Even if you’re independently wealthy, you’ve suffered financial losses in today’s economy. Having money on paper is not the same as long term sustainable cash flow. My father was a very successful real estate developer and over the course of 40 years, built a fortune of over 12 million dollars. When the last real estate meltdown happened in the 90′s after the 1st gulf war, he lost it all. It was because he had money on paper, not cash flow. It usually takes many years to build a fortune, but it can be wiped out in a very short amount of time. we are conditioned to let our circumstances determine our dreams, not the other way around.

Let’s play the “what if” game for a second. What if you found a way to live your dreams instead of nightmare, would you be interested? What if there was a way to not only get ahead in life but walk away from your job? What if there was a real system that was beyond all the myths and the hype you see today and actually had a system that worked? In this chaotic, confusing modern world, everyone is searching for an answer to their financial problems. We areconditioned to let our circumstances determine our dreams, not the other way around. We are told to go to school, get a good job, and then decide what sort of life we want to lead, the things we want to do, the places we want to go, and the people we want to hang out with. Living your dreams is a function of time and money, and yet few people live their dreams simply because they have not been shown how. Americans are born free, but are everywhere now in chains of their own making, living over their heads, deeply in debt and driving themselves crazy in the pursuit of things they don’t want or need in order to keep the up with the Joneses.

I’m not running for office, but I’m concerned about the future of this country. If you’re like most Americans, you are probably concerned about any or all of the following:

• High Foreclosure rates and the declining value of real estate;Falling stock and money markets;
• High Unemployment; downsizing, rightsizing, layoffs;
• The Rising cost of oil and gas;
• Growing Divide between the The Rich and Poor, and the Shrinking Middle Class;
• Precarious state of retirement funds and prospect of lack of Social Security;
• Growing Trade deficit;
• Life savings being wiped out by falling stock and real estate value;
• Spiraling cost of Higher Education; and
• Even if you have a good stable income, lack of time to enjoy, relax or spend time with your Family, even if you have the money to do it.

Beyond that, on a basic level, you’re not thinking about how to live in the dream house, have the nice cars, the vacations to beautiful islands anymore. You’re just stressed out working to many hours and having no time. You’re worrying about how to put gas in your car every week, pay for groceries and the light bill. You may do all that by going to go to a job you hate with people you dont like to work with or for. They’re not bad people, really, they’re just as stressed out and confused as you are. We are told to go to school, get a good job, and then decide what sort of life we want to lead, the things we want to do, the places we want to go, and the people we want to hang out with. Living your dreams is a function of time and money, and yet few people live their dreams simply because they have not been shown how. Americans are born free, but are everywhere now in chains of their own making, living over their heads, deeply in debt and driving themselves crazy in the pursuit of things they don’t want or need in order to keep the up with the Joneses.

And the bottom line is, your “job” doesn’t provide the income you need to achieve prosperity. It never will. A job only provides an income, not a lifestyle. In order to have something else, you must do something else. You must take action. You must think and act differently than the vast multitudes. You must in short, become a different person. As Einstein said, the same thinking that created the problem cannot create the solution.

So let’s play the “what if” game for a second. What if you found a way to live your dreams instead of nightmare, would you be interested? What if there was a way to not only get ahead in life but walk away from your job? What if there was a real system that was beyond all the myths and the hype you see today and actually had a system that worked? In this chaotic, confusing modern world, everyone is searching for an answer to their financial problems. We are conditioned to let our circumstances determine our dreams, not the other way around.

DON’T BE A VICTIM OF THE SHRINKING MIDDLE CLASS

Anyone who hasn’t been living in a cave is seeing a shrinking Middle Class. There was a Harvard Study that came out a couple of months ago that found that during the recent real estate gold rush, actual incomes went down 1,500 a month, while the cost of living went up by 4,500.00. That means that will people’s wealth was going up on paper in a false economy fueled by greed, their standard of living was shrinking. The more it costs to live, the less you have to save or invest. The reality is that it takes alot more to stay in the Middle Class, and it takes a lot more to be become wealthy. In California, if you are an average family with two wage earners, and not making over 100,000.00, after paying for your mortgage, living expenses, groceries and gas, you’re getting by, not getting rich. Ten years ago, $60,000.00 was a good income. $75,000.00 is now maybe enough to get by one, but not to live well. In order to keep up with the changing economic times is simply not enough. You cannot create an economic future by getting a raise, changing jobs, getting a cost of living increase. Your future lies in becoming an enlightened entrepreneur, and in learning new ways of generating income in the information age.

