Tag: Money

Nobody Wins

We live in a world today that is much more hostile than yesterday, “speaking figuratively.”

We have an economy that is literally based on a house of cards for a foundation. The Feds are printing $40B a month ($1.1trillion a year) saturating our economy, devaluing our currency with every dollar that they print. With oil based on the US dollar, is it any wonder why gas cost so much? The “booming economy” is most certainly the same today as the dot com fiasco of a few years ago, when Enron was in the news.

We are not the only country playing this game, others including China are as well.

The economy is based on fabrications and we might as well try and spend monopoly money as that is what your greenback may very well look like in the not too distant future.

Those who survive this will most likely be that small subset of humanity who “lives off the grid” as it were. The people who live in the inner cities and who depend on the government for their existence will be in trouble when this house of cards falls. The Farmers in this country and others may survive as they know how to live without going to the local grocery store every other day for something. They also see the inside of a restaurant far less than the folks in the inner city as they simply don’t enjoy the disposable income that others do. When the bible talks about the meek inheriting the earth, one can’t help but wonder if he is talking about the farmers.

On top of the shaky economy we have small countries with the keys to Nukes! There are no winners if someone drops a nuke. Our defenses have most certainly been hardened to sustain an EMP, and a retaliation of biblical proportions would most certainly follow.

This exchange would involve other nations who have nukes as they will have certainly picked a side. “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” While I have full confidence in the American Military and their ability to intercept any missile headed this way; the following actions would have serious repercussions worldwide.

Any exchange of missiles with the US would not only devastate the offending country (s); I am certain it would also trigger an economic meltdown worldwide. Everyone looses. Never mind the radiation that would be released to poison every man women and child in the entire world, as well the animals and vegetation.

I can visualize that last man standing, holding the key to a spent nuke, standing next to the shell of building, scorched from fire, with dead creatures and plant life all around him, with radioactive ash falling from the sky, declaring victory; as the blisters from radiation sickness bubble up on his body. We are truly that foolish! Nobody Wins!

When E=MC2 was discovered, Einstein wrote an impassioned letter to the president urging him not to use the bomb. That letter and is German heritage earned him a one way ticket out of the program. Oppenhiemer and others took over, and of course the rest is history. A nuclear device of a relatively low efficiency was created and dropped on our enemy, twice. If those were of a low efficiency, can you imagine what is around today?

An alliance of the superpowers is critical to keeping the peace, and our current administration does not seem to embrace that. Foreign policy is critical at this stage of the “game.” America needs to sort out who its friends are relatively quickly, and form that alliance that was so strong under previous administrations.

In retrospect, what is important to you? Is having a lot of money in the bank important? Is having a lot of gold in some small vault in your house important? What about food, water and guns? Add whisky and cigarettes to the food and water and you may have something. Why? That may very well be the new currency, if this comes down badly. Keep a good supply of your personal medications on hand; several days if not weeks of fresh water, and having some gas stored somewhere may not be a bad idea either. If they are that stupid to launch nukes, it really doesn’t make much difference. There will be no survivors, other than the cockroach. Mutually assured destruction, either by nukes or the economy or both; is not a cheery outcome.

While it is my fervent prayer that no one is stupid enough to pull the trigger, North Korea continues to be very provocative in its talks with media and other news outlets. Today they gave the Brits till the 10^th to get out of their country. What will be the spark?

-Best to you and those that you care about!

Taxes and SEX?

It never ceases to amaze me at the absolute euphoria people exude, when they get their check from the IRS. Everything from a down payment on a new car or furniture or other household trappings are purchased. It maybe money spent towards a vacation, or maybe to pay off some credit card bill that you have had to carry a balance on. They seem to have forgotten that this was their money to begin with and that they are getting a small part of it back!

The parasites are also out to capitalize on your “good fortune” as well. Tax preparation services who only charge a “small percentage” to get you the most back from the “evil” IRS. Then there are the check cashing folks who only charge a “small percentage” to cash your government issued check. While there, the tellers will try and sell you lottery tickets instead of allowing you to take your money and run. There are businesses’ that will cash your check at their store, in hopes that you will buy stuff at their store. My favorite however this year is the “bunny ranch”

Dennis Hof who owns and runs a “legal brothel” in Nevada will cash your government issued checks by trading it for “bunny bucks.” He gives you two bunny bucks for one government dollar (so the story goes) which in today’s economy isn’t a bad trade except of course, the only place to spend bunny bucks is well on “professional services” at his brothel. www.bunnyranch.com

I personally would like (one) bunny buck, just to hang up next to my million dollar “fake bill” as that is what it is worth outside of the ranch. My hats off to his “entrepreneurial spirit.”

