Free Republic

Dear Dave, Do you feel that some people are born leaders, or do you have to read and study to become one?MichaelDear Michael,I don’t believe anyone is born a leader. I’ve watched all three of my kids being born, and not once did the doctor say, “Congratulations, Dave! You have a little eight-pound, six-ounce leader!” No, I believe people make choices.I’ve been studying leadership ever since I opened my company about 20 years ago. I was really awful when I first started. I made so many bad, dumb mistakes! But I’m a world-class leader now. I’ve learned how to do...

Dear Dave, I’m about to complete Baby Step 3. I’ve been very intense about following your plan, but I was wondering if there’s ever any kind of frustration or letdown after you’ve come this far.RasheedDear Rasheed, You’re right. The beginning three Baby Steps are very intense. First, you get $1,000 in the bank—$500 if you make less than $20,000 a year—for a beginner emergency fund as fast as you can. Then, pay off all your debts, except the house, from smallest to largest, and after that you finish out your emergency fund with three to six months of expenses. This...

IMF says Arab Spring countries need USD90b MENAFN.COM 03/05/2012 (MENAFN) The International Monetary Fund's (IMF) director for Middle East and Central Asia, Masood Ahmed, stated that countries which were swept by the Arab Spring need USD90 billion, as they lack cash, reported The National. Ahmed added that during the current year, Arab oil importing countries will need USD90 billion, whereas the amount will be expected to grow to USD100 billion in 2013. He also said that jobs' creation is still a main priority, as the political unrest weakened trade and tourist links with the euro zone, deteriorating economies, thus, reducing...

SHELBYVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee police are apologizing after arresting a man for using a $50 bill they thought was fake but that turned out to be real. Police in Shelbyville thought the bill was counterfeit after a convenience store clerk called them. The clerk said a marker used to detect false money didn't show the bill was real. (excerpt - read more at link)

When young Americans read the history of the New Deal Era in the 1930s, they ask themselves how the FDR administration could have imposed a 90 percent top tax rate on rich Americans. From the New Deal Era to the 1970s, Americans believed in tax and spend policies. From the 1980s, Americans adopted borrow and spend policies. Tax and spend policies are more moral and more justified, than borrow and spend policies. In the old days, Americans believed that all spending had to be paid for, and that one could not spend money that he did not have. Americans viewed...

Tennessee police are apologizing after arresting a man for using a $50 bill they thought was fake but that turned out to be real. Police in Shelbyville thought the bill was counterfeit after a convenience store clerk called them. The clerk said a marker used to detect false money didn't show the bill was real. The Shelbyville Times-Gazette reported Officer Brock Horner arrested Lorenzo Gaspar on Friday. But a police evidence technician told the arresting officer that some old bills don't react to the markers. So police gave the money to two banks to check, and they said it was...

GOP money floods battlegrounds, threatens Dems' hold on SenateBy Alexander Bolton - 05/01/12 05:00 AM ET Third-party groups allied with the Republican Party have vastly outspent Democratic incumbents and their backers in Senate battlegrounds. The disparity in advertising firepower threatens Democratic control of the Senate and could have an impact on the presidential race as well. Sen. Sherrod Brown, a first-term Democrat from Ohio, has been the primary target of outside groups, which have outspent his allies by a ratio of 10-1 this election cycle. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Crossroads GPS and 60Plus Association have funded the bulk of...

Madison - Gov. Scott Walker raised an unprecedented $13.2 million since January to fight off the recall bid against him, far outdistancing his Democratic challengers and driving home the challenge they will have in beating the Republican incumbent. Crisscrossing the country on fundraising trips, Walker has raised more than $25 million in total since January 2011 and has $4.8 million in cash on hand - numbers unlike any that have been seen for a political candidate in Wisconsin. His fundraising numbers dwarf what his Democratic rivals have raised and are almost on par with that of second-tier presidential candidates. For...

Updated: 1:48 p.m. | Kip Smith, a Rhinelander physical therapist who entered the U.S. Senate race as a longshot Republican on a platform dedicated to cutting spending and repealing the Affordable Care Act, is dropping out. Smith will formally announce his exit from the race on Tuesday in front of the Oneida County Courthouse at 10 a.m. in Rhinelander. In a statement released Monday, Smith said "my decision is based mostly on the difficulty in raising the funds necessary to continue this mission. We have brought forth an amazing campaign on a true 'shoestring' budget. I cannot, however, continue this...

