God is the God of truth while Satan is the father of lies, and we have been lied to our whole lives.
We think we must rely on big government for our protection and our needs, but that is a lie.
We think we must rely on big corporations for our jobs, but that is a lie.
We think that a job is the only way to make money and provide the income we need to pay our bills, buy our groceries and fuel our cars, but that is a lie.
We think that this is the only type of economy available for a free people, but that is a lie.
We think that the only cheap energy is nuclear power plants for our electricity and gasoline for our cars, but that is a lie.
We think that government is looking out for our needs and the needs of the average American, but that is a lie.
We think that in order to live the “good life,” to have a respectable and fulfilling life full of the amenities and clothes and lifestyle we have been told will make us happy, we must go to school, get good grades so we can get a good job, but that is a lie.
We think we must work our whole lives just so we can begin truly living the lifestyle we choose only after we retire, but that is a lie.
We think big banks and the rich and powerful are operating under the same rules we are and that they are not nor have they bent the rules nor manipulated the system to benefit only themselves, but that’s a lie.
We think that the avenues of fear we have today, perpetuated by the big media and our government are a natural state of our current human history, but that is a lie.
We think that those we trust to watch over us, the authorities, the rich and powerful and our government have only the needs and welfare of the average person at heart, but that is a lie.
None of these things are true. We have been tricked, lied to and manipulated into believing that reliance on the powers that be, big government, the Federal Reserve, Wall Street, the stock market, big corporations and big banks are the only ways to live, to assure our freedoms and liberties, to protect ourselves from the wolves in the night and from the terrorists and countless other evils of our modern era. We have been told that reliance on others for our food, our energy, our gasoline, our health and our survival is a necessity for us to preserve our way of life, but all that is a lie.
We have been taught that the complexity of our current civilization, the sin and evil, the sexual immorality, the drugs and gangs and endless wars are all just the way the world is today and yet, nothing could be further from the truth.
God wants us to rely solely on Him for our every need and He has promised to fulfill those needs if we only put Him first. And He will provide us with our needs, He will provide us with our safety, He will protect us from the evil and crime and drugs that threaten each of us and He will help us through our darkest hour of need regardless of how deep the darkness, how powerful the evil or how thoroughly we seem to be trapped because there is no power on Heaven or Earth or the entire universe that can compare to a God who can create it all with just a few words from His lips: “Let there be light.”
The Deceiver has taught us that truth is subjective, but truth is not subjective.
The Deceiver has taught us that each of us is inherently alone within our own lives, our own conditions and circumstances and within our own bodies but we are not alone because God knows every hair of our head and calls each of our tears by name. He is closer to us than we are. He knows us better than we do. He is more intimate with our bodies than any of us ever could be. We are not alone, we are a family of the most powerful being in existence and we have inherited the wealth, riches, happiness, joy and gladness of His kingdom – if we only believe that that is true. Yet, we have been tricked, we have been manipulated and we have been lied into believing that that is not true.
We are not alone, we are family; we are brothers and sisters in Christ. Jesus is our head and Lord and Master. We can overcome any struggle, resolve any problem, restore any lost hope and replenish any lost faith when we rebuild, reconnect and reintegrate ourselves to God through His Son, Jesus.
Truth is not subjective, it is objective and cannot be bent, swayed or manipulated to fit some situation, to smooth over a problem or to heal a nation where the truth is anything but.
Truth is not something we hear on the radio, watch on TV, see on Youtube, read about on Facebook or our local newspaper. Truth is not something our friends tell us nor is it the gossip we hear at work. Truth is what we know when we hear it from the voice of God speaking to us in our heart through the Holy Spirit and Jesus His son.
Truth is not something that can be sold, bought or manipulated to meet some hidden agenda, it can only be discerned by Christians relying on the voice of Jesus and the wisdom of God.
We cannot hide from the truth. We cannot bend the truth to suit our needs, we cannot use the truth to our own ends. Many will try and many will seem to succeed, temporarily, but when Jesus returns, when Jesus takes up residence in your heart, the truth will be made clear and you will know the truth.
Truth is not something we make up – truth is that which is and when we earnestly, honestly, sincerely and humbly go searching for the truth, God has promised us we will find it and what we find will be God.
Truth is that which is and that which is is God.
You now have a choice to make, right here and right now. I don’t know what path you have been on, that’s between you and God, but I do know that right now, in this room, at this moment, you are faced with a choice. Before you there stand two doors. One door is labeled “Truth” the other is labeled “Lies.” One door opens to darkness, one door opens to light. One door leads to love, the other door leads to fear. One door leads to hope, the other door leads to hopelessness. Behind one door are the dreams of a better tomorrow, behind the second door are the continued nightmares of today. What door will you choose? Your decision is now, today, at this moment; the Holy Spirit is calling you – right here and right now – to make a decision. What decision will you make? What door will you choose?
