People will always have some reason for needing cash that they do not have. It does not always have to be an emergency such as unexpected expenses in between paychecks. It could also be because they want buy big-ticket items or go on a grand holiday. For whatever reason, two of the fastest ways to get funds is through credit card cash advances or payday advances.
Both have its advantages and disadvantages. It all boils down to the borrower’s ability to pay. Below is a comparison between the two options:
§ Payday advances have a higher interest rate than cash advances from credit cards. The $10 to $30 finance charge per $100 borrowed may not seem too much to pay at first, especially if the borrower is able to pay off the loan after two weeks. However, if the borrower cannot pay on the deadline, the finance charge is compounded for every week that the loan is unpaid, a rate of increase much faster than for credit cards.
§ Credit card cash advances can take a longer time to pay. The usual practice of credit card companies is to apply payments to any existing balance first before paying off the cash advance itself. Unless the payment is large enough – certainly well over the combined minimum payment for the current balance and the cash advance – it will take a long time for the borrower to make a dent on his credit card debt.
§ Payday loans have no effect your credit history. Because the terms are quite short and the loan is guaranteed against the borrower’s next paycheck, payday advances do not contribute to or detract from your credit score. This is unlike credit card cash advances, which are included in your credit history.
§ Borrowers get cash faster with payday advances than with credit card cash advances. There are usually less requirements, no faxing of documents and credit history checks, making the loan process faster and the loan guaranteed, more or less. On the other hand, credit card cash advances are subject to credit history checks and is not guaranteed.
Based on the pro’s and con’s listed above, fast cash loans, like payday advances, seem to be the better choice over credit card cash advances. However, the borrower has to keep in mind that fast cash loans are short-term loans only and should not be used as a long-term financial solution. It is better only if the loan is sure to be paid on or before the deadline.
If the borrower is not sure that the loan can be paid in two weeks, a credit card cash advance would be better because of the longer period for payment. However, one should not make a cash advance on a card with a large balance or, worse, maxed out. People should avoid maxing out their credit cards because it becomes harder to pay several of these at once. In the end, only the borrower can decide which of the two options – payday advance or credit card cash advance – is more suitable for the situation.
Debt Consolidation Loans For Bad Credit Management: How Effective Are They Really?
The biggest problem with missing a single loan repayment is that over just a short time, with fines and charges, the sum can become extremely high. For those facing large debt repayments each month, this is a major problem. But the availability of debt consolidation loans for bad credit borrowers means there is a way out.
But just how effective is consolidating existing debts and taking out another loan to repay them? Is it not simply a case of replacing a set of crippling debts with one single crippling debt? Or is there sound reasoning behind the strategy? After all, there are other options to consider too.
We take a look at some of the factors that answer these questions, and establish that taking out a debt consolidation loan really does provide a practical solution to the problem of meeting debt repayments that are just too large to manage.
Understanding The Mechanics Of Consolidation
Before addressing the questions, however, we should look at how consolidation works. By definition, consolidation means bringing resources together in order to strengthen a position. In financial terms, that translates to combining all the different loan balances in order to manage them better. This is exactly the purpose behind applying for a debt consolidation loan for bad credit management.
The reason why this is done? Well, it comes down to fact that clearing separate debts in full with a single debt creates a much more manageable financial situation. This is because individual loans have differing terms, like interest rates, repayment schedules etc. If there are 5 loans, then there are 5 dates on which to make a repayment, and 5 interest rates charged, complicating the whole situation.
By consolidating existing debts this complexity is reduced to a single repayment that is easier to focus on. And with a single debt consolidation loan to face, there is a single interest rate that ultimately means less interest is paid and a single repayment structure to worry about.
Why Replacing Debts Works?
But how can replacing the debt work? How can the financial pressure be alleviated? The fact is that, when securing a debt consolidation loan for bad credit management, the debt is being restructured. This in turn means the pressure is alleviated, but only if the terms are right.
For example, the most important factor to consider when consolidating existing debts is the term of the loan deal. The key reason for financial pressure is the size of the repayments each month. If the size is reduced, then the pressure is lessened.
When taking out a debt consolidation loan, the length of the loan term decides the size of the repayments. If the total sum is $45,000, then a 10-year term means monthly repayments of around $400. Over 20 years, it would be a mere $200. In contrast, the existing structure could have combined monthly repayments on 5 individual loans as high as $1,000, placing extreme pressure on the borrower.
