This excerpted article, by Charley Reese, former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper, does give a dramatically different money management perspective than the one we hear from our government in Washington D.C.

“Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.

Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?

Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?

You and I don’t propose a federal budget. The President does.

You and I don’t have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.

You and I don’t write the tax code, Congress does.

You and I don’t set fiscal policy, Congress does.

You and I don’t control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one President, and nine Supreme Court justices, 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a President to do one cotton-picking thing. I don’t care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash.

The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator’s responsibility to determine how he votes.

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.

What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The President can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.

The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House? Nancy Pelosi. She is the leader of the majority party.

She and fellow House members, not the President, can approve any budget they want. If the President vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million can not replace 545 people who stand convicted — by present facts — of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can’t think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it’s because they want it unfair.

If the budget is in the red, it’s because they want it in the red .

If the Army and Marines are in Iraq, it’s because they want them in Iraq.

If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it’s because they want it that way.

There are no insoluble government problems.

Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like “the economy,” “inflation,” or “politics,” that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.

Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.

They, and they alone, have the power.

They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses.

Provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees.

We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!”

Original Source Article: Reese, Charley “Looking For Someone To Blame? Congress Is A Good Place To Start.” 7 March 1995, Orlando Sentinel (Page A8)

In these economic times when workers are losing their jobs and business owners are struggling to survive, I believe that both business owners and workers alike need to adopt the mindset that they are willing to do Whatever It Takes (WIT) to maintain their money management goals and their own economic well-being.

Now, I’m not advocating doing anything illegal or unethical in terms of money management. I’m just making this comment because I have noticed a curious attitude among some workers here in the U.S., whether employed or unemployed, who are in debt and struggling. There seems to be a prevailing attitude that:

1 – The business owner is my enemy.

2 – I’m a victim and everyone else is to blame for my financial situation.

3 – I don’t need to practice smart money management. I’m in debt, but I’m too good / educated / valuable to get a second job to pay it off.

4 – The current government is my money management savior and they will take care of me.

5 – I can’t make the payments, but I have to keep my expensive car / house to keep up my image.

6 – If I work a second job to make it financially, it would damage my image and my own self-esteem.

7 – Buying and owning ‘stuff’ is more important than investing in my own financial security

8 – I cannot cut expenses anywhere.

9 – I cannot afford to put any money into savings to take care of the smallest emergency.

10 – My Boss is my enemy.

I was an employee for the first 27 years of my career, while I also owned small businesses to supplement my income. I believed I was responsible for reaching my own money management goals. In 1995 I left the corporate world to become a full-time business owner. In every positions I held, whether employee or business owner, I always knew beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I was the only one who was responsible for taking care of me financially, and that there will always be unproductive people with their hand out and the idea that they are entitled to part of my money even though they have contributed nothing to help me earn it.

I recently received an email from a friend, and while I have no idea who the original author was, I believe that this should be required reading in every high school economics class and for all adults. Here is the email from a business owner’s point of view.

To All My Valued Employees,

There have been some rumblings around the office about the future of this company, and more specifically, your job. As you know, the economy has changed for the worse and presents many challenges. However, the good news is this: The economy does not pose a threat to your job. What does threaten your job however, is the changing political landscape in this country.

However, let me tell you some little tidbits of fact which might help you decide what is in your best interests.

First, while it is easy to spew rhetoric that casts employers against employees, you have to understand that for every business owner there is a back story. This back story is often neglected and overshadowed by what you see and hear. Sure, you see me park my Mercedes outside. You’ve seen my big home at last years Christmas party. I’m sure all these flashy icons of luxury conjure up some idealized thoughts about my life.

However, what you don’t see is the back story.

I started this company 28 years ago. At that time, I lived in a 300 square foot studio apartment for 3 years. My entire living apartment was converted into an office so I could put forth 100% effort into building a company, which by the way, would eventually employ you.

My diet consisted of Ramen Pride noodles because every dollar I spent went back into this company. I drove a rusty Toyota Corolla with a defective transmission. I didn’t have time to date. Often times, I stayed home on weekends, while my friends went out drinking and partying. In fact, I was married to my business — hard work, discipline, and sacrifice.

