All-star husband...

Passed up the Clint Eastwood movie on Saturday to see "He's Just Not That Into You". Despite numb butt cheeks and being bored at times, it wasn't that bad. The character's personalities and their relationships provided some good conversation for Laura and me. Ben Affleck's character was my favorite because he seemed genuine even though unrealistic.

And I liked how the movie was set in Baltimore, MD.

Unfortunately that is my review.

Hopefully it will be a Gran Torino weekend.

Ayeeeee...

Okay, so it's Ponzi...

Who should decide???

Laura and I had an interesting conversation the other night that took shape from my recent encounters (more like avoidances) of the Children International workers on the sidewalks of Manhattan. I admire their dedication and persistence, enduring the cold weather, wind and snow flurries, trying to persuade people to stop and listen to their cause. Children International is a humanitarian organization similar to World Vision or Save the Children. I did some research to see if they were legitimate and they appear to be.

One of my findings in this search is that their CEO’s salary is over 300k. My immediate reaction was negative. This seemed quite generous to say the least. But the CEO salaries of the other similar charitable organizations (World Vision, etc) were comparable if not more. And I do not want to begrudge anyone’s salary capabilities. I don’t know if that is any of my business.

Neither Laura nor I know the duties and responsibilities of a CEO. Obviously it must be worth 300k or someone would offer to do it for less, right? We started thinking of some local charities and people we know who run them. What do they get paid? What is the job worth?

We didn’t really know how to answer. 50k? 60k or 70k? Long Island, NY is not a cheap place to live. Fifty grand goes pretty quick here.

This conversation is one I have been having with myself since Joe the Plumber brought the phrase “spread the wealth around” out of now President Obama. Is redistribution right? It already takes place in various ways so I guess the question is do we need more of it? If so who decides how much, who the beneficiaries are, and who pays? Another option I have read about is a maximum wage. Again, who will determine this?

Do we really want the government doing it? Elected and appointed officials who fail to report income and pay taxes? I do not think so.

I propose voluntary redistribution. It really is “better to give than to receive”. If enough people take initiative to help those in need, it will become contagious. This cannot be regulated by government, only inspired and made easier by easing the oppressive tax burden. Most of the men and women we elect are multi-millionaires (or their spouses are). They can set the example.

One thing I hope comes out of the Obama presidency is that people will really organize in community against the injustices in our society and a great place to start is with the local, state and federal governments. Oooo…was that a tingle up my leg or I am just Chris Matthews?

When is $1000 not $1000???

When you win it on the radio and the check only says $660.00 because of taxes...buzzkill!!!

In other news, I understand that the passengers who went down in the Hudson River on the US Airways flight were awarded $5000 for their ordeal.  Is one required to pay taxes on money received for pain and suffering?  

Look that up in your 1040 booklet!   :)

 

2008 Books...

I never was much of a reader, but for some reason after graduating college I started liking books.  At the beginning of 2008 I made a goal to read 4 books a month.  It was an ambitious goal but with a 70 minute train ride to work and another 70 minute train ride back home I thought I would challenge myself.  I didn't make it but I did manage to read 26 books.  Here is the list by subject:

Business 

The Four-Hour Work Week by  Timothy Ferriss

Saving the World at Work by Tim Sanders

Busted Budgets and Broken Buildings by Barry LePatners

Refabricating Architecture by Stephen Kieran and James Timberlake

Building Green by  Clarke Snell and Tim Callahan

Financial

Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received by Donald Trump

Building Wealth One House at a Time by John W. Shaub

Economic Facts and Fallacies by  Thomas Sowelll

Ordinary People, Extraordinary Wealth by Ric Edelman

Applied Economics by  Thomas Sowell

Autobiography

Miles Gone By by William F. Buckley, Jr.

