Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
Federal Bureau of Investigation - Kidnappings and Missing Persons Investigations http://ping.fm/mupN1
Friday, January 15, 2010
Money Is Not Wealth
If you want to create wealth, it will help to understand what it is. Wealth is not the same thing as money. Wealth is as old as human history. Far older, in fact; ants have wealth. Money is a comparatively recent invention.
Wealth is the fundamental thing. Wealth is stuff we want: food, clothes, houses, cars, gadgets, travel to interesting places, and so on. You can have wealth without having money. If you had a magic machine that could on command make you a car or cook you dinner or do your laundry, or do anything else you wanted, you wouldn't need money. Whereas if you were in the middle of Antarctica, where there is nothing to buy, it wouldn't matter how much money you had.
Wealth is what you want, not money. But if wealth is the important thing, why does everyone talk about making money? It is a kind of shorthand: money is a way of moving wealth, and in practice they are usually interchangeable. But they are not the same thing, and unless you plan to get rich by counterfeiting, talking about making money can make it harder to understand how to make money.
Money is a side effect of specialization. In a specialized society, most of the things you need, you can't make for yourself. If you want a potato or a pencil or a place to live, you have to get it from someone else.
How do you get the person who grows the potatoes to give you some? By giving him something he wants in return. But you can't get very far by trading things directly with the people who need them. If you make violins, and none of the local farmers wants one, how will you eat?
The solution societies find, as they get more specialized, is to make the trade into a two-step process. Instead of trading violins directly for potatoes, you trade violins for, say, silver, which you can then trade again for anything else you need. The intermediate stuff-- the medium of exchange-- can be anything that's rare and portable. Historically metals have been the most common, but recently we've been using a medium of exchange, called the dollar, that doesn't physically exist. It works as a medium of exchange, however, because its rarity is guaranteed by the U.S. Government.
The advantage of a medium of exchange is that it makes trade work. The disadvantage is that it tends to obscure what trade really means. People think that what a business does is make money. But money is just the intermediate stage-- just a shorthand-- for whatever people want. What most businesses really do is make wealth. They do something people want.
If you want to create wealth, it will help to understand what it is. Wealth is not the same thing as money. Wealth is as old as human history. Far older, in fact; ants have wealth. Money is a comparatively recent invention.
Wealth is the fundamental thing. Wealth is stuff we want: food, clothes, houses, cars, gadgets, travel to interesting places, and so on. You can have wealth without having money. If you had a magic machine that could on command make you a car or cook you dinner or do your laundry, or do anything else you wanted, you wouldn't need money. Whereas if you were in the middle of Antarctica, where there is nothing to buy, it wouldn't matter how much money you had.
Wealth is what you want, not money. But if wealth is the important thing, why does everyone talk about making money? It is a kind of shorthand: money is a way of moving wealth, and in practice they are usually interchangeable. But they are not the same thing, and unless you plan to get rich by counterfeiting, talking about making money can make it harder to understand how to make money.
Money is a side effect of specialization. In a specialized society, most of the things you need, you can't make for yourself. If you want a potato or a pencil or a place to live, you have to get it from someone else.
How do you get the person who grows the potatoes to give you some? By giving him something he wants in return. But you can't get very far by trading things directly with the people who need them. If you make violins, and none of the local farmers wants one, how will you eat?
The solution societies find, as they get more specialized, is to make the trade into a two-step process. Instead of trading violins directly for potatoes, you trade violins for, say, silver, which you can then trade again for anything else you need. The intermediate stuff-- the medium of exchange-- can be anything that's rare and portable. Historically metals have been the most common, but recently we've been using a medium of exchange, called the dollar, that doesn't physically exist. It works as a medium of exchange, however, because its rarity is guaranteed by the U.S. Government.
The advantage of a medium of exchange is that it makes trade work. The disadvantage is that it tends to obscure what trade really means. People think that what a business does is make money. But money is just the intermediate stage-- just a shorthand-- for whatever people want. What most businesses really do is make wealth. They do something people want.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Monday, January 11, 2010
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Search for Baby Gabriel: Arizona Mother Refuses to Help Police Find 8-Month-Old - ABC News http://ping.fm/HpwPv
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Monday, January 4, 2010
Donate For A Cause:
This is a typical offer from Donate For A Cause, our biggest competitor. When we first began business we tried donating over 30 timeshares to Donate For A Cause and this is the offer we got back every time. We have since figured out how to do the same services for much less. As far as a tax deduction, in tax court, do you really think the IRS is gonna give you tax credit for something that you payed to get rid of?
http://ping.fm/artIM
"Thank you for your interest in donating your timeshare, our brokers have reviewed your property and have determined that your property is less desirable than others in the area and we are not able to accept the property under our no cost donation program. We do have another donation program that your property would qualify for called our Guaranteed Donation Program, where the property will be deeded out of your name within eight weeks, the fee for this program would be $1,299.00 and this fee would also be tax deductible in addition to the deduction you will receive for the property itself. If you decide to proceed with this program we guarantee that the donation will go through or you will receive a full refund. Please also keep in mind that you will still receive a donation receipt for the property itself in addition to a receipt for the costs. The IRS allows deeded property donors to determine the fair market value of their donation up to $5,000.00 without an appraisal and for non deeded properties up to $500.00. Appraisals are recommended on all donations.
If you would like to proceed with the guaranteed donation program please send a check or money order made payable to Resort Closings, Inc. to the address below along with the attached documents, a copy of your recorded deed and a copy of your satisfaction of mortgage. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.
Due to the time of year and upcoming maintenance fees becoming due you will be asked to pay the 2010 maintenance fee as well, the closing company will obtain the amount of the fee and request it from you at the time of closing.
***Please note we will cover up to $200.00 in fees to transfer your ownership. Any fees in excess of this amount will be your responsibility."
This is a typical offer from Donate For A Cause, our biggest competitor. When we first began business we tried donating over 30 timeshares to Donate For A Cause and this is the offer we got back every time. We have since figured out how to do the same services for much less. As far as a tax deduction, in tax court, do you really think the IRS is gonna give you tax credit for something that you payed to get rid of?
http://ping.fm/artIM
"Thank you for your interest in donating your timeshare, our brokers have reviewed your property and have determined that your property is less desirable than others in the area and we are not able to accept the property under our no cost donation program. We do have another donation program that your property would qualify for called our Guaranteed Donation Program, where the property will be deeded out of your name within eight weeks, the fee for this program would be $1,299.00 and this fee would also be tax deductible in addition to the deduction you will receive for the property itself. If you decide to proceed with this program we guarantee that the donation will go through or you will receive a full refund. Please also keep in mind that you will still receive a donation receipt for the property itself in addition to a receipt for the costs. The IRS allows deeded property donors to determine the fair market value of their donation up to $5,000.00 without an appraisal and for non deeded properties up to $500.00. Appraisals are recommended on all donations.
If you would like to proceed with the guaranteed donation program please send a check or money order made payable to Resort Closings, Inc. to the address below along with the attached documents, a copy of your recorded deed and a copy of your satisfaction of mortgage. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.
Due to the time of year and upcoming maintenance fees becoming due you will be asked to pay the 2010 maintenance fee as well, the closing company will obtain the amount of the fee and request it from you at the time of closing.
***Please note we will cover up to $200.00 in fees to transfer your ownership. Any fees in excess of this amount will be your responsibility."
Facebook | Property Donation Group's Photos - Wall Photos http://ping.fm/OVMk8?pid=2848883&id=142271604234
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Saturday, January 2, 2010
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