We all agree that this nation is on the wrong path, but there are many different opinions on what path this nation should be on. There are many candidates and politicians and people of every stripe and color who claim that the problems of this nation can only be resolved in light of the continued separation of church and state. But that is a lie, that is a myth perpetuated by our Great Adversary. The deep conflicts confronting this land cannot be solved through the minds of man or the works of his hands. They can only be resolved through the wisdom of God and the works of His people. God says “Return to me and I will restore your land.” That’s a promise. God keeps His promises. As a nation we have a choice. Either we continue our march away from God and move farther into darkness or we stop, we turn around and we begin the journey back to God, back into light.
I cannot make your decision for you, I cannot tell you what path to travel or what door to open, I cannot invoke this nation upon any particular path, I cannot lay claim to you or your house or the decision you make, but as for me and my house, I choose God!
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Study of a Panhandler: The "King of the Beggars"
$300 to $1000 a day. Cash. That's good money no matter how you look at it.
He said his name was Bob. Bob Tossler*. I was out of work and had been looking for a job for about 3 weeks. One of my roommates in the apartment complex I lived in suggested I should speak with Bob, because he was always looking for people to help him out. This made no sense to me because I knew Bob was a panhandler; I had seen him standing on the sidewalk day after day asking people for money. "How could he possibly help me" I thought. Little did I know.
I spent another couple of days on interviews and looking for a "regular" job when one day, arriving home after an unsuccessful job search, Bob found me.
"I hear you're looking for a job," he said. I hesitated wondering where this conversation was going to lead to but then I replied "Yes." Bob said he could show me how I could make some real money by working for him. I asked him how. "By doing what I do," Bob replied with a big grin.
I must admit I was quite dubious, "how much could this guy really be making?' I thought, so I asked him, his answer floored me. "I make between $300 to $1000 a day," he said. "Cash. I am the "King of the Beggars."
Now I wasn't taken in by this report even though it had floored me. After I had recovered a moment, I figured he was lying, "he couldn't possibly be making that much," I thought. I would be wrong.
Bob must have sensed my disbelief. "Go with me for one day," he said, "I'll pay you 10 dollars an hour just to watch me. I'll even let you hold all the money I receive so you'll know I'm not cheating somehow. My average is about $350 a day, and I'll pay you at the end of the day." My mind raced. 10 dollars an hour? Just to watch someone else work? I'm sold! I was just about to say, but Bob must have interpreted my hesitation as reluctance, "I'll even buy you breakfast, lunch and dinner," he said, "and not fast food either, I don't eat that garbage. It'll be a real meal at a nice restaurant. I never eat at home, so I know all the best places in the city." If I wasn't sold before, now I really am, 10 dollars an hour to watch someone else work and then free meals, where do I sign? I told Bob OK and he said to be ready by 7 AM tomorrow and he would pick me up.
Bob was true to his word. We went to a Denny's for breakfast (OK, not a Nice restaurant, but not fast food either), but for lunch, we stopped at a decent place. "This is nice," I thought; for dinner we went to a family buffet, so even though we had not eaten at the Best places in the city (but the lunch venue was really good), we had not had fast food either.
We arrived at our location for the day by about 8:45. This was an upscale area of the city frequented by tourists. Many boutique arts and crafts stores and gift shops were located here. Nearby were streets lined with art galleries. Just a couple of blocks away were a group of upscale restaurants and nightclubs that opened in the evening.
That first day, Bob asked me to hold onto all the money he collected while he worked. That way he said, I could be sure that his estimate of an average of $350 was accurate. Well that first day Bob missed his estimate by nearly $100. He didn't come in low, he exceeded it taking in nearly $450. The next day Bob received nearly $500. The next couple of days were less and by the end of the week, the average was about $350 a day as Bob had estimated, I was impressed, but what Bob did was clearly difficult. I wasn't sure I could do it, even after a week of close observation.
At work, Bob was articulate, optimistic, engaging, enthusiastic and funny. He didn't dress like a beggar or panhandler would, Bob always dressed up wearing neatly pressed khaki slacks, a dress shirt, a hat with a flap covering his neck in the back (to protect him from the ever-present sun) and an orange reflective traffic guard-like vest. He said we should wear comfortable athletic shoes of some type, the best I could afford, because we would be on our feet and walking all day.
Bob would approach every person who passed near him; he especially liked groups because he almost always got everyone in the group to give him money. Bob had his job down to a science. He said it took him nearly 15 years of trial and error to get it to this point and he still tweaked it a bit here and there just to try out a new angle. Sometimes it would work he said, sometimes it wouldn't. One such time it didn't work was when he wore a tie. His donations plummeted. Thinking one day might have been just a fluke, Bob wore the tie a couple more days but the results were the same each day; his donations were much lower.
