Can We Play Fantasy…Politics?

“Deflate-Gate.” Who has heard of it? I’m sure if your head is not buried in the sand you have heard of this by now.

That term alone has led me to ponder why our culture is so infatuated with a GAME. A game in which has NO bearing on life. I mean, if you told me, “Brandon, this is the Hunger Games and people are going to die.” Then maybe it would be something of value or concern. Speaking of that, kind of reminds me of “The Colosseum.” Funny thing, that was a remnant of an empire distracting its citizens to what it was doing through the medium of cheap entertainment. Sound familiar?

It is peculiar that an entire nation would be so apathetic as to let the freest and most amazing country in the course of human history fall by the way side. Or is it that shocking?

Humans are creatures of habit and it seems that one of those habits is to continually let other men rule over them. Instead of learning from its ancestor’s mistakes and having the gumption to be able to rule itself; we continue to fall in to the perpetual trap of tyrannical oppression.

Our culture fantasizes over how my quarterback did and how many points my running back earned me this weekend. We scrutinize the New England Patriots and whether they messed with FOOTBALLS and analyze it to no end. Where is the media and where are the people when it come to real scandals? Benghazi? Fast and Furious? Solyndra? NSA? IRS? Un-equal pay in White House? Etc.?

Can you imagine if people scrutinized and broke down our politicians week in and week out? Wow! We would have amazing accountability. I bet you our country would be light years ahead and we probably wouldn’t be nearing $20,000,000,000,000 in national debt.

Just saying.

Why don’t we play fantasy politics? Put money on it? Make it fun? It’s not like we don’t have money on it anyway, right? I mean by my math we all have somewhere in the neighborhood of $60,000 in the pot each. That’s just current debt from the government. Doesn’t include your annual personal debt/expenses.

Isn’t the point of the American experiment to see if man can rule himself? Or will he fall in to the habits that his ancestors routinely succumbed to and be overridden by cheap entertainment and “what feels good” at the moment?

If we played fantasy politics we could set up a scoring system…we could track it all and break it down week in and week out, just like football. Maybe that will keep people more engaged? Maybe it’s not enough just saying “hey, these taxes or this healthcare system or this law is going to drastically alter or affect the rest of your life”, maybe that just isn’t enough. So, we will implement a fantasy politics game in place of that. This way people can understand the importance politics, history, and law play in our lives and make it a little bit more fun and engaging. We all know it could use that.

This may sound like fun and games but seriously, if we analyzed the people who lead us and would like to; I think we would be a much more efficient and unified country. The point of the media and an informed electorate is to watch over the government and to make sure that they are staying the course of freedom and liberty.

Our founders knew what they were doing when they separated the branches of government. They purposely did this so things would NOT get done and branches checked one another. The problems we do have are SOLELY because of all the things that DID get done; the implementation of the income tax, the creation of the federal reserve, the Social Security system, Welfare, the department of education, Obamacare, and on and on.

The natural arc of government leads towards “getting things done” and passing laws. The more power you have the more laws you pass and the more laws you pass the more power you have. Do not be mistaken; the people who have power are the elites, the ones in control. Does not matter if you are Republican or Democrat or conservative or liberal. Just ask the millions of poor innocent souls who lived under dictatorships in the 20th century in Russia, China, etc.. There were just two classes: the rich/elite and the poor/peasant. There was no conservative and progressive. They all suffered equally. Just as we will all suffer equally.

Do not get fooled by people who say things need to get done. The government does not get things done, people get things done. The people make the government look good. Government does not make people or a country look good.

Now, I have not said that “no government” is good. I have talked about what makes our government great and that is the way we were founded, the laws that have been set up and put in place during our founding – the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Limited government with many restrictions on what it could do to its people. Not huge massive centralized government or no government at all. But, the government that is limited in its scope and does what it is supposed to do; protect us with the military and provide and manage roads. That is PRECISELY what made us great, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. If you don’t believe me, just ask the millions and millions of immigrants why they came here over the last couple hundred years. They will gladly tell you.

