Economics from a people first point-of-view
February 10th, 2017 — Economics and Investing, Government, Taxes
Like most Americans I’ve heard of VAT taxes, but I didn’t really understand how they work. The difference between VAT and sales taxes is important though when it comes to President Trump’s policies on immigration (“Trump’s Wall”) and his proposed “border adjuestment taxes” on Mexican imports to the US.
February 8th, 2017 — Government, Reviews
Are you feeling anxious, off-balance and confused? Are you feeling shame, anxiety, and a sense that nothing makes sense anymore? You could be suffering from gaslighting.
I’ve long been fascinated by “psychopaths,” or as they were later called “sociopaths,” and are now labeled, individuals with “anti-social personality disorder”.
Whatever name they’re called by, I’ve met several of of these people over my lifetime. As a 20-year old I was pursued by a psychopath who turned out to be a serial killer. I barely escaped his attentions.
After earning a professional degree I got to know another sociopath quite well because we were colleagues at work for a couple of years.
Her increasingly outrageous antics resulted in many people being frustrated and put off-balance. Chaos and confusion reigned until that organization lost tens of thousands of dollars and she was fired. Continue reading →
January 3rd, 2017 — Government, Investing
Author’s note: It’s no surprise this week that the Financial Times ran an article titled “Republicans drop plan to gut ethics office after outcry“. Even Donald Trump sent a tweet rebuking them. Think our Congress doesn’t need guidance on ethics? Think again!
If Mr. Trump was serious about cleaning up corruption in Washington DC, the first place he needs to start is with the US House of Representatives and the Senate.
In recent news, it was reported that Senators Bob Corker and Mark Warner made a bundle back in 2008. They made it off of Goldman Sachs’ subprime mortgage-based CDOs (collateralized debt obligations) called Abacus. Both Senators reported that they made millions of dollars from shorting the Abacus fund.
As is typical with the US government regulators, such as the SEC and Department of Justice, no CEO, top executives, or board members at Goldman were prosecuted for this notorious scam.
In fact no one was ever criminally prosecuted for actions in the Financial Crisis of 2008. Continue reading →