The American Dream vs. Democratic Principles in Business

I'm sure most of you are aware of the growing resentment towards Wal-mart, and I can honestly say that I'm not much of a fan of the superstore either. Still, this gives the state of Maryland and Chris Van Hollen no justification for its' current legislative initiatives. Apparently, some Democratic officials and a labor union, that is supported by Wal-mart competitors deemed appropriate the passing of an insurance bill in the state of Maryland obligating the superstore to provide at least 8% of its payroll into health benefits specifically or put that money into the state's health care program for the poor.

On the surface, this looks like a good idea. But, upon closer examination, is highly similar to programs found in Socialist goverments. Last I recall, the United Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR) collapsed due to economic depletion. So, why is it that politicians are now trying to 'better' America with such ideology? I can honestly say that it boggles my mind.

I then received my Monday Morning Memo from Wizard Academy, and lo and behold, Mr. Williams put into words how I feel about this specific subject. The memo starts quite simply with this: "America is a democracy and we believe in free enterprise." He continues with the definition of democracy and free enterprise. Quite simply, a democracy is "majority rule...Groupthink..."United we stand, divided we fall"...free enterprise - is to have an absolute dictator." This guy is brilliant!

The break down of the memo continues:

So while America's social system is a democracy, individualized financial dictatorship is the foundation of our economy.

That's right. Our economic system, rather, the success of our economic system is reliant on the money honchos. He with the most money, right or wrong, fair or unfair, gets to make the rules. I know it sounds harsh. But, in order for the American economy to prosper, this must be true. Otherwise, we'll be headed down that same road as the USSR.

Strange, isn't it? A democracy will have an economic system based on Darwinian survival-of-the-fittest, "It's a dog eat dog world and I'm about to wolf your poodle, pal."

It's ironic actually, but rightly so. Otherwise, there is no such thing as the American Dream. In order for this Dream to exist, two financial dictators must also exist: employees and customers. Our economic security relies on these two to perform as they must.

Employees, "if you don't like the rules of your dictator, you can go to work for yourself. But if you're an unwise financial dictator, the bank and the IRS" will come-a-callin'. "Welcome to America."
Customers, "if you don't prefer the person you bought from yesterday, buy from someone else tomorrow. God bless America: Land of the Free and Home of the Brave."

I'd like to close this post with the words of Mr. Williams:

"The American Dream" isn't the dream of a great society. It's the dream of personal wealth.

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Links:
Monday Morning Memo for January 30, 2006
The American Dream
Md. Passes Rules on Wal-Mart Insurance

Life Insurance, You Won't and Shouldn't Need It When Your 50

I'm sure you guys have seen those life insurance commercials with the older people concerned about not having enough coverage to account for all the bills they may have at their death. Well, I'm here to tell ya, if you properly plan your finances now, this won't be an issue. I know it may sound harsh, but, it's true.

First of all, thanks to Dave Ramsey, our debt is nearly gone. And, I'm only 30 years old. Imagine that, almost no debt before I even get a glimpse of the Senior Discount at Denny's! Woot!

While taking the FPU classes, we learned that life insurance is not a permanent necessity, contrary to popular belief. Think about this. At the rate we're paying our debt (that is, my husband and I), our debt (excluding the house) will be completely eliminated in 2 years. That means no car payments, no credit card payments, no student loans! That's just awesome!

In roughly 20 years we'll have completely paid off our house too! That means that all that extra cash that used to go into some sort of debt, can know be specifically allocated to one thing: wealth building. Now that is something to look forward to. We can max out our retirement (401k's and IRA's), max out ESA's (Education Savings Account), and invest in other things like real estate without incurring debt.

So, next time someone tells you you'll need life insurance when your 65, it's complete hogwash. Unless of course you were irresponsible with your finances.

Wow, it's been a while

Well, it's good to be back. I've been going 100mph in the last couple of months with the home-buying process and stack of work on my desk. Let me tell ya', it hasn't really slowed down much today. But, I decided to post today to get back into the rhythmn of things. So here we go.

To begin with, I am still excited about our new home and the opportunity to personalize it. It's a great thing to be able to do and in this great country, we have that freedom. Not that it can't be done anywhere else. But, to be quite honest, there's no other place I'd like to do it in. Well, Matt and I love our house and I did promise to post some pictures, so, if you on the link below, you can take a look at it.

Link

Ok, so we're on this Dave Ramsey kick and have been for several months now. Thanks to Dave, we were finally able to buy a home. And that is wonderful seeing as we've been married for 7 years. Just a year ago, we weren't making any progress financially, and only accruing more and more debt. I look back now and can't believe how stupid we were and can't see how we even made it that long. Then I think about so many Americans that live the way we used to and it just saddens me.

Since our financial awakening, we have made it our goal in life to teach our kids how to handle their money, among other things. It's really not that hard now, but man, it took us nearly 30 years to learn it ourselves. If we can instill in our kids the simple concept of personal finance, we've done a great job. There are so many things that parents worry about, like drugs, sex, and education. But money isn't a part of it, at least not until their kids reach their teens. I challenge any of you who are parents, to do this one thing. And, if you don't know how to handle this yourself, pick up the Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. His ideas really work. The only way it won't is if you don't do it.

Ok, so I'm listening to the Dave's show right now and he's doing an interview with John G. Miller, the author of QBQ! The Question Behind the Question and just released Flipping the Switch: Unleash the Power of Personal Accountability. Just from what I've heard, I'm going to pick up these books and write about it shortly. They deal mainly with personal accountability which is nearly extinct in this day-and-age. What a concept huh, being accountable for the decisions we make and our thought process?