The economy is in shambles. Companies and, in some cases, entire industries are going under. What does this mean for you, your investments, your job, your income? Let’s discuss some of the possible economic areas yet to fall that might be likely. Let’s also discuss the best way to survive and even thrive during this time.

Retail

The American consumer is barely breathing with the two major sources of spending, home equity and credit cards, being shut down. The holiday season is likely to be a disaster for retailing.

Circuit City and Linens n Things have already gone down. In my opinion, many more are coming. If you work for a major retailer, your job is definitely in jeopardy. If you work for a surviving retailer like Walmart, you still might get your hours cut. The only bright spot in retailing is Apple, who continues to add jobs and open stores.

What other retailers are likely to go under? How about Office Depot? From personal observation, I never see anyone in their stores and their stores are huge! What about Sears? Blockbuster? More major retailers are going down, let’s wait and see who it is.

I’d recommend against investing in any retailer. If you need to invest in one, make sure it is a leader in its area such as Best Buy or Walmart. Otherwise, stay away!

Companies Likely To Survive

The companies that have strong balance sheets, sell products and services with stable demand are likely to survive a serious economic downturn. One of my favorite companies with this description is Philip Morris (PM).

Companies Likely To Thrive

While no company will thrive during the recession and stock prices will suffer no matter how well business is for any company during a bear market, some strong companies can position themselves accordingly to dominate when the economy rebounds

Innovation is where the job growth will be. Innovative companies will come out on the other side of the recession looking great. If your company is an average company in an industry full of competition and are simply waiting out the tough times, your company is not likely to bounce back significantly even when economic conditions improve. A slow economy is an opportunity for companies to position themselves, get better, become more efficient, create new offerings. These companies will be stronger after the recession! The problem is that it is tough for companies to innovate when they are strapped for cash. Creativity is a must.

My favorite company to invest in during this time? Apple! They continue to innovate and have a bullet proof balance sheet. For more reasons on why to accumulate Apple shares, click here.

Conclusion

It’s time to take a hard look at the company you work for and the companies that you are invested in. How is their balance sheet? Do they have cash to operate during tough times? Are they a leader in their industry? What are their plans to improve operations during a recession? If you can’t answer these questions, you might want to prepare your resume or find some new investments.

The bailout situation is a mess. If it weren’t so sad for the state and health of America, it’d be funny. The debate this week is over the big 3 automakers requesting bailout money. In the news also are the cities of Philadelphia and Atlanta asking for money. The reason state and local governments are struggling is because they are forced to balance their budgets. The Federal government isn’t and they can borrow or print money to give to the local governments. Yeah, that makes sense.

The Crappy Three

Ford, GM and Chrysler need money or they risk going under. Their labor costs are so high, and have been for some time, that they are unable to operate for a profit. Couple the labor costs with crappy management and you have three crappy companies.

While I believe Obama and the Democrat Congress will bail them out after Obama is inaugurated, I hope that certain Congressional members stand in the way of throwing more money at this awful scenario. One of my favorite investment professionals Peter Schiff says the following in one of his recent commentaries:

As usual, both sides have it wrong. The government should let the Big Three fail not because we no longer need an auto industry, but because we desperately do. What we do not need is the bloated, inefficient auto industry that we have today. By allowing the Big Three to fail, their capacity will be turned over to new owners who will be able to acquire the means of production at fire sale prices and hire workers at globally competitive wages. The result will be a more efficient auto industry making cars that people around the world actually want to buy at prices they can afford. Such auto makers could conceivably be profitable and could become the cornerstone of a manufacturing renaissance in the United States. In contrast, Ford, Chrysler and GM are never ending money pits that threaten to swallow a good deal of our economy.

GM took a full page ad out in my local paper this morning explaining the horrible results of them going under including loss of tax revenue and job losses. How ironic that they are spending their last dollars on full page advertising trying to drum up support for tax payer money (what a joke).

All of their reasons are short term reasons which of course is what our politicians always focus on. Yes, there would be job losses in the short term. But, in the aftermath, healthy, competitive auto manufacturers can take their place which would create a multitude of jobs. Unfortunately, unless a result of a decision can impact re-election efforts in the short term, it is usually not a desired result.

Where Does This Bailout Crap End?

By continuing to bailout poor management and poor businesses, we continue to incentivize excessive risk taking or poor business decisions. By not bailing out these companies, we reinforce the competitive economic principles that grew our country to begin with.