Other Advantages To Consider
So, what are the other advantages that should be considered, especially when compared to the alternatives? Well, the first alternative is to declare bankruptcy, thus removing the pressure created by debt completely. But there is the consequence of a black mark against your credit for as long as 2 years.
Getting a debt consolidation loan for bad credit management means all debts are repaid in full, leaving no reason for any negative consequence. In fact, the credit score improves instead and worsens because as far as your credit report is concerned, the debts were repaid.
This means the terms on future loan deals can be better, ensuring consolidating existing debts is the most beneficial method to clearing debts - as long as the terms of the debt consolidation loan are right.
But just how effective is consolidating existing debts and taking out another loan to repay them? Is it not simply a case of replacing a set of crippling debts with one single crippling debt? Or is there sound reasoning behind the strategy? After all, there are other options to consider too.
We take a look at some of the factors that answer these questions, and establish that taking out a debt consolidation loan really does provide a practical solution to the problem of meeting debt repayments that are just too large to manage.
Understanding The Mechanics Of Consolidation
Before addressing the questions, however, we should look at how consolidation works. By definition, consolidation means bringing resources together in order to strengthen a position. In financial terms, that translates to combining all the different loan balances in order to manage them better. This is exactly the purpose behind applying for a debt consolidation loan for bad credit management.
The reason why this is done? Well, it comes down to fact that clearing separate debts in full with a single debt creates a much more manageable financial situation. This is because individual loans have differing terms, like interest rates, repayment schedules etc. If there are 5 loans, then there are 5 dates on which to make a repayment, and 5 interest rates charged, complicating the whole situation.
By consolidating existing debts this complexity is reduced to a single repayment that is easier to focus on. And with a single debt consolidation loan to face, there is a single interest rate that ultimately means less interest is paid and a single repayment structure to worry about.
Why Replacing Debts Works?
But how can replacing the debt work? How can the financial pressure be alleviated? The fact is that, when securing a debt consolidation loan for bad credit management, the debt is being restructured. This in turn means the pressure is alleviated, but only if the terms are right.
For example, the most important factor to consider when consolidating existing debts is the term of the loan deal. The key reason for financial pressure is the size of the repayments each month. If the size is reduced, then the pressure is lessened.
When taking out a debt consolidation loan, the length of the loan term decides the size of the repayments. If the total sum is $45,000, then a 10-year term means monthly repayments of around $400. Over 20 years, it would be a mere $200. In contrast, the existing structure could have combined monthly repayments on 5 individual loans as high as $1,000, placing extreme pressure on the borrower.
Other Advantages To Consider
So, what are the other advantages that should be considered, especially when compared to the alternatives? Well, the first alternative is to declare bankruptcy, thus removing the pressure created by debt completely. But there is the consequence of a black mark against your credit for as long as 2 years.
Getting a debt consolidation loan for bad credit management means all debts are repaid in full, leaving no reason for any negative consequence. In fact, the credit score improves instead and worsens because as far as your credit report is concerned, the debts were repaid.
This means the terms on future loan deals can be better, ensuring consolidating existing debts is the most beneficial method to clearing debts - as long as the terms of the debt consolidation loan are right.
Insurance Professional Sales Tips - Do Worthless Insurance Purchases Bother You?
Insurance Professional sales tips rarely reveal the split personality of many insurance sellers. The agent may sell prospects worthless insurance purchases initially while closely reviewing all insurance later. See how these sales practices are so unprofessional, yet how frequently they are used.
Beneath the clean cut skin of an insurance sales agent is often a diamond-eyed, double talking boneless reptile with one goal.. That goal is to always make a money-making sale, needed or not. A word of caution though, a stack of bills to pay, can transform an honest agent into a very slippery snake. What else makes this agent make sales in a manner that no insurance professional would normally do?
The sales tips the agent were originally taught is the cause of evil devious doings. The agent eyes converge on commission spotlights. Instead, the agent must focus the center of attention towards what is right for the prospect. Nevertheless, most agents do not experience a guilt trip if they have someone purchase a rather useless insurance policy. If a prospect needs a major medical plan, should sales of accident only coverage or cancer insurance be offered? What if the prospect says the major medical coverage is not affordable? Then should the agent walk away with no sale, or convince the prospect that cancer insurance or accident only coverage might at least be a partial solution, thereby making the sale?
