Blog Archives

Entitlement Spending

1/24/2016

There are 11 states that now have more people on welfare than they do employed including California and New York; states that have a massive impact on elections. Of course their citizens would want to continue to get help from the government thus typically voting for democratic candidates.

Between food stamps, housing support, child care, Medicaid and other benefits, the average U.S. Household below the poverty line receives $168.00 a day in government support. The median household income in America is just over $50,000, which averages out to $137.13 a day. To put it another way, being on welfare now pays the equivalent of $30.00 an hour for a 40 hour work week, while the average job pays $20.00 an hour. No wonder so many people don’t worry about getting a job.

Like many of you I donate money to various causes because I have a little money to spare. There’s no way in heck I’d continue to donate if I were bankrupt…it would be ludicrous. But this is exactly what our country is doing.

There are no easy answers but I promise you that if it pays better to not work than to work, our country will fail. The more liberals there are in DC the less opportunity we have to reform entitlement spending. It’s time to take our country back.

Castles (Two Minutes to Read)

1/1/2016

The mid-evil period has always fascinated me which includes the amazing castles that were built during those times. They began being built in the 9th Century and reached a peak during the middle-ages. One of the main reason castles fell by the wayside is due primarily to the beginning of the use of gun powder and canons as it became easier to destroy the once fortified stone walls. The bottom line is the castles couldn’t house enough weapons (such as cannons), and personnel to fight off decent size armies. Battles moved to open fields.

It might surprise you to know that many of the castles built were built by Syrian masons. It took an extreme level of expertise and the bests of the bests had reputations that made them the key “go to” people regardless of which country a castle was to be built in. Considering what these masons accomplished without the modern tools of today, I find it absolutely amazing how they did what they did.

Castles served a range of purposes, the most important of which were military, administrative, and domestic. As well as defensive structures, castles were also offensive tools which could be used as a base of operations in enemy territory. As William the Conqueror advanced through England, he fortified key positions to secure the land he had taken. Between 1066 and 1087, he established 36 castles such as Warwick Castle, which he used to guard against rebellions in the English Midlands. - Wiki

Castles were private residences and the size of the household was what determined how many people would work there. It wasn’t out of the norm for a small castle to be defended by a garrison of three knights and ten men-at-arms (much smaller than I thought). Larger castles could hold a few hundred knights and soldiers. I don’t know about you but I thought there would be more military than this but it all boiled down to money. The lord of the castle had to pay for protection and many of these lords might have lived in a castle but it didn’t mean they were well off financially (relatively speaking), especially with liquid cash. Their wealth was generally tied to the structures and land they owned so without tax money they wouldn’t have anything at all to pay the people who worked for them. Some things never change.

Most of the people who worked in the castle who had good jobs (not the ones who were in charge of getting rid of waste), were tied to the people who lived there like family, friends, etc., because they were paid positions. The largest amount of staff were focused on dining which back then was a way more meaningful event than it is today. There was someone who worked closely with the cook to source the supplies that would be needed for the meals. There were hunters who would go out and kill/trap the animals. There was one main cook with the appropriate amount of helpers. There were those designated to serve the meals (usually the more attractive people). In a few cases there were even food tasters who would check the king’s food and drink to make sure it wasn’t poisoned (what a great job). But the most powerful person of them all was the “Constable” who was responsible for running the entire castle. He was the one who had the king’s or lord’s ear so some people feared him while others used him for their own agendas (once again, some things never change).

Anyhow, like I said, I’ve always been intrigued by castles and I hope you too found this article interesting. Take care and make it a great day!

New York City Police Department

1/1/2016

New York City just had their graduation ceremony for 1,123 new police recruits. They have a total of 35,000 police officers serving which is the largest police force in the world. Thought you might be interested in knowing the graduating class consisted of 95 military veterans, 485 college graduates, 42 with master’s degrees, and three attorneys. They are from 69 different countries and can speak 49 different languages. Quite the melting pot, something I’m not used to living in Charlotte, NC. Thanks to all first responders for being there for us when we need them the most!

Financial Savings

1/1/2016

We all know we need to have money on hand for difficult times (raining days), but hardly any of us has saved enough money based on what financial experts say we should. Some say we should save at least six months of our salary meaning if you earn $50,000 a year then your goal should be to have $25,000 in the bank for emergencies like losing a job.

Regarding saving for retirement, some say we should save 5% of our annual income each year and put it into a 401k. There are a variety of thoughts but the bottom line is 97% of Americans aren’t following sound financial strategies when it comes to saving money.

But here’s the thing, we might not be doing what’s best for us as far as following sound financial advice but we are doing what’s generally best for our government (I’m not saying country), and that is spend, spend, spend.
Good luck finding a politician who truly wants people to take care of their own livelihoods; instead he or she lives off tax revenues and how they’re spent. Hasn’t power always been associated with money and vice-versa?

The more we spend the more we pay in taxes at every level even down to our city taxes. No, they don’t want us to put our money in the bank and not buy that extra I-Pad for the family. The more we spend the more they can legally take away from us. I guess what it all boils down to is this, if you really want to stick it to the government (the man), start your effective saving strategy today.

Entitlement Spending

Castles (Two Minutes to Read)

New York City Police Department

Financial Savings

Author: John Mann

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