Envelop budgeting.  It is a concept that I learned years ago when I first got married and was trying to set up a budget.  The concept is fairly simple: You take your paycheck, divide it into different “envelopes” for your different expenses, and then pay for those expenses (groceries, gas, mortgage, eating out) out of those envelopes.  When the money is gone from that envelope, then you are done with that category…until your next paycheck, when the process starts over.

The theory is simple.  In practice, managing the envelopes, turning your paycheck into cash, dividing it up and keeping track of all the expenses can be a bit cumbersome.  This is a perfect job for a budgeting/finances software program.

I started trying to envelope budget on Quicken back when it still came as a DOS program on floppy disks.  It didn’t lend itself to envelope budgeting and I had to “hack” it to get it to work using “credit card accounts” for each of my envelopes.  Not an easy solution, but it worked.

Over the years, I’ve used a number of other programs that were either made for “envelope budgeting” or I willed it to do so by using it in a way it was never intended.  One program for which I had some hope was Larry Burket’s “Money Matters” program that was developed in the late 90s.  It was actually designed to manage your finances using virtual envelopes, and for a while, I finally felt like I was using the program like it was intended.

Unfortunately, the program was buggy and it was difficult to manually enter your financial data.  I later got a sample of “Microsoft Money”, and saw how easy it was to import data and do manual data entry and abandoned the envelope budgeting software altogether.

I fought Money for years, trying each new version that came out, hoping that they would somehow incorporate the “envelope budging” concept into it.  I loved how easy it was to use from a data entry standpoint, but always felt like I really didn’t know where all my money was. I just gave up.

In early 2008, I was leading a small group that was to help teach how to budget and get your finances under control, and I found myself again looking for a “envelope budgeting” program.

I ran across a web site, “You Need a Budget.” It sounded corny, but promising.  I had seen them in previously when doing a Google search for “envelope budgeting”, but they had previously only had a spreadsheet budgeting tool.  Now they had “YNAB Pro”, a windows program that followed 4 rules for budgeting.  It wasn’t exactly “envelope budgeting”, but as I played around with the software, I liked it better than any other program I had used in a long time.  The “rules” were compatible with “envelopes” and after using for a few months, I felt like I had control of where all our money was going again.

YNAB is now coming out with a new version that looks even better, easier to use, and runs under Adobe’s AIR framework, so that it can run on platforms other than Windows (i.e. MAC and Linux).

I have found this to be the best tool on the market to track your bank accounts and keep track of your budget.

[Sorry if this sounds like an advertisement.  It is, kind of.  But more of an endorsement of a great product.]

Have you heard of Buttoned-up?  Seriously great for those of us who really need to get things organized, and well, Buttoned-up.  Every year I make a New Years resolution to take care of this dirty deed, knowing it would be enjoyable and freeing to stay on top of the important matters in my life.  This year, with this great website I think I might have a chance.

They posted some great tips for giving from the heart – and some of them are free!  Lots of cool stuff to make (even for the non-crafty types!)  Wish books, books about yourself to give as keepsakes to your littles, baking, volunteering, freecycle events and more.

Have you run across any more great tips for the holidays?

-Ellen

A family of 7 are about to start a budgeting experiment.

why?

The Parents have decided to give the 5 kids a budget of $50 each to plan for 2 meals a day, lunches and dinner…for 7 people.

“…the kids think money grows on trees and cannot understand why our food budget is hitting the $500 mark weekly…a taste of reality hopefully will do the trick”…sigh!

They have to plan, prepare and cook.

But not breakfast they have cereal galore.  Milk they need to provide and they drink that by the truck load. They plan their lunch and dinner menu, I take them shopping.

“I want them to have a sense of ownnership and responsibility” the mother said.

There are 7 two. Adults 15, 14, 13, 12 & 10 yr olds 4 Boys and one young lady.

“It is exciting to see them excited. Let’s hope the enthusiasm sticks around for week 2.”

