INTERESTING TIMES

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpLFq4R_StI

This series is recommended by the instructor of our business courses. I haven't watched yet but I think I may.

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/
There's truth here. And a nice business idea.

Marc Gunther's post about this ad is right on:
http://www.marcgunther.com/2011/11/27/maybe-the-best-retail-ad-ever/.

OK, so everybody's talking about it. I'm no tax expert, but I hear the liberals saying that it's "ludicrous" and worse. The assertion is that it shifts the tax burden from the rich to the poor and middle class. While this might be true if all you consider is the rate that we are SUPPOSED to pay, I have my doubts about its ultimate truth. The reason for my doubts: the more people make, the more they invest in ways of avoiding taxation. Loopholes. Shelters. Dodges of every kind. Since I'm planning on starting up a new business soon, I've been studying up on such things. There are lots of ways that business can take advantage of the tax structure to pay far less than the rate that is supposedly being paid. The upside of the flat tax idea: simplicity makes it much harder to hide all the places where you get away with not paying. Exemptions. Expense accounts. Fancy accounting. The appeal of simplicity is that perhaps, just maybe, the result might be the opposite of what the liberal media is spewing right now. The proof is yet to come on either side. Certainly the system we have now is messy.

Anybody out there have something more than talking points to spew about this?

I'm between an iphone and a cheap prepaid phone. I now have an LG. I could live without texting though it is cool. My finances are uncertain, so it is tempting to live on the cheap to sustain. On the other hand, it is tempting to get the tools that are likely to make me most successful, and the iphone could be one of those tools. What say you?
( notes on what you guys say will accumulate )

At least, that's what I heard on the radio. Whenever I hear that "Everybody" says something, I am immediately suspicious. Everybody? OK then, what jobs do we want? Jobs with health insurance, and a paycheck, right? How about a desk, a telephone, and a computer? A window? A coffee maker? Boy now we're talking about the kind of job I could go for. But is that really what we need? I mean WHAT DO WE NEED?

I think we need a bunch of adventurous entrepreneurs to figure out what it is that we really need, and get busy developing the means of production. I went to naturopathic medical school because I see natural medicine as a sustainable and beneficial profession in which I can continue to serve no matter what the economic condition of my community. I am going to offer my assistance, and I trust that my knowledge and service will be of adequate value to allow me to live a good life.

I don't want a job!!! Jobs for me have been dead ends, places where I can get comfortable while my life drains away doing someone else's work. When do I get to do MY work? To be creative? To do my good for the world?? I saw this culture headed for the brink a long time ago. And it's still headed that way. I want to create a window to a better future.

What do we really need after all? A safe and comfortable place to call our own. It doesn't have to be fancy. We all need shelter, somewhere to keep our pillow and toothbrush. We all need fresh water, and good food, and we all need touch and love. That's about it! Jobs and insurance are figments of this paradigm that's headed for the drink.

( today's news: U.S. poverty rate rises to 15.1 percent, number of uninsured Americans hits record high  )

....this is a "holy shit!!" for me....

from the Washington Post:
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Economy/Business News Alert: Apple surpasses Exxon to become world's largest company
August 9, 2011 1:35:58 PM
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Apple overtook Exxon Mobil as the world’s most valuable company Tuesday, as the computer company’s stock continued to defy a slowing market.

The changing of the guard is due in part to a market slowdown that has depressed oil prices and taken Exxon Mobil stock down significantly. But the switch is also a testament to Apple’s gravity-defying growth.

This was so good I'm going to listen to it again:

Google’s Quest to Build a Better Boss
The New York Times | March 12, 2011 | By Adam Bryant
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/13/business/13hire.html
( text--reread when it's time to start hiring employees! )

I'm happy to report that in Virginia, today, US District Court Judge Henry Hudson offered a 42 page opinion saying that individuals cannot legally be compelled by the feds to buy insurance or pay a fine. We already knew that this wasn't constitutional, but it's good to see the legal system kick into action. Obama, of course, was a constitutional law professor before he got into politics. He knew, as well as I knew, that this part of his law would not stand the test. What's interesting to me is the idea that he might have allowed this obviously unconstitutional bit to stay in the law to placate the insuro-medical business while he got the rest of the bill passed, which is much more practical and useful than the mandated insurance part. In other words, I think that he tricked the insurance companies, and that he's tricking congress too. He's smart, and he has the long view, and he knows that he will not get his way by putting his wish list on the table. So I continue to be impressed with Obama even though his critics act as if this is some kind of great embarrassment for him. He knew this would happen. He planned on it. The best thing about greed is that it gives people and businesses tunnel vision. Businesses don't care if a law is constitutional if it benefits their bottom line.