The point of this article is fun and games but also very serious. Anyway to make history and politics more interesting so more people will be informed and engaged will only help our nation. If you want true “PROGRESS” then getting people to pay attention and inform themselves is what we should be talking about. This is a uniting cause that stretches – as I mentioned earlier – across both sides. We both will suffer greatly and equally if we do not come together and band against those who seek and desire constant power. The greatest president we’ve ever had, George Washington, was forced to be the first president of the United States and served honorably for two terms and then resigned voluntarily back to his estate in Mount Vernon. He DID NOT seek power, we FORCED it on him. He was a servant leader and that is something our country is sorely missing.

Leaders eat last, they do not eat first.

The Death Of The Career Politician

Republican Senator Ted Cruz was a hit on the Jay Leno Show the other night with a few common sense observations that anyone with half a brain realizes.

Watch them here Ted Cruz

I am going to tackle an issue that I believe is way over due: term limits. We learned our lesson after FDR and added Presidential term limits. I think it’s about time we learn our lesson about Congress and term limit them!

Some pundits and talking heads will make the case for no term limits because “what if our side has a great politician in there?” Sorry, this always ends badly. The longer you stay in Washington and the longer you are away from “real life”, the more you stray from common sense.

This simply means that you have to run more decent human beings.

This will also benefit the country because more “good” people will want to run if they know the MOST they could even be in office is two terms, say.

On the flip side, it will discourage some “misguided” people who want to “get in” just to self-serve and save themselves and their family from all the destruction being driven by the political class. Just in case anyone didn’t know, the elites in Washington (President, Cabinet, Congress, Aides, etc.) don’t have to abide or follow many of the laws passed by THEMSELVES! Like the dreaded Obamacare just to name the most recent and pressing issue.

Who says that politicians are some special class of people? They do! Why are they exempt from laws they passed?

If the laws and regulations they pass are so amazing and will benefit the rest of us so much then why wouldn’t the Congress and the President want to abide by them? Hmmmmmmm……

Americans are sick and tired of the games being played in Washington. You are going to see many changes the rest of this decade. They will come in many shapes and sizes. One that must occur if we are to right the ship is congressional term limits.

NO MORE CAREER POLITICIANS!

Our Founders believed that service was just that, service. Not a place to grow comfortable and secure sweetheart deals and run the country in to the ground.

It is about time the people take back the country from the political elite before it is too late. There is a shrinking window of time where that is still possible.

Ted Cruz, Rand Paul and the like will lead this revolution that will galvanize many Democrats and Republicans, young and old, black and white. The simple reason being FREEDOM is something that both sides of the aisle can agree on. Enough said.

A Letter From “The Forgotten Man”

(Excerpt from The Glenn Beck Show)

Glenn,

The Republicans caved as I expected, but that’s not news where I live. As the discussions were going on in Washington this week, I called my senator and I called my congressmen too. I left them a message with my phone number and my e-mail address. I asked them to stand tall, to get the spending in order, to make Obamacare equal for all Americans, not just special interests. The recording that I received said they would send me a response. I’ve called them before, got the same recording. I won’t hear from them. After all, I’m The Forgotten Man.

The media today is blaming the TEA Party for all the ills in Washington. I laugh when I hear that, Glenn. Just give me 10 minutes with each of those so-called journalists, just 10 minutes. I’d ask them, “What is the TEA Party? How did the TEA Party get started? What do people who support the TEA Party principles actually believe in?” I can guarantee you, Glenn, they don’t know the answers. But I would share it with them anyway. We believe in liberty. We believe in freedom. We believe in a much smaller representative government. We believe in the God-given right that has been given to each individual. And then I’d ask those journalists, “When you give your daughter her allowance on Saturday and she comes back to you the next Wednesday saying she spent it all, and more, what do you tell her?” If they reply, “Well, you’re going to have to wait until next Saturday and you’re going to have to work it out,” I’d tell those journalists, “Welcome to the TEA Party.” If I met somebody in Hollywood and I asked them, “Why do you use Toronto to depict New York City in their recent movie,” and they told me, “Well, it’s cheaper to do it there,” I’d say, “My gosh, you sound like not only a capitalist but a new member of the TEA Party.” I’d ask them if they believe that every man, woman, and child should be treated equally, regardless of their gender, race, or religion. They would all say, in their journalistic ivory towers, “Of course.” And I would say, “Welcome to the TEA Party.”

