The Trillion Dollar Bailout That Won't Save Anyone...

Let's someone keeps acquiring debt, yet
does not have the money to pay the debt at the end of each month...What happens to them? Well, first you can assume that the debt collectors will be calling, emailing, snail-mailing, and potentially knocking on your door.

No let's change the wording a bit...

Let's say the U.S. government keeps acquiring debt, yet does not have the money to pay at the end of each month...What happens to them? Well, first you can assume NOTHING happens to them, except that they will be allowed to keep printing money from the Federal Reserve.

It always made me laugh in college when other students would argue with me over who prints our money. Such heated debates containing the hilarious phrase, "The United States Treasury prints money!" Ha-ha, ignorance must be bliss in this case, because it really shields the world from the fact that the U.S. Treasury does not print a single dollar; the Federal Reserve does, and these days they are printing as fast as their machines will allow so that the U.S. government can spend it faster and faster.
(Note: Look at any bill that you have in your pocket and take notice at the top where is says, "Federal Reserve Note".)

These thoughts all spun from recent headlines that read:

See where the stimulus money will go (CNN)
Mortgage Plan Would Help Millions Refinance (Washington Post)
Obama Unveils $75 Billion Plan to Fight Home Foreclosures (New York Times)

If you got to CNN.com they even give you a pretty and interactive picture!
(http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/02/18/stimulus.spending.chart/index.html)

Talks about how much money everyone willl recieve from the 2009 stimulus are already underway. Amounts such as $600, $250, etc. have all been mentioned. Oh boy! Will the American people get back $250 of the money that was already stolen from them?!? Well if you do, I hope your not planning on dinner and a movie because these days $250 will only get you a movie ticket, and don't plan on getting any extra popcorn either, that'll be another $25.00.

I know it sounds a bit harsh, but when the American economy is in the middle of one of the deepest recessions in our history, should the United States goverment really be deciding what we're going to do with OUR money? How is spending nearly 800 billion dollars realistic at this point? Yes, they scare us with phrases such as, "If we don't do anything it could get much, much worse"! Genuises with Harvard, Yale, and Stanford degrees, it is already going to get much, much worse no matter how many billions you decide to throw at it.

This is the prime time to be teaching Americans to be responsible for their own debt. Yes, we have all made some bad choices financially somewhere along the line, whether it was a hosue that we really couldn't afford, a new car we didn't really need, or maybe it was even an emergency medical bill that we weren't anticipating and couldn't avoid. We like to stay we are Americans loudly and proudly, but we need to be a little smarter Americans! Always, always have back up money for unexpected bills (e.g. medical bills), if you think that you can't save, cut things out of your budget like getting name brand food at the grocery, move somewhere cheaper, you don't need a new pair of shoes, you don't need to pay $50 to get your hair cut when you already own a pair of scissors and your friend has a steady hand. There are tons of ways to save so it is absolutely ridiculous that according to CNN Money the average American has over $10,000 in credit card debt.

Not to be mushy, but the AllState guy has it right, "It is time to go back to the basics", think about what is really important in your life and what you can do without. More importantly think about what kind of message the government is sending when it says, "Sorry you failed at paying your bills, so we are going to give you some money and bail you out without any real responsibility". If people really understood how much the government baby-ing us is doing to our economy and ultimately our own pocket books, I think a lot more people would be prone to call or write their Congressman and tell them to vote against bills that costs Americans $800 billion.

https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Spain - Part 3

Picking up with Mark William's book, "The Story of Spain, " Chapter 5. (Yes, I skipped 3 and 4) For history lovers I think William's gives one of the best introductions I have ever read. "Romantic writers such as Washington Irving have created a windmill of words describing the glories of Granada. Yet few of the million of tourists who visit each year realize that one of history's most important towns lies nearby. Sleepy Santa Fe straddles the road to Malaga in the heart of a highly fertile vega, once watered with the blood of Christians and Moors. A signpost at the town's entrace reads La Cuna de Hispanidad, literally 'the cradle of Spanishness'... In 1492 Santa Fe witnessed some of history's most important months in that most famous of years, but today it is just a forgotten curiousity" (pg.97-98).

A lot happened in the year 1492, and indeed it was a very important year not only for Spain, but also for the rest of the world. On the morning of Ocotber 12, 1492 the world was forever changed when Chrisopher Columbus landed on what is known today as San Salvador. Little did he know what he had accidently stumbled upon. Thinking that he was in India, his intended destination, he named the locals 'Indians'. He soon returned to Spain to be thanked by Queen Isabel, but was later actually jailed and died at the young age of 55 in the year 1506. I know that sounds like a short and blunt description, but for someone who is talked about so much, very little is actually taught about his struggles in life.

