More Financial Ideas

I have had a new thought that I felt like sharing with y'all. I call it the "University Plan".

During the recent Presidential debate, I heard a little bit about the GI Bill being bantered around. Now, I want to preface this post by saying that I believe that any present or former United States soldier, in any service, should be entitled to a free College education.

However...

I think that it is a bit wasteful for these individuals to be afforded a set sum. With as many troops as we have, and as expensive as College is these days, that has to add up to a pretty penny. I have given this a bit of thought, and I think that we could save a lot of money with a larger initial investment.

There should be, on each coast of this country, a University that is government owned and operated. These Universities should have free tuition for all former members of the United States Armed Forces. Then, for the price of yearly salary of two University staffs, all Armed Forces members would have access to free undergraduate education (and/or graduate education.)

Since the GI Bill currently pays up to 100% (for 36 months of service or more) of the most expensive in-state tuition, it just stands to reason that it would be cheaper to fund one university than to pay for complete tuition for hundreds of thousands of veterans.

Of course, not all veterans would be able to move to a new area just for a college education, but I havent thought that far ahead yet. :)

Current Financial Status

You know, I keep hearing all of these people talk about THIS tax plan, THAT tax plan, THE OTHER tax plan, and which one is the best. Who should get a tax cut, who shouldn't get a tax cut, ad nauseum.

Lets break taxes down, shall we? Let's call this the Nick Tax plan (or how someone with some common sense would get this country back on track):

Let's start by looking at my last couple of paychecks. I won't go into specific numbers, but I can round up a bit and tell you that I pay about 10% in federal income tax, about 2% in Medicare and about 6% in Social Security.

Now, if I pay an approximate 18% in taxes, why shouldn't everyone? That's right, I'm pulling out the old Ross Perot point - FLAT TAX! For every dollar I make, I would happily give 18 cents, 20 cents, maybe even 25 cents in tax... IF everyone else does too. Individuals and Companies alike, mind you. For every dollar that wal-mart profits, they should pay the same percentages that come out of my paycheck. For every million dollars that Joe CEO on Wall Street makes, he should pay $180,000... $100,000 in federal tax, $20,000 to medicare and $60,000 to social security.

The only fair tax is a flat tax... equal across the board. Period.

Step two: Tariffs and Import Taxes. All of these companies that have picked up and moved south of the border or across the ocean need to be held accountable. (For the purpose of my example, lets assume that company "A" is in the median of its field of production in America, and company "B" is a company that closed production in our country and moved to a foreign country.) If company "A" can make a shirt for 3 dollars in America, and company "B" can make the same shirt for 35 cents in another country, company "B" should have to pay $2.65 in import tax on that shirt. No loopholes.

Under this policy, we as consumers may have to pay more for some of our products, but it would force a lot of companies to rethink their motives in moving across the ocean for cheap labor at the cost of American Jobs.

Step Three: Wall Street bailouts. Why should we reward these huge financial companies who have preyed on American people? I understand that we need to try to help these companies to keep our economy afloat, but I support extremely strict sanctions on these bailouts. For example:

Company "A" lent Joe Homeowner $100,000 for his house. He now owes close to $200,000! The bailout should be for $100,000, not a penny more. The Company should get back what they put out.

Something else: These CEOs who are making millions yearly? All bailout money should go to cover company debt and payroll, with executive exception. No CEO should make as much as a penny from these bailout monies. Period.

Step Four: Presidential Salaries. I'm not going to sit here and say that the President makes too much money. But I can't begin to believe how much money people spend in order to get a $400,000 a year job. Seriously?

If I were president, I can tell you the very first thing I would do. My speech would be something like this: I now have a paid residence, and most of my personal needs paid for. I dont need $400,000 a year! I will take $350,000 of that total and put it into the government. Period. I challenge ALL of the Senators to do something very similar. Take 50%, 60% or 75% or your yearly salary and give it back into the system to bail this country out of debt. People who can't live on $50,000 or $60,000 a year a essentially stupid. Sorry if this offends you!

I'm sure that given the time, I would come up with a lot more ideas. Don't forget to swing back by and check them out!

McDonald's

It's been a long time since I have blogged, but I came across something today that really irritated me. My wife and I went to McDonald's for a cheap supper, which we do only rarely. Of course, I love the dollar menu and the McChicken sandwich!

Until today.

The dollar menu doesn't exist anymore - now, it is a $1.19 value menu.

This doesn't sound like a huge deal, but it is a bit disappointing. The dollar menu was a constant, a very simple way to eat your fill and not empty out your pocketbook. The economy must really be bad when a huge juggernaut like McDonald's is feeling the pinch.

Gearing Up

As I sit here on a Sunday morning, I cannot help but feel a sense of forboding, and even a bit of excitement, for what lays ahead of me in the next two days. You see, after church this morning, I am going to sit down to a filling lunch and a very much required nap.