THE ENERGY CRISIS IS NOT AN ENERGY CRISIS, ITS AN ECONOMIC CRISIS

During the first energy crisis, Adam Smith wrote a book called Paper Money. In 1978, he said that the energy crisis is in reality an economic crisis, because what we are doing by purchasing oil from the Mideast, is purchasing a product, which we burn up in the air, leaving no lasting value, and in exchange, we are transferring our wealth to the oil producing countries. In 1978, we were 30% dependent on foreign oil. Today, we are 70% dependent on foreign oil. Here’s an email from my upline friend Monty Basynat that graphically explains what is going on:

I don’t care if you are a Republican or a Democrat. We need to re-establish our energy independence through any and every alternative, whether its wind farming, nuclear power, offshore drilling, shale oil, ethanol or alternative fuels, riding your bike to work, or public transit. As a bankruptcy lawyer, I can tell you that the current economic slide started when Hurricane Katrina hit and gas prices started going up. That pushed many people who were on the edge over the brink. We simply can’t afford to be energy dependent in the same way that we we are economically dependent on anyone else. The mentality is bankrupting the nation.

AND NOW, IMAGINE A WORLD….

Hollywood lost one its great voices recently when Don LaFontaine passed away. You might not remember the name but you certainly know the voice. He was the guy that did voice overs in a deep baritone that made you certain it was God speaking to you. He was the one who was always saying, “Imagine a World….” So I’m going to do the same thing now. Imagine a world where you lived in financial abundance, that was stress free, and you had no economic worries, no concerns about paying bills, putting gas in the car, that no creditors were calling. Imagine that you could sleep at night without having to worry about what was happening at work. What would it be like? You could go anywhere, do anything that you felt like doing, because you had the economic freedom to do so. You’d be relaxed, happy, joyous and free. Imagine what it would feel like if you were sitting on some sandy beach on a tropical isle, soaking up the sun, and the only worry in your mind was where you were going to make reservations for dinner. I know, I know, you’re thinking this guy’s crazy. Well not really, because the Answer that you’ve been waiting for is:

CREATE YOUR OWN ECONOMIC RECOVERY BY JOINING THE INTERDEPENDENT ECONOMIC COMMUNITY.

Before I tell you the answer to the myriad of problems we’ve all been facing, I’m going to ask for forgiveness. Please don’t be offended. I’m going to tell you something you’re not going to want to hear: Stop waiting for the economy, business or government to turn your life around. I keep hearing talk about how jobs are going overseas because of tax breaks that are being given corporations. What I say next is going to offend a lot of people. This is just another example of the blame game, instead of accepting reality. The job market goes where labor is the cheapest. The jobs went to Japan, then to Korea, Vietnam, Thailand and now China. What jobs are those that people want anyway? Do they want the jobs sitting in sweatshops assembling clothing? Shoes? Answering phones at a call center in India for $2.00 an hour? One problem with this line of thinking is that people value security over financial freedom. The real problem is not job security but financial security. If you want job security, last I heard they’re still hiring at Wal-Mart and McDonalds. But the underlying fallacy behind the line of thinking is the idea that a business, government or somebody else, is responsible for you, and that they also have that same ability to provide that. The business of a corporation is to make money for its shareholders, not for you. The business of a small business is to make money for the small business owner. And if you work for someone else, and are fortunate for a business owner or corporation to have enough money to hire you, you should be grateful for the opportunity to receive a paycheck. It does not mean that you are entitled to wealth. That’s because the only person who can be responsible for your own financial future is you. Not government, not business. If you want a better life and a secure financial future, the only person who can provide that for you is you. In the space of a generation, America has gone from the Land of Opportunity to the Land of Entitlements, simply because people have come to believe that someone is going to be responsible for or guarantee their future. On Monday, the largest Chevrolet dealer in America closed simply because of poor sales and the sluggish economy. GM is considering filing bankruptcy or merging with Chrysler. Wasn’t it Calvin Coolidge who said that what’s good for GM is Good for America? The government is now going to bailout banks with a $250,000.000.00 “equity investment” to keep the credit industry moving. Now that’s not necessary a bad thing to stabilize the financial institutions, but how much money are they going to put in your pocket? If they haven’t figured out how to fix Social Security system which has been being debated for as long as I can remember, and which has an annual budget of approximately 680 billion dollars, how are they going to fix a banking industry with a $700 Billion Bailout? Please. My small brain thinks there’s something fuzzy about the math. What’s one of the great lies? I’m from the government and I’m here to help you. Get a dose of reality. Government can’t help itself. Who are we trying to kid?

