Bruce’s Poor Man Survival Bulletin
A Digest of Urban
Survival Resources
ISSN 2161-5543
In This Issue:
1.
Stop impulse buying-save cash
2.
Homemade energy bars
3.
Inspiring your teen
4.
101 Weird Ways to Make Money
5.
Government folly hurts job growth
There seems to be some perverse human characteristic that
likes to make easy things difficult.
--Warren Buffet
Inspiring your teen…and
perhaps win some money
Despite studies
which indicate Americans spend the most of any country on public education,
schools always seem broke and teachers often purchase items for students from
their own pocket. It’s reported that
much of public monies are directed to administration staff, buildings, pensions
and other costs as opposed to actual education.
Inner city youth attending Detroit public schools receive
on average $4800 more per pupil than their urban counterparts. They also received nearly one million free
laptop computers, donated from Microsoft and other charities, yet it has the
highest dropout rate in the state of Michigan.
The problem, as is so often the case throughout the
nation, is the lack of support from parent’s…many of whom cannot read above the
8th grade level. With so many
single parent homes in the nation, the problem has only worsened over the
years.
A parent needs to set an example through personal actions
and routine. This should extend to
healthier eating habits as well. Our
nation now boasts the most overweight children in our history. A lack of exercise and poor eating habits
contribute greatly to a decline in academics…there is no reason on earth
mothers should be filling an infant bottle with soda (as I’ve seen on more than
one occasion).
Now through September 17th you can stop by any
Staples store and donate school supplies.
Staples will donate them to local charities which in turn, will make
sure they get to those students in need.
The 16th annual Do Something awards will be
aired on VH1. Five teens will get
$10,000 each and the grand prize winner will get $100,000 for their
organizations. The program will feature
community-minded celebrities and teens.
Do Something
is a website devoted to teens making a difference and it helps encourage and
foster them to achieve more in life. www.DoSomething.org
Running a baby wipe down your shower doors and tile
after you shower helps remove soap scum and keeps it from coming back. You can also use them to clean off crumbs
hiding in between the keys of your computer keyboard.
PM’s ‘Betty Shocker’ Roundup of
Useful Stuff
Great Job!? -
New From long time subscriber, Steve
Apply today to work
long hours at boring repetitive tasks for enough money to pay the bills today
and start all over again tomorrow. Sound good? No?
If you don't like the
idea of an ordinary job, get my book and learn about more than a hundred ways
to make money with fun and interesting jobs and businesses.
101
Weird Ways to Make Money - Cricket Farming, Repossessing Cars, and Other Jobs
with Big Upside and Not Much Competition - By Steve Gillman
Get the details or
order online here...And I created a video explaining what the book is about,
which is here:
NOTE: Hundreds of
job opening listings posted on Monster.com and other jobs sites explicitly
state that people who are unemployed would be less attractive applicants, with
some telling the long-term unemployed to not even bother with applying…might be
useful to learn other ways to make money.
Breakfast bars are a
fast and easy way to feed kids on busy mornings. However, some of the breakfast
bars sold in stores are high in sugar as well as high in price. They may
include ingredients the picky eaters in your family don't like, along with chemicals and preservatives you would rather
avoid. Homemade breakfast bars are an easy and affordable alternative. The recipe
is easily adjusted to suit the tastes of your family members, and the list of
ingredients includes many things you probably already have on hand.…keep reading at http://www.ehow.com/how_8412078_make-homemade-breakfast-bars-kids.html
The Best Free Antivirus Software
If your computer ever
connects to the Internet, it's potentially exposed to viruses and other
malicious software. As last year's Stuxnet worm demonstrated, even a
computer that never connects can be compromised through an infected USB drive.
Given the quality of free antivirus software available, there's no excuse for failing to install
protection. The question is, which is the best free antivirus?
Free site
helps with weight loss goals
This site estimates
your caloric needs based on weight, age, and activity level; then sets weight
loss goals. Learn more at:
Save money by
avoiding impulse buys - stick to a list
Nearly 35% of those surveyed admit to
overspending during visits to the supermarket.
Avoid such spending mishaps by creating a list and sticking to it…and
bring your coupons.
+Carry only the cash
you want to spend
+Carefully do the math
on ‘buy one, get 50% off on the second’ promotions - compare the
per-item/per-unit price.
+Buy in bulk and save
- do the cost-per-unit calculation (divide the price of the item by the number
of units in the package)
+Avoid impulse buying
(a problem when you bring children with you).
Studies show folks
using a credit card are willing to spend up to twice as much for an item as
those who pay cash.
Keep a
spending diary - you’ll be amazed at how much you spend on those little extras
while running errands.
