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I Am the Democratic Liberal-Progressive's Worst Nightmare.
I am an White, Conservative, Tax-Paying, American Veteran, Gun Owning Biker.
I am a Master leatherworker. I work hard and long hours with my hands to earn a living.
I believe in God and the freedom of religion, but I don't push it on others.
I ride Harley Davidson Motorcycles, and drive American-made cars, and I believe in American products and buy them whenever I can.
I believe the money I make belongs to me and not some liberal governmental functionary, Democratic or Republican, that wants to share it with others who don't work!
I'm in touch with my feelings and I like it that way!
I think owning a gun doesn't make you a killer; it makes you a smart American.
I think being a minority does not make you noble or victimized, and does not entitle you to anything. Get over it!
I believe that if you are selling me a Big Mac or any other item, you should do it in English. I believe there should be no other language option.
I believe everyone has a right to pray to his or her God if, when and where they want to.
My heroes are Malcolm Forbes, Bill Gates, John Wayne, Babe Ruth, Roy Rogers, and Willie G. Davidson, who makes the awesome Harley Davidson Motorcycles.
I don't hate the rich. I don't pity the poor.
I know wrestling is fake and I don't waste my time watching or arguing about it.
I've never owned a slave, nor was a slave. I haven't burned any witches or been persecuted by the Turks, and neither have you!
I believe if you don't like the way things are here, go back to where you came from and change your own country!
This is AMERICA ...We like it the way it is and more so the way it was ...so stop trying to change it to look like Russia or China, or other socialist countries!
If you were born here and don't like it... you are free to move to any Socialist country that will have you. (And take Barack Hussein Obama and his group with you.) Massachusetts started the ball rolling. Keep it going.
I believe it is time to really clean house, starting with the White House, the seat of our biggest problems.
I want to know which church is it, exactly, where the Reverend Jesse Jackson preaches, where he gets his money, and why he is always part of the problem and not the solution.
Can I get an AMEN on that one?
I also think the cops have the right to pull you over if you're breaking the law, regardless of what color you are, but not just because you happen to ride a bike.
And, no, I don't mind having my face shown on my driver's license.
I think it's good.. And I'm proud that 'God' is written on my money..
I think if you are too stupid to know how a ballot works, I don't want you deciding who should be running the most powerful nation in the world for the next four years.
I dislike those people standing in the intersections trying to sell me stuff or trying to guilt me into making 'donations' to their cause.... Get a job and do your part to support yourself and your family!
I believe that it doesn't take a village to raise a child, it takes two parents....
I believe 'illegal' is illegal no matter what the lawyers think!
I believe the American flag should be the only one allowed in AMERICA !
If this makes me a BAD American, then yes, I'm a BAD American.
If you are a BAD American too, please forward this to everyone you know....
We want our country back! My Country.....
I hope this offends all illegal aliens.
My great, great, great, great grandfather watched and bled as his friends died in the Revolution & the War of 1812.
My great, great, great grandfather watched as his friends died in the Mexican American War,
My great, great grandfather watched as his friends & brothers died in the Civil War,
My great grandfather watched as his friends died in the Spanish-American War,
My grandfather watched as his friends died in WW I,
My father watched as his friends died in WW II,
I watched as my friends died in Vietnam, Panama & Desert Storm.
My son watched & bled as his friends have died in Afghanistan and Iraq .
None of them died for the Mexican Flag. Everyone died for the American flag.
Texas high school students raised a Mexican flag on a school flag pole, other students took it down. Guess who was expelled...the students who took it down.
California high school students were sent home on Cinco de Mayo, because they wore T-shirts with the American flag printed on them.
Enough is enough
This message needs to be viewed by every American; and every American needs to stand up for America .
We've bent over to appease the America-haters long enough. I'm taking a stand.
I'm standing up because the hundreds of thousands who died fighting in wars for this country, and for the American flag.
If you agree, stand up with me. If you disagree, please let me know. I will gladly remove you from my e-mail list.
And shame on anyone who tries to make this a racist message.
AMERICANS, stop giving away Your RIGHTS !
