Deferred Payment

Someone always has to pay. When you go to war and don't plan a way of paying for it (ex. LBJ and W) then it gets added to the national debt. When you drastically cut tax rates and increase defense spending (ex. Reagan) then it shouldn't be a big surprise when the national debt increases by 189% during your 8 years. When you have a system where every patient has to be admitted to a hospital regardless of their ability to pay then you shouldn't be surprised when health care costs are a large % of the national budget.

Tough decisions have to be made or at least recognized. Politicians on both sides annoy me to no end by talking about how this simple thing will make things completely better. If you elect Mitt Romney he will no longer demonize success in business and by doing just that he will grow the economy. Does anyone really believe that? Does anyone really believe that Paul Ryan's Path to Prosperity can really keep spending at 20% just by saying it will keep spending to 20%.

Unless you come up with truly new, efficient ways of controlling certain costs then you really just shifting the cost from one entity to another. Giving people health care vouchers doesn't really decreases health care spending, but really just means that once the vouchers are up the individual will have to pay for something that the government is paying for now. The really tough decisions are ones like this - is it more important for me to pay a long term capital gains tax of 15% or to let a poor family go hungry because spending on food stamps were cut? If someone doesn't have the money, the insurance and/or the vouchers than do we just let that person die if they are in critical condition? 

Those are tough decisions to make if you are completely strict on controlling costs, refusing to increase revenue and also want to balance the budget. No politician will make that decision. Paul Ryan is suggesting something that would probably scare 75% of Americans if they truly understood the consequences of what he is proposing. Someone has to pay and just shifting the cost from the public sector to the private sector doesn't solve that issue.

My final criticism is an idea that has angered me the more I think about it. When I read that 62% of Paul Ryan's cuts would fall on low income households it makes me a little concerned. I don't mean to be a socialist, but I would rather err on the side of caution in protecting the poor than the rich. The rich do not need the government's help. Mitt Romney will be fine whether he pays 14% in taxes (last year) or 35% (Obama's proposal). Poor people on the other hand do need the help. Sure some of it might be wasted and the idea of someone living off welfare instead of getting a job goes against the American Dream. Still I would much rather have the government try to solve the issues of hunger (food stamps), education (pell grants, public schools), and healthcare for the poor than in trying to address a non-existent "class warfare" issue that so troubles the rich. From a strictly economics side the money invested in poor people is likely spent immediately and spent in the local economy. I doubt many lower income households will be spending their money on a lavish trip to London. However, it goes farther than a strictly economics side, and from a pure humanity side of things I would rather live in a country that helps out the poor than the rich.

Politics (random thoughts on the financial side of things)

Why are politics such a difficult discussion topic? It seems like whenever a presidential election is coming up people draw sides and stick to their respective corners. I was born and raised in one of the most conservative states, lived in the only state that didn't vote for Reagan in 1984 and now currently live in the biggest projected swing state of the 2012 election. I can't say that I've seen it all, but I have certainly been introduced to many different viewpoints. And I'm afraid that in my effort to find out why people think a certain way I've offended people by questioning their entrenched ideas of what is right and wrong.

I tend to lean a certain way (if you know me at all), but I like to believe that I reached that conclusion through independent analysis and reflection. My parents aren't very political (or at least it wasn't obvious to me growing up), and until the 2004 election I never really cared who won or lost. After that each election has been a big deal. Maybe it shouldn't be such a big deal since things don't really seem to change that much regardless of who is elected president (my one very political friend thinks the Presidential election is extremely overrated compared to the US congressional elections), but I really tend to judge the country on who they put in the highest office.

Anyway, I've tried to do as much analysis on the overall trends of certain presidents. I've looked at the top marginal tax rate, the national debt by year and the overall 2012 budget proposal by President Obama.  From that I've reached a few conclusions:

1. If the national debt is an issue then any chance of a balanced budget needs to include an increase in revenue and a decrease in spending. Nobody is suggesting we go back to a top marginal tax rate of 92% (1953), but can we all calm down about possibly increasing the rate to 39.6% (the Clinton years). 39.6% isn't socialism unless you believe that we have been a socialist country since 1932.
2. From a spending side there is also zero chance of having a balanced budget without cuts in some of the "sacred cows" of social security, defense and medicare/medicaid. The total deficit planned for 2012 was $901B, which is more than the non-defense discretionary spending of $568B. 
3. I will bet anyone whatever money they want that neither Obama nor Romney will have a balanced budget in the next 4 years. 
4. Any unique proposals (like Simpson-Bowles) should be considered. Increasing the top marginal tax rate (and the top marginal tax level), getting rid of the mortgage interest tax deduction (among other deductions) and decreasing defense spending shouldn't automatically be off the table.

