We received this note from Helen Marshall:
I just received an appeal from the World Wildlife Fund for a donation. Included is a little card for your wallet entitled “Tip Chart.” It shows you what the tip would be, for example, for $10 – for 15% if would be $1.50 and for 20% it would be $2.00
Have we reached the point in the US where no one is able to figure out that twenty percent of ten dollars is two dollars?
Do we deserve better? Or even want better?
elpasospeak 
lt’s nice to see that WWF cares so much about the environment that they’re giving away ground-up, slaughtered trees with a little bit of ink on them to people who don’t want or need this “gift.” lt’s been such a long time since l even paid attention to WWF that l have to ask this question…..is Hulk Hogan still the champion?
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The tonnage of mail I receive every week, all with “free gifts” such as address labels, in exchange for donations (all of which are now magically doubled or tripled or more) is rising. Sometimes I think any donation you make is simply used to mail you letters begging for more.
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There are more important things to get upset about. Those tip calculator cards have existed since at least the 1950s. Historically, companies gave them away for advertising purposes, the same as they did with credit card size calendar.
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OK, sorry I raised any question about this…it was not about the practice of these card give-aways but about the assumption that the recipients can’t figure out what ten percent of a dollar is without help.
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Brutus,
This isn’t a comment on your post but on something that I just happen to be working on right now for our family….
I went onto the EPCAD website to file a Notice of Protest to request an in-person appointment to protest our property tax estimate for 2018. All the links that I could find for that form, were dead. Not functioning. Can’t file if you can’t get the form! Maybe they are trying to force us into doing an on-line protest? We have been advised that it’s much better to have a face to face appointment than an on-line protest if you want to get any results.
http://www.epcad.org/Home/Forms
El Paso Central Appraisal District – Documents & Forms http://www.epcad.org Executive Director/Chief Appraiser Dinah L. Kilgore, R.P.A. Location: 5801 Trowbridge Dr. El Paso, TX 79925 P: (915) 780-2000 F: (915) 780-2130
I emailed the admin email on the website telling them that the form is not available anywhere that I can find. We’ll see if they get back to me. Deadline for filing is May 15 or 30 days after your estimate comes in, which ever is later. I assume I’ll end up having to call to make sure we don’t miss the deadline.
Property taxes are my biggest beef with El Paso government. Our property taxes have increased substantially every year since we bought our current home in 2006. This year an almost $900 increase because they also revalued our property.
We have lived in El Paso since 1989. We love this city and have made it our home. After retirement, we won’t be able to stay in a city that we love because the property taxes are so excessive.
We DO deserve better.
________________________________
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