Let me make this clear! THIS IS OUR COUNTRY !
This statement DOES NOT mean I'm against immigration !
YOU ARE WELCOME HERE, IN OUR COUNTRY, welcome to come legally:
1. Get a sponsor !
2. Learn the LANGUAGE, as immigrants have in the past !
3. Live by OUR rules !
4. Get a job !
5. Pay YOUR Taxes !
6. No Social Security until you have earned it and Paid for it !
7. NOW find a place to lay your head !
If you don't want to forward this for fear of offending someone, then YOU'RE PART OF THE PROBLEM !
We've gone so far the other way . . . bent over backwards not to offend anyone.
I don't care if you are offended.
Why doesn't anyone care if I am offended?
Tags: White Conservative Tax-Paying American Veteran Gun Owning Biker
Aqua Marine Partners / Hi Lift Marina Complaints - No free and clear Titles
Review all Aqua Marine Partners / Hi Lift Marina complaints
Aqua Marine Partners / Hi Lift Marina
Posted: 2009-07-16 by Joseph M Williams
No free and clear Titles
Complaint Rating:
Company information:
Aqua Marine Partners/ Hi Lift Marina
3990 Sheridan St. Suite 107
Aventura / Ft Lauderdale, Florida
United States
Phone: 954-374-2782
ilovemymarina.com
I purchased three vessels from this dealership for a total of $37, 000.00. I have been waiting for free and clear title for over a year now with no end in site. They will not talk to me, I have filed a fraud complaint with the State Police, I have started paperwork with the State attorney's Generals office. These people are downright liars and crooks. I have three boats that I have invested several thousand dollars of repair in and now I owe over $50, 000.00 in storage fees to the marina where the boats have been for the last year
Purchase your boat or have it serviced somewhere else. DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THESE THEIVES
Kelly Dobbs 84 Boatyard, Aqua Marine Partners, Hi Lift Marina
Steven Kinderman
Andrew Sturner
http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/aqua-marine-partners-hi-lift-marina-c227703.html
Tags: Aqua Marine Partners Hi Lift Marina
Sturner, Kinderman and their attorney (Richard Baron) pulled in right beside my wife and I right after I parked. This was the first time I got a look at the boys. After sizing them up (even in my condition) I would have loved to just take them on in the parking lot and be done with it. But can't do that, ya know.
My attorney stated, we are not to concerned about the injunction and are fine to let it stand for now. And he spoke briefly about them stepping on my 1st amendment rights.
Let me paste them here because I don't think Andy knows them.
Speech:
The First Amendment says that people have the right to speak freely without government interference.
Press:
The First Amendment gives the press the right to publish news, information and opinions without government interference. This also means people have the right to publish their own newspapers, newsletters, magazines, etc.
Religion:
The First Amendment prohibits government from establishing a religion and protects each person's right to practice (or not practice) any faith without government interference.
Petition:
The First Amendment says that people have the right to appeal to government in favor of or against policies that affect them or that they feel strongly about. This freedom includes the right to gather signatures in support of a cause and to lobby legislative bodies for or against legislation.
Assembly:
The First Amendment says that people have the right to gather in public to march, protest, demonstrate, carry signs and otherwise express their views in a nonviolent way. It also means people can join and associate with groups and organizations without interference.
I don't think I should blog too much about what happens in court but it was funny to see their attorney start shuffling through papers as soon as he found out I purchased three of the four domain names in question way back in February. You see, the truth is my intentions was to blog in a positive manner about Aquamarina (AMP). But things went south when they started trying screw me out of money and with my boat being all screwed up on top of it I'm just a pissed off customer. What is really amazing to me is these assholes really think they should be able to screw their customers like this and should have the right to keep them from speaking out to others about it.
I feel real good about my attorney:
Thomas L. Edwards
http://www.lawfl.net/Bio/ThomasEdwards.asp
It is a dam shame, I need a attorney just to have the right to speak. I'm just getting started Sturner!
http://aquamarinepartners.com/
Tags: Aqua Marine Partners Andrew Sturner Steve Kinderman
My story is a little long, but one everyone should read, if you don't want this to happen to you.