Another discount site which gathers 100s of daily
deals into one site-Free
Bed slats won’t stay put?
Try securing them by wrapping rubber bands around the ends of the slats
where they sit in the frame.
The Nanny State Updates…
Forget spending cuts and tax increases…I have a MUCH better way to pay
down our trillion-dollar deficit…bring back public flogging.
That’s right…put politicians in a public stockade and sell the angry
mob tomatoes to throw at them.
While cities are stepping up enforcement of petty
fine-oriented “crimes” such as
busting local marijuana clinics (despite being legalized by voters), traffic
enforcement and busting kids lemonade stands; the driving force behind this are
its outstanding pension obligations for gold-plated retirement plans given to
former employees.
City governments can't
easily opt to not pay for pensions, which means that the money they take in is
going to pay for services already rendered, leaving not nearly enough left over
to pay for current services needed. Here are a few statistics to give you an
idea of why you need to step up and make your own security preparations:
>In an average
year, the city of New Haven, Connecticut sees revenue growth of approximately
$4 million. The demands of their pension programs add $12 million to the budget
each year.
>Anaheim,
California spends more than a fifth of its budget on pension costs, and those
costs will climb by 50% over the next four years.
>In San Francisco,
pension costs amounted to $63 million in 2000. By 2015, pension costs will have
increased to $650 million.
>In New York, the
state will need to increase property taxes by 3.5% a year for the next
five years to manage school-related pension costs.
In Detroit,
taxpayers employ 13,000 active public workers, but also must pay pension costs
for 22,000 retired workers.
Eleven states
earned more revenue from lotteries than from corporate income taxes in 2009 –
gullible citizens spent $50 billion on lottery tickets that year – yet, your
odds of winning are better at a casino than through a state lottery!
Central Falls, Rhode Island -Broke
Quoting The
New York Times (July 11, 2011): "The impoverished city, operating
under a receiver for a year, has promised $80 million worth of retirement
benefits to 214 police officers and firefighters, far more than it can afford.
Those workers' pension fund will probably run out of money in October..."
Global
food prices have increased about 37% in the past year alone. They've almost tripled in the past six years.
"Federal
regulations alone are estimated to cost Americans more than $600 billion
yearly. We pay government in lives shortened or lost because of delays in new
drug approvals. Because of a raft of restrictive barriers to enterprise, we pay
for government in terms of businesses stymied or never started and jobs never
created. A government education monopoly that often fails to educate exacts a
terrible price by stunting careers and squandering immense human potential. One
cost of government that can’t be reckoned in dollars and cents -- a diminution
of the individual’s basic freedom to act and speak on his own -- has been
deemed important enough to spark a revolution from time to time."
-- Dr. Lawrence W. Reed
President of the Foundation for Economic Education, economist, author
-- Dr. Lawrence W. Reed
President of the Foundation for Economic Education, economist, author
Most contaminated (salmonella & bacteria) chicken
brands included Perdue, Tyson and Foster Farms…Perdue was the ‘cleanest’ among
brands tested by Consumer Reports.
The Parting
Shot - Government folly hurts job creation
CORPORATION, n. An ingenious device for obtaining
individual profit without individual responsibility.
Government follies
were a big topic of discussion at last week's Freedom Fest, where Addison
Wiggin's new documentary Risk! had a focus group screening. Risk!
picks up where Addison's last film, the critically-acclaimed I.O.U.S.A
left off – in the wake of the financial crisis. (You can find a link to this
film at our PoorManSurvival.com site’s main page) The documentary features
insights from some of the world's top economic minds, including Harvard
professor and author of the Innovator's Dilemma, Clayton Christiensen,
economic blogger and pundit, Alex Tabborok; and Gary Shapiro author of The
Comeback: How Innovation Will Restore the American Dream.
The Poor Man often
writes about how government actions hurt the business climate and job creation
in this country - a clear and present danger to our economy and national
security.
"The government
does not create jobs," Shapiro tells us in Risk!. "They take money from one person to
give it to another person. That's not creating a job. Government's role is to
encourage people, and make sure we have the raw materials of innovation, which
are bright people challenging the status quo."
Shapiro – and the entrepreneurs featured in the film – remind us that the role of government is to "get out of the way" and to provide these wealth creators with a level playing field--one that punishes theft and force, but otherwise allows competition--so that they, and the country as a whole, can reap the rewards of their innovations
Shapiro – and the entrepreneurs featured in the film – remind us that the role of government is to "get out of the way" and to provide these wealth creators with a level playing field--one that punishes theft and force, but otherwise allows competition--so that they, and the country as a whole, can reap the rewards of their innovations
How much
longer will Americans put up with a dysfunctional government which harms our
very existence and way of life?
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