MoneyCrashers | Michael R Lewis, ASJA

August 14, 2013January 3, 2024

How to Prepare When Making a Career Change

Many people dream of a new career earning more money doing the things they love. In fact, labor surveys suggest that four out of five people are unhappy in their careers and want to make a change. We Americans are optimistic with a tendency to accept that the “grass is always greener” on the other side of the fence. Yet few people actually pursue a career change voluntarily. Why? Because age, high income, and debt lock many into their current jobs or fields, making it that much harder to change.

If you desire to make a clean break from your current career and start anew – be it for more pay, personal satisfaction, or a better balance between your personal and work life – prepare yourself for a more difficult transition than seeking a similar job with a new employer. It’s unlikely that you will replicate your current salary or benefits in the beginning of a new career, while it is likely that you’ll need to invest in training or education to be hired. You may even be forced to relocate.

But these and other obstacles needn’t hold you back from your goals. However, they do require preparation in order to surmount. Read more . . .

August 14, 2013January 3, 2024

Privatization of Public Services

Since the beginning of civilization, there has been tension over the role of government and the provision of services paid for with public funds (tax dollars). Before the advent of democracies, ambitious, enterprising men sought the favor of royalty in order to gain political power and riches at the expense of the population.
American governments, whether federal, state, or local, have not been immune from this trend where politicians manipulate the economy to fill their own pockets, as well as the purses of their friends. Boss Tweed and his cronies at Tammany Hall bilked New York City taxpayers of more than $200 million in the building of public works by private contractors. The Credit Mobilier of America scandal with Union Pacific during Ulysses S. Grant’s presidency reverberated for decades. According to The Atlantic, privatization leads to crony corruption, citing the example of Edward Snowden and Booz Allen Hamilton.
Read more . . .

August 14, 2013January 3, 2024

How to Raise Venture Capital – Lessons from the “Shark Tank”

The old adage, “Build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door,” is no longer valid, and may never have been true in the first place. There are literally thousands of inventions and new products sitting in garages, workshops, and laboratories across the country, and they will never see the light of day simply because the inventor, lacking the capital to manufacture and market his idea with his own resources, is unable to attract investors.

Though there must be a way to find the money to back such a project, where can you turn to look for guidance?

7 Reasons Why the Keystone XL Pipeline Should Be Approved

During the past presidential campaign, the Keystone XL Pipeline became a political football. Since that time, the pipeline’s planned route has been changed to avoid potential harm to the Ogallala Aquifer and is currently awaiting final approval from the State Department.

Many Americans, however, are surprised to learn that the Keystone Pipeline already exists, transporting since 2010 590,000 barrels of “heavy” crude oil a day, 2,148 miles from the oil sands surrounding Hardisty, Alberta, Canada to Steele City, Nebraska and subsequently to holding facilities in Patoka and a ConocoPhillips refinery at Wood River, Illinois. The Keystone, owned by TransCanada, is one of many crude oil pipelines currently crossing the border between the United States and Canada, including the Express and Enbridge lines.