Index of Posts

1. Achieving Personal Wealth Goals (Updated 11/12/2012) 

2. Saving and Improving Social Security (Posted 2/2/2008)           

3. Balancing the Federal Budget (Posted 2/13/2008) 

4. Trade Deficits (Posted 2/27/2008)                                                  

5. Taxes (Posted 3/13/2008)                                                      6. Federal Reserve Policy and Actions (Posted 3/28/2008)

7. History Lesson – Democrat or Republican? (Posted 3-31-2008)

8. Capitalism (Posted 4/13/2008)

9. The Business Cycle (Posted 4/28/2008)

10. Health Care (Posted 5/14/2006)

11. Government Pensions and other Benefits (Posted 5/28/2008)

12. War and Peace (Posted 6/16/2008)

13. Reducing Crime (Posted 6/29/2008)

14. Religious Issues (Posted 7/13/2008)

15. My Pet Peeves (Posted 7/31/2008)

16. Fascists Hiding in Clear View (Posted 8/13/2008)

17. Environmental and Global Warming Issues (Posted 8/30/2008)

18. Affirmative Action and Diversity (Posted 9/16/2008)

20. Oil Company Profits (Posted 10/1/2008)

21. Was America Right to use the Atom Bomb in WWII? (Posted Oct 21, 2008)

22. Saving Social Security Alternative.

23. A Theory of everything

24. Why we don't believe Islam to be a peaceful religion.

25. The Poisoning of America

26. The National Debt Crisis - An Analogy

27. Climate Change? - Do the Math to unveil this Fraud (Posted 4/19/2012)

28. Lazy Person's Guide to Investing

29. Better Spouse Survivor Options at No Cost for Social Security (Posted 9/1/2012)

30. Cost of a Government Job (Posted 9/3/2012)

31. Your Share of the National Debt (Posted 9/5/2012)

32. CBS Ignores Climate Change Truth (IBD Publication)

33. The Ice Is Right (IBD Publication)

34. Can Anyone Explain why Blacks and Hispanics overwhelmingly support Democrats?

35. Federal Debt -Urgent To Unsustainable To Insane (Posted 9/10/2012)

36. Democrats' Unfair Income Tax Cuts Complaints – Taken to Its Logical Conclusion

37. Famous Quotes by our Founding Fathers

38. The Hidden Costs To You of Taxes, Government Loans, and Subsidies (posted 9-19-2012)

39. The Ticking Time Bomb - Unfunded Government Liabilities

40. Being Better Prepared for Natural Disasters

41. Random Thoughts - Questions without Good Answers

42. Beyond Stupid – Laws and Policies of the US Government

43. Income Tax Reform

44. Climate Change Facts

45. How to Cut Government Spending

46. Social Security Inequity toward Working Spouses

47. Ending the Welfare Mess

48. Conducting Fair Presidential Primaries

49. False Claims that Blacks are Trapped in Poverty

50. Fixing Medicare Fraud

51. Better Social Security Benefits at No Expense to Government

52. Why Raising the Minimum Wage Never Works

53. A State with No Republicans

54. Bond votes - An Information Black Hole

55. How to Fix Government Pensions

56. Decisions that the Unemployed Should Quickly Make

57. Unions Should Be Banned

58. Social Security Unfair Taxation
59. Immigration Reform
60. Black Killings - The Real Problem.

61. Political Correctness - The Hallmark of all Dictatorships

62. If I ran for President

63. How NOT to Unintentionally Disinherit Your Children

64. Student Loans

65. Causes of the Great Depression and the Great Recession

66. The Importance of Perseverance

67. Eliminate All Federal Subsidies
68. How Does US Health Care Compare to other Nations
69. Never let Politics Determine Your Family and Friends
70. Invest in Roth IRAs, not Traditional IRAs, plus use Roth Conversions
71. Student Loans
72. Usage and Morality of the Atom Bomb In World War Two
73. Medical Marijuana Needs to be Legalized Everywhere

74. Judges and the Constitution

75. Gender Pay Gap Myth

76. Immigration Reform

77. The Democratic Party – The Party of Slavery and Discrimination

78. Illegal Voting

79. Roth versus Traditional IRAs and Tax Bracket Insignificance

80. Investment Advice for Novice Investors

81. Guidelines for a Happy Marriage

82. Improving Our Public Schools

83. How Much Savings Needed for Retirement

84. Illegal Immigrants - How to Handle Effectively and Fairly

85. Veterans Health Care – How to Improve
86. Police Shootings - Who's Guilty
87. Vegans and Vegetarians Kill more Animals than Meat Eaters

88. The Top 10 Economic Lessons for America with Explanations

89. The Top 10 Laws and Policies Needed in America

90. Federal Tax Cut Historical Impacts on Annual Tax Revenues 5 Years Later
91. Marriage - Keeping the Romance Alive
92. We All Won Life's Lottery

93. Affirmative Action and Diversity are Code Words for Discrimination

94. Dixiecrats and the Democratic Lie that the Political Parties Switched Platforms

95. The Democratic Party has Morphed into America's Communist Party

96. Questions and Thoughts I Never Expressed in Parochial School

97. Doctor Visits

98. Nuclear Power and Waste and Environmentalists

99. Investing – Don't Squander the Giant Advantages of Youth

100. Middle Class Wages Have Not Been Stagnant for Decades

101. If I addressed the United Nations

102. Annuities - Stay Away

103. Minority Advancement – Government Handouts Are the Problem
104. Israel and Palestine – The Universal Consequences of War

