Dave Ramsey - The All New Financial Peace University Membership $49 + $4.95 s/h

Quote from cdryuncle : This is him and his course in a nutshell. If you need structure and can't think on your own it's a good program but lost me on the last 2 points and his very one-size fits all lifestyle for everyone: Make as much money as you can Live below your means regardless of income Pay with cash and cash equivalents for everything including education so you don't get into debt Invest heavily in mutual funds Obama and Democrats are evil Pray to Jesus every day

I would have stopped reading if you have put the last sentence at the top.

These posts here from both camps make me laugh. You all realize that, as with most things in life, the more you educate yourself from diverse and even opposing sources, the more well-rounded and intelligent you will become.
You will also become better equipped to make more rational decisions and objective choices. It's called critical thinking. A lot of you here need to try it sometimes.

I just want to thank everyone who thinks debt is okey dokey for financing tens of thousands in credit card bonuses for me.

That is all.

Quote from Shanpooks : yawn same old argument every time DR stuff is posted What's next? Lengthy discussion on Bose, Monster Cables or Tigerdirect Rebates?

Haha you forgot. WHAT NO HDMI?

Quote from g8rbait : The US is the richest nation on earth so I am not sure what your point is. Spain swung wildly to your ideas and how has that worked out for them?

Actually no. We do not have the highest GDP per capita. Not to mention, we do not make the top 10 ranking, which lists nations with the highest median adult wealth. Granted, where we do indeed lead is in literally 0.0002% of the nation amassing more wealth than over 51% combined.

Quote : Also, many of the "rich" countries in Europe are indebted to their eyeballs and that threatens the stability of their country. http://www.cnbc.com/id/30308959/T...or_Nations.

How about comparing debt that the actual Public (government) owes. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List...ublic_debt

Quote : Finally, President Obama had veto proof Congress in his first two years and did nothing. Second, almost everything he proposes he knows that it goes completely against Republican principles and knows they will not approve it. Thus he can blame them for everything. This will continue until we, the voters, wise up and make our leaders earn our votes with actions instead of them counting on us to vote for them because of the letter by their name.

Stabilizing the economy and implementing health care reform was a lot of work. Particularly when he was fixing up a mess caused by someone else, that started a full 2 years prior. Amazing how so many Republicans forget this reality.

Then again, when someone only listens to one news source (Faux, Rush, Beck) and actually believes that the other 20 or 30 are all biased, of course they'll buy the tripe.

Quote : Oops, one more thing. If I remember the New Testament correctly, Jesus made every one He helped earn it first by believing they could be helped and making that step forward to helping themselves. So I think He understood, like many conservatives, that you can give a man a fish and he will eat for a day or you can teach him to fish and he will eat for the rest of his life on his own.

The median conservative household is significantly poorer than the median democrat. So I am an not sure where this they're all lazy BS comes from. Rather, we have enough common sense to realize that many fall on hard times, therefore, we should have this civilized safety measures to assist downtrodden Americans.

Not to mention, the reality stands that out of the states that RECEIVE more than they contribute in Federal Taxes, 84% are 'Republican'. Whereas, 78% of states that CONTRIBUTE more than they receive in Federal taxes, are Democrat states. Without our hard earned "liberal" dollars, most Republican states would be bankrupt.

Heck, the Market cap of one or two modern "liberal" companies is now higher than the entire GDP of most Republican states.

Quote from xtrabad : These posts here from both camps make me laugh. You all realize that, as with most things in life, the more you educate yourself from diverse and even opposing sources, the more well-rounded and intelligent you will become. You will also become better equipped to make more rational decisions and objective choices. It's called critical thinking. A lot of you here need to try it sometimes.

For example, how can a party who borrowed $4 Trillion for not one but two wars, then in our nation's first, actually implemented budget busting tax cuts during this period, now claim to be deficit hawks.

Critical thinking 101. If Democrats just want to steal your money, then why are they typically wealthier than the median republican. Not to mention, if they are so dumb, then why are significantly more of them college educated.

If the Big Gov nations are going to fail, then why with the exception of us, are the rest of the G20 nations big Gov types. Why do they lead in quality of life and have significantly lower rates of crime and poverty?

If raising the minimum wage would cause massive job losses, then why do nations with double our rate have lower unemployment rates.

If our healthcare model is the best, then why is it that only third world nations use it too. Moreover, surely someone would want to implement our 'superior system', that costs about 3 times more to operate, yet does not even cover everyone.

Quote from cmm324 : People who work hard and bring value to a employer get paid well, or they go somewhere where they are. The government cannot force someone to pay you more. If so, I don't want to live here.

Government is for the people and by the people. This is something Republicans fail to grasp, hence the hatred towards it. Exploiting and profiteering off the backs of fellow Americans is not something covered by our Constitution. In fact, I am yet to even see the word capitalism or shareholders in it once.

It's just mindbogglingly that Republicans hate the notion of first world perks for workers, something Americans enjoyed between the 50's to 60's, when we lead the planet in all facets of life.

Your ilk hates government, regulation, and taxes but loves guns. Therefore, it sounds like Sudan is place to be.