If your employer just gave you the money you earned, and then let you settle your taxes every two weeks with the different agencies both state and federal, we might hear a little louder scream from those who think that the government is currently doing a good job. The simple facts are that you never see it, everything happens behind the scenes through the payroll department. Unless you work in that department, you really have no clue how much of your weekly pay is going to someone else. They are simply numbers on a stub. Much like the “Paper or Plastic” article, that I wrote earlier, what you don’t handle you don’t really miss. It doesn’t make that much of an impact!

Consultants often do work that way. They are giving something called a 1099 which reports to the IRS that you were paid X amount of money and by April 15^th they have to come up with everything that is normally taken out of others paychecks and then some as there is the “self employment tax.” I would guess that those folks have a very keen understanding and appreciation of our “tax code.”

If you really want a wake up call, something to stir you inner emotions about the current tax code, do this. Add up all of the taxes and things taken out of your check everyweek. Next time you are at the bank, withdraw that amount, whatever it is and take it home and look at it. Count it a few times. Understand exactly how much you are giving away to “who knows where.” Now multiply that pile of money by 52 if you are a weekly employee and imagine what that pile of money would look like then!

Puts a little different spin on that windfall now doesn’t it. The simple facts are that revising the tax code is long over due. If you really want your head to explode start looking at how the government is spending your money. Really pay attention to where it is going and for what. Protracted wars fighting for people who hate Americans. Green power companies that go bankrupt after using all of the taxpayers money up. Million dollar golf outings to play with Tiger Woods. Sending tanks and aircraft to Egypt, to the Muslim Brotherhood. Who made that deal?

I could be wrong but I think his Ivory tower is so tall, that he really has lost sight of those that he is supposed to be working for. Maybe it is the thin air up there as I remember he had issues with that in Colorado during the 1rst debate.

According to the CCH Standard Tax Reporter, the U.S. tax code began with about 400 pages in 1913. Twenty-six years later there were still only 504 pages, but then it exploded to 8,200 pages by 1945. This blossom of growth was caused in part by finding ways to fund WWII.

It got to over 60,000 pages before the end of the first term of President George W. Bush, and it has now reached over 72,500 pages by the end of the third year of President Barack Obama’s current term of office. Politicians and bureaucrats are consistently adding or modifying this document, making it the monster that it is.

Does this seem like it is getting simpler to you?

In speaking with accountants who know this stuff they are left scratching their heads and searching through new books and guidelines to figure out the correct answer. The only people who can afford to do their own taxes are the people who don’t own a home, possibly rent and have no real property. Folks, we are going the wrong way with laws and taxes.

Every candidate running for office always talks about making it easier, flat tax and so forth and now you can see; that was never the plan. Today we learned that we will be printing $40 Billion a month with no end date. That works out to $1.1 Trillion a year! Feel your money shrinking yet? Wait till bread is $100 a loaf; then maybe the rest of the people will get the message.

-Best to you and those that you care about!

Customer Service

Customer Service

Throughout my history as a business professional, one of the things that I have to offer consistently is superior customer service. Think about this; when someone calls me they are in a fix as something is broken. There are a myriad of emotions in play from anxiety to anger.

As the guy who is going to take care of all of their problems the first thing that I have to do is understand where they are coming from. Then listen to them and take notes. This helps me to remember the points of the discussion and if in front of the customer, it helps them to calm down as they see me doing something.

These are some of the things that I would make sure my technicians carried with them into the field.

I truly believe that we as a country are drifting away from giving a damn about clients. It is almost like we are the post office or the phone company; we are all that there is so we just don’t care about your problems. But wait! We are not all that there is. The phone company has competition as does the USPS. Granted e-mail, FedX and UPS, are not the end all of competition, but it is a start. Vonage and Magic Jack to name two, are good alternatives and much less expensive then the phone company, not to mention the cell phone.

Competition drives us to be good at what we do, and that includes customer service.

Exploring new shopping places as I like to do from time to time, I had occasion to shop at a place called Central Market. http://www.centralmarket.com The layout of the store was well thought out. There were people who came up from time to time to see if I needed any help and here is the biggie; they not only bagged my groceries but they carried them out to the car and put them into the car for me. When I tried to give the guy a tip, he refused it politely! While their prices are a little higher than that of Wal-Mart, or Kroger, the service was excellent and the choices were fresh and plentiful. With people offering help that cut down on my time in the store and time is money!

A lot of you are most likely not old enough to have ever purchased gasoline where it was pumped for you by a friendly attendant. While they were filling your car up, they would wash your windshield, check your oil, and other fluids and check the air in your tires. At the end of the transaction you might get “green stamps” or even a dish or other some such give-away as a token of their appreciation for doing business with them. While I too am not old enough for this to have happened to me; I do remember vividly this very transaction process with my parents. I also remember how nice they were and how they really seemed to appreciate the business.

