Can You Smell What the Prez Is Cooking?

Yes, my friends, the bacon is sizzling! The President's "porkulus" (stimulus) package passed with liberal colors during my absence. I'm not sure what kind of "change" this signifies. Democrats spending over $1.2 TRILLION over the next ten years with one swipe of the pen doesn't sound like change to me, unless "bad to worse" counts as change in the Obama dictionary.

I'm not sure what is the "real" crime in this bill. Could it be the fact that somehow they were able to compile over 600 pages of spending so quickly, or the fact that they expected lawmakers to fully digest the bill in about eight hours from delivery to voting? Of course, no one bothered to read the complete bill once it was printed, so just about anything goes as far as spending projects are concerned. Certainly, I have not had time to read the bill, but I hope to spend some time on it over the next couple of weeks. Of course, I have been waiting four days so far for it to finish downloading (just kidding), and I can promise that I will be spending more than eight hours reading and deciphering it.

What I really enjoy is seeing President Obama speak with a straight face and tell the American People that this bill does not have a single earmark in it! What a laugh! The definition of earmark is that money is allocated for a specific purpose, generally for a pet project of a senator or congressman, who brings money back home to the district, which will later result in reelection votes. Now, I'm not sure, but I heard that we are spending $8 billion to see if a mag-lev rail from Disneyland to Las Vegas would make any sense. (I'm sure that Harry Reid (NV) and Nancy Pelosi (CA) put this one together.) Give me half of that, and I'll give you the answer right now. (Uh, no!) See how easy it is to save money in America? I just cut $4 billion from the budget in mere seconds! Why can't the Democrats figure this one out? Now, before my Democrat-registered readers get up in arms, this bill was clearly a Democrat Party concoction, as less than a handful of Republicans supported the measure. I already have spoken on the failure of the previous bailout attempts, and why they were doomed for failure. What I find interesting is that we are going to have to borrow $2 TRILLION in order to fund all of this spending, between the new porkulus bill and the previous "bailouts." This money is going to have to come from the Chinese, to whom we already owe over $1 TRILLION from previous borrowing. What will happen when they foreclose? Perhaps, we should all brush-up on our Mandarin. By next week, I expect to have had some time to work on some of these issues. Perhaps, I will find a few issues to post sooner, so keep checking your inbox (if you are a subscriber) or check back here often.

---- On a personal note, please allow me a moment to thank many of my friends, fans, and readers who expressed condolences over the past week, since the passing of my mother. I appreciate all of the heartfelt support. Having been a financial planner for over ten years now, it is interesting that this is the first death claim I have had to handle in all that time. ----- Until next week, I wish you all well. Hang on to your wallets! It's going to be a bumpy ride!

Announcement

To the loyal readers of "Personal Finance for Real People." Randall Parker's article will not appear this week, as he is mourning the loss of his mother, Ann Brown Parker, who passed away in the early morning hours of February 19. She was 83 years of age. 

Coincidentally, February 20 would have been Randall's father's 89th birthday. He passed June 21, 2006, at the age of 86. Randall hopes to have an article prepared for next Saturday, February 28, 2009. 

Thank you for your understanding, kindness, and condolences. Randall does have a new website for the mortgage side of his business, which just launched this past week. Please visit the site, when you have the opportunity.

Special: Bailout Update

Early edition this week. I just received information on where some of the early bailout money went, and how it is allocated. I seem to recall hearing that the monies were to be invested in such a way that taxpayers would be repaid as quickly as possible by those to whom help was given. I didn't believe it then, and given the new information that I have found, I certainly don't believe it now.

Here is a partial listing from the original $350 billion in allocations:

• $250 Billion for purchases of Senior Preferred Shares under the Capital Purchase Program (This is the money we are supposed to get back right away, when things turn around)
• $ 20 Billion to Bank of America - The government is to share in the losses on a $118 billion package of assets. (If we are sharing in the losses, how do we get this money back later?)
• $ 20 Billion to Citigroup, same as BofA above, where the government (you and me, folks) will share in losses on a $301 billion package of assets. (Again, same question as above.)
• $ 5 Billion to Citigroup to cover additional losses with TARP funds.
• $ 40 Billion to AIG Insurance. (This is certainly money well spent!)
• $ 21 Billion to prop-up the US Auto Industry. (Of course, the industry doesn't have to make any substantive changes, but GM is offering $20K buy-outs to ALL employees and a $15K new car voucher, if they will retire or quit early. Why not just offer $20K to every taxpayer to buy an American-made car?)
• $ 20 Billion to the Federal Reserve to improve consumer access to credit. (Really? Do we need this? Isn't loose credit what got us into this mess in the first place? Also, doesn't the Fed already control all of the money supply?)

This just explains where about $376 Billion of our dollars went. With over $1.5 Trillion to $2.0 Trillion in total bailout money, which will be added to our current $1.0 Trillion deficit; where, when, and how will we ever pay this money back?

