The Greatest Country

Although, the subjects of my posts are mainly about health and wealth, this week I’ve just got to say something about the race for the White House.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone that seems more non-presidential than the guy with the bad hair who never talks about any specifics and who acts like a child.  Have you noticed how Mr. Donald Trump loves to call people names and constantly tells people how great he is?

Yes, we all did that when we were kids, but that’s what kids do and most of us grow up and stop doing those kinds of juvenile things. Eight years ago, I was saying how much he reminds me of Vladimir Putin who also just can’t seem to get over himself and how wonderful he thinks he is. And now we know just how much Trump wants to be like him in every way. Most of us, if we grow up thinking we’re the center of the universe, soon realize that we are not nearly as important as we once thought we were.

Trump’s big slogan for his campaign continues to irritate me: Make American Great Again. He used to just say that we were not the great country we once were but now he talks about the USA like it is the worst country that ever existed, making the most outrageous claims, even about things that have been completely debunked.

Personally, I don’t think America ever stopped being “great”.  In fact, it seems to me that our country, even with its ups and downs and hard times, keeps getting better.  I’ve been to 84 countries in my life and lived a couple years in the Middle East in Ankara, Turkey and a couple years in England and Wales, and from my distant and far observations, America has always been one of the finest countries in the world for so many reasons. One of those reasons is because of our great constitution. And now, even that seems to be threatened.

Some people would disagree with me when I say our country gets better all the time and might point out the many terrible things they see every day and night on the news.  My response to that is pretty simple.  The news, especially the cable news that runs 24 hours a day, is in the business of making money and they need to fill up those hours with things they know people will tune in for.  They know they’ll get higher viewership when their news stories are sensational, especially when it’s bad and shocking.  That’s why watching the news gives us the impression that things are much worse than they really are.

Right now, our violent crime rate is at a 50-year low even though some crimes like homicide, which has been in decline these last few years, was increasing during all 4 years of the Trump administration according to the Council on Criminal Justice. Our gross domestic product, a primary indicator of economic health, is up 8% from 4 years ago and is growing 3 times the annual average this year alone. So, there are two great reasons to appreciate the USA right now.

We are also recognized as having the largest economy in the world, being the dominant global military power, being the leading producer of both oil and natural gas, and are known for constantly shaping global culture and progress. We have the vast majority of the best ranked universities in the world and lead in entrepreneurship with nearly 6 times more startups each year than any other country.

In other words, we have power, resources, education and ingenuity like no other country on the entire globe. So, I say to my readers and to Mr. Donald Trump, “America is already great, and will continue to be great with the kind of leadership that respects and adheres to our constitution. And I am just so proud to be an American!”

Make America and You Greater

I think most of us are getting pretty feed up and bored with politics lately.  I mean every time you turn around you see or hear more news about the race for the White House and, of course, the face you see most often is that of Donald Trump.  I don’t know about you but I’ve had enough of that big bully, loud-mouthed Trump to last a life-time.  This know-it-all thinks he’s the smartest man in the world but his campaign slogan is “Make America Great Again”. Every time I see that baseball cap with those words on it, I think, “Wow … when did America stop being great?”

I’ve traveled the world, visiting 84 different countries as well as living two years in the middle east and two years in England and I can say, without hesitation, that we have a great country and it’s constantly getting greater. I fear that might not hold true if Trump became president, however.

Ours truly is a land of great freedom and opportunity where you can start off being dirt poor and still become a millionaire. It happened in the 1930’s and in the 1970’s and it’s still happening today. So how does a person take advantage of our freedom’s and opportunities?

Continuing on last week’s post about the power of the brain and how we can program and teach our brain with enough repetition to act automatically without conscious thought, here’s the beginning key to achieving financial greatness in our great country. Step one is to start training your brain to calculate out at least 10% of every single dollar you earn and then you set it aside and never spend it and I mean NEVER. This is investment money, not spending money. So just keep doing that over and over again until it is such an automatic habit that you don’t even have to consciously think about it.

If you have followed me very long you know what comes next.  You take those savings after months or years and wisely invest them.  And that, my friends, is the beginning of a sure fire way to become wealthy in one of the greatest countries in the world, if not the greatest.

Next week I’ll lay out the best investments to make in today’s economy and the way to make those investments. You get started on the savings part and I’ll get you prepared for investing in the great USA.

 

Measuring a Country’s Greatness

The subjects of my blogs are mainly about Health and Wealth but this week I’ve just got to say something about the race for the White House.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone that seems more non-presidential than the guy with the bad hair who never talks with any specifics and who acts like a child.  Have you noticed how Mr. Donald Trump loves to call people names and constantly tells people how great he is?

Yes, we all did that when we were kids, but that’s what kids do and most of us grow up and stop doing those kind of juvenile things. He reminds me of Vladimir Putin who also just can’t seem to get over himself and how wonderful he thinks he is. Most of us, as we age, realize that we are not near as important as we once thought we were.

And how about Trump’s big slogan for his campaign: I’m going to make American great again”. I would love to ask Trump a few questions if he would agree to give me a yes or no answer.  The first question would be, “Mr. Trump, do you think America is a good country?” The next question would be, “Do you think America is a VERY good country?” And lastly, “Don’t you think America is a great country?”

Personally, I don’t think America ever stopped being “great”.  In fact, it seems to me that our country gets better every year.  I’ve been to 84 countries in my life and lived a couple years in the Middle East in Ankara and Turkey and a couple years in England and Wales, and from my distant and far observations, it has always been a pretty great country.

Are we perfect? Of course not. Are we the best country in the world?  That is a pretty broad question. Admittedly, we are not the best in everything but we do excel in quite a number of important areas—our firms are at or near the forefront in technological advances, especially in computers and in medical, aerospace, and military equipment.*But just like a normal human being, we need to keep working at it to make us and our country better.

Some people would disagree with me when I say our country gets better every year and might point out the many terrible things they see every day and night on the news.  My response to that is pretty simple.  The news, especially the cable news that runs 24 hours a day, is in the business of making money and they need to fill up those 24 hours and they know they get a much higher viewership when their news stories are sensational.  Watching the news gives us the impression that things are much worse than they really are.

Since 1980, our murder rate has dropped by more than half and our gross domestic product, a primary indicator of economic health, is 6 times what it was. The US is recognized as having the largest and most technologically powerful economy in the world and we are second in the world only to Switzerland in quality of life indexes.* So I say to my readers and to Mr. Donald Trump, “America is already great and I am proud to be an American!”

*Statistics and quotes from Nation Master/www.nationmaster.com