I assure you more retailers and other companies are going down over the coming months or years. Who is next for a bailout? Circuit City? Starbucks? Kmart? When does it end?

You Can Help End The Bailout Mentality

You need to call your congressman and senator and demand that they do not support anymore bailouts. If you have a new representative coming into office after the re-election, call him or her also.

We got a glimpse of how people can make a difference when the first $700 billion bailout vote happened in the House. Thousands of people called their representative and the effect was that the bailout was voted down. It was a beautiful thing to see people taking control over their government. It’s time to do it again. Call and write your representative today. Then do it again tomorrow. Call them every day and demand our government stop interfering with our economy. Tell them you don’t want your tax dollars propping up companies that should not be operating. You have the power to do it. Take this power!

As I’ve stated many times, I love following Apple. I believe there are a number of factors that warrant a immediate buy of Apple’s stock right now. Without wasting anymore time, let’s get into the reasons.

1. “Real Earnings” Are Not Being Factored

There has been a ton of fantastic analysis on the web regarding the GAAP vs. non-GAAP revenue and earnings reports in the last few quarters for Apple. The reality is that the official numbers Apple releases do not recognize significant sales and cash in-flows. It seems that most analysts are not factoring in the real earnings of Apple. I am not going to go into tons of analysis here because it has already been done in detail at the below links:

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/06/25/the_hidden_financial_impact_of_apples_iphone.html

http://seekingalpha.com/article/101439-apple-s-real-earnings-up-almost-125

2. Yes, Your BlackBerry Can Play Music, But It Doesn’t!

My favorite thing is when somebody I know compares their smart phone to my iPhone by saying, “Yeah, my phone plays music and videos too”. Then I always ask, “Do you listen to music and watch videos on your phone.” The answer is almost always no. Why is this?

The reason is because the ease of use and simple integration with iTunes and computers compared to non Apple products. Apple has a supreme advantage of having millions of users already familiar with their products making the learning curve on the iPhone very minimal. Most Blackberry users do not use the phone for much more than email and some web usage. The iPhone might not offer significantly more functionality but it offers the ability to take advantage of all of its functionality with extreme ease. This is one of the biggest reasons why the iPhone is so popular.

3. New (And Stronger) Halo Effect

Much has been said about the halo effect of Apple when iPod users get used to using an Apple product then eventually by a laptop or other Apple product. Well, this will also apply to iPhone users and to a stronger degree. The iPhone will sell many people on Apple products.

4. Who Said Retail Was Struggling?

At a time when retailers are getting annihilated, Apple is expanding their retail presence. Best Buy, Macy’s, and others are reporting terrible numbers and guidance. Other retailers like Linens n Things and Circuit City are closing their doors. Expansion is the last thing on most retailer’s minds. Yet, Apple is forging ahead opening new stores in more cities. Do you know who the number one retailer is based on sales per square footage? It’s Apple, just ahead of Tiffany’s.

5. iPhone: Recession Proof Product

I mentioned in a previous article on Apple that I think the iPhone is as close to a recession proof consumer gadget as you can get. Cell phones are no longer a luxury but a necessity and more and more people are upgrading to smart phones. At $200, an iPhone is not an unreasonable buy. LCD TVs, new laptops, new furniture: definitely not recession proof. A $200 iPhone for someone looking for gaming, a cell phone, and a music player? Much more recession proof.

6. Cash Is King

As many Apple investors know, Apple’s balance sheet is bullet proof. They sport over $25 billion in cash. Credit crunch, lack of liquidity… irrelevant to Apple. They can continue to finance growth and innovation with their own cash reserves.

7. Innovation Continues

I have heard one analyst say that Apple is continuously one year ahead of its competitors in terms of innovation. You need to not look farther from the iPhone and the flurry of “iPhone killers” that were released a year after Apple came out with their cell phone. When the iPhone killers (yeah right) hit the market, what was Apple doing? That’s right, coming out with the second version of their iPhone.

Other innovation includes the unibody engineering of the new macbook line. Sure, this isn’t a game changing innovation, but what other companies are innovating the way they produce laptops these days? Dell?

With Apple’s acquisition of a chip maker, it will be interesting to see if they begin building their own chips for their devices to prevent others from “copying” their innovations.

