ever heard of CUSO-VSO?  They’re a volunteer based organization that seeks to send professionals around the world to help impoverished regions with things like education, health care, community planning and so on.  To volunteer with this organization, you need a recognized professional designation of some sort and volunteer to be placed in a region where you will apply that designation to the improvement of that region.  It’s a great organization and I encourage you to support it.  However, I think that this organization and others like it should send financial planners overseas en masse.

The reason I think this is important is summed up very well in this column from the New York Times.  It’s not overtly politically correct but it demonstrates a very significant problem that besets families living in poverty and this is a problem not limited to the third world but I think in the third world is where the damage done by a failure of people to properly prioritize their spending is the worst.  choosing to spend money on beer when rent is 8 months behind is a demonstration of a house hold head who does not understand the long term benefit of financial responsibility.  It’s easy to say that in the short term, back breaking labour and poverty demand some kind of luxury spending because life is so rough but I can’t imagine how rough life will be for the subject of the New York Times article when his family no longer has a home.

Building housing, hospitals, roads, schools is all an essential part of economic and social growth in the third world and even here at home.  Providing seed for crops, help in farming land or placing teachers, doctors, engineers and others to help others become more self sufficient is also incredibly helpful to impoverished people.  It seems though that financial planning and education is given hardly a second thought in these types of aid efforts.  In a world where we are so familiar with “teach a man to fish…” as part of our cultural back drop, we should be more aware of how valuable that type of reasoning can be to those we want to help.

Volunteer organizations should send a hoard of financial planners around the world to educate those who seek status in their communities as to why having a grip on the household finances is the epitome of a successful and ultimately admirable family.  Having a cell phone today may put you at the head of the pack in terms of status but looking ahead two or three years may see the head of the household at the head of one of the most admirable families in the region.  Surely this can be impressed upon people in impoverished regions!

as a side note, check out the skyscraper banner that, at the time of this post, is placed to the right hand side of this blog.  KIVA is an organization that allows micro-lenders in impoverished areas access funds that come from people like you and I.  Throw in as little as $25 to help spur economic growth in an area that could use it.  Thanks in advance.

The answer is a straight up, flat out, low down, no foolin’ and straight shootin’ NO!

As detailed below in the video from reason.tv, Not only has GM paid off only a fraction of its loan it received from the American government, but it actually used some of the money it borrowed from the taxpayers in the first place to do it.

In case you can’t view the video or have an iPhone, (because flash is an evil beast that apple shall some day slay via the heroic Sir Steve of Jobs or something) this is basically the way it worked.

GM received $50 Billion in bailout funds in total.  $6.7 billion for a straight up loan, $13.4 Billion in an escrow account for operating funds and the rest for stock and a majority ownership in GM on the part of government.  Whether or not the $50 Billion includes the 12.5% ownership stake the Canadian government bought, I’m not sure but regardless, for me, it’s all the same thing.  GM paid back the $6.7 Billion loan but used money from the escrow account to achieve that.  In short, they basically used a VISA to pay off a Mastercard.

GM has paid back less than $5 Billion total and yet, GM’s CEO has the balls to air national television advertisements saying that GM has paid back their bailout loan in full and five years early to boot.  He thinks we’re morons.

One of the worst parts of this moral failure is that the company didn’t even pay off the $6.7 Billion for the sake of eliminating debt; they did it so they could apply for a low interest $10 Billion loan to retool some of their plants so they can manufacture vehicles in accordance with new emissions regulations so even if they had paid off the $6.7 Billion from their earnings, they would still be adding an additional $3.3 Billion of debt to their books.

I really like my ’92 Chevy Silverado but more and more because it’s used and not off a lot.

Recently I posted an I’m sorry post because my own harsh realities have ensured that I couldn’t live up to a $5,000 USD commitment to fund a KIVA lending account, only being able to fall far short and live up to a meagre 20% of that.  As if that weren’t bad enough, I actually forgot to do this on yesterday on Jan 01 as I had said I would.  It wasn’t until just a few minutes ago that I remembered this pledge and as a result, have just now deposited $1,000 USD into a KIVA lending account.

I have made no loans as of yet but I’m just about to do so to figure out where this money should go to helping third world entrepreneurs realize their dreams and needs.  I strongly encourage you to do the same by opening a KIVA lender’s account to fund micro loans to those in the third world.

Though KIVA does work with some micro lenders in North America, I have decided that my KIVA money will not be lent to any North American entrepreneurs.  This is a personal matter of principle in not defeating the purpose that I see behind KIVA as assisting economic progress in the third world.

Here I sit…no…no wait.  perhaps quoting bathroom grafitti isn’t the best way to start a blog post.  Apologizing for not posting in a month also isn’t the best so I won’t do that either.  I do have something to apologize for but apologizing for that would seem so self serving.  I mean granted I’m definitely the centre of the universe (or at least in close proximity) but I don’t want to seem like a blow hard.

