Economics

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Is Ten Percent Too Much For Health Care?

President Obama is having his fourth news conference as I type.  He is suggesting health care will cost us ten percent of our national budget if we do not gain control over costs.  Is that a bad thing?  How do we measure the health of our population against other priorities?
When President Eisenhower left office in [...]

23Jun2009 | Ohg Rea Tone | 1 comment | Continued
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The Concept of “Small Business” in 2009

When I was a child growing up in an Ozzie and Harriet neighborhood we had neighborhood grocery stores, hardware stores, gas stations with neighborhood mechanics, and a small bakery. All of these businesses were mom and pop operations. All were a joy to visit. There was always a friendly face and a genuine desire to help the customer. The environment of that time was one of mutual respect and support. As Joe DiMaggio might say, “Nostalgia is not what it used to be.” America has changed – and the mega corporations drive the economy.

30Apr2009 | Ohg Rea Tone | 0 comments | Continued
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Credit Card Potential Becomes Liability for Banks

Credit Cards – a nasty phrase of doom or the potential for happiness?  That depends on whether you are a bank or a consumer.  And it also depends on the economic climate.  I have held about fifteen credits cards at any one time for many years.  I don’t carry any balances – I don’t owe [...]

12Apr2009 | Ohg Rea Tone | 0 comments | Continued
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Does Our Economic Attitude Matter? A Hole in the Bucket.

Well, they (whoever they is) measure consumer confidence. What do you suppose that is about? Consumer confidence is a measurement of the confidence people have about their ability to sustain their life style – in a manner of speaking. The consequence of positive attitude is that people will spend their money because they have confidence that more is coming. Negative consumer confidence implies that people will not spend their money. Attitude does matter. Gratitude rhymes with attitude for a reason.

7Apr2009 | Ohg Rea Tone | 0 comments | Continued
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The Big Disconnect Between Haves and Have-Nots

A really fascinating dichotomy occurs when community leaders have to go to the public for support on tax initiatives.  Our example is of a microcosm of modern America – the town of St. Joseph, Missouri.  We live in rural northwest Missouri, just outside of Punkin Center, and we watch the local economy.  The St. Joseph [...]

2Apr2009 | Ohg Rea Tone | 0 comments | Continued
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Trust God, But Lock Your Car

The finger pointing has only just begun, and there is reason this is so.  People across this country have been devastated by the collapse of our economy.  The natural stages of grief have kicked in.  The initial stage is denial (John McCain said the fundamentals of the economy are sound).  Denial is followed quickly by [...]

16Mar2009 | Ohg Rea Tone | 0 comments | Continued
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Capitalism is Stronger with a Christian Alloy

Capitalism is the iron of our economy.  Long ago men found they could melt iron ore and produce new weapons and new tools.   Iron improved the lives of everyone and would eventually launch the industrial revolution.  I have cast iron pots and pans even today.  But iron was found to be brittle and easily [...]

5Mar2009 | Ohg Rea Tone | 3 comments | Continued
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McCain Continues Trivial Pursuit

John McCain demonstrated his proclivity for trivia in the last election for President. While the country was facing two wars and an economic collapse beyond any seen in recent memory, McCain was harping about Bill Ayers. He lost the election but has not lost his desire to make a big deal out of small things.

4Mar2009 | Ohg Rea Tone | 4 comments | Continued
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Obama – Spending or Investing, Big Differences

President Obama has proposed a huge federal budget.  In actual adjusted dollars the budget is the largest since 1945, just as we were coming out of WWII.  The Republicans are shouting and whining and crying the traditional refrain: “The Liberal are spending our money!  Run for your life!”  Obviously, there is much spending – but [...]

26Feb2009 | Ohg Rea Tone | 1 comment | Continued
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Mortgage Conundrum – Who Deserves Help?

Last week 60 Minutes did a segment on an elderly woman who seems to be the victim of predatory lending. The bias of the program was clearly designed to support the case of the woman and to discredit the lending agency. This problem is not so simple.

18Feb2009 | Ohg Rea Tone | 1 comment | Continued
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Homeless Community

This writer has worked and volunteered at the same social service agencies dedicated to cleaning up the river banks, to rescuing the downtrodden, to saving the helpless, threading the eye of the needle as a gateway to Heaven. We will walk through the Pearly Gates and God will thump us on the forehead with his middle finger, look at us in disgust, and then invite us in to the ultimate shelter from damnation. We will be seated in the middle row, the homeless will have front row seats.

9Feb2009 | Ohg Rea Tone | 3 comments | Continued
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Identity Confusion

Who am I? Sounds like something Descartes might have asked – but I am not nearly so complex a creature as Descartes. There are a few things that are certain. I know I am a father and a grandfather. But those are mere biological truths (I defer here to Descartes). But the ideal of world politics, of a world community, of being an active participant in my world – leaves me a bit confused. I am just trying to figure out if I am liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican. It seems to me that the question is most often defined in terms of economics – and sometimes in terms of culture.

2Feb2009 | Ohg Rea Tone | 2 comments | Continued
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Republican Peanut Butter

Have you bought any peanut butter lately? If so, perhaps you should check the label for signs of the GOP. The current wide spread salmonella poisoning of peanut butter is a great metaphor for the leadership of the GOP for the past eight years. The Bush administration, supported by the same congressmen who now oppose Obama, had one simple philosophy in domestic affairs: Leave Business Alone!

29Jan2009 | Ohg Rea Tone | 1 comment | Continued
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Economic Illiteracy

Illiteracy. Generally we think of this word in terms of simple reading and writing. Some have changed the phraseology to ‘functional illiteracy.’ I suppose this means that a person knows the alphabet, can discern some words, and can perhaps sign their name. People are ‘functionally illiterate’ when their comprehension of reading impairs their ability to function in a complex society. If we apply this axiom to our economy, we might easily conclude that most of us are economically functionally illiterate.

27Jan2009 | Ohg Rea Tone | 1 comment | Continued
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Bernie Madoff, Traitor, Turncoat, Judas, Treason

Is there a greater crime against our country than that which Bernie Madoff is charged?  I don’t think so.  This is not ‘just’ stealing 50 Billion dollars – this is about the harm done to our way of life.  Our way of life is based on capitalism tempered by faith, or consideration for others.  Bernie [...]

8Jan2009 | Ohg Rea Tone | 0 comments | Continued
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WalMart Sweat Labor – The Case for Tariffs

My son and I agree on just about everything philosophically – but we differ in problem solution.  He and his friends are on a big toot to boycott WalMart in protest of Chinese sweat labor.  There is no argument from me on the atrocities of the Chinese labor market.  But the idea of boycotting WalMart [...]

2Jan2009 | Ohg Rea Tone | 2 comments | Continued
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The Christian Message and Economic Prosperity…

We have mentioned Dave Ramsey and Joel Osteen on this magazine, and I thought it might be a good idea to spend some time on the difference between a minister and a motivational speaker. I think that the line can get pretty blurry. In order to do the subject justice, we have to mention the [...]

6Dec2008 | bryan | 3 comments | Continued
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