8. Valuation

Apple’s shares have been battered this year. Down from over $200 a share, the stock currently sits just over $90 a share. I believe that Apple could very easily beat earnings estimates over the next few quarters (which should be the deepest point of the global recession) which could cause the stock to rise significantly. If Apple beats these estimates during a recession, what do you think they will be doing when the economy bounces back? Yikes!

I think Apple represents one of the most compelling investments with a 3-5 year time span. Buy Apple at these levels and buy more if it goes down further. If you want to be even more aggressive, consider buying long term call options for even more potential upside.

9. Market Share

Apple has been gaining market share in two major categories: computers and smart phones. While the economic slowdown hurts all companies, Apple is likely to gain even more market share as companies such as Dell, Motorola, Research In Motion all get hit hard.

Remember the old bear market story where two people are in the woods and see a bear nearby. When one of the people begin lacing up his shoes, the other says “Why bother? You can’t outrun a bear.” The other responds with, “I don’t have to outrun the bear, I have to outrun you.”

Apple will definitely outrun competitors especially with their abundance of cash. Apple can continue to innovate, research, advertise while others conserve cash. Look for market share to continue to gain which will result in huge long term revenue growth when the global economy comes out on the other side of the recession.

10. Amazing Advertising

Apple continues to dominate advertising with clever PC vs Microsoft ads and fantastic iPhone ads showcasing amazing applications on the iPhone. As I said in reason #9, Apple will continue to advertise aggressively while competitors cut back due to their large cash reserves. I love seeing the new ads come out and sometimes I even watch them on Apple.com. As you can imagine, I don’t watch any other company’s ads on their corporate websites.

The One Reason Not To Buy Apple

Now the only reason you may wish to avoid Apple is the major consumer slowdown we are currently in and that is likely to continue. I believe this is already priced in (see reason #8). Also, this slowdown might end up benefiting Apple over the long term (see reason #9).

As you can see, I love Apple and the opportunity it presents for investors looking to make large gains over the next 3-5 years. Do yourself a favor, buy the stock now and forget about it for a few years. Or, if you watch it and it goes down, just buy more.

If you follow politics, you know that the Fairness Doctrine is likely to be pushed through sooner rather than later as an attempt to combat the Conservative dominance of talk radio.

I have an intense disgust over this type of legislation since it goes against both free speech and free markets since it is ratings and revenue that determine who is on the radio and when.  If the liberals have a tough time getting big names on talk radio that have a large following, it is either because they are not any good or perhaps, the people who agree with them don’t listen to talk radio.  Either way, its free market forces at work with free speech being exercised.  It is completely outrageous that our government is interfering with this.  Does anyone think this is anything more than a desperate way to combat Conservative dominance in talk radio?  It’s convenient that the doctrine doesn’t apply to television.

Anyways, my opinion is done.  What are the possible implications of this?  One might be an increase in satellite radio subscribers.  Big names like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Neal Boortz might move towards satellite radio since there are more stations and I’m assuming this doesn’t fall under the Fairness doctrine oversight.  Please correct me if I’m wrong.

With satellite radio not doing much more than staying afloat in recent years, this could actually be a nice boost for them that helps them gain more subscribers.

On the flip side, I’d look for radio stations to lose money due to being forced to limit the time of their popular shows and possibly be forced to air less popular shows.  Perhaps, we will see talk radio stations suffer financially similar to newspaper media companies?

I definitely do not like the direction of our government.  This is an absurd policy that is very likely to be implemented in the near future.  Are you paying attention?

During a time of economic uncertainty and a bear market, there are many things to worry about. Nothing should be as high of a priority as keeping your job. Your income is everything and you must do everything you can to keep it. Here are some tips to ensure you keep your job during a recession.

If you work for a large company that is affected at all by an economic slowdown (just about everybody), there is a huge chance that there will be cuts at your company. The key is to position yourself so that when their are cuts in your department or position, your name is at the bottom of the list.

Increased Visisbility

First off, you need to increase your visibility. This is very easy if you are just pro-active. Scheduled an informal meeting with your supervisor and simply ask what else you can do to help out. Tell your boss that you understand that each person might be expected to do more at a time like this, and you are definitely willing to take on additional projects, responsibilities or tasks. Don’t say you are willing to do this because you don’t want to get fired, but say you are welcome to additional responsibility to help out the company and to get additional experience.

Increased Performance

IF you become more visible, you better back it up with your performance otherwise you might have been better off not being so visible. Do what it takes to do excellent work on every task or project you do and even go the extra mile when possible.