Tomorrow, the day after the say, is always a time of reckoning for the agent. Either the manager will give out a tongue lash for not making a sale, or give a pat on the back for at least selling something. My sales tips indicate some unprofessional truth. Even when an agent finally becomes a professional, they still revert to making any kind of sale on their first visit. Few are truly professional enough to walk straight away, knowing that making the wrong sale is easy on the wallet and hard on the conscience.
If an insurance agent lasts long enough to review his present clients insurance, suddenly wings of an angel start to sprout. Here is where the policy review session reveals all. The insured brings out all life and health insurance in effect bought from any agent. Immediately an experienced agent can spot if there is a huge unfilled gap in insurance coverage. Also uncovered are any worthless insurance purchases made by the client. Here again $$ cloud the agents eyes. Two paths are available, but which should be taken?
The easy path is the least challenging, and has the largest change of success, however it is not professional. The insurance agent has to simply crumble up the unnecessary policies bought, and tell the client it was good the coverage was not used. Then these premiums are used to pay for some added coverage that the client needs. Same payments and better coverage can sound like a winner.
A true winner (professional) agent bets on personal quality and skills, with the determination to do a better job. He or she risks it all by telling the policyholder that all the coverage owned may be outdated. Purchasing proper life insurance, major medical, and disability income might mean a 50% increase in yearly premiums. Dropping less critical coverage might lower the amount of increase. Does the client want the best possible coverage for the least money, or does the client want every agent that comes along to write another insurance policy?
These are Insurance Professional Sales Tips that require ethics that many money hungry agents will never acquire.
Boston Estate Planning Is Very Important
Boston estate planning is very important as it helps the testators or the owners' wealth and assets be distributed well among its beneficiaries. There are various benefits attached to estate planning. Contrary to popular belief that this sort of planning will benefit only those affluent, this sort of planning benefits everyone and it doesn't depend on the size of your wealth. Estate planning offers substantial benefits to your spouse and kids long after you are gone. One of the largest benefits of planning is a reduced estate tax. This benefit reduces the value on an estate thereby reducing the tax against it.
The goal of a Boston estate planning service will be to make sure that all the testators or the owners financial wishes are met upon their death rather than decided by a court. An attorney will help plan the estate through several legal entities. These include trusts, wills, power of attorney, health care and many more. This is an important part of the process because it helps the beneficiaries of the will to attain the assets rather than the estate going into probate and awaiting the judgment of the court. To begin planning, finding an attorney who is an expert in this is a must.
The first step involved in Boston estate planning is getting all the related documents in order. An estate might have several parties attached to it. It's important to have the information related to bank accounts, insurance plans, inventory lists to household items and debts in order before meeting the lawyer. In case there are any more documents required the lawyer will ask for it. There is no limit to the information that needs to be provided to the lawyer. The more the information, the more it will help the lawyer plan better. However there are a couple of aspects that a testator or the owner must know before hiring a service.
Some Boston estate planning services can charge a huge sum of money. It's better to find out the cost of the estate planning before opting for it. Reducing tax on the estate is important. This is the information which only your Boston will lawyer can provide. This is to make sure that there is no issue with transferring your assets to your beneficiaries after your death. The will lawyer can also provide important information on how often the will needs to be updated. Once you have all this information you can ask your lawyer to begin planning your estate.
References and recommendations are the best way to find a Boston trust lawyer. The impact of planning your estate is more psychological rather than financial. The fact that your family is well cared for long after you are gone will bring you peace of mind. Lawyers help with planning depending on the priorities of the testator. Different types of planning has different charges and some can be expensive than the other; but it's worth it. Estate planning is better than the estate going into probate and the court deciding on the distribution of the wealth.
The goal of a Boston estate planning service will be to make sure that all the testators or the owners financial wishes are met upon their death rather than decided by a court. An attorney will help plan the estate through several legal entities. These include trusts, wills, power of attorney, health care and many more. This is an important part of the process because it helps the beneficiaries of the will to attain the assets rather than the estate going into probate and awaiting the judgment of the court. To begin planning, finding an attorney who is an expert in this is a must.