You have to love it when people come to a deal forum to debate politics, religion, and finances.

MC Hammer took this course and look what happened...

Quote from larrymoencurly : Yeah, right. No handouts, like getting cities to condemn private property so it can be taken over on the cheap for private enterprises. Capitalists love money more than they love capitalism.

Quote from SiloSmashers : Don't get ahead of yourself here. Using government force to steal someone's property and give it to someone else is not capitalism.

In theory, no, but many capitalists deviate from theory.

Quote from PotmeetKettle : Actually, it's more supply and demand in action. Not to mention, one is an asset, the other depreciates the second its taken off the lot. Moreover, costs an arm and leg to operate, due to the nature of being a truuk.

A house is not an asset until you sell it. It is a liability. A lot of people didn't believe me about this and had to learn the hard way. Ask anyone who has a house that is underwater what an asset their house is. You should have no trouble finding someone. A house has to be maintained and you have to pay your annual tribute to the state (property tax) to remain there. The higher the assessed value, the higher the tribute. So what we see is an over valued housing bubble where people are paying a lot of money to the state only to have their equity wiped out when housing prices drop. Add to this the 3-5 times the purchase price amount you pay over the term of the mortgage with interest. A house is not an asset until you sell. Side note- housing is still overvalued.

Quote from PotmeetKettle : Actually, the rest of the first world isn't doing too bad with their regulation. Numerous nations this very day have lower unemployment and deficit rates, coupled with a world leading quality of life. Unfortunately for the GOP, Greece, Portugal and Spain does not represent the rest of Big Gov G20.

Highest standard of living in the world is in countries with the least regulation. The fastest real economic growth is where there is the least regulation. Check out Singapore or Hong Kong. Regulation is hindrance to business and economic growth. If left alone markets will self regulate.

Quote from PotmeetKettle : Likewise, surely the lenders bears some responsibility lending out $100k to someone who earns $20K, yet owes $10K on CC.

Lack of personal responsibility will hurt your business and social life. Always looking to blame someone else for your poor decisions is the mark of an immature mind.

Quote from PotmeetKettle : What an inane argument. It's not just about the profit alone, it's about corporations and their Romney boards deriving profit, regardless of the cost to America and Americans. If a chemical company decides to dump their waste into my water supply, not buying anything from them does not change anything. Especially once someone is dying from cancer, but then against that just allows another wave of Republicans to (yet again) profiteer off someone's demise

Businesses can only make a profit by providing goods and services that people want to buy at that price. I'm not sure why you don't understand that. Is there a way I could simplify it for you?


Now to your unrelated points- You mention Romney boards. I'm glad you did, because you can use this as a learning opportunity. To keep a company profitable I understand that these management teams would off-shore jobs. They did this to remain profitable. If the company was not profitable they would lose all jobs. I'm sure you realize that some jobs are better than none. Where did they move these jobs you ask? To a country with less regulation of course. You can tach on hundreds of thousands of pages of regulation and obamacare all you want, and you'll see even more jobs moving to other countries. So we can see from this that less regulation = more economic growth. See, you made a valid point and didn't even realize it.


Now to your nonsensical statements about a chemical company. If a company harms someone they are liable in criminal and tort courts. Then you blather on about republicans as if there is a difference between them and democrats.

Quote from PotmeetKettle : Actually, working together is the premise of Christianity and essentially every single other advanced nation but America. Only Loonitarians and the third world have this each-to-their-own creed. Not to mention, Big Gov types where the country works together, are the richest people on the planet and have the highest quality of life.

Nothing is more voluntary than engaging in business. People freely exchange goods and services and both parties win. This is a win-win scenario. Stealing is a win lose scenario. The thief wins, the victim loses. A Christian who advocates stealing doesn't understand what they profess to believe. The Christian "big gov" supporter believes the highest virtue is obedience to the state. Whenever a professed democrat talks about "working together" what they mean is they want to take your money and do what they want with it. Lets "work together" and give the banks a bailout. Lets "work together" and have you pay for someone else's health care. Lets "work together" and have taxpayers bailout GM. That has nothing to do with working together. Working together doesn't involve government force. I think you've confused voluntary with involuntary

Quote from mcshaggin : Any great capitalist is conservative. They work hard for their money and don't want the government to pass it out as they see fit. I'm sure he has done his fair share of donating and tithing.

Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, George Soros, etc... not great capitalists?

Quote from pdxwaker : Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, George Soros, etc... not great capitalists?

"(They) didn't build that!"

Quote from PotmeetKettle : Millions of working poor Americans are unable to negotiate their salary, explaining why we have the highest rate of poverty in the advanced world. Only in the GOP brain, can being paid a 'livable' wage be considered an "entitlement". Whereas, the $750 billion a year we siphon off to the war complex is just 'good business'.

The more skilled you are the higher the wages you can command. If you want higher wages you need to increase your skills. If you attempt to raise wages to where the job is no longer profitable the job will be eliminated. A worker must be more productive in order to increase their wages. You keep talking about democrats and republicans as if there is a difference.