Within hours of hearing the devastating news of a huge earthquake that recently hit Haiti, Americans immediately began to reach deep into their pocketbooks to provide some sort of monetary support for the victims of this natural tragedy. While these charitable contributions are made in an attempt to help provide relief for those effected, it is important to be reminded of the possibility of scammers abusing your compassion and desire to help the Haitian people by setting up fake websites stating they are working directly with relief efforts in Haiti.
A surge in Haitian charity domain names being registered since that fateful day is a key indicator to the amount of caution that should be made by consumers when making donations online or over the phone. Most of these domains names recently purchased contain the words "help" "relief" "aid" "survivors" or "donations" to trick unknowing donors of where their hard earned money is actually going. Directly into the unscrupulous individual's pocket.
One thing that consumers should do before contributing to any charity is to verify the legitimacy of that organization before giving any sort of financial or personal information over a website form, email or phone. Sticking to well-known charities such as the American Red Cross or World Vision helps to ensure that your donation amount is used for authority campaigns that can be tracked and publicized. The authenticity of a cause can also be verified by Charity Navigator, which bills itself as a guide for intelligent giving.
Also, consumers should also be aware and skeptical of individuals that proactively contact them via email or phone claiming to be officials, directors or surviving victims of a popular cause. It is often easy for anyone to pick up the phone and dial a person to portray a convincing and honest request that promises to benefit those most in need, and unfortunately, this is the most common method that scammers use in obtaining credit card information from uninformed consumers. Your best bet is to ask the caller for the exact website of their charity and do some due diligence before making your donation. This step is easy but often overlooked.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
"Incorporate Business Interests With Public Good" She Demanded - A Look at Forced Philanthropy
When it comes to free market capitalism, I am much in line with Milton Friedman's philosophy, and I love to recommend his book; "The Right to Choose" and like a good capitalist, I believe that much of Ayn Rand's philosophy is also correct. And yet, I've always run my business in such a way to help the communities where our companies did their business. I've always believed that is important to give a little back as you grow, and not just scrape the cream off the top.
This is the way that I've always run my business, and therefore, I've always enjoyed reading the books of the great business titans who built their companies from scratch and did the same thing. I speak of Ray Kroc's; "Grinding It out" - Sam Walton's; "Made in America" - and Bill Gates' with his Bill and Melinda Gates foundation.
However, not long ago I was disturbed when a hard-core left-wing liberal-socialist leaning lady told me that companies "must" incorporate business interests with the public good. In fact she was very demanding of this. It concerned me, because I have always given back all my life since I was a very young man running a company, until I retired, and I still volunteer today. Not because it's mandatory, or forced upon me, but because I choose to.
The thought of having a government or a group of regulators telling me where to give my money, time, and efforts to the common good disturbed me immensely.
Indeed, I am just as disturbed with the government stealing my money through taxation and giving it to causes that I don't particularly care for, or I wouldn't give up my own money for because I don't believe they deserve it. So, being in a debating type mood, I put forth this argument to my acquaintance, while trying to be as tactful as possible, so I could get her to think through their own demands upon my civil liberties, and right to free contract.
"Creating reward systems which allow positive community results from business endeavors makes sense, what do you suggest? And have you considered the challenges and realities of what Hitler did in NAZI Germany in that regard, where he commanded, nationalized, and forced businesses to do his social bidding? What changes in such a focus would you make not to cause the "Ayn Rand" effect, as socialism aspects of such a concept, caused entrepreneurs to just quit?"
And then I asked a dubious question, one I'm sure she's not able to answer, or it would blow her whole concept; Would you imprison them if they didn't help the "common good" as per your new rules, and would you make them run the companies for you? Please consider all this, because there are nations which run like this, Bolivia, Venezuela, and others.
This is the way that I've always run my business, and therefore, I've always enjoyed reading the books of the great business titans who built their companies from scratch and did the same thing. I speak of Ray Kroc's; "Grinding It out" - Sam Walton's; "Made in America" - and Bill Gates' with his Bill and Melinda Gates foundation.
However, not long ago I was disturbed when a hard-core left-wing liberal-socialist leaning lady told me that companies "must" incorporate business interests with the public good. In fact she was very demanding of this. It concerned me, because I have always given back all my life since I was a very young man running a company, until I retired, and I still volunteer today. Not because it's mandatory, or forced upon me, but because I choose to.
The thought of having a government or a group of regulators telling me where to give my money, time, and efforts to the common good disturbed me immensely.
Indeed, I am just as disturbed with the government stealing my money through taxation and giving it to causes that I don't particularly care for, or I wouldn't give up my own money for because I don't believe they deserve it. So, being in a debating type mood, I put forth this argument to my acquaintance, while trying to be as tactful as possible, so I could get her to think through their own demands upon my civil liberties, and right to free contract.
"Creating reward systems which allow positive community results from business endeavors makes sense, what do you suggest? And have you considered the challenges and realities of what Hitler did in NAZI Germany in that regard, where he commanded, nationalized, and forced businesses to do his social bidding? What changes in such a focus would you make not to cause the "Ayn Rand" effect, as socialism aspects of such a concept, caused entrepreneurs to just quit?"
And then I asked a dubious question, one I'm sure she's not able to answer, or it would blow her whole concept; Would you imprison them if they didn't help the "common good" as per your new rules, and would you make them run the companies for you? Please consider all this, because there are nations which run like this, Bolivia, Venezuela, and others.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
The Outsider Code and Exchange Traded Funds
If you are like the majority of hard-working, permanently employed people you will have spent your working life being urged by your government to save for your retirement and to put money by for your children's education and to invest in a home. In fact, most of the money you have ever earned has probably been channeled one way or another along these routes.