What Bob did was unique. Bob would approach each person or group and extend his hand as if to shake that person's hand. When that person put their hand out in return, Bob would put a trinket in their hand - and then vigorously resist accepting it back if they tried to give it back. The trinket was always some very inexpensive gift - a toy whistle, key ring or fold-up fan for example. Bob imported these from China for a few cents each.
Bob understood the psychology of giving something. Whenever someone gets something for free, most people feel a need to do something in return; they feel obligated to return the "favor," regardless of the intrinsic value or utility of the trinket they have received. Bob understood this perfectly. By giving the person (or persons for groups) a 'gift" that person now feels a subconscious obligation to immediately return that favor. By refusing to accept the "favor" if the person tries to give the gift back, Bob just increases the tension heightening that person's sense of obligation. It was at this point that part two of Bob's spiel would begin.
Bob told people he operated an animal shelter - which was true - technically. He would tell people how many thousands of pets he had saved over the last ten years and that he was now here because of the annual spay and neuter drive. Bob also wore a fanny pack that he would keep stuffed full of his trinkets and pamphlets. The pamphlets had a couple of photos of pets in his animal shelter along with a description beneath the picture of how the animal shelter had rescued so many pets over the years and how many people had happily adopted a pet from the shelter. As Bob launched into his speech, he would pull out a pamphlet for each listener and hand it to them, pointing to the pictures as he spoke. Bob would often tell of a family or child who had come to the shelter recently and found a pet they had been looking for and how happy the child or family was to find a lovable pet to take home. Bob was quite a ham and laid it all on very thickly. Within a few moments of his talk, your heart was almost bleeding to help these poor unfortunate animals.
Bob told me that a key to making the most money was to shut up as soon as you saw someone go for their wallet or pocketbook and switch to the "close." At this point, Bob's tenor would change. He would become more firm and stand up straighter. He would tell people how much it cost to care for a pet for one week and that was how much money he expected them to donate. If there was a group, he told them he expected each person in the group to donate the same amount, it wouldn't be fair he said, if just one person donated. Usually this worked. More often than not, everyone in the group would donate if at least one person did. Overall, I would estimate that about 50% of all people Bob approached would donate some money to his cause.
During a quiet spell, Bob told me about what was really going on. He had incorporated his home as a non-profit - a 501(c)3 organization. He personally had four dogs and about a dozen cats; this often constituted the full complement of animals at his "animal shelter." However, he also operated an animal phone adoption service. Here he paid a woman to answer two ads Bob had every day in the local newspaper. One ad read that a local phone adoption service for pets was looking for animals for good families. The other ad stated that a phone adoption service for pets had pets available for adoption. The woman who answered the phone would simply match the two groups up. Bob estimated that he averaged about 3 adoptions a day in this manner. He never saw the pets and he never took possession of the pets and never had to spend any money on them, he only paid the woman for her service using a phone Bob supplied for her.
Bob had used the money he received from his solicitations to place a down payment on the apartment building I was living in. And he owned his home outright he said. He also owned four cars and two boats plus all the latest electronics, but he nearly never used any of them because he "had" to work every day to keep his wife happy. Although somewhat true, it was obvious that Bob simply loved what he was doing.
Bob also had used the cash he received from the donations he had received to open a concession franchise business. Almost every fair, carnival, special event, block party or parade in the county featured at least two booths that were operated by Bob. One was a curly fry's booth. The other booth sold light-up toys and glow bracelets. Bob estimated that each booth earned about $500 to $1000 a day in profit. Bob said that he had these booths operating for about 40 to 60 days a year depending on the employees he had available and the weather etc. Bob said he paid all the taxes due and even donated cash to other charities. Although he never mentioned it or knew that I knew, I also witnessed Bob handing out cash to people who needed it. Sometimes people would come to him for a loan to pay their rent or buy groceries. If Bob knew who you were and he knew you were telling the truth, Bob often gave what was asked of him. If Bob did not know you or suspected you may be asking for more than you really needed, he would offer a job instead - doing what he did of course. Some people took him up on his offer and a few succeeded.
Although it was difficult to learn, I followed Bob's advice and while I was working for him I averaged about $150 a day. I always gave Bob half of what I earned per our agreement. My best day I earned $350, my worst was zero, fortunately only 2 or 3 of these occurred in the several years I worked for him. My best income earnings from Bob were when I worked concessions for him. If you worked a light booth or a walk around trolley (often six or seven people per show did this for Bob) his rule was that the first $75 of your sales belonged to him to pay for the merchandise you sold. After that, he split everything 50-50. On most events, I would average $150 an hour as my commission; my best was $750 an hour but it only lasted for one and a half hours before our trucks were completely sold out of inventory.
If you want to do this, you need to look professional. Wear the orange vest. Get your spiel ready with lots of closings in it. Bob was always saying "always be closing." Ask for the money. Know when to stop the sales pitch and switch over to the closing speech. Get people talking about themselves, Bob would often talk with someone for 5 minutes to find out about their interests and purposes for being at that location at that time. He would get everyone's name and use their names throughout his spiel. He would get them laughing with an anecdote or popular joke, (sometimes racy). And he would intertwine his spiel with all of this and then shut up for a second when they went for their money and then start in with the closing. Silence is important and powerful, know when to use it but don't abuse it.