In stark contrast today, if you do need anything other than what you can do outside at the pump, there is a strong likelihood that the person behind the counter will speak limited English and really wont give a damn if you like the product or not.

I was in a Kroger a few years ago when they first put in the self-checkout machine. I was appalled by this for several reasons. First, I want that little bit of customer service when I patronize a store. Secondly, those kiosks hardly ever work flawlessly and unless you are only buying a handful of items, they are a pain the rear. Lastly and this is the part that I really wanted to drive home, these things are taking jobs away. I remember that night vibrantly as not one checker was at his post. When I found someone he directed me to the self-checkout. I told him that either he checked me out or he could put all of the groceries in my cart back from where they came! Begrudgingly he went to his register and checked me out! What an idiot, a lazy star-studded blazing example of the entitled society that we have raised! Not only did he not want to do his job, he was trying his best for me to do his job and was incensed when I called him on his attitude.

I think we need to vote with our feet or in this case, with your pocket-book. I will happily pay a little more for a little extra service. I actually like to be told to have a nice day! Do you really feel appreciated when a machine says thank you on the screen?

The world in which we live changes daily; some of those changes are for the better; and some not so much. Society needs to dictate to the business world, what is acceptable and what is not. Like sheep we all too often simply roll with it. We forget however that we are the boss. I have to provide superior customer service to keep my customers coming back time after time. We the consumer should expect that and demand that from the different vendors that we frequent. You do that in a myriad of different ways but the best way; the way that they will listen to, is to spend your money where you get the best value for it, including customer service.

If there are places that you like to shop because of the customer service, send a message and I will post it. Consumers need a bill of rights, not only when they are flying but when they are spending their hard-earned money on anything from products, service or otherwise.

-Best to you and those that you care about.

Did you really want that raise?

Did you really want that raise?

Whenever your company ends its fiscal year; a few months before that your boss’s boss will request budgetary needs for the next fiscal year. After your boss justifies and negotiates those needs he or she will receive some sort of dollars in the form of a budget to work with but, probably not what she was asking for. In that request will be money for salaries including raises and bonuses. Many times, the budget may include things like square footage that your department occupies with a cost per square footage. This even includes a share of the light bill, telephone, software and computer cost.

There is also something called the “burden.” Simply put your salary not only includes what you take home but what the company has to pay in taxes on your behalf, as well as insurance of different kinds, social security and yes the square footage of your cube or office.

I know one large company that has its workers telecommute a few days each week and two people share one desk when they are in the office. And by a desk I mean a very small cube. The proximity to one another is so close that a flatulent individual could take out half the team! In all seriousness, someone coming to work ill could easily affect the whole team.

Companies live or die by their Profit and loss statements or P&L. Where the government simply prints more money, ( I use the post office as an example currently $15.9 billion deficit) a real company has to sell its products and or services at a high enough profit to stay in business and to pay you the employee, keep the lights on, the rent paid and afford to pay for the supplies to continue to produce whatever it is that your company does.

Companies have a set range of what they will pay for whatever your title is. Once you start making too much (generally from longevity,) you pop up on the radar screen. While the scale is a sliding scale it does not slide as much as inflation. In the information technology industry the window actually went down over the last few years because of outsourcing “cheaper labor” and H1B workers who are brought in by the tens of thousands.

Lobbyist petition the government to allow more and more H1B workers into the country each year as their mantra is “that no one in the US can do the job.” That is not true and any visit to a job fair will wake up those who pettifog the H1B issue. There will be thousands of people waiting in line to submit their resume’s for a half dozen jobs. If the lobbyist were truthful they would say that there is no one in the country who is willing to go from a six figure salary to $30K per year. That is not even a true statement however as I have met many X programmers and IT types who are working at the hardware store and yes Wallmart for less than $10 an hour. As far as business is concerned, people are expendable.

The review is a tool.

This tool in the most esoteric of realities is a dialogue between you and your boss. The review is designed to point out areas that need improvement, areas where you are meeting expectations and areas of excellence. This is also the time that expectations are set for the next year. The review is written in such a way as to assign some subjective quantitative assignment to you, rating you as a 2 or 3 on a scale of 1to 5. If there is vertical growth potential or you are the Green Lantern or Wonder Women, than you may get a 4 or 5.

One of my bosses’s had a personal philosophy that there should be some 1’s or 2’s on everyone’s review as “no one is perfect!” That was the most abhorrent, vile, disgusting flagrant use of the review as a tool; to screw people out of a decent raise. To take a nit and make more out of it than it, for the sole purpose of lowering ones overall score is simply wrong! But, people do it.

