How Much Hunger Could Your Ring Alleviate?

I saw this on Catwalk Cat Fight, and thought it was interesting.








It got me thinking about the things that I buy. My engagement ring cost $350. I lost it. The replacement cost $350. I could feed 14 children for a year with the cost of my rings. It's an interesting way to think about it. We so often think of these things as "must haves" but how many of the material things that I have could be foregone in favor of helping hungry children?

How many children could your engagement ring feed?

What Am I Reading?

Every now and again I am asked what I'm reading. Right now it's House of Cards, The Difference, Pride and Prejudice and Fortune and Fate. Chances are that I am reading three or four books at any given time:

1. A work of fiction that I'm re-reading because I like it (Pride and Prejudice).
2. A work of fiction that I haven't read before (Fortune and Fate - but I'm about done).
3. A work of non-fiction (House of Cards), usually political or economic in nature.
4. Some finance-related book (The Difference) that I plan to review on one of my blogs. I love these especially because I usually get review copies for free. And to me, there is nothing better in life than a free book.

Josh says that reading that many books at once makes me distracted. He's probably right. I am a rather distracted person...

What are you reading?

Shameless Self-Promotion: Earth Day Edition

This past Wednesday (the 22) was Earth Day. And, in honor of Earth Day, I wrote a number of posts this week on the subject of being a little more environmentally friendly. Here are some of the highlights:

1. Save money and the planet by getting your food locally.
2. Indoor composting with a new robot -- that does it without making things smelly.
   
3. Learn about solar panel installation tax credits.
4. You can invest in companies that share your values with socially responsible investing.
5. There are benefits to making green home improvements.
6. Credit card reward programs that benefit environmental causes.

And, as a sort of bonus, enjoy this fun video. What sorts of investments should you be considering? Why, tangible things. Like fire and things you can eat!

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Earth Day: Pollution as a Health Risk

One of my biggest pet peeves is all the focus on global warming (or, if you prefer the term "they" are trying to popularize: global climate change). At Logan's Tax Day Tea Party, a guy holding a sign that read, "Global warming is a damned lie" only reinforced my irritation with our social, political and cultural obsession with this "inconvenient truth". See, I hate the focus on climate change because it's debatable. Even if we all agree that the climate is changing (and there are plenty of "folks" who don't), debate rages over whether humans caused and whether we can do anything about it. This whole argument is a waste of time. Instead, we should be focusing on pollution.

Air pollution is a public health issue

When we think of global climate change, we think of it as an environmental issue. We also think of it as debatable "politics" rather than "science". Which, honestly, makes quite a lot of policymakers and corporations happy. The real issue should be pollution. There is little doubt that much of our air is dirty. And there is little doubt that air pollution poses very real health risks. A host of health problems can be linked to air pollution. So aren't we focusing more on this problem? Because then something would have to be done. As long as we the people are distracted by a "debate" about global warming, we won't demand that our biggest polluters stop dirtying the air we breathe.

Focusing on, and attacking, air pollution as a public health issue would be a great thing for us to do for the planet. Everyone would benefit: Earth, us, plants and animals. Even corporations would benefit if they used pollution reduction as a chance to embrace innovation and find new solutions. So let's quit the global warming talk, and start talking about our air and our health.

Consecration and Persecution

Mmmmmm...Two of my favorite lessons in church -- on the same day. I love Law of Consecration lessons, because it's fun to see people struggling with the idea. Here's how it works: You give everything you have/produce/make to a guy. He then distributes everything out to people according to their needs. Here in Utah, where straight-up capitalism practically has the aura of a commandment, you can kind of see how people start to become a little uncomfortable when we start talking Law of Consecration. Because it sounds a lot like another word that begins with the letter "C".

And persecution. Our forebears went through a lot for us. It is important to remember this and learn from their courage and faith. And yes, many people are ridiculed and experience emotional (and even physical) persecution because of their faith today. However, I'm not sure we needed to spend the amount of time we did discussing the "persecution of the Saints in California -- with everything that's going on politically." After all, protesting a political position taken by the Church (and several other churches as well) does not constitute persecution. It's political free speech. If protests do constitute persecution, what does that say about Church members holding rallies and protests? When someone is protesting against you, it's persecution. But when you protest against someone else, it's a defense of your rights. Oh yeah, and why are we talking about politics in church?

