Sunday, February 28, 2010

Why health care costs are out of control: the government.

The words that would make anyone cringe when heard: "I'm from the government and I'm here to help." It's unfortunate, but like the local mafia that promises "protection", you can't just head over to the local Don to complain when the "protection" promised doesn't happen. The government may have started with the best of intentions but has failed miserably to deliver on it's promises. Health care is just one example.

The Federal government joined the battle in health care in the 1960's with Lyndon B. Johnson's "Great Society". Don't mind that the Constitution only gave the federal government specific powers... the political success of FDR's "New Deal" inspired politicians that there was allot of money to be funneled... and even a small sliver of the take represented enough for industry and politicians to pursue it via political means rather than economic.

There's a great deal of statistics on the growth of health care since the 1960's. From less than 5% of the GDP in 1960 to greater than 15% by the mid-2000's. It's is clearly apparent that government's involvement has increased the cost. Although technology has advanced the level of care in many cases has dropped. This is all too familiar when it comes to government involvement. Rising costs, lower quality, less efficiency and less effectiveness.

Dogs get better healthcare 



There is no doubt that health care is a problem. But the solution is not more government, it's removing government and businesses that support government involvement. Where there's competition there is advancement, increased quality and lower costs.



As it has become apparent that there is money to be made in the health care industry through political means there are two more part's to the health care story though.

The first is the introduction of unhealthy elements into the everyday environment in the forms of toxins added to the water and food supply, introduction of harmful substances through vaccinations and other medical proceedures, and the introduction of harmful products such as paint and plastics containing lead on children's toys or cell phones.Thus creating a need for more medical intervention.





The second, the removal of viable alternatives to accepted medical procedures.

This is embodied in numerous things from acupuncture to herbal remedies but one recent movie is The Beautiful Truth. Which was released in 2009. There is much outrage in regard to the movie in the medical industry.  Many experts call it "quackery."  However, I'm typically intrigued when the main stream uses the "crazy" label on anything. That typically requires more investigation at the least... and looking at our health care system... the experts apparently need allot more studying to do. The main thrust of the movie is allowing the body to fix itself through better nutrition. This is highlighted in the Gerson therapy.

The bottom line is ...people's health is one of their greatest assets. Healthy people are generally much more productive. Productivity is the key to economic growth. Finding what works is definitely becoming more and more essential as the costs of health care increases and each day it's evident that it's worth it.  If we could just return health care costs to what they were in 1960 we would realize amazing benefits to the current economy, relieve major burdens on our aging population and more importantly become amazingly productive!

The solutions are out there! It's starts when we decide to do it!


Thursday, February 25, 2010

Is Credit Really the Answer?

What is going to save us in the economy we are facing?

Simple! Innovation and entrepreneurial spirit... and staying as far away from the federal government as possible! Local small business to the rescue! The heart of America! It's always been that way! And that's not just shop owner's, and people tinkering around with new inventions in their garage...It's everyone! Your not too old, Colonel Sanders proved that, and your not too young to be an entrepreneur! The lessons of how to be innovative, entrepreneurial and self-reliant are lessons we need to be spreading across the nation.


Waiting for Washington is not the solution! And no... it wasn't George Bailey or his ancestors that started the sub-prime mess... that's firmly in between Washington DC and the Federal Reserve on whose to blame. So even getting help from Washington is something most wouldn't recommend. All that paperwork and red tape may eventually be a small businesses' demise... and if there's one thing we don't need to be teaching people is dependence on government.

But here's a few ideas I have. One, think about the money leaving the community... how is it leaking out?

Fuel - 70% of our oil is coming from overseas. Creating a local alternative to that would immediately keep that money from leaving!

Food - Locally grown organic food has real benefits. Growing, gardening, local farming can all contribute to fulfilling that need without sending the money away! We all have a few things we absolutely have to do! In addition, locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables are healthy as well and command premium prices! The large franchises drain communities and in general serve unhealthy food.



Taxes - I would never recommend doing anything illegal. However, avoiding taxes is legal and as an employee a large portion of a person's gross income is taken from them before they ever get a chance to spend it. As a independent contractor, expenses are subtracted from the gross and you are taxed on the difference... and that can represent a huge savings. Some wise person sad a long time ago... if you want to be rich... do what the rich people do... and I guarantee, in most people, who are rich spend allot of time and money avoiding the tax burden.

There's a million more ideas... sites like Springwise.com, Entrepreneur.com, TED or Coolbusinessideas.com are just a few of the places to get ideas on how to impact and develop your local community in a positive way and possibly earn a living doing it at the same time.