105. Eliminate All Federal Subsidies

106. Medical Care is "Rationed" in Europe and Canada

107. Identity Politics – The Truth versus the Democratic Lies

108. A Good Example of Why Socialism Always Fails

109. All Governments Have No Money

110. Major Reasons Why Health Care Costs Are So high

111. Business Cycles – How They Work and Why

112. Black Reparations For Slavery

113. Oil Drilling Off Of Our Shallow Continental Shelves

114. Illegal Immigration and Democratic Unconscionable Actions

115. Federal Budgets – How to Pass One Every Year

116. People Are All the Same Race

117. Evolution and Creation

118. Stocks, Mutual Funds, ETFs – Basic Definitions with Explanations

119. Taxes and IRAs and 401Ks – Don't be Fooled by the Government

120. Inherited IRAs Withdrawals – Strategy for New Rules in 2020

121. Medicare For All – A Terrible Idea

122. Why Do We Still Allow Discrimination in America?

123. Millennials – Socialism is the Most Failed Economic System in Human History

124. Capital Gains Taxes on the Sale of your Home

125. Guidelines on How to Prevent Violence and Deaths in Confrontations with Police

126 How to Avoid Poverty.

127. Racial Issues - Lying With Statistics that Evade the Problem Instead of Solving the Problem

128. Democrats – America's Only Racist Party – Just the Facts, No Opinions

129. The History of Slavery and Public Statues

130. Police Killings – The Truth

131. Poverty – How to Avoid It

132. Stop Taxing Social Security Benefits

133. China - Time to Disengage Completely

134. Financial Advisors - Just Say No

135. Mail in Voting - A Recipe for Cheating

136. How the Democratic Party Tricked and Betrayed Black People

137. How to Stop Illegal Voting

138. Racial Income Inequality is Self-Inflicted

139. Social Justice Protests Are Deeply Flawed and Consequently Won't Work

140.  How To Pass Annual Federal Budgets 

141. Retirement – How to Really Help Americans

142. America – Thank God that We are NOT a Democracy

143. California - Imposing a Liberal Democracy

144. End Social Media Censorship

145. Judges – Don't Allow Them to Steal Your Freedom

146. Credit Card Impact of Making Only Minimum Payments

147. Restoring Confidence in Voting Results

148. Socialism – Why It Always Fails

149. Productivity is the Key to Jobs, Raises, Promotions, and Wealth

150. Stock Market Pull Backs – Did You Really Take a Loss

151. Outlaw All Government Pensions

152. When Are We Going To Stop Taxing Social Security Benefits

153. Election Fraud and How to Minimize It Through New Constitutional Amendments

154. The Number One Reason for the Disparity between Black and White Household Income Levels

155. Vegans and Vegetarians Kill more Animals than Meat Eaters

156. The Number 1 Reason Why Blacks Are Poorer Than Whites

157. Tax History Lesson # 1

158. Tax History Lesson # 2

159. Poverty Statistics

160. Proof that Voter ID is not a Problem

161. Needed Constitutional Amendments

162. Needed Welfare Reforms

163. A Proposed Alternative to Home Bankruptcy

164. One Person - 70+ million Deaths

165. Get rid of foreign language requirements in high school and college.

166. Outlaw Ranked Choice Voting.

167. Ron Puma's Federal Taxes Plan – A Better way to Collect Taxes

168. Social Security Tax Benefits of Roth IRAs

169. Skin Color

170. Why is it so Difficult For Retailers to be in Stock 100% of the Time

171. My Christmas Wish List

172 Voter Fraud Cheating Rights Bill

173. We are so  much better off then our Ancestors

174. Hot Water Tank Energy Consumption

175. Genders

176. History of War

177. Tax deadlines and Fines

178. Questions I Wished I Asked When I Was In Parochial School

179. Discrimination is Immoral and Should be Forever Outlawed

180. Modern Life – We Take So Much For Granted

181. Gender Identity Realities

182 Non Working Spousal IRAs

183 Solo 401K for Business Owners

184. Communist Economic systems have all failed

185. Family History Questions I Wish I Had Asked My Parents and Grandparents

186. Crime – Let's Get Serious About How to Prevent It

187. Big Bang Theory – There's A Problem

188. Evolution – There's A Problem

189. Where is God's Mercy?

190. Failures of Joe Biden and the Democrats

191. How can the human race be so smart and so stupid at the same time?

192. What I don't like about cell phones

193. How many ancestors do you have?

194. Social Security Taxes Value If Invested

195. Retirement Expenses

196. A Loving and Merciful God – True or False?

197. Democrats and Electric Cars

198. America's Federal Debt as of January 2023.

199. The Fair Way to Conduct Presidential Primaries

200. House Mortgage Warnings and Guidelines

201. Protect Our Police

202. Texts need to go the way of the Dinosaurs

203. Black Economic Inequality - What the News media Are Hiding

204. True Cost of Credit Card Minimum Payments

205. Democrats are Weaponizing the Media , FBI, and Attorney Generals to Attack Republicans Unfairly

206. All nations headed by a dictator are not legitimate governments

207. Mass Shootings and Gun Control

208. The Many Problems with Electric Vehicles

209. Joe Biden's Job Performance the First 27 Months

210. Black People Reparations Have Been Paid in Full

211. Watching TV is No Fun Anymore

212. The Real Heroes of Our Quality of Life

213. The Debt Ceiling and How to Responsibly Eliminate It

214. Retirement has been an Evolution

215. Doctors - Here's Where to Look For a Tinnitus Cure

216.  Social Security Is A Mindless Shameless Government Bureaucracy

217. Tinnitus Marketing Videos Follow the Same Script

218. Catholic Religion Contradiction

219. Abortion

220. The Most Dangerous Cities in America Are Run by Democrats

221. World Population Growth History and Challenges

222. Black Households with Children Income Differences Between Married and Unmarried

223. Everything is Relative

224. Evolution and Creation

225. 2024 Inflation - Who is Responsible - Trump or Biden

226. Do the Wealthy Pay their Fair Share of Taxes?

227. 2024 Trump Policies That Will Benefit You

228. Corporate Income Tax Increases Adverse Impacts

229. Education Failure of Public Schools

230. Crime Deterrence

231. Millionaire Households in America

