An 87 Year-Old's Economic Survival Guide - Feb 26

I've just read a great article from Chuck Norris. You can find the original in its entirety here.

In these tough economic times, some solid advice is needed to weather this adversity. Here now in her own words - from an 87 year old who lived through the Depression no less - is Chuck Norris' mother's economic survival guide:

-- "Get back to the basics. Simplify your life. Live within your means. People have got to be willing to downsize and be OK with it. We must quit borrowing and cut spending. Be grateful for what you have, especially your health and loved ones. Be content with what you have, and remember the stuff will never make you happy. Never. Back then, we didn't have one-hundredth of what people do today, and yet we seemed happier than most today, even during the Great Depression.

-- "Be humble and willing to work. Back then, any work was good work. We picked cotton, picked up cans, scrap metal, whatever it took to get by. Where's that work ethic today? If someone's not being paid $10 an hour today, they're whining and unwilling to work, even if they don't have a job. The message from yesteryear is don't be too proud to do whatever it takes to meet the financial needs of your family.

-- "Be rich in love. We didn't have much. In fact, we had nothing at all, compared to people today, but we had each other. We were poor, but rich in love. We've lost the value of family and friends today, and we've got to gain it back if we're ever to get back on track. If we lose all our stuff and still have one another and our health, what have we really lost?

-- "Be a part of a community. Today people are much more alone, much more isolated. We used to be close with our neighbors. If one person had a bigger or better garden or orchard, they shared the vegetables and fruits with others in need. Society has shifted from caring for one another to being dependent upon government aid and welfare. That is why so many today trust in government to deliver them. They've forgotten an America that used to rally around one another in smaller clusters, called neighborhoods and communities. We must rekindle those local communal fires and relearn the power of that age-old commandment, 'Love thy neighbor.'

-- "Help someone else. We never quit helping others back then. Today too many people are consumed with their own problems and only helping themselves. 'What's in it for me?' is the question most are asking. But back then, it was, 'What can I do to help my neighbor, too?' I love Rick Warren's book The Purpose Driven Life, and especially his thought, 'We were created for community, designed to be a blessing to others.' Most of all, helping others gets our minds off of our problems and puts things into better perspective.

-- "Lean upon God for help and strength. We didn't just have each other to lean on, but we had God, too. We all attended church and belonged to a faith community. Church was the hub of society, the community core and rallying point. Today people turn to government the way we used to turn to churches. It's been that way ever since Herbert Hoover's alleged promise of a 'chicken in every pot' and President Roosevelt's New Deal. Too many have abandoned faith and community. We trust in money more than God. And maybe that's a reason why we're in this economic pickle."

Mr. Norris then concludes in a post-script:

'Now that's conventional wisdom that should be shouted and posted in every corridor of government, every community across America, and every blog on the Internet.'

Consider it done Chuck, consider it done.

Johnny Cash

Pride, Ignorance, Instinct and Emotion - Feb 25

If there's one positive attribute that can be laid at the Devil's feet is that he's always busy. The ways of Satan is one of corruption and mischief. The world system in place is in ideological synchronicity with the wicked one.

Satan's Prime Task: To Get You Thinking Negatively About God

For the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down to earth - the one who accuses them before our God day and night.
(Revelation 12:10)

In a court in any Western nation you have an adversarial system of justice. On one side is the Crown (representing the Queen). The other is a lawyer for the defense. Witnesses are called and the cross examination begins. Most of the time it works. Sometimes it doesn't. A jury may choose to believe a lie or it may reject the truth and so a miscarriage of justice can result. Satan wants nothing more than to get you to distrust God and to place doubt as to the accuracy and the timeless and universal nature of His perfect manuscript, the Bible.

What Human Nature is Really Like

This has and will continue to be a point of contention with the Marxists and the secularists. I do not buy into the argument about the inherent goodness of Man. I say the word 'buy' because I feel I'm being ripped off as one would get sold faulty goods. Human nature is not a pretty thing to behold. Here are four major stumbling blocks that need to be hurdled in order for humanity to progress.

Pride

But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
(Philippians 3:7-8a)

Without a doubt, this is the foundation of most sins. The desire to elevate oneself or diminish others is the signature of pride. Racism is pride. So are sexist attitudes. The worst kind of pride is religious pride. Self-sufficiency and smugness are attributes the Devil loves to see in a person. There is no greater religious lie than the idea that we can justify ourselves before God on our own merits. The apostle Paul considered himself justified because of his credentials. Yet when he came to the truth his pride melted away.

Ignorance

Have you ever found yourself in a political discussion? I enjoy a vigorous debate, yet I find myself cringing most of the time at the ignorant opinions being thrown around. The exercise becomes sheer folly as one person dominates with their rhetoric and bombast. The whole point of debate is to allow your peers and equals a chance to counter your argument. As in politics, we are also born ignorant of spiritual things. Our attempts to connect with God (and spiritual matters) apart from the workings of the Holy Spirit is just as equally foolish.