I think we can improve things with an increase in information. Just like the gay marriage debate has been extremely uplifting (my opinion is that we have made an incredible amount of progress in a short amount of time) I think the facebook/twitter/etc world will make these discussion easier. With more information and exposure should come a better debate. This hasn't happened so far since both sides seem to camp out on their MSNBC/Fox News side right now, but I really believe that is going to change. People growing up now seem to be more cynical about the information given to them, which seems to make them more independent in their thinking. If those people stay independent then they will hopefully do their own research instead of focusing in on the talking points from both sides. From that my hope is that people will make their own decisions based on this research instead of just what their parents or community thinks. For example if they come to the conclusion that the 2nd amendment predicted and protected assault weapons then go ahead and vote Republican. And if maybe their research comes to the conclusion that Democrats are actually much better at managing the budget then they will vote Democrat. 

I really don't mind if someone votes Democrat or Republican as long as they understand what they are voting for and have reached that conclusion on their own. I've gone over my reasons for voting for Obama, but one of the main reasons I won't even consider Romney is because of the lack of information coming from this side. I've tried to follow his campaign by reading magazines (Time), newspapers (NY Times, Columbus Dispatch), anything online (Yahoo news, Slate.com) and by visiting his website. The lack of details are stunning. He talks like a machine version of a Republican candidate. He seems to be extremely afraid of sharing his opinions on anything more than "Obama sucks." From that he doesn't seem to giving independents a viable option to vote for instead of Obama, which makes it seem unlikely that Romney will win this year. Maybe I am wrong and this election will be more of a referendum on Obama than a vote in confidence of Romney? I thought that way in the 2004 election and was proven wrong, so this time around I am feeling fairly confident that Obama will win.

The Mall(s) of America

I've never been that big of a shopper. When I was a kid my Mom always joked about how I had about a 30 minute window at a mall before I was ready to leave. It must be a little ironic now that as a non-shopper one of my job's main functions is traveling to different Victoria's Secret stores. From my count I've now been to 59 (I might be missing a couple) stores in cities like Miami, New York City, Chicago, Detroit, Dallas and Myrtle Beach. This past month I was actually only in Columbus for 15 of the 31 days because I was traveling the rest of the time.

From this I've started to notice the differences in malls and shopping centers. I can pick out the similarities, the differences and the types of malls by a quick glance around. Maybe this doesn't seem too impressive to the general public, but for me it really is something I never would have expected. For me growing up malls were just malls. I never gave much thought to Northpark being that much different than any other malls in the country. I know now how ridiculous that statement is, but at the time I just never really thought of other malls being different from my *local mall.

*You know the saying "all politics is local." Well, there is probably even more truth to "all malls are local." During some of my store visits I end up going to malls that are various friends and coworkers former local malls and whenever I bring that up I am guaranteed to get a spirited conversation.One coworker and I talked for a good 20 minutes about her local mall and why it was superior to the mall just 3 miles down the street.

Anyway, I've developed certain criteria to judge malls and also since it is my normal lunch spot now how to handle the food court dilemma. (Order - 1. Local speciality option, 2. Chick-Fil-A, 3. food court Japanese.) It is actually a lot more exciting than I ever thought it would be. I'm starting to understand the passion certain people have for retail, and that makes my job that much easier. I can't say that I've completely reach the point where *Confucius would be proud of me, but I'm getting closer.

"Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life."

789 Vernon Road

After looking, finding and then having to look again M and I agreed to terms on a new house in south Bexley. We looked at three homes last weekend (the 2nd showing for two homes) and decided that the one in south Bexley was the home for us. The negotiations were relatively easy (even though it took 4 contracts to finally agree) and assuming our inspection on Monday goes well then we close on August 17th. This has been a much longer and more difficult road than we imagined, but I really think that this is going to work out well for us. The home that we are purchasing has a lot of what we were looking for and should end up being a great next step in our lives.
789 Vernon Road

If I run that home through the criteria that I wanted in a home it actually checks out pretty well:

• 4 bedrooms - There are only 3, but the basement could be used as a guest bedroom if we add a bathroom downstairs. That doesn't need to be an immediate fix since we already have two more bedrooms than what we will be using.
• 2.5 bathrooms - There are only two bathrooms, but both are full and the 3rd one again can be added to the basement.
• Finished basement - Check. This was rare to find in Bexley and something I had pretty much given up on. This was definitely a big difference maker for me.
• Backyard - Decent size for Bexley. It certainly is big enough to have a cookout, BBQ or throw a football around.
• Good school district - Check. Also, it is only 0.2 miles away from the lower school.
• Character home (as opposed to a McMansion) - I love the 1950 Cape Cod home feel. It looks like a South Minneapolis home and is something that has great curb appeal. Also, even though it is a character home the home has had a lot of updates inside. One thing that I looked for when walking through homes was whether or not it was move-in ready. For this home I can move in and not have to change anything. 
• Driveway for a basketball goal - This was part of the compromise. The home only has a 1 car garage in alley and doesn't seem to have a place for a basketball goal. The good news is that there is a gym that is only a 2 minute drive away and an outdoor basketball playground only a 5 minute walk away.
• Family Room - The main floor has a living room/family room combo, which is fine with me especially considering there is the extra space in the basement. Also, for the family room we negotiated with the sellers to leave the tv and tv mount, so that there would be one less thing for us to work on when we moved in.
• Good walk score - 78 - very walkable. We will only be a block and a half from Main Street, which was a huge bonus. It might not be quite as high as the 83 walk score at our old place, but it is much better than most of the homes (including the one we were under contract on) we looked at.
• 15 year mortgage - This was another big bonus for us. From the start I loved the idea of having a 15 year mortgage and paying off a home early. Since we bought a home under budget then we will be able to do that and start paying off this debt quickly. I don't like debt and while that might be a simple way of viewing personal finance it is part of my philosophy.