It's why I volunteer to help in primary. Because I couldn't do this every single week.

Shameless Self-Promotion: Tax Season is Over

Some highlights from this week. It was a remarkably stressful week, and I have been rather unmotivated, but I got everything done and it's all over now. And some pretty decent stuff came out of it:

1. I wrote a piece on pet millionaires that are independently wealthy. That's right. These dogs and cats are richer than you are.
2. Read about why I think a $0 tax return is the way to go.
3. It's tempting, but now may not be the best time to cancel your credit card -- especially if you are planning to buy a home.
4. Sure we're in a recession. But that means there are lots of things on sale. 4 things that you should buy now, before the economy -- and prices -- start growing again.
5. I did a guest post over at Free From Broke. It's all about some fantastic money Twitter folks. And the comments even include more people to follow.
6. Some information on paying estimated taxes quarterly. Which you should be doing if you are making money with side businesses or as someone who is self-employed.

Tax Day and Tea Parties

I've been asked what I think about today's Tea Parties. And how the "liberal" media isn't covering them. First of all, the "liberal" media has been covering them. I've been seeing stories about them on CNN, MSNBC and in several newspapers for the past two weeks. The only reason you think the "liberal" media hasn't been covering them is because you probably watch Fox "News" exclusively, and they have been telling you, in a "fair and balanced" manner that Tea Parties are not being covered, even though the "grassroots" nature of them requires coverage.

The actual liberal media has also been covering these Tea Parties. (And by actual liberal media, I mean HuffPo, AlterNet, Think Progress, FireDogLake and the like.) And, doing so in a way that the mainstream "liberal" media isn't. Indeed, once you look at who is funding these Tea Parties, you see that it is corporate lobbyists. Um, isn't that part of what these Tea Parties are supposed to be against? Aren't these Tea Parties a purely "grassroots" effort? Whatever.

Anyway, AlterNet has a great piece on corporate lobbyist coordination of today's Tea Parties, and Think Progress has a rather strident piece about Tea Parties. And TBogg at FDL has a rather great quote about the whole thing. So, that's what I think about Tea Parties.

Happy Tax Day.

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Why the Social Stigma Attached to Medicaid?

A family friend recently wondered why there is a social stigma attached to Medicaid that there isn't to public school. He asserts that they are both programs provided by the government, so why is one (public school) acceptable and the other (Medicaid) unacceptable? Personally, I think that there are a number of complex issues at play here. So I thought I'd share some of my thoughts -- and hopefully get some of yours.

Right v. Privilege

In 1948, the U.S. agreed to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which stated that primary education was a right. (It is worth noting that, according to the Constitution, a treaty or agreement entered into and ratified by Congress is, in fact, also the law of the United States.) However, the idea of compulsory education has been around since the time of Plato, who first popularized the idea in his famous work, Republic. The Aztecs required education for their children, and the Talmud praises formal education. In Great Britain (especially Scotland), there is a long history of a requirement to attend school. Even Martin Luther advocated for the education of all. We have a long history in Western though of viewing education as a right -- even for those of little monetary means.

For some reason, though, health care is considered a privilege. Health care is something that not everyone has the right to in our society. Only the rich have historically had access to good health care, and that continues today. In a way, the idea that some groups of people get health care for free -- because they can't afford it -- is repugnant to a society that is used to thinking that health care is a privilege, and something that you should pay for.

Who pays for what: Public school is free for everyone who wants it

It is also worth noting that everyone can have access to free education. This is what makes public school something that is not looked down upon. (Private school is considered even better, since it is something that you pay for, and therefore "extra".) Not everyone gets access to free health care. Therefore, if you are using it, you are taking advantage of something that not everyone can use. If you choose not to take advantage of free public education, either through home school or paid private school, that is fine -- everyone else still has the option of free public education for their children. However, if I want free health care, I can't have it unless I make less than a certain amount of money. I think that there is a degree of resentment amongst the middle class especially with regard to Medicaid. These folks work hard, pay their dues and have to pay out the nose for something that others get for free. I think this particular grievance goes a long way in explaining some of the social stigma attached to Medicaid.