]]> http://epdunne4891.wordpress.com/2009/11/24/popping-blisters/ Wed, 25 Nov 2009 04:05:07 +0000 Grizzly Skag Bear http://epdunne4891.wordpress.com/2009/11/24/popping-blisters/

Winona is a ghost town again.  Sometimes it’s called “summer”.  It’s worse than summer now, though.  At least it’s green, warm, and the sun doesn’t go down at 4 in the afternoon.  A person just feels limited if they can’t go outside and enjoy the day past 4PM.

This Thanksgiving holiday will be plenty of time to definitely maybe start writing the movie again.  It’s priority number 5 behind researching stereotyping in advertising, finishing up my portfolio for advertising, painting some stuff I’m a bit behind on, and creating a webpage for my internet com class.

I’m looking forward to seeing some family members I haven’t seen in a long while.  You know, those family members you only see 2-4 times a year.  They’re the ones I actually look forward to seeing.  I highly doubt the family members I could care less about seeing know how to operate computers.

What’s that?  Bloody Mary’s you say?  Why yes, I believe I’ll have 3.  At twin cities prices though.  I just hope we don’t run into that prick of a bartender that looked like a skinnier Jon Gosselin, but was still just as big of a douche bag.  If you don’t want a 5% tip or less, then I suggest smiling at the very least, and not looking so deliberately disinterested.  And I wonder how those people are hired for jobs before me….?  Someone please tell me if my fly is down or if I, for some reason, have a swastika on my cheek next time I go in for an interview, please.

Word

The Government is sharpening the axe for Britain’s £4 billion nuclear clean-up budget and drawing up plans for big spending cuts at contaminated sites including Sellafield and Dounreay, The Times has learnt.

The Treasury has begun a sweeping review of spending by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), the quango that over the past four years is understood to have spent about £1 billion of taxpayers’ money annually on cleaning up at Britain’s 20 contaminated nuclear sites.

An NDA spokesman said that it was in talks with the Treasury and the Department for Energy and Climate Change about options to cut costs.

These include the acceleration of some pieces of work as well as scrapping or deferring others.

He said that a final shortlist of options would be agreed in February. A Treasury spokesman said that it was “reviewing arm’s length bodies, which could include the NDA”, but no plans had been published and he declined to give further details.

One area of concern is understood to be the fact that almost a third of the NDA’s budget — or £800 million per year — is not spent directly on clean-up operations but on “support”, including administration and other costs.

The bulk of the NDA’s budget is used to pay engineering subcontractor firms involved in clean-up, which employed 18,467 staff on its sites last year. Most work at Sellafield, Europe’s most contaminated industrial site.

The cuts could affect future revenues of companies such as Areva, of France, AMEC and Washington Group, of the United States, which won the main Sellafield decommissioning contract last year, worth an estimated £1.3 billion per year. The NDA’s budget for the four years to 2011 is £8.5 billion.

Two words:  outlet shopping.

These are the most deceptive two words to my vocabulary.  When I hear these two words I think about how much money I save shopping at outlets.  I think about how much I love a bargain, how much I could get at a discount thus resulting in me not needing to do any further shopping.  It all sounds very positive.  The question is, is it positive?

Now let’s keep in mind when reading this blog, I am no money expert.  I am far from it.  So nine times out of ten when I ask a question, I’m not being rhetorical or adding sass to my writing.  I’m literally asking a question.

So here’s my question again:  Is outlet shopping a positive thing when budgeting?  I honestly cannot tell.  I know I am getting savings, there is no question about that.  But do these savings cause me to buy in bulk?  Does it cause me to buy more than I would had the prices been higher and not highly discounted?

Today I went outlet shopping.  Dun dun dun.  When I first arrived I was able to get my new nephew a fleece, a large amount of Yankee candles for christmas gifts, some christmas ornaments and a new handbag, all totaling under $100.00.  Not too bad.  After I went looking for a single pair of jeans, I walked out of the GAP outlet having spent $150.00 and purchasing only one pair of jeans.  Sweatshirts, sweatpants, sweaters, cardigans, gloves, fleeces, hats, etc… all at very good prices.  But the question is did I do well?  Is this going to keep me from purchasing other sweatshirts and sweatpants when I step foot in a mall this holiday season?