232. Average Home Size By Nation

233. Afro-American Is Not A Race

234. Home Ownership Trends in America

235. Artificial Intelligence Consequences

236. How to Reduce Welfare Fairly

237. Income Inequality In America Is Justified and Good

238. Self Employed with a Non-Working Spouse

239. How to Save Lots of Money on Mortgages

240. Sole Owner 401K 2026 Contribution Limits

Manufacturing Job Losses and Causes

 Manufacturing Job Losses and Causes

Manufacturing jobs in the U.S. have generally declined over the decades, peaking at about 19.6 million in June 1979 and falling to approximately 12.8 million by June 2019. As of late 2025, there are nearly 13 million manufacturing workers, reflecting a slight recovery but still below historical highs.

There are multiple causes for this declining trend. Automation is a factor but failure to automate would raise costs and prices and therefore put us at a disadvantage to other nations who do automate while reducing our standard of living due to higher costs to purchase the things that we want.

Another major factor is tariffs. For decades, other nations have had much higher tariffs on us than we did on them. Those higher tariffs caused more products to be produced by other nations and less products to be produced here in America as our overseas export sales were reduced by these tariffs which made our products more expensive to purchase by foreign nations. The Trump targeted tariffs against those who have dealt unfairly with us is already starting to result in more fair trade.

Another major factor in the reduction in American manufacturing exports is unfair trading practices, particularly by China. Through slave labor and government subsidies, China has made many of their products cheaper than they would have been. Why would they do that? Doesn't that hurt them? China's goal is to put competitor foreign manufacturers out of business. Once they accomplish that, then they can raise prices while dominating the market. That is the same strategy that our domestic monopolists utilized in the 1800s when monopolies were still legal. They were big enough to absorb losses from selling under cost for a short period of time to put smaller companies of the same product out of business. Then they would raise prices very significantly after those competitors were out of business. That is why Trump putting some extreme tariffs on China to combat their very unfair trading practices. Initially, there would be some pricing pain for us on some products, but long term we will be much better off as China would be forced to abandon their unfair trading practices with America. However, you can bet that they will continue these unfair trading practices with other nations, especially developing nations.

Sole Owner 401K Contribution Limits 2026

A sole owner of a business can take out two kinds of 401Ks, each with very high maximum contribution limits:

1. As "sole owner" of the business - "Solo 401K" - Employer Non-Elective Compensation.

Maximum contribution to a "Solo 401K" in 2026 is up to 25% of compensation to a maximum of $72,000 each year, or if 50 or over, a maximum of $80,000 each year.

2. As an "employee" of the business - "401K" - Elective Deferrals

Maximum contribution to a "401K" in 2026 is $24,500, or $32,500 if 50 or over.

3. Total combined 401K maximums each year are $97,000, or $112,500 if over 50!!

Be smart and make sure both the solo 401K and the 401K are Roth 401Ks, not Traditional 401Ks. Otherwise you will pay a fortune in Federal income taxes and in some cases state income taxes when your Traditional 401Ks are withdrawn in retirement as these annual contributions, if invested in the stock market, are likely to average double in value every 7 years. With Roth 401Ks, you will not pay taxes on withdrawals in retirement.

4. Plus do not forget that you can still take out IRAs annually too, Again, always invest in Roth IRAs, not Traditional IRAs. Annual 2026 IRA contribution limits are $7,500, or if 50 or over 50, $8,600 a year.

How to Save Lots of Money on Mortgages

How to Save Lots of Money on Mortgages

Want to save a lot of money on a new mortgage? Get a 15 year home mortgage instead of a 25 or 30 year mortgage. As an example, Let's take each of those mortgages at a 5% interest rate for a $100,000 mortgage and compare:

1. Monthly mortgage payments (without property taxes included) would be $536.82 (30 year), $584.59 (25 year) and $790.79 (15 year). Therefore cutting your 30 year mortgage lifetime in half for a 15 year lifetime mortgage is much less than double the 30 year mortgage monthly payment.

2. Lifetime out of pocket mortgage money you pay is $193,255 (30 year), $175,377 (25 year) and $142,343 (15 year. Therefore a 15 year mortgage saves you almost $50,000 in out of pocket lifetime monthly payments versus a 30 year mortgage and over $33,000 versus a 25 year mortgage on a $100,000 mortgage.

3. If you sell your house before the mortgage is paid off, a 15 year mortgage will have paid off much more mortgage principal than a 25 or 30 year mortgage. Therefore, you will have much more money left over after you pay your mortgage balance with a 15 year mortgage than with a 25 or 30 year mortgage.

Here's a link to a free mortgage calculator to help you determine the costs and savings using mortgage loan balances and interest rates that apply to your circumstances.

https://www.mortgagecalculator.org/

Self Employed with High Earnings and a Non-Working Spouse

 

Self Employed with High Earnings and a Non-Working Spouse

Let's say you are self employed with a non-working spouse and making at least double the maximum taxed Social Security limit of $176,000 (in 2025; normally increases each year).

If you hire your spouse as a stay at home worker and give her/him little or nothing to do, but pay her at least $176,000, then:

1. The spouse would pay the SS tax on $176,000 and when you both retire, your SS income would be 33% greater that it would have been. Though it did cost you extra SS taxes of about $12,000 per year.

2. Your combined 401K contributions and therefore tax exemptions could be as much as $23,000 to $31,000 (age 50 and over), saving you substantial tax dollars.