Instinct

Ever jumped to a conclusion? Have you ever made a hasty and irrational decision about someone (or something) only to be later proven incorrect? That's instinct. In layman's terms it's called a knee-jerk reaction. I find myself laughing at the news whenever they have a 'Man on the Street' interview. Most responses are ill-informed and superfluous. I think the only purpose they serve is to boost ratings and make the subject look stupid. We remember all to well the sheepish feeling we had when we made an (usually incorrect) instinctive decision.

Emotion

Our emotions are indeed an integral part of who we are. Yet how often are we led astray when we judge with a corrupt heart? What we feel - and the decisions we make as a result - can have disasterous consequences. A discussion between two adults can be going swimmingly until one gets emotional. The whole exchange rapidly goes downhill from there. The raw appeal to emotion is one we see constantly from entertainers and politicians (Is there a difference between the two?). The Devil uses his proxies to do the same when it comes to relating to our Creator. Any emotion that leads us away from God's love is one to be avoided.

Don't Be A Dupe!

Yet for your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.
(Psalm 44:22)

Now that you've seen the extent of the problem, what are we to do? Nobody wants to be a patsy. Nobody deliberately chooses to follow after a lie that leads to harm. There's a dearth of discernment in this day and age. Like a baseball hitting the sweet spot, there's something to be said about getting it right the first time. If you want the truth - and nothing but - the only true path to understanding is through Jesus Christ. We must be born again! Without the presence and working of the Holy Spirit in our lives we becomes dupes and pawns in this fallen world. There's no other way to enlightenment.

Johnny Cash

Learning Through Adversity - Feb 24

“For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
(Jeremiah 29:11-13)

Made one of those big life decisions that we all have to make yesterday. I'm going back to school (pending TDSB approval) in April to become a paralegal. The course will end in April 2010. My Dad asked me recently 'Would you rather be back at Tipco?'. My response was mixed. On one hand I would still have permanent full-time work which is a whole lot better than being unemployed. On the other hand I knew that I'd be stagnating in a job that had no hope of advancement and no raise offered in the past five years.

Slaves to Routine

We're all creatures of habit. We slavishly enjoy our routines, do we not? Then something unexpected happens and our lives are turned upside-down. Our initial response? Sheer terror! Then we calm down, assess the situation that has befallen us and begin to pick up the pieces. When I posted about the death of my cat in December '07 I mentioned that one of the most traumatic things that can occur to a person is the loss of a job. Sadly, many are experiencing the same trauma as the manufacturing sector in Canada takes a nosedive.

A Common Thread

When someone goes through a personal crisis questions begin to swirl. I've noticed in these testimonials that there's a common thread: What was important before rapidly fades into insignificance and what was once trivial now is of the utmost importance. A profound shift in thinking has occurred and a chapter in our life has closed. I find that over time people tend to become self-absorbed and oblivious to the needs of others. Adversity is the proverbial bucket of ice water that needs to get thrown in our face from time to time.

Excess Baggage

There's a scene in Saving Private Ryan (soon after the beach scene) where the Captain (played superbly by Tom Hanks) is press ganging a clerk to help find Private Ryan. It's one of the few humorous scenes in the movie as the clerk awkwardly tries to prepare himself. He picks up a typewriter and the Captain says 'You don't need that'. The Captain presents a pad and a pencil to the clerk who nods knowingly. 'Grab your helmet and rifle, you'll need that!', says the Captain and our hero is off. That's what adversity does. We shed stuff we don't need and pick up the helmet and rifle that we do need.

Adversity Enlarges Our World

I am about to be exposed to a whole new world that I never knew existed. 2009 won't be a banner year for me in terms of employment but it will be a memorable one in terms of personal development. Staying with Tipco would've been easy. Nothing ventured, nothing gained! But what opportunity did I have? None! I for one am looking forward to the challenge that lays ahead. An uncertain one to be sure fraught with some difficulty. I kept reminding myself 'There are no absolutes. Only God is absolute'. This new path represents uncharted territory. It is the road less traveled by which will make all the difference.

A Word to the Wise

We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
(Romans 8:28)

Does God work all things for good? No! The above scripture (as well as the Jeremiah verse) are conditional. God will not help rebels and those mired in unbelief (atheists and agnostics, please take note). The adversity foisted upon those who reject Christ will receive no such divine assistance. In other words, you're on your own! I enjoy my independence and privacy as much as anyone. But I'm not so foolish so as to rebuff all manner of help when I obviously need it. Please don't be stubborn. God wants to help and He will help if you submit to Him. Please make that decision today. Nobody has to suffer alone!

Johnny Cash

The Obama Mortgage Plan - Feb 19

President Barack Obama was in Arizona recently selling his mortgage relief plan. As stratfor notes, this 'concentrates an unprecedented amount of financial power in government hands'. It also dovetails perfectly with Bible prophecy. If more and more money can be funneled into fewer and fewer hands, then all the money (and all the power) can be bestowed to one man. Lenin (and Jesus) was right! Imperialism is the highest form of capitalism.