The answer really can only be answered by me.  It is a self-control issue when it comes to those two deadly words:  outlet shopping.  The outlet prices are extremely beneficial to your wallet.  But when you’re on a bargain spree, you have to then tell yourself to be done with shopping that season.  Outlet shopping is all or nothing.  Either you buy yourself a tee-shirt and leave or you buy your entire wardrobe and cut yourself off from shopping.

It’s not even Thanksgiving and already I have a huge holiday shopping list.  Since I decided to spend today, there will be no further presents for myself this season.  My sweatshirts and handbag and sweatpants were my last hurrah this Christmas season.  Today was an indulgence, it’s not an everyday occurence.  I try very hard not to let my poor spending habits and self-control get the best of me, and so to get my outlet shopping money’s worth, outlet shopping will be the last shopping I do.

How are your spending habits when you go outlet shopping?

And speaking of outlet prices and buying in bulk- try visiting a Sam’s Club this season.  Not a member? Here is a FREE one day pass!  http://www2.samsclub.com/holidays/media/print/onedaypass.pdf

To all my college friends out there, I have some articles courtesy of my friends at The Rainmaker Network, that will help you save lots of money!

100 Great Tips For Saving Money For Those Just Getting Started

Living Large on a Student Budget

118 Ways to Save Money in College

Get Rich Slowly: 27 Money Tips for College Students

Top Money Saving Tips for College Freshmen

Representative David Obey and Senator Carl Levin, both Democrats, want a new tax to pay for additional troops in Afghanistan. We already have another asshole Democrat, Barack Obama, who is supposed to be Commander in Chief, who is politicizing the war.

Sorry about the asshole reference, but since it is the truth, that is what I promised.

General Stanley McChrystal, handpicked by Obama, requested 40,000 more troops 3 months ago.

From Fox News, November 24, 2009.

“Lawmakers Propose ‘War Surtax’ to Pay for Troop Increase in Afghanistan”

“Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., and Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., are proposing new taxes to pay for more U.S. troops in Afghanistan.”

“Two top Democrats say they want to impose a new tax on the wealthy to finance any increase in U.S. troops for the Afghanistan war. 

Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., chairman of the purse string-controlling House Appropriations Committee, is calling the idea a “war surtax.” He said that just as the federal government is expected to pay for its proposed intervention in the health care sector with new taxes, any escalated involvement in Afghanistan should come with a payment plan. 

“If we have to pay for the health care bill, we should pay for the war as well … by having a war surtax,” Obey told ABC News in an interview that aired Monday. “The problem in this country with this issue is that the only people that has to sacrifice are military families and they’ve had to go to the well again and again and again and again, and everybody else is blithely unaffected by the war.” 

Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, is making a similar demand. 

President Obama plans to hold his ninth meeting Monday evening with his national security team to discuss options for overhauling the strategy in Afghanistan. The president has been considering requests for tens of thousands more U.S. troops from his top commander, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, for nearly three months. He is not expected to announce his new strategy before Thanksgiving. 

But any request would likely come with a hefty price tag. One option presented by McChrystal would bring 40,000 more troops into Afghanistan — a proposal estimated to cost about $40 billion, according to the Office of Management and Budget. 

Obey said if an increase like that is approved without any payment mechanism, then other domestic initiatives would be wiped out. ”

Read more:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/11/23/lawmakers-propose-war-surtax-pay-troop-increase-afghanistan/

So, let me get this straight. The Democrats, led by Obama, Pelosi and Reid, are trying to ram an unpopular, costly health care bill down our throats. They are trying to implement a Cap and Trade bill based on documented liberal lies. Obama has delayed a decision on sending troops to Afghanistan for three months. And now these low life, socialists want to further politicize the war.

The troop buildup may take place in this country.

Militia.

There’s a few articles I thought you’d find useful to stay within your holiday shopping budget during these hard times.