Priorities: For some reason, health care just isn't a priority

We decided a loooong time ago, as Western civilization, that an educated citizenry was desirable. In a democracy, if you are going to let the people have a voice, you want the people to be educated to a certain degree. All arguments about the quality of public education aside, the idea is that a basic education is needed to participate in the opportunity that is America. If anyone can be president, that anyone should at least be educated. If anyone can vote and if anyone can legislate their views, you want those anyones to have a certain degree of education.

Health care, on the other hand, just doesn't get the same sort of priority. It doesn't really bear directly on how we participate in our democracy. I think it's ridiculous, and I think that a healthy citizenry should be a priority. Besides, we could dramatically reduce health care costs if some version of universal health care (like what Romney introduced in Massachusetts) were adopted. Preventive health care would be much more in vogue if people weren't concerned about getting charged an arm and a leg in insurance premiums for going in before the problem got much worse (and more costly). Since health care isn't a priority in our society, it retains the status of privilege, leading some of those who have to pay for health care to look down on those who don't.

What do you think? Do you think there is a social stigma attached to Medicaid? Why do you think it's there?

Um...Yeah. Jon Stewart Nails It On The Head. Again.

Tried to use fear to stay in power. Now trying to use fear to get back in there.

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Elder Oaks Lays the Smack Down on Selfishness

I loved Elder Dallin H. Oaks' talk yesterday on selfishness. I think that he pretty much nailed when he pointed out that the root of many of our problems (including the current economic situation) can be traced back to selfishness and greed. And he's right. Greed on the part of folks at the top, wanting more and more. And greed from the people at the bottom, who felt they were entitled to consumer goods -- even if they couldn't really afford them. But, of course, the talk encompassed more than just temporal things. It really forced me to think about my life. Am I focused to much on my own idea of self-fulfillment? Yeah, I need time to myself. But do I need as much as I'm taking? And am I so concerned about what I want (and what I don't have) that I'm neglecting the needs of my son and my husband? Food for thought.

A close second behind Elder Oaks' talk is the one from President Uchtdorf. I liked his hopeful attitude, and I always enjoy listening to him speak. I felt pretty bad for the guy who followed him. Sure, he was the newbie to the 12, but who would want to come after someone with the kind of presence, poise and verbal ability that President Uchtdorf has? Anyway, my favorite quotes from the whole conference (okay, the two Sunday sessions that I actually watched) came from his talk:

• "Discipleship is not a spectator sport."
• "Don't let the trivial interfere with the eternal."
• "We don't acquire eternal life in a sprint."

Did you have some favorite moments from General Conference?

Shameless Self-Promotion: Aaaaand It's Gone!

I think I'm getting into my groove again :) At any rate, here's this week's dose of shameless self-promotion:

1. More than 50 ways to get free product samples at Bankling.
2. Superheroes can teach you about physics at PhysOrg.
3. 3 stocks that are doing well during the recession at Yielding Wealth.
4. Banks are starting to walk away from foreclosure at LoanShak.
5. Basic investing: fundamental analysis at Personal Dividends.
6. Skype prepares to launch apps for iPhone and BlackBerry at WorkShak.
7. Banks get new accounting rules at Mortgage Rate News.
8. A fun April Fool's post about the Amero at GFT Forex.
9. How to tell if your stock is fad at Investing & Money.
10. Buy now? Or wait for the bottom? at Ski Resort Markets.

Also, for today's Friday Fun Video I included this clip from South Park. Don't worry; it's family friendly! Hilarious take on bankers, investing and losing money.

International Children's Book Day

Image via Wikipedia

Today is International Children's Book Day. It was started in 1967 on the birthday (April 2) of Hans Christian Andersen. Since I love reading, and The Boy loves books, we don't really need a reminder. But I figured it was worth an extra trip to the library. I got some books (I love Newbery winners) and Gavin found a couple books. He likes to go to the Caldecott section because those are the books with the best pictures.

It's fun to watch him learn to read and to enjoy reading. He's coming along nicely. I do try to introduce him to a wide variety of books so that he has a chance to figure out what he likes. I think that a lot of our problems could be solved if more of us sat down with a good book.