The 20s Advantage

The reality of being in your 20s is that you make less money that people older than you on average. You are at an advantage during a recession because you cost the company less. If you can do the above things and make yourself visible as a high achiever that costs the company less than some of your peers, you will definitely not be one a likely target to get cut.

Furthermore, once the economy picks up you will have positioned yourself to rise in the company and achieve higher status and higher compensation. Use a time when others are getting cut to continue to add value so that when business picks up you are ready to take on a big role. A slow economy can really result in you positioning yourself better within your company and gaining a fantastic reputation as a high performer. This will pay off big in the long run.

Do you have any additional tips for avoiding a job cut during a recession? Add your comments below.

I have had both a huge response to my initial article on government potentially taking over 401(k) plans and a great deal of fascinating comments and feedback. As such, I decided to write a part 2 to this interesting and controversial idea.

Before I begin, I hope to encourage you to put aside your political party connections before making a judgement on this content and to seriously approach this issue objectively. It is too important not too. It is not a matter of Republicans vs Democrats or vice versa; it is a matter of free will and personal responsibility. These are two virtues that we must continue to push to the forefront of all issues in our country and in our world. With that said, let’s look at the possibility of 401(k) changes being pushed by various individuals in our government.

First, who are the individuals who are pushing this? They are George Miller, Representative from California and Jim McDermott, Representative from Washington. One of Miller’s most interesting quotes is about the transition from pensions and other retirement plans to 401(k)’s and IRAs. He said, “Everyone wiped their hands of any obligation for retirement, and the burden shifted from the employer to the employee, and the risk is shifted from the employer to the employee.”

By burden, he means of course, responsibility. I would assume, by this quote, he means it is unreasonable to expect individuals to be responsible for their own retirement. Let’s put this concept aside for now because one major concept he fails to address is the huge burden pensions and other entitlement programs puts on companies. Look no further than the big auto companies for some shining examples. How many times will we have to bail out Chrysler or GM?

In the global economy, to be competitive, companies cannot be held down with the huge entitlements of the past, supporting the retirements of every individual that has ever worked for the company. In a perfect world, yes, this would be great. But we live in a competitive world, and our country needs competitive, healthy companies. Competitive and healthy companies provide jobs for our citizens which is the foundation of our economy. Are GM, Ford and Chrysler creating jobs? No, they are cutting jobs.

Now, let’s get back to the personal responsibility argument. Miller does not want individuals to be “burdened” and would rather the government provide more retirement plans for individuals. Does he forget that tax payers are burdened with government spending, including retirement plans. Does Miller believe that we are completely incapable of taking care of ourselves so that we must give money to him and then have him give it back to us at regular intervals throughout our later years? Either that or he simply wants government to have more power over us. Neither is an acceptable reason.

Sneaky and Slippery

One of the comments on my first article was basically: “If you think this is going to happen, you’re crazy.” The reason things like this are capable of happening is because of how they are presented. No government representative is going to say “we want to take over 401(k) plans”. They will present it as an attractive option such as buying up your 401(k) plan at a previous (and higher) balance before stock values went lower. Slowly, but surely, they will take over more of people’s retirement funding and savings.

Whether this happens soon or not, there are individuals that want this to happen. I encourage you to be on guard for anything which could lead to such a policy. Government should not continue to expand until they control every aspect of our lives. Stand with me to stand against this horrendous policy. Vote against anybody who supports ending 401(k) tax breaks, not because of simply ending the tax break (which is bad), but because of what it can lead to. Stand for individual freedom and responsibility.

Fun Comments From Part 1

“Heeellll no! How can this question even seriously be asked?! Are we that pathetic that the government has to take control of this as well? What are all the companies supposed to do that use this money as capital? I have not heard a worse idea in a long time.”

“Hey CB I will let you in a secret to keep your kids from starving. Get a job. Why should we penalize people for making more money. Flat tax all around in my opinion. I also do not want some greedy lazy person all over my 401K. I want to be able to buy my grandkids things and have a nice retirement home. Not pay my neighbor’s retirement. If I retire with 4 million dollars in my 401k and the government wants to tax it thats fine but no more. And do not raise capital gains tax either. It is high enough. If people quit abusing the system it would not be so bad. Know your limits. Don’t have 3 kids when you know you cannot afford it. Obama will turn this country it a socialistc version of Russia by the time he is done with it.”