Meanwhile, my friends got jobs. They worked 40 hours a week and made a modest $50K a year and spent every dime they earned. They drove flashy cars and lived in expensive homes and wore fancy designer clothes. Instead of hitting the Nordstrom’s for the latest hot fashion item, I was trolling through the Goodwill store extracting any clothing item that didn’t look like it was birthed in the 70′s. My friends refinanced their mortgages and lived a life of luxury. I, however, did not. I put my time, my money, and my life into a business with a vision that eventually, some day, I too, will be able to afford these luxuries my friends supposedly had.

So, while you physically arrive at the office at 9am, mentally check in at about noon, and then leave at 5pm, I don’t. There is no “off” button for me. When you leave the office, you are done and you have
a weekend all to yourself. I unfortunately do not have the freedom. I eat, and breathe this company every minute of the day. There is no rest. There is no weekend. There is no happy hour. Every day this
business is attached to my hip like a 1 year old special-needs child. You, of course, only see the fruits of that garden — the nice house, the Mercedes, the vacations… You never realize the back story and the sacrifices I’ve made.

Now the economy is falling apart and I, the guy that made all the right decisions and saved his money, have to bail-out all the people who didn’t. The people that overspent their paychecks suddenly feel entitled to the same luxuries that I earned and sacrificed a decade of my life for.

Yes, business ownership has is benefits but the price I’ve paid is steep and not without wounds.

Unfortunately, the cost of running this business, and employing you, is starting to eclipse the threshold of marginal benefit and let me tell you why:

I am being taxed to death and the government thinks I don’t pay enough. I have state taxes, federal taxes, property taxes, sales and use taxes, payroll taxes, workers’ compensation taxes, unemployment taxes, taxes on taxes. I have to hire a tax man to manage all these taxes and then guess what? I have to pay taxes for employing him. Government mandates and regulations and all the accounting that goes with it, now occupy most of my time. On Oct 15th, I wrote a check to the US Treasury for $288,000 for quarterly taxes. You know what my “stimulus” check was? Zero. Nada. Zilch.

The question I have is this: Who is stimulating the economy? Me, the guy who has provided 14 people good paying jobs and serves over 2,200,000 people per year with a flourishing business? Or, the single mother sitting at home pregnant with her fourth child waiting for her next welfare check? Obviously, government feels the latter is the economic stimulus of this country.

The fact is, if I deducted (Read: Stole) 50% of your paycheck you’d quit and you wouldn’t work here. I mean, why should you? That’s nuts. Who wants to get rewarded only 50% of their hard work? Well, I agree, which is why your job is in jeopardy.

Here is what many of you don’t understand … to stimulate the economy you need to stimulate what runs the economy. Had suddenly government mandated to me that I didn’t need to pay taxes, guess what? Instead of depositing that $288,000 into the Washington black-hole, I would have spent it, hired more employees, and generated substantial economic growth. My employees would have enjoyed the wealth of that tax cut in the form of promotions and better salaries. But you can forget it now.

When you have a comatose man on the verge of death, you don’t defibrillate and shock his thumb thinking that will bring him back to life, do you? Or, do you defibrillate his heart? Business is at the heart of America and always has been. To restart it, you must stimulate it, not kill it. Suddenly, the power brokers in Washington believe the poor of America are the essential drivers of the American economic engine. Nothing could be further from the truth and this is the type of change you can keep.

So where am I going with all this?

It’s quite simple.

If any new taxes are levied on me, or my company, my reaction will be swift and simple. I fire you. I fire your co-workers. You can then plead with the government to pay for your mortgage, your SUV, and your child’s future. Frankly, it isn’t my money management problem any more.

Then, I will close this company down, move to another country, and retire. You see, I’m done. I’m done with a country that penalizes the productive and gives to the unproductive. My motivation to work and to provide jobs will be destroyed, and with it, will be my citizenship.

If you lose your job, it won’t be at the hands of the economy; it will be at the hands of a political hurricane that swept through this country, steamrolled the constitution, and will have changed its landscape forever. If that happens, you can find me sitting on a beach, retired, and with no employees to worry about….

Signed,
Your Boss

Pretty enlightening money management point of view, I’d say.

Sent to me by a friend, this is a good reminder that despite the economic crisis and runaway recession each of us are in control of our own future, if only we agree to disagree

His teachers said he was “too stupid to learn anything.” and was fired from his first two jobs for being “non-productive.”
Thomas Edison’s 1000 inventions came during the Panic of 1873 — 6 years — and the Long Depression — 23 years.