How To Budget For Holiday Shopping by Livestrong

How To Stick To Your Holiday Shopping Budget by Money Under 30

Save the Dates!  Well, okay, not really, but hey, they were practically free anyway!  I know people like to go to wedding printers who specialize in wedding invitations, but I wanted to go down a cheaper road.  After a few Google searches, I came across VistaPrint.

Business printing?  Why one earth did you do that, you may ask?  Well, think about it this way.  Because they don’t specialize in weddings only, the markup is really low.  The word “wedding” does present an additional price tag.  They also make these in bulk, which keeps individual costs low.  The products are great quality and they run specials all of the time, especially if you sign up for email offers.

My 100 Save the Dates (which I will post once I scan them) were on special when I ordered them, and with 140 return mailing address labels, the grand total came up to (drum roll please!):  $9.46.  Yep, you read that correctly.  $9.46!  I could hardly believe it.  The patterns were pretty, they matched almost exactly to what we had picked out from a more expensive catalog, and the price… well, I couldn’t beat it if I tried.

I would really encourage people to check out this website if you are looking for something not so expensive.  It has really saved me a bunch!

The recent leaked emails from East Anglia University in the UK came as no surprise to me or many others who chose to question Global Warming myths and pseudo science. I have a math/science background and possibly more importantly, I am from NC and many of us have built in BS detectors. When confronted with numbers and theories that appeared absurd, I did some real research and reported on this blog. Watch the following video from a real scientist and then visit or revisit articles presented here going back to February of 2008.
“Climategate: Dr. Tim Ball on the hacked CRU emails”

Frem a speech given by Keith O. Rattie, Chairman, President and CEO of Questar Corporation, on April 2, 2009, at the 22nd Annual UVU Symposium on Environmental Ethics, held at Utah Valley University.
Reported here, May 15, 2009
“My perspective on global warming changed when I began to understand the limitations of the computer models that scientists have built to predict future warming. If the only variable driving the earth‟s climate were manmade CO2 then there‟d be no debate – global average temperatures would increase by a harmless one degree over the next 100 years. But the earth‟s climate is what engineers call a “non-linear, dynamic system”. The models have dozens of inputs. Many are little more than the opinion of the scientist – in some cases, just a guess.”
“Another example, water vapor is a far more potent greenhouse gas than CO2. [The media now calls CO2 a “pollutant”. If CO2 is a “pollutant” then water vapor is also a “pollutant” – that‟s absurd, but I digress]. Some scientists believe clouds amplify human CO2 forcing, others believe precipitation acts as the earth‟s thermostat. But scientists do not agree on how to model clouds, precipitation, and evaporation, thus there‟s no consensus on this fundamental issue.”
“But the reality for American consumers is that whether you buy that the science is settled or not, the political science is settled. With the media cheering them on, Congress has promised to “do something”. CO2 regulation is coming, whether it will do any good or not. Indeed, President Obama‟s hope of shrinking the now the massive federal budget deficit depends on vast new revenues from a tax on carbon energy – so called “cap and trade”. Harry Reid has promised cap and trade legislation by August.”
Cap and trade, Global warming, Fact vs Fiction

From the Citizen Wells blog, March 10, 2008

“So, what is hampering our oil production. Environmental wackos. Let’s take Alaska for example. Of course, they always bring up environmental impact. But they also bring up animals like polar bears and whales. They use pseudo science of global warming and terms like may and could cause. They consistently use false data and science. I hear talk of polar bears becoming extinct almost every day when in fact their numbers have increased. Alleged receding ice will fundamentally have no impact on their numbers.”
Always follow the money

From the Citizen Wells blog, March 10, 2008

“Weather Channel founder John Coleman is calling global warming a fraud and says the station he founded needs to stop telling people what to think about climate change.”