<p>Bill Maher on Friday evening once again displayed a level of ignorance and intolerance that should completely disqualify him as a political commentator.</p> <p>S.E. CUPP: Let's make the distinguish though, just real quick, between Mitt Romney the person and Mitt Romney the politician, because Mitt Romney the person has donated millions of dollars to poor people.</p>

Dear Dave, I just lost my job due to company-wide layoffs. I have an emergency fund, but I’m losing my health insurance. Our state has a program that covers children’s healthcare in these kinds of situations. Would it be okay to accept this for my kids until I find another job and things get better?PaulDear Paul,There’s absolutely nothing wrong with accepting help when you’re down or struggling. On the other hand, to define yourself as being down or struggling is a really bad thing. By this, I mean you should never just sit there, consider yourself helpless, and expect someone...

Student loans are one of life’s biggest financial entanglements, yet they are sorely misunderstood. Many students couldn’t tell you if they have private or public loans. All they know is that they owe, owe, owe. *** But not everyone will be effected by the increase. “Only undergraduate loans will go from 3.4 to 6.8 percent. Graduate loans stay at 6.8 percent,” says Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of FinAid.org. “There is a lot of confusion about student loans. I read in the paper where someone with $8,000 in student loans is saying that they won’t be able to afford the loans when...

Excerpted from Warman’s Coins and Paper Money by Arlyn G. Sieber, available from http://www.ShopNumisMaster.com. During the Revolutionary War, the states and Continental Congress continued to issue paper money, but its backing in hard currency was spotty at best. Inflation ensued, and the notes’ values plummeted. Some were called “shinplasters” because early Americans put them in their boots to help keep their feet warm. The saying “not worth a Continental” had its roots in the devaluation of Continental currency. Designs on state notes varied, but most featured inscriptions within elaborate borders. Coats of arms and crowns were also common. During the...

Mitt Romney has been citing an interesting economic statistic lately about the economy under Barack Obama: “Well, let’s look at what happened. What you’re not going to hear is that during his term median income in America has dropped by $3,000.” Here he is on “Hannity,” repeating the same number. That’s a pretty striking figure. Is it true? The answer depends somewhat on what numbers you use — there are more and less charitable options available — but the answer is arguably yes.

In 2011, Hamtramck and Clintondale public school districts had similar situations with their budgets and custodial and maintenance staff. Both districts had a budget deficit of $4.9 million, both districts had custodians making on average between $42,000 and $43,000 a year. And both districts paid 100 percent of the health care premiums for those employees. But Hamtramck made a drastic change in how it compensates its custodians. Hamtramck Superintendent Thomas Niczay said the custodian’s contract was changed in October. Custodians took a 25 percent pay cut and are now paying 20 percent of their health care costs. All new custodian...

How much will you pay to land Mr. Right? For this Saudi woman, the answer is SR5 million (the equivalent of N208 million). Weird? Yes, but we are talking true love here – can we really put a price on that? The Saudi woman put the attractive advertisement in the local magazine, Roa, calling on all marriage-ready applicants to write in via email or fax. The announcement neither mentioned the woman’s name, age or whereabouts and the millions do come with strings attached. She will only reveal the conditions in person, however, the ad explains. “Applicants should provide their contact...

Should our fine financial system cease functioning cash will become a rare and precious medium. Over the years Americans have exchanged paper currency with confidence. Yet, today everyone's cash is a digital value out of hand. Our vast nationwide cash money market holdings greatly exceed any paper currency supply making any Bank run a momentary event. Should the financial house of cards crash, holders of green back US Dollars will be able to engage in trade. Gold hoarders will not know what to do. Credit cards won't work. Checks won't either. If you can't barter, cash will be king. Get...

Should our fine financial system cease functioning cash will become a rare and precious medium. Over the years Americans have exchanged paper currency with confidence. Yet, today everyone's cash is a digital value out of hand. Our vast nationwide cash money market holdings greatly exceed any paper currency supply making any Bank run a momentary event. Should the financial house of cards crash, holders of green back US Dollars will be able to engage in trade. Gold hoarders will not know what to do. Credit cards won't work. Checks won't either. If you can't barter, cash will be king. Get...

Is it really necessary to have a canary in the coal mine when the mine is belching clouds of noxious smoke? Today’s Empire Manufacturing Report surprised on the weak side by printing only 6.56 for April, the weakest number of the year so far although still well ahead of the lows from last year (see Chart, source Bloomberg).

One of the fascinating aspects of all the controversy about paper money v hard money, has been the lack of knowledge of just how did it come about? Oh we can go back to paper money being a receipt from bullion dealers offering money storage, and we can go the American Colonial Period and point to the drastic shortage of coin that necessitated paper money issues. But those stories are fairly common knowledge. What isn’t talked about even in school is the manipulation of the Supreme Court AFTER it declared that PAPER MONEY WAS UNCONSTITUTIONAL!... ...The recordings of the debates...