Left to Tell by Immaculée Ilibagiza

My Grandfather’s Son by Clarence Thomas

Religious

A Theology of the Built Environment by T.J. Gorringe

The Divine Omission by Dallas Willard

The Secret Message of Jesus by Brian Mclaren

Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller

Surprised by Hope by N.T. Wright

Beyond Opinion by Ravi Zacharias

Everything Must Change by Brian Mclaren

Fiction

The Pilot’s Wife by Anita Shreve

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Politics

The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression by Amity Shleas

The Obama Nation: Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality by Jerome R. Corsi

Miscellaneous

A Field Guide to Buying Organic by Luddene Perry and Dan Schultz

Blink by Malcolm Gladwell

Each book I read was very enjoyable and worth the time (except Refabricating Architecture).  I did attempt to read Jane Austin's Sense and Sensibility but just couldn't handle the personalities of the two sisters so I shelved it.  Last weekend Laura made me watch the movie and that was a waste of 2 hours and 16 minutes.  

I did not make any reading goals for 2009 but just ordered 5 or 6 that I want to read. Hopefully I can incorporate more fiction and politics(that is not meant to be a joke). One goal I have is to stop surfing the internet articles and blogs that react to the politics and events of the day.  I have stopped watching the political shows on the 24 hour news networks only to replace that time with the internet version.  This should free up more time to read.

If I had to pick a favorite it would be My Grandfather's Son by Clarence Thomas.  Very inspirational.  One book I would recommend especially with the "economic crisis" is Amity Shleas The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression.  

Great quote...

Thomas Sowell's latest column says this,

A reader suggests that members of Congress should wear uniforms, like NASCAR drivers, so that we will know who their corporate sponsors are. Many of those in Congress should also wear logos representing the teachers' unions, environmentalist extremists and other special interests.

Brilliant.

My mouth's bleedin' Burt!!!

One of my favorite holiday experiences is getting tears in my eyes at the end of "It's a Wonderful Life" when Harry Bailey toasts, "To my big brother George, the richest man in town."

I broke-a the juke-a box too!!!

Happy Holidays

Economic Downturn...

This summer I read a book about the Great Depression called The Forgotten Man by Amity Shlaes.  In it she says that the depression wasn't that bad if you had a job.  Unemployment numbers during the 1930's reached as high as 23% - today I think they are 6-7%.

Companies are laying people off and trying to make up for lost revenue. I think the LIRR (Long Island Railroad) is starting to sell booze on the trains to bridge their budget gap.  Yesterday there was a beer cart on the train in the vestibule!  How's that for being creative?  Most people I talk with say that their business is "slowing" down; I would say the same about my job.  We do not seem to be as busy.  Which is actually a little bit of a relief because an 8 hour day is much more feasible than six months ago.  

Today I read that California, the world's eighth largest economy, may be out of money in March.  How can this be possible?  Where does all the money go in that state?  I guess The Govenator can always put a windfall profit tax on Hollywood. Do Brad & Ang and TomKat really need all those millions?  Spread the wealth around a little in Cali.  ;)

I really do not know a whole lot about economics because in high school all we did in economics class was play the stock market with fake money.  (Not to go off on a tangent or risk offending people but I really think the public school system will be obsolete in my lifetime.)  My pseudo economics teachers are Walter Williams and Thomas Sowell.  Check out there columns if you have time.

Some do not believe the market can correct itself.  I am seeing an example of supply and demand at work.  A few months ago you couldn't find a contractor and if you did his price was extremely high.  Today you can easily find one and their prices are much lower.  Score one for the free market.

I'm not sure what I can do to help the situation.  This is what I will reflect on this weekend. 

Twilight - When you can live forever what do you live for?

Laura wanted to go see the movie Twilight because she heard a lot of buzz and hype - long lines, sold out shows, etc.  Neither one of us knew anything about it or seen the trailer.  I thought it was going to be about aliens for no other reason than the title is Twilight and aliens generally come out at night.

That was my only presupposition going in (however, I was a little miffed paying $21.50 for two tickets and 10 bucks for popcorn - in the words of my grandfather, "I'm not cheap but I know when I'm being ripped off"). Otherwise my mind was pretty open which can be a rare experience.

I am still reflecting on the movie.  It wasn't really about sitting there and being entertained.  I felt like there was a message - though I'm unable to articulate it at this time.