“One of it’s meteorologists suggested two years ago that weathercasters who have doubts about global warming should lose their certification. Coleman advocates suing people who sell carbon credits — including Al Gore — because the attention in the courts could, in his words, “put some light on the fraud of global warming.””
 John Coleman on Al Gore Global Warming lies

From the Citizen Wells blog, February 28, 2008
“Global warming is not equivalent to climate change. Significant, societally important climate change, due to both natural- and human- climate forcings, can occur without any global warming or cooling.”
“In terms of climate change and variability on the regional and local scale, the IPCC Reports, the CCSP Report on surface and tropospheric temperature trends, and the U.S. National Assessment have overstated the role of the radiative effect of the anthropogenic increase of CO2 relative to the role of the diversity of other human climate climate forcing on global warming, and more generally, on climate variability and change.”
“Global and regional climate models have not demonstrated skill at predicting regional and local climate change and variability on multi-decadal time scales.”
R.A. Pielke Sr. provides a balanced view of climate science
 

Common sense goes a long way where I come from and the numbers and peudo science from the likes of Al Gore never made sense. I also checked some real data from time to time like summer temperatures in Antarctica.
Here is one of the better sources for information on climate change and earth facts.
http://wattsupwiththat.com

As stated previously, I have the bad habit of picking out really expensive things and wanting them with a passion.  First it was all of the dresses I picked out of magazines, then the shoes (Manolo Blahniks in Something Blue… yum!), then the idea of having a photo booth at the reception.  When it came time for the cake design, why break the chain?

Thankfully, I was blessed enough to stumble upon a listing for a fabulous baker.  I believe that her sister is Sarah @ Parrott Design Studio on WeddingBee Pro.  I don’t exactly remember how or when I came across her cake website, but it was early in the process and I knew nothing about what our cake should look like or how expensive it would be.  I mean, come on, how expensive could one slice of cake be?!

Expensive.  Period.  The local bakers in Bethel, near our reception and ceremony locales, were asking nearly $4.50 a slice.  Would their cakes be works of art?  Probably.  Would we go broke paying for that work of art?  Absolutely.  Hoping for some sort of miracle, I branched out and started looking at bakers outside of our area.  It would be more of a hassle to get the cake to the reception, but if it would save a few hundred dollars, it was worth it.  Mr. Library and I can be creative problem solvers when we want to.

After coming across our baker’s website and scheduling a tasting with her (I have never seen Mr. Library so excited about a wedding errand before!), I received my copy of Modern Bride in the mail.  This became my ultimate inspiration:

Wedding Cake Inspiration

Mr. Library and I wanted to have a topper instead of flowers, but how gorgeous is this design?!  I took the idea with me to the tasting, and Jessica, Mr. Library and I worked together to come up with a variation on the picture.  I’m not really one to just copy someone else’s idea.  I need to have it be something original.

Flavor options were up next.  Mr. Library and I had agreed that it wasn’t likely we would totally agree on one wedding cake flavor.  He is very plain (chocolate cake with white frosting) and I am more along the lines of fruity flavors with exciting add-ins.  We landed on a decision to take turns determining the layers and we would agree on the top.  It turned out not to be a problem at all.  The cake was soooooo delicious (I have never eaten so many cupcakes in my life) and seemed to go with every filling we tried.  In the end, we came out with the top and the bottom layer being red velvet with buttercreme and raspberry filling, the next layer being strawberry cake with lemon buttercreme filling, the third layer being German chocolate cake with the appropriate filling, and the top being lemon cake with raspberry filling. We were stuffed, and we were happy.

Unfortunately, FMIL Library decided that her side of the family would whine and potentially fight over who got which kind of cake (what kinds of family members are we inviting to this occassion?!), so she wanted to go with one flavor of cake.  While I try my hardest not to be a bridezilla, I had to say “Oh heck no” to that verdict.  This was our wedding cake, not hers, and if people were going to be picky, they should hurry to the cake table before everything is gone.  We decided not to add a new flavor to the top layer since it only fed six people (our baker makes us a new cake for our anniversary so it still tastes good), so lemon with raspberry went.

How did you pick out your cake?

If I know one thing it’s that girls who only shop at Victoria’s Secret for the bras/panties/sexy lingerie are really missing out. That Vicki has a lot more to offer than lacy underthings that make your boobs look huge; Victoria’s Secret is also an awesome place to stock up on clothes, shoes and beauty products. They even have jeans that give your butt some lift!