My husband purchased a boat in December of 2009, and it needed some repairs done to the engines. We took the boat to Aquamarina Twin Rivers in Crystal River, Florida. He was given a written estimate of 20hrs. per engine (we have 2 engines = 40 total labor hrs.) @ $85.00 an hr. = $3,400.00 plus the cost of 2 long block engines which were $4,790.00 for both. Which equals a grand total of $8,190.00.
We do not have a problem paying this amount, and realize it was a estimate, give or take a couple hundred dollars would be reasonable. My husband made many trips to the marina as the boat was being repaired to make sure everything was ok, and they were still running within the estimate and every time he went (which was not an easy task for him, because in the middle of all this he is fighting stage 3 kidney cancer) he was assured by their mechanic (which we found out later is not even a certified mechanic) that everything was fine. Thru the process of the boat repairs (per their request) we made a few payments to them for a total of $8,000.00, so we were looking at owing them just a few hundred more when they were finished............NOW imagine our surprise when my husband received a phone call just 3-weeks after having major surgery, ( he had to have his Kidney remove, because of cancer) from the Manager (Bob) at the marina on June 2, 2010 to tell us the boat was ready and the balance due was $21,246.79 for a grand total of $29,246.79.
I know what your thinking, this is incredible, how can a business give a written estimate of $8,200.00 then turn around and try to extort more than 3 times what the estimate was for. I got right on the phone and called their corporate office Aquamarina Partners, LLC in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and explained my problem to a man by the name of Gary Jefferson, and was told he would have their COO Steven Kinderman call me. Mr. Kinderman did call me back that day and assured me all the charges were legitimate and he would email me an itemized invoice, which he did.
Now, here's where the fight begins..........On the invoice they were charging us for 215.75 hrs of labor (not the 40 hrs quoted on their estimate), plus parts we didn't know anything about. I emailed Mr. Kinderman to try and have a reasonable discussion with him and he either flat out lies or is just plain nasty..........At this point they are holding are boat hostage unless we give them $21,246.79. I called many different state and governmental agencies to try and get help with this, I did file a complaint with the BBB and the Division of consumer services. (which I later had to drop in order to get our boat back.) Mr. Kinderman and I emailed back and forth for a week trying to come to some kind of compromise, and the only way we could get our boat back was to agree to the terms he set forth in an agreement he drew up. Which was totally unfair to us, but our hands were tied at this point.
We gave the Marina another $5,000.00 for a total of $13,000.00 to get our boat back, we moved the boat to another marina. My husband and our son went out in the boat for the first time since getting it back from Aquamarina Twin Rivers on Tuesday June 29th, they were going to take our 5 year old grandson with them, and thank God they didn't, because the boat has a gas, oil and water leak in one of the engines. ( which is extremely dangerous, and could catch fire very easily) My husband called Mr. Kinderman the next day to tell him what happened and he could care less, and now he has a lawyer threatening to sue us if we say anything bad about the company or the owner of the company Mr. Andrew Sturner.
So let me sum this up..........We paid $13,000.00 for repairs on a boat that is in worst shape now then before we brought it to Aquamarina Twin Rivers, the boat is leaking gas and oil, which could possibly cause a fire, and we are being threatened by their attorney if we don't keep our mouths shut.
Where's the justice!!!!!!!!!
http://www.ilovemymarina.com/
Tags: Aqua Marine Partners Andrew Sturner Steve Kinderman
A great paradox has come home to roost and be felt. Harken back to 1971 when the US under the errant leadership of Richard Nixon. The US broke the Bretton Woods Accord that dictated gold to anchor the US Dollar in the global financial system. The Vietnam War and the Great Society programs at the time resulted in a quick run on US gold held in Fort Knox. That supply is 99% gone now, after the Clinton-Rubin Admin engineered their own Decade of Stolen Prosperity. They brought the gold lease rate to nearly zero, spawned a Gold Carry Trade, gutted the US Treasury of its gold, financed private gains for Wall Street in the hundreds of billion$, and rendered the US financial system vulnerable to collapse.
