[ScottMayo]

Starting today and continuing to Sept 15, all profits I make on the sales of VMPS speakers are going to the American Red Cross. PM me to get a price and arrange delivery.

[Al Garay]

This shows a lot of class and compassion for those in need.

[ScottMayo]

This shows a lot of class and compassion for those in need.

Thank you. Let me stress, though, that the deal applies to payments that clear by Sept 15th, so there is not a lot of time. The deal applies to any VMPS speaker, from the most modest 626 up through the mighty RM/x and beyond. Help people who truly need the help, and rock your musical world at the same time.

Don't need speakers? Then give a contribution straight to the American Red Cross or the Salvation Army. C'mon, folk, this is the time to dig deep. A lot of those folk were not insured and are in serious trouble. Looking for other ways to help? Consider some passive approaches: put off big new construction projects (those materials are going to be needed elsewhere, and lower demand helps ease price pressure), and conserve gas (not much is going to help price pressure there, but every gallon saved is a start). Trim back your energy usage - how many of us leave our gear on when it isn't in use? Enough people doing enough small things - it *does* matter.

[guest1632]

Starting today and continuing to Sept 15, all profits I make on the sales of VMPS speakers are going to the American Red Cross. PM me to get a price and arrange delivery.

That, my friend is a mistake. Fox News tonight shows that the head of the Red Cross makes $400,00 a year plus traveling expenses. I have known for some time now that 80% of whatever moneys are donated go to administration costs. I will either give only blood or items. When 911 hit, it came out later and confirmed what I had already known and the Red Cross was caught with their pants down.

Ray

[nai02fungoid]

That is one of the reasons so many people give to the Salvation Army and a  lot of the religious charities.  They do it for little money and put almost all of it out there where it does the most good.  Organizations like Save the Children really do get the job done and do it voluntarily.

It reminds me of why a lot of the vets from WW II refused to give to United Fund when I was young.  When they were in Europe fighting the Red Cross used to sell them the stuff donated.   A neighbor told me they had to pay for donuts when the Red Cross showed up with donuts and coffee while the Salvation Army was there handing out stuff as fast as they could and for nothing.  That was a long time ago and they changed their policies but it really did leave a bad taste in the mouths of the vets then.

[ScottMayo]

Starting today and continuing to Sept 15, all profits I make on the sales of VMPS speakers are going to the American Red Cross. PM me to get a price and arrange delivery.

That, my friend is a mistake. Fox News tonight shows that the head of the Red Cross makes $400,00 a year plus traveling expenses. I have known for some time now that 80% of whatever moneys are donated go to administration costs. I will either give only blood or items. When 911 hit, it came out later and confirmed what I had already known and the Red Cross was caught with their pants down.

Ray

Privately, I support Salvation Army and Oxfam. In this case I went with the Red Cross because they are the biggest and generally the best mobilized, if not the cheapest, and for initial relief, that can make a big difference.

However, with the relief effort snarled in bad communication and worse organization, that's becoming less of an argument. So I'm going to switch my offer, allowing people to choose between the RC and the Salvation Army. Some folk will not give to the Salvation army or any other Christan org, so I'm leaving the Red Cross on the table.

[Tim S]

In a quick search I couldn't find the exact admin costs of the US Red Cross but I did find the info for the UK version. I doubt the ratios are different by more than 5-10%:

http://www.redcross.org.uk/standard.asp?id=48370

As to the 9/11 issue, the Red Cross never lied to people. Their decisions were always public. The problem was that they received more money in donations for the 9/11 events than they could efficiently spend so they wanted to divert some of the money to other projects. Based on the public outcry, they were then forced to essentially waste a lot of money that could have been put to better use. (no, I'm not saying helping out those victims was a waste. What I am saying is that the Red Cross received more money than necessary for it to accomplish it's mission in that event but people insisted they continue spending money anyway and that money could have been spent more effectively elsewhere.)

As to the salaries of the CEO and other execs, with an organization this large and this important, you want good people running it. Good people cost $$. If you think $400k is ridiculous, look at the salaries of private CEO's in the US

http://www.forbes.com/2005/04/20/05ceoland.html


Any CEO of the Red Cross is perfectly qualified for most of those positions. They are therefore giving up millions a year to work for a "paltry" $400k. I believe they earn every penny of that money. People who complain about the pay level of high level employees in organizations like this (and the government for that matter) really need to understand this issue before making a big deal of it. On the other hand, news organizations know it is always a cheap story to run (i.e. "Did you know that person y gets paid $x thousand?") to get people to watch so they will continue to propagate bad information like this. Our media realizes very well that mis-information sells better than actual information. . .

Anyway, my point is that no one should get turned off from giving to an organization that does as much good in the world as the Red Cross based on an unfounded claim. The people there work very hard, engaging in great personal sacrifice to help people all over the world. While every charity should be scrutinized to make sure they spend contributions wisely, I think a careful examination of how the Red Cross actually operates will show that it is a very worthwhile organization. Such a careful examination can not be carried out on the basis of "news" reports from Fox News or CNN or MSNBC or your local news.

Tim

[guest1632]

In a quick search I couldn't find the exact admin costs of the US Red Cross but I did find the info for the UK version. I doubt the ratios are different by more than 5-10%:

http://www.redcross.org.uk/standard.asp?id=48370

As to the 9/11 issue, the Red Cross never lied to people. Their decisions were always public. The problem was that they received more money in donations for the 9/11 events than they could efficiently spend so they wanted to divert some of the money to other projects. Based on the pu ...

