest really wouldn’t make sense, and every day which goes by, draws more concern and scrutiny. That's why I am working as hard as I can, to get the needed funds, without causing unnecessary panic among the ranks. If I can get these funds in the next few days, then I can get everyone caught up, investments replenished, and get back to normal, just in time for the VR funds to start flowing again next month, as well. Then we can all hopefully relax a bit for the holidays. The Lord knows I’m, ready.
People, who have only participated in programs as investors, or lenders, can't really understand all of the little things that can happen, good and bad, which affect a project of this nature. Some people are making thoughtless, critical, inflammatory, and often just plan false, posts in public forums and blogs, but what they don't realize is, that some of the people who are considering helping me raise the funds needed to turn this around, are members of these groups and forums as well. And that those posts cause them quite a bit of concern, which has ultimately delayed, and in some cases, prevented the funds from coming, making the negative posts self defeating behavior.
People have the right to post when they are not paid, especially if their emails are not being responded to. But many people are making more of an effort to post negative comments in the forums, than they are to communicate with me. Plus, it’s sort of like the pedestrian having the right of way at an intersection. Just because the pedestrian has the right of way, doesn’t mean it’s always advisable to exercise it. In the end, if a car squashes you, it doesn’t matter who was in the right. The same is true for this arena. If the negative posts cause or contribute to the demise of an honest program, it doesn’t matter that you had the right to make the posts. If the end result is needed funds are withheld, and payments stop, everyone loses.
This is a minority of the people. And, I acknowledge that some emails have slipped through the cracks, not intentionally, but they have. But given the above circumstances, hopefully more of you can now understand why. I mean put yourself in my situation. Try to imagine paying 17% per month on $250K, to over 300 people, and have life sucker punch you with the one of the most devastating things you can think of happening to your family, and think about how long it would take for you to get behind on payments, and let other things slip. I am human, and I had an emotionally devastating experience, which knocked me on my tail for a while. Fortunately, God and time, heals all wounds, and I am now getting back in the swing of things.
I knew that given the current state of affairs that others would likely jump on the bandwagon, once this got started. It is actually quite a nice testimony to the maturity of the majority of the SDS participants that more didn't, since there are other members who had much more cause for concern than some of those who are posting. On the whole, I think most of the members know that I will come through. Of course the newer participants have more reason to be concerned, as they don't know me as well. That's why it's frustrating when older participants, who have been getting paid for many months, unnecessarily sound an alarm. And of course in this arena, each day that goes by without all payments getting current, is a time bomb waiting to explode, as more members will likely start complaining on the forums, which could squash any remaining potential for raising the needed funds in a lump sum.
While some of these sources are still reportedly in various stages of sending me funds, I am still pursuing others, just in case something doesn't go as planned with the existing options. And again, all of this is going on at a time when money was not the foremost concern in my life. And this is obviously not something I will be sharing the details of, with the lenders at large. So, as you can all hopefully see, an acceptable explanation of the current situation could not be easily presented. Especially when different people are at different levels of being current, or behind. Payments, and payments alone, will silence the murmurs. So, this is where my attention is focused.
Many people are offering some constructive advice. And I do appreciate it. Others have just criticized, and called me unprofessional, among other things. LOL Well, actually, you will never see a claim from me to be a professional program admin, or anything else. I am considered to be a Rehabilitation Professional by my peers, as that is what my degree is in, and what I have had journal articles published about. But as far as I am concerned, I am just a guy who went through the deaf/blind vocational rehabilitation process as a client, and didn’t like what I saw, so I went to school to become a part of the solution, only to find that many of the problems are so deeply systemic, that the only way to really create change, is to implement a new privately funded system. So, I set out to do just that, with God’s guidance. And through Divine guidance, was shown a way to create a system where everyone wins. Governments, and all of their professionals, have been trying for centuries to create self-funding social services. The SDS loan project has accomplished this, with your help. Had it not been for me driving a program while under the influence of delirium, we would still be fine today. In terms of income programs, I can’t even remember the names of all of the failed programs reportedly run by professional traders, and such. So please, keep in mind that the Titanic was built by professionals, but the Ark was built by one man and his family, with God’s guidance. Which boat would you have rather been on?
It’s easy with the advantage of hindsight to sit back and pass judgment on my decisions, as some are doing. I cringe when in think of some of the choices I ’ve made myself. But how many of us, one year ago, could have predicted the turmoil in the payment processor arena, and the aftermath it has caused? None of us could. If we had been able to predict this outcome, then Stormpay would not be sitting on so much money right now, would they? So, like any new innovation, my project has had to be tweaked, and refined, and probably always will. But the concept is solid, and it has worked for well over a year, despite the turmoil. So, when you read reviews talking about how risky my project is, and how it is doomed to fail, take into consideration, that I am one of the only people I know of still paying people from loans made with INTGold, Stormpay, and EMO. I am also the only one I know of willing to sign a personal promissory note for the loans received, rather than hiding behind an escape clause buried in the fine print of some complicated TOS. I know that many people have not received theirs yet. I am working to get this resolved. But hopefully, after having read this far, it is easier to understand why they have fallen through the cracks. Everything had to be prioritized, and from the very beginning, making the payments and helping people in need were the priorities.