The paradox has come full circle. When a nation steps forward to declare itself the lead engine in the global economy, the lead police cop with global military reach, and the lead capital market in Wall Street, it does so at a great risk when it serves as custodian to the global reserve currency. In the initial decades, the risk is minimized. The risk is that the nation holding control of the global reserve currency, the US Dollar, must supply new funds for capital formation, for credit extension, for government finance, for continued functions of myriad types. The grand wellspring has a US$ brand on its liquid product that is essentially inflated unendingly. In the initial decades, the monetary base was inflated for productive purposes. Some would argue fervently that the entire US Military buildup with so-called Star Wars was the basis of exiting the strong 1980 recession. The initiative earned the US a Pyrrhic Victory, leaving it wounded in victory. At least a significant swath of new money and new credit was devoted to capital formation in the next decade or two, in forming businesses, and development of the US Economy. Not until after 2000, did the United States embark on highly destructive economic policies that would quickly fail. Refer to the dispatch of much US industrial base to China from 2000 to 2005. Refer to the rekindle of the housing bubble, the establishment of home equity ATM machines, the raid of home equity for consumption purposes. Refer to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, regardless of their purposes, but with heavy crippling ongoing costs. In the last year or more, the sanctioned purpose of new money and new credit, again without basis or tangible backstop, has been the flood of rescue funds to the banking sector. This is the same banking sector that spread fraudulent and toxic bonds around the globe during the same housing bubble, which has a matching mortgage finance bubble.
The destinations of the new money and new credit in the last year or more have been destructive, non-productive, and probably loaded with yet more fraud. An economy that must function without a sizable portion of its industrial base cannot remain stable, yet alone thrive. An economy that has been led to dependence upon housing bubble equity, otherwise known as inflated asset as collateral, cannot remain stable, yet alone thrive. Refer to the challenge against the US Fed itself to reveal first the usage of the TARP funds, and second their entire balance sheet. My view is straightforward. The destination of the majority of funds in the last few years has been for syndicate purposes, for private gain, with the defense establishment and the banking sector. My view is that high crimes are involved, and that US Govt agency protection is offered routinely. Refer to the Goldman Sachs insider trading Unix box that monitored and exploited order flow information, complete with front running, all tidily covered up.
Here we are at the end of an era, where the US Dollar sacrificed itself for the system. The high risk of the paradox is that late in the pathogenesis, the nation that benefited early in the cycle must endure powerful forces that bring a collapse of the currency that provided the wellspring of false capital. THE RISK IS OF A US DOLLAR IMPLOSION, AND WRECKAGE OF THE US BANKING SYSTEM. The currency served its purpose, and the cycle comes to an end. Originally, the benefits were global toward the flourish of capitalism. Lately, the benefits have been for the syndicate in its war machinery and the banking sector responsible for bond fraud. The gradual and inexorable decline of the US banking system will continue without interruption, only pauses to fool the gullible, the ignorant, and the unwashed masses of vassals. The global revolt against the US Dollar is surely a loud signal, enough to herald a new foundation in the making with key alternative structures. The US$ cannot co-exist with a new system underpinned by a different vehicle as foundation. The IMF basket of currencies is but a temporary device, as the new currencies backed by hard assets are to be delivered by the Monetary Stork. Their hatch will be difficult, require much careful planning, and must endure military threat. The end stage, part and parcel to the paradox stated, is that the US Dollar must die its death, assured when departure from the gold backing was permitted and agreed upon. The more capably the economy and financial sector is managed, the longer the process before the forced death of the system itself. In this decade, the Mussolini Fascist Business Model has embraced and promoted syndicate activity, with merger of big business with the state, to such an extent that the system is ripe for failure. A failed state comes.
