My bank has a very good website where I can call up all my activity any time I want if I have balance questions. If I click on a check number, it shows me a picture of the check. I cancelled my written statements and delivery of my cancelled checks a long time ago.

A check deposit into an ATM credits me immediately with $100 (assuming the check is larger than that). The rest becomes available usually within a day or so. The ATMs are cool--you just slide the check into them (no envelope) and it scans them.

I deposited a very large personal check from a relative last year, and they did hold that one for a few business days. Checks written by businesses (like my contractors) clear much faster.

And by the way. Why should preferred customers (those whose bank assets exceed a certain amount) now have privileges (like free overdraft protection) that all customers used to have for free? This is just another way of saying poor people pay more for the same service.

This has been true as long as I've been using banks, and probably since banking began. If my balance falls below $5,000, I get stuck with some small fees. If I have an employer that uses direct deposit (mine don't) this is waived.

No doubt someone will soon pass a law commanding the banks to offer everyone everything for free. After all, economics are simply a matter of political will.

Again, I'm fascinated by the level of anger and suspicion generated by the private sector, while the crap dumped on us by the public sector doesn't seem to bother anyone to anywhere near the same extent. Ever have a conflict with the IRS?