3. Your combined IRA contributions would be double, saving you more tax dollars.

4. Though your self -employed income would now be less, your combined total income would be the same, costing you no extra taxes nor loss of total income.

5. Even if not making double the Social Security maximum but making more than the maximum, implementing this idea on a partial basis could still be beneficial.

Income Inequality In America Is Justified and Good

 Per news reports, income inequality is an important issue for many American voters. Just proves that You Can't Fix Stupid!! Here's why income inequality is fair and good:

1. People with higher education levels on average earn more money, For example, college graduates earn more on average than high school dropouts. That's fair.

2. Skilled workers earn more than unskilled workers. That's fair.

3. People who have been working for decades earn more than people who haven't been working very long. That's fair.

4. People who have been working for decades have had more time to save and invest thus building more total income, plus pay off house mortgages than people who haven't been working nearly as long. That's fair.

5. People who are frugal with their money normally have more income saved than people who spend most or all of their income or more than their income. That's fair.

6. People in the same jobs, whether they are men or women, earn the same amount of money. That's fair and also has been the law for over 50 years.

7. People who work harder, longer, and smarter than their peers generally earn more and get more job promotions. That's fair.

8. People who are willing to endure longer commutes to work, especially if they work in big cities, can find cheaper homes and rentals than those who choose to live in the city where available land and housing is more limited. Thus their residences are larger and nicer, plus they can save and invest more income. That's fair.

9. People who have less or no children, have lower expenses, more money saved and invested, and a higher standard of living than people who earn the same amount of money but have more children. That's a choice that is both understandable and fair.

10. 50% of single parent households live in poverty versus only 10% of married households with children living in poverty. Very understandable and fair. Two potential income earners and babysitters versus one. To deliberately become a single parent household instead of getting married first is the height of stupidity.

11. Divorced people have lower income standards and savings than their married peers. Understandable and fair. Two residences to support for divorced people versus one residence to support for their married peers.

Now there are Communist and heavily socialist nations where there is more income equality than America. However, they pay a very heavy price for it. They are much poorer and have much lower living standards than Capitalist nations. For example, the average European in a heavily socialist nation pay 40 to 60% income taxes, plus a hidden 25% national sales tax called a Value Added Tax so that their net income does not go very far. Consequently their average residence is 600 to 800 square feet with only one bathroom compared to the average American with 2,000 square foot residence with multiple bathrooms. Plus their medical services are "rationed" as they have far less doctors, hospitals, and medical equipment such as medical scanners and CRTs per equal population size than America. Why would you want that?

How to Reduce Welfare Fairly

Approximately 72.5 million Americans receive welfare benefits each month, with around 42.1 million using food stamps in 2025. The majority of welfare recipients are never married mothers. I should not have to pay for your stupidity!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Young women - never have children until you are married!!!

Government - Do not give any welfare to never married mothers until you force them to name the fathers in order to collect welfare plus submit DNA for themselves and their children. Then go after the fathers for child support first so that they and not us pay for the welfare of their children. If DNA shows that they are not the father named by the never married mothers, then jail the lying mothers.

Schools - Educate your students on the Economic fact that 50% of single parent households live in poverty while only 10% of married households with children live in poverty so that they can make better decisions on how to live their lives in the future.

Artificial Intelligence Consequences

 Lots of understandable apprehension about Artificial Intelligence (AI). Every successful technical advancement historically has both created new jobs while also making some jobs obsolete. Bottom Line - the productivity of products and services was increased which resulted in the growth of overall wealth plus substantial standard of living increases. The invention of the automobile for instance resulted in the bankruptcy and disappearance of the largest industry in America back then - the manufacture and sales of horse drawn carriages and wagons. I think that all of us would agree that it was worth it.

The nations that advance the implementation of AI will become the wealthiest nations in the world and also the most military proficient. Those nations that do not advance AI will become poorer and military defense vulnerable.

The transition to AI, like most other past technical advances, will result in some pain for some workers.

Bottom Line - there really is no choice. We have to do it in order to avoid the unacceptable consequences of not doing it.

Home Ownership Trends in America

Home ownership has dropped to 65% of Americans today from its peak of 69% in 2004. The news articles on them blame high costs and interest rates for that trend. Certainly, that is a factor, but not the most important factor. Here are the real major main factors for shrinking home ownership:

1. People are marrying much later in life compared to previous decades. The average age for first marriages in the United States is around 30.2 years for men and 28.6 years for women as of 2024. In the 1950s, the average age for men was 22.5 years and women 20.1 years.

2. Normally people wait until they are married and especially when they have kids before looking for homes. The birth rate in the U.S. has recently dropped to an all-time low of about 1.6 children per woman, according to 2024 data.

I and my wife were 20 and 21 when we married in 1968, and 26 years old when we had our first child. We moved into our first house when we were 25. It would have been sooner than that if I had not been drafted into the US Army at age 22; released at age 24.

3. The percentage of adults 25 to 35 living with their parents has more than doubled from 7% in 1970 to 17% currently.

Yet nobody talks about those important key factors when discussing home ownership rates. They paint it as a problem, but the reality is that it is caused by free will, intentional, major lifestyle changes for today's younger generation.

Afro-American Is Not A Race

Afro-American Is Not A Race

Even in America, if you see a Black person, they are not necessarily an American. For example, we have Black people from other nations in America who are here as college students, tourists, workers of foreign companies, and workers of foreign government embassies located in America.

My own ethnicity is Italian American as my grandparents all emigrated from Italy. Italian American is not my Race. My Race is White. Many other Whites in America are a different ethnicity as they or their ancestors have emigrated from different nations be it Ireland, Germany, France, Poland, Russia, and dozens of other nations. So their ethnicities are Irish Americans, Polish Americans, etc.. Their common "Race" is White in most cases.