You see, where I live, Glenn, using common sense, sharing common values, and exhibiting common courtesy is not the exception. It’s the norm. But I’m The Forgotten Man. And speaking of parties, maybe it is time for a third one. But not for the so-called journalists I see on TV because they already have enough parties. That’s why I don’t think they ask any that you had probing questions. In April I was watching the White House Correspondents Dinner on C-Span. Before it got started, they showed the journalists arriving. I thought I was watching the Academy Awards. Designer dresses, tuxedos, limousines. As each one entered, the flash bulbs would go off. Then they would stop, smile, turn slightly to the right. More flash bulbs, slightly shifting to the left, more pictures. I thought to myself, they’re not journalists; they’re the Kardashians. And it’s the same thing when the Washington Post or the New York Times or Vanity Fair throws a party. They will sell their souls to be there. But they don’t really have any souls to sell because they’ve already sold them before. If you work in the media in Washington or in New York or in Hollywood, I guess you have a decision to make: You can ask the tough questions that Americans actually would support you on, actually expect you to ask, or you can ask the “I want an invitation to the next party” question.

Glenn, I’m through with all of them, but I want you to know I’m also through with complaining. Misery loves company, but I’m kicking misery to the curb. The next time I write to ya, I’m going to focus on what’s good, on what’s possible, what’s remarkable about America. I may be The Forgotten Man, but I haven’t forgotten about America. You say this all the time, “We’ll get through this.” We will. Just wait and see. Much the sun is always brightest right after the storm.

– The Forgotten Man

Are You Prepared For You and Yours?

We are living in very volatile times. I believe they are very scary times if you ask me. Not just because of the domestic problems we could face in this country as evidenced in the video clip below, but because of the New World Order that people in high positions all around the world want to impose on us.

China just came out and stated that we need to “De-Americanize the world”. If talk like that isn’t scary then I don’t know what is. This global change will happen through financial meltdown and chaos. It won’t be fought via war (although that could still happen) because America is still by far the strongest military power. But, that could easily change if our currency collapses.

This is meant to wake people up. Many of the problems we face are leviathans and will happen no matter what we do now but there are still things we can do. There are things that can be done to prepare when **** really does hit the fan.

Buy some gold and silver. Buy canned food and water. Buy a generator. Buy extra gasoline. Buy some guns.

Know how to use these items and how to store them. You should have these regardless. Hopefully, you NEVER have to use them because of collapse but what if a natural disaster hits your area?

Are you prepared for your family?

FInancial End Times?

Education Is The Destroyer Of Slavery

This decade is going to prove to be very volatile. The world is teetering on the edge of a cliff. There are things you can do and there is hope!

You MUST get educated! That is the most important thing you can do. No one can tell you exactly what do. Each situation is different and you must educate yourself and devise your own plan.

The world’s demise could be your biggest opportunity!

Why Gold and Silver Are SO Important

This site is run by one of my favorite mentors, Mike Maloney. He is phenomenal at education and informing people about the upcoming storms.

You can find pretty much anything you need to know on his site. Plus he regularly talks about other people he looks up to and learns from!

Enjoy!

And The Next Crisis Is…

Its hard to say what the next financial crisis will be in this country. Will it be housing again? Commercial real estate? Or will it be Social Security or Medicare going bankrupt? Maybe the U.S. dollar collapsing or most likely the Japanese yen going bust?

I think there is a good argument to be made that it will be the pyramid scheme we’ll refer to as student loans.

