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Solutions to America’s Problems Anyone?

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I’m going to pull the plug, and am publishing my most controversial blog yet.  For years, I have pondered about homelessness in America, the population growth from both immigration and birth in America, how we can help others and help our own country, on and on.  At times I seem to have flashes of brilliance only to be harshly admonished for being too conservative or too liberal.  No matter what political party, religion or groups you affiliate yourself with, you have to admit, America may just be in trouble.

With that said, I am publishing my humble ideas, (which are subject to change at any moment), and hopefully will get to hear about your ideas.

PROBLEMS:
We have lots of unwanted children.
We have drugs.
We have gangs.
We have violent crime (not just crime, but violent crime).

Drugs, gangs and violent crime are frequently interrelated. Drug dealers are usually in gangs.  Gang members usually carry guns.  Guns usually lead to violent crimes when carried by drug dealers in a gang.  Every once in a while you hear about the high profile murder of an unsuspecting family person or a crime of passion.  But those are few and far between compared to the common violent crimes on the streets of any major metropolitan area.  So where do we begin to fix it?

THE BIGGER PROBLEM:
It starts with the parents at home, the environment, the total unconsciousness of our society.  Let’s start with the reason you are married and have children.  Most of you planned your children, or if you didn’t, you took responsibility for your children and then maybe planned additional children.  You work, raise your children, teach them between right and wrong, and your children go to school.  If you don’t have children, you probably made a conscious decision to not have children.  Most parents that plan and/or take responsibility for their children live a life of consciousness.

The problem is, not everyone lives their life in conciousness, planning, and trying to make the right decisions.  Many people live uncarring, ego driven lives.  These people are usually drug addicts, drug dealers, gang members, come from abusive horrible backgrounds, or are just simply dark souls with no conscience at all (like Jeffrey Dahmer).

Everyone wants solutions, and everyone has great ideas, but this is where the controversy always arises.  One person, side, party, religion, etc. may believe that their solution is better than the other.  The truth is no one knows whether it is a good solution until it is implemented.  Results will show whether it was worthwhile or not.  And how will we know unless we have results?  Kind of like the healthcare plan.

SUGGESTIONS??
1.  Legalize certain drugs.  I know that sounds crazy, and probably doesn’t resolve turf war issues, but certainly will change the black market entirely (which also exists in prisons by the way), thus changing how drugs are sold.  I doubt it would make them more prevelant because there would be strict rules as to the amount, control and sale of drugs.  People would be going to prison for real crimes as opposed to some goofy college student with 1/2 ounce of weed in his pocket he was going to smoke on the couch.

2.  Ban hand guns, ALL HAND GUNS (except for police and military).  How can a drug dealer, desparate drug addict, or gang member shoot or rob anyone if they don’t have a hand gun?  Do you really need 20 handguns?  What’s wrong with a rifle?  I like rifles, I think they are fun to shoot.  I know, what about your constitutional rights?  I think if our founding fathers saw what was going on in society today, they would be disgusted at the mutation and abuse of the meaning of the our constitutional rights.  Having a well-armed militia does not mean allowing everyone the right to own a handgun, especially if 70% of the people with handguns possess them and use them unlawfully.  I would give up my handguns in a heart beat if it meant the mass reduction of violent crimes in America.  If you think I’m wrong, you are living in a bubble.  Yes, there have been violent crimes committed with rifles and shotguns, and that can always go up, but you can’t hide a rifle in your pants at a night club or in the arm rest of your car.  In 2002, there were over 16,000 murders, over 8,000 from the use of a hand gun.  You can check out stats (albeit old) and the 2nd Amendment at  http://www.csus.edu/indiv/g/gaskilld/SocialIssues14/guns.htm

3.  Pay people to have a vasectomy or a tubal ligation (tying up those tubes)!  I had been racking my brains for years for a solution to the overbirth of unwanted poor children who are only going to be subjected to a life of poverty and crime.  I’m not saying that everyone should just stop having children if you live in the projects or are poor, but those children should be planned or at least taken care of in a kind humane manner in which people were meant to live.  America is supposed to be the exemplar country of power, truth and freedom, but we constantly hear stories of atrocities committed against innocent children who have no part in their own abuse or death.  If you were a drug addict, what would you choose?  To have a child you have no intention of feeding or caring for or to have money $$$ to buy more drugs?  I know this is a hard one to swallow, but someone I know came up with the idea of paying people to spay or neuter themselves.  I love the idea.  Mine was always to provide free birth control, but you cannot force someone to use it.  This provides permanent birth control.  This does not mean you cannot first have children.  Maybe you are 20, unemployed, and you have four children from three different daddies who are no where to be found.  Don’t you think its time for a little self control?

CONCLUSION:
As there must be, evil will probably find a way to sneak back in and ruin my great ideas once implemented.  But think of the amount of money we will save without tax hikes and bigger government by decreasing the prison population, decreasing the general population, decreasing the medicaid outlays, and decreasing the amount of overtime our homicide detectives work.  Some states would save millions of dollars in just one year from sales tax of marijuana alone!

Crazy, outlandish, but admittedly, sensible.

Carpe Diem!