Elon Musk is a wealthy White person often in the news who is an American citizen who was born in South Africa and emigrated here. So technically his ethnicity is Afro-American, but his race is White.

Even the term "Afro" which is short for African , but meant to indicate a Black person is inaccurate. Egypt, Algeria, and Morocco are nations located in Africa. Their citizens are not Black. So if there citizens emigrate here, then technically, just like Elon Musk, they would also be Afro-Americans even though their skin color is not Black.

What should we do then? Let's get rid of the term "Race" and ignore skin color. No matter what your skin color, science has proven that all humans are one and the same species. That is why, we can medically exchange blood and body organs to save people who would otherwise die, no matter what our skin color. As an analogy, we don't use Race as a term for horses, though they come in many skin colors including White, Black, Brown, Blonde, and multi colors. Let's do the same for humans and ignore skin color.

Average Home Size by Nation

Think that the American middle class is hurting? Think again!!

The average size of an American home is roughly three to four times larger than European homes.

 https://homescopes.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/average-home-size-graph-874x1024.jpg

Since 1950, the average American home has nearly tripled in size.        

https://homescopes.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/average-home-size-graph-874x1024.jpg

Millionaire Households in America

 18% of American households are millionaires. 25% of retired households are millionaires.    

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/retirement/2025/04/10/how-many-retire-1-million/82510481007/?fbclid=IwY2xjawJqU1RleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHkPMrYe25shq9aMWWRVRrbCH_fz60lji4RKa47eatJmNwQEFqPTq1t6GkB9o_aem_nej_F_OYBi7VBipuYk2Pfg                                 

Crime Deterrence

 Crime exists because we tolerate it. Let's give criminals and potential criminals the fear of God not to commit crimes. The best way to do that is passing laws that mandate execution for the following crimes:

Murder

Attempted Murder

Kidnapping

Blackmail

Rape

Drug Dealing

Driving Drunk and killing someone

Texting while driving and killing someone

Bomb Threats

Deliberating starting wild fires or house fires or building fires

Using or threatening to use a weapon when committing a crime

Education Failure of Public Schools

 hrough 12 years of Grammar and High School, math courses are taught each and every year. Most people never utilize the High School "science directed" math courses they are taught such as Algebra, Trigonometry, Geometry, and Calculus.

Yet the math and Economics courses that they need to know in order to improve their own finances when they become adults, and also to knowledgably vote on what consistently is rated the number one issue in an election - Economics, is almost never taught.

Here are public school courses that need to be added to the curriculum:

1. How paying credit card interest only after a purchase can double the ultimate price you paid in just three years. An interest rate of 24% does that. If 18%, the cost doubles in 4 years. Take the number "72" and divide it by the interest rate to calculate how many years it takes to double.

2. Mortgages and how they work.

A. Calculating the lifetime costs of a home mortgage. Showing that a 15 year mortgage lifetime costs are significantly less than a 25 or 30 year mortgage lifetime costs. B. Showing that interest payments are front loaded into the early years of a mortgage so that very little principal is paid back.

B. Explaining that doubling your mortgage payments to pay your loan off early is both an interest free loan to the bank (do you really want to gift the bank that?) and potentially financially dangerous. Explain that such a move reduces your total savings so that if you lose your job or become too ill to work, you may lose your house to the bank before you can sell it and keep the equity you have in your house instead of losing all of it to the bank because banks keep the entire amount they get when they take over and sell your house, returning none of your equity to you. . Much better to invest that extra mortgage payment because you will likely have enough money to pay off your mortgage sooner, plus you will be in a better position to not lose your home and/or your equity in it in case of job loss or illness.

C. Explain the risks of variable rate mortgages. If interest rates rise, so will your mortgage payments.

3. What you need to know about investing:

A. The difference between stocks, mutual funds, ETFs, index funds, options and puts.

It is especially important to note that mutual funds have high annual fees compared to similar ETFs and that you can buy or sell an ETF when the stock market is open and instantly know the cost but a mutual fund's buy and costs are determined after the market closes. Also, that the S&P 500 mutual fund has historically done better than 70% of professionally managed stock market accounts.

B. The stock market historical growth rates. 100 years of history - Average doubling every 7 years when you put 4 to 5 consecutive 7 year periods together. Though that does not gaurantee future results, the probability is high.

C. The tremendous advantage of youth in investing.

For example, based on historical averages, a 23 year old who invests $1,000 every year until age 65 would collect $64,000 a year for 42 years starting at age 65 while starting investing as a 44 year old would amount to only $8,000 a year for 21 years. If you double the investment amount to $2,000 a year, then you double those returns amounts.

D. The huge lifetime advantages of Roth IRAs and 401Ks over Traditional IRAs and 401Ks.

Using 3C, would you rather pay taxes on $1,000 or taxes on $64,000? Then invest in Roth IRAs and 401Ks.

4. The National Economy:

A. Historically, how nations who went too far into debt had their Economies collapse, putting all their people in poverty and having extremely high inflation.

B. The history of Federal tax cut and tax increase impacts.

When you look at the 8 years following a tax cut, Federal tax revenues percentage growth increased substantially compared to the 8 years following a Federal tax increase. The reason is simple Economics.

1. A tax cut puts more take home pay into peoples pockets. Therefore, they spend more on goods and services which increases the number of workers needed to provide those goods and services. Therefore more people are working and paying taxes which ultimately increases Federal tax revenues collected substantially.

2. A tax increase reduces take home pay. With less money available to spend, the number of goods and services decreases. That reduces the need for workers to produce those goods and services, leading to layoffs and higher unemployment. With less people working and paying taxes, Federal revenue growth declines.

