Advice Worth Taking September 10, 2009

‘Never invest in a business you cannot understand.’ ~Warren Buffett

I honestly don’t have any strong feelings regarding Warren Buffett. The only thing I don’t understand is how he could have supported Barack Obama for president in good conscience since he’s supposedly some genius financial guy – but I digress. Apparently, the feeling is mutual because President Obama has said that he would look to Buffett in regards to the economy, blah, blah, blah.

So, my point is this: Shouldn’t Obama take Buffett’s advice? Can’t we take that piece of advice one tiny step further and say, “Never invest in anything you don’t understand”? Nevermind all of the hullabaloo over healthcare that you’ve heard thus far. I have another question for you. Can we all agree that no matter what side of the debate you’re on, none of us truly understands what is in the healthcare bill or how it’s going to affect our country? So, if no one actually fully comprehends this thing, then why is it being pushed so hard? Why are we even fighting about it? Don’t we have more questions than answers? Even our elected representatives don’t understand it and they wrote the thing!

That’s all.

Profound little paragraph April 4, 2009

I received this in the form of an e-mail a while ago . . .

 ”You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is about the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it.”  

~ Dr. Adrian Rogers, 1931

Just some appropriate quotes I found April 4, 2009

       “There is no such thing as a good tax.”

       “Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy.”

       “Some see private enterprise as a predatory target to be shot, others as a cow to be milked, but few are those who see it as a sturdy horse pulling the wagon.”

       “We contend that for a nation to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.”

       “The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.”

   

Survival of the Fittest December 17, 2008

“It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory.” ~W. Edwards Deming

I’m sure anyone who doesn’t know me would look at this quote and think I was referencing Barack Obama. While Obama supporters would take this quote and incorporate it into the newest tagline promoting their one-and-only, I use it for very different purposes. (Unfortunately, the President Elect’s version of change is disturbing, at best.)

I’ve seen this quote before, but I came across it again  last week and the first thing that came to my mind was the “Big Three” auto bailout debacle. I understand the thought behind bailing these guys out (I have plenty of friends and acquaintances who are for it), but I am completely against it. I believe they should file for bankruptcy just like every other company would have to (with the exception, of course, of all the other companies we’ve already bailed out). I’m no economist or financial advisor, but contrary to popular belief, bankruptcy is not a prelude to doom. The point is to undergo a total transformation so that they don’t have to close the doors. One of the many arguments people use to excuse their support of the bailouts is that there will be too many people on unemployment if they fail. Well, guess what? If the automakers don’t undergo a complete  overhaul they will go under eventually, anyways! Why do we want to delay the inevitable and put our country into more debt than it already is in the process? In response to this reasoning, bailout supporters say that the government should be highly involved (that whole “Car Czar” thing) to ensure that the automakers do completely revamp, spend the money wisely, etc., etc. Question: Since when did we start trusting the government to do anything? When’s the last time the government did anything right? Anyone been to a VA hospital lately? How about those Indian reservations and all those great government programs we have to help them? How are they doing? Let’s see, what else does the government do? Oh, yeah! They do all the highway construction, don’t they? How long has that one-mile section of freeway been under construction? Well, what about the education system? Oh, yeah – that’s crap, too! Seems to met that the last thing we want is the government involved in anything.

So now Congress has said “no” to the Big Three auto bailout, but King George is going to do it anyways. Great. Let’s just ignore the will of the people through their elected representatives and do whatever the hell we want! You know, I am so confused lately. I can’t figure out whether we are living in a communist society, a socialistic one, or a dictatorship! Which is it?

Okay, I’ve got to get back to my original point. So, yes, change is necessary (good change, that is). If you refuse to change, you will not survive. The choice is yours, automakers. Obviously, what you’ve been doing has not worked. You’re being killed by foreign automakers. It’s time to figure out why and make the necessary changes. It’s simple. No matter how many handouts our government forces us to give you, eventually, you will crumble unless you change. Oh, that’s another thing! Why am I being forced to become a shareholder in GM, Ford, and Chrysler? I don’t want to have anything to do with them, yet my government is forcing me to do so. Nice.

That’s all.

Actions Speak Louder Than Words, But Fancier December 10, 2008

 

“Your actions speak so loud that I cannot hear what you say.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

I love this quote. Of course, it’s really just a prettier way of saying that other phrase we’ve heard a thousand times, and I think it should actually be “loudly”, not “loud”, but it still works. Since I just haven’t had time to work on the political post I want to put up, I figured I should at least put somethingup here. Since I absolutely LOVE quotes, I thought this would be a good way to go. Anyway, this quote is great not only because it’s pretty, but because, of course, it’s so totally true. Anyone can talk a good game or make a claim, but if your actions don’t back up the words coming out of your mouth, they are left meaningless. Actually, my hero, Glenn Beck, was talking about this very thing today. He was talking about how back when he was a total disaster (you know, alcoholic, drug addict, your basic a*%hole), he lied to everyone he knew. Then one day, he realized that he had absolutely nothing – he didn’t even have his word. Not only was he this total loser of a human, but not one person could trust a thing he said because he had proven to be completely without honor. He decided from there on out that no matter how broke he was or where he was in his life, everyone could at least count on his word. He would say what he meant and meant what he said because that is the one thing in life that you can always hold onto; no one can take that from you. Anyways, it just really hit me for some reason. And it’s just another reason why I love Glenn Beck. I just sense that he is an extremely sincere person. He really does mean what he says and says what he means. This world could use more of that.

That’s all.