The Next Crisis?

Our politicians wont let this happen because, you know, “it wouldnt be fair if someone couldnt go to school only because they couldnt afford it.” I mean we just heard the President say this again in another campaign speech earlier this week: “its not that we need equal results, everyone should have equal opportunity.”

I hate to break it to people but thats not life. You make your own breaks. If you are older than the age of about 10 you should have realized this. You level your own playing field or you dont. Its that simple. I would have loved to have Wayne Gretzky or Bobby Orr coach me my whole hockey career but its not that simple. You cant make life FAIR no matter how hard you try or how many government programs you scheme up.

They are going to try and make college free someday, MARK MY WORDS!

The President may mention it before he leaves office. I would put money on it actually.

Americans have to realize that they cannot have their cake and eat it, too.

You cannot be the most prosperous and free country on Earth and think you can still pay for everyone to sit home and produce nothing.

The printing of money will only get you so far, just ask the Romans! Our joy ride WILL come to an end if we keep traveling down this delusional “shared wealth” vision.

If it worked then America would have been modeled after every other country that existed prior, but it wasn’t. There is an excellent reason for that.

The Death Of The American Dream

Financial Education Blog

Why the Impending Financial Crisis is Creating a New America

Posted July 23, 2013  By Robert Kiyosaki

I believe that the American Dream is dying because many of us have lost our moral compasses. Our schools are not fulfilling the educational needs of our students, nor are they being kept safe. We see so many kids, especially from poor neighborhoods, who turn to street crime and violence.

Rich dad often said, “Needy people become greedy people. Greedy people become desperate people. And desperate people do desperate things.”

The greatest gift my rich dad gave me was showing me both sides of the Employee-Entrepreneur coin. He exposed me to the life of an entrepreneur and offered me an environment in which entrepreneurial thinking could thrive. Today, I do not need a job, a steady paycheck, money, bonuses, government support, or Social Security and Medicare.

Financial independence

The Rich Dad Company propelled Kim and me into financial independence. We do not need paychecks. We work because we love our work, sharing what we know so others can also grow and prosper.

While we make a lot of money, most of that money does not go into our pockets. Most of the money is spent on growing the company, investing in new and better technology, more people, and new product development. That is what true capitalists do.

But Kim and I are the exception, not the rule. Today, in America, we have a growing problem. People are becoming increasingly dependent on the government as the gap between the rich and the poor continues to widen.

The rich are getting richer

According to the Congressional Budget Office, the increase in incomes between 1979 and 2007 in the United States looked like this:

Poor: Income grew 18% over 30 years
Middle Class: Income grew 40% over 30 years
Rich: Income grew 275% over 30 years

Then in 2007, the bottom fell out when the boom went bust. Today, incomes for the middle class and poor have stopped going up, yet the rich seem to be getting richer faster.

In 2011, the number of Americans living in poverty grew to 46.2 million people. That translates to approximately 1 in 6 Americans who now live in poverty, and that number is growing. When a person has no property, they join the ranks of the poor and become dependent upon the government to take care of them. Oftentimes this leads to increased violence, both on the streets and in our homes.

Students on food stamps

Nearly 47 million Americans rely on federal food assistance benefits (food stamps), a 12-year high attributed to the weak US economy and high rates of unemployment over the last five years.

A lesser-known fact is that college students are among the fastest-growing segment of our economy to rely on food stamps. As tuition fees go up and financial aid opportunities vanish—and parents who were once a source of financial support have lost jobs or homes and become ineligible for college loans for their children—students have had to fend for themselves.

The next poor

Are teachers headed for the ranks of the poor?

In 2011, the California State Teachers Retirement System, CalSTRS, realized it faced a long-term deficit of $56 billion. A deficit is the gap between assets and estimated
liabilities.

CalSTRS collects $6 billion a year, but needs $10 billion each year to meet its obligations. A shortfall of more than $4 billion a year is a lot of money, especially for government bureaucrats who do not know how to invest or how to make money.