Under the Bush Administration, America went from the wealthiest nation in the world to the largest Debtor Nation in the world. Under the Bush administration, the federal government borrowed 104 trillion dollars, more than all 42 previous Presidents combined. All the predictions are that Wages, Stocks and Bonds, and Real Estate will continue to go down. Not just because of the current financial crisis, but because of the fact that, as the Baby boomers retire, they will start taking 75,000,000.000 a year out of the stock market. The problem in America today is not job security, its financial security. There was a recent Harvard Study that said that the average income for worker’s went down $1,500.00 at the same time the cost of living went up $4,500.00. The answer to your own economic recovery is that you need to create your own economy and your own economic recovery plan by doing what the Pioneers did, creating your own livelihood. The Boston Tea party wasn’t about Tea, it was about economic freedom. When people first came to America, they didn’t have anyone else to take care of them. True Patriots and Pioneers didn’t didn’t depend on others for their living. They either made their own or didn’t survive. The problem with America is that we have become a culture of dependency, relying on other people, business and government to solve our problems for us. I have never heard a politician say “The only person responsible for YOU is YOU.” I haven’t heard any politician say stop living beyond your means, stop spending money on things you can’t afford, and stop living for today and paying tomorrow. I’m going to tell you the truth, that you can thrive in life by taking personal responsibility for your own financial future.

ITS ALL ABOUT THE TEAM

How do you create your new financial future? You forget about the general economy and join a group of enlightened entrepreneurs. The interdependent economic community I’m talking about is called the TEAM. You can change your life by joining a TEAM of leaders that is showing people the way to economic freedom. If you were trying to find your way to the other side of the mountain, who would you want to follow? If you were trying to find a way out of jungle what would you need. Someone who has been over the pass or through the confusing and treacherous landscape before and survived the elements and harsh conditions. Someone who has proven to have created prosperity, and been successful, not just someone who makes hollow claims and promises? You would want to follow leaders, people with knowledge and courage to face the opposition, rejection, dangers. Someone who is not a politician, but someone who is willing to tell you the truth. There’s been a lot of discussion about “self branding” and developing your own identity in order to establish a business that’s immune from the fickle whims of an industry are free to roam from opportunity to opportunity. The theory is to establish your own brand, and people won’t care about your opportunity. While it is important to establish your own identity in order to attract people, and keep them coming in, you establish your identity by becoming a leader and then by teaching others to do the same. And if you really want to keep people you have to make them profitable to sustain a long term business, because ultimately, people don’t care who you are if they are not making money in your system. The TEAM does this by developing your talents by education and the power of association with positive, like minded people, and by taking advantage of all the current trends in the market and in business. And again, it all boils down to the system, because without a system supporting you, you wind up building someone else’s business or organization, not your own. In an interdependent model, you’re building both your mentor’s or upline’s business and your mentor is helpings are helping you build your own at the same time because its a mutually beneficial relationship, not a competitive one.

If the business you are looking at is only talking about one superstar, or if you’ve landed on a some alleged guru’s web page and he’s not talking about other people on his team or who made him successful, chances are, there’s probably not a large number of people making money within that system or opportunity. That’s because a networking business is about the system, not about the product, the compensation plan or anything else. And if it’s just some superstar’s business, its their business, not your business. Your company or opportunity can have the greatest website, the greatest product, but if your leadership development and training system sucks, you’ll never go anywhere, because you won’t develop the skills to attract and retain the caliber of people you need for your business. It has everything to do with developing you and your dream, and then developing others and their dream. It doesn’t come with the compensation plan and product. If there’s only one person who is successful in the system, that’s a warning flag, because they’re probably making their money by sponsoring people or by direct selling products, not by building networks. The most successful marketing companies are the ones that are constantly bringing in and retaining new prospects, breaking new directs, rubies and emeralds, and then a lot of diamonds. If there are only a few diamonds that you hear about, don’t be fooled, the business isn’t growing. A network marketing company is only as good as the sum of its small parts, and only prospers to the extent that it makes the newest person in the downline profitable. If the same or better opportunity is not there for you when you sign up as when your Diamond got in, you need to go on to the next opportunity. Because if the opportunity is not the same as it was for your Diamond, you’re not going Diamond, and you’re probably not going direct in that organization, either. You’re in a much better position where you have a “Mastermind” of Team leaders when there primary mission is to train other leaders and to make their downline profitable. Putting people in your downline without having them succeed is a recipe for a short term and unprofitable business.

