Another Great Depression never happened

Just a quick little entry. A couple weeks ago I did a blog post claiming that we would NOT have another great depression in the United states. Now it is very obvious that the economy will NOT fall into a great depression. The economy is turning up in several leading indicators. The housing market is picking up, and the stock market is going up almost daily.

Will another great depression happen in the future? Sure it is possible, but I truly believe that we learned from the first one. The government is better prepared to fight off a possible depression, and after this major recession they will be even more prepared. You have to understand that during the Great Depression, there was no federal reserve monetary policy available. They could not simple cut interest rates to encourage lending by banks.

A great depression in the future is possible, though not likely. We came pretty close this year, but the efforts by the federal reserve and government (through fiscal policy) fought it off. Perhaps if this was 1920, we would have fallen into a deep depression, but the tools we have now prevented that.

Quick Way to Get a Promotion at Work

I know this blog is about being an entrepreneur. However all entrepreneurs need to start somewhere. Everyone wants to be promoted at work. Here is a quick and easy guide to getting that promotion that you want. If you follow these rules, you will be first in line for the promotion. You will find it to be a quick way to get a promotion at work.

1 - Be very friendly to ALL your co-workers. Even if you hate their guts, at least try and get along. If you feel an argument brewing just step aside, gather yourself and explain your side of the argument in a calm, cool way. Bosses want employees that can get along in a civilized manner.

2 - Make certain that everyone above you thinks and/or knows that you are a hard worker. You can do this by showing up to work early (before most of the top executives get there), and leaving after most of them leave.

3 - Work Hard! It is your career. Is it really necessary to play on your IPhone, or visit websites that help you make an income away from your job? When your at work, WORK!

4 - Don't be afraid to disagree. Your boss doesn't want people under him that constantly agree with every idea he or another top executive comes up with. If you disagree, then let him know, and explain your reasoning in a civilized manner. This is of course if you really do want a promotion at work :)

5 - Smile. Try to smile as much as you can. Your boss wants employees that are happy with their work, friendly to others, and in a good mood most of the time.

6 - Be more then an employee. You can be friends with other workers, especially those above you.

7 - Work with the mindset that you own the company (without ordering others around). If you follow this rule, and work as though any profits that the company you work for takes in go directly into your pocket, then your bosses will love you. These are the types of employees that get promotions and raises.

When it comes to asking for a promotion or raise, do so in a formal manner. If you are rejected for the promotion you want, don't argue. You can simply let your boss know that you may have to submit your resume to some other companies.

If you follow these simple rules, you should see both your job ranking and salary increase.

How the Toxic Asset Plan Helps Me

Well, the new plan is out. The goverment will buy up toxic assets from troubled banks. After doing this they will sell them at discounted prices in an auction format. How will this toxic asset plan help me and you? It's quite simple.

The new plan will be put into motion with tax payers dollars, so all Americans will be paying for the solution (However the tax might not be as big as we all think, since these bad assets still have good value). You won't see any immediate effects, but it certainly will help the banks. I know, I know. This isn't what you want to hear. However, the way I see it is that it really is the only solution. We will all see results in the future. It will be easier to obtain loans. We will be able to get mortgages at lower rates. We will be able to refinance our mortgages at lower rates. Entrepreneurs will find it easier to obtain business loans at low interest rates.

With the increase in loans being made, the country becomes more productive. The Stock market will increase, there will be more jobs, and real estate values will start to inch their ways back up.

The negatives of this plan?
- Increase in taxes (pehaps only a small amount).
- Increase in inflation as the economy begins to pick up.

All in all, I feel this is a good move on the part of the government that should and will work.

Green Technology will Finally Work

It seems like the country has been trying to go "green" for the past 25 years. Year in, and year out we hear about the future which includes electric cars, solar power, wind power, advanced hybrids (like the Aptera 2e), less reliance on oil, and energy efficient appliances. Finally I believe we have a president and an administration in Washington who is seriously trying to put this country on a "Green" Path.

Going green certainly won't be easy. However, doing so will put less pressure the US economy and cause less destruction to the environment. If we can rely more heavily on solar, wind, natural gas and electric power rather then oil, it will make the United States more independent as an economy. If there is such a thing as reverse globalization, then this would be it. The more independent the US economy is, the better.

