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Archive for October, 2008

I just checked out the tax calculator found at http://newsdayinteractive.com/community/taxes.php?s=0&t=0 and discovered something very interesting.

Let me run through a couple scenarios for you.

First, let’s figure a couple with 2 kids making about $75,000 a year combined. According to this calculator, the Obama plan would save you roughly $1000 a year in taxes. This equates to getting $83 a month in actual relief. So electing Obama will get you a $1,000 a year pay raise at least until the Democrats allow the current Republican tax cuts to expire. Then you will most likely see this saving go away. So all in all, Obama is going to pay for your cable or satellite bill.

Now, lets see how someone that owns a company and makes a very good living would fare. Lets say a married couple with 3 kids makes roughly $2,000,000 a year. Their tax bill will increase by $109,544. That’s about $9100 a month. Sure, it seems like something “fair”, however if you consider that this guy to improve his business might want to hire a couple people, this is not a good deal. $109,000 would easily help 2-3 families do more than just enjoy cable!

So let me ask you… which would be a better way to stimulate growth in our economy? Pay your cable bill, or create new jobs? The choice is yours… choose well.

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This morning in a rally Obama makes a very interesting statement. In defending himself and denying that his plan is socialistic, he argues that he did not know when McCain and Palin decided that selfishness is a virtue.

Did you pick up on that? In Obama’s mind, by taxing the “rich” and giving to the “middle class” he somehow thinks he is giving charity. Those that oppose this are simply selfish!

This is getting just incredible! My family and I do all we can, when we can to help out others. We give as we have the opportunity and the ability. One of the greatest rewards in that giving is the sense of appreciation and gratitude from the person you are helping. It almost becomes addictive and makes you want to give more. That is what charity is all about. You are just as richly blessed as the one you bless.

However, in the Obama theory, the governement TAKES from those it deems has too much, the governement DECIDES who it is given to, and the recipeient feels that this is OWED to them instead of appreciating the gift. So when next month comes, they are still there with hands out waiting on what they DESERVE! And if you as an individual are against this, you are SELFISH!

This is not a defiinition of Charity that I am willing to accept. How about you? Do you feel this is Charity?

Please, rather than voting based on popularity, style, appearance, race, sex, outside pressure, party, media focus or any other absurd reason, be sure to cast your vote as someone that is informed about the candidates.

Some will say that relationships and associates do not matter. Some will say that experience or lack of it will not matter. Make up your own mind, but to do that you must explore these items. You must discover the nature of relationships, associations, and experience to determine which candidate will be the best to lead.

Your country is counting on you to make the right vote, not the popular or assumed. Only you can choose the right vote.

In politics, the term “Bradley Effect” has been thrown around quite a bit lately. The theory is that white people will claim to be in favor of voting for Obama, the black candidate, but will instead vote against Obama due to racial issues.

While I am sure there is a small percentage of whites that will say they support Obama yet vote against him due to race, I am also wondering about an idea that has had little to no talk. What about a reverse Bradley Effect?

Obama is the first African American candidate for US President that has ever had a real chance. Since his nomination the daily polls have been showing him up, meaning there is a good chance that Obama may come out the winner. However, I wonder if African American voters could create a reverse effect. Let me explain…

Voting based on skin color, regardless if it is “for” or “against” will happen on both sides of the racial fence. There will be whites voting against Obama and blacks voting for Obama simply because of his skin color.

So my question is this… what if there is a large group of black voters that don’t agree with Obama’s views at all, but are afraid of potential negative affects from the black community if they said they were not going to vote for him? Could this be possible? Could a black voter claim to be for Obama to prevent being called a “sell out” or something worse, yet vote for McCain in the polling booth when no one is looking? This would cause a similar effect showing the same inflated numbers, but the racial end would be black…

This is something I doubt we will ever know. If indeed Obama looses, I believe the Bradley Effect will be a great source of coversation for years to come. As I am sure the idea of white voters lying and changing thier vote will be debated,  I would just love to hear someone actually discuss a “reverse” affect of blacks claiming one things and doing another as a possiblity as well.

No Outrage? No Calls of Discrimination?

Al Sharpton? Jesse Jackson? Hell, Hillary Clinton even? Does this not bother you folks?

This disgrace definitely shows a real issue that plagues our country today. Americans scream and jump at the mere sign of racism, but sexism is no big deal. Think I am wrong? Then let me ask you… what would be dominating the news and media if this mannequin was the likeness of Obama?

If Obama were shown here instead of Palin, there would be a great cry of outrage! Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson at a minimum would be holding major press conferences screaming about the injustice! But no word spoken here. I guess if the mannequin had a darker color to the skin, maybe then these characters would show their face. But I highly doubt that will ever happen, especially since the one being shown in the noose is currently running against the candidate of their choice.

Personally, I could care less about race or sex. I have grown up around racism and sexism and have seen the absolute evil it represents. I know that I am no better or worse than anyone else on this earth, regardless of race, sex, religion or background. So for me, the fact that this is not absolutely unacceptable and deplorable to the mainstream media and the liberal activists blows my mind! I am a white male and I find this unbelieveable!

