Getting it Right - Welcome

The goal of this blog is to publish my thoughts on a variety of economic and political topics in the hopes that people who find them educational or beneficial will utilize them and/or forward to others who might find them interesting and/or worthwhile to promote to others, possibly including politicians who can push some of these ideas to fruition. The topics in my blog are meant to be of value on a long term basis, not a daily diary or political issue of the day log. If the information posted is useful to you, by all means utilize it and/or forward it as you see fit. If not useful, then merely ignore it. There are no universally agreed upon truisms and too little tolerance between some of those with opposing viewpoints to successfully convince the people with hardened opinions to move away from them. I am an analytical type person who will try to be as factual as I am able.

I disdain the current popularity of name calling and condemnation of viewpoints with no factual alternatives or logical solutions given that I see so often. If you don't have a solution based on fact and logic, then opt out of the discussion because you have nothing to contribute. My background is a degree in Economics from the University of Michigan and 39 years working in middle management jobs for a major retailer. My opinions are forged on the personal experence of life, family, friends, and work as well as triumphs and mistakes that I have made and hopefully learned from. My hope is that this blog helps you.

My first topic will be about personal finance. I chose that one first because most of us work long and hard just to survive but not all of us realize our dreams of becoming financially independent from the labors of our work. Much of our political votes/thinking also focus on the economy and in particular how well we are personally doing financially.

It is relatively simple, without sacrificing the enjoyment of living for 'today' and even at moderate incomes, to retire as a millionaire or multi-millionaire, if you focus on that goal consistently from a young age. It is also simple to ensure that your child or grandchild retires rich. It merely requires a one time gift of just $2,000 invested wisely and the passage of time. Please read my first post on this blog to learn more.


Getting it right on Politics, Economics, and Personal Finance

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Monday, January 9, 2012

The National Debt Crisis - An Analogy

So it only took a few months to add another trillion dollars of debt. Here's an analogy to make this simple to undersand. Suppose your take home pay was $21,000 a year and your debts amounted to $150,000 which is 7 1/2 times your income. Already see a problem( how can someone making $21,000 a year support debt of $150,000)? Now you plan to spend $36,000 this year. Well, since you don't have enough money to spend at that level, you go to a bank and ask for a loan for the $15,000 difference. The bank asks a few questions on how you are going to pay it back. You tell them, that you are never going to pay it back because you intend to keep spending and borrowing at that level for the forseeable future. You ask for an interest only loan and tell the bank that "you're good for it". After a long pause as the bank manager can't stop laughing, you are finally ushered out of the bank. Now add 8 zeroes to all those numbers and you have the Federal government. At that rate, it won't take long before no one gives the government a loan at low interest rates (that is buys its bonds) or any interest rate. Then the government will be forced to print money to pay its bills. That's when the currency devalues to nearly zero and all of us are equally broke.
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