This process has a parallel, the human birth ensures an eventual death. The US$ without the gold tether guaranteed its death, all in time. The time is upon us, as the US$ is going through its stages of death. First is denial. Second is alternatives in construction. Third is anger with vengeance. Also, the US banking system is going through its stages of death. Their ongoing fresh asset losses continue to out pace their new infusion of capital or funny money funds granted by the US Govt, delivered from the Printing Pre$$. Refer to their hidden housing inventory from foreclosure, along with the Prime Option AR Mortgage losses, in addition to the commercial loan losses. The US banks cannot be revived any more than Humpty Dumpty can have his shell glued back together after a fall in disgrace. The banks maintain a charade in order to continue to channel funds into their balance sheets, to enable stock sales to the public while executives sell out, and to permit elite overseas bank accounts to be filled. They are buying time hoping that borrowing at 0% and investing in long-term US Treasurys will replenish their balance sheets, mostly in safe keeping at the US Fed itself, and NOT LENT. They race against the Grim Reaper seeking out toxic assets.
Tags: Economy
The stories pushed out by the increasingly lost US Govt officials, supported by the armada of Wall Street henchmen to carry out marching orders, and issued by the wholly subservient US financial press, have become downright laughable. In the last several days, on numerous occasions on the tube and on numerous occasions in published articles, the phrases ‘flight to safety or ‘seeking safe haven or ‘safety & security were heard and read. On its face, each description is an affront to any thinking man or woman, entirely in conflict with the Global Paradigm Shift movement away from the US Dollar, and in sharp contrast with most deep seated monetary practices in full speed on American shores. The United States financial arena is the home of the most gargantuan monetary inflation in the history of mankind (as in scores of centuries), as central bank balance sheets hit $3000 billion. The United States financial arena is the home of the most gargantuan federal deficit, with almost no visible end. The United States financial arena is the home of the most gargantuan illicit (not well hidden) debt monetization, as each and every mammoth auction would fail without the purchase from the Printing Pre$$. The United States financial arena is the home of the most gargantuan secretive payment for ruinous credit derivative losses under its offered shelter for Fannie Mae mortgage toxic bond manager and the American Intl Group credit default swap insurer. The United States financial arena is the home of the most gargantuan carte blanche sacred budgets for aggressive war, widely debated as primarily for private firm gains. The point is that the fundamentals and finances of the United States contradict any hint of a global movement drawn to safety, security, stability, wisdom, or leadership. This is pure Orwellian rubbish!
The United States financial arena is the home of the most gargantuan array of liquidity facilities which are designed to enable the US Federal Reserve to function as a quasi-banking system, argued as requiring a program to keep up with the many types and functions. The United States financial arena is the home of the most gargantuan Medicare expense coverage for an aging population best described as the sickest in the entire industrial world, and the most medicated, along with the most bombarded by television commercials for even more drug usage. The United States financial arena is the home of the most gargantuan prop initiatives for the stock market, which boasts over 70% of its volume from Wall Street program trades, and without the role of the Plunge Protection Team and the corrupted cover offered by relaxed accounting rules, would have plumbed the depths long ago. The United States financial arena is the home of the most gargantuan banker welfare programs disguised as systemic rescues, like the TARP fund. The United States financial arena is the home of the most gargantuan list of insolvent big banks acting like huge zombies. The United States financial arena is the home of the most gargantuan, and still growing, list of banks declared dead in official FDIC funeral services. The point is that the fundamentals and finances of the United States contradict any hint of a global movement drawn to safety, security, stability, wisdom, or leadership. This is pure Orwellian rubbish!
The United States financial arena is the home of the most gargantuan nationalization initiatives, none of which has any merit or longstanding stability to offer. The United States financial arena is the home of the most gargantuan consumption binge in the history of mankind, where wealth is often measured in a credit line rather than work or industrial capacity. The United States financial arena is the home of the most gargantuan flight of working capital ever witnessed by mankind, whose land is left with queer homes that once acted like engines of spending after conversion to automatic teller machines. The United States financial arena is the home of the most gargantuan destruction of home equity and home ownership loss via foreclosure. The United States financial arena is the home of the most gargantuan hidden inventory of bank owned property. Enough, stop there! Monotony does set in! The point is that the fundamentals and financial of the United States contradict any hint of a global movement drawn to safety, security, stability, wisdom, or leadership. This is pure Orwellian rubbish!
