Wealth Inequality Video Tells A Sad Story

Below is the site for one of the best videos ever.

In only 6 minutes, you will get most of the story about the haves and have-nots. Why anyone -- Fox viewers and Limbaugh listeners, take note -- would want more benefits and loopholes for rich people is something I'll never understand.

To my way of thinking, a country can't survive when so few people at the top own so much of everything.

http://blogs.sacbee.com/video-break/2013/03/wealth-inequality-video-goes-viral.html

Have I Got A Deal For You

The wild ride the stock market took this past week was reported by major news outlets with some anchors and reporters asking if 401(k)s are at risk. Duh.

The stock market is gambling, pure and simple. People put their money in the market because they want and expect a greater return on it than what they can get at an FDIC-protected bank. They gamble that over the long run they'll get more out of the market than in a CD, for example. They gamble that they are too uninformed to make good judgments about their own money. They gamble that others are so very smart and will keep their own best interests in mind when handling their money.

Personally, I don't like giving over my money to someone else to decide where they want to place it. I did at one time, just like so many, many others. But these days there are too many variables, too much uncertainty, too many crooks, too many liars. If I want to gamble, I'd have a lot more fun going to the casinos where they offer great buffets and free drinks. At least there I'd have the fun of pulling the slots myself and not giving over everything to Wall Street and Main Street charlatans to play around with, making themselves rich. Cowardly, maybe. Able to sleep soundly each night, for certain.

Musings

My stress levels hit the roof this past weekend when I did our yearly taxes. While our returns are rather simple compared to many, they're ridiculous enough to make me very angry. For example, in figuring how much of our Social Security is taxable, I must do a full-page worksheet that is perhaps the most disgusting form yet for the IRS. You take one half of one line, add it to another line, then multiply that by .85 percent, then take the smaller of that line or the other one and add to a line at the top of the page, etc. For your own amusement, check it out on the irs.gov web site. Further, I think all income tax rules and regulations have been written for some particular person or entity. There can be no other reason for such nonsense. A flat 10 percent tax for every person and corporation would solve this and perhaps many of our financial problems. And it would greatly reduce one government department. By the way, do any of us think that either political party will ever reduce government? Federal employees vote too, you know.

Americans constantly decry human rights violations in China. There are, of course, such problems there. At the same time, a recent story shows that the Chinese actually might think more about endangered animal species than American environmentalists do. A man in China shot and ate the last Indochinese tiger in a certain part of the country, if not the entire country. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison and those who helped him cut up and eat the animal were sentenced to 3 or 4 years. Do you think that would have happened here? Never. He and they would have been put on probation at the most with no real punishment for eliminating one of nature's beautiful animals. Yes, I'm an animal lover, but I'm also a person who believes in delivering proper punishment to those who break laws meant to protect citizens. Eliminating one species of animal breaks the delicate chain that will ultimately affect everyone left on the planet.

I'm enjoying the Winter Olympics. True, I liked the every-four-years event better when I thought the participants were mostly amateurs, not the millionaires who compete these days. Still, I was on the edge of my seat at the end of the 30 km cross country, men's figure skating, and men's speed skating. No interest at all in the hockey, halfpipe, skeleton, or super G. And please tell me why anyone with a DVR or even an old VCR would sit through the Olympics with all the ads and not record the shows to watch the next day? In fact, I can't imagine why anyone would watch any ads with the equipment available to cut them out.

Recently, a story in our local paper featured a woman who said she had to hit up area food closets to supplement the $640 per month she received in food stamps to feed herself and three small children. If that woman knew how to cook, she wouldn't need the food closets. The food stamp amount is more than enough to feed her family. It's my guess that she buys prepared foods, cold cereals (wonder if her kids have ever eaten oatmeal), boxed entrees, expensive meats, and so forth. She could cook beans and rice and make everything from burritos to huevos rancheros. She could slow-cook inexpensive meats in a crockpot with fresh vegetables and serve it all over whole-wheat noodles or brown rice for several meals. She could make pots of soups and stews. Cooking is a lost art and it's such a shame, not only because people don't eat as well as they once did but because financially it can be a disaster. We all pay for the laziness of others.

Easy Money: Limited Government

Just heard the Republican response to President Obama's State of the Union speech. Governor McDonnell of Virginia again pushed the Republican mantra of limited government, running away from big government, whether it's state or federal.

I agree with McDonnell. And I think the first place to start with limiting government is to eliminate the governorship of Virginia. Any politician pushing for limiting and eliminating government should look no further than his own office to delete from the political landscape. None of the governors -- or congressmen, for that matter -- is necessary. Who would miss any of them, either party?

What a great way to cut the budgets of state and federal government. In my state, the small legislature meets only every other year. We think that's enough for them to do harm to us. If they didn't show up for their jobs, we'd all be better off.

You've only been in office 11 days, Gov. McDonnell, but that's enough. See ya.

Easy Money: Thrift Store Shopping

I used to be a thrift store shopper, always looking for an item to finish off or add to a collection. I tend to wear my clothes until they are almost threadbare, therefore I always bypassed the clothing aisles. Then again, I'm not sure the selection would have been as good as it is now. So many of today's consumers seem to buy so much more than they need. Depending on how you look at it, that's unfortunate for them but fortunate for stores like Goodwill, Salvation Army, St. Vincent dePaul, and independent thrift stores.

Have you shopped at a Goodwill or Salvation Army store in recent years? If you haven't, you're wasting your money, especially if you like to buy designer clothes or even well-known, less-expensive brands. Of course, the majority of clothing at such stores might not fit into these categories, but an increasingly larger portion of it does these days.

Just in the past month, my son bought the following at Goodwill stores in Southern Oregon: Bruno Magli wallet, new (99 cents); Pendleton long-sleeved shirt, new ($3); Bostonian black dress shoes with full leather lining, look new ($8); and Eddie Bauer long-sleeved shirt, new ($3). He bought some great-looking items with a value of more than $300 for less than $15 paid out. And even though it isn't a famous label, he also bought a great-looking, new Leather Works jacket for $5.

Yes, you must check frequently to get such buys. And occasionally you'll find a flaw when you get the item home. Still, anyone looking for real bargains, trying to budget wisely while wanting name and quality, can find thrift stores offering something new every day. For myself, I don't find shopping to be as much fun as it once was. But if those cravings ever return, I'll be hitting such bargain-wise stores.

One more thing: My son visited friends in Sacramento recently. While there, he browsed area Goodwills, which sold what he described as "beautiful suits and ties."