Government: For the People, By the People, Not AIG and Others Like It

Enough already!
We, the people, know how to stimulate the economy. We, the common people, know better than the bailed out executives, how to spend money in ways where MANY people benefit and not just a select few. Why give it to them? Why not give it to us?

If the US Government must give away money, it needs to give it directly to the people and not corporations or banks. Can we trust a government that would prefer that we borrow from a bailed out bank than give us taxpayers money directly and eliminate debt as we pay cash for everything? Not really. It's a vicious cycle and when the climate dictates that we, the common people, must borrow to live and make progress, we lose and remain slaves to the system. Those folks are having their own party and the rest of us are really only invited as servants on the outside looking in. Then, we, the common people, get caught up in wanting the stuff they, the bailed out and out of control few, have, the vacations they take, the toys they buy and going into debt to get it.

Forget all of that! I will live within my means and be very content.

The debacle with bailing out banks and big businesses reinforces my simple living and paying cash lifestyle. The people who gave the bailouts must be getting something out of it but they whine to the media about it being outrageous. Why play this game? When I am in a position of power to make changes, I just go ahead and make the changes. No posturing or whining required. That's part of being in charge of anything at any level in life.

We, the people, don't need to react. No! Proactivity is far more powerful and sustainable. I choose to not pay to play the game of stuff and debt and extraordinary living. The US Government obviously isn't going out of its way to help the majority of the people because those in power choose to cater only to the few in both private and public powerful positions - a smaller percentage of the population.

No more borrowing from the bailed out for me unless I become excessively desperate - God forbid. I'm bailing out of the debt game. I'll pay my taxes and I won't take out any loans in the name of a tax write-off when it's cheaper to just pay the taxes and not owe banks simulataneously. If the US Government doesn't want to effectively help me/us, then I will just settle for it staying small and out of the way of our progress as the hard working-not-asking-for-a-handout people of the United States of America. Freedom!

Hear No Evil - Pay Off Debt

On my way to the gym this afternoon, I heard a radio money adviser tell a caller to not pay off her student loans and invest in the stock market. Of course, I SCREAMED NOOOOOOO! BAD ADVICE! He went on to say that she should treat the $40,000 loan like a mortgage.

I learned from a few folks who believe in freedom, not the world's system of money management, that debt is an oppressive trap. (For Christians, we are told in Proverbs 22:7 that the borrower is slave to the lender. It's very true.) Modern day slavery with money simply means that before you deposit your next paycheck, someone else has dibs on your earnings because you owe them. In essence, you are only working to pay them, not to enjoy the fruit of your labor. It didn't take me too long to realize that the joy of new expensive stuff doesn't last very long and to maintain the "high" you gotta keep buying stuff.

I am totally into how Dave Ramsey teaches us to avoid stupid tax: paying for stuff we don't need with money we don't have, to impress people we don't really like. I practice that line of reasoning. I understand life happens: If you are sick and you have to go in debt to get treatment, I think that one is a no-brainer. If your car dies and the cost to raise it from the dead greatly exceeds its value, and you must get a basic one to get to work, you might need a loan. I get that. "Justifying" a purchase of a new luxury car that equals over half of your annual salary, I don't think so.

The radio guy went on to say that she should take the next 20 or 30 years to pay off the debt. You gotta be kidding! Who wants that poopy diaper around for that long? What if she gets sick? What if she loses her job? What if she wants to live a simpler life in a few years and can't leave a high paying job for a sustainable one at lower pay in exchange for more time to enjoy her life? Those are the rational what-if questions that need review when deciding to carry a huge debt load. Those are the questions I asked myself 4 years ago when I began my debt snowball. Life in the pursuit of living without any debt including the mortgage: Freedom!