The answer is, we won't! The Fed will have to print new money in order to make these payments on behalf of the government. They are trying now to sell $2 Trillion worth of Treasury Securities in order to fund these programs. Who still has money left, and who is going to lend to the US government now? Good luck with that!

This is just another example of your government screwing you big-time! While you can't fight back against the government, you can use the bailouts of financial companies to your benefit.


The National Consumer Rights Alliance (NCRA) offers the following services, all of which will help you to lower your outstanding debt, reduce your interest rates, improve your cash flow, and potentially save your home:

• Mortgage Modification / Forbearance / Short Sale / Recission - These are all tools offered by the association to help protect you from your mortgage lender. You may qualify for a reduction of principle in your mortgage, a reduced interest rate, postponement of late payments and penalties, conversion from an adjustable to a fixed rate, a short-refinance, or other concessions from your lender. The NCRA offers these services at much lower costs to its members than you will find anywhere else.
• Debt Settlement / Renegotiation / Bankruptcy - Debt Settlement can reduce your unsecured debts by 50% or more, and enable you to become debt free within three years, in most cases. Renegotiation can help you lower your interest rates. If you absolutely cannot pay your bills, or you have judgments or extended liabilities that have wreaked havoc on your finances, or if you just have no other way to save your home, the NCRA can refer you to a local bankruptcy attorney who will represent you at drastically reduced rates. We rarely recommend bankruptcy, but if it is your only way out, at least we can save you money.
• Credit Restoration / Secured Credit Lines / Bank Accounts - NCRA now offers NO-COST Credit Restoration services to its members. They used to charge a $5.00 fee per deletion, but they have now waived this charge, in order to further assist members in the current economy. NCRA can also provide referrals to secured credit accounts, which will help to reestablish credit, and if you have found yourself in the ChexSystems database, NCRA can refer you to a local financial institution that will let you open a checking account without a ChexSystems verification.

Since the Federal Government is giving so much money to financial institutions, they have been mandated to work closely with debtors to work out arrangements for debts. Since the government has agreed to cover the losses, it only makes sense for an intelligent consumer (that would be you, dear reader) to take advantage of this situation for your own gain. After all, it is OUR tax dollars that these companies are receiving. Take advantage of the help that is being afforded you. Until next post, I wish you well, and I hope that this information will help you. Spend wisely, and sleep well!

Here is a Special Offer from the NCRA for my readers, so listen up! 

For a limited time, just for readers of my blog, the NCRA will give you a family membership for the same price as an individual membership, for full payment upfront. This is a savings of up to $800 over the price of purchasing a family membership under their payment plan! 

Again, this is only for readers of this blog. In order to avail of this special, send an email to administrator@ncramembers.org, mention that you are a reader of this blog, and that you would like this special pricing. NCRA accepts PayPal, bank check, and credit card. Your benefits will begin immediately upon joining. This special pricing is not noted on the website, so be sure to request this special via email. This offer is good for the month of February 2009, and is subject to revocation without notice. In other words, this is a limited time offer. NCRA has promised this pricing for the first 100 readers who sign-up for the special. I suggest you send your email today!

Stimulus Package: WillI It Fix the Economy?

I am saddened by the fact that the people we choose to lead our country are trying to fix the economy when none of them has any clue about basic economic principles.

If you want to fix the economy, here is how you do it:

1) Let the banks fail. We already have the FDIC and Federal Reserve to bail them out and protect depositors.
2) Let non-competitive companies fail. The automakers have not been competitive for years, because the unions have ruined their cost structures with inflated salaries and unrealistic retirement and health benefits.
3) Give money to the consumers, and let them choose where to spend it. Let the people vote with their wallets for which companies and industries are offering the best combination of value and service.

The United States was established on sound economic principles and good morals. The productivity and ingenuity of the American people has long been our steadfast advantage. Unfortunately, our lame educational system and overzealous (greedy) unions have conspired to encourage stupidity and laziness.

The founding fathers would probably puke if they saw us today. We have gotten fat and lazy, and we have lost our ambition. People did not travel half-way around the world over 300 years ago, to an uncertain future, so that they could have a job at the local 7-11.

The Free Enterprise system is geared toward business ownership, not indentured servitude (jobs). The American Dream is not about home ownership, it is about business ownership.

Our people have been deceived, and it is about time that some REAL change is made. The country is destined to fail, and this fact is belied by the government trying to steer the economy by spending money it doesn't have.

Get ready for high interest rates, a very tough credit market, a continued housing crash, and rampant inflation. The government will have to start printing money in order to cover its debts. This will increase the prices of imports, drive inflation, cost jobs, and reduce purchasing power.

I hope everyone is happy with the CHANGE for which they thought they voted.

BTW, where is the change, when all I see is the same old people being appointed to important jobs? What changed, exactly? Democrats are still spending money, and Obama lied about the tax thing (we all knew he was lying, right?).

While you are waiting for the economy to correct, fix your credit!