GETTING POLITICAL
my two cents on Obama's latest speech

I'm sorry, there's not going to be a new wedding post till the end of the week. I'm fresh out of weddings until Friday. I actually planned to write a little bit about a new wedding location here in Hawaii, but I'll wait till I get the photos in from shooting that place. In the meantime, I wanted to get a little political...again.

If you've read my blog, you probably figured out that I'm a capitalist at heart, and a conservative when it comes to politics. I believe in small government, that the government is never the answer, and I also believe in personal responsibility.

I listened to Obama's speech the other night, and I'm actually kinda scared for my future. I'm 31 years old, I'm a young businessman, and it really seems as though my President truly doesn't understand economics, and that scares me. I actually wouldn't expect him to understand economics, as he's never owned a business, had one fail or succeed on him, or never has ever held an executive position in a business. The sad thing about our country was that both candidates, McCain and Obama, together, didn't understand economics...and both were the wrong candidates at the wrong time. It didn't matter who won, were screwed either way.

When I hear Obama preach that we are in the mess we're in now, because of George Bush's failed economic policies, I just cringe. I realize a lot of people hate Bush, but he is not fully responsible for this economic downturn. The reason why where in this mess is because the government got involved with the free market. The two main culprits to blame would be the Federal Reserve, and Congress. Congress pressured banks, and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, into affirmative action loan programs that would qualify lower-income families that would usually not be qualified in a free market system. The federal reserve kept interest rates lower than what the market would bear, so America kept borrowing. The result was that America created wealth through credit, instead of through cash....and it was only a matter of time until everything exploded.

The media created terms such as "predatory lending" which to me is an oxymoron. Truly, what the hell is that? How can you ask to borrow 500K from a bank with no money down, and call that lender a predator? That lender is taking a risk....a gamble. And unfortunately, the banks lost because those lower income familes borrowed too much. Banks don't win by foreclosing on homes.... They gain more by the interest off loans... Because those who borrowed couldn't pay, all credit markets froze, and the poverty trickled up through main street, then eventually to wall street.

So when I hear Obama start saying things like the wealth of America depends on it's ability to borrow, he truly doesn't understand how to create wealth. True wealth is created by having hard cash or gold, and no debt. You and I, know for a fact, that when we are having money problems, the first thing you do is to pull back on your spending, and not to spend more. But the federal government is doing the exact opposite....under Bush and Obama. We all had those friends or family members who asked us for money...and once they put that hand out, they always asked for more. The goverment is doing the same thing.. bailing out fortune 500 company after company...creating a sense of corporate welfare, and driving our federal budget further into the ground...and these companies keep asking for more.

Obama, and Congress, are driving our country into a huge debt. With each new stimulus bill that is signed, our dollar will slowly devalue itself, and eventually, everything imported...including oil, will become more expensive. The only way to dig ourselves out of debt would be to hike taxes for everyone, including the poor. This happened back during the great depression, and FDR's new deal. Did you know back then, if you made over 25k, that you would be taxed 100% of your income, and that all of your gold was seized by the federal government. Desperate times, called for desperate measures. I'm not saying that would ever happen to America again, but it's scary that history has a habit of repeating itself.

If the Federal Government would have let companies which lent too much go out of business, for people who borrowed too much to lose their homes, for companies which couldn't cut it...to vanish, the free market would have actually adjusted for itself rather quickly. And that's basically historical fact. Did you know there were actually two depressions in the 1920's? We had one depression in the early 1920's that lasted for 2 years....the government cut taxes, and did nothing... After the Great Depression of 1929, FDR's new deal, kept our economy stagnant for the next 30 years.... It wasn't until Regan became president did our economy, truly experience a huge economic boom.

So where do we go from here? All I can tell you is this. My wedding company is also getting hit by the bad economic times. The average wedding cost 20 to 30K...the average destination wedding cost only $600...yet couples are still deciding not to get married...even if it's that cheap. The wedding industry, supposedly recession and depression proof, is getting hit hard. If I'm getting hit hard...I think every industry is getting hit...hard....

The next step. Seriously. Save your cash, invest your money in the only true thing that has value now...gold....