Agree or Disagree? Add your comment, join the discussion!

Do you have a process for selecting investments, specifically individual stocks? What do you look for? Do you look for technical or fundamental reasons for buying a stock? Today, I’m going to talk about an investment strategy I like to call the 3-5 year outlook.

Fundamentals and 3-5 Year Outlook

I like to find stocks that have fantastic fundamentals that support a significantly higher share price 3-5 years from now. Why 3-5 years? Because emotions, bubbles and trading trends can dominate a short term share price, meaning it could take some time for quality fundamentals to force a higher share price and a return on your money. Also, fundamentals can change; therefore, a re-analysis of those fundamentals should be performed after 3-5 years and hopefully after a nice return on your money.

I’m not a firm believer in the buy and hold forever strategy, because like I just said, fundamentals can change. Consider tech companies such as Apple (AAPL). I believe they have some of the strongest fundamentals around right now. However, technology can change fast and in 10 years, Apple might not have the standing it does today. Ask Motorola investors how quickly “fundamentals” change. Because companies can very well lose their competitive advantages, fundamentals that support a nice return are not permanent. Therefore, 3-5 years is my recommended time span.

Lastly, your return on a 3-5 year investment can vary greatly depending on your entry point which brings me to my next point.

Entry Point

Your entry point on a 3-5 year position is crucial. It can severely impact your return. In fact, a 3-5 year investment should only occur when you are confident you are at a decent entry point. It is much harder to find a entry point when the market is at an all time high than, say, in today’s current environment.

A great approach is to find positions that have fundamentals that support high returns over 3-5 years that have low entry points due to overall market conditions. Two of my favorite 3-5 year investments right now are Apple and Oil (i.e. DIG ETF).

Exit Strategy

Since these are 3-5 year investments, you should have an exit strategy. You should always have an exit strategy unless you are planning to hold a high yield dividend play indefinitely.

Determine what you think a nice return will be and commit yourself to exit the position when you reach this return. If you want to consider holding the position past your committed return, you need a full re-examination of the fundamentals. If you can’t commit more money to the position, you should probably sell the position and ring the register. Remember, paper gains don’t mean anything. Don’t be afraid to ring the register.

Do you have any potential investments out there that look like great returns 3-5 years out?  What is your expected return (i.e. when do you plan to exit your position)?

I just filled up my SUV. I paid under $2.40 a gallon. Not too long ago, I was paying over $4.00. I’m spending about $30 less per fill up than I was a few months ago. This is great for consumers. What are you doing with the extra cash you have due to the drop in gasoline prices?

Most of you would probably answer that questions with “I don’t know”. Well, it’s time to make a plan, because you never know, these cheap gas prices (relatively speaking of course) might and probably won’t last forever. It’s time to manage your money and your expenses with a higher level of scrutiny. I encourage you to read on.

A Natural Stimulus

There is a ton of talk surrounding our government doing another stimulus package to “boost” the economy and consumer spending. As I mentioned in a previous article what I thought about another stimulus package, I think it is a joke. Our government spending is completely out of hand. Why not simply embrace the natural stimulus of lower fuel costs that impacts just about everybody?

Why not encourage consumers to save the money that they don’t have to put towards fuel anymore. We have to get people saving money again. That is more important than a consumer-led recession in my opinion, especially over the long haul. Right now, our leaders would rather have short term consumer spending higher and you further in debt, than have a recession that leads to higher savings rates.

Gas Prices Down The Road

I’m in the camp that says gas prices in a year or 2 or 3 will be much higher than they are now. What are you doing to prepare for such a scenario? I’d recommend you put away some money that you aren’t spending on gas now in a “gas emergency fund” so that you can have a stash of money ready in case you need it just to get around town. If I’m wrong about future prices, well, you will have a stash of money left over that can be used for other things or other investments.

If you’re an investor, you may consider buying into some oil and gas investment vehicles. One of my favorites is The Oil & Gas ETF (DIG). I currently have a position and will probably buy more if prices deteriorate further.

The reality is that even in a worldwide recession, the projected demand is higher in 2008 than in 2007. Also, even with the projected slowdown in demand, it is still projected to be higher in 2009 than in 2008. Demand for oil worldwide is still growing. What happens when the economy rebounds and consumption increases? Also, due to lower oil prices, many producers have shut down some production which will lead to a short term supply drop which could also push prices higher.