Tragically, the US financial arena has become a dangerous land of acidic minted paper posing as money, whose volumes are so gargantuan, that the corrosive effect on capital borders on total. The United States is the home of the worst economists ever to walk on the earth, who command iconic respect, yet who never properly justify their past string of failures, and past numerous chapters of baseless mythology upon which the US Economy has been built and continues to rest. The US has adopted the Wiemar financial plan, complete with high risks. The cast of foreign creditors and major trade partners have almost all begun deep commitments for a new IMF global reserve basket of currencies to temporary displace the US Dollar. They have almost all begun deep commitments for international trade settlements outside the US Dollar, like for crude oil. The primary adversary is clearly the Chinese, who have among other steps installed Yuan currency swap facilities worldwide. The combined effect is to knock the US Dollar off its perch in global reserve currency status. The Chinese hold the spearhead to de-throne the US Dollar. Behind the scenes, the Germans work steadily to remove the US and UK from their perch, clearly held by strong-arm means like with interventions in markets too numerous to name. The easier question is which market the US & UK tag team do NOT intervene to render out of equilibrium. The point is that the entire world has shown early and urgent commitment to move AWAY from the US Dollar, not toward it. They do not seek safety and security in the US Dollar arenas any longer. They drive the new Paradigm Shift.
Money is enormously important to us, as individuals and as a society. When the economy is healthy and stable, we are happy. When the economy is depressed, we all have problems.
In this essay, we have talked a lot about money and its history. We have also discussed what money means to us personally, and how it is affected by the Internet. To conclude the discussion, I am going to tie everything together by summarizing the factors that have the most important, long-term effects on our economy and our financial well-being. As you look at these lists, notice that the good factors (peace, global trade, democracy, and so on), are all enhanced by the Internet, and the bad factors, (war, economic isolation, and so on) are mitigated by the Internet.
The Internet does not exist in isolation. It has a continuing and ever-increasing influence on our lives and, as such it is an integral part of our world.
Factors that Encourage a Stable, Healthy Economy:
Peace
Global Trade
Democracy
Freedom of information
Central Banking
Politicians who think in the long term
Sophisticated computer technology
The Internet
Factors that Work Against a Stable, Healthy Economy
War
Economic Isolation
Totalitarian Regimes
Corruption
Cultural Isolation
Politicians who respond to short-term pressures
Tags: Money
Ever since the King of Lydia held the very first coin in his hands, there has always been someone nearby who was willing to take that coin by fair means or foul. Today's economic system is so complex that it is beyond the understanding of any one person, and yet all of us must somehow learn to master enough of the system to protect our own interests.
Such thinking does not come easily. Money is a totally artificial construct, one that is uniquely human, with no analog anywhere in the animal kingdom. As such, using money is not a natural activity. If you want to understand the monetary system and learn how to use it to your advantage, you must do so deliberately, and you must study, think and practice. If you have a flair for numbers and computation, you will have a definite advantage. If you find arithmetic and abstract reasoning difficult, you are going to have a hard time. Sorry, but that's a fact.
Still, you and I are never going to be called upon to run the U.S. Federal Reserve System, and we don't need to master the arcane minutiae of professional economists. If we are going to protect ourselves, all we really need to understand are the basic principles: What is money? How does it work? and What does it mean to us?
In this essay, I have traced the development of money over the centuries, from barter to commodities to coins to paper money, culminating in our modern system in which virtually all money is stored as intangible computer data.
Money is an idea, one that is based on faith. If I offer to buy something from you for a hundred dollars, you would not agree to the sale unless you had faith that the hundred dollars has value and that it would keep that value.
To say that money is based on faith is not an appeal to the supernatural, for the monetary system does not demand blind faith. The way we use money today is the end product of the activities of a great many intelligent people, and the system has been improved by centuries of trial and error. Moreover, in the last thirty years, the tools we use to deal with money have been significantly enhanced to meet the demands of a fast-moving, computerized society. Even though our monetary system may not be perfect, it does work well, and it is administered as wisely and fairly as possible.