Corporate Income Tax Increases Adverse Impacts

 

U.S. Corporate Federal Income taxes in 2024 are set at 21%. In the past, they have been as high as 35%. Many Democrats would like to see them higher again (at least 28% and some would prefer 35%). That would be a great mistake for the following reasons:

1. U.S. Corporations compete with other nations for business both in America and globally. Average global Corporate income taxes are around 21% with China at 12.5%. Therefore raising US corporate income taxes means that American companies would be at an economic disadvantage and therefore less competitive than foreign companies regarding the prices they must charge to cover their expenses and still make a net profit. This would result in less goods and services sold by American companies resulting in job layoffs, less future job hirings, and smaller wages for American workers.

2. In addition to Federal corporate income taxes, American companies also pay:

A. Social Security taxes.

B. State income taxes in most states.

C. Capital Gains taxes

All these taxes, combined with Federal income taxes, make it harder for American companies to successfully compete with foreign companies for business, thus further eroding employment and wages.

Bottom Line - Higher taxes on Corporations are ultimately paid for by Americans in the form of less jobs, lower wages, and higher prices on products and services.

2024 Trump Policies That Will Benefit You

                                          2024 Trump Policies That Will Benefit You

1. Reducing tax rates for people and corporations.

Your take home pay will go up as will your standard of living as a consequence. Corporations will have more money to expand their businesses and thus grow the economy. Plus corporations will have more money and opportunities for new hires, raises, and promotions. Plus they will be more competitive with foreign corporations, increasing exports and thus jobs in America. Plus foreign companies, as they did when Trump lowered taxes in his first term as President, move more production to America thus increasing job opportunities for Americans. Finally, historically, Federal tax revenues will increase faster with lower tax rates due to more people working and paying taxes.

2. Repealing Energy Drilling Restrictions imposed by Biden-Harris.

We became energy independent during the first Trump Presidency due to his energy policies. Harris-Biden restricted energy drilling causing energy prices to rise which significantly increased the cost of production and services, plus the cost of driving a car and heating and cooling your home. That fueled massive inflation that has hurt all of us. We are no longer energy independent due to Harris-Biden and must buy much more expensive and dirtier fuel from other nations. Inflation will only increase further under Harris as has proposed abolishing fracking which will lead to higher oil imports and more inflation.

3. Repealing the laws requiring auto makers to switch from gasoline cars to battery cars in the near future.

Battery cars are much more expensive to purchase than gasoline cars. Most Americans need and depend on cars for necessary daily transportation. Being forced to purchase battery cars will significantly lower the standard of living of the poor and the middle class. In addition to that, if all cars were battery cars, America has nowhere near the supply of electricity to charge them. Let's also not forget that electricity is generated by fossil fuels, so battery cars are not "energy friendly". Also, their batteries are prone to fires and putting a battery operated car in your garage is a fire risk.

4. Trump will again pull America out of the disasterous Paris Climate Accord.

Trump did that in his first Presidency. Harris-Biden reversed it and rejoined the Paris Climate Accord. This will result in America paying trillions of dollars in "carbon taxes" and hand it over to "developing nations". It is beyond stupid and unaffordable!! Trump will get us out again.

5. Trump Immigration Policies.

America cannot handle the huge influx of millions of illegal immigrants coming here each year. Illegal immigration was much less under Trump policies and he did not need that ridiculously stupid proposed legislation to not do anything about illegal immigration until it reached a point of exceeding 5,000 illegals a day (over 1.8 million a year). We don't have enough housing for all these illegals which is driving up the cost of housing for all of us. Plus, by driving up labor supply, illegals keep wages lower for many of us than otherwise would be if the supply of labor for jobs did not have all these illegals in it.

6. Imports and Export Control Via Tariffs.

Under the first Trump Presidency, by threatening retaliation tariffs for the high tariffs other nations imposed on America's exports, Trump got Mexico, Canada, and much of Europe and Asia to lower their tariffs on American exports. This resulted in a boom for American exports creating more jobs. More work needs to be done. Harris refuses to do it. Trump will get it done.

Do the Wealthy Pay Their Fair share of Taxes?

Do the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes? Hey Joe Biden, yes they do. The top 1% pay almost 46% of all Federal income taxes collected. The top 10% of income earners pay 75% of all Federal income taxes collected while the bottom 50% of income earners only pay 3% of all Federal income taxes collected. That is very fair and very "progressive". Scroll down this link to the chart listed under What's Your Tax Rate?

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tax-irs-income-taxes-who-pays-the-most-and-least/

Inflation 2024 - Who is Responsible - Trump or Biden

Another clueless news story that never answers the question posed in the headline, namely the cause and responsibility of high inflation. As a person who majored in Economics in college, here are the facts logically analyzed to conclusions:

1. Energy Costs
Under Trump, we were energy independent for the first time in decades. Costs for gasoline, electricity, heating and air conditioning were cheap.
Joe Biden, on the first day of his Presidency, restricted energy drilling in America. Consequently, we were no longer energy independent and had to get a significant part of our needed oil supplies from other nations at more expensive prices and higher transportation costs to ship it thousands of miles over oceans. Plus it was dirtier fuel to burn than American fuel. Energy costs are a big part of producing and transporting goods and services. So everything was negatively impacted with higher costs that were passed on to consumers.
2. Interest Rates
Covid, which started in earnest in 2020 during Trump's Administration, was nobody's fault but it negatively impacted our abilities to work, shop, and use restaurants. To counter the impacts of Covid, Trump had to vastly spend money to prevent Economic collapse. That significantly raised deficits to two trillion dollars a year. Huge government deficits require higher interest rates to attract people to buy government bonds to cover our deficits because the risk of a future government default is exponentially higher. Higher interest rates impact production and services costs, causing prices to rise to cover the increased costs. The housing industry is especially negatively impacted by this, and so is the cost of food. For the most part, Covid was over in terms of the number of people impacted when Biden took office. Federal budgets needed to get rid of extra 2 trillion dollars in Covid spending and go back to pre-Covid 2019 federal spending levels. Instead Biden didn't cut the spending and consequently interest rates kept going up and is the reason for America's high interest rates. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2024/06/27/biden-trump-presidential-debate-economy-inflation-takeaways/74236870007/

                                              Evolution and Creation

1. Some people don't believe in God.

2. Some people who believe in God don't believe in Evolution.

3. Some people believe, per counting the human generations and ages listed in the Bible, that the Earth and the entire Universe is only 6,000 years old.

