Friday Tidings

When the sixty-four NCAA men college basketball teams enter the annual March Madness fray a betting frenzy sweeps the nation. Over forty million people fill out brackets hoping to cash in.  The odds are 9.2 quintillion to one that you can pick the winner of every game. Tough odds. So if we don’t win, who does? Beer companies. Beer consumption increases almost 30% in March, followed by pizza at 19%. We may lose money, but we won’t lose any weight. Besides the bracket busting losers, who else loses? Employers who cover lost wages due to distraction and lost productivity—estimated at about $1.9 billion. So, March Madness comes with a cost. But what about the benefits? For a few weeks we cheer on teams fighting to win in one of the most competitive sporting events of the year. Sure, we lose money and time, but we gain perspective—that March Madness is a lot like life—tough games, with turn-overs, bad calls, heart wrenching upsets, ...

Move over Baby Boomers, the 83 million-strong Millennials are the largest demographic in our nation. They represent a huge voting block too.  Last election this group strongly supported President Obama, but with hefty payroll taxes taking a chunk of their earnings, could they becoming wary of high-cost government policies? Even though they carry the financial burden of aging Boomers, they are also experiencing the highest rates of unemployment and underemployment. Millennials will be greatly impacted by this election. Political geeks theorize that if Millennials vote for a Democrat twice, they are likely to remain Democrat for life. Thus, Republicans are desperately wooing Millennial voters. Five generations will be voting for president. There are still some voters in the Greatest Generation (1900-1924).  The Silent Generation (1925-1945) and Baby Boomers (1946-1964) are the voters depending on medicare and socia...

photo: Kimberly Monique Nicole Some say it’s the coolest place you should never go. My former high school classmates know it well—the Vance Creek Bridge.  Back in our day it was still relatively safe—if by safe you mean a railroad bridge without any railings, perched nearly 350’ above jagged rocks.  Shortly after we graduated, logging companies stopped using the bridge, but not the local teens. Photo: Rootsrated.com It’s the second highest railway bridge in the United States. Built in 1929, Vance Creek is listed on the National Historic Register, but it hasn’t been truly maintained in decades.  Thrill-seekers walking across the 600’ span must wonder if their weight will crumble the rotting beams beneath their feet. It’s so high that the wind can block the sound of the water far below. It’s the place of double-dog dares, but no place to go if you’ve had one too many beers. Photo: Kim...

Angry Americans are apparently fueling this crazy presidential election. Why the anger? It’s something we all work for: Money. For fifty years, from 1950-2000, our economy grew at an average annual rate of 3.5%.  This means we got wealthier—from $16,000 to over $50,000 over person. So what has happened since 2000? We’ve had 2% growth.  This means we haven’t had a pay raise in 15 years. Democrats declare that it’s Wall Street’s fault, crony capitalists’ fault, the uber-rich one percent’s fault, and the fault of corporations who take all the tax breaks they can get. Their strategy involves imposing hefty taxes on them. But the rich take their money and run while corporations pass extra costs on to us. Bernie Sanders is dividing Democrat loyalty, but it’s the Republicans truly feeling the burn.  The GOP “Establishment” hopes to knock down the invincible Donald Trump. He claims he’ll make America great without giving mu...

Sweat rolled down my back as I walked behind the tractor while shaking dirt from the large garlic bulbs. It was a hot, dusty road to financial freedom. We’d switched from growing ultra perishable strawberries to growing sturdy, dependable garlic. In theory we’d make a decent living. As I pulled the garlic, I noticed small holes in the white outer skins. Uh oh. Some pesky bugs got to our garlic before we did. The crop was rejected by the grocery chain that we’d hoped to sell to. We were left with a large crop of unsold garlic. The life of a farmer. Rather than give up, my husband re-packaged the garlic by peeling off the slightly marred outer skins. He then put the bulbs in individual mesh bags with an eye-catching marketing label. More costs, but our whole crop sold. The grocery stores clamored for more, leading us to sell garlic for others. An entrepreneur was born. America needs entrepreneurs. And thanks to the new “gig economy” nearly 4 in eve...

We’re ten long months from the election, yet soundbite smears and presidential putdowns abound. Thanks to Trump, the decency filters have been removed too. The candidates seem content to take the low road to the White House. And with 24/7 news, we’re traveling the low road with them. Social media features political memes and far too many sensationalized slogans designed to get inside our heads. Discerning truth from fiction isn’t easy. Look at the sources and sniff out the propaganda. Candidates have researched our propensities, know what promises sound good, and the likelihood of our votes while we travel together on the low road. Hey America, what would happen if we took the high road instead? What would happen if we used social media to point out what has made our nation great and how generous we truly are? On the high road we can agree to listen to one another and make reasonable suggestions about solutions. What woul...

Excuse me while I put away all of the promotional materials and meeting notes from our local school district’s recent levy campaign—asking voters to raise their taxes just so we could fill-in-the-gaps of the “basic” K-12 education in our small rural school.  This is a process that will be repeated in another four years. Here in America we offer every child a “free” education. Visit an affluent school district (say, Mercer Island near Seattle), and then visit our classrooms out here in the country and you’ll note some disparaging differences in what can be offered. Obviously where money congregates, students get more goodies, but I digress.  Here’s the point: until we can truly offer every American student what we promised, let’s not get hyped up about offering free college. Most school districts cobble together a budget with a combination of state and federal money—and if the words “strings attached” could ever be more appropriate...