In addition websites like kickstarter.com, kiva.com, Accion USA, to name a few, offer new financing opportunities for fledgling business people and entrepreneurs. The potential is only limited by our imagination, our will, and working together to make it happen! Let's make it happen!

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Farmville might be pointing us in the right direction!

Farmville, if your unfamiliar, is the most popular game on Facebook with 118 million downloads and 27 million playing daily. But there might be more to this trend then just playing a game. There might be a huge business opportunity.

In the current business environment businesspeople have to be frugal with their money. Small family farmers have always been that type. One year of bad weather or bad crops and it's another year before there even a chance for income, so expenses have to be carefully considered.

However, farmers in the 21st Century don't just harvest their crop and haul it down to the nearest co-op like in the good ole days! If they're going to be successful, they have to be just as well versed in understanding the marketplace. Luckily a relatively new website smallfarmcentral.com is introducing E-business to this age old business.

Smallfarmcentral.com offers small farmers an opportunity to introduce themselves to the world of the web in a big way. From developing a local following to selling nationally. Taking credit card orders to managing inventory. Right off the bat it's easy to see the opportunities for expanding the role of the farmer and viable occupation for a new generation of farmers.

It doesn't stop there. The huge popularity of the web based Farmville on facebook has entrepreneurs devising new ways of approaching the business. A web entrepreneur has developed Le Verdure Del Mio Orto ('The Vegetables from my Garden') where individuals can become virtual farmers on a real farm! For EUR 850 a average everyday Farmville player will be right at home suggesting crops from 40 different types of vegetables. There is even a few options! From having a photo album of the progress to a scarecrow!

Needless to say, with organic fruits and vegetables gaining in popularity and getting a premium price. And health benefits from fresh food becoming more and more apparent. Farming looks to be a occupation with a great deal of merit for the future!

Source information from Springwise.com 

Another development that could add  to this the farmland that produces near 50% of the US agriccultural products may be without water!

Books on Farming

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

The funny thing about law... we're destroying ourselves with it.

I'm no lawyer. I refuse to be something that low. Leaches, ticks and parasites do need something to look down on... so I suppose they are necessary. For my lawyer friends... you know I'm just kidding right...

Unfortunately we have allowed lawyers to hammer their existence into everything in our lives. I point this out from two differnet speakers that recently spoke to the TED conference in San Diego this month. It has become the primary way of doing big business in our day. To use political influence to write laws to monopolize or restrict the marketplace and thus we continue on a path towards a meltdown because justice is no longer the concern of the legal system. Even the police have switched from being 'peace officers' to being 'law enforcement.' The system has to change, because in a free society the law has to be respected or the system will not continue. We will either devolve into tyranny or have a revolution.

The land of the free has become a legal minefield, says Philip K. Howard -- especially for teachers and doctors, whose work has been paralyzed by fear of suits. What's the answer? A lawyer himself, Howard has four propositions for simplifying US law.



Mr. Howard makes some excellent points but failed to mention that our legal system did have a simple check and balance in place. In fact, it remains in place, yet few acknowledge it or know about it. It's called the jury and the grand jury. Two of the three votes each citizen has. The jury not only has the power to decide and determine the facts but also (and this is what few know) judge the law.

In 1794 the Supreme Court conducted a jury trial and said "...it is presumed , that the juries are the best judges of the facts; it is, on the other hand, presumed that the courts are the best judges of law. But still both objects are within your power of decision."

"You have the right to take upon yourselves to judge of both, and to determine the law as well as the fact in the controversy." (State of Georgia v. Brailsford, et al, 3 Dall. 1)

This role came under attack in the 1850s when prosecutions under the Fugitive Slave Act were largely thrown out buy juries. Since then, judges have eroded the role of the jury.

Thomas Jefferson warned in 1789 that the judiciary, if given too much power might ruin our Republic. "The new Constitution has secured these [individual rights]in the Executive and Legislative departments: but not in the Judiciary. It should have established trials by the people themselves, that is to say, by jury."

Effectively, the judge is just the administrator, the referee, the judge of the facts and the law is the jury. If this was practiced today and the judge and citizens honestly prepared the jury for their role... much of this complicated law and legal system would be erased. We would return to the simple system Mr. Howard advocates for.

Even creativity is under assault. Larry Lessig, the Net’s most celebrated lawyer, cites John Philip Sousa, celestial copyrights and the "ASCAP cartel" in his argument for reviving our creative culture. We have to restore competition!