If you get the sales pitch and closing right and you find the proper locations, maybe you could make enough money to pay your bills. You don't need to own an animal shelter or found a non-profit to solicit donations on behalf of a charity. You can solicit donations for any charity if you give at least 10% of the money you receive to the charity. Many of the biggest organizations which solicit money on behalf of charities donate less than 10% but they can do this because they are charities themselves. Don't try to "get by" on this, pay the taxes due and give at least 10% of your earnings to charity.
*Bob Tossler is not the real name.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6734758
He said his name was Bob. Bob Tossler*. I was out of work and had been looking for a job for about 3 weeks. One of my roommates in the apartment complex I lived in suggested I should speak with Bob, because he was always looking for people to help him out. This made no sense to me because I knew Bob was a panhandler; I had seen him standing on the sidewalk day after day asking people for money. "How could he possibly help me" I thought. Little did I know.
I spent another couple of days on interviews and looking for a "regular" job when one day, arriving home after an unsuccessful job search, Bob found me.
"I hear you're looking for a job," he said. I hesitated wondering where this conversation was going to lead to but then I replied "Yes." Bob said he could show me how I could make some real money by working for him. I asked him how. "By doing what I do," Bob replied with a big grin.
I must admit I was quite dubious, "how much could this guy really be making?' I thought, so I asked him, his answer floored me. "I make between $300 to $1000 a day," he said. "Cash. I am the "King of the Beggars."
Now I wasn't taken in by this report even though it had floored me. After I had recovered a moment, I figured he was lying, "he couldn't possibly be making that much," I thought. I would be wrong.
Bob must have sensed my disbelief. "Go with me for one day," he said, "I'll pay you 10 dollars an hour just to watch me. I'll even let you hold all the money I receive so you'll know I'm not cheating somehow. My average is about $350 a day, and I'll pay you at the end of the day." My mind raced. 10 dollars an hour? Just to watch someone else work? I'm sold! I was just about to say, but Bob must have interpreted my hesitation as reluctance, "I'll even buy you breakfast, lunch and dinner," he said, "and not fast food either, I don't eat that garbage. It'll be a real meal at a nice restaurant. I never eat at home, so I know all the best places in the city." If I wasn't sold before, now I really am, 10 dollars an hour to watch someone else work and then free meals, where do I sign? I told Bob OK and he said to be ready by 7 AM tomorrow and he would pick me up.
Bob was true to his word. We went to a Denny's for breakfast (OK, not a Nice restaurant, but not fast food either), but for lunch, we stopped at a decent place. "This is nice," I thought; for dinner we went to a family buffet, so even though we had not eaten at the Best places in the city (but the lunch venue was really good), we had not had fast food either.
We arrived at our location for the day by about 8:45. This was an upscale area of the city frequented by tourists. Many boutique arts and crafts stores and gift shops were located here. Nearby were streets lined with art galleries. Just a couple of blocks away were a group of upscale restaurants and nightclubs that opened in the evening.
That first day, Bob asked me to hold onto all the money he collected while he worked. That way he said, I could be sure that his estimate of an average of $350 was accurate. Well that first day Bob missed his estimate by nearly $100. He didn't come in low, he exceeded it taking in nearly $450. The next day Bob received nearly $500. The next couple of days were less and by the end of the week, the average was about $350 a day as Bob had estimated, I was impressed, but what Bob did was clearly difficult. I wasn't sure I could do it, even after a week of close observation.
At work, Bob was articulate, optimistic, engaging, enthusiastic and funny. He didn't dress like a beggar or panhandler would, Bob always dressed up wearing neatly pressed khaki slacks, a dress shirt, a hat with a flap covering his neck in the back (to protect him from the ever-present sun) and an orange reflective traffic guard-like vest. He said we should wear comfortable athletic shoes of some type, the best I could afford, because we would be on our feet and walking all day.
Bob would approach every person who passed near him; he especially liked groups because he almost always got everyone in the group to give him money. Bob had his job down to a science. He said it took him nearly 15 years of trial and error to get it to this point and he still tweaked it a bit here and there just to try out a new angle. Sometimes it would work he said, sometimes it wouldn't. One such time it didn't work was when he wore a tie. His donations plummeted. Thinking one day might have been just a fluke, Bob wore the tie a couple more days but the results were the same each day; his donations were much lower.
What Bob did was unique. Bob would approach each person or group and extend his hand as if to shake that person's hand. When that person put their hand out in return, Bob would put a trinket in their hand - and then vigorously resist accepting it back if they tried to give it back. The trinket was always some very inexpensive gift - a toy whistle, key ring or fold-up fan for example. Bob imported these from China for a few cents each.