And then, tonight, I am going to go to work to cover an employee's vacation day. She works second shift monday through thursday, but third shift on Sundays. So, from about 7 until 5 am monday, I'll be working and hopefully getting a whole lot accomplished.

And then, since I have another guy out on Monday that I have to help cover for, I will keep working until at least noon, and maybe as late as 4:30 pm on Monday.

Yikes!

I am excited in that I have never pulled such an awesome shift before (awesome as in its sheer size, not as in how cool it will be), especially since I have had a couple of my people tell me that they don't think I pull my weight. A lot of my work involves computer stuff, and they don't see that. Well, I am going to enjoy this huge shift - we'll wait and see if anyone can top that one.

Of course, I'm still not sure how I am going to stay awake...

A quote for the day

After having a particularly long week at work, something happened today that just made me laugh out loud. Immediately after that laugh, everything seemed to go much more smoothly. I mused to a coworker that "Levity makes Brevity".

I don't know if that's something I've heard in the past or something I just came up with on the spot, but it seemed to sum up my whole week. Of course, I still have a day (maybe two) left to go, so let's hope more levity is in my future!

Random Thoughts

With all the hubbub about this switch from analog to digital television, I can think of only one thing - after February 17th, 2009, what in the world are they going to use to fill up all of this time on TV that is devoted to reminding us of impending doom?!

I half expect a commercial on February 18th to ask - are YOU still watching analog television? Don't forget your coupons for $40 off of a converter box so that you can actually be watching this commercial!

A Job Well Done

Whew! What a day! It's Saturday, and I've been awake since 6, and worked from 7 AM until 8 PM. On the plus side, I got a great deal accomplished, and with the help of a fellow coordinator managed to get a floundering inventory back onto its feet. Or, at least, laid all of the groundwork that it will eventually stand on. It feels good to have had such a productive day, and the fact that we were praised highly for our performance didn't hurt either.

I think that a job well done is something that far too few people nowadays can appreciate. My generation, and those who come after us, are some of the biggest proliferators of the notion that the less work you do, the better. I don't buy it one bit! While I like to lounge around and sleep late just like the next guy, when I am given a task I sink my teeth into it and don't let go until its finished.

Anyway, that's my mini-rant for the day. It is time to log off and prepare to watch a little Indiana Jones (and the Last Crusade). My wife has never seen it, and I havent seen it in a while. It should be a good night!

Disgusted

Today, I found a couple of news stories that I could not, in good conscience, ignore. Let me start by giving the links for these stories.

Teacher Verbally Berates 5-Tear Old, Caught on Audio Recording
Teacher Has Class Vote 5-Year Old Out Of Class Survivor-Style

I am outraged at both of these instances. First of all, for those of you who do not know, I am an aspiring teacher myself. As such, I cannot believe that anyone would act like this towards a 5 year old child!

Lets start with the first. A child who has complained so much about how his teacher talks to him that his mother feels the need to put a recording device in his pocket. No child should ever have to be subjected to abuse - yes, it is abuse - like that. This teacher has been placed on "paid administrative leave", and the Indiana Teacher's Union has filed a grievance that she was treated unfairly?!

NO TEACHER that is a member of this union should support this decision on their part, nor in any way condone the actions of this teacher. In fact, I would go as far as to say that any teacher who would condone this should have their license destroyed. No questions asked. This is a 5-year old kid!

Unacceptable!

Now, lets look at the second link. Another 5-year old kid, who is apparently being tested for a form of autism, acts out in class. Guess what? He's 5. Autistic or not, 5 year olds are rowdy, loud and sometimes act out. If you cant handle it, don't teach Kindergarten!

As wrong as it is to verbally berate a child in front of the rest of the class, it is worse tenfold to kick him out of class and have his peers 'vote' on whether or not to let him back in. Incredible.

This teacher has been removed from classroom duties, but I would venture a guess that she is still getting paid. Again, this kind of behavior is completely unacceptable. This teacher should have her license revoked. Under no circumstances should something like this happen.

Now, let me back up a little bit here. Some of the things I have said above may come off a little bit harsh, and I do not want to be accused of judging someone guilty before I have heard their side. However, there is so far no real side coming from the teachers. To me, this is the first thing that is a red flag.

If the teachers can prove that these things did not take place, then I think that they should be reinstated and apologized to. However, I will also say that unless they can prove that it didn't happen, no amount of explaination should warrant forgiveness for these actions.

Teachers are, in most cases, the last frontier of direction for the future leaders of this country. All too often, a teacher is all that the kids have. If you aren't willing to be everything to your class, you need a new profession. Seriously. Go somewhere that you can act like an ass and it wont affect the minds of the young.

The End.