Johnny Cash

Summary

U.S. President Barack Obama has announced his mortgage restructuring plan. The Obama plan takes the 2008 Bush mortgage restructuring plan — which concentrated an unprecedented amount of financial power in government hands — a step further in terms of requirements for lenders and the amount of federal monies to be made available.

Analysis

U.S. President Barack Obama on Feb. 18 announced his mortgage restructuring plan, part of an effort to regenerate activity in the housing sector and put a floor under home prices. Overall, the plan works from the basis of the Bush administration plan of late 2008, but takes the Bush plan a step further in terms of requirements for lenders and the amount of federal monies to be made available.

The core idea is to assist those who — whether from subprime mortgages, variable-rate mortgages, job loss or other changes in their financial position beyond their control — cannot make their mortgage payments. The program will benefit only those who own only a single home, who have not made any particularly poor financial decisions in obtaining that home, and who do not have more than 20 percent equity in their property (those with 20 percent equity or greater can already apply for refinancing without the Obama plan). Specific guidelines as to who qualifies are set to be released in two weeks.

The first step of the plan involves Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, aka “the twins.” These two institutions purchase mortgages, then package them for sale to interested investors. In essence, they serve as a conduit for those who would like to invest in the housing sector but for whatever reason do not want to get involved with any specific property. Roughly 40 percent of the monies that provide for mortgage loans enter the market in this manner.

The twins are currently held in conservatorship by the Treasury Department, meaning the Obama administration can change its policies by fiat without congressional approval. Under the first phase of the Obama plan, any mortgage held by the twins that meets the criteria immediately qualifies for refinancing regardless of the level of equity the homeowner holds.

The second step is not so automatic. In short, it involves pressuring private institutions to implement identical refinancings for the mortgages they hold. The government will be injecting some money — at present an unknown amount — to make this more palatable. Finally, the government will purchase some US$200 billion of the mortgage-backed securities that Freddie and Fannie package to help push mortgage rates down.

There is very little in this plan that is different from the Bush plan announced in December 2008. The Bush bailout involved extending the teaser rates for those subprime borrowers who — as in the Obama plan — always had made a good faith effort to make their mortgage payments. In essence, this is a form of refinancing. The primary difference between the two is that the Bush program was voluntary for the banks, while the Obama program is not.

Stratfor noted last December about the Bush mortgage bailout plan: “The plan potentially damages the integrity of the U.S. housing industry. The U.S. mortgage market is the largest pool of money in the world, not just because Americans are affluent, but also because of the sanctity of both property rights and contracts. … This bailout appears to tinker with the latter. If this proves to be just a one-off, little harm will be done. But if this sets a precedent that other presidents follow, then financial institutions will be forced to add a layer of political risk insurance to future mortgages. That would raise the cost of loans for everyone and retard economic growth on a national scale.”

Remember, these words were written about the Bush plan — which simply encouraged mortgage renegotiation — rather than the Obama plan, which makes such plans contingent upon any federal assistance. Under Bush, mortgage renegotiation was a potential concern; under Obama, it is a reality.

And in fact, our concerns run even deeper than that. In September 2008, the Bush administration launched a $700 billion program for regenerating the banking sector called the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP). As part of that program, the Bush administration forced all of the country’s largest banks to take federal money. This aimed to force-feed liquidity into the system and prevent a financial meltdown, but the money did not come for free. In exchange, the government received veto rights over bank decisions. The Bush administration never used this veto to Stratfor’s knowledge, instead simply using the power’s existence to influence bank policy. Wells Fargo — the American bank in the most stable financial position at the time — did not wish to take the funding because of this provision, but was forced to anyway by then-Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson. Paulson argued that if every one of the major banks participated, there would be no stigma placed upon other banks that chose to seek assistance.

But that veto authority remained in the government’s hands in the transition from Bush to Obama. Whereas the Bush administration used this power to persuade banks to participate, Obama made it very clear in his speech Feb. 18 that banks who benefit from TARP assistance will be required to adopt the Obama refinancing plan.

We noted several months ago that the Bush administration’s anti-crisis programs were concentrating an unprecedented amount of financial power in government hands. Under the Obama administration, that power is now being brought to bear.

The Bush-inspired Obama plan may well alleviate — perhaps even solve — the current problems in the housing sector by preventing foreclosures and buoying a badly battered housing market. But there is one final angle to this issue that must be considered.

The plan will require firms to rewrite their mortgage loans, in many cases against their wills, and in some cases for sound firms that did not want federal assistance in the first place. This cannot help but make investors — already nervous about the general economic situation — a bit more leery about extending credit in general, and to the housing market specifically. Should that credit dry up, the cost of borrowing money for a mortgage will go up, not down.