Bob understood the psychology of giving something. Whenever someone gets something for free, most people feel a need to do something in return; they feel obligated to return the "favor," regardless of the intrinsic value or utility of the trinket they have received. Bob understood this perfectly. By giving the person (or persons for groups) a 'gift" that person now feels a subconscious obligation to immediately return that favor. By refusing to accept the "favor" if the person tries to give the gift back, Bob just increases the tension heightening that person's sense of obligation. It was at this point that part two of Bob's spiel would begin.
Bob told people he operated an animal shelter - which was true - technically. He would tell people how many thousands of pets he had saved over the last ten years and that he was now here because of the annual spay and neuter drive. Bob also wore a fanny pack that he would keep stuffed full of his trinkets and pamphlets. The pamphlets had a couple of photos of pets in his animal shelter along with a description beneath the picture of how the animal shelter had rescued so many pets over the years and how many people had happily adopted a pet from the shelter. As Bob launched into his speech, he would pull out a pamphlet for each listener and hand it to them, pointing to the pictures as he spoke. Bob would often tell of a family or child who had come to the shelter recently and found a pet they had been looking for and how happy the child or family was to find a lovable pet to take home. Bob was quite a ham and laid it all on very thickly. Within a few moments of his talk, your heart was almost bleeding to help these poor unfortunate animals.
Bob told me that a key to making the most money was to shut up as soon as you saw someone go for their wallet or pocketbook and switch to the "close." At this point, Bob's tenor would change. He would become more firm and stand up straighter. He would tell people how much it cost to care for a pet for one week and that was how much money he expected them to donate. If there was a group, he told them he expected each person in the group to donate the same amount, it wouldn't be fair he said, if just one person donated. Usually this worked. More often than not, everyone in the group would donate if at least one person did. Overall, I would estimate that about 50% of all people Bob approached would donate some money to his cause.
During a quiet spell, Bob told me about what was really going on. He had incorporated his home as a non-profit - a 501(c)3 organization. He personally had four dogs and about a dozen cats; this often constituted the full complement of animals at his "animal shelter." However, he also operated an animal phone adoption service. Here he paid a woman to answer two ads Bob had every day in the local newspaper. One ad read that a local phone adoption service for pets was looking for animals for good families. The other ad stated that a phone adoption service for pets had pets available for adoption. The woman who answered the phone would simply match the two groups up. Bob estimated that he averaged about 3 adoptions a day in this manner. He never saw the pets and he never took possession of the pets and never had to spend any money on them, he only paid the woman for her service using a phone Bob supplied for her.
Bob had used the money he received from his solicitations to place a down payment on the apartment building I was living in. And he owned his home outright he said. He also owned four cars and two boats plus all the latest electronics, but he nearly never used any of them because he "had" to work every day to keep his wife happy. Although somewhat true, it was obvious that Bob simply loved what he was doing.
Bob also had used the cash he received from the donations he had received to open a concession franchise business. Almost every fair, carnival, special event, block party or parade in the county featured at least two booths that were operated by Bob. One was a curly fry's booth. The other booth sold light-up toys and glow bracelets. Bob estimated that each booth earned about $500 to $1000 a day in profit. Bob said that he had these booths operating for about 40 to 60 days a year depending on the employees he had available and the weather etc. Bob said he paid all the taxes due and even donated cash to other charities. Although he never mentioned it or knew that I knew, I also witnessed Bob handing out cash to people who needed it. Sometimes people would come to him for a loan to pay their rent or buy groceries. If Bob knew who you were and he knew you were telling the truth, Bob often gave what was asked of him. If Bob did not know you or suspected you may be asking for more than you really needed, he would offer a job instead - doing what he did of course. Some people took him up on his offer and a few succeeded.
Although it was difficult to learn, I followed Bob's advice and while I was working for him I averaged about $150 a day. I always gave Bob half of what I earned per our agreement. My best day I earned $350, my worst was zero, fortunately only 2 or 3 of these occurred in the several years I worked for him. My best income earnings from Bob were when I worked concessions for him. If you worked a light booth or a walk around trolley (often six or seven people per show did this for Bob) his rule was that the first $75 of your sales belonged to him to pay for the merchandise you sold. After that, he split everything 50-50. On most events, I would average $150 an hour as my commission; my best was $750 an hour but it only lasted for one and a half hours before our trucks were completely sold out of inventory.
If you want to do this, you need to look professional. Wear the orange vest. Get your spiel ready with lots of closings in it. Bob was always saying "always be closing." Ask for the money. Know when to stop the sales pitch and switch over to the closing speech. Get people talking about themselves, Bob would often talk with someone for 5 minutes to find out about their interests and purposes for being at that location at that time. He would get everyone's name and use their names throughout his spiel. He would get them laughing with an anecdote or popular joke, (sometimes racy). And he would intertwine his spiel with all of this and then shut up for a second when they went for their money and then start in with the closing. Silence is important and powerful, know when to use it but don't abuse it.