The first step involved in Boston estate planning is getting all the related documents in order. An estate might have several parties attached to it. It's important to have the information related to bank accounts, insurance plans, inventory lists to household items and debts in order before meeting the lawyer. In case there are any more documents required the lawyer will ask for it. There is no limit to the information that needs to be provided to the lawyer. The more the information, the more it will help the lawyer plan better. However there are a couple of aspects that a testator or the owner must know before hiring a service.
Some Boston estate planning services can charge a huge sum of money. It's better to find out the cost of the estate planning before opting for it. Reducing tax on the estate is important. This is the information which only your Boston will lawyer can provide. This is to make sure that there is no issue with transferring your assets to your beneficiaries after your death. The will lawyer can also provide important information on how often the will needs to be updated. Once you have all this information you can ask your lawyer to begin planning your estate.
References and recommendations are the best way to find a Boston trust lawyer. The impact of planning your estate is more psychological rather than financial. The fact that your family is well cared for long after you are gone will bring you peace of mind. Lawyers help with planning depending on the priorities of the testator. Different types of planning has different charges and some can be expensive than the other; but it's worth it. Estate planning is better than the estate going into probate and the court deciding on the distribution of the wealth.
The Mona Lisa
The Mona Lisa painted by Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) in 1503 is probably the most famous work of art in the world. Why has the Mona Lisa become so famous? Let's examine what it is that makes this rather small (30.31 x 20.87 in, 77 x 53 cm) oil painting on a wood panel painted at the turn of the 16th century so compelling to viewers worldwide.
But Leondardo was not the first to use the 3/4 view, here is another portrait by Ghirlandaio which is similar to the Mona Lisa in composition. The sitter also sits on a balcony and has a panoramic landscape behind her. Yet this work too does not match the realism of the Mona Lisa. One reason is that Leonardo's use of oil paint gives his work a richness of color and sense of depth that cannot be achieved with egg tempera.
The artist Perugino was a contemporary of Leonardo da Vinci, it is thought that they both studied under the same master, Andrea del Verrochio. In the above portait Perugino also uses a similar composition, his sitter seems to rest his hands on the frame of the painting and again we see a sweeping (if not Italian) landscape in the far background. Perugino worked in oil paints and he has captured many lifelike details faithfully.
But why does the Mona Lisa still look more lifelike? Leonardo pioneered several painting techniques, one was known as "chiaroscuro" which used light and dark to model form rather than using flatter outlines such as painters like Ghirlandaio and Perugino. Leonardo's other innovative technique of "sfumato" meaning smoke created a painting with many thin glazes or layers of oil paint rather than the bright and flat washes of egg tempera. Leonardo also famously dissected corpses to do a thorough study of human anatomy, which allowed him to fully understand the facial structure of his model and the underlying muscle and skeletal structures of all the figures he drew and painted.
When we line them up side by side these comparisons can help the modern viewer see the Mona Lisa with fresh eyes and fully appreciate the work for the innovative type of portrait that it was. At this time portraiture was rather common and many painters contributed a variety of techniques.
But in fact there have been many innovative painting styles and techniques through the ages and Leonardo himself painted a number of other well executed portraits. This leads back to my examination of the fame behind this now iconic work.
Leonardo da Vinci was considered to be a genius in his own time and he still is. He did work as a painter, but he also worked on a wide variety of other things and so didn't create very many paintings, only around 25 exist today. Therefore his unique painting methods combined with the scarcity of his work means that each work is considered extremely valuable and that sentiment has been true of Leonardo for a long time.
That idea ties into yet another reason why the Mona Lisa is so famous, the scandal that was created when it was stolen from the Louvre over 100 years ago.
The "Cult of the Mona Lisa" so to speak may have begun in 1911 the year it was stolen from the museum. King François I of France invaded the Duchy of Milan while Leonardo was employed in the Royal Court of Milan under Sforza rule. The French king was quite impressed with Leonardo and brought him back to France with him. As Leonardo had never given his portrait of the Mona Lisa to his patron, he brought it and other works with him to France where he lived out the remainder of his life. Due to this the Louvre museum in Paris has an impressive number of his works in its collection, at least six paintings as well as dozens of drawings.