Christopher Columbus by no means led an easy life, he was not born into money, and for that matter never really had any. His exact orgins are still debated to this day, but we know that he was Italian and his father lived in Genoa, Italy. At a very young age he moved to Portugal, married an upper class woman, and worked for the Portugese King until he decided to head for Spain. It tooks dozens or attempts to get Queen Isabel to even let him sail for Spain, and she did not agree because of Columbus' persausion but rather some of her other close friends. For a man that has gone down in history for discovering the 'New World', his life sucked, to put it bluntly. He died at a relatively young age, never knowing what he has actually discovered on that October morning in 1492.

Obama in the Middle East

When Barack Obama took office on January 20, 2009 on the steps of the Capitol, there were probably many people who did not think he would carry out the promises he made in the months prior to his election. American citizens are use to the gab that goes on during the campaigning months for the U.S. Presidential election. In 2000 former President Bush campaigned on the ideas of small government, yet after September 11, 2001 the American government was anything but small. The U.S. government grew not only within its own borders, but the borders of many countries around the world. So it is no wonder that many people around the world have their eyes locked on President Obama's every move. When President Obama said he wanted peace in the Middle-East, it appears he meant it. On his first day in office every newspaper around America reported on how he called dozens of foreign leaders in the Middle East. Yesterday President Obama said, "It is impossible for us to think only in terms of the Palestinian-Israelis conflict and not think in terms of what's happening with Syria or Iran or Lebanon or Afghanistan and Pakistan." Yes, they are interrelated, but are they the United States' problem? Is it really a type priority to be fixating on international relations in the Middle East when the economy is crashing? It appears the Obama Administration believes so, and that it is their job to fix what was broken by the previous administration. Call it good moral if you will. Good international relations go a long way during war and conflict times, but we are also in one of the largest recessions in American history. Should the United States do anything more than have peaceful talks? Besides not trying to pick sides between the Israelis and Palestinians, lets hope the Obama Administration offers nothing more than kind words to either side promptly and focuses all of their attention back on the American economy. By the way, I do not think the Obama Administration is doing a bad job, they are exceeding beyond my wildest expectations so far.

United States House of Representative Votes to Throws Away Another $819 BILLION

Wednesday night, the House of Representatives voted 244 to 188 to pass another $819 billion in stimulus money. Is this really necessary? Well the Republicans don't think so. After weeks of bi-partisan talk from the Obama camp, the Republicans have decided to stick to their guns on this one; Not a single member of the Republican House voted for the stimulus bill. While many in the GOP have shown support for helping the economy and some sort of a stimulus plan, many agree that this was being pushed along to quickly and without much thought to back it. Even with this dismal showing from the Republican side, Obama still has hopes of getting the Republicans in the Senate to back the stimulus bill. House and Senate leaders were invited to the White House for a light chat with the President. Hope they won't keep Sasha and Malia up past their bedtime.

Now the important stuff.....Should we each be expecting a nice check in the upcoming months after our taxes have been filed? And this time, even those who make under what is necessary to file will be receiving a check according to President Obama. The government is hoping that the average American will go out and spend their money in the retail sector, “stimulating” the economy. However, in a recession the worst thing to do is spend your money on retail and items you could easily live without. What the government should be saying is, “Here is some money that we took from your pockets without asking, and have now decided to give it back to you. Try holding on to it a bit longer this time.”

Listening to the news this evening, a spokesperson on CNN said that if the stimulus package was divided up among all of the homeless people in America, they would each receive approximately $200,000. I am not wonderful at math, but it does sound like some absurd figure our government would come up with. Imagine if the government stopped giving back this stimulus money, and tried keeping it to pay off some of their debt. The money has already come out of our pockets, it would be far better for them to keep the money now instead of having to raise taxes later to pay for this plan. However, the average American does not like to hear “raise taxes, “ most would much rather be lied in to thinking that this money is actually a gift and we will not have to pay for it later. One way or another the government will either have to stop coming up with $800 billion stimulus plans and cut spending, or raise taxes. Good luck President Obama, I really do wish you the best of luck in getting us out of this economic crisis we are in, whatever road you decide to choose.

Answer to Poll....

What is the oldest city in Europe?

The correct answer is....... Cadiz, Spain!

Many of you voted from Rome, Italy. While Rome is extremely old, founded sometime around 753BC, it is not the oldest city in Europe. In fact, Cadiz, Spain was founded over three centuries early in the area of Andalusia, Spain. While the exact founding date is speculated, most scholars agree on the year 1100BC.

Thanks for polling!