If you get the sales pitch and closing right and you find the proper locations, maybe you could make enough money to pay your bills. You don't need to own an animal shelter or found a non-profit to solicit donations on behalf of a charity. You can solicit donations for any charity if you give at least 10% of the money you receive to the charity. Many of the biggest organizations which solicit money on behalf of charities donate less than 10% but they can do this because they are charities themselves. Don't try to "get by" on this, pay the taxes due and give at least 10% of your earnings to charity.
*Bob Tossler is not the real name.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6734758
Friday, December 2, 2011
Building Wealth, Making Money
Beginning with industrialization, governments sought to expand their economies by replacing the long-term and slow growth modality of capital creation with the faster and more expedient means of debt creation. But as economies expanded, debt ballooned. Over time, as a nation's market expanded at a fairly steady pace (with the occasional downturn and setback), ensuring a commensurate increase in incomes, apparent wealth and living standards, the total debt increased at an exponential rate exceeding by many magnitudes the growth rate of the economy. As a result, at any major downturn and national or regional setback, nations businesses and individuals are left foundering in a sea of debt.
There can be no "fix" to an economy based on debt nor for a business' or individual's debt load unless the "fix" originates from the capital creation side of economic philosophy. However, as capital creation is slow and uneven this solution is unpalatable to nations and peoples accustomed to quick repairs, fast connections and instant gratification. To be told that a solution to debt can be guaranteed, but only after 10 or 20 years of hard work, with very little to show for the first half of that period, people and nations may opt for the more expedient solution of expanding their debt. Although this solution seems to solve the immediate debt, the existing debt doesn't go away, it is merely subsumed within the new debt. This seems to solve the immediate debt situation but in fact only moves the problem to a future date.
There is no solution to a debt crisis using the current model of debt creation. Under this model, current debt never goes away, it is only added to future debt. The only solution to a crisis of debt is debt that provides periodic income in excess of the periodic payments necessary to acquire that debt. Debt based on this new model is based on tangible assets, i.e. hard, fixed assets which cannot be easily dismantled or destroyed.
There are only four asset classes of production. These four classes are land (or real estate), labor, capital (cash), and intellectual property. In the modern era, each of these asset classes bears varying degrees of mortality risk based on the further distinction (subcategory) of that asset category, its location on the planet, competition and the market from which its revenues are derived. No place is absolutely safe; fires, earthquakes floods and storms can destroy a factory, warehouse or subdivision just as surely as war, a terrorist attack, competition or market decline.
Investment in debt is never a safe option. Debt is a soft asset, an intangible or paper asset which can lose value or be destroyed as easily as it was created. Whether the soft asset is student loans, mortgages, commodities, foreign exchange or highly leveraged derivatives, there is no assurance that any investment made today will be secure tomorrow. The characteristic of a soft asset which makes it easy to generate high returns over short periods of time is leverage. However, this leverage of return also leverages the degree of risk. The farther removed an asset is from a hard asset to a soft asset, the more inherent the risk built into the structure of that asset. Although this risk also leverages the potential rate of return, the increase in the return is simply not worth the increased risk as the current real estate crisis, worldwide currency crises, the slow decline of the dollar and international governmental debt crises all attest.
Income generating assets exist in a variety of forms and their return can exceed that of the more familiar debt model based asset vehicles. One of the most popular forms is stock ownership. Although this seems a contradiction in the capital creation concept, it is in fact a core concept; buy assets, not debt, buy ownership, not a promise. With stock, you are buying a piece of the company; when buying a student loan package, you are buying a promise.
Equity in a commercial enterprise is perhaps the easiest, least expensive and lowest risk means of initiating a capital creation strategy. To assure the proper perspective on equity purchases, an investor must view the asset for the periodic income it generates, not the projected cash-in value of the asset at some indeterminate time in the future. Each investor must view the asset as one that they will hold forever and then pass onto their heirs because of the income it generates (and additionally the value it adds to their estate). No investor should view such an asset as one they plan to sell in 10, 20, 30 or 40 years.
Indivduals, businesses and governments must all adopt the long view. This long view rests on a foundation of capital creation. Capital creation is the acquisition of assets which produce periodic, current income in excess of the payments required to purchase that asset.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6729612
There can be no "fix" to an economy based on debt nor for a business' or individual's debt load unless the "fix" originates from the capital creation side of economic philosophy. However, as capital creation is slow and uneven this solution is unpalatable to nations and peoples accustomed to quick repairs, fast connections and instant gratification. To be told that a solution to debt can be guaranteed, but only after 10 or 20 years of hard work, with very little to show for the first half of that period, people and nations may opt for the more expedient solution of expanding their debt. Although this solution seems to solve the immediate debt, the existing debt doesn't go away, it is merely subsumed within the new debt. This seems to solve the immediate debt situation but in fact only moves the problem to a future date.