Future
With the low number of other honest programs out there, to recover from this, will most likely set us up head and shoulders above most of the rest. Which in turn would benefit everyone involved by restoring the solid foundation we once enjoyed. There aren't any programs that I can think of paying more than I do, for as long as I have been paying. I may be missing some, but I can't think of any. So, that is where my attention is focused.
I am still looking for individuals/ organizations who can see the value in the services I provide to both the lenders, and the people in need, and will be drawn to the opportunity to receive a nice return on their money, while helping me to help many people in the process. We need new money coming in to replenish the investments, to help me get this turned around. Therefore, I am going to announce a few changes coming to the project, which I hope will facilitate an increase in participation, by both current and new lenders.
First and foremost, as of November the 1st, all future loans will be for 12 months only. This will not affect current loans, or any that come in before the 1st. The recent events lead me to realize the need for an amicable exit strategy, which will allow me to discontinue committing myself for five years out. I love this program, and what it has allowed us together, to do for people in need. But I also need to reel in the time frame of the commitments, in order to give myself the flexibility of gradually getting to the point of only committing myself from year to year. This will also have the added benefit to the program of requiring people to resubmit loans each year if they want to keep receiving the payments. This will put us on much more solid ground in the coming years.
There will still be an advantage to providing the larger loans, in that they will now pay 20% per month for 12 months, while the smaller ones will stay the same. In order to cover this extra 3% per month, I am also doing away with referral fees as of November 1st. They have been a headache to keep up with, from the very beginning, and I need to streamline the process as much as possible. With that in mind, change number four, is that all new loans as of 11/1/06 will need to be made via either e-gold, or e-bullion. I have been absorbing the cost, and the time to exchange cash/check payments into e-currencies, and that has to stop. There may be exceptions to this, but they will be the exceptions, not the rule.
The bottom line is, that we need to get more money coming in, if I am going to be able to pull this out of the hole. So, unfortunately, there really isn't any option other than to keep accepting new loans right now, if I want to pull this thing out of the hole. The situation now is that I need to raise additional funds to get things turned around. This is sort of a microcosm, of economics in general.
When people perceive that there is an economic problem, they tend to stop spending, which creates economic problems. When people perceive there is a strong economy, they circulate money, creating a strong economy. So, the challenge I'm facing is how to get people to look beyond the current problems, and see the benefits of circulating money through SDS again.
An example of how well the circulation of new money can kick start an economy or company out of the ruts, can be seen in the not so distant past. After 9/11 everyone in the US stopped spending money. People were stuck. They just sat at home in a daze, watching replays of the attacks. This went on for two weeks. Finally, someone who deserves a lot more credit than they've been given, at GM, came up with the bright idea of offering 0% interest on new cars. And BAM! People suddenly got a ray of hope. "Why not get a new car now, because I won't get a better offer than this," they started thinking. People were getting approved for new car loans who never would have had a chance before. The next thing you know, dealerships are selling cars again. That put money in the salespeople’s pockets, got the assembly lines rolling again, and sent people to the gas stations. So all of these folks had money to spend again, and when they spent it, someone else had money to spend again, and so on, and so on. The point is, that once the big-ticket items started moving again, so did everything else. Sure, it took a while, but it got moving.
Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not talking about using new money to pay existing loans. I’m talking about new money to invest with, in order to have money to help people with disabilities, in order to generate the government payments, and to have profits to pay the loans back with. I'm hoping that my 16 months of making timely payments, will provide some leverage, and evidence of my ability to pull this out of the current situation. If I do not find an amicable solution quickly, it is very possible that one or more of you will complain to my local DA, and even though I am operating perfectly within the law, I could be shut down immediately, and questions asked later. Then, it’s possible that nobody gets any more payments. I obviously do not want this, as I’m sure none of you do. That is why I am working so hard to get this turned around. There is much more at stake than any one person's livelihood. There are
literally dozens, if not hundreds of people counting on me to make this work.
My heart is broken by the emails I get each day asking for help, which I have to turn away right now, because all funds are going to making payments, not to mention the people depending on their monthly payments. I am doing the best I can under the circumstance, and will get you all paid as quickly as is humanly possible. But you can help. Take out new loans, and refer others, so
that we can get this moving again.
I appreciate your time that it took to read this far, and would certainly be most appreciative of any assistance, guidance, or resources, which you might be able to provide, or direct me to. Take care, and God bless.
Thanks,
Dennis
*Dennis post it in one mailing list
GPTCenter
Cuek bebek