The legal system has gotten out of control. There are numerous books on this subject, to name just a few:


Three Felonies a Day:How the Feds Target the Innocent by Harvey Silvergate  - The average professional in this country wakes up in the morning, goes to work, comes home, eats dinner, and then goes to sleep, unaware that he or she has likely committed several federal crimes that day. Why? The answer lies in the very nature of modern federal criminal laws, which have exploded in number but also become impossibly broad and vague.

The Tyranny of Good Intentions: How Prosecutors and Law Enforcement Are Trampling the Constitution in the Name of Justice by Paul Craig Roberts - The wars we've waged against perceived social ills carry with them a hidden cost of harrowing proportions: the loss of personal liberties as old as the Magna Carta.

Go Directly to Jail: The Criminalization of Almost Everything by Gene Healy - There are over 27,000 pages of the US Code which incorporates violations of federal regulations that are in turn spread throughout tens of thousands of pages of the Code of Federal Regulations.

Citizens need to inform themselves not only on their rights but also their role in the system of government we have. The individual has a great deal of power but only if the have the knowledge. The Citizen's Rule Book. With that knowledge our Republic can be restored and we can have a future worthy of the American Dream and the sacrifices made to keep it the greatest country on earth!

Monday, February 22, 2010

A new way to generate Electricity: A Thomas Edison Moment for the 21st Century?

A former NASA rocket engineer may have a solution to the massive and costly electrical grid upgrades necessary to keep American society living and working. Some have said over the next 20 years the United States will have to invest over $1 Trillion in infrastructure to maintain it. But hold it ....what about no grid at all!! The man behind the new business idea is K.R. Sridhar. His idea is shrouded in mystery and is to be released to the public this coming Wednesday at his company's Sunnyvale California headquarters.  The company is called Bloom Energy.


Watch CBS News Videos Online

Bloom Energy "develops a flexible fuel cell system that produces clean, reliable and affordable energy from a wide range of fuels," ultimately giving consumers the ability to generate their own electricity for less than they pay their utility as well as reduce their carbon emissions by at least half.

"60 Minutes" says the Bloom Box features a new kind of fuel cell. Oxygen combines with fossil fuels like natural gas or renewable fuels like solar, to create a chemical reaction that produces electricity, with no need for power lines from an outside source. Sridhar is an Indian-born engineer who has a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering. He says he hopes to see the day when the average consumer could buy a unit for less than $3,000.


Watch CBS News Videos Online

Google was Bloom's first paying customer; a Bloom Box is installed at the Mountain View campus and has been powering a large chunk of the building's energy needs since July 2008.  Ebay, Walmart, and FedEx have also installed Bloom Boxes.

This sounds like a amazing idea. Truly American in nature. Allowing homeowners and businesses the ability to cut loose from the grid and offering an alternative to the electrical monopolies. I must say I'm very hopeful! 

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Hot ideas for 2010!

Everybody loves to throw out a few predictions... I've already started the year off with flying colors... way back in September I picked the New Orleans Saints as my Superbowl winner... and sure enough, just as I predicted, they came thru for me!

Well, here's a few guesses, in my opinion, from the "experts" ...they might get a few of these right... but I tend to believe they put these kind of stories out as filler... and really either don't do their homework, or just go down to the local bar and poll a few of the regulars... or maybe they just put some ideas on a dart board.

From springwise.com "Top 10 business ideas for 2010" I do like a couple of these....#1 (Prepaid membership for local food suppliers) has some real merit for struggling small businesses... but that might be a way to quickly run aground if inflation picks up... which is probably better than 50-50. #7 and #8 sound interesting... I'm all for local solutions and these sound very attractive... but is this 2010 or 2015?

Entrepreneur.com has "2010 Trends: 10 1/2 trends to watch". #1 Economic Turmoil... I'll give them a hand there! We are almost certainly going to have that issue hit us in 2010. And people are going to have to hustle themselves... if they want to keep eating! #5 ... Another mention of local business! Yes! And #7 Texas, this may all hinge on which politician they select (Medina would be a huge boost in the right direction) and #10-1/2 Pets... people are attached to their pets... but 2010? Most of these could have been the entire decade! You might wanna check their 2009 predictions and see if they haven't just recycled!

My favorite is an article from Ezine@rticles.com "This just in! The 10 Small Business Ideas for 2010". I'm not going to be using any diapers myself but I can see a clear pattern to the thinking here! Small, low investment, simple solutions to obvious problems we are going to face in a bad economy. I was going to do a list of ten myself but after reading this article... I think I'm just going to do five and give a thumbs up to Susan Judd!

So here are my top five ideas for 2010.

