U.S. Economic Death Spiral Continues

By Wayne Allyn Root

The Commerce Department said on Wednesday gross domestic product fell at a 2.9 percent annual rate - the economy's worst performance in five years, instead of the 1 percent pace it had reported last month. Our economy's growth has again fallen below 'stall speed.' This means not only that any recovery has stalled, but also that we might be trapped in an economic 'death spiral' and revealing the nasty truth that the Great Recession of 2009 never really ended. Our spendaholic, taxaholic politicians are choking the life out of this economy. They are frightening would-be investors with uncertainty about future taxes, regulations and penalties. And they are poisoning the environment needed to produce jobs, prosperity and optimism. [more...]

The Minimum Wage Trojan Donkey

Author Exposes Hidden Government Taxes in Raising U.S. Minimum Wage

Monday the International Monetary Fund (IMF) joined with labor unions, big government progressives and other pro-wealth-redistributionists in nudging the U.S. government to mandate increasing the U.S. minimum wage from $7.25 to $10 an hour.

The IMF downgraded U.S. GDP growth by 40% this year to 2% this year, yet they still view increasing the U.S. minimum wage as part of the solution. But bestselling author and conservative spokesman Wayne Allyn Root believes pushing wages up is part of the problem, not the solution.

"Like most progressive ideas, it sounds appealing to the public, which is struggling to stay afloat in today's stagflationary U.S. economy, but in reality it's a farce – a giant Trojan Donkey,” says Root.

"The truth is forcing millions of small, medium and big U.S. businesses to artificially raise wages and will end up costing everyone more money - but it will especially hurt lower and middle income families by raising consumer prices via the 'hidden' tax of inflation, which is anti-growth, anti-economic and un-American," warns Root.  "Politicians love playing Robin Hood, but lack real concern for America's poor. Instead they want wealth redistribution costs to be passed onto business owners and customers as an "invisible" tax. Free markets thrive on competition, not regulation,” explains Root, “and raising the minimum wage is a proven formula to further crush the U.S. middle class, which is the true goal of the Obama Administration, as explained in my new book, The Murder of the Middle Class” (July 2014, Regnery).

In Root's new Timeless Truth About Money DVD and Coined Freedom Special Report, he explains why our money system and economy will either be “the builder or the destroyer of American civilization.”

"History confirms the rise and fall of nations and civilizations are always linked to the collapse of their money systems. All civilizations start out strong, but after about 200 years on average, one by one, they destabilized and destroyed their culture, economy and money system with unsustainable debt and rampant taxation," Root says in The Timeless Truth about Money.

Root reminds Americans of the strong economic warnings from our Founding Fathers, such as Benjamin Franklin and John Adams:

"If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them, will deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered." -Benjamin Franklin

"All the perplexities, confusion and distress in America arise not from defects of the Constitution, not from want of honor or virtue, so much as from downright ignorance of the nature of coin, credit and circulation." -John Adams

Root says today our nation is caught in an economic death spiral - unless 'We the People' can find and elect true statesmen willing to reverse these ominous economic trends:

1) Dependency: More Americans receive government entitlements than work full-time.

2) Joblessness: Over 100 million working-age Americans are not working - the highest in history!

3) Income Stagnation: The typical American family earns less today than they did back in 1989.

4) A Weak Dollar: The U.S. Dollar is in a 40-year downtrend, fast becoming an 'IOU nothing.'

5) Global Uncertainty: Rising geopolitical crises, wild-cards and oil-wars in the Middle East.

Root says the first key to family survival is to begin moving yourself onto a “personal” gold standard. Wayne is offering audiences a free copy of The Truth about Money DVD and Coined Freedom Special Report online at www.coinedfreedom.com.

Choosing a Successor for Your Business

By Sandy Botkin

Most people are so business growing their business that planning the business succession goes on the backburner. It is critical that succession be considered. After all, why not reap the rewards of your success with a great retirement as well as keeping the business in the family?  Here are some thoughts that you need to consider, which will apply to ANY business owner:

1. The first step is to identify a successor. This does NOT mean to pick the oldest child or grandchild, which was the case during the middle ages. You need to pick the one you think is most able considering their strengths and weaknesses.
Being a good manager isn't enough. They need to have the ability to focus on the big picture and think strategically.

2. Groom your successor. Hiring your kids or grandkids is a great way to shift income and teach them the business. It also will give you insight into what type of worker he or she may be.

3. Communicate to the kids why you picked a successor in order to avoid sibling rivalry.

4. Giving one kid the business doesn't mean you need to leave the others "out in the cold." You could give the others the assets such as the business real estate in trust that can be leased to the business. Alternatively, you can give them non-voting shares in a corporation or non-voting interests in an LLC.

5. You, as the owner, may need to be compensated for the business. This can be done with a consulting agreement in which you get paid a salary for a number of years. Alternatively the buyer/children can go to a backer and get financing to buy you out or you can finance the purchase with seller financing.

6. Finally, if you have no kids who are qualified to run the business or don't want the business, you will need to sell it to a third party. This will entail cleaning up financial statements for several years, deducting any payments to country clubs or other personal items.

The bottom line: Selling a business can really beef up your retirement. However, you must consider these factors several years in advance before you consider retiring or the business might just die off leaving your family with nothing.

Controlling Emotional Spending

By Sandy Botkin

One of my friends was complaining about his wife's spending. He then asked her if she knew what the opposite of spending was. Her answer: "charging." He knew he was in trouble.  One main reason people have incurred a lot of debt is due to their desire for "instant gratification."

I have found that most people are VERY shortsighted. We don't want to wait for the long term. We want things now and are not willing to invest or save for the future. Thus, people want "premature instant gratification." This is caused by having what they want, when they want it without regard to whether they need it.

The key here is to understand a basic financial truth: spending is emotional; and nothing gets people more emotional than money. I see it all the time. This is particularly true when there is a death in the family. Beneficiaries go crazy over the money and the assets. I have seen whole families stop talking to each other over a fight about furniture or a ring.

It is thus imperative that people need to be much more logical about their money and less emotional; however, this is easier said than done. We need to focus on what we are spending and why we are buying a particular item and try not to be in denial about it.

Ask yourself: How many times have you or your spouse bought something because you were upset or stressed out? This type of consumerism is called "shopaholicism." How many times have purchased something extravagant after an argument?

I don't think people can ever totally stop emotional purchases. Thus, set up a monthly savings budget for it, and don't spend more for these types of purchases than the budget allows.

From my book, "Lower Your Taxes: Big Time"

"But Still I Rise" Like Legendary Poet & Activist Maya Angelou

By Michelle Seiler-Tucker

Are you experiencing a challenge, injury or illness that is holding you back and preventing you from performing at your best? The answers and solutions you are looking for already reside within you. Maya Angelou, an impoverished adolescent from the segregated South who made her way to San Francisco and went on to become one of the most significant literary figures of her time died last week at 86. In my award winning and bestselling book, Sell Your Business for More Than It's Worth, I emphasize the importance of overcoming the obstacles that are placed in our way to help us grow into super-entrepreneurs. Your true and authentic self, your energetic spiritual core is what supersedes everything in the material plane. The biggest lesson we must take from the extraordinary life of Maya Angelou is to rise from the ashes and fulfill our greatest destinies as business owners and entrepreneurs. [more...]