For what it is worth I recommend dropping the $10.75 on a ticket.

Last minute election advice...

Watch the election coverage on mute.  The pundits sound so much better that way.

Handbag?

I don't know why but I'm just not comfortable going through my wife's purse,  even if she asks me to.  

Today I was looking for a piece of gum and fumbled around in there for like five minutes until I finally found one.  I even had specific directions as to where the gum was located but could not quickly fish it out.

When I need a specific item and I ask Laura where it is, I cringe when I hear the dreaded phrase, "It's in my purse."

Let it snow...

So it snowed yesterday in NY (12" in some places) and has been cold in much of the Northeast.  Even London has seen its first snow in October since 1922 (as they debate a global warming bill).  Seems like this has been a trend the last few years- cold temps and snow in the midst of all the talk about global warming.  

In all of our efforts to prove our point one way or the other, I wonder if this irony is G0d trying to tell us we are missing the point?

Redistribute this!!!

Joe the Plumber made the presidential campaign a little more difficult for the Obama/Biden ticket when he asked Senator Obama about his tax plan - raising taxes on those who make over $250,000/year to give tax cuts/credits to those who do not.

I believe Obama's words were "spreading the wealth around".

Should Obama be elected, I will be one of the beneficiaries of his tax cuts.  He can keep it.  Instead I want him to give me a view out of my apartment window like this.  (These pictures are from the 73rd floor of an apartment building on 59th street in Manhattan.)

Unbelievable, right?  The view, not the fact that they want to spread the wealth around.   It just doesn't seem right.  Although it doesn't seem right for a such a great disparity between the rich and poor either - a CEO and a waitress is the popular example.   Why don't they ever say between an actor like Tom Cruise and the janitor who sweeps the sets or an athlete like Tiger Woods and the guy who mows the fairway?  Why doesn't that wealth get spread around?

There has to be a better way.  I am exploring the idea of a redistribution of worth or a redistribution of value.  But I do not think the government will able to lead in this.  It will have to be a grassroots movement by people with good hearts and self-less ambitions who will not only look after their own interests but also the interest of others.

Where's the Rage Part II...

Our presidential candidates want to put government back on the side of the people and want to make it cool again. 

Great.

I renewed my vehicle registration last month.  The check to pay the fee has been cashed 4 weeks ago.  I have not received my new registration.  Right now I am breaking the law by driving an unregistered car.  But what else am I suppose to do?

So I finally got a ticket(s) while parked downtown from a meter maid.  Not only did I get a ticket for an expired registration but also an additional ticket for failure to affix a current registration.  Is that not unbelievable???

The state inspection is up-to-date so I am okay there.

It is so frustrating - the 100 bucks but more so the two tickets for the same offense.  Twist the knife big brother.

Where is the Rage???

In both the presidential and vice-presidential debates a majority of the blame for the current financial meltdown has been placed on greed from Wall Street.  A closer look at the history of the situation seems to prove otherwise.

The government needs to take full responsibility for this collapse of the financial markets because they are at fault.  By the government I mean specific Congressional Members who ignored the warnings and made reassuring statements that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were sound institutions.

Whether Republican or Democrat these men and women should resign.  If not, the people of their states should not re-elect them.  I do not know how Chris Dodd, Barney Frank, Chuck Schumer and others can show their faces in the midst of this crisis.  For lack of a better words they need to be cursed out.  They put those responsible for the fall of companies like Enron through Congressional hearings.  They too should be subject to the same grilling and then fired.

Neither presidential candidate is addressing this and because of that I find it very difficult to respect them and believe that they will bring the "change" they claim to represent.  If they do not do it now in the campaign I do not believe they will do it during their term in office.  I am disappointed, especially in John McCain and Sarah Palin.  They seem to speak the loudest about reform and being "mavericks" yet they have said nothing.  They seem ignorant when they speak of Wall Street greed when we know this is not the whole story.  Barak Obama received $126,000 in campaign contributions from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (McCain received $21,000) so there seems to be conflict of interest.  I wouldn't expect to hear any criticism from his lips.  But wouldn't it be refreshing if we did?  One of his advisors is Franklin Raines, former CEO of Fannie Mae who stepped down because of an accounting irregularities.  Awesome.

