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It is a common saying that “money is the root of all evil.” According to the Random House Dictionary of Proverbs and Sayings, the phrase first appeared in English circa 1000 A.D. The saying originated in the New Testament. “For the love of money is the root of all evil.” Timothy, 6:10.

It’s obviously one of those sayings that has as great deal of staying power, having been around for two thousand years and still going strong. But how fair is it to blame all evil, or even any evil, on a medium of exchange?

I think it would be a much more accurate statement to say that the root of most evil is man’s desire for status; either greed to increase one’s status, or jealousy over losing in the status game to others. Money is the most obvious measure of one’s status, so it’s easy to confuse the two, but they are certainly not the same thing at all. Money is just one way of keeping score. Blaming money for evil is like blaming the scoreboard for the baseball game.

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The phrase free lunch, in U. S. literature from about 1870 to 1920, refers to a tradition once common in saloons in many places in the United States. These establishments included a "free" lunch, varying from rudimentary to quite elaborate, with the purchase of at least one drink. These free lunches were typically worth far more than the price of a single drink.[1] The saloon-keeper relied on the expectation that most customers would buy more than one drink, and that the practice would build patronage for other times of day.

Sometimes, free food or drink is supplied today, often by gambling establishments.

The saying "there ain't no such thing as a free lunch", often abbeviated to TANSTAAFL, refers to this custom, meaning that things which appear to be free are always paid for in some way.

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TANSTAAFL is an acronym for the adage "There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch" originating in the late 1930s and later popularized by science fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein in his 1966 novel The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress

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from Russ Ptacek's article:
..... We found claims suggesting people who enrolled in the Web sites got big money like $5,000 to fix up a home, or $2,800 to pay off medical bills, even $4,000 to pay down a mortgage.

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"I Recieved A Check In My Hand For $100,000!"

I found the grant I needed and filled out the forms and sent them in, and in about two weeks I received a check in my hand for $100,000. I am telling everyone I know about you all and what you have done for me!*
-- Carol K.

Get our FREE Grant Funding Kit!
Find the Grant that's right for you!
Receive your FREE MONEY!

I got the check in my hand for $150,000.*
Thank you again,
-William Rivas

I just had $300,000 dollars
deposited into my bank account.
Thanks so much!*
-Edwin Hurd

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** Read about REAL PEOPLE who have recieved REAL MONEY! **

Money To Pay Your Mortgage!*

Thanks to Grant-A-Day my Wife and I were able to get a reprieve from foreclosure on our home. Like the Angels bringing the good news at Christmas-time you have given us a blessing, and a way to secure our home. We were about to lose our home to foreclosure. With your generous grant I was able to bring my payment up to date, and stop the foreclosure. It is great to know that there are organizations like yours that will give help to people like me and my wife who need it!
Delroy Stewart


Money To Pay Your Business Expenses!*

Thank you so much for awarding me a $500 Grant from the Grant-A-Day program. I never thought I would be awarded and then there it came in the mail. I will be putting the grant money to good use to pay some debt I have incurred in start up of my Home-Based Business. This will enable me to be home for my family instead of working away from my home. This grant was truly an answer to my prayers. Thanks again, not just from me, but from my family!
Tamara Schaufler


Money To Buy Christmas Presents!*

When applying for the grant I wasn't sure what to expect but to my delight and surprise a check came in the mail in a few weeks! I was able to bless a divorced mother of three with funds to pay her monthly bills in order to free up some of her cash to purchase a few Christmas presents for her children. These are truly great kids who's dad is on death row. It's very sad that the children of inmates, are more often than not, left with the many hardships.
Joyce Joseph


Money For A Mom To Pay For Emergency Expenses!*

You have no idea how much that money helped out my family. Each one of my children now have a bed to sleep in. My Children have clothes that we all picked out together. My little girl is in a program with children that went through the same things. Every time I think about what you have done I cry. I have 4 children currently and two on the way. Its so hard doing it alone. This has helped us so much. You made me feel like a wonderful Mom.
Na-tasha Lee


Money To Pay Your Education Expenses!*

Thank you so much for the funding. I really appreciate it! With this $500 I can pay for my son's textbooks for the entire year at military school! I am a single parent paying my son's school tuition without any help from his father. My son is a very patriotic 8th grader that wants to be a part of the war against terrorism. He wants to be a helicopter pilot in the Marines or Air Force. Again, thank you for this funding. The Grant-A-Day program is a Godsend!!
Claudette Robb Ross


Money To Fix Up Your Car!*

I would like to thank you for accepting my grant for funding through THE GRANT-A-DAY PROGRAM. I am enclosing two different pictures of my 1997 Ford Ranger truck, which I spent most of the funding for brakes and to have the rotors repaired. I cannot thank you enough for your kindness, it is greatly appreciated. I am also sending a package to you at Grant-A-Day with an enclosed letter to show my appreciation! Thank you!
Sharon Ebert

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from Russ Ptacek's article:
... When our bill arrived, we were billed for the original $2.29, but we also got hit with recurring monthly bills on our credit card for $7.95, $39.95, and $9.95.

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from Russ Ptacek's article:
Consumer agencies and the Federal Trade Commission warn that many of the sites operate nearly identical alleged schemes that don't pay out what they promise.

"We recently conducted a ‘sweep’ of con artists taking advantage of the ‘economic crisis’" says FTC spokesperson Elizabeth Lordan. "The sweep netted various types of scams, including grant scams."

