Investments

Known as “Oklahoma's favorite son”, humorist, actor Will Rogers, who died in 1935 once said, “I am more interested in getting my investment returned than getting a return on my investment.”

Americans have a reputation for hard work and shrewd investing. Most of us limit our spending, live frugally, in order to invest with the prospects of living comfortably with a percentage returns of our investments. You make money with money through the power of compound interest, but more important than earning interest, (Today, most bank deposits less than 1%), is the making of money by trading in the securities market, buying and selling real estate, or buy owning and renting commercial or other real estate in the buildings market. However you do it: gold, silver, platinum, land, or buildings, most investors seek a profit, no one invests his hard earned money, given the risk involved, in order to lose money.

The making of money in any investment becomes more difficult every passing day. The stock market is totally manipulated, the banking industry controls the real estate and construction market. Increases in taxation, insurance rates, maintenance on property, prohibits the financial return of rentals, just as the small farmer has been pushed out as the mega-conglomerate, corporate agriculture machines have taken over. So bigness has taken over in the rental market, no longer can the small operator supplement his income by renting out apartments, houses, or commercial buildings. The politicians have your number, government makes nothing, only has the power to tax, they have already sent out their appraisers. All your federal, state, county municipal government must do is slowly, but surely increase your rate of taxation, built upon the appraised value.

At one time, I could depend on a getting a decent percentage returned on rental real estate, in spite of the risks involved. Today, increased regulation, licenses or permits for everything, increased insurance rates, increased maintenance costs, one can barely survive in the real estate market.

Fifty years ago, when the ticker tape was used, when brokers purchased companies not groups. When securities markets moved a few points at a time, (recently in 15 minutes, the market went down 1000 points, back up 500 points, almost everyday up or down several hundred points) one could predict after careful study, strategy in investing. In bad times, good times, unexpected times, you can depends on making a reasonable return in the securities markets. Today, you can get wiped overnight.

In 1987, President Reagan established, with Treasury Department, safeguards against plunges. This is all a matter of history, with manipulation Wall Street-ers have learned to control the market through options. By the time the small investor learns what is going on, the big money has been made. Goldman-Sachs sold most of their British Petroleum stock before “the leak”!

Hearings before congressional committees shows how corrupt the investment market has become. Now, along with the international bankers, the Bilderbergers, the European dilemma, we must face the inevitable nationalizing of all American industry under the communist-capitalist Mr. Obama and his ilk. With his bailouts, sell-outs, cop-outs, seemingly with little despair from the Congress or the public. America has taken over the financial community, the insurance community, the automobile manufacturing community, now, he has his eyes set on the oil corporations. Jesse Jackson suggested it long ago, the takeover of all retirement funds...those of industry, teachers, government workers etc. this is the way it is done in communist countries. Why should one person depend on social security, and another live high off a large retirement fund. Already, we hear of the large retirement checks received by just ordinary workers: the retired head of local hospital 202,000 per year, the retired head of county liquor operation 157,000 per year, most retired educators, superintendents, principals over 100,000 per year. Even chiefs of police and fire departments retire with 6 figure annual checks. Billion of dollars in retirement stashes are just waiting for federal government takeover.

One of my friends, blind from birth, never made very much money, even though she worked her entire life as a typist. The average social security check is $1007, hers was about $793. She owned her own house, and lived her last years through equity in her house. Impossible to live on just social security, paying for health, and health-care, there was barely enough left for burial.

Most 100% disabled veterans, get just enough to survive...less than the amount provided to an ROTC student a local college. But, why should he complain, he did not give his all for money.

My mother's parents lived in the house in which her father and grandfather were born, the house having survived the Civil war. During WW2, my grandparent's only son was in combat in the South Pacific. I will never forget, these two old people, my grandfather's only brother, one year younger than he, along with two hired old men tried to keep the farm going. My mother's sisters were all away working, one at the pentagon, all sending home money to pay taxes on the farm. They, like my mother, who worked hard her entire life, never received one penny of social security, even though they had paid taxes for many years. There is much inequity involved in investing, not only your funds, but your time.

Your best investment, an investment which will never fail, giving of your means to God. You can give without loving, but you can not love without giving. You cannot out give God. When Noah came out of the Ark, the first thing he did was make an offering to God. When Moses came down the mountain after spending 40 days and nights with God, the first thing he did was make an offering to God. When the 50,000 first Jewish returnees from captivity in Babylon reached Jerusalem, the first thing they did was make an offering to God. The apostle Paul said to give cheerfully to God.
We mere human mortals are ninety-three million miles away from the surface of the Sun. Wherever you are on Earth, you depend on the power of the Sun. In Asia, many places, I saw mortals, human beings, carrying large baskets of food to temples where monkeys were worshiped. The same son grew this food, warmed these bodies, tragic, these people even today know nothing of the power of God and making offerings to him, a true investment.