That very fact angered a man named Vincenzo Peruggia who was working at the Louvre, he was Italian and felt that the Mona Lisa should be returned to Italy. As an employee he was able to take it from the frame and sneak it out of the building. A day went by before workers realized it was in fact stolen and when word got out about the theft of the Mona Lisa the public was shocked. It was said that more people came to the Louvre to stare at the empty frame in the month it went missing than came to see the painting in the entire previous year.
It wasn't recovered for another two years and when it was finally returned the artwork was considered even more priceless and beloved than before. Today it hangs behind protective glass and is surrounded by a constant crowd of viewers.
It is one of the most copied and parodied works of art. Marcel Duchamp made a version in 1919 with a mustache and beard and Andy Warhol made a silkscreen in 1963 of multiple images entitled Thirty are Better than One.
Whether it is seen as a paragon of Renaissance beauty, an innovative work by a genius or an iconic painting, the Mona Lisa continues to intrigue and inspire viewers more than 500 years after Leonardo da Vinci painted her.
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| Mona Lisa, (La Gioconda), Leonardo da Vinci, 1503-06, The Louvre |
The Mona Lisa is the portrait of Lisa Gherardini, the wife of Francesco del Giocondo. Mona was a contraction of "Madonna" meaning "my lady", a title of respect. In the Louvre where this is located the painting is called La Gioconda, this is both a feminine version of her husbands last name and a word in Italian that tranlates into "the joyful one" referring to her slight smile.
Leonardo was born and raised in Tuscany and studied art under Andrea del Verrochio in Florence. After leaving his master's workshop he acquired fame as an artist in Florence, where he lived until he was 30 years old. Then he was sent by the influential Medici family to live in Milan where he worked for both the Medici and Duke Lodovico Sforza. The Mona Lisa was painted during the three year period when Leonardo returned to Florence. It was commissioned by another Florentine, Francesco del Giocondo who was a wealthy silk merchant. Leonardo returned to Milan in 1506 and brought the portrait with him.
Leonardo had painted only a handful of private portraits in his career, some earlier works are below. From left we see the Portrait of Ginevra de'Benci (1474-78), a portrait known as the Lady with an Ermine (c-1490, thought to be the mistress of Lodovico Sforza the Duke of Milan, Cecilia Gallerani) and the unknown sitter called La belle Ferronière (1490-96).
While all are extraordinarily lovely portraits, the Mona Lisa still remains one of the most famous works of art in the world which leads me back to my original question- Why has the Mona Lisa become so famous?
Leonardo was born and raised in Tuscany and studied art under Andrea del Verrochio in Florence. After leaving his master's workshop he acquired fame as an artist in Florence, where he lived until he was 30 years old. Then he was sent by the influential Medici family to live in Milan where he worked for both the Medici and Duke Lodovico Sforza. The Mona Lisa was painted during the three year period when Leonardo returned to Florence. It was commissioned by another Florentine, Francesco del Giocondo who was a wealthy silk merchant. Leonardo returned to Milan in 1506 and brought the portrait with him.
Leonardo had painted only a handful of private portraits in his career, some earlier works are below. From left we see the Portrait of Ginevra de'Benci (1474-78), a portrait known as the Lady with an Ermine (c-1490, thought to be the mistress of Lodovico Sforza the Duke of Milan, Cecilia Gallerani) and the unknown sitter called La belle Ferronière (1490-96).
All three are beautifully painted with oil on a wood panel and show the sitter in a 3/4 view. I have arranged them in the order they were painted chronologically and the Mona Lisa would have been painted nearly 10 years after La belle Ferronière and 25 years after the de'Benci portrait. The later two have no background which highlights the face of the sitter, the earlier work had the landscape background made popular in Florentine painting of the mid to late 15th century.
While all are extraordinarily lovely portraits, the Mona Lisa still remains one of the most famous works of art in the world which leads me back to my original question- Why has the Mona Lisa become so famous?
One reason this is so well known is that this portrait was painted using techniques ahead of its time. When compared with portraits by other artists painted around this time the Mona Lisa is startlingly realistic. Let's look at some examples of Italian Renaissance portrait painting from the late 15th century.