All are wrong for the following reasons:

1. Remember the old cliche - "Which came first - the chicken or the egg?" You can't have an egg without an adult male and female chicken at the same time having bred it. You can't have the first adult male and female chicken unless they were eggs first. So either way, the first adult chickens had to be "created" or if they started as eggs, the eggs had to be "created". Same principle applies everywhere, but most especially to humans. Look at a newborn human baby. Totally helpless and dependent on it parents, a newborn baby could not survive on its own. So the first human baby needed an adult male and female human to copulate to create the first baby. Logically, those two first human adults who created the first human baby - how did they come to be if they were never babies themselves? Only logical answer is that they have to be created and in an Earth that is 24,000 miles in circumference, they had to be near each other too.

2. Once created, evolution can occur later through environmental and other factors. After all, we are one human species but have evolved into different skin colors through living in either hot or cold climates for many thousands of years. We know that different skin color humans are one and the same species as we can share blood and body organs when health issues require that to survive.

3. Science has proven that the light from stars that reach the Earth have traveled, depending on how far away from Earth they are, thousands of years in some cases to get here, millions of years in other cases, and billions of years in some cases. So how can the Universe be only 6,000 years old?

Also, if you believe that just the Earth is 6,000 years old, then explain dinosaurs. We know from extensive fossil records, that dinosaurs existed and were huge. It would have been impossible for humans to survive in a world of dinosaurs. Dinosaurs are not mentioned in the Bible, nor in human history. So if the Earth is only 6,000 years old and there's no human history of them, then did they only exist for 100 years and died out? Not realistic.

Everything Is Relative

 Everything Is Relative

The term "millionaire" has been utilized to indicate a person of great wealth for generations. How true is that today?

For example, in 1900, a million dollars was equivalent to the annual income of 2,283 workers.

In 1950, a million dollars was equivalent to the annual income of 314 workers.

Today, a million dollars is equivalent to the income of only 16 workers.

100 years from now, it is conceivable that "just a millionaire" would be utilized to describe a person who is poor.

Black Households with Children Income Differences Between Married and Unmarried

Especially if you are Black, you need to read this comparison of the huge difference in incomes between single parent Black female households ($34,544) and Black married households with children ($94,943). If you don't want to be poor, get married before having children. Democrats won't save you from poverty - they want to keep you there through enticing you through welfare programs. It's their way of getting your vote starting with Democrat Lyndon Johnson's Great Society Welfare programs in 1964 aimed at doing just that after Republicans broke the Democratic filibuster and got the the Civil Rights legislation passed. Wise up for your own good and that of your children.

https://wirepoints.org/new-census-data-marriage-bonus-for-kids-greatest-among-black-families-wirepoints/

World Population Growth History and Challenges

 World Population Growth History and Challenges

1. World population reached 1 billion people in 1800.

2. It took another 127 years to double to 2 billion people in 1927.

3. It took only 48 years to double again to 4 billion people in 1975.

4. It took just 48 years to double again to 8 billion people in 2023.

Therefore, in less than 100 years the world human population has quadrupled!! What will happen if the human population doubled again? Seemingly that would happen sometime this century and some people alive today will likely be alive when that occurs. How would we feed 16 billion people? And would someday about 100 years from now would there be a need to feed 32 billion people?

The potential solutions would be challenging and likely would include:

1. Converting wildlife lands to farms, thus driving many species to extinction or near extinction.

2. Converting suburban home lawns to farmland.

3. Inventing/building high tech skyscraper farm buildings that don't use soil to grow crops.

4. Very restrictive laws on how many children families can have (likely just 1 which is something that China does already) or if some families can have children at all.

Will some nations that are having trouble feeding their population invade neighboring nations who still have land resources for additional farmland? Based on human history, most likely yes.

Will their be energy shortages and also shortages of key resources such as steel, wood, salt, materials for clothing, etc.? Most likely yes.

Will a future atomic war occur that would result in a much smaller human population?

The Most Dangerous Cities in America Are Run by Democrats

 The Most Dangerous Cities in America Are Run by Democrats

27 of the 30 most dangerous cities in America are run by Democrats and most have been run by Democrats for decades.

As an example, New Orleans has been run by Democrats since 1872. It has the highest homicide rate of any city in America. Many of these cities have pursued Defunding the Police, eliminated cash bails for some crimes, and have refused to prosecute some crimes. In other words, these cities have increased the incentive of people to commit crimes. Plus these cities are often having trouble attracting enough police to fill their approved police rosters because so many police have left the force due to the negative attitude toward them by Democrats and so few want to become police now for the same reason Therefore it should be no surprise that Democratically run cities are the most violent, crime ridden cities in the nation.

Only the residents of these cities can fix this problem. They need to vote Democrats out of office and replace them with Republicans who support the police and are tough against crime. Otherwise, history will continue to repeat itself.

https://www.outkick.com/usa-most-dangerous-cities-are-run-by-democrats/?fbclid=IwAR1uvZdrPlTDiDnAVv_ARll5YTgY_DRUXd_R9CvaKWbeI95QYhoVUSFSStE

Abortion

 

Given the extreme polarization between Pro-Life and Pro-Death supporters (given that the opposite of life is death the obviously whitewashed description commonly used term of "Pro-Choice" avoids describing the real issue), I strongly hesitated writing anything on this issue. I am savvy enough to know that nothing I say will change the opinions of those on either side of the Abortion issue. I hope that I can at least help somewhat with the following facts.

