Iraq War was financed with credit cardsOctober 14th, 2008 Gennaro Brooks-ChurchHere we have Joseph Stiglitz who won the Noble Prize and he was president of the World Bank speaking around May 2008. Just one more reason to take Bush and put him in jail for a very long time. Collapse of Argentina’s Economy….But it could never happen to us….October 14th, 2008 Gennaro Brooks-ChurchThe same banking strangle hold that grips so many developing nations in my eyes is very similar to the debt that the US has. We in the US have an attitude that it can’t happen to us but I think it has already. If I was a bank then the US would be the mother of all golden eggs. I suspect that the US is being siphoned dry by the very same methods that are used on countries like Argentina. Combine that with a growing ongoing silent tension in the population which eventually is going to erupt into an “unforeseen” outburst onto the streets. The possibility that something will break is high in my eyes. Bushit and Co. have foreseen this and that is why they have recently pulled troops out of Iraq and brought them home. These troops are seasoned at dealing with a hostile civilian population in Iraq. They are also suffering from all kinds of chemical and psychological stress. Things could get tense. Below is a great outline of what happened in Argentina. When the Dollar collapses where will you be?October 2nd, 2008 Gennaro Brooks-ChurchThe collapse of the Dollar has already started. Like all cycles it happens organically with many incremental moves and a few dramatic ones. We haven’t seen the dramatic moves yet and most people are either in denial or just haven’t really thought about it. But the is no doubt about it, the dollar is collapsing. The big question for me is what does that mean to my life as an American holding mostly Dollars. If the other poor countries are any indication, and I’ve visited most of them, then it simply means the US is going to get poorer. Less fancy stuff, run down buildings, crumbling infrastructure. But that is if we continue with the current financial structure. I’d like to see a new financial structure where less money is made, less stuff is created and people have less, BUT less money is needed, less stuff is created and people are fine with less. Less physically, that is. Hopefully we have more in the areas of love, life and happiness. What would that would look like? For starters I think people would get more sleep and be less stressed out. They would have less need for material pacifiers because the cause of that need would not be there. They would work less. It wouldn’t be called unemployment, though, since work wouldn’t be the central bastion of existence. You’d have a lot less products. We don’t need 400 different brands of breakfast cereal. Only about 10 of them are worth eating. The other 390 of them are almost identical with different food coloring and packaging. This means that all that production time spent making those 390 boxes of cereal can be spent on producing something else or simply be downtime. Look, I don’t know. I’m no economist (like they know shit). But it just seems to make sense: Before the industrial revolution people worked all day but now we have machines that can do that. Why did that utopian ideal of a machine workforce never actualize? It seems to make sense. Tags: dollar, dollar collapse Got a Business or Business Idea? Write it down on two pages.September 29th, 2008 Gennaro Brooks-ChurchHere is a nice little step that helps solidify a business or business idea. Write two pages with the following information: Concise Mission Statement This takes a lot less time than a fancy business plan but has a lot of the focusing benefits. The two pages are enough to show to possible partners or investors or to simply help you clarify the business for yourself. I don’t know any successful business that doesn’t have a business plan. Personally I have never been able to finish a formal business plan. I think that says a lot about my business attitude or lack of a business attitude. And I admit my businesses always suffer from a “what’s my direction” syndrome. Uh, did I say business? I meant life. I am very creative and spontaneous and I would always get bogged down by the areas in the business plans requiring projected goals and strategies. Finding a process that does not pit “creative and spontaneous” against solid “projected goals and strategies” but instead allows both their fair place in the business is a winning formula. Give the two page plan a try. You might discover that your business isn’t worth continuing because the projected revenues aren’t worth the work. Or you might decide the mission statement doesn’t go with the actual products and services you provide. But most probably you’ll simply tweak the business vision