IN THE NEWS:

some Nigerian dude tried to down a plane.  This really isn’t interesting to me and so I really don’t have a lot to say about it.  What’s more interesting to me is the reaction of others and the response by nations which have done so much to attempt an increase in the effectiveness of their security at the expense of our rights.  It was the passengers and airline staff that caught this guy near the end of the flight, not the government which has done so much to intercept crazy idiots like this.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was on a terror watch list and from what I understand, it had been reported to the American authorities that he had been “radicalized” before the incident on Northwest Airlines flight 253.  everything was there and available for a paranoid nation to pounce on some one who likely had every intention of killing a bunch of people.  Oddly enough, in a post 9/11 world with hypersensitive and bloated law enforcement agencies running around in every corner of the country, not a single American saw fit to track this guy down and stop him from flying.

I think a part of this is linked in great part to an incredibly unjustified and unmanageable domestic security policy on the part of the United States.  It’s almost a schizophrenic kind of policy really.  in an attempt to make the nation free, people have to give up some general freedoms and bow to the wishes of the state who knows how best we must manage our security.  I dunno…I could make some hay of this one but three paragraphs is enough.  i guess I just don’t think this hypersensitive security stuff works and this is perhaps proof positive of that.

MUH TWUCK!:

My purple beast (No, not that one) and the trailer is being subjected to it’s biannual inspection.  Oddly enough, it seems it will only cost a few thousand dollars.  I was expecting it to a be a tad bit worse but hey, it’s all good.

I’ve been at home enjoying the holiday season by doing a lot of nothing and trying to figure out how much of something I can eat before it makes me sick.

This coming summer, I have a decision to make.  Should I lease a truck for a few months to add on to a second contract that is seasonal or buy another older truck to run the highway and attempt to find more work for it later on?  All in all, I really just want to figure out what will be the least amount of headache.

APOLOGIZE FOR WHAT?!

Earlier on (about two posts back) I posted that I would be funding a $5,000 KIVA lending account to help stimulate economic activity in third world nations.  unfortunately, I will not be able to live up to the commitment and I feel especially bad about that since some one by the name of Gary was inspired to find his own account due to my posting.

I got caught up in my own glee and was just ecstatic about being able to help people in a far off land in such a practical and ethical manner.  I kind of threw other considerations to the wind such as insurance premiums, cost of equipment repairs, unexpected work stoppages and so on.  As a result, I am only going to be able to fund a $1,000 account in the new year but I sincerely hope that over this coming year, I’ll be able to add to that amount in a very significant manner.

So, I do apologize to anyone who read my post regarding a $5,000 commitment to fund a KIVA lending account.  I can only live up to 20% of that obligation and I do honestly feel terrible about that.

UGANDA:

I’ve been hearing a lot about Uganda recently and have been horrified about the content of what I’ve heard.  If you haven’t heard recently, the Ugandan parliament is set to pass a bill that would include the death penalty for homosexuals “convicted” of certain homosexual acts.

Now, this has managed to stir up a lot of angry discussion and I’ve very glad to see religious groups, conservative groups, and others give it a wholesale kind of condemnation.  Sweden is even threatening to remove foreign aid should the bill pass.  Though no one has been convicted of homosexual acts in Uganda, (Anti-homosexual laws are already on the books) this kind of law would make it entirely possible for hate filled people driven by fear and ignorance to take the lives of people for absolutely no good reason what so ever.

what is perhaps most disturbing is that religious groups inside Uganda are pushing the bill like it’s in danger of going out of style…which it already has one would hope.  Showing how dangerous religious ignorance can be, there are even Christian leaders in the nation who fervently believe that Uganda should cut diplomatic relations with other countries that want Uganda to accept homosexuals as regular citizens like every one else.  In other words, if the world isn’t as backward thinking as yourself, ignore it and cut down the number of dissenting voices you will hear.  Ignorance knons no enemy like diverse opinion and intellectual exploration.

Only the most horrid, wicked and vile people could talk of loving homosexuals and propose their potential death at the same time as Ugandan Member of Parliament David Behati does.  He is a rotten human being who has both accepted the responsibility of leadership among his people and cast aside any semblance of responsible intelligent thinking.  He and his ilk are frankly a disgrace.

ARROW TRUCKING (Tulsa, OK):

I realize that this will not affect many people but it hits close to home for those in my chosen field of work.

Imagine working for a company and being given no hint that you’re about to be laid off.  Imagine being hundreds of miles away from home and finding out quite suddenly that you are laid off.  imagine that you find out not via a short meeting, a phone call or even a text message.  Imagine finding out when you make your own phone call to ask why your fuel card doesn’t work as you stand next to a fuel pump with a near empty fuel tank.  No one’s on the other end, just a short recorded message telling you to turn in your truck to get a bus ticket to get back home.