There is no solution to a debt crisis using the current model of debt creation. Under this model, current debt never goes away, it is only added to future debt. The only solution to a crisis of debt is debt that provides periodic income in excess of the periodic payments necessary to acquire that debt. Debt based on this new model is based on tangible assets, i.e. hard, fixed assets which cannot be easily dismantled or destroyed.
There are only four asset classes of production. These four classes are land (or real estate), labor, capital (cash), and intellectual property. In the modern era, each of these asset classes bears varying degrees of mortality risk based on the further distinction (subcategory) of that asset category, its location on the planet, competition and the market from which its revenues are derived. No place is absolutely safe; fires, earthquakes floods and storms can destroy a factory, warehouse or subdivision just as surely as war, a terrorist attack, competition or market decline.
Investment in debt is never a safe option. Debt is a soft asset, an intangible or paper asset which can lose value or be destroyed as easily as it was created. Whether the soft asset is student loans, mortgages, commodities, foreign exchange or highly leveraged derivatives, there is no assurance that any investment made today will be secure tomorrow. The characteristic of a soft asset which makes it easy to generate high returns over short periods of time is leverage. However, this leverage of return also leverages the degree of risk. The farther removed an asset is from a hard asset to a soft asset, the more inherent the risk built into the structure of that asset. Although this risk also leverages the potential rate of return, the increase in the return is simply not worth the increased risk as the current real estate crisis, worldwide currency crises, the slow decline of the dollar and international governmental debt crises all attest.
Income generating assets exist in a variety of forms and their return can exceed that of the more familiar debt model based asset vehicles. One of the most popular forms is stock ownership. Although this seems a contradiction in the capital creation concept, it is in fact a core concept; buy assets, not debt, buy ownership, not a promise. With stock, you are buying a piece of the company; when buying a student loan package, you are buying a promise.
Equity in a commercial enterprise is perhaps the easiest, least expensive and lowest risk means of initiating a capital creation strategy. To assure the proper perspective on equity purchases, an investor must view the asset for the periodic income it generates, not the projected cash-in value of the asset at some indeterminate time in the future. Each investor must view the asset as one that they will hold forever and then pass onto their heirs because of the income it generates (and additionally the value it adds to their estate). No investor should view such an asset as one they plan to sell in 10, 20, 30 or 40 years.
Indivduals, businesses and governments must all adopt the long view. This long view rests on a foundation of capital creation. Capital creation is the acquisition of assets which produce periodic, current income in excess of the payments required to purchase that asset.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6729612
Thursday, December 1, 2011
America's Long Descent Into Night
The powers that be already control all the money in the world, they already control most of the natural resources and they already control most of the biggest corporations. The only thing they don't control is you.
Since the greed and lust of the powers that be requires them to control Everything, they must find a way to control you. They have already accomplished this to a large degree. The powers that be already control your money, your job and the way you view the economy. They have already made you dependent upon an educational system that trains people to become even more dependent upon the big corporations and the government. There is only one more thing to do to make you absolutely and completely dependent; there is only one more thing they must do to make you completely and totally a slave; they must make you completely subservient to them by stripping away your freedom and rights. The way they do this is through fear.
If this assessment is accurate, the powers that be will continue to chip away at our liberty by perpetuating our fear. They will degrade our liberty by continuously introducing new threats and new ways of combating those threats. Or they will introduce new methods of combating existing threats. These measures will all be introduced in the name of public safety, for national security, for the stability of the dollar or the economy or the stock market or to provide domestic peace or international stability. The authorities will say that these measures are necessary for peace and safety or to protect the people from danger. And the vast majority of Americans will accept these measures and the loss of their liberty, perhaps reluctantly, more likely willingly, but we will accept the loss of our liberty to protect ourselves from the evil the exists in the world, never realizing that the evil that exists in the world is the same blanket we cover ourselves with at night.
Our next President will be the person who conforms to the agenda of the powers that be, whether that be public or private, while garnering the greatest degree of public support. His or her public stance will most likely be that which expresses some degree of giving the government more control while, in other areas, proposing less. Once in office, the current trend will continue, regardless of who is in office or whether the next President is Republican or Democrat. The only way to stem this flow is for the people to elect the individual who advocates most strongly for the most limited size and role of government as possible.
The way of the future seems most certain and the following scenario most likely. A group of people small in number at first, but growing over time, will refuse to adhere to the fear-mongering fairy tales that beset us at every turn. They will grow fearless. Growing fearless, they will become less dependent. Becoming less dependent they will become more independent in terms of happiness, wealth and power. By not adhering to the common convention of fear and by demonstrating the power and wealth that slowly accrues to those who do not fear the scare stories, who do not fear responsibility and who do not fear liberty, more and more people will join them and become like them and the powers that be will see their power slipping away. Then, they will overreact.
