Street Speculator

How times have changed. A previous posting highlighted the financial struggles facing Americans (T.A.D.; The American Dream).

This installment is provided because of some disturbing news I happen to review this morning, courtesy of the Washington Post and a local news affiliate.

It is funny how hypocrites operate. I remember during the mid 90’s Technology Revolution, that many young adults were becoming instant millionaires and even billionaires (Steve Case: AOL, Mark Andreesen: Netscape Navigator, Bill Gates: Microsoft, Michael Dell: Dell Computer, Jeff Bezos: Amazon.com). The news media had a frenzy in covering these companies and their entrepreneur founders. The news coverage was so focused that one news organization had a “Gates Meter”, which was used to show how much Bill Gates had either gained or lost based on the closing price of Microsoft stock for that day.

Funny thing then happened. Churches then began to preach about wealth and financial independence around the same time. It historically was TABOO to speak on finances in the church. There was much emphasis on tithing, GIVING (Giving, giving, GiViNg, etc…..), home ownership, God’s blessings for you, “All these things shall be added”, Prosperity Preachers, and on and on………………….and on!!

I fell into this trap for a brief moment.  The point is that churches became purveyors of T.A.D., as if you did not achieve certain financial benchmarks in your life then somehow you were out of the will of God. This behavior was another of the many factors which caused people to go out and buy what they could not afford, including houses. Now, people are turning to these same churches for financial guidance (Click highlighted area and read the article). Now, according to the New York Post the personal bankruptcy rate has increased, even after a few years ago bankruptcy laws were amended with the goal to help the U.S. consumer.

The next issue was that everyone want to be like the Jewish people. This is because a lot of Jewish people are wealthy. Then Christianity attempted to show how both religions are similar and how Christians can somehow become like Jews.

What’s next, Muslims? I guarantee that there will be these same Christian who try to align with the Islamic faith, based on what is happening in world events financially. Muslim nations are those that seem to have all of the CASH, due to high oil prices. Trust me, it will happen.

This weekend, NACA (Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America)

held meetings in Washington D.C. with the goal of assisting homeowners teetering on foreclosure. I believe they will contact lenders and ask for a reduced mortgage payments for the homeowners.

BOTTOM LINE!! People in the U.S. are heading toward a historic financial catastrophe. We have gone from Saving and Investing to Purchasing and Borrowing. This behavior has caught up with us.
The government will only intervene when major corporations are looking at insolvency, not consumers. Remember, there were a large number of foreclosures two years ago. The government did not move. However, it only took a little over 48hrs for the feds to make a decision to bail out Bear Sterns. This was done over a weekend.

The government is not a safety net and do not treat it as such. Stop listening to salesmen. Read and study for self!! If you do not acquire a home, car, nice clothes, etc.. you are still a willing and able person and let no one tell you otherwise. The most important the U.S. government can provide to you and I is FREEDOM.

In closing, churchgoers, ask yourself, in the words of the late president Ronald Reagan, as you have been tithing and giving (& giving & giving) for years and years; “Are you better of today than you were 4 years ago?”

Stop being led astray by people who have no clue as to what it takes to create wealth. Anyone can be a fundraiser. It is not difficult to ASK for MONEY. The Girl Scouts do it extremely well each spring. But at least we get something delightful out of it.  SAVE AND INVEST.

I also ad that most of your friends and neighbors with expensive houses, clothes, and cars only qualified for an Expensive Loan. They cannot afford that stuff. People with high salaries live paycheck to paycheck as well. Next time you get into a friends luxury car, see if the gas gauge is ON or NEAR “E”, and whether they give you an excuse or not.

Accumulate Cash MY FELLOW SPECULATORS.

“The key to the game is your Capital Reserves. You don’t enough you can’t piss in the toilet or eat with the big dogs.”

- Gordon Gekko (As played by Michael Douglas in Wall Street)