He did not speak until he was four years-old and did not read until he was seven. His parents thought he was “sub-normal,” and a teacher described him as “mentally slow, unsociable, and adrift forever in foolish dreams.”
Albert Einstein survived one Long Depression, three panics and Post WWI Recession.

He failed sixth grade and was subsequently defeated in many elections until he (Winston Churchill) became Prime Minister at the age of 62.

Only a mediocre pupil in undergraduate studies and ranked 15th out of 22 students in chemistry.
Louis Pasteur was ranked 15th out of 22 chemistry students.

It is said this farmer boy could not read nor write, failed and went broke five times. His company has survived 8 Recessions, 1 Oil Crisis and 1 Great Depression.
Hopefully Ford Motors will make it through this.

He was not allowed to wait on customers when he worked in a dry goods store because, his boss said, “he didn’t have enough sense.”
FW Woolworths was founded during the Long Depression that lasted 23 years with a loan of $300 and in 2001 changed its name to Footlocker.

Fired by his newspaper editor who said, “he lacked imagination and had no good ideas.” He went bankrupt several times before he built the largest entertainment company in the world.
Walt Disney’s creations have since survived 1 Great Depression and 7 Recessions.

After his first screen test, the memo from the testing director of MGM, dated 1933, read, “can’t act, can’t sing, slightly bald, can dance a little.”
Fred Astaire’s career lasted 76 years and was launched during the Great Depression.

School dropout and child runaway, this individual used $105 from his first social security check at the age of 65 and sold his franchise after 9 years of attempts and during two recessions.
The world knows him as “Colonel” Sanders, founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Trained ambulance driver and later a milkshake machine salesman, this guy took over a small scale franchise and built the company into largest fast food restaurant in the world.
Ray Kroc bought McDonalds during Recession of 1953.

The first time he walked on-stage as a professional comic, he looked out at the audience, froze, forgot the English language and was jeered offstage.
The Seinfeld show will pay Jerry over $250 million.

Decca Records and Columbia Records turned down a recording contract with this group suggesting, “Groups of guitars are on the way out.”
The Beatles delivered 292 performances in one year at a seedy little club in Liverpool before they were discovered!

He handled the violin awkwardly and preferred playing his own compositions instead of improving his technique. His teacher called him “hopeless as a composer.”
Beethoven wrote five of his greatest symphonies while completely deaf.

Is there a message here?
1) Never Quit
2) Everyone has problems!
3) Recessions don’t kill anyone!
4) Do something spectacular.

Small businesses that have money management and debt problems are anxiously waiting for the new credit card rules to go into effect in July 2010. But the majority of business owners need immediate debt relief. While the new rules will help, for some it will be too little, too late.

The main problem with using credit to finance your business is that it is a big risk. That risk, of course, is you are promising your future production to pay back that financial obligation in full and in a timely manner. There is really nothing wrong with using credit as long as there is virtually no risk involved in paying the money back. There is a lot wrong with being over your head in debt and being handcuffed to the credit cards. This is risky in the extreme, because with just one or two bad months, the house built on using credit lines can fall very quickly.

I am glad to see the new credit rules passed. What I am not happy about, however, is the length of time until credit issuers must comply. The current credit system has driven some individuals and businesses into bankruptcy and the rest of the nation to the very edge of financial disaster. The credit rules could have been mandated to be effective in 2 or 3 months rather than 18 months and it would help the economy now when it desperately needs it.

Living in a condition based on credit and debt is very, very risky. Done on a national scale, and helped along by exorbitant interest rates, over-limit fees, late charges, and a 22-day billing cycle, the nation’s consumers are $850 plus billion in credit debt and it is evident they are sinking fast. The new rules are a long overdue step in the right direction.

What are some of these new rules that everyone is talking about? Simply stated, the new rules prohibit:

- Placing unfair time constraints on payments. A payment could not be deemed late unless the borrower is given a reasonable period of time to pay. This would eliminate many of those exorbitant “late payment fees.”

- Placing too-high fees for exceeding the credit limit solely because of a hold placed on the account.

- Unfairly computing balances in a computing tactic known as double-cycle billing. This two-cycle method enables billing offices to charge interest on balances that were part of the previous month’s balance, even if the balance was paid in full.

- Unfairly adding security deposits and fees for issuing credit or making it available.