THE TIME IS NOW

The timing has never been better to succeed in this type of business. Right now you are witnessing a perfect storm of economic factors, the Mortgage Meltdown, Declining Real Estate and Stock Values, Stagflation, Rising Unemployment, Vanishing Retirement Accounts. You don’t have the luxury of sitting around and thinking about it. You need to take action, and you need to do it now. People have to do something else to just survive, and if they want to prosper, they’re going to have to do a lot of different things. Things are changing so rapidly that you need to take action, and you need to act with utmost urgency.

Just as there is a Perfect Storm of economic factors occurring now, the good news is that there is another, equally powerful “Perfect Storm” of economic factors that allow you to take advantage of those negative factors and create your own financial miracle. Napoleon Hill wrote Think and Grow Rich as the culmination of 20 years of research. The book was originally published in the midst of the Great Depression, in 1937. One of the facts that he points out is that during that time, there were more millionaires created than at any previous time in history. Economic adversity creates opportunities for those who have courage to do something different. Believe it or not, the same is true today, and there has never been a greater opportunity to become rich. In order for things to work, there has to be what I call a convergence of circumstances. You have to have a proven business model that capitalizes on all the trends, franchising, distribution, the internet, and health and wellness industries. In addition, people are looking for leaders with character, and a spiritual peace. The TEAM finds its wisdom from eternal truths or what Stephen Covey calls the character ethic, not the personality ethic which became popular and which led to such disasters as Enron. It also teaches people how to apply the Law of Attraction in understandable, not mysterious terms.

BECOME THE RIGHT PERSON FOR THE JOB (BUSINESS).

In any business, trade or occupation, there is a certain learning curve. You have to be willing to grow and change mentally and spiritually, and you need to grow into the person you need to be. But you can acquire this overtime, with desire, and a team of leaders behind you. While you grow, you can use the talents and training of others. You can have the greatest opportunity in the world. Success comes when preparation meets opportunity. Even the people with talent have to train for the game. The TEAM system builds individuals by providing a system for developing self image and self esteem, character, sales and marketing skills, and human relation or interpersonal skills. If you don’t think you need interpersonal skills in the internet world, think again. Even as network marketing has evolved, it is now, more than ever, a business of developing relationships. Because no matter how technologically advanced business becomes, the business that provides the best customer service and training of its own representatives will build long term satisfied customers and distributors. The internet makes it easier than ever for a dissatisfied individual to go on to the next opportunity and bad mouth your opportunity.

LEARN HOW TO LEVERAGE TIME

With money and credit growing increasingly short in supply, you must learn how to leverage time and your relationships with other people. J. Paul Getty, in his time the richest man in the world, said that he’d rather have the results of 10% of 100 men’s efforts than 100% of his own. Why? The reason is simply compounding or leveraging. It’s the principle used in franchising. Long term wealth is acquired by increasing your talent level or skill set, obtaining new knowledge, and acquiring an entrepreneurial mindset. Today, the rich not only build businesses, they build networks. Robert Kiyosaki, in his influential book the Cash Flow Quadrant, points out that 95% of people make their money as Employees or as Self Employed Individuals. The other 5% make their money as business owners or investors. Not coincidentally, there is a Social Security Administration statistic that says that 95% of the people will be dead broke, still working or dependent on others by the time they are sixty five. Hmmm….which side would you rather be on? The TEAM teaches you how to reach the right side of the Cash Flow Quadrant by developing your leadership skills. Its what John Maxwell calls the “law of the lid” your business model will go only as far as the leadership vision will take it. A great example of this is Ray Kroc, the founder of McDonalds, whose leadership skills and vision turned a simple hamburger stand in Downey, California, into a global enterprise. The quality of the leader determines the altitude of the business. You must learn how to duplicate a system of success. The TEAM system actually is not a system of duplication; it actually follows an exponentially increasing income curve. IN order to become rich you need to leverage the time and talents of other people, because it is not enough to have a job or be a self employed person in today’s modern age.