Your survival at any company requires you to do whatever it takes to move up into that next pay grade. If you don’t or there is not a place to move up to, your time will be limited to how much you make and how valuable you are to that company at that pay range.

There is something called a KPA or Key Personnel Assessment. Some larger companies will hire outside firms to audit their payroll and personnel, make recommendation and then out of the blue announce a layoff of several hundred to several thousand employees. If you have been in your job for many years and have not moved up and are not Superman or Wonder Women; you should be dusting off your CV. If you are outside that range, your boss has to justify your existence to his boss who does not know you from Adam, or care. It is kind of like buying a shirt at Wall Mart vs. Dillard’s; same shirt, same brand same quality just half the price.

The only way that you want to be on any radar screen is, because you are a super hero!

His boss will take a more pragmatic approach to your employment. If he can replace you with a young college kid or someone from another country on an H1-B that can be hired at significant cost savings; you will need to find a new gig. At the end of the day it is about the bottom line, what you bring to the table every day vs. how cheaply you can be replaced.

We as humans take this personally. I don’t know how you could not take it personally especially with men. There is a difference between the sexes other than the obvious. Men identify who they are with what they do. If you are the type of person who will do what it takes to get the job done, sacrificing your personal life for the company, a lay off will affect you more than an hourly person who simply puts widget A on block B for 8 hours. I am not saying that they won’t be affected; it just will not be like the former example.

When you get your review and you know that you have busted your hump and your review is loaded with criticisms, get out your CV as you have reached that glass ceiling and are no longer a “good deal.”

I was once asked if I would take a lump sum bonus instead of a raise. That should have been a huge clue.

I used to have to re-write my reviews for my people often and make them worse than what they were as my boss wanted to use that money for other people and or things. My department was not valued as highly as the programmers. Foolishly, his logic was that programmers create and are therefore “creating a product.” The support staff is simply a necessary evil. Since their programs were not for sale; just part of the infrastructure they were of no more value than the people who network everything and keep it going.

The moral of this story is; if you get a 2% raise, simply thank them, turn around and leave their office showing as little emotion as possible and be thankful that you were not one of the people getting let go, or riffed.

At the same time, if you have been there for several years, shopping the job market would be a good idea. It is much easier to get a job if you are working. The simple facts are that you get the best deal when you negotiate up front; during the hiring process. Once after you are “one of the staff” you become just a cog in the machine. While I realize that this sounds a little de-humanizing; one should never expect to get the jollies at work. Few people really enjoy what they do for a living. If you wake up in the morning and spring out of bed and cant wait to get to work because you love what you do that much, you are in the minority. They exist and I know people like that however; the majority just goes through the motions. –Best to you and those that you care about!

Paper vs. Plastic

Paper vs. Plastic

No, not a blog about re-cycling, this is a one sided conversation…well observation really on who we are as a people.

At lunch today my normal routine is to flip out a credit card (plastic) but, I decided to use “real dollars” instead. When you hand over the plastic it does not really bother you that you just dumped $30 on lunch and another $6 on a tip. When you hand over cash however; the reality of what you are spending hits home a little faster.

Years ago I took my child to be entertained at a place called Dave and Busters. I still remember vividly how this resembled a small casino complete with the noises and sounds. If you have been you know what I am talking about. If you have not been, the place is an arcade/entertainment establishment geared to getting into your wallet in a big way.

When you go you “charge” one of their credit cards with one of your credit cards (or cash) and then give it to your child to go insert it into a machine and be entertained. The reward for the child is that the machine spits out reams of paper tickets that one redeems at the end of their day for small toys straight from China. The better you are at the game the more tickets you get. Yes, there are lights that blink and noises from the machine add to the excitement but the bottom line is that, Pavlov had nothing on these people.

Some children quickly accept the reward to play scenario and manage to use all of the “real money” on their card rather quickly in return for a fistful of tickets. A quick visit to the place where you exchange your tickets for toys somehow actually teaches the dimmest of children the rudimentary mechanics of math. I need this much for that and I have this much, how much more do I need? Since the real money on the card came from your wallet, not theirs, the concept of spending $100 on an item worth $1.50; simply does not compute. You may rationalize that they had a good time but, the model of using plastic for goods and or services works.

The moral of this story is this; give your credit card a break. Go by the ATM and put $$ in your wallet or purse. Only use those $$ for goods and or services. The paper that you hand to someone is a real good reality check for anyone, including me. The miles as rewards or the cash back as rewards will be better spent once you (and I) get acquainted with paper and coins once again. –Best to you and all those that you care about.