http://www.newsweek.com/id/235560/page/1

What I am finding myself growing more sick of each day is the constant fighting between the major political parties. These are the people that are supposed to be looking out for the well being of us, not themselves or their political parties. Instead there is a constant stream of rhetoric from all directions.

Some would argue that by being elected the views of the candidate effectively mimic the views of their region. However, this argument fails to recognize that the majority of elections are decided by a relatively thin margin. This means that the candidate could, at most, represent the total thoughts and desires of just over half of all constituents.

At a Tea Party rally Sarah Palin recently said, “Washington has broken faith with the people that they are to be serving”. She’s absolutely right – and she is part of the problem. Instead of focusing on roasting political adversaries our elected officials need to focus on fixing the problems. This applies to everyone, republicans, democrats, independents, etc.

If each official used their finger pointing energy to help solve problems our country would be much better off as a result. Bipartisan doesn’t mean split or whole – it means cooperative.

Average month to month change in 2008:

If you want more explanation of how I arrive at these numbers visit the May 2008 post.
For information on why I am including the December 2007 numbers in these calculations see the June 2008 post.

Southeast = [ ( 210.108 - 203.457 ) / 203.457 ] * 100 = 3.269%
National = [ ( 216.573 - 210.036 ) / 210.036 ] * 100 = 3.112%

Average month to month change in 2008:

I ran across a video that talks about how money is created recently. In the video they site a study that maintains that a large majority of Americans have no clue how money is actually created. This is bad.

If you don’t know how money is created, watch the videos. They are a concise overview of how money is created. They bake in a little doom and gloom that, while accurate, isn’t necessarily an immediate problem (although with credit crunches and bubbles it very well could become an immediate problem). They give a whirlwind tour of what is typically spanned over multiple college business courses. Most importantly, you will be more informed of how the current monetary practices and policies affect you and your fellow citizens.

Please keep in mind as you watch this that “feeding the beast”, as they call it, is a ceteris paribus situation. They chose to overlook inflation with this scenario. As the amount of outstanding interest rises the numbers are offset by inflation. For example, $10 in interest today is the same actual dollar amount tomorrow, even if inflation has devalued your money such that the real value of $10 is now actually $20. That is, what cost $10 yesterday now costs $20 for the exact same thing. Without diving down this rabbit hole too deep, just keep in mind that the doom and gloom in the video is not to be taken at face value.

At first glance this annoys me. The people saying these things are the same people who condemn the United States on a myriad of issues. These are the people who claim to be for state sovereignty but openly state that they wish they could tread on ours.

But after I think about it I more, I take no offense. It is actually a complement.

Over the past decades there has been more an more of an erosion of the United States’ political and economic power on the world stage. While the United States is still strong, we are finding that China, India, the EU, and more are challenging the way we have operated in the past and forcing us to improve just to maintain state. This erosion doesn’t mean that the United States is not formidable by any means – just that we are not as formidable as we once were (at least so the perception lies). The fact that our election is taking center stage in the world arena is a testament to the lingering power of our nation and our innate ability to hold sway over global politics.

This election is just another checkpoint. If we choose correctly we can continue to maintain our strength and potentially build back some of the erosions that the world has won. If we choose poorly we will continue to watch our political and economic power fade.

The world is watching. Go vote.

If you want more explanation of how I arrive at these numbers visit the May 2008 post. For information on why I am including the December 2007 numbers in these calculations see the June 2008 post.

The inflation so far for 2008:

Southeast = [ ( 212.65 - 203.457 ) / 203.457 ] * 100 = 4.518%
National = [ ( 218.783 - 210.036 ) / 210.036 ] * 100 = 4.165%

Average month to month change in 2008:

If you want more explanation of how I arrive at these numbers visit the May 2008 post. For information on why I am including the December 2007 numbers in these calculations see the June 2008 post.

The inflation so far for 2008:

Southeast = [ ( 212.387 - 203.457 ) / 203.457 ] * 100 = 4.39%
National = [ ( 219.086 - 210.036) / 210.036 ] * 100 = 4.31%

Average month to month change in 2008:

Est. Southeast CPI = 212.387 + ( 4 * 1.116 ) = 216.851
Est. National CPI = 219.086 + ( 4 * 1.127 ) = 223.594

Estimated inflation for 2008:

Southeast = [ ( 216.851 - 203.457 ) / 203.457 ] * 100 = 6.58%
National = [ ( 223.594 - 210.036 ) / 210.036 ] * 100 = 6.46%

Getting better – significantly better than last month even. Still a ways to go back to “normal” though.

The basics of supply and demand dictate that when there is a shortage or percieved shortage of supply then demand rises. Likewise, when demand rises so does price. If a hurricane, in this case Ike, causes damage to oil refineries we will likely see a rise in prices. This is natural and expected as it creates scarcity.

Unfortunately, what is also natural and expected is that people will speculate as to the effects of events, lending a pesemistic weight to the equation. This negative slant causes people to try to “beat the rush”, causing a spike in demand. This spike in demand causes a shortage in supply, thus hiking up prices.

STOP SPECULATING THAT HURRICANES WILL CAUSE SHORTAGES! You are causing the price to rise for everyone. If you are really worried about such things stock up over time and/or well in advance.

This is my rant for the month.

If you want more explanation of how I arrive at these numbers visit the May 2008 post. For information on why I am including the December 2007 numbers in these calculations see the June 2008 post.

The inflation so far for 2008:

Southeast = [ ( 213.304 - 203.457 ) / 203.457 ] * 100 = 4.84%
National = [ ( 219.964 - 210.036) / 210.036 ] * 100 = 4.73%

Average month to month change in 2008:

Est. Southeast CPI = 213.304 + ( 5 * 1.407 ) = 220.339
Est. National CPI = 219.964 + ( 5 * 1.413 ) = 227.029

Estimated inflation for 2008:

Southeast = [ ( 220.339 - 203.457 ) / 203.457 ] * 100 = 8.30%
National = [ ( 227.029 - 210.036 ) / 210.036 ] * 100 = 8.09%

Getting better. Still a ways to go back to “normal” though.