How You and I Cut Spending

Every month, most of us get a credit card statement in the mail or some form of financial statement. Some people have the freedom too not worry about what they spend money on, but on the other hand, some people need to take a very close look at their statements. Suppose you lose your job. When financial trouble hits we cut elective expenses such as vacations, movies, clothing, cars and many other things. These are things we really want but really do not need. I recently saw an interview on ABC with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Edward Rendell and they claimed that conservatives wanted to cut spending all together. Hey Arnie, why are you trying to give advice on anything about financials, your state is so far in debt you are about the break off the west coast. I actually chuckled aloud when I heard this progressive Republican trying to talk about this. Now mind you, he really has had some outside pressure, but he is in charge, and could have prevented this extreme spending. There is a clear line between cutting spending, and not spending anything at all. What I am getting at is, being a conservative minded individual I understand what not spending to failure is all about. Do you know what interest is? Well the more money we borrow the more interest we have, making it harder to pay off our loans. Some people are going to be moving out of their house and moving into the streets, but the government cannot stop 100% of these cases. They still need to look out for the majority of America cut spending as you and I do when financial trouble strikes. Think about what companies did with jobs in the last year; Many companies cut jobs and are still operating fine. These companies realized that they could function slimier and be more efficient. This is exactly what the government needs to do. I believe it would be a step in the right direction for Barrack Obama to start cutting spending on the things that are considered “Elective Spending” and start to balance the budget.

It's Coming

Could you imagine if every American spent like the government has this year? Most Americans have a credit card in their wallet and some many more. What I am getting at is most people have the opportunity to spend money they currently do not have, but understand that spending has consequences. When someone becomes swipe happy, overtime one will become overwhelmed with debt causing him or her to fail or go to jail. So why is the government acting so foolish. This is not the case with government. A government cannot go to jail for spending but can cause serious consequences for the American people. The one thing that often comes with spending is inflation. Many people are very unaware of this, and continuously watch the stock market go up and the unemployment rate drop .2% and believe the recession is over. Gold is still going up but the dollar is falling, creating the perfect storm for inflation. I am not just accusing the current president because it goes beyond him and beyond parties. Is it too late? Well it is never too late to change something but a lot of damage is already done. I am hoping that we, as Americans wake up soon, stop living on a high, and realize that inflation will come. I am predicting that we over the next 10 months we will continue to see the American economy improve. After the next 10 months, major inflation will kick in and have us right back where we were in the beginning of 2009.
I dedicate this to my good friend Kelsey Riley.

What they need

History may mislead you but it will never lie to you. The facts are that tax cuts are the most reliable way to boost an economy. If you think I am lying, do a little research on the lost decade in Japan and you will learn what spending can do. California is a state that has done a tremendous amount of spending and is so far in debt they cannot see straight, like a mini Dubai. What I am getting at is that we need to stop spending and start focusing on tax cuts. Washington is finally starting to realize this and has begun talking about cutting taxes up to 20% for small business. This is great, but this is not going to create what these business need. Small business need one thing and that is customers. The way you get customers into these small businesses is put money in the consumer’s hands. To get money into the consumer’s hands you need this thing call tax cuts for the consumers. Really, is it that simple? Well it is much more complex, but this is how it works. Talking with many established businesspersons, they would much rather have customers then tax cuts. The whole point is we need to stop the spending, get the money into the consumer’s hands, and let them spend. If we want to cut the taxes for small businesses great, but let’s cut the taxes for the consumers as well. This is the fastest way to get out of a recession according to history, and remember history does not lie.

Let's inspire ourselves

When I think about what makes America the greatest country in history, I think about our ability to dream and the ability to make that dream come alive. That is what makes America so great. Every American has the chance to pave a path and create a legacy in the American capitalistic system. I feel that we, as Americans are no longer taking advantage of this opportunity. Instead, we are so focused on finding a way to take advantage of our government and collect our unemployment check or other benefits. I do understand that many people are in need of these benefits the government offer, but many people are abusing the system. Many of the unemployed are being hired but only wanting a few hours a week so they can collect extended unemployment. It is time that we start dreaming again, and wanting to create a name for ourselves. It time to start inspiring ourselves to make that legacy and become successful. I feel that status quo is the cool thing anymore. What happen to someone wanting to be the best? The government cannot do anything to help the American people if we do not help ourselves and start having that vision for success again.
My Encounter
On Saturday night as I was getting out of my car, a man started approaching me quickly. I really didn’t know what the man was going to do but as I stepped out of the car he said, “hey, can I have two dollars for a bus ride.” Being the person that I am, I was instantly interested how this you man, no older than 25 became homeless with nothing. As I started to learn a little about him, he explained how he just got out of jail for forgery and all he wanted was a new beginning. I am always curious about how homeless are trying to change their lives. I asked him what he was going to do to get off the street, “ I applied at taco bell, then I am going to get a paycheck, then I am going to get my own place, then I am going to move on with my life.” This guy had a vision for his new life. I have never been one to give money to homeless; I cannot explain why I just never have been. As I was walking away, I gave him one dollar knowing that he needed two. I explained to him that I wanted him to go earn that second dollar by sharing his vision with someone else and someone would be happy to give him that second dollar. I really hope he got that second dollar, but more so I really hope this person can live up to his vision. It is stories like this that make me thankful for what I have and inspire me to be my best all the time.