Anyway, M and I are both ecstatic for this home. I'm looking forward to meeting the neighbors (I heard people in south Bexley are very close) and beginning to establish myself in Columbus.

New homes

For those of you that are tired of blog posts about the never-ending story (our home search) then feel free to skip this post. However, I know a few people are interested, so here is a quick update with pictures.

Since we became free agents (end of June) two of the three homes we liked are now under contract. We also ruled out the 3rd one out, so as of our San Francisco trip we were starting over again. The big change we decided to make was to consider 3 bedroom homes instead of the 4 bedrooms that we used to consider non-negotiable. We looked at a fresh batch of homes on Sunday (literally right after we were picked up from the airport). Out of that group yesterday and a few others we saw tonight there are two homes that we both are really considering. Both are 3 bedroom places and are reasonable prices. They also both felt right (for whatever that is worth).

Option 1: 789 Vernon Road, South Bexley

Pros - Move-in ready home. They recently redid the bathrooms and kitchen. Also, the basement is finished and provides a great multi-purpose room. I could see watching tv, hosting super bowl parities, and when need be use as a guest bedroom space. It would need a bathroom down there, but that is something we could hire someone to do later on. The home has a great walk-score (very close to Main Street) and looks to be in a really nice, friendly neighborhood. I think the home kind of has a South Minneapolis feel to it, and I love the curb appeal.

Cons - The main one is that there is only a 1 car garage. And also there is no place to put a basketball goal. Also, the master bedroom is on the 2nd level, while the other two bedrooms are on the 1st floor. This was a concern for two of our friends in Minnesota. Other than that the home is pretty much perfect for us.

Option 2: 245 N Cassingham, North Bexley

Pros - This home has a lot of charm and a lot of great functional space. The owners have lived there for 40 years and they look to have taken great care of their home. The first floor has a nice hardwood floors and the second floor has a recently updated carpet. The first floor has a nice living room, kitchen, porch, and dining room. The second floor has three bedrooms of decent (not great) size), but the key is that there are two bathrooms upstairs. Also, the master bedroom has great closet space. Finally, there is a two car garage (hurray) and a place to play basketball (another hurray). This home might not have a lot of the wow factor that other homes had, but it felt like such a great home for us.

Cons - The main bathroom needs to be remodeled. There is great space, but it just needs to be updated a little bit. Also, the walk score isn't the best since there isn't as much near North Bexley as there is in South or Central Bexley. The final con is that the home isn't actually on the market. These people are very close to purchasing another home and are looking at putting it on the market. However, looking isn't the same as actually being on the market, so it might not work out. And since it isn't on the market, I can't link to it. I did take some pictures below if you were interested:

Entering the front door into the living room. You can also see the porch through the windows in the top right.

It is kind of hard to see the home with the trees in the way. I could probably have taken a better picture.

I loved the way the home looks when you enter through the front door. The exposed wood on the ceiling is a nice touch.

Future basketball court?

Family room with built-ins

Kitchen

Dining room

Master bedroom

2nd bedroom

3rd bedroom

San Francisco (pictures)

There will be time later to go over my thoughts on San Francisco, but in the interest of time here are some *pictures from the trip:

*These are just from my cell phone and haven't been edited, so there should be better pictures later.


Breakfast at a place with a really long line (and really good food)

M and the Painted Ladies

The Giants celebrating a win

Alcatraz

 Lombard Street

The Golden Gate bridge (if you didn't know)

Outside AT&T Park (I realized there were no pictures of me, so I thought I need to include this one at the end.)

San Francisco (Day 1)

Greetings from San Francisco. M and I arrived late on Friday night and have a full week to enjoy both SF and Napa. Yesterday we had a "local's day" with our friends Nancy and Nicholas. And apparently the first thing the locals do is walk to a hipster breakfast place and wait an hour in line to be seated. The good news is that the food at the place (Zazie) was excellent. I had an eggs benedict with crab and avocado that lived up to the $18 price tag. We then walked around Buena Vista Park and the Haight-Ashbury area. Both Nicholas and I picked up retro minor league t-shirts of the New Orleans Pelicans and the Rochester Red Wings and tried to avoid getting a contact high from the air in the area.

Later in the afternoon after watching all 8 Full House theme songs (with video) consecutively before going to visit the Painted Ladies (or also known as the Full House houses). Below is a picture Nancy took of Mary enjoying the view:

Last night we got Japanese food and I was overruled on going out, so instead we stayed in and watched a movie.

Today is a big day in that we have tickets to go see the Giants play the Reds in downtown San Francisco. Now I might get the Sunday NY Times and try my best to assimilate into the culture.