1. Lobbyist pack your bags! If your smart you'll head down to the state capitals quickly! There's a huge upswell of disgust with the DC crowd and even if they do pull off some crazy legislation... they are headed for a fight with states rights. Just like with the 'Real ID' Act... that has silently died from non-participation... Washington's power is being greatly diminished as people and politicians crack open their Constitutions for the first time in years and discover the 10th Amendment.

2. I'm jumping on the organic bandwagon as well. Although you might get some static from the G-men. I expect to see these businesses grow rapidly. Raw milk is another good bet. As people discover the benefits... and understand the harm of many of the processed foods on the shelves today... it could become a tidal wave.

3. Ebay and Garage Sales. As people run into cash flow problems they will be hard pressed to start looking for dollars wherever they can find them and all that junk in the closets and the garage could probably easily generate a couple grand! If your the savvy type... set yourself up an Ebay account... and after getting rid of you junk, head to the neighbor's garage sales... pick up some nifty trinkets and then sell them on Ebay for a profit!

4. Online business presence. Those local businesses are going to need to be on the web or their going to be left behind... at the minimum a facebook account... but if their smart they will get themself a full time online consultant to keep their name in front of people! If their really lucky, they have a 12 yr old that can give them some tips! It's simple, cost effective and a easy way to compete with the big guys while developing a loyal customer base. But... they better be prepared to satisfy their customers because with that type of community... bad news and bad reviews travels fast!

5. Gold and Silver. If it were me... my portfolio would be at least 25-33% into gold and silver... possibly a few other commodities... with the government printing money like mad men... any tremor could send the dollar off a cliff and there's just too many ways that could go wrong. I hope I'm wrong on this one but with the Keynsians entrenched solidly in DC. and  them thinking its the only way, I see a day very near that the inflated money supply comes home to roost.

**Bonus** Local micro-loans. If your not familiar these have been becoming more and more popular in the third world... and highly effective for the money. I believe some enterprising local group could do themselves a great deal of goodwill by taking that money that they are currently sending to Wall St. and start investing in their neighbors. With loans of $500 to $10-15,000 a great deal of local business can be created and stimulated. Plus people have tangible evidence of their investment! The default rate on these loans in third world nations... and this includes war zones!!!... Is less than .05%! 

I hope this helps... enjoy your week! And remember... you are in charge of your future!

Another sign post of no recovery in sight...

I'm not a big fan of government statistics... in 2007-08 I was keenly watching the Treasury receipts for signs of the downturn... I knew it was coming...and after a few months I had to realize to save each report as it came out... because it was apparent that they were not only issuing new reports each month but going back and changing previous months reports so as the information would appear consistent. With an election year... you could see the writing on the wall... but they kept the lid on just how bad the economy was long enough for people to elect a new president.

There are various reports I could point to and start picking apart... the most notably is the unemployment rate. It is almost entirely fiction at this point. They might as well say the unemployment rate is 0% and everyone is now employed... People would just have to wonder... 'I must be the only one left! They missed me!'... That of course would fall apart in a few days, maybe a few weeks but one of the rules of governance these days is lie big and loudly... and then retract quietly.

The news is very quick to immediately broadcast a press conference where they suggest the "Recovery has begun!"... yet the little squeaks of all the stories they don't cover is starting to become a rumble... from the myriad of states on the verge of bankruptcy, to the massive real estate defaults being carried by the banks, the non-existent secondary market in mortgages (the Fed is the entire market), the pending commercial real estate collapse, the continued failure of banks around the country, just to name a few...and then we have this:



$1 Trillion of money missing from state pension funds... and that's being very conservative!!! Have you noticed how many career politicians are stepping down this go'round? This may be the greatest heist in all history and more than likely it will have to be covered up by some massive tragedy...

Regardless, I'm confident we still have the winning solution... capitalism and free markets... small limited government... and Americans willing to work to help their fellow man while making a profit. Remember we can always hunt down the crooks, they can only run so far!

Saturday, February 20, 2010

New Business Ideas

There's a million and one new ideas out there for new businesses. As times change, the environment changes and people change which means there's always new opportunities and new markets to be addressed. It takes someone who looks at things a bit differently from the rest... not someone just going thru the motions of everyday life... but thinking and anticipating what people may need today or tomorrow that they didn't get yesterday.

This is just one example... I hope to continue to bring more to light via this blog.



Friday, February 19, 2010

Ron Paul rocks CPAC!

Apparently in a style only reserved for Rock Stars Congressman Ron Paul from Texas made a lot of conservatives very excited... with a message that most wouldn't identify with Republicans. Small business owners across America should take notice. This liberty movement (to some the Tea party-ers) may have a huge impact on the size, shape and purpose of the Federal government in the coming future.