If you are going to use the Internet for buying and selling, it is important that you learn to deal with money as a complete abstraction, one that does not correspond to anything tangible, such as gold, silver or even paper. On the Internet, money can move quickly and silently without leaving a trace— until you get your credit card bill or your brokerage statement. If you aren't firmly grounded in the realities of our modern monetary system, you are going to be at the mercy of the economic forces that swirl around you like invisible demons, manipulating you and desensitizing you in order to take as much of your wealth as they can.
If you don't understand your own motivations, you are going to get into trouble.
As a general rule, the world is a complicated place, and if you don't understand your own motivations, you are going to get into trouble. This is especially true when it comes to money, on or off the Internet. You need to understand, not only how the system works, but how you relate to it and what money means to you personally.
At the beginning of this essay, I described money as a medium of exchange. In this sense, the function of money is to separate the act of buying from the act of selling. You buy something from another person and the money you give him acts as storage, maintaining its value until he decides to buy something.
Because money can store value, it can be saved and accumulated, bringing wealth and luxury to its owner. But money has another, much more important characteristic. In large amounts, money confers power. The larger the amount of money, the more the power. This has always been the case, and it is the main reason why men have always fought over money, and always will fight over money.
In our society, we need money for many reasons: to satisfy our everyday needs, such as food, clothing, shelter and health care; to care for our children; to educate ourselves and our families; to plan for our retirement; to pay our taxes; and so on. When you stop to consider all the important things that money can provide — not to mention wealth, luxury and power — it is no surprise that our feelings regarding money are extremely personal.
Money interacts with the primal, unconscious forces that lay deep within us all. When we are young, money has little meaning in our lives, but as we grow older, money comes to represent security, comfort, power and hope, all of which we need to maintain our mental health in an uncertain and, often, hostile world. Our relationship with money is crucial to how we view the world, which is why I say it behooves us to examine and understand our motivations.
Money can bring security, for example, but only to a limited degree. A real feeling of security must come from deep inside. Some people, perhaps because of their upbringing, never develop an innate feeling that they belong in the world and that everything is working out just fine. As a result, such people are always worried. Watch them and you will see that, in an attempt to make their world secure, they will put in a great deal of time and effort into accumulating far more money than they actually need.
Similarly, money can bring comfort but, again, only to a limited degree. People who, deep down inside, feel unloved, will spend a lifetime fruitlessly looking for a feeling of comfort. For many of these people, money will take the place of love, and they will force their spouses, their friends, and their relatives to prove their love, over and over, by spending money and giving gifts.
Another reason people lust after money is the power it can bring. For people who thrive on power — and there are many of them — accumulating money is an effective way to increase the control they have over their surroundings and over other people. This is why you will see many rich, powerful people — especially men — spend a lifetime pursuing more and more money. Such people are really pursuing power, and power is addictive.
Finally, many people use money in a different way: to create the illusion of hope. For example, they will surround themselves with distractions and possessions, as if the money they spend can make up for the emptiness they feel when they contemplate their lives. In this way, money can act as a diversion, but it will only work temporarily. Eventually, life has a way of catching up to us all.
Life is not always easy. No matter what we do, there will be pain, disappointment, fear, uncertainty, and worry. Eventually, everyone dies, and there is nothing you or anyone else can do about it. This is the human condition, and the biggest challenge we face in life is how to come to terms with our mortality, our weaknesses, and our vulnerabilities.
As you use the Internet, you will find that it is a great place to buy and sell. However, it is a sophisticated environment, one that is difficult to master. Money on the Internet is completely intangible and transactions are transparent, with no physical context whatsoever.
It is important to remember that, deep inside, we all have weaknesses. No one is completely well adjusted, and, at times, everyone uses money for security, comfort, power and hope. This is normal.
If you take the time to examine your needs and your motivations clearly and honestly, you will be able to protect yourself from the forces that only care about your money. Knowing yourself has always been the best way to ensure that no one can take advantage of your weaknesses, your transitory feelings, and your vulnerabilities.
Tags: Money
Most money does not exist in tangible form. In fact, less than 10 percent of U.S. money is in the form of bills or coins. Over 90 percent exists only as electronic data stored in a computer. Think about your own money, for example. Although you probably have some cash, most of your money exists in bank accounts or brokerage accounts, and your wealth is actually stored as data in various computer systems.