At some critical point, when their own fear of loss of control has reached forced them to act, they will do so. The powers that be will unleash the most destructive and fearful acts they can imagine. The powers that be will unleash war, they may destroy nations - perhaps even the most powerful of nations - and they may even unleash nuclear holocaust. During this dark, dark period, many of those who had learned not to fear will learn fear once again. Many of those who had left the path of fear will turn back. The majority of the people who had escaped the control of the powers that be will slip back under their control. But a remnant of the truly free will escape. A small number of those who are truly without fear will remain without fear, they will not give in, they will not give up. They will remain free and independent. Though the powers that be may hunt them down from place to place, from state to state and from nation to nation, those who follow the Way will not fear and remain free. Eventually, the world will die. This may occur in a few years or may require several decades, but eventually the horrors released by the powers that be will consume all of the world that was. The way of life, the culture, the hedonism and materialism, the structures and institutions of the world that was will be no more. The powers that be will be gone along with all those who followed them and did not stand up for their rights but succumbed to their own fears.
Following the world of darkness will be a world of light. The small remnant of the free - the followers of the Way - will inherit a brave new world, a world brighter, bigger and better than the old. The old will make way for the new and the old will pass away. That which once was will be no more and true peace, love and harmony will reign in a world of love and light. This is the world that those who escaped the powers that be will inherit for it is written; "the meek shall inherit the earth."
Since the greed and lust of the powers that be requires them to control Everything, they must find a way to control you. They have already accomplished this to a large degree. The powers that be already control your money, your job and the way you view the economy. They have already made you dependent upon an educational system that trains people to become even more dependent upon the big corporations and the government. There is only one more thing to do to make you absolutely and completely dependent; there is only one more thing they must do to make you completely and totally a slave; they must make you completely subservient to them by stripping away your freedom and rights. The way they do this is through fear.
If this assessment is accurate, the powers that be will continue to chip away at our liberty by perpetuating our fear. They will degrade our liberty by continuously introducing new threats and new ways of combating those threats. Or they will introduce new methods of combating existing threats. These measures will all be introduced in the name of public safety, for national security, for the stability of the dollar or the economy or the stock market or to provide domestic peace or international stability. The authorities will say that these measures are necessary for peace and safety or to protect the people from danger. And the vast majority of Americans will accept these measures and the loss of their liberty, perhaps reluctantly, more likely willingly, but we will accept the loss of our liberty to protect ourselves from the evil the exists in the world, never realizing that the evil that exists in the world is the same blanket we cover ourselves with at night.
Our next President will be the person who conforms to the agenda of the powers that be, whether that be public or private, while garnering the greatest degree of public support. His or her public stance will most likely be that which expresses some degree of giving the government more control while, in other areas, proposing less. Once in office, the current trend will continue, regardless of who is in office or whether the next President is Republican or Democrat. The only way to stem this flow is for the people to elect the individual who advocates most strongly for the most limited size and role of government as possible.
The way of the future seems most certain and the following scenario most likely. A group of people small in number at first, but growing over time, will refuse to adhere to the fear-mongering fairy tales that beset us at every turn. They will grow fearless. Growing fearless, they will become less dependent. Becoming less dependent they will become more independent in terms of happiness, wealth and power. By not adhering to the common convention of fear and by demonstrating the power and wealth that slowly accrues to those who do not fear the scare stories, who do not fear responsibility and who do not fear liberty, more and more people will join them and become like them and the powers that be will see their power slipping away. Then, they will overreact.
At some critical point, when their own fear of loss of control has reached forced them to act, they will do so. The powers that be will unleash the most destructive and fearful acts they can imagine. The powers that be will unleash war, they may destroy nations - perhaps even the most powerful of nations - and they may even unleash nuclear holocaust. During this dark, dark period, many of those who had learned not to fear will learn fear once again. Many of those who had left the path of fear will turn back. The majority of the people who had escaped the control of the powers that be will slip back under their control. But a remnant of the truly free will escape. A small number of those who are truly without fear will remain without fear, they will not give in, they will not give up. They will remain free and independent. Though the powers that be may hunt them down from place to place, from state to state and from nation to nation, those who follow the Way will not fear and remain free. Eventually, the world will die. This may occur in a few years or may require several decades, but eventually the horrors released by the powers that be will consume all of the world that was. The way of life, the culture, the hedonism and materialism, the structures and institutions of the world that was will be no more. The powers that be will be gone along with all those who followed them and did not stand up for their rights but succumbed to their own fears.
Following the world of darkness will be a world of light. The small remnant of the free - the followers of the Way - will inherit a brave new world, a world brighter, bigger and better than the old. The old will make way for the new and the old will pass away. That which once was will be no more and true peace, love and harmony will reign in a world of love and light. This is the world that those who escaped the powers that be will inherit for it is written; "the meek shall inherit the earth."
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