- Making deceptive offers of credit.

Two excellent provisions of the new rules are: 1) that customers will be given 45 days of notice before any changes are made to the terms of any account, including jacking their rate for missing a payment or paying a bill late, and 2) banks must apply payments (beyond the minimum) either to the balance with the highest rate or proportionally across all balances. The second one eliminates beyond the minimum payments to be applied to only to the lowest (or 0%) interest rate principals first.

When someone balance transfers to a zero interest rate card and then uses the card for purchases, the purchases are typically billed at a very high interest rate. What consumers fail to realize is that the bank will apply payments only to the zero interest balance while the higher rate purchase racks up interest charges until the entire zero balance principal is paid off. That sabotages the whole debt reduction strategy of the zero balance transfer.

While the Associated Press is calling the new rules the most sweeping clamp-down on the credit card industry in decades, I’m wondering why the clamp-down on the abuse took so long to be addressed, and why the banks are being given 18 months before the new laws go into effect. With modern technology we can move and make changes almost at the speed of light, so 18 months is like moving at the speed of a glacier.

As I have been doing for the past decade, I still advise business owners and consumers to use the 5 old-school money management tips on reducing debt that they can employ right now to start digging themselves out of debt and get their own personal economics healthy.

Money Management Strategy #1 – Stop Using Credit

The place to start is by locking away the credit cards and figuring out how to cut expenses back to function within your income. Unsurprisingly, this first step can take quite a bit of discipline. Paying operating expenses with credit cards can easily become a habit, and as a result, can rapidly build up debt for the small business.

Figure out ways to increase your income and instead use only cash. This is the single most effective action you can take to begin the process of debt reduction.

Money Management Strategy #2 – Never Spend More Money Than Your Company Makes

Paying for items with credit because you don’t have the cash is the recipe for economic slavery. Using credit in that manner commits your business’ future income to pay the credit company.

Business owners must get creative and find ways to increase the company’s income, and then use it to pay both current expenses and to pay off past credit debt. Additionally, a business owner must take a ruthless look at what expenses are absolutely necessary. Business expenditures should be expected to bring in more money, business, and income. If they don’t do this—don’t directly lead to the creation of more income in some way—then determine if the company can do without certain items in the short term.

Money Management Strategy #3 – Always Pay More Than the Minimum Payment

Set a goal to pay at least 3 to 5 times the minimum required payment on each credit card and line of credit. Paying the minimum amount due on credit payments is a financial trap that keeps you perpetually in debt.

An effective way to reduce the debt is to take 10% to 15% every week off the top of the company’s income and use it to pay down the debt. Don’t wait until the statement says the payment is due. Pay some on-line every week as soon as you earmark it for paying the debt. The added bonus is that you stop the daily interest compounding on the payment amount you made. That alone can save you thousands in interest over the long haul.

Money Management Strategy #4 – Never Spend Over Your Limit or Pay Late

Use old fashioned money management discipline and never sabotage your debt reduction program by getting hit with $25 to $39 over-the-limit or late fees. Banks, credit card companies, and other financial institutions make millions through financial penalties for being late or going over your credit limit. Worst of all, the money paid in penalties creates more debt.

Money Management Strategy #5 – Find Ways to Cut Expenses

While a fundamental requirement of any debt reduction program is more cash as fast as possible to pay the debt off, there is one important area that should not be considered an unnecessary expense. That area is marketing and promotion. Correct money management includes the continuous promotion of your company’s products and services. Marketing and advertising are areas you don’t want to stop spending on. Marketing is going to make you money and is a correct financial investment when properly done.

There is an old advertising saying that still holds true today: “When the economy is good you need to promote, and when the economy is bad you need to promote MORE!”

Whether an economy is in an economic depression, a recession, or is thriving, the above money management principals still apply. Money management for small business takes financial planning and discipline. Reducing debt is just one step in an overall program to ensure that a business will survive and make the maximum amount of money for the business owner. There are other steps in a successful money management program that can be taken to achieve your financial goals, and this will be addressed in future articles. For now, reduce that debt and improve the financial health of your own economy.

For more information about steps you can take to reduce your debt, sign up to receive the FREE Debt Reduction Solutions Guide. If you need further help with a debt management program, send an email to Sandra Simmons, President of Money Management Solutions, Inc. at info@MoneyMgmtSolutions.com  or call (727)448-1011