The bottom line is that I believe fundamentals indicate we are due for higher oil prices. I think it is a good investment especially at current levels. You might get some short term moves down, but long term it is a great investment.  A factor I didn’t even address is the U.S. dollar.  Many credible people believe the dollar is due for continued decline over the coming years due to the irresponsible fiscal policy and government spending of our country.  A weaker dollar is also a catalyst for higher oil prices.  While these fundamentals that support higher oil prices may or may not be 100% accurate, the question shouldn’t be what if I’m wrong, but rather, what if I’m right?  Will you be prepared?

Oil & Gas: A Huge Part Of Your Life

To conclude, oil and gas prices impact you probably more than you think. Not only is it one of your biggest expenses, so it impacts your personal finances, it also impacts the prices of just about everything you buy. High fuel costs is one of the biggest impacts to our economy. You need to prepare for higher energy prices whether they happen or not. You should be saving and putting extra money aside for potentially much higher gas expenses or maybe even investing in a position which will outperform with higher oil prices.

Okay, I couldn’t resist putting this on my blog. This is going around in an email. With the Obama victory last night, enough is enough in terms of criticizing either side. I’m done doing that. But this is too funny. For the record, I have high hopes for Obama (and yes some worries), so I’m optimistic of our future!

Without further ado, please read about a future interaction with Obama and the most famous plumber in the world:

Barack Obama discovers a leak under his sink, so he calls Joe the Plumber to come and fix it. Joe drives to Obama’s house, which is located in a very nice neighborhood and where it appears all the residents make more than $250,000 per year.

Joe arrives and takes his tools into the house. Joe is led to the room that contains the leaky pipe. Joe assesses the problem and tells Obama, who is standing near the door, that it’s an easy repair that will take less than 10 minutes.

Obama asks Joe how much it will cost.

Joe immediately says, “$9,500.”

“$9,500?” Obama asks, stunned. “But you said it’s an easy repair!”

“Yes, but what I do is charge a lot more to my clients who make more than $250,000 per year so I can fix the plumbing of everybody who makes less than that for free,” explains Joe. “It’s always been my philosophy. As a matter of fact, I lobbied government to pass this philosophy as law, so now all plumbers have to do business this way. It’s known as ‘Joe’s Fair Plumbing Act of 2008.’ Surprised you haven’t heard of it, Senator.”

In spite of that, Obama tells Joe there’s no way he’s paying that much for a small plumbing repair, so Joe leaves.

Obama spends the next hour flipping through the phone book looking for another plumber, but he finds that all other plumbing businesses listed have gone out of business. Not wanting to pay Joe’s price, Obama does nothing.

The leak under Obama’s sink goes unrepaired for the next several days.

A week later the leak is so bad that Obama has had to put a bucket under the sink. The bucket fills up quickly and has to be emptied every hour, and there’s a risk that the room will flood, so Obama calls Joe and pleads with him to return.

Joe goes back to Obama’s house, looks at the leaky pipe, and says, “Let’s see this will cost you about $21,000.”

“A few days ago you told me it would cost $9,500!” Obama quickly fires back. Joe explains the reason for the dramatic increase.

“Well, because of ‘Joe’s Fair Plumbing Act,’ a lot of rich people are learning how to fix their own plumbing, so there are fewer of you paying for all the free plumbing I’m doing for the people who make less than $250,000. As a result, the rate I have to charge my wealthy paying customers rises every day.”

“Not only that,” adds Joe, “but for some reason the demand for plumbing work from the group of people who get it for free has skyrocketed, and there’s a long waiting list of those who need repairs. This has put a lot of my fellow plumbers out of business, and they’re not being replaced nobody is going into the plumbing business because they know they won’t make any money. I’m hurting now too all thanks to greedy rich people like you who won’t pay their fair share.”

Obama tries to straighten out the plumber: “Of course you’re hurting, Joe! Don’t you get it? If all the rich people learn how to fix their own plumbing and you refuse to charge the poorer people for your services, you’ll be broke, and then what will you do?”

Joe replies, “Run for president, apparently.”

Today, our country has a new face of the future. This new face is that of Barack Obama. While, I have many reservations about his policies, I remain hopeful that he steers our country into the right direction. If not, 2012 will be here before we know it with a ready challenger. If I were to run for President in 2012, I would run on the following platform.

Energy

I would focus a majority of my Presidency getting our country off foreign oil. I would leverage an “all of the above” approach to gaining energy independence. Tapping