There are two ways in which new money can be created. First, it can be physically fabricated: that is, printed as bills or manufactured as coins. More frequently, however, money is created just by changing the data stored in a computer. For instance, if your bank were to credit your checking account with, say, a million dollars, all that would happen is that they would make a new entry in their computer. As soon as they made this entry, you would have a million dollars to your name. No new bills or coins would need to be created.
Although it is unlikely that your bank is going to credit your account with a million dollars out of the goodness of their heart, the scenario I have described is similar to the way in which most of the money in the economy is actually created.
When you put money in the bank, the bank does not keep all of your money in a vault (or even in a computer). They loan most of it out to other people. That is how banks make a profit: they accept a deposit from one person, and then loan the money to another person. The profit comes from loaning the money out at a higher rate of interest than what they pay for it. For example, a bank might pay you 2% interest on your savings account, but loan the same money out to another customer at 8% interest.
The Federal Reserve, which regulates banking, does not let banks loan out all of their deposits. By law, banks must retain a certain amount of money on reserve, called the RESERVE REQUIREMENT or RESERVE RATIO. In most cases, the reserve requirement is 10%. In other words, banks are allowed to loan out 90% of the money that they accept for deposit. Here is an example to show how it works.
Let's say you deposit $10,000 into your bank account. The bank keeps $1,000 (10%) on reserve, and loans $9,000 (90%), to someone else. That person then uses the $9,000 to buy something, and the money ends up being deposited in another bank.
Once the $9,000 is deposited, the second bank keeps $900 (10%) on reserve and loans $8,100 (90%) to another person. At this point, there is $19,000 loaned and $1,900 held on reserve, so the total money free to circulate in the economy has jumped from the original $10,000 to $17,100 ($19,000 - $1,900).
Of course, we don't have to stop there. The $8,100 that was loaned out by the second bank will find its way to a third bank, whereupon 90% of the $8,100 will be loaned to someone else. This same process will be repeated, again and again, generating more money each time. If you know how to do the math, you will see that, in theory, a deposit of $10,000 can turn into $90,000 (a total of $100,000 in loans and $10,000 held back on reserve).
This is the way in which most of the money in our economy is created. It comes into being because the banks loan out most of the money they take in, and most of that money is loaned out again and again.
The reason the system works is that people have enough faith in the banks to leave their money on deposit. If a large number of people lost faith in the banks, they might demand that the banks return all the money they have deposited. This is called a RUN on the banks. If this were to happen, it would force the banks to try to recall as many of their loans as they could. In such a situation, two things would happen.
First, every time a loan was recalled successfully, the system would work in reverse and the amount of money in circulation would shrink. If this were to happen on a large scale, the decrease in the money supply would slow down the economy and create a serious recession.
Second, many banks would not be able to recall all their loans fast enough. After all, most loans have repayment schedules that cannot be speeded up. If a bank ran out of money, it would have to close and, once one bank closes, it scares people who have money in other banks.
If a run on the banks got out of hand, it could close down many of the banks and paralyze the economy. This is exactly what happened during the Great Depression. As I discussed earlier, in 1929, there were 24,633 banks in the U.S. By 1933, only 15,015 were still in business (a decrease of 31 percent).
The reason this does not happen is that the Federal Reserve never lets things get out of hand. For example, if a bank is ever faced with extraordinary withdrawals, it could always borrow money to meet its obligations. If, for some reason, a bank were not able to borrow enough money, the Fed would step in and loan the bank whatever is necessary to satisfy the depositors. In this way, the Fed acts as the lender of last resort.
Even more important, the Fed is charged with the job of regulating U.S. banks. By making sure that the banks are run correctly, the Fed inspires continuing faith in the system.
During the 1929-1933 recession, the Fed was much younger and was not nearly as effective as it is now. In retrospect, economists now believe that if the Fed had done a better job maintaining an adequate money supply during the first crucial years, the Depression would have been significantly shorter and a lot milder.
Tags: Money
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