Lordan said grant programs rank as of the highest categories of complaints received by FTC investigators.

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Cash Grant Institute – Paul Navestad aka Paul Richard; Global Ad Agency, Domain Leasing Company, and/or Global Advertising Agency; and Chintana Maspakorn aka Christina Maspakorn.

Cash Grant Institute, and its principals allegedly waged an automated robocall campaign promoting bogus claims that consumers were qualified for grant money from the government, private foundations, and wealthy individuals that they could use to overcome their financial problems. They made similar misleading claims about "free grant money" on their Web sites, cashgrantsearch.com and requestagrant.com. This case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York.

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July 1, 2009
• Revised Temporary Restraining Order with Asset Freeze, Appointment of a Receiver, and Other Equitable Relief, with an Order to Show Cause Why a Preliminary Injunction Should Not Issue »www.ftc.gov/os/caselist/0923099/···dtro.pdf

• Complaint for Civil Penalties, Permanent Injunction, and Other Equitable Relief »www.ftc.gov/os/caselist/0923099/···mplt.pdf

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FSN and Navestad were the targets of a case brought in 1996 by the New York State Attorney General’s Office which resulted in a settlement that required them to cease their deceptive business practices. The company continued to deceive consumers, however, by offering programs that claimed consumers were "pre-approved" for non-existent loans and grants.

Attorney General Spitzer’s office brought a motion for contempt in federal court for the Western District of New York against FSN and navestad for violating the prior court order. At the same time, the FTC brought an action for violations of the Federal Trade Commission Act and Telemarketing Sales Rule.

The settlement permanently bans FSN and navestad from advertising, marketing, promoting, offering for sale or selling of any credit-related goods or services

"I would like to commend the Federal Trade Commission for its cooperation in bringing these cases to a conclusion. It is an excellent example of federal and state cooperation to fulfill our joint mission of protecting the public," Spitzer said.

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Members of Fan received this email sometime this morning:

It has come to our attention that one of the group leaders on Prosper is subject to a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) settlement order that bans him and his related companies from advertising, marketing, promoting, offering for sale, or selling any credit-related goods or services, or assisting others engaged in the same activities. As a result, we have terminated the Prosper membership of the leaders of the following groups:

FinancialAssistanceNetwork, MinorityAssistance.org, EmergencyAssistance.org, PayItForwardLoans.com, HR-Assistance.com, CreditCardAssistance.org, and FAN-Lenders-Alliance.

Existing funded loans in these groups will continue to be active loans on Prosper and existing listings from members of these groups will remain open. Prosper will assume leadership of these groups, but will not accept new members into these groups. We are not aware of any illegal activity in these groups on Prosper, or any irregularities with regard to any loans to members of these groups, but we are obligated to take this action in light of the FTC settlement order. As always, thank you for your support of Prosper. Sincerely, Prosper Security

This message was sent from Prosper based on your communication preferences. Edit your communication preferences. Copyright ? 2005-2006 Prosper Marketplace, Inc. All rights reserved. Prosper is located at 111 Sutter St., 22nd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94104

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Web site publishers and ad networks are on the Federal Trade Commission's radar, but this time it's not for behavioral targeting or data privacy related concerns. The FTC warned it is cracking down on misleading ads and e-mails promoting access to economic stimulus related grants, and the media firms enabling those ads.
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Google is working with the FTC to investigate ads that violate its advertiser policies, according to the commission.
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The FTC is asking "online media companies to monitor their sites for scam ads and get rid of them," said Eileen Harrington, acting director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, this morning during a press conference.

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FTC to Web Publishers: Get Rid of Stimulus Scam Ads

By Kate Kaye, ClickZ, Mar 4, 2009

Web site publishers and ad networks are on the Federal Trade Commission's radar, but this time it's not for behavioral targeting or data privacy related concerns. The FTC warned it is cracking down on misleading ads and e-mails promoting access to economic stimulus related grants, and the media firms enabling those ads. Some of the scams are promoted through display ads featuring photos of President Obama, Google sponsored listings featuring the president's name, or sites displaying his 2008 campaign logo or logos of popular news outlets.

Facebook has already agreed to ban such ads, and Google is working with the FTC to investigate ads that violate its advertiser policies, according to the commission.

The FTC is asking "online media companies to monitor their sites for scam ads and get rid of them," said Eileen Harrington, acting director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, this morning during a press conference.

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"Our AdWords Content Policy does not permit ads for sites that make false claims, and we investigate and remove any ads that violate our policies," said Google in a statement e-mailed to ClickZ News. "We have discussed these issues with the Federal Trade Commission and reaffirmed our commitment to protecting users from scam ads."

Facebook has agreed to ban stimulus-related scam ads from its site. "Ads touting free stimulus money were on Facebook," said Harrington, who said the company pulled the ads on its own volition, and following conversations with the FTC. "We absolutely salute Facebook for being so proactive in this regard," she added.

But it may not be easy for publishers and ad sellers to rid the Web of such nefarious advertising. Exactly who's behind such ads is difficult to determine. Many lead to domains that differ from the ones featured in the ad copy, and transfer from one domain to another. For instance, ObamaStimulusPlan.info features news headlines and links to economic stimulus information, and an ad promoting "free money in government grants," which leads the user to a site associated with Grant Stimulus Source; the site also features CNN and CNBC logos.
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