'Tis finished...

I am finally finished on my MBA journey. What a great feeling it is to have this part of my education finished. I owe everything to my wife, who has supported me and sacrificed her personal wants and needs for my professional development. So, now what? This life's journey continues and I must, with my wife, of course develop new goals and targets for the future. A question I have for some of my family: When you have achieved a great milestone in your life, how did you transition to the next and develop a plan for the future?

BCS vs Playoff

If schools have so much trouble making money by going to BCS bowl, why would they even participate? Hmmmmm!!!!

Corporate vs. Government Organizational Behavior

Since I have started my MBA interesting topics have come up for me. As most of you know, I work for the Federal Govt. as a DoD employee. My question: Since DoD is not "profit" oriented, what kind of organizational change would affect its ability to become more efficient? One theory I have, is that the only change that could assist in capturing efficiencies that private sector companies enjoy, would be to minimize the effects of political change. How is the million dollar question.

The Monstrosity That Is.........

Anyone notice how big the centralized government of this country is getting? The U.S. Govt. has never been bigger from the perspective of per capita GDP than at any other time in its history. How in the heck did it get this way? My opinion: Apathetic citizens who are too comfortable to notice the problem. Your thoughts please....

Health Care Reform

Regardless of how you feel about the current health care reform legislation, how do you feel about one party having control of all three branches of government?

Right now, Mr. Obama has a monopoly on the legislative process, the executive as well as the judicial. How long do you think the electorate will allow this to go on? If it is one thing we have seen in the past, one party control of our government is not good for the economy. Healthcare reform is one of those that would not be good for the economy or the general health of our population. When most anything is socialized that has been a part of the "free market" system, we generally see a decline in the ability of the system to sustain at its current level, e.g. decline in quality of the product and quality of the training for people in that industry. If this gets ramrodded through, what would your predictions be?

STATISTICAL IRONY

We are constantly bombarded by "statistics" from politicians. How many of you out there take what politicians share with us as truthful? Before answering please consider first the possible motive (s) for them sharing the statistics in the first place. My question comes from the declaration of President Obama that the stimulus package is working. I am sure he used statistics to justify such a declaration. So what are the motives one has when throwing statistics around?

Economic Stimulus Package???

I have really struggled with what to write about this. The last week has shown really how out of touch our elected officials are with reality, Democrat or Republican. I am beginning to believe that these people never had a basic micro or macro class. When are they going to realize that the package they are proposing will only send us deeper into recession and possibly into the Massive Depression. I am not fool enough to believe that government can solve this problem, however based on public reaction to the proposal, it seems the IMFs statistical quantification of our literacy rate is a bit out of wack. All I can say, I hope people have been storing something for a rainy day. Oh, that's right, our country is in a state of dissaving, so we are basically screwed, collectively.

On a lighter note, everyone I come in contact with lately seems to have personal saving on their minds. If this is the case then I can feel safe that at least a third of the country is at least thinking about it.

One question: What would your economic stimulus plan look like?

Extreme Political Change

I don't know how many of you have seen "The Day After Tomorrow", but the recent U.S. Presidential elections reminded me of that movie. Just try and imagine what will happen when the eye of this storm passes over your town or state. We need to get off our collective behinds and elect people who have not lost touch with reality.

If you have a chance watch the above mentioned movie and see if you agree with me at least a little bit.

Sick, Sick, Sick

What a roller coaster ride. I am just sick about the recent tumult on Wall Street. It seems that the politicians are in bed with with the very companies they are bailing out. The elite taking care of the elite. Don't worry about the little guy because they don't matter. NEWS FLASH: To all politicians out there; you only have a job because we continue to allow it. One of these fine mornings there is going to be another "Boston Tea Party" and then we will have a real war. The vast majority of Americans will finally wake up and revolt. I am SICK, SICK, SICK of politicians who have lost touch with reality. The reality is: We cannot afford to be apathetic about our future, because you have to know your elected officials do not give a crap about you. All they care about is protecting the rights of those who contribute to their campaigns and get them reelected.

Anyone else out there ready to take a stand, by simply voting this election cycle for "NONE OF THE ABOVE"?

What to do with the Fed...................

I figure since I am captive in Dayton Ohio for the next 3.5 weeks(already been here for 1.5) I will get some of the thoughts that have been going through my mind out into the digital arena.

I had a very engaging conversation a few nights ago with a brand new air force lieutenant, who is a closet economist(he won't admit it openly but it's true). He is a big fan of Ron Paul and so we were conversing about some of Paul's views; most of which I agree with on some fundamental level.

The thought came out, that we should do away with the fed, take our proverbial economic lumps and we would be better off in the long run.

First of all, to what end was the fed originally created? Why does it exist today? Has it "out lived" its usefulness?

Secondly, does the fed have a global purpose today? If so, why?

Lastly, if the fed just goes away, what are the short term economic implications? What are some of the potential long term effects?

Take some time to let this sink in and then reply. I am currently researching my own questions to find some of the very real effects of such a decision.

I would appreciate any relevant replies.

McCain in Dayton..........

As many of you know I recently took a job with the Air Force as a Contracting Specialist. I was notified that I would be attending a school in Dayton, Ohio for five weeks to get my initial training out of the way. Incredibly, I am now here in Dayton and McCain will be here tomorrow. I am going to try and get to the rally being held at the Nutter center tomorrow. Anything I should do special as this would be my first time at a presidential election with a presumptive nominee?

Press One for English...

What do y'all think?

This one is great.............

Informal Poll

It is apparent to me that technical economic jargon must be scary. So my question to you:

Did you have an adverse or bad experience with economics in college or high school? If you did; what happened?

Evan

Milton Friedman was one of the greatest economists ever.................

Moving towards facism?

How appropriate is this...............?

Economic Growth

The economic growth numbers are out. 1% growth the lowest in five years. Your thoughts on this please. Keep in mind a few questions when answering this one.

1. Do you think the federal reserve has something to do with this?

2. Is big business the problem?

3. What is the government's role in all this?

4. Does the average consumer bear any culpability?

5. Does the rate of dis-saving in this country have anything to do with it?

Evan

Politically charged........................

I had a discussion with my wife recently regarding Barack Obama's campaign tactics. She observed a commercial wherein Mr. Obama claims to have cut taxes, been strong on national defense and championed the average American's rights to pursue their dreams. She said that the commercial made her feel somewhat positive towards him as the potential president.

On the flip side, Senator Obama was named the most liberal Senator in the US Senate. How can he espouse these above mentioned values and still be the most liberal senator?

We all know that most Americans do not take the time to be informed enough about the candidates and what they really stand for. I believe that Obama is counting on the negatively charged atmosphere against the Republican party and the fact that the overwhelming majority of Americans do not take their voting rights seriously; to win the Presidency. I must add, I am not all that excited about electing a liberal republican to the office either. Need I name names?

What are your thoughts?