THE COMMUNITY IS THE KEY

Michael Dell, founder of Dell Computers, said that in order to thrive in tody’s economic world of e-commerce, you need to have three things, content, commerce, and community. Content is a website, of course, but you need to have the ability to attract your customers to it. Commerce is the ability to transact business and establish trust with your customers, both short and long term, because creating repeat business adds to the bottom line. Last, and most important, is by creating community, That means associating with people with similar values and developing long lasting relationships and repeat business by establishing not only social but business connections. In case you haven’t noticed the growing popularity of such websites as MySpace, FaceBook, You Tube, Twitter, Rize and others is all about establishing and maintaining relationships. The TEAM teaches you Social Intelligence and Financial Intelligence, all the things they don’t teach you in school.

The TEAM has the answer when it comes to developing community; with an unrivaled leadership development system, a cutting edge product in growing demand in the health and wellness industry. If you’re looking for a better way to make lasting income, I invite you to find out more about the TEAM system, and how you can live your dreams, define what you want out of life, learn as you go how to build a business with a proven success system,n and make money as you learn.

BECOME A MASTER MARKETER

If you’re thinking about buying a turnkey business in a box, think again. Think about it: If the product sold itself, they wouldn’t need you. If they tell you there’s no selling involved, its just a lie, because its all about selling. Robert Kiyosaki says that the #1 skill in business is sales. Its not the kind of manipulative selling associated with insurance or used car salesmen. Its about marketing and persuasion. While technology may simplify the sales process and eliminate a lot of need for a lot of personal contact, the TEAM provides you with the leadership, interpersonal and marketing skills to establish lasting relationships with people. Its about marketing and persuasion. In fact, any business is about sales. If you’re not making sales, money is not changing hands, and you are not making money. Napoleon Hill, in Think and Grow Rich, said, “Every person must be his own salesman of personal services. The quality and the quantity of service rendered, and the spirit in which it is rendered, determine to a large extent, the price, and the duration of employment.” If you are a professional and think sales is beneath you, think again. One of my early mentors as in the law was a great trial lawyer by the name of Mike McKone. McKone was a gifted lawyer and an equally gifted story teller. But he knew the power of sales, and one of the tips he gave me about trial practice was, “Remember Paul, when you’re talking to a jury, you’re not making an intellectual statement. You’re selling Chevrolets.” Yes, sad but true, even the vaunted profession of the practice of law is about sales. You see, it’s a matter of the gentle art of persuasion and communicating with the other person (your audience or market) that your idea, product, good or service is right for them. Its not manipulation; its mindset and marketing.

CAPITALIZE ON THE GROWING TREND OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND THE HEALTH AND WELLNESS INDUSTRY.

Up till now there have generally been three different kinds of assets 1) paper money, stocks and bonds; 2) real estate, and 3) businesses. But when Al Gore invented the internet, we entered the information age, and now we have a fourth asset that is unlimited by physical time or space. Intellectual property is emerging in unkown and as yet to be imagined shapes. Paul Zane Pilzer, in his book The Next Millionaires, predicts that the next group of millionaires will make their fortunes on the internet. One of the best ways in the information Age to thrive is by joining joining the proven TEAM of leadership that combines tradition direct sales with cutting edge intertnetwork marketing. After the disasters of Enron, Wordcom, the Mortgage Meltdown, The Financial crisis, The TEAM provides training in what American Business is sorely lacking and what people are seeking, education and leadership, in areas of character, not personal ethics, timeless business, sales and marketing and personal development skills. It’s what Stephen Covey in his book the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People calls an “Interdependent Business Model.” Instead of trying to beat the competition, the best strategy now is to combine resources in a collaborative or cooperative model that doesn’t take advantage of other people but actually leverages of the talents of the combined power of people. And that is exactly what the TEAM is all about, bringing out the best in everyone through symbiotic and collaborative effort. Lack of character in business and finance is what got is in trouble in the first place. The TEAM is a system of leaders developing leaders who develop other leaders. There are no big kahunas, heavy hitters, or superstars. That’s because everyone has different talents that they bring to the table, but its better to be on a winning TEAM, than be a Superstar on a losing path. As in business as in sports, any winning team has a number of valuable players. The TEAM has the answer with a proven success system, an unparalleled compensation plan, a superior product that fulfills a growing market need in the baby boomer generation, and takes advantage of what Paul Zane Pilzer, economic advisor to two presidents, is on the cutting edge of the current trends that will create the next millionaires in the 21st Century. For more information.