VS is truly a one-stop-shop for all your girlie needs and the best news is, you can find things within your college gal budget (i.e. under $20). Shop on, ladies. Shop on!

Henley sweaters are a casual and comfy way to keep cozy this season, and not only is this on sale for $19, but you get a free scarf with your purchase as well! Score!

Ok, so technically this set of bras isn’t under $20, but it’s 2 bras for $32, which brings each down to only $16 a pop. (That’s only $8 a boob!) Where can you find a deal like that on good quality comfy bras? Nowhere.

Lip gloss should always be in your purse and with a 5 for $20 deal on all Victoria’s Secret makeup, you can stock up on a whole bunch of items that’ll help ya look lovely. Seriously, the VS makeup is really great quality stuff and I highly recommend loading up.

Leggings are my go-to during winter months; they tuck into boots fabulously, look adorable with oversized sweaters, and for those really cold days, you can put them under your jeans.  VS has these that are 2/$20 and come in a wide array of colors. I definitely plan on stocking up (no pun intended).

No, I don’t know why this girl is wearing pajamas to go bike riding in a prairie, but I do know that when you’re looking for comfort, the Pink collection is the way to go. These pants are great for lounging in your dorm, at home during the holidays, or when you need to run out to get a Gatorade on a Saturday morning.

I happen to think that sweaters are totes cute and I always look forward to sweater weather. And this sweater is one of the reasons why. I love the turtleneck, sleeve length and button details, and at $15, you can’t go wrong.

These panties manage to pull off sweet & sexy at the same time, and the hipster and cheeky cut will do wonders for your tush. With so many cute prints/colors to choose from, I’d be hard-pressed to find a reason not to grab up multiple pairs…

Wrap tops are flattering on every figure and do a great job of accentuating your curves. Mix that perk with the fact that this cotton top will be comfortable enough to wear to lecture and sexy enough to wear for a girls’ night out and you’ve got yourself the perfect addition to your fall/winter wardrobe!

P.S. If you shop today, you can take an extra 20% off one item! Let’s all give thanks to our new BFF, Victoria!

The treatment of adjunct professors has been a topic of discussion for years and recently has come up by way of campus sit-ins and attempts for unionization.  Yesterday, a group of educators from Massachusetts community colleges filed a lawsuit against the state, saying that adjunct faculty members are unfairly denied health care coverage.  As you’ve read in this blog, demand for higher education has been increasing the past decade, with particular growth seen within community colleges, who in turn must meet this demand by relying on adjunct faculty.  Is this the catalyst for which advocates for adjunct faculty members have been waiting?  Will supply/demand and this new economy for education finally help this type of educator?

For full article, click here

The Equality and Rights Alliance conference, A Fairer Ireland: Equality and Rights at the Heart of Recovery took place today in Dublin. At the conference, the ERA launched its report Downgrading Equality and Human Rights. This is a really thorough and informative report. The executive summary is available here at Irish Left Review.

Social media is going to take budget dollars away from search engine marketing. Already is in many major brands. Simple economics are driving this transition.

If a major ecommerce player is spending 50% of their budget on search engine marketing, website optimization, and link optimization programs, but is losing the war to bloggers in organic search. Why would the ecommerce player continue to spend massive amounts of money on advertising when they can focus on blogger outreach (ethical, not paid) for far less money. Better yet, fix their customer experience and get customers to evangelize on their behalf.  this slide says it all….

Additionally, as we analyze the various social media monitoring and metrics tools, the challenge is pretty evident. Search engines work off of structured data. I can run an advanced search and build filters for my search results. The challenge with social search is that the taxonomy isn’t defined. How you talk about a problem can be completely different than I talk about it. Potential buyers may not even recognize that the problem they are discussing on social media is even in the market. How do you build an automated tracking of taxonomy around unstructured data?

Effective lead generation program within social marketing require human knowledge of your solutions and also the ability to follow discussion threads to identify contextual relavence. Over time, you should be able to fine tune the algorithms for your social monitoring programs to become 80% accurate, but the most successful programs are leveraging human knowledge to make social marketing engagement programs to become discoverable, impactful, and actionable.