Global warming is another topic in the news a lot lately. Supposedly the environment is getting worse then we had expected. Sure, we won't live to see the devestating effects, but do we really want the Human race to end one day because of things that could have been avoided?

I'm looking for Obama to Go Green and set this country on a path that other presidents will follow. Let's all do our part.

90% Tax on AIG Bonuses

Well this is just in.  The House has approved a 90% tax on bonuses issued to AIG executives with a househouse income over $250,000 a year.  I like this move.  It's not taking back the bonuses, but taxing it to recover the taxes the rest of the American People have paid to bail them out.  

The bill passed is 328-93.

Seems like both Republicans and Democrats agree with this bill that does not only cover AIG but other corporations that received tax payers bailout money.

Nice work!

When Fear Reaches it's Highest Point, Invest

I truly believe that when the nation is the most fearful, is when the economy (particularly the stock market) will begin to turn around. When everyone feels one way about the economy, you should try and feel the opposite of the trend.

The latest poll shows that 45% of people believe that the economy will fall into a depression. Come on. Do we still believe that this economy that has seen the DOW increase 6 of the past 8 days is going to fall into a depression? This same economy that has seen new building of homes increase 22% in the last month. People on Talkgold.com are all saying how terrible they think the economy will continue to be for years to come (Thoughts on Economy). We aren't falling into a depression. The economy is just about to start a recovery if it hasn't already.

If you recall, right before the housing collapse, the majority of the experts were saying that the housing boom will continue. People were still buying houses, stock etc. Employers were hiring like crazy to expand their businesses. Then BOOM! It all changed.

The same thing will happen with the turn around this current economic situation. It will turn around while experts and the general consensus of the economy is still negative. You watch and see.

Just a little bit of my input.

AIG Bonuses should not be taken away

So as we have heard, AIG continues to give out multi-million dollar bonuses to their executives even though the company has taking hundreds of billions of dollars from tax payers. This isn't fair, is it?

First, please understand, I don't think a single one of the executives at AIG deserve an extra penny for all the problems this company has caused this nation. They have probably been the largest culprit in this financial collapse. It was AIG's greed and lack of rules that caused so much of this mess. If it weren't for these greedy executives the economy might actually not be a disaster right now.

However with all this said, taking away bonuses that these executives were promised (in their contracts) to receive would be both illegal and unjust. They were employed by the shareholders of AIG and provided with contracts (although I'm not exactly sure of the details) that clearly stated they would be given these bonuses. Most likely the bonuses were based on some sort of incentive. It's hard to think of any incentive that they would have reached but they may simply have been based on hours worked, clients brought in, etc. This contract was issued before the whole bailout began.

Another Point. Most of these executives made mistakes, were too greedy, and took too many risks. However, these are the same executives appointed by the board of directors and/or CEO of AIG. They were the same executives that were believed to be the best qualified for the company's share holders. Greed gets the best of us. Just like it got to those of us who purchased houses that we had to foreclose on, bought stock that lost 50% of its value, didn't put enough money into an emergency (layoff) fund, or even bought a car that turned out to be a lemon. These are all risks we took. Were we all too risky? Should we not be allowed to foreclose on our homes or get out of the mortgage via a short sale because we took the risk? Absolutely not! When someone buys a house in the United States they do so knowing they have a mortgage to pay, and if they don't pay the mortgage they will lose the home due to foreclosure. On top of this, their credit rating will be negatively effected for 7-10 years. What if the government decided to end the practice of foreclosures and force all home owners to pay their mortgages off no matter how long it takes them (with plenty of added interest and late payments)? This would basicially tie all "greedy" home buyers to a lifetime of debt. This would be unfair, illegal, and unjust because it is not what the buyer understood at the time of his/her purchase.

So, let's provide these bonuses to the executives, but don't allow it to happen again in the future. With this bailout plan there should be strict new guidelines and limits for executive compensation. All future contracts that refer to bonus's should also have that fine little print that explains the incentives and bonuses may be withheld due to certain circumstances.... like this one.

Check out AIG Bailout Discussion, to see where all the billions of dollars in AIG bailout money went.

Go ahead and tell me how foolish I am now.