If your ready to start living your dreams contact us at

www.21stCentruryinfo.com

• Find out how this business is growing at 40% or more a month in a recessionary economy;
• How to fool proof your own pocketbook against the vagaries of the marketplace;
• How people just like you, without any formal educational, professional background can become rich and have fun doing it;
• How you can Learn the secrets of building your own massive downline with the help of a proven team of marketing experts and business trainers;
• How to take advantage of technology with a system that provides you with cutting edge education in the area of business trends, personal growth, internet marketing, and make money while you learn and help others to do the same;
• How ordinary people with drive and ambition are succeeding beyond their wildest dreams.
• How to develop the inner game of success.
• Best of all, find out how you can take advantage of cutting edge technology that works to include people in this business instead of excluding people.

Take action and find out how you can create your own economic future at

www.21stcenturyupdate.com

I’m going to close with a thought that you need to do this not just for yourself and not just for your family. You also need to do this for your country. We are at economic war right now, and its time for you economic patriots to step out and step up. Keep the American Dream alive and start living your dreams again.

See you on the road to financial success and prosperity.

Its July 4, 1776, all over again. It’s time to make your Own Declaration of Independence. Today’s date commemorates the date that the Declaration of Independence was signed by those brave patriots who valued their own economic, social, and religious liberty, over rule by a tyrant. A Declaration of Independence though, was only the first step in obtaining freedom. It was not the date America obtained its freedom; it was the date our forefathers put in writing their commitment to independence. It took people willing to fight for it, sacrifice, and do what it took to succeed, not what they felt like doing at the time. Our forefathers risked their lives and personal fortunes for one thing: liberty. Freedom of government, politics, economics, speech, religion, and association, among other things. July 4, 1776 was the beginning of the war, not the end, and the war for economic freedom is still on today.

Today, Bankruptcy filings are at an all time high, once again. I must be reading a different newspaper than most, because that’s not what the economists and government are telling us. Could it be what “they” are telling us isn’t the truth? Who are “they” anyway? The problem with “political correctness” is that its neither polite nor correct. Its politic, what’s popular, and what the grazing multitudes like you and me want to hear to soothe our anxieties, not necessarily what we need to hear. We lost two great political commentators last week, Tim Russert and George Carlin, because they both were passionate in their search for the truth.

Well let’s take a look at the facts. Lawyers know that historically, there are two kinds of courts, Courts of Law and Courts Equity. The Bankruptcy Court is a court of Equity. I like to call it the Court of Reality. It’s where people go when they have to deal with economic reality. In contrast to what you may have heard on the news that the economy is doing ok, here are the statistics of filings in the Eastern District of California, Sacramento Division, through April 2008, compared to last year, according to the Clerk of the United States Bankruptcy Court:

Something’s wrong here. If the economy is doing fine, why are Chapter 7 filings up over 100% after the same time last year? Wasn’t the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2005 (BAPCRA) supposed to weed out all the abusive filers? Well, the reason the economists and government think the economy is doing fine is that they are looking at the economy as a whole, not on its impact on individuals. That’s because their numbers are based on the GDP or gross domestic product, and not by the measure of individual wealth. Mark Twain once said, “there are three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies, and statistics.” The “reports” that the economy is doing just fine falls in the third category. It’s matter of statistics, and you know what those are. Here’s another thought for you: What was that thing about the smartest guys in the room falsifying accounting reports to show they were making more money than they really were? What set of statistics is telling the truth here?