Giovanna Tornabuoni, Ghirlandaio, 1489-90, tempera on panel,
Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum (Madrid)
We can compare the Mona Lisa to earlier egg tempera portraits such as the one by the well known Florentine painter Ghirlandaio (above). The style he used in his portrait of Giovanna Tornabuoni was quite popular during the 1400's, the profile was influenced by Ancient Roman coins which were commonly collected in the Renaissance. The Mona Lisa was painted less then 15 years later, Leonardo uses the more realistic 3/4 view of his sitter. In comparison to the lovely portrait of Giovanna Tornabuoni, the Mona Lisa is a much more convincingly naturalistic representation.
But Leondardo was not the first to use the 3/4 view, here is another portrait by Ghirlandaio which is similar to the Mona Lisa in composition. The sitter also sits on a balcony and has a panoramic landscape behind her. Yet this work too does not match the realism of the Mona Lisa. One reason is that Leonardo's use of oil paint gives his work a richness of color and sense of depth that cannot be achieved with egg tempera.
Portrait of Francesco delle Opere, Perugino, 1494, Uffizi Gallery (Florence)
The artist Perugino was a contemporary of Leonardo da Vinci, it is thought that they both studied under the same master, Andrea del Verrochio. In the above portait Perugino also uses a similar composition, his sitter seems to rest his hands on the frame of the painting and again we see a sweeping (if not Italian) landscape in the far background. Perugino worked in oil paints and he has captured many lifelike details faithfully.
But why does the Mona Lisa still look more lifelike? Leonardo pioneered several painting techniques, one was known as "chiaroscuro" which used light and dark to model form rather than using flatter outlines such as painters like Ghirlandaio and Perugino. Leonardo's other innovative technique of "sfumato" meaning smoke created a painting with many thin glazes or layers of oil paint rather than the bright and flat washes of egg tempera. Leonardo also famously dissected corpses to do a thorough study of human anatomy, which allowed him to fully understand the facial structure of his model and the underlying muscle and skeletal structures of all the figures he drew and painted.
When we line them up side by side these comparisons can help the modern viewer see the Mona Lisa with fresh eyes and fully appreciate the work for the innovative type of portrait that it was. At this time portraiture was rather common and many painters contributed a variety of techniques.
But in fact there have been many innovative painting styles and techniques through the ages and Leonardo himself painted a number of other well executed portraits. This leads back to my examination of the fame behind this now iconic work.
Leonardo da Vinci was considered to be a genius in his own time and he still is. He did work as a painter, but he also worked on a wide variety of other things and so didn't create very many paintings, only around 25 exist today. Therefore his unique painting methods combined with the scarcity of his work means that each work is considered extremely valuable and that sentiment has been true of Leonardo for a long time.
That idea ties into yet another reason why the Mona Lisa is so famous, the scandal that was created when it was stolen from the Louvre over 100 years ago.
The "Cult of the Mona Lisa" so to speak may have begun in 1911 the year it was stolen from the museum. King François I of France invaded the Duchy of Milan while Leonardo was employed in the Royal Court of Milan under Sforza rule. The French king was quite impressed with Leonardo and brought him back to France with him. As Leonardo had never given his portrait of the Mona Lisa to his patron, he brought it and other works with him to France where he lived out the remainder of his life. Due to this the Louvre museum in Paris has an impressive number of his works in its collection, at least six paintings as well as dozens of drawings.
That very fact angered a man named Vincenzo Peruggia who was working at the Louvre, he was Italian and felt that the Mona Lisa should be returned to Italy. As an employee he was able to take it from the frame and sneak it out of the building. A day went by before workers realized it was in fact stolen and when word got out about the theft of the Mona Lisa the public was shocked. It was said that more people came to the Louvre to stare at the empty frame in the month it went missing than came to see the painting in the entire previous year.
It wasn't recovered for another two years and when it was finally returned the artwork was considered even more priceless and beloved than before. Today it hangs behind protective glass and is surrounded by a constant crowd of viewers.
It is one of the most copied and parodied works of art. Marcel Duchamp made a version in 1919 with a mustache and beard and Andy Warhol made a silkscreen in 1963 of multiple images entitled Thirty are Better than One.
Whether it is seen as a paragon of Renaissance beauty, an innovative work by a genius or an iconic painting, the Mona Lisa continues to intrigue and inspire viewers more than 500 years after Leonardo da Vinci painted her.