The financial markets have produced a huge array of products that compete for the business of taking your money and investing it to achieve these objectives. And because the government assumes that you are too ignorant or feckless to choose the right products for yourself it recommends, or indeed insists, that you use the services of a financial adviser when buying one of the products.
Accordingly, financial advisers and the products they sell are subject to massive regulations designed to limit what you can do with your money. This is supposedly designed for your own protection. The government does not want you frittering away your money on unsuitable financial products, losing most of it and then becoming dependent on the state in your old age. The message is that financial advisers have the expertise that you lack to direct and invest your money and that if you stick to the system you will be safe.
But guess what? It does not work.
The past ten years (25% or 30% of most people's career spans) have demonstrated that they system does not deliver the benefits it is supposed to deliver. Because the system was designed in the days when everyone assumed that the markets would continue to rise. Or at worst, would always recover to former levels after any temporary downturn. This is demonstrably no longer true. Some of the biggest banks in the world have gone bust. Well known fund managers have been exposed as criminals. Retirement funds have imploded.
For example, if you have a pension or savings account invested in, say, mutual funds, there is a 90% chance that not only is your fund way short of its projected value but it is worth less than the amount of money you have paid into it. And this is despite the fact that you have employed a qualified financial adviser, allowed him to cream off generous commissions, taken every word of his advice and done everything, absolutely everything, that the government advised you to do.
When you look at your financial statements and survey the wreckage of your supposed wealth it can make you feel like you have been robbed. Which is exactly what has happened. You have been robbed by a dishonest and corrupt system which depends on extortion for its existence and ignorance for its enforcement.
How does this make you feel? There are two types of responses to this situation. The first is to shrug your shoulders and retreat into the delusion that the market, and your money, will eventually recover and all will be well. The second response is to get mad.
When you get mad and you investigate further you'll discover that your highly paid financial adviser is little more than a salesman and has no particular expertise or experience in investing money. You will discover that fund managers are more concerned to protect their bonuses than invest your money wisely. And when you look at the regulations that are supposed to safeguard you you will find that they are worthless: there is no guarantee that your obedience to the system has protected your money at all.
In fact, you will discover that you are on your own. The systems and safeguards that are supposed to provide the security for your money patently do not work. Your hard-earned savings have been squandered away by greedy, incompetent knuckleheads propped up by a system that is impotent to safeguard you.
The lesson is clear. You must take control of your own money. You must become independent of the legalized theft that is the financial services market and you must assume responsibility for the management of your own capital. There are many, little-known financial instruments now available to independent, private investors that enable them to do just that. You owe it to yourself and your family to investigate the route to financial freedom that will enable you to rebuild your wealth.
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The financial markets have produced a huge array of products that compete for the business of taking your money and investing it to achieve these objectives. And because the government assumes that you are too ignorant or feckless to choose the right products for yourself it recommends, or indeed insists, that you use the services of a financial adviser when buying one of the products.
Accordingly, financial advisers and the products they sell are subject to massive regulations designed to limit what you can do with your money. This is supposedly designed for your own protection. The government does not want you frittering away your money on unsuitable financial products, losing most of it and then becoming dependent on the state in your old age. The message is that financial advisers have the expertise that you lack to direct and invest your money and that if you stick to the system you will be safe.
But guess what? It does not work.
The past ten years (25% or 30% of most people's career spans) have demonstrated that they system does not deliver the benefits it is supposed to deliver. Because the system was designed in the days when everyone assumed that the markets would continue to rise. Or at worst, would always recover to former levels after any temporary downturn. This is demonstrably no longer true. Some of the biggest banks in the world have gone bust. Well known fund managers have been exposed as criminals. Retirement funds have imploded.
For example, if you have a pension or savings account invested in, say, mutual funds, there is a 90% chance that not only is your fund way short of its projected value but it is worth less than the amount of money you have paid into it. And this is despite the fact that you have employed a qualified financial adviser, allowed him to cream off generous commissions, taken every word of his advice and done everything, absolutely everything, that the government advised you to do.
When you look at your financial statements and survey the wreckage of your supposed wealth it can make you feel like you have been robbed. Which is exactly what has happened. You have been robbed by a dishonest and corrupt system which depends on extortion for its existence and ignorance for its enforcement.
How does this make you feel? There are two types of responses to this situation. The first is to shrug your shoulders and retreat into the delusion that the market, and your money, will eventually recover and all will be well. The second response is to get mad.
When you get mad and you investigate further you'll discover that your highly paid financial adviser is little more than a salesman and has no particular expertise or experience in investing money. You will discover that fund managers are more concerned to protect their bonuses than invest your money wisely. And when you look at the regulations that are supposed to safeguard you you will find that they are worthless: there is no guarantee that your obedience to the system has protected your money at all.
In fact, you will discover that you are on your own. The systems and safeguards that are supposed to provide the security for your money patently do not work. Your hard-earned savings have been squandered away by greedy, incompetent knuckleheads propped up by a system that is impotent to safeguard you.
The lesson is clear. You must take control of your own money. You must become independent of the legalized theft that is the financial services market and you must assume responsibility for the management of your own capital. There are many, little-known financial instruments now available to independent, private investors that enable them to do just that. You owe it to yourself and your family to investigate the route to financial freedom that will enable you to rebuild your wealth.
canada pharmacy
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