The Sacramento Bee ran an article two weeks ago that reported that while the median price of houses went up in the last real estate gold rush, actual household wealth went down. Why? One reason was because artificial equity created by greed and speculation, which created artificial wealth on paper, without any lasting value, simply wasn’t keeping up with the pace of technology or reality. In every industry, technology was replacing jobs, which means people, which means, I hate to say this, it was replacing YOU. That’s because employers who keep up with the pace of technology are able to minimize the number of man hours necessary to complete a job. Not only does technology minimize the time to complete tasks, it also, in some industries, eliminates some jobs completely. And that’s why, when you go out looking for a new job somewhere else, after you’ve been downsized, rightsized, laid off, fired, or technologized, you’re competing with more people for fewer jobs, or jobs that don’t even exist anymore. People are now looking for something that is a vanishing species, a job. Besides, if all you’re looking for is another job, all you’ll ever have, is– guess what? Just another job. And we all know that job stands for, just over broke. So all you’re ever doing is going from one broken economic circumstance to another.

In Robert Kiyosaki and Donald Trump’s Book “Why We Want You to Be Rich” the authors discuss the shrinking middle class and the growing divide between the rich and the poor. On page 72 they point out some scary economic statistics: The reality of a growing trade deficit, a falling dollar, and a growing U.S. National Debt. According to the Treasury Department, 42 presidents from Washington (1789) to Clinton borrowed a combined total of $1.01 trillion from governments and financial institutions. Between 2000 and 2005, the Bush White House borrowed $1.05 trillion—more than all the previous administrations combined.

Wake up folks. I hope I’m wrong, but it looks like to me that the government is going broke. And what do I know. I’m just another insolvency professional. I’m not an economics professor, I’m a Bankruptcy Lawyer. The Bankruptcy Court is the best reality gameshow on economics on the planet earth. Unfortunately, those who get there, find out its not as fun as a gameshow, it’s just reality. Pretty soon the government won’t be able to help you, because it might not even be able to help itself. In fact, if you believe what some people say, the United States is already bankrupt and operating in Chapter 11. I had a friend tell me that about 10 years ago. At the time, I thought he was one of those right wing, separatist, kooks. Well it turns out, maybe he was right, and I was wrong. If you want to read more about it, go take a look at some other websites such as www.afn.org/~govern/bankruptcy.html or http://usa-the-republic.com/emergency and read for yourself. Draw your own conclusions. The point is, it doesn’t matter whether you believe it or not. Just look around you. What does your common sense tell you? I didn’t study economics in college, I was an English Major. My roommate in law school, who was an economics major, and he told me that deficit spending wasn’t such a bad thing, because it was paying back debt with cheaper dollars. Common sense tells you that theory doesn’t work. Why? If I write a check and there’s not enough to cover it when it tries to clear the bank, what happens? Yup, it bounces. It costs me and it costs the person I wrote the check to because they have increased fees too. Another fundamental problem with deficit spending is that eventually you have to pay it back. Credit cards are one of the most ruthless, cunning, baffling and powerful animals in the jungle. If you are not paying them off every month with present value, you get to pay future value. You have to keep feeding them money, or “minimum payments.” The Credit Card animal, if not paid in full every month, keeps getting bigger and bigger, and it keeps eating you. You have to keep feeding them until you either pay them off or they eat you alive.

In the consumer setting, under deficit spending, you are not paying present debt but paying future debt, i.e. debt with interest, late charges and fees. That’s exactly why a large majority of people who file bankruptcy have large amounts of credit card debt. When their credit runs out, guess what they do? That’s right, they file Bankruptcy, and if you are not a business and able to reorganize, but a consumer, it’s usually Chapter 7.