MONEY!

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Hate talking about money? Me too! But instead of being clueless I decided to come face-to-face with something that I fear, saving!  Who would of thought in high school that the term 401K would be music to your ears?  Since many of us probably included a goal related to money in our new year’s resolutions, I thought I would float out some information that might be helpful – maybe. 

I’m not a financial advisor now, nor do I know much about investing. In fact, I’m terrible at it, and have rarely had access to a 401K from the employers I have worked for.  I have scrimped and saved here and there only to blow it.  Now that I am sort of getting older, (but still look fabulous), I start taking this saving thing seriously.  I have relied solely on advice from friends, employers, financial advisors, investment books and free articles on the Internet.  Most say, “diversify”.  How do you diversify if you have no money?   

If you are like me and freaking out, then pull yourself up by the bootstraps and get busy.  Social Security is bankrupt, the US may be bankrupt soon, and I don’t think our exports are going to out perform Asia any time soon no matter how bad Toyota is performing right now.  But alas, we are not doomed. There’s lots we can do to try and secure our future savings.

First, since I do not have a 401K (the ability to save like crazy tax free and earn free money from your employer’s match) I started a Roth IRA.   I contribute after-tax money every month.  Even a small amount adds up.  I do this with an online account for free.  And I am taking advantage of time and embarking on investing in overseas companies (except Toyota)!

Second, because of sky rocketing (I mean into another atmosphere) cost of health insurance, I got a high deductible health plan with a Health Savings Account.  I had to research it, but several banks have separate Health Savings Accounts, like “HSA Bank” or “Bank of America”.  The account is similar to an IRA.  You can deposit or rollover up to $3,000 a year into this tax free savings vehicle.  You are not taxed on the deposits.  The bank will send you a credit card just for your health care expenses.  You can even use it on therapeutic massages, medications, dental, homeopathic remedies and vitamins, as long as it is within your defined plan.  If you have out-of-pocket expenses for medical, you can repay yourself from your HSA.  Or, you can be healthy, not spend the money and leave it in there to earn interest.  Just be sure to watch the bank fee, which is usually a monthly maintenance fee.  Maybe you are lucky and your employer offers this as well, if so, take advantage of it.

Third, I rolled over an old 401K I had into a free, no-load mutual fund with Vanguard.  http://www.vanguard.com/.  They have lots of mutual funds from low to high risk.  It is a traditional IRA, so right now I am not making contributions to it since I would end up taxed twice, once before deposit my earnings, and twice when I withdraw the money at retirement.  I have put it in a stock index fund that has grown over the years (except when Bush was President).  If I roll it over to a Roth IRA, I will have to pay taxes on it, so I might consider eventually rolling it over to a Roth little by little so all of my taxes are paid on it before I retire.  Definitely get advise on this before you proceed – yikes!

Fourth, if you have a 401K, figure out how much you need to live on, and try and put the maximum into your 401K, even if your employer doesn’t contribute.  You are not taxed on the money that goes into your 401K, therefore, you are paying less tax on your gross receipts, saving, and potentially getting free money from your employer.  Wow.  I know, you can’t afford it, BS, give up the lattes, cigarrettes, buying three pairs of shoes every month, 500 channels on satellite (what’s wrong with 120?) and lunch out every day, yeah you know who you are?

Fifth, I have a small savings account connected to my checking account.  I try to keep a month’s salary in there, but that is hard.  It never fails that you have taxes to pay, emergencies, car repairs – ugghh, or you just have to have that  . . . . . . .  If you are tapping into emergency savings for things you “want” as opposed to things you “need” then you should re-think it by 48 hours.  You will find that you can live without it for a little while.  I also have that savings connected to my checking in case I get overdrawn.  There are lots of fees related to overdraws now that the banks are suffering financially.  Don’t give them any reason to charge you extra.

Sixth, get down to one credit card.  I have no annual fee and my interest is fairly low.  I do not get points or awards because those are the cards that have a $25 to $75 annual fee.  Since I do not spend that much money every month to earn points, it is not worth it.  So reevaluate whether all those costs for a credit card with points is worth it.

Seventh, budget.  I have tried this over and over, and hope to get it eventually.  But if you are willing to attempt it, Microsoft Excel has a great template that will set you up and show you immediately whether you are in the red or not.  I am going to utilize Mint from Intuit for free. If you file with TurboTax, it will give you the option to download Mint for free as well.  You can also link to it on your “MyYahoo” page and see your budget every day.

Eighth, stash some cash away here and there for something just for you, like vacation.  Somewhere that you do not look or think about every day.  A shoe you never wear, a bra (like my cuz Debbie), or a sock with holes in it.  (I wouldn’t stash it in your car, bad idea).   That’s your play money.  Maybe gamble with it, go on a vacation, buy something frivilous, or get some plastic surgery with it.  I said “frivilous.”

Last, I wanted to share an article from a blog I like to read “Get Rich Slowly.”  Lots of good articles and thought provoking posts.  http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2010/03/03/the-problem-with-prognostication-why-you-shouldnt-invest-based-on-expert-predictions/

GOOD LUCK AND WISH ME LUCK!

C