I think it’s really sad when a newspaper that has the choice chooses to publish things such as foreclosures, civil suits etc…. I know its public information but why the hell do they have to publish it. These people are going through enough already and really don’t deserve to have their names printed in the paper just to add more hurt to their already bad situation.….I know there are those nosy bodies that just gotta know but let them go to the courthouse and look it up. If that’s what it takes to sell a paper maybe I’ll just cancel my subscription. Does anybody else see it this way…..
Tags: foreclosures, news paper, Personal
Wait wait wait before you judge!!!! I am a 46 year old who has not touched the drug in many many years. In my past there may have been a time that it was in my hand, I may have taken a hit…..or two…..and possibly inhaled…..deeeeply…….There’s even a possibility that I enjoyed it at the time. There’s also a very good chance that I was drinking legalized Beer at the time increasing the tax income for the city, county and state. With that said and now being older and more responsible I seldom drink and no smoking Marijuana (Pot) at all and not sure how many years it’s been since I last did and it really doesn’t matter.
Let’s get down to business now. And business is gaining tax revenue from the Billions (yes Billions with a “B”) marijuana trade in the US as well as the trade between other countries that are currently smuggling it in. I know there’s a downside to drugs as there is in anything similar including alcohol, guns, food (yes food), cigarettes, and prescription medications. Anything can be abused.
If Marijuana were legalized and controlled similar to alcohol it would cause no more social issues than alcohol and I agree those are bad enough but most of those issues can be helped by education and needs to start and run K through 12 . The main advantage of legalization would be the tax revenue that the government would gain which could pay for social security, Medicare and health care. I think an individual should be able to grow their own for their own personal use maybe pay a yearly license and then buy a different license to be a retailer or wholesaler. The same rules and regulations that apply to alcohol should apply to marijuana. There are many things that would have to be worked out to make this work and stop the billions in spending on the drug war. I do think that it could help the country’s economy in many ways. This is just an opinion…..what’s yours?
Tags: Economy, legalize marijuana, taxes
What would you do if the dream came true and you won the Lottery? Here’s how I think I would handle it.
So my numbers matched and I’ve found myself millions of dollars richer in a matter of minutes. The first thing I would do is KEEP IT QUIET! I think if you immediately announce it to the world you’ll end up with relatives and friends you never knew you had. I would then immediately contact a Lawyer and Accountant. I have a few friends that are Attorneys and Accountants that I think I could trust to them to help me through the next few months or year of the life changing event. Now it’s off to contact the lottery commission to let them know I’ve won and eventually pay the taxes and take possession of a large sum of money. Before I help a single person I would get a chunk of the money setup in some type of long term annuity or investment for my family’s future. Now it’s time to take care of business. I would quietly gather my families (mine and my wife’s) together and let them know what’s happened. I would also let them know that they will all receive a nice bit of the winnings and what they get is what they get…..in other words don’t just take it and blow it. It could change their lives. I think I would give each of them equal amounts so that nobody can complain that someone got more. I’ve thought about this a bit and think that I would just pay off everyone’s bills but that wouldn’t be fair if one family member didn’t have any debt they wouldn’t get anything. Then I thought, “pay off the family member’s debt then give them a gift of x amount of thousands of dollars”. Yes, someone is going to get more but they should all just be happy and use it to prepare for their future and retirement (and maybe spend just a little). I would make sure all kids and grand kids in the family had an opportunity to get a college education. They don’t get the cash they just get their education paid for as long as they are going to school and making the grade. Yes they would have to make the grades! After all of our families are taken care of I would want my wife to choose what charity organizations (if any) or other people she wants to help. I wouldn’t want any attention for helping but would just want to help. I would probably live similar to how I live now but would work for myself doing something I really enjoyed as would Stacy (actually it would be nice for her to not work : ) ). Most likely we’d build a new house and replace a few old cars. I wouldn’t blow it on big boats or expensive cars just to have the toys I’d just get what I need. The main thing is to prepare for the future because we never know what tomorrow might bring.
Tags: Fantasy, Fun, Life Changing, Lottery
I have to say I am quite frustrated with our health insurance as I am sure many millions of other people are. I am one of the lucky people whose employer, or actually my spouse’s employer provide us the ability to pay a chunk of her pay check to have family healthcare. Did I say healthcare….I meant to say Pain in the ass! Yes our quality insurance is a pain in the backside. It doesn’t pay for the things it is supposed to such as preventative care and it fights with medical facilities and does its very best to not pay anything for months and months. The medical facility becomes angry with us and we get angrier with the insurance company. In the end they finally decide they need to pay and send them a check……not all of what they owe but just enough for the clinic to send us more letters to say you still owe us…..then we go back and argue with the insurance company for several more weeks to finally have them pay all of their part 6, 8 or 12 months later……I know this happens to people all over the country every day. Just read a few forums online or watch the news…..Do we need a public healthcare system? I don’t know but I sure as hell do know that the current Insurance companies need to be controlled by some entity so that this kind of crap isn’t allowed. No more of the “we’re not covering your health problem because it’s too expensive or this is a pre-existing condition even though you may have been born with the condition”……Healthcare in this country could be good if the Insurance companies were forced to do what they are supposed to do instead of hanging on to your money as long as they can to earn as much profit as they can with it. Yes we all need healthcare but insurance is a different story!
Tags: Healthcare, Insurance
I have actually heard people say “we’re not in a recession here in LeFlore county”…..WHAT?….Are you nuts? I see people living and feeling it everyday. The price of gas has gone down a bit but it hit our bank accounts hard over the last year. People had to dip into savings just to be able to afford to drive back and forth to work. The current unemployment rate in LeFlore County has risen from 5.9% in Nov 08 to 6.6% in December 08 and continues to rise. ( http://www.oesc.state.ok.us/Research/News/2009/CountyRatesContinueToIncreaseInDecember.pdf ) For those who are still employed and haven’t had to go through a period of time without a job and had to live on unemployment or no income at all are probably not feeling it too much except maybe things are just a bit tighter ( damn! I can only eat at McDonalds instead of Red Lobster ). For those of us who have lost jobs or closed businesses are feeling the pain. Many have gone months without finding any type of work and most are willing to take anything they can get but there simply aren’t any jobs available. I know how hard it is to dig for change just to put enough gas in the car to make it to a job interview only to find hundreds of others in line with you. I was lucky enough to find work locally at Southern Star, Inc., which is one of the finest companies I have ever worked for. Even when both people in the household working it is still a struggle. You may have Health Insurance through your employer that you pay for every paycheck and then when you have to go to the doctor you still end up paying for more than is affordable…your bank account still feels the hurt.
I don’t know when things will get better for our City, County, State and Nation but I pray that it’s soon. I hate to see people suffer because some wall street billionaire and politician bastards decided their lives were more important than everyone elses. It’s time for all of them to be held accountable for their mis-use and it’s time for all of us to make sure they are!
Tags: Banking, Economy, Government, Hurt, People