If the California teacher’s retirement plan goes bust, the taxpayers will be stuck with yet another massive bailout. Worst of all, millions of teachers will slide from the middle class and join the poor.

Again, repeating the words of John Bogle: “The whole retirement system…in the country is in, I think, very poor shape and it’s going to be the next big financial crisis in the country….”

The new America

All of these statistics translate to one thing: the American Dream of go to school, get a good job, buy a house, andinvest in a portfolio of stocks, bonds, and mutual funds is dying. Financial crises are creating a new America. Today, the middle class is disappearing and the gap between the rich and the poor is growing.

For some, this is discouraging. Many people choose each day to give up on their dreams and to be increasingly dependent on the government. They give up their freedom for security—though if CalSTRS is any indication, that’s not security at all.

In today’s new America, there are only two options: increase your financial education and learn to create your own wealth by playing by the rules of the rich, or become poorer and poorer and rely on the government and the rich to take care of you.

Which sounds more secure to you?

I fear our financial crises will only continue to grow. The rules of money have changed and you must adapt. Today, I encourage you to first come to grips with the new America and then to resolve to do something about it.

By increasing your financial education and starting a business or investing, you can set yourself up to thrive while others struggle to survive. Start today.

If You Take On Risk, You MUST Get Paid

Debt and risk usually go hand in hand. But making sure you are paid for taking risk is not always something one thinks about.

When most think of investing they think of RISK or GAMBLE.

This is not true with a financial education.

You can begin to see how the more investing and/or debt you use the more wealthy you can get.

By adding good debt (a rental unit that someone else pays the mortgage for) you can begin expanding and creating wealth.

If you are taking on a debt you MUST be paid for it. This is making profit in the acquisition of a deal rather than the sell of a deal. A deal must be profitable right away or it is useless. You cannot hope the market changes or that you might get renters. Everything has to be under control when you buy the property.

Same goes with stocks or any other asset class. Leveraging yourself, infinite returns and insurance on your assets is the name of the game.

Most will not take the time to become educated in money. It’s not important enough to them. If that is you, that is fine. But for those who take it seriously, there is a world of financial education waiting to be had.

The game is stacked against you. You can keep getting the game played on you or you can play the game. It’s your move.

Be Prepared

Preparation is something of a dirty word in certain areas of life, and other areas it is highly applauded – culturally speaking.

If you are buying home insurance or life insurance people will not bat an eye at you. Heck, buying car insurance is mandatory and you are in big trouble if you are found not to have any.

Then you hear people talk about money insurance or food insurance…wait, no you don’t.

Why don’t you?

The people who do talk about these things are often labeled crazy or “preppers”.

First, lets take a look at those terms and what they mean.

Food Insurance: is either storing canned food/dried food and water.

Money Insurance: is converting your fiat currency in to things of value like commodities – gold, silver, rice, grain, sugar, oil, etc..

If insurance is something that our society seeks – Medicare, Medicaid, Welfare, car insurance, home insurance, etc. then why are people who prepare to keep their money and stay alive shunned and labeled “crazy”?

To me, I believe it is something that the media and modern culture have rammed down our throats. They label people as “preppers” and extreme for actions that in the end will either directly save your life or protect and expand your wealth.

I believe we can find our answer in history as well. Government does what it can to seek power. They ALWAYS have and ALWAYS will. The people who generally seek those positions are people who want power and the government is a great way to take advantage of that. Fortunately, now, there are a lot of people who have sought office and will continue to seek office because of a calling to serve the people of this country and return it to the accountable and responsible government laid out in our founding documents.

Roosevelt did it, he sought power and won. Not by winning elections but by confiscating gold from the citizens. He brought the power to the federal government from the states possibly more than any other President in American history. He stole wealth and made people like it. The government increased its money creating capacity exponentially under Roosevelt, not to mention the social programs he constructed which we are feeling the effects of today like Social Security.