Otherwise, you get the the large number of costly “unqualified” leads that flood into websites similar to the search engine marketing programs. These programs either make it up in volume or work the “long tail” of key words to reach better qualified buyers. Social marketing can get you to the “long tail” faster as most buyers start with questions in the long tail when they do not know what they are looking for and leverage the expertise of others to become more specific as they learn what they don’t know.

So, the man of our dreams has finally popped the question. Time to pick out the dress!

WAIT! Not so fast!

Before you tie the knot, it is important to have a serious discussion regarding your finances. Although it may seem like a touchy subject, keep in mind that you will be making a lifelong commitment with this person, which will most likely delve into the realm of making sure the bills are paid on time. Asking these questions will help both of you come to terms with your separate spending habits, debts, and assets and will help you plan accordingly in terms of achieving-or maintaining-a comfortable lifestyle relatively free from financial strife.

Click here to read the article.

Mike Owen

Sunday’s New York Times asks a poignant question: What’s the record for shutting a loophole?

What caught the Times’ attention was about as brazen a move as we could expect from the shady-deal wings of corporate America: The tobacco industry, facing a 20-fold tax increase on roll-your-own cigarettes to help support the Children’s Health Insurance Program, just changed the label of a product to avoid the tax. Noted the Times:

Companies simply remarketed roll-your-own as “pipe tobacco,” which is taxed at one-tenth the rate and is not subject to any definitive distinction under the law. The result is that roll-your-own companies, while a small part of the cigarette industry, quintupled their output of pipe tobacco in just five months to 1.7 million pounds — enough to roll 42 million packs of cigarettes.

The evasion could cost the government more than $30 million a month in revenues, according to the Associated Press. But the potential cost to the public is far greater, since studies show higher cigarette taxes have proved to be an effective way to discourage children from smoking.

The new fear is that the gimmickry of rolling your own and using flavored (“pipe”) tobacco — now banned in packaged cigarettes — could prove irresistible for youngsters experimenting with life. And with death.

So, in one fell swoop, the industry effectively rewrote tax law on its own, without the help of Congress or the President, and not only defied the intent of Congress in finding a way to pay for better health for kids but found its own way to worsen kids’ health and drive up costs of health care.

There are lessons here for Iowa, not in terms of health policy so much as tax policy. Not that the Hawkeye State has ever been in any danger of setting records in the closing of tax loopholes. At this point, just shutting loopholes on the books for a generation would be nice, and beneficial to Iowa residents and small businesses.

For years, Iowa has allowed multistate corporations that do business here to effectively set their own tax rates. At the same time businesses complain about their income tax rate, most don’t pay it — because of legal but excessive tax breaks on the one hand and apparently legal shenanigans on the other, many businesses find ways to avoid taxes the law was designed to collect. As the cuts we’re seeing to critical public services attest, there is a cost to our generosity to big corporations.

As IPP’s Peter Fisher noted in the 2007 Iowa Fiscal Partnership report “Leveling the Playing Field,” we could just as easily put up signs at the borders: “Welcome, Multistate Corporations: Cheat on Your Taxes Here.”

By Mike Owen, Assistant Director

Yesterday, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced the release of extensive studies she says detail the local benefits of healthcare reform. Healthcare reform is vital to Detroit, Sebelius said during a conference call. She added the region has too many people without health insurance or with costly premiums. In a sort of stick-and-carrot approach, she added “So doing nothing would just…I would suggest…continue to increase what is already a very dramatic gap in who has insurance coverage and who doesn’t.” According to her, Michigan’s uninsured would jump to 1.6 million without reform.

The carrot Sebelius is offering is healthcare coverage for Michigan’s 1.3 million uninsured. She claims thousands in Michigan will benefit from coverage, lower premiums orpremium subsidies, and better coverage. Her implication is by avoiding growth in the rate of the uninsured, we’ll save money. And here’s where the shell game comes into play. A majority of the newly insured will fall under an expanded Medicaid program.