Government has the same problem. The government has its own version of the credit card. They just call it something else, politically correct. It’s called “Deficit Spending.” The result of consumer deficit spending is evidenced by the number of Bankrtuptcy filings. Once again fundamental economics tells you the rules are no different for Government than they are for consumers. Just look at the threatened Bankruptcy of the City of Vallejo, or the estimated 55 Million Dollar shortfall at last count this year. You can’t spend what you don’t have. The Bank doesn’t like it and they won’t let you. The reality is that If consumers and government don’t get the debt management problem resolved, eventually they are going to have to file Bankruptcy, and it’s not going to be Chapter 11, its going to be Chapter 7, or complete liquidation. That applies to Government too because government is fundamentally not a producer, it is a consumer. Its purpose is to govern, not to create wealth. If it were run like a g business, and Carl Icahn or Warren Buffett took over, they’d have to hire a new CEO, CFO, and get rid of the non-producing middle management and employees. That’s not going to happen. Government fundamentally gets Its money by taxes, taking money from you and me. Taking something from someone else without their permission is commonly known as robbery, theft, or burglary. Taxes are in reality nothing more than authorized or legal thievery for the greater and common good, national defense, etc. We allow it to happen because in some ways government programs. But Government doesn’t produce income by itself. Businesses and People do. In fact, the only money government now creates is with a printing press at the United States Mint. We could do the same with a good HP printer and would be just the same, because after Nixon took us off the Gold Standard, currency now is only a promise to pay. And I’m sorry Bill, it doesn’t make a difference what you’re definition of “is,” is. Om the Reality Court, It is what it is. Some other time we can have a discussion about how government can create jobs, for example, through public works projects. That’s what happened in the Great Depression and was one of things that kept people going during those hard times. But the point is, it doesn’t matter what your theory of economics is, present circumstances are what they are. And the fundamental reality is that if there are few of us making more, than there are less there are that are going to be able to pay taxes. And the fewer rich are going to have to pay more, just to maintain the status quo.

One of my favorite movies is Braveheart, starring Mel Gibson. Its a story about Patriotism. You all remember the great scene where his fellow clansmen are facing daunting odds, an approaching superior force, and almost certain death. They are ready to give up and go back home to lead their miserable lives of quiet desperation. Wallace is told “you will never win this war.” His reply: “We will.” It was a matter of vision and determination. It was about leadership.

Here’s the actual scene from the movie:

William Wallace: I *am* William Wallace! And I see a whole army of my countrymen, here in defiance of tyranny. You’ve come to fight as free men… and free men you are. What will you do with that freedom? Will you fight?
Veteran: Fight? Against that? No! We will run. And we will live.
William Wallace: Aye, fight and you may die. Run, and you’ll live… at least a while. And dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willin’ to trade ALL the days, from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance, to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they’ll never take… OUR FREEDOM!

These words were echoed centuries later in the words of another great patriot of our own, Patrick Henry, the Governor of Virginia, who was followed in office by another great patriot, Thomas Jefferson. It was Patrick Henry who was famous for the phrase, “Give me liberty, or give me death.”

Rousseau once said, “Man is free, but everywhere is in chains.” In today’s economic reality, American Society is ruled by another tyrant. Its called the Psychology of Dependence. Debt is economic slavery. It’s a state of mind, a social disease, that places status and things ahead of character and people. It’s easily diagnosed by identified the amount of consumer debt you have on the balance sheet. It means that if you are dependent on a job, the government, or someone else, you are being defined only by what someone else is able or willing to give you, not by what you can create yourself or what you are. And if your economic worth is defined by a job or entitlements, your ability to recover from this disease is limited. Because by its nature, a job defines what you are worth, not you. This mentality is contrary to the fundamental economic concept of liberty, which means that there are no entitlements and you only get what you are able to produce or create yourself, through your own efforts, combined with the efforts of others (the power of duplication), utilizing technology (time leveraging).

Yet, there is hope that America will survive. That’s because millions of people search the internet everyday for a home based business opportunities. They have found the best way to not only survive but prosper in these challenging economic times is to get out of the old economic paradigm that has become dysfunctional and create your own economy. An economy that does not depend on the government or someone else for a job. Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country and become business owners and entrepreneurs in the Information Age. Anyone who is interested in the new entrepreneurs and becoming part of the next generation of wealth builders should read Paul Zane Pilzer’s The Next Millionaires.

So now, I want you all to go the window and scream it out, loud and clear: “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore. I hereby declare my independence and I will do my part to get rid of the disease of debt; I am a patriot and I believe in a system that rewards people who believe in self determination and who are truly free to produce and create their own wealth, which is the only true way to create economic and social liberty, instead of a system of dependence and entitlements which leads to debt and bondage.

I call on you today, my fellow Americans, be the patriot you were meant to be. “Give me economic liberty or give me economic death.” Shout it everywhere, and let freedom ring. And as our founding father’s showed us, the price of freedom is not free. You have to fight for it, and you have to earn it, and not just then. You have to do it now.

God Bless America. Happy Fourth of July!

Wrdwzrd
7.04.08