Hi Tin,

First of all, let me make one thing perfectly clear. I am not bashing the people who work for the RC. I am bashing its organizational structure. Yes, that money that was supposedly put aside after 911 was for a Liberty fund. It is unfortunate, that I don't have the sources now. That was 5 years ago. And Yes the RC did lie. I remember there was a lot of flack about the administration costs. Now, to be fair, there might have been some reorganizing the way the RC handles its affairs.

As to CEO and the salaries, sorry, bud, she is way overpaid, and the CEO in this country are way overpaid. If you use the logic that you just mentioned, then the President of the United States should be getting at least a mil a year, besides the traveling expenses, which we all pay for now.

So much for audio. Didn't mean to entirely hijack this thread, maybe just a little.

Ray

[sleepkyng]

the fact of the matter is that the red cross is one of the most well known and does have one of the largest mobilization forces of any charity in the states.

I don't care what the ceo makes. I'm sure it's less than what A-Rod makes and at least the CEO has a job that counts.

[guest1632]

the fact of the matter is that the red cross is one of the most well known and does have one of the largest mobilization forces of any charity in the states.

I don't care what the ceo makes. I'm sure it's less than what A-Rod makes and at least the CEO has a job that counts.

Well, I do. I don't have a problem with her making a fairly large salary, say a couple hundred grand. But if she is at $400,00, then she should be paying travel expenses. Every dollar I give is going to some degree towards her salary and not what it is intened to do.

So now I'll shut up, and let's get back to the business of audio.

Ray

[beat]

My two cents.
Throw money where you want it, but what these people need most is a second chance. Look forward. They do not need temporary help but long term. Many of these people are just left in the dust after being poor in the first place. At least with the tsunami the water receded and they could rebuild with whatever money they got from donors. That is not the case here due to a pretty much permanent displacement..and what they don't need is another boat, helicopter or crate of food. What my friends and I are thinking is organizing a sort of adoption agency where we can seriously take a family under our wings. What we need to realize is that this could be the thing that really slaps our country into reality. This is America and we have it made. We all live high on the hog in relation to most of the world. This won't last if we don't shape up, our glutinous ways complain at gas prices and having to pay more than what walmart sells it for and it is killing us. When we spend money lets think about priciple.. to support local businesses (especially the little guy) Ride your bike instead of bitch about oil and what who did what in which country and why. We sit here and debate what multi thousand apparatus sounds better than the other and that is cool because that is us doing what we love and supporting each other while we are at it. However, lets think about our daily lives and where we put our money and why. As the US dollars decline, China's and India's rise. I don't want to get too political but just want to urge us to think beyond "relief dollars" and in our daily lives think about our frivolous consumption and do what we can to support ourselves as a country rather than how much crap we can get for our dollar at this time. I laughed to myself today at the idiocy of the 80 ounce insulated sip cup someone left at the cafe yesterday boasting the red white and blue USA!!! There is plenty of work to be done here at home when it comes to "charity" Let's start by taking care of ourselves as a country as one should be taking care of themselves as a person...filling your body mind and spirit with that that is good and in moderation..know the source and make sure our dollars go where they are needed...from local farmers, bakers, and meatmarkets to our brothers/manufacturers here at AC...and for crying out loud, drop the idea that oil will be cheap again. In a couple years people will be lucky to unload their used pieces of gas hoggery that they bought in the last couple years that detroit convinced them they needed so badly...

I'll shut up now. Peace,
beat

[guest1632]

My two cents.
Throw money where you want it, but what these people need most is a second chance. Look forward. They do not need temporary help but long term. Many of these people are just left in the dust after being poor in the first place. At least with the tsunami the water receded and they could rebuild with whatever money they got from donors. That is not the case here due to a pretty much permanent displacement..and what they don't need is another boat, helicopter or crate of food. What my friends an ...

Right on, right on, right on. Preach it brother. You're making good sense.

Ray

[Tim S]

As to CEO and the salaries, sorry, bud, she is way overpaid, and the CEO in this country are way overpaid. If you use the logic that you just mentioned, then the President of the United States should be getting at least a mil a year, besides the traveling expenses, which we all pay for now.  

Actually, I do think the president should be paid more (well, not necessarily the current one but if we could get a competent one. . . ). So should most of our top level government employees so that we could actually keep some of the better ones on their jobs. All beside the main point though.

beat is right. The temporary help the RC will give is great, but how we can help them rebuild an entire city is the real issue/problem we need to deal with. That is a problem of a magnitude that will make these last few days seem easy.

Tim

[guest1632]

Actually, I do think the president should be paid more (well, not necessarily the current one but if we could get a competent one. . . :) ). So should most of our top level government employees so that we could actually keep some of the better ones on their jobs. All beside the main point though.

beat is right. The temporary help the RC will give is great, but how we can help them rebuild an entire city is the real issue/problem we need to deal with. That is a problem of a magnitude that will make these last few days seem easy.

Tim

Hi Tim,
Well, I agree totally. Looks like the feds are getting there act together now. Sure took them long enough.

Sorry, Moderator, let's all go back to audio now. My intentions here was not to argue, rather to at least to some extent inform. Yeah, I stuck my own opinions in here. So now I won't comment any more on this thread, and hope the moderator will lock it.

Ray