Ninety-nine Years Of Fiscal (cliff) Policy
The Senate spent an intense and grueling 3 whole minutes pouring over the American Tax Payer Relief Act of 2012 before voting and passing the bill, 89-8. Our Senators are truly amazing as they must have read one page per second and still spent 26 seconds discussing it. Congratulations are certainly in order as both parties came together in a collegial spirit of compromise and goodwill to do the work of the people. Now we can all expect tremendous financial recovery since our politicians have saved us all from the ‘fiscal cliff’…a dreadful combination of porkless spending cuts and tax increases. The proverbial can has been kicked merrily into the distant future. We can all breathe easy and forget about it until March. No doubt, by that time, our servant-leaders in Washington D.C. will then spell out specific cuts and increases, agree on a new debt ceiling and good times will be here again. Historians will be writing about the miraculous recovery implemented by the most brilliant and responsible economic geniuses to grace humanity in 6,000 years.
Specific numbers are coming out and the spin doctors are now explaining to us who the winners and losers are from the bill. But we only need look at two numbers and compare them to know we have all lost again. The annual tax increase is projected to be $62 billion. Last year’s budget deficit was $1.1 trillion (or $1,100 billion). This leaves our politicians with only two choices. Government can take a massive pay-cut, essentially bankrupting itself. Or it can arbitrarily raise the debt ceiling one more time.
The truth is, America has been on this losing streak for a century. Ninety-nine years ago, the powers that be created the fiscal cliff. In December of 1913, President Woodrow Wilson signed a bill that gave away control of America’s money supply to the largest privately owned banks in the world. We call it the Federal Reserve System but there is nothing federal or reservist about it. Created to eliminate recessions and depressions, the exact opposite has occurred over and over again. Instead, the Federal Reserve marked the beginning of fiscal cliff policy—the monetization of debt.
This is how fiscal cliff monetary policy works. When the government needs more money (and when does it not?) it must raise taxes. But raising taxes is usually not politically expedient. So instead, the government goes to the Federal Reserve, hat in hand. In the hat are treasury debt certificates, or T-bills. The Federal Reserve purchases these notes of indebtedness. They create money out of nothing, pass it on to the government, and then proceeds to charge the government interest on this money that does not exist. The government uses the counterfeit dollars to buy votes. This counterfeit money makes its way into the money supply and the government’s back-door tax increases begin to take effect. We call it inflation. The American people get higher prices, higher interest rates, higher unemployment, economic slow-down—a recession. This creates a boom-bust cycle that intensifies in pain on a regular cycle or is delayed by more debt purchasing. This cannot go on forever. The real cliff will eventually be reached and Biblical laws of cause and effect that exist in the realm of finance MUST push us over.
Our fiscal cliff monetary policy violates biblical principles concerning debt, just weights and measures, stealing, coveting, partiality, rules on collateral, multiple indebtedness and the insanity of fractional reserve banking to name a few. All of these will be dealt with in more detail in future articles. Needless to say, it will take massive national repentance from the top down to avoid our coming fiscal cliff. I’m talking the kind we read about in the book of Jonah. But I don’t see our president sitting in sack-cloth and ashes and that goes for your neighbors too.
I can’t help but be reminded from a scene in the movie, Dumb and Dumber every time I think or write about debt monetization. Lloyd and Harry recover a million dollars that was supposed to be used as ransom money to recover a kidnapped man. While working their way to the rightful owner of the money, they decide it would be okay to spend some of the money along the way. When the kidnapper finally catches up with Lloyd and Harry, pistol in hand, he demands they open the case. What falls out of the case are dozens of slips of paper. The kidnapper is furious but Lloyd confidently assures him that, ‘the slips of paper are better than cash…they are IOU’s.’ Needless to say, the guy with the gun wasn’t buying it.
Specific numbers are coming out and the spin doctors are now explaining to us who the winners and losers are from the bill. But we only need look at two numbers and compare them to know we have all lost again. The annual tax increase is projected to be $62 billion. Last year’s budget deficit was $1.1 trillion (or $1,100 billion). This leaves our politicians with only two choices. Government can take a massive pay-cut, essentially bankrupting itself. Or it can arbitrarily raise the debt ceiling one more time.
