Recently, I hopped over to the United Kingdom to meet some friends and perspective clients in London with a buddy. I have been everywhere, and I mean everywhere in Asia, Europe, South America, and the United States.
Despite my time in Tokyo, Osaka, Hong Kong, Shanghai, New York City, San Francisco, Paris, Rio, Barcelona, and Venice, I can comfortably say that London, with its Great Britain Pound and $50+ million dollar royal wedding is absolutely the most expensive city in the entire world!
Here’s a sample itinerary of what I spent on a Friday. I’ve recorded to the best of my ability what I spent to give you an idea of what food, lodging, clothing, and transportation costs go for in London and how it compares to your city. Don’t shit a brick! Read more…
I’m confused and I need your help! There are supposedly millions of people in the world who believe a Republican is actually going to beat Obama and win the 2012 Presidential election. Of these fine people, many think Mitt Romney will be the leading candidate. You know, the one who on national TV bet Rick Perry $10,000 bucks on something he claims he did not say. Way to really connect with the American people Mitt! The average household income is around $55,000, and you’re talking $10,000 bets?!
Mitt Romney’s 13.9% Federal income tax rate on his $21.7 million 2010 earnings is a lower tax rate than an individual making $60,000 a year. Yet, for some odd reason, Republicans believe the middle class of America won’t be bothered by this fact and revolt against an “evil rich person” who is out of touch with America. Come on folks, people are selfish and greedy! If we can’t have our strawberry cheesecake, nobody else is going to have it too! We’d rather have the cheesecake rot on the sidewalk for the mice to eat.
There are millions of people in America who are willing to vote on a candidate to raise taxes on other people without being willing to pay more taxes themselves. I’ve written time and time again that this is not right, and we should fight for equality every single day. Discrimination is not OK if you are not being discriminated against! But, I also realize people don’t really care what I say, or whether other people are being discriminated against. People vote with their pocket books, baby! Everybody else be damned!
MY GRASS ROOTS PROPOSAL TO GET REPUBLICANS TO DONATE MORE TO CHARITY Read more…
Lucky Amanda Clayton, 24, recently won $1 million dollars from the Michigan State lottery. The interesting point about Amanda is that even after winning the lottery, she is still using her “Bridge Card” for food. The Bridge Card is essentially a $200 a month state funded food program (food stamps) for people who have lost their jobs or fall under a certain income threshold.
When asked by a local reporter why she is still accepting food money from the government, she responded, “I thought that they would cut me off, but since they didn’t, I thought maybe it was OK because I’m not working.”
And when asked by the reporter whether she felt it was morally right to accept food money designated for low income people, she replied, ”I feel that it’s OK because I mean, I have no income and I have bills to pay. I have two houses.”
My initial reaction to the story was that of excitement for Amanda. She was basically down and out, with no job and just won a million bucks! Someone had to win the money, so it might as well have been someone most in need, rather than someone who is already rich right? After all, a couple million people probably spent $2 in after-tax money to buy this particular lottery, thereby already helping fund the state once again!
A MILLION BUCKS IS NOT A MILLION BUCKS Read more…
On Wednesday, January 18th large internet companies such as Wikipedia blacked out their sites in protest of the Stop Piracy Act Bill (SOPA). The nice-sounding bill threatens to destroy creativity and freedom of speech on the Internet by allowing the US Department of Justice and copyright holders authority to attack sites who enable or facilitate copyright infringement.
Imagine Financial Samurai sharing a piece of useful information on how to prevent credit card theft online, and the original creator is from some giant corporation who has a propensity to sue despite linking back and giving credit. I will probably never bother to share this useful content in fear of having some overly paranoid lawyer sue me for SOPA infringement if this bill passes. Our society is already litigious enough!
I’m proud of the Internet community for speaking out against SOPA. The government, despite all its “good intentions” should not be in the business of regulating what we can share and say online. Sure, there is a limit to what we can and should do, especially if someone is being untruthful, but for the government to get involved with what I can and cannot say on my own site is wrong and I am fiercely against SOPA and more government regulation!
You would think that those who are against big government would also be against big government who discriminates based on income, gender, and sexual preference, but you’d be mistaken. To many, discrimination is OK, so long as they aren’t being discriminated against.
THE HYPOCRISY OF INCONSISTENCY Read more…
Deru kugi wa utareru is a Japanese proverb that means, “The nail that sticks out gets hammered down.“ In other words, stand out too much and you become a marked person. I wholeheartedly agree with this proverb, and live by it until it’s time to make a move.
Unless you are an egomaniac who just can’t get enough attention, in almost every scenario it’s good to be the underdog. You can walk around freely and nobody will ever notice you. As the underdog, you always have the chance of surprising on the upside as well. Nobody expects you to do amazing things coming out of community college. However, if you go to Yale University and spend your parent’s $250,000 to get that degree, you better do something great, or else!
Let’s go through some common scenarios and discuss why it’s great to be the underdog.
ON THE JOB UNDERDOG
When you first start off at a new job, there is a tendency to show how knowledgeable and great you are. Don’t. It’s important to pay your dues and keep your special opinions to yourself until you have the complete trust of your colleagues. If you’re a low level employee driving to work in a fancy car, don’t. Why on earth would your boss ever promote and pay you if you seem to have all the money in the world? Your colleagues are going to be jealous and push you down. Instead, drive a beater or take public transportation.
You might know more than your senior colleagues, or at least think you know, but do not try and outshine them. Instead, use your knowledge to help them shine. Read more…
Happy New Year Everyone!
The Dow closed up 5.5% in 2011 vs. a prediction of up only 5%. A 50 basis points differential is a critical error that needs to be rectified if I want to get beyond a “B” grade given to me by a reader. Apologies for my negligence! At least the direction was correct.
Several people have asked whether I’m involved with the CIA given the prediction of Kim Jung Il’s passing came true. I can neither confirm, nor deny. You don’t want to know because it’s for your own safety. Meanwhile, others asked how I knew some of the bigger blogs in the PF space where all owned by larger companies almost a year before the news broke. It’s obvious folks. The writing is different, the original founders no longer interact with their readers, or comment on other sites, and the allure of money is too great to deny.
Making predictions is fun. More bloggers should make them as it gives readers an idea of whether you are crazy or not! Who cares if you’re wrong? What matters is the reasoning, as nobody gets it right all the time. With clear thoughts come clear decisions. I encourage everyone to sit down in front of the computer and write down how they think the world will pan out in the next 12 months and plan accordingly.
This year’s predictions are somewhat tame compared to 2011′s predictions. The reason is because after so many shocks, nothing really surprises anymore. Furthermore, the more you get right, the less there are to make. Please enjoy!
PREDICTIONS FOR 2012 Read more…