into something more focused and effective. Either way, keep it personal. The business is you. What is YOUR mission statement? The business mission statement needs to be in line with that. If it is then it is like two streams flowing in the same direction. Obviously the opposite is two streams at odds with each other which would never work. It wouldn’t be “sustainable” like the green people like to say. Tags: business plan RE: BAILOUT - Lets Pull a Robin HoodSeptember 24th, 2008 Gennaro Brooks-ChurchFound in my in-box: I’m against the $85,000,000,000.00 bailout of AIG. Instead, I’m in favor of giving $85,000,000,000 to America in a ‘We Deserve It Dividend’. To make the math simple, let’s assume there are 200,000,000 bonafide U.S. Citizens 18+. Our population is about 301,000,000 +/- counting every man, woman and child. So 200,000,000 might be a fair stab at adults 18 and up.. So divide 200 million adults 18+ into $85 billion that equals $425,000.00. My plan is to give $425,000 to every person 18+ as a ‘We Deserve It Dividend’. Of course, it would NOT be tax free. So let’s assume a tax rate of 30%. Every individual 18+ has to pay $127,500.00 in taxes. That sends $25,500,000,000 right back to Uncle Sam. But it means that every adult 18+ has $297,500.00 in their pocket. A husband and wife has $595,000.00. What would you do with $297,500.00 to $595,000.00 in your family? Remember this is for every adult U S Citizen 18+ including the folks who lost their jobs at Lehman Brothers and every other company that is cutting back. And of course, for those serving in our Armed Forces. If we’re going to re-distribute wealth let’s really do it…instead of trickling out a puny $1000.00 ( ‘vote buy’ ) economic incentive that is being proposed by one of our candidates for President. If we’re going to do an $85 billion bailout, let’s bail out every adult U S Citizen 18+! As for AIG – Here’s my rationale. We deserve it and AIG doesn’t. Sure it’s a crazy idea that can ‘never work.’ But can you imagine the Coast-To-Coast Block Party! How do you spell Economic Boom? I trust my fellow adult Americans to know how to use the $85 billion We deserve the ‘We Deserve It Dividend’ more than the geniuses at AIG or in Washington DC. And remember, The Family plan only really costs $59.5 billion because $25.5 billion is returned instantly in taxes to Uncle Sam. You want to spread your idea? Follow these guidelinesSeptember 23rd, 2008 Gennaro Brooks-ChurchBook: Diffusion of Innovations by Everett Rogers Why do people accept or reject new ideas? The principles of innovation diffusion include: * Relative Advantage: The degree to which an innovation is perceived as better than the idea it supersedes. Does the innovation make more money, save more money, create more comfort, reduce respiratory illness, etc.? Perceived Risk: The degree to which adopting the innovation is perceived as a risk to those making the decision to adopt or reject the new idea. What are the liabilities associated with making this change? Compatibility: The degree to which an innovation is perceived as being consistent with the existing values, past experiences, and needs of the potential adopters. How much does one have to change to make the change? Complexity: The degree to which an innovation is perceived as difficult to understand and use. Can I even understand the proposal or purpose of the idea? Trialability: The degree to which an innovation may be experimented with on a limited basis. Can I try before I buy? Observability: The degree to which the results of an innovation are visible to others. Can I see this new idea in action? Opinion Leadership: The degree to which those in a position of influence encourage or discourage the adoption of the innovation. How do the people I trust and respect react to this idea? WalmartAugust 23rd, 2008 Gennaro Brooks-ChurchWalmart is anti-union. I am anti-union……but I don’t support Walmart. I’m anti-union because I wouldn’t be able to make a living if I had to pay my workers union wages. I simply wouldn’t be able to hire them. So we have this agreement that a non-union job is better than no job. For me a non-union company is better than no company. I look forward to the day when I can pay my workers union pay. I still wouldn’t work with the union, though. Unions are needed if there is a breakdown of communication between boss and worker. As long as boss and worker are communicating openly and honestly with each others mutual interests in mind then I don’t think a union is needed. I suspect this is only possible if the company stays small. If there are thousands of workers then a union makes sense. Walmart makes more money than they know what to do with. Come on! They can afford to pay better wages and treat their workers with more respect. Walmart is crap. Tags: walmart |