The truth is, America has been on this losing streak for a century. Ninety-nine years ago, the powers that be created the fiscal cliff. In December of 1913, President Woodrow Wilson signed a bill that gave away control of America’s money supply to the largest privately owned banks in the world. We call it the Federal Reserve System but there is nothing federal or reservist about it. Created to eliminate recessions and depressions, the exact opposite has occurred over and over again. Instead, the Federal Reserve marked the beginning of fiscal cliff policy—the monetization of debt.
This is how fiscal cliff monetary policy works. When the government needs more money (and when does it not?) it must raise taxes. But raising taxes is usually not politically expedient. So instead, the government goes to the Federal Reserve, hat in hand. In the hat are treasury debt certificates, or T-bills. The Federal Reserve purchases these notes of indebtedness. They create money out of nothing, pass it on to the government, and then proceeds to charge the government interest on this money that does not exist. The government uses the counterfeit dollars to buy votes. This counterfeit money makes its way into the money supply and the government’s back-door tax increases begin to take effect. We call it inflation. The American people get higher prices, higher interest rates, higher unemployment, economic slow-down—a recession. This creates a boom-bust cycle that intensifies in pain on a regular cycle or is delayed by more debt purchasing. This cannot go on forever. The real cliff will eventually be reached and Biblical laws of cause and effect that exist in the realm of finance MUST push us over.
Our fiscal cliff monetary policy violates biblical principles concerning debt, just weights and measures, stealing, coveting, partiality, rules on collateral, multiple indebtedness and the insanity of fractional reserve banking to name a few. All of these will be dealt with in more detail in future articles. Needless to say, it will take massive national repentance from the top down to avoid our coming fiscal cliff. I’m talking the kind we read about in the book of Jonah. But I don’t see our president sitting in sack-cloth and ashes and that goes for your neighbors too.
I can’t help but be reminded from a scene in the movie, Dumb and Dumber every time I think or write about debt monetization. Lloyd and Harry recover a million dollars that was supposed to be used as ransom money to recover a kidnapped man. While working their way to the rightful owner of the money, they decide it would be okay to spend some of the money along the way. When the kidnapper finally catches up with Lloyd and Harry, pistol in hand, he demands they open the case. What falls out of the case are dozens of slips of paper. The kidnapper is furious but Lloyd confidently assures him that, ‘the slips of paper are better than cash…they are IOU’s.’ Needless to say, the guy with the gun wasn’t buying it.
Professional Liability Insurance Costs for New Architectural Firms
A ubiquitous concern among architects who wish to start their own practice is "How much will my professional liability insurance cost?" Coverage costs vary by:
· State in which the practice is located,
· The limits of coverage purchased,
· Project types being designed, and
· The experience loss history of the Architect applying for coverage.
The cost of insurance also varies annually as the insurance market hardens or softens.
What should an architect expect upon applying for PLI (professional liability insurance) for the first time? Professional liability insurance protects firms against claims and/or allegations of negligence, errors or omissions in delivery of professional services. In order for an insurance company to evaluate and price their risk in insuring a firm, they require completion of an application. The application captures information about business locale, annual revenue, the discipline and project mix of the firm, and the risk management protocols implemented to help minimize exposure to claims. They will also inquire regarding claims history.
When in the process of starting a new firm, the underwriter will expect estimates of anticipated business. A solid business plan goes a long way in terms of providing underwriters comfort, so submitting a brief narrative stating goals and direction for the new firm is crucial. Previous project experience will also be highly relevant. In order to qualify for Architects Professional Liability insurance, you must hold a registered and/or licensed architectural license.
To get a quote, one must submit:
· A complete application. Be judicious, as submissions compiled hastily tend to be priced higher or declined by underwriters.
· A resume showing representative projects, education and any Society/Association affiliations held. Associations convey professional commitment to the insurer. Engagement in continuing education has a similar effect.
· A mission statement including the direction intended for the business goals for growth.
Once committed to purchasing a policy, annual renewal will be necessary to maintain coverage on work performed under the new firm. Professional liability insurance is written on a "claims-made" basis. This means a policy must be in force at the time a claim is made in order for coverage to apply. Also all policies contain a "retroactive date", which is the inception date of the initial professional liability insurance policy.
It is not possible to get coverage for work that you performed before applying for professional liability insurance. In essence, the key to covering architectural professional liability is to purchase from a trustworthy provider, and to do so immediately upon inception of a practice.
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