Kill This Bill

America I want to ask you to take a deep breath. What I am about to talk about is driving me insane and I really cannot take this radical nonsense anymore. It comes down to one word “Socialism.” Well, with socialism I guess everyone needs to have healthcare. Now if you think that I think our health care system in the United States is stellar, you are wrong. I understand that there are 47 million uninsured Americans and the largest group is young Americans, and rates increase up to 25% a year. However, I do not believe that the only option is to create a government healthcare system that is controlled 100% percent by government. Sorry but I just have to go off topic for a slight second. I want to remind you of Amtrak, another government run disaster. When was the last time Amtrak broke even? They don’t need to know what profit means but let’s try to break even. Is this really who you want in charge of your vital health. When you look in depth at this bill, it really is not a good bill. Personally, I would not even carry health insurance. Under the bill if you do not carry insurance you get a fine of 250 dollars. Here is the flaw; insurance companies cannot turn someone down for a preexisting condition. Therefore, if I am uninsured and get sick I can go crying to the insurance company and they cannot turn me down. In the young sector of America, this would be very popular. Now that would drive premiums through the roof. Insurance expenses for Americans are increasing up to 25% a year, so yes I do recognize that there is a problem. I believe that we have already gotten a heads up of what is coming if this public option gets through. Let the limitations begin on healthcare. Look at the mammogram study that came out by the U.S Preventive Task Force (government) changed recommended age for screening from 40 to 50 years old. Statistics say this early detection of breast cancer allows for a higher chance of being cured. Can you scream taxes? If this bill gets through, we have to pay for it somehow. Many people will end up paying more for their health insurance then what they do currently, by paying more in taxes. Just take time to talk to a fellow Canadian friend. Most Canadians love their healthcare until something goes wrong with them personally. Canadians will wait months for surgeries that in America you can get within a week. Something’s need to happen instead of this public option, the first is allow people to go across state lines to get insurance. Going across state lines is a logical way to create competition. One of the main reasons for high healthcare prices is because of the price for doctors to practice. Doctors are being sued daily for unjustifiable malpractice acquisitions. We need to put a stop to these lawsuits to help bring down healthcare cost, or we could just ask the government to offer malpractice insurance. Actually, do not give them anyway to spend money because they will do it. Maybe the government should look into offering doctors malpractice insurance. These are just a few of the ways I want to change healthcare while keeping free enterprise open in the healthcare system. I think that was one of the things this country was founded on, just maybe. I am asking you to spread the message and think twice before you support this bill. Once again, I am well aware that this country needs some changes to our healthcare system but the proposed bill is not the solution. Our government obviously cannot run a business, so leave them out of healthcare. It is not our countries job to provide a healthcare and they owe us nothing more than FREEDOM.

Todays Job Summit

Today, President Obama held a job summit in Washington, DC. I think it is great that the Presidents focus is on jobs because the current unemployment rate is 10.2%. The only problem with this job summit is that the most important people were missing. The summit included mostly CEO’s from large corporations in the United States. In the United States 3 out of every 4 jobs are created within the small business sector. I think if we were going to have a job summit, we should be focusing on the small business sector of America. If you want to find out exactly what the small businesses need, they should have been included in this job summit.

Tiger Woods

Today I want to take time to talk about Tiger Woods. Tiger as anyone who watched any television or who reads any news has had a rough week. Last Friday he was involved in an accident and accused of being involved with a cheating scandal. Tiger had no obligation to talk with police as Florida laws states that if no charges are issued he does not have to speak to police. Tiger turned down police when they showed up three consecutive days and has been hidden ever since. On the official website of Tiger Woods, he released several statement admitting to letting his family down and he truly is a family man that made mistakes. A voicemail has also been released asking the alleged mysterious women to delete her name off her voicemail. This is a little summary of what has gone on with tiger in the last week.
My View
Tiger Woods is my favorite athlete and I have a tremendous amount of respect for him as a golfer. In the past week I have questioned many of his actions such as the accident, not addressing the public and if he did cheat why. His actions have given me quite a good storyline. At the accident, his wife mystically had a 3 iron in her hand and broke out some windows. From the pictures of this accident, the door should have opened with a nice tug of the door and no windows needed to be broken. Either way I believe that there is underlying information as to why tiger is not letting anyone see him in public. Could it be that he had a domestic before he left in frustration and might have a wound that was not caused by the accident. When you have the status in society that he has I believe that it would be in his best interest to come clean with the public. If he is innocent, he should let people know to stop this blown out of proportion story. If Tiger is guilty, he needs to admit his troubles and explain what he will do to fix them. It takes a man to cheat but it takes a bigger man to admit to their problems and fix them. This issue goes beyond just Tiger and is about a family as well. Tiger prenuptial agreement is worth 350 million dollars to his wife. Personally, I would make it first priority to work this out for the kids. Statistics prove that kids that come from divorced families face more adversity that kids coming from non-divorced families. These kids are also going to be growing up with expectations to fill big shoes. I believe that although this is a personal issue and Tiger really can do whatever he wants, it would be in his best interest to clear up the non-sense that is brewing in the public. Clearing things up will allow him to rebuild his reputation is a genuine man or move on with his life with innocence. I will continue respect Tiger only if he handles this situation with class and a sense of responsibility to his family and his fans.