Before starting, for the sake of perspective on the huge scope of the Abortion issue, let's present one startling fact - Over 63 million legal abortions have been performed in America since the 1973 Supreme Court decision on Roe versus Wade. 63 million human lives deliberately ended!!

Obviously, a healthy woman seeking an abortion never wanted to be pregnant in the first place. There are birth control solutions to prevent pregnancies. The most common and effective are birth control pills but they require a prescription. There are also prophylactics that do not require a prescription and also can prevent the spread of venereal disease.

Fortunately, the birth control prescription pills themselves are cheap, but does require a doctor's visit which may not be cheap depending on a person's insurance coverage. However, that doctor's visit will be a lot cheaper than the cost of a future abortion.

About 100 nations permit non-prescription birth control pills to be sold as they are proven safe for over 50 years. There are no age limits as to who can purchase them. America needs to do the same. This will prevent many unwanted pregnancies and therefore significantly reduce the number of women with unwanted pregnancies seeking abortions. Fortunately in 2023, the FDA has just approved the sale of the non-prescription birth control pills called Opill. They are predicted to be available to the public in 2024. Other birth control pills will still require a prescription. So the FDA needs to go further.

Hopefully, we can all agree with the following facts which should be very obvious:

1. The fetus of a pregnant woman seeking an abortion is alive. If the fetus is dead, than the woman would suffer a miscarriage and there would be nothing to discuss.

2. The fetus itself is "human". That's not a frog or turtle or some other creature inside a pregnant woman's body. That's a human life.

Given those two facts, the definition of an abortion is the deliberate killing of a human life. Reminder, just in America, over 63 million lives have been deliberately terminated since 1973.

For doctors who perform an abortion, you took a Hippocratic oath "to do no harm". How does you deliberately ending a human life equate to "to do no harm"? Logically, it doesn't.

The case of two premature births and how they are treated:

1. A woman goes into premature labor at 6 months pregnancy and delivers a baby. Doctors work intensively to save the baby's life and succeed. The baby goes on to live a full life.

2. Another woman seeks and gets an abortion at the same facility at 6 months pregnant at the same time as the woman in point 1. The baby is alive after the abortion. Doctors just leave the baby alone and let it die.

How can anyone justify saving the first baby and letting the second baby die?

Most Americans believe in God and believe in life after death where the good will be rewarded and the evil will be punished. Most Americans also believe in the Ten Commandments with the most important one being - "Thou Shall Not Kill". Therefore, what does God think of Abortion would be a relevant issue for most Americans to contemplate.

There seemingly are only two possibilities of God's thoughts on Abortion:

1. Abortion is a violation of the Commandment - Thou Shall Not Kill".

If God believes this, then abortion is murder, and the punishment would be eternal hell for the women having abortions, and also the doctors and the medical assistants performing the abortions.

OR

2. Abortion is a woman's right.

If God believes this, then interfering with a woman's right to an abortion is potentially a punishable sin. So what would be the punishment for taking actions that allow a fetus to live against a woman's wishes? Whatever the punishment would be, it has to be less than the punishment for the worst of all sins - murder.

Tinnitus Marketing Videos Follow the Same Script

Tinnitus which is a constant ringing in your ears 24/7 has no known cure. However, there are non prescription pills which claim to help. As you search for Tinnitus cures on the Internet, there are a number of them with marketing videos trying to get you to buy their product. These videos by different manufacturers all seem to follow the same script:

1. They start with a narrator who claims to have suffered terribly from Tinnitus for a long time. Could not concentrate, difficulty in sleeping, headaches, and it was so bad that his behavior scared his family and he felt terrible about that so he was determined to find a cure.

2. He promises to give the cure to you in a few minutes, but that's a lie. The video is 60 to 90 minutes long and you cannot advance the video at all. You must listen to the entire video before getting an answer.

3. Next he goes through a long process describing how he sought help from doctors but they couldn't help him.

4. So he does his own research going to famous doctors or institutions to learn about the Tinnitus research that they did. Then he does more research with them which takes months or years.

5. He supposedly finds that big pharmacy manufacturers are fighting against a Tinnitus cure because they make more money treating Tinnitus than curing it.And they are trying to prevent him from selling his actual cure.

6. He also says government has a cure but they restrict it to high members of the military and big politicians.

7. Through his extensive research with others, he fins someone who has a cure but has not been able to get the funding to sell and distribute it.

8. The cure is completely composed of many natural and sometimes rare ingredients found in remote areas of the world and these ingredients to work properly must not be tainted by fertilizers. He tested it on himself and many others, and the cure worked.

9. He founded a company either by himself or with others to get the tinnitus cure manufactured and distributed.

10. Because of the difficulty of getting all the pure ingredients necessary, this process is costly and the supply is very limited.

11. He could easily sell his product for lots of money, However, he is not interested in making a profit. Too many people suffer from Tinnitus and he just wants to get the cure to as many people as possible.

12. Therefore,he presents an offer to you to buy the limited supply at a discount price (usually about $69 for a one month bottle of pills) in a 30 minute time period if he doesn't sell out before them, so you better place your order now. however, it's best to order a 3 month or 6 month supply and keep taking them even if your Tinnitus has stopped in order to insure that it won't come back.

13. However, if you search Amazon, you normally can find the same product in an identical bottle of pills for less money. And if you look at the customer review scores and read the actual reviews, the results are poor.