This is how hundreds of drivers found out that their employer, Arrow Trucking out of Tulsa Oklahoma, had laid them off.  It’s a terribly cruel manner of telling people that their jobs are no longer there.

Larger companies that operate on paper thin profit margins can experience huge upsets when the price of fuel changes by only a few cents.  for drivers, this puts them at risk of losing their jobs at any minute should they be working for a company that is unable to absorb increased costs of business in a very competitive field.  That being said, poor management is often the reason for larger firms not being able to absorb said costs.

I’m quite sad to hear of the fate suffered by Arrow Trucking drivers.  I sincerely hope that many of them aren’t caught in an employment gap because of this.  As for Doug Peilsticker, the former owner of the now defunct company, I hope that he is properly called out for letting his company go to shambles after the reputable stewardship it was privileged to under his late father Jim.

On the plus side, I did hear of a number of companies seeking out the laid off drivers as priority hires and others seeking out Arrow Trucking drivers at truck stops offering up sandwiches or even assistance getting home.

MORE MARIJUANAPHOBIC MORONS:

Recently, a study was published that suggested that cannabis use in adolescents may have irreversible long term negative affects.  Linking cannabis use to schizophrenia, depression and anxiety, the authors concluded that cannabis use possibly disrupts the development of the serotonin and norepinephrine systems in growing young folk.

The trick?  They weren’t studying THC or cannabanoids present in cannabis.  They tested the effects of a chemical called WIN55,212-2.  If you’re wondering what it is, it’s something that causes the body to react in ways that are similar to how one would react if one ingested a similar cannabnoid found in cannabis but to a much more notable degree.  It is structured entirely differently than any cannabanoid found in cannabis and comparing it to THC is kind of like comparing apples to oranges concluding that since both are fruits, they must be the same.

I’m awfully tired of this horrid and desperate want within the scientific community to find facts that support an agenda.  Whether it be about drugs or creation science, I really am becoming resentful of scientists who claim to be ethical while engaging in study that is plainly deceptive and often driven by an agenda.

Could people just get over weed already?  Please?

So there it is…about a month worth of blogging or so.  there’s more but my fingers are bleeding.  G’night!

Have you ever heard of KIVA?  I only just stumbled upon it a few moments ago and I don’t think I’ve ever felt this enthused about an online project in ages.  I’m not sure if I ever have felt this optimistic and happy about anything I’ve seen online ever. The worst part of this is that I’m so excited that I can’t even really think of what I should say in particular about this so I’ll get the basics out there right off the bat.

KIVA uses a network of micro-lenders around the developing world to disperse funds from charitably minded individuals via the web.

KIVA provides access to micro-loans for those who need to do simple things like repair a taxi-cab, fertilize a field or otherwise operate a business the contributes to a local economy in a developing nation.  These micro-loans provide people in the developing world with real opportunities for bettering their own lot in life as well as those in their communities by way of creating jobs and providing community services.

The lending membership of KIVA is made up of people like you and me.  You can use a credit card or pay pal account (which provides their services to KIVA free of charge) to forward money to micro-loan organizations around the world.  When the micro-loans are repaid, you get credited the same amount which can either be refunded to your method of initial payment or re-loaned to another third world entrepreneur.

While there are some criticisms levelled at KIVA, (High interest rates being chief among them) I find the project and the results to be entirely admirable.  In my own view, it’s an incredible privilege to be able to access a lending program that helps people out and it’s something I’m exceptionally psyched about.

There’s only one hurdle I have to jump and I should be jumping it soon.  It’s been rough becoming financial solvent lately and things like my truck’s transmission being puked on by my bank account didn’t help.  That being said, I’m still on my way and the nearest financial horizons are looking bright and full of colour.

It is my intention to devote $5,000 to KIVA donating through the “Atheist, Agnostics, Skeptics, Freethinkers, Secular Humanists and the Non-Religious” lending team.  Incidentally, this is the largest group on the KIVA website.  Established on August 28th in 2008, the “lending team” has loaned out a total of over $1.18 Million USD and has over 7,000 members.  It is the largest group of lenders on KIVA and I will be happy to participate.

While I would love to see a bunch of people with thousands of dollars flowing through KIVA, $5,000 is only my own goal.  I would be thrilled to know of anyone else who decides to jump in with a bit of their own money to simply lend a portion of a $200 loan to buy fertilizer, stock a local grocery store or expand a bread making business in Peru.  $25 for instance, makes for a great help toward some one’s future success in the developing world and it’s not a heck of a lot of money.  Even building a kitchen in one’s home to raise their standard of living is important and often facilitated by KIVA lenders.

I hope to be in a position to establish my $5,000 KIVA budget by Jan’ 01, 2010 which is just a month and a bit away.  In the mean time, care to challenge my commitment by starting earlier?

A Fistful Of Dollars: The Story of a Kiva.org Loan from Kieran Ball on Vimeo.

Next step is convincing a bank to issue a credit card that charges no fee for transactions through KIVA.