This is what government does effectively – steal your wealth and keep you dependent. I truly believe they ridicule gold and silver investors and food savers because they want you totally dependent on them. If everyone is prepared for disasters than who needs government? Government does not want that, that means less money coming in and fewer votes – less power.

That is why they always want to tax you more. Speaking of that, inflation is a constant tax. The government is stealing your wealth and many people do not even realize it.

America’s problem is our apathy and our memory. Most Americans don’t remember all the recessions our country has had nor do they believe any of these bad things we see happening all around the world can happen here. I hate to break it everyone but they CAN and they WILL if we continue to implement the same failing strategies.

This is exactly why it is imperative that people wake up and become prepared. We are on our way to $20 trillion in debt. Baby Boomers are just starting to retire and the programs they depend on for retirement are already on their way to bankruptcy, not good! The dollar has lost 95% of its purchasing power since Nixon took us off the gold standard in 1971. The Federal Reserve is approving Quantitative Easing (printing money) every month for the foreseeable future. Our credit rating will come in to question again as to whether we can make good on our debts.

The list goes on and on. That list is not good. That list should tell you a few things; you need to get educated and you need to get prepared. Find out what government is doing with the money you give them. Then you need to take action. The dollar will collapse, most likely in this decade.

What will you do about your money? Do you really think that paper assets are the way to go right now?

What will you do if a natural disaster hits or an economic disaster?

These are important questions to ask yourself.

Having car insurance, home insurance, and Medicare aren’t going to matter when you know what hits the fan. Get prepared and educated and start your path toward independence.

Get the insurances that you will really need. You will sleep better now and then!

The Profit Is Made In The Deal!

All deals are done with a certain art, the good ones at least.

It takes practice, studying, and experience but all great investors and students of money know that the profit is made in the “buy”.

Whether it is a dividend from a stock or a deal on an investment property; you must be making money in the “buy” and not the “sell”.

When someone is hoping to make a profit after they sell a house or they buy a stock and pray that it goes up, they are gambling. This is why many people consider investing risky.

Vast majority of people don’t know the art of investing. We sure were not taught it in schools. They are busy churning out good little foot soldiers to work in the large corporations.

As a student of money and investing I have begun to see the difference. I used to think the profit came from the sell but I can now see the other side of the coin.

Stocks need to be bought giving you a yield or a return. A piece of real estate should be cash-flowing and giving you money each month. This is how you make money on the buy. When you buy, hold, and pray you are asking for trouble. You might as well take a trip to Vegas.

When you begin to work with control investing becomes a lot more fun and A LOT less risky. Looking for opportunities that give you profit on the buy will help you add to your asset column with minimal gamble.

Speaking of Assets, they are commodities or investments or capital that puts money in your pocket. Liabilities are toys or “things” that take money from your pocket.

Can you guess what your house or your car is? Liabilities – they both take money out of your pocket. Yes, your house could appreciate someday but that is a gamble as we saw in the collapse of ’08. Remember, assets have to put money in to your pocket. Your house could only make you money if it appreciates and you sell it. But no one can predict exactly what the markets will do and you would HAVE to sell your house even if it did go up in value. Not many people are willing to do that.

How about a rental property with tenants paying you $1000 every month and paying your mortgage plus you keep $300 of that every month as income? Asset – it is putting $300 a month in your pocket no matter what.

Looking for that cashflow every month is how you make profit on the “buy”. If you are buying houses with no one in them they are your liability until you start renting them out, or until you can find a buyer willing to pay you enough money to make a profit.

Just as you are told that your house is an asset – that is correct, it is an asset, they just don’t tell you who’s asset it is. Your house is the banks asset. You are paying the bank every month for your mortgage.

Your financial education and taking ownership over your money will be the best thing you could ever do. Why would you trust someone else to handle your money? Being a constant student and continually learning will give you an advantage over 95% of the population if not more. Most were never taught how to handle their money. Those that take the time will surely be rewarded.