The fact that someone would do this is almost as digusting as the fact that the ones that always cry foul when race appears to be an issue are silent!

Today I received an email from an account representative that the lender was dropping all stated income mortgage loans from their loan offerings. This is a further decline in the faith lenders have in stated income mortgage loans.

Sometimes referred to as the “liar’s loan”, stated mortgage loans have gotten a bit of a bad rep in my opinion. When stated income mortgages first came out, there was some major common sense involved in approving the loan. Usually the borrower would need to have very good credit and a solid history of making all their payments on time. Initially, stated income was designed to service the self employed borrower that would have difficulty in proving all their income. The challenge that faced self employed individuals was that the tax code allows a lot of opportunities to lower their taxable income, and most lenders use the taxable income to base thier decision on. So if a self employed borrower’s tax return reported a net taxable income of $18,000 yet they grossed $150,000 for the year, common sense would indicate they actually used more than $18,000 to live on.

However, since lenders went so far the other way and offered stated income mortgage loans to people with salaries and even fixed incomes, many people were using the stated income programs to buy more home than they could ever afford. They would bank on the home appreciating quickly and either refinancing or selling the home. Then when the bottom fell out, they were left holding a home that they could not afford and could not dump.

Stated income was such a small part of the mortgage and real estate boom, but since it was so easy to single out as a problem, lenders have run quickly from even the good stated income borrowers!

I hope stated income loans come back soon. The people that need this mortgage loan product currently are left underserved and there is certainly a viable market for the product. But until the media stops the gloom and doom, lenders will continue to shy away from all appearance of risk.

The Christian Science Monitor hosted an article about Colin Powell vs. Joe the Plumber and who is more relevant. I thought the questions and ideas were interesting. I then went on to read the respeonses and was blown away by the negative (almost “hate-mail”) type responses about Joe himself.

Joe Who? I don’t care who Joe is, or what he has or has not done. From my perspective, it is the response of the candidate that means the most to me.

For example: For someone that is currently unemployed and seeking employment in a very tight market, it is scary that Obama wants to tax the big money guys… the ones that decide to give the common guy a job. If Obama raises their taxes, 2 things will happen… 1. we (meaning all Americans) pay more for goods and services and 2. less jobs are created.

So the idea that Obama wants to “spread the wealth” scares me a bit.

I have always respected Colin Powell, but his reasons for choosing Obama confuse me. He mentions that Palin does not have the experience to act as President, but I think she has as much actual experience as Obama, the one stepping right into the role. So if the back up has too little experience, but it is basically the same as the starter for the other team, which team should be favored? This is a bit confusing why Obama’s lack of experience is ignored, while the Vice-Presidential candidate of Palin is focused…

I don’t like where the country is either. But I am not so ignorant to believe that the President makes it all happen. The Senate and House create a lot of the problems. Sure Bush has faltered in the end, but he has had some real jacka55es to deal with in Congress (for all 8 years actually).

Bottom line is this… stop attacking those that ask questions of the politicians. We SHOULD ask them questions and not just follow them blindly. Listen to the answers of the candidate. After all, Joe will go away soon back to oblivion, while we as Americans are stuck with our decision for at least the next 4 years! Listen to what the CANDIDATES say, not the ones asking the questions… whether Joe or media… The Candidate’s repsonses is what matter.

THERE IS NO MONEY TO LOAN!

THE SKY IS FALLING!

THE ECONOMY IS DEAD!

*cough* *cough*

Hold on a second.. I am trying to swallow this….

Folks, there is more than enough money for mortgage loans out there! The reason more mortgage loans are not being written right now is not because the money is gone… it’s because the buyers are gone! Applications for mortgages are way down, mostly due to fear!

And why are we full of fear? We should thank the news media for that! The panic headlines even have the White House panicing and now there is a $700 Billion “bailout” plan up for a second vote! Listening to the different talking heads, I hear about the reasons for this plan, but also am aware of all the other “stuff” being slipped into this bill! For example, Nancy Pelosi today brags that this new legislature has some great new features that will help energy and global warming, both which failed to pass last year. What in the world does that have to do with the bad mortgage debt on Wall Street? NOTHING!

True, property values across the country have fallen. Even the Charlotte area has seen a decrease in property values, although not by much! But right now is the absolutely BEST TIME TO BUY A HOME IN CHARLOTTE! Property values are lower and should rebound shortly while mortgage rates are still VERY LOW! And unless you just have the worst credit in the world, you can still get a mortgage!

Granted lenders have tightened up a bit on requirements. You will need better credit than over the past few years and you may need a little bit of money down. But that is not all bad. Lenders have gotten back to common sense.

So please, ignore the media’s claims that everything is failing and that you can’t find a mortgage. We have seen a gas shortage in Charlotte, but there is no shortage of mortgage funds available… just a shortage of buyers. Take advantage of the market and buy a home now!