Fear is driving the markets right now.  I fear our politicians do not know what they are doing.

Check this out:

This shall be my greatest performance...

 I heard Joe Biden say that he wants to "take" money away from rich people, via taxes, to redistribute through government.  Conservatives will call this the Robin Hood theory.

Unless I am mistaken, or Walt Disney is wrong, but didn't Robin Hood spend the entire movie stealing from the government (poor Prince J0hn) to give to the poor?

Out of 300 million Americans our choices are these four people.   Wow.

Get Physical...

Riding the train in and out of Manhattan for 3+ hours each day doesn't leave much time for the gym.  So I have instituted a little program called the work-out at work.  

My office is on the 9th floor of the building- that is a lot of steps for 8 in the morning.  And with no air conditioning the elevator is the only sensible option. 

All summer I have been working up the courage to start taking the stairs.  So a few weeks ago I started small getting off at the 8th floor and walking to the 9th.  The next week I hit the button for 7.  It is a little embarrassing writing this but two flights of stairs can get the heart rate up quick. This week I am ending my elevator ride at the 6th floor. I wonder what people think when I immediately get out of the elevator and go to the stairwell.

In a month, if I'm taking all 9 flights, I'll be surprised.  

Quote...

"It is a mistake to think business men are more immoral than politicians."    John Maynard Keynes

RNC...

We have been staying up late watching both party's conventions. I will be glad when this week is over and I can get some sleep.

Wednesday night, Guiliani's speech was uncomfortable for me. The applause from the convention crowd was obnoxious and wouldn't help your view of Republicans if you are an undecided voter. Obviously he is there to fire up the delegates so I can take it with a grain of salt.

Anyone expecting bipartisanship at a convention is delusional. (However it is interesting how the Republicans will invite Democrats to speak, e.g., Zell Miller & Joe Liberman and those in their own party like Rudi and Arnold who lean left on social issues.)

Palin's speech was actually rather refreshing. I enjoyed seeing her family there. They seemed so genuine and real.

Some of her jabs at Obama were uncomfortable and unnecessary although I am glad she made his experience a major theme. I do not think she came across as smug. She was having fun as well as making serious statements.

Here are the excerpts that surprised me:

To the families of special-needs children all across this country, I have a message: For years, you sought to make America a more welcoming place for your sons and daughters. I pledge to you that if we are elected, you will have a friend and advocate in the White House

In politics, there are some candidates who use change to promote their careers. And then there are those, like John McCain, who use their careers to promote change.

Our nominee doesn't run with the Washington herd. He's a man who's there to serve his country, and not just his party.

And though both Senator Obama and Senator Biden have been going on lately about how they are always, quote, "fighting for you," let us face the matter squarely. There is only one man in this election who has ever really fought for you ... in places where winning means survival and defeat means death

To the most powerful office on earth, he would bring the compassion that comes from having once been powerless ... the wisdom that comes even to the captives, by the grace of God ... the special confidence of those who have seen evil, and seen how evil is overcome.

Gov. Palin has helped me see a different side of John McCain. During the primary debates he appeared angry and dull. Now he seems almost likable as a person and candidate.

The Forgotten Man...

Started a new book on the history of the Great Depression.  Just read the introduction and I am excited to get into this book.  The title is called, "The Forgotten Man" which comes from a 1883 essay by William Graham Sumner.  Here is his quote:

As soon as A observes something which seems to him to be wrong, from which X is suffering, A talks it over with B, and A and B then propose to get a law passed to remedy the evil and help X.  Their law always proposes to determine what C shall do for X, or in the better case what A, B and C shall do for X...What I want to do is look up C.  I want to show you what manner of man he is.  I call him the Forgotten Man.  Perhaps the appellation is not strictly correct.  He is the man who is never thought of...

He works, he votes, generally he prays- but he always pays...

In case you need the definition of appellation:  the action of giving a name to a person or thing.  I am not too proud to say I looked it up.   !