First, we are already paying for the uninsured, either through taxes or the insurance premiums we pay now. Shifting the cost entirely to the taxpayers doesn’t really change anything. A rose is a rose no matter what you call it. Next, supporters of healthcare reform say 94-96% of the population will have coverage. Let’s split the difference, so 95% of Michigan’s 10 million people will enjoy health insurance. That’s 9.5 million compared to today’s 8.7 million. An additional 800,000 will be covered. That still leaves .5 million without coverage of any kind. So, healthcare reform will only fix less than 62% of today’s uninsured.

About those Medicaid costs. If you didn’t know, Medicaid is a joint Federal-State program. Anyone see a problem here, especially Michigan’s current economic morass? In 2006, nearly 1.5 Michiganians participated in Medicaid at a per capita cost of $5,482. The Feds match 58.1% of that, meaning Michigan has to come up with 49.1%, or $3.4 billion.

Healthcare reform will add about 800,000 people to Michigan’s Medicaid rolls. Under the Senate plan, the Feds would cover the additional cost, including the state’s share, for 3 years. After that, the Medicaid balloon payment comes due. Assuming no change in the Federal match, Michigan will need an extra $1.8 billion for Medicaid annually beginning in year 4. Sounds like an unfunded mandate to me. And the Congressional Budget Office states the costs of unfunded mandates on the private sector exceed those allowed in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.

So, let’s see if I’ve got this straight. Beyond the dubious constitutionality of healthcare reform, the bill violates the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. How can anyone vote in favor of a bill that breaks the law? I think that’s how the Nazis used to legalize their behavior. In fact, the healthcare reform bill doesn’t even manage to contain skyrocketing costs. In short, it’s a failure all the way around.

All of that leads me to wonder. Has anyone read the bill?

This is one recipe that I really love. Friends and family are always asking me to make it for big and small gatherings. Easy on the budget and packed with goodness, it’s best when made with love, tastes even better the next day and it freezes well. A special treat served with Corn Bread or Bannock.

2 C. dried kidney beans (substitute pinto, romano, Jacob’s cattle or other big beans, or mix 3 or 4 together)

water

1 or 2 onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic (or 2 tsp. Garlic powder)

oil or fat for frying

1/2 – 1 pound ground beef (or use TVP – see below)

3-4 T. chili powder

2-3 T. cumin

1 T. dried coriander (cilantro), or 1/2 C. fresh

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional, add 2 or 3 times as much for a hot, spicy chili)

dash of cinnamon

large can crushed tomatoes (2 1/2 cups fresh)

1 tsp. brown sugar

2 T. vinegar (white, red wine, apple cider or balsamic)

small can peaches in light syrup (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

Soak the beans in water about 2-3 inches above the beans in a non-metal bowl for 6-8 hours or overnight. Discard the soaking water, add beans to a large pot and cover with fresh water an inch or two above the beans. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until the beans are soft (1 1/2 to 3 hours).

Cook the ground beef (or dry fry the TVP) until nicely browned and crumbled, set aside. Sauté the onions in a little oil until soft, then add cooked beef, garlic and spices and cook covered, for 5 more minutes. Add the meat mixture, tomatoes, brown sugar, vinegar and peaches to the beans and stir well. Cover and simmer over low heat for at least an hour to let the flavors blend, stirring occasionally to prevent burning; this is a good recipe to cook all day in a slow cooker or in the oven. Serve over rice.

Suggestions: Vegetarians and Vegans can substitute TVP dry-roasted with cumin for the ground meat to give a meaty texture and lots more protein. Offer crushed red pepper or Tabasco sauce at the table for people who like hot chili.

Hints: The beans will be more digestible if you add a piece of seaweed (kombu or dulse) to the beans while they cook, or you can add 1/2 tsp. baking soda to the soaking water to make the beans less “gassy”.

Time saver: For a quick chili, use 2 or 3 large cans of cooked kidney beans.

Note: Because this is such a good winter meal, we planned to make you a video of this recipe not too long ago when Brian and I were both in Toronto… didn’t work out. We will be getting to that asap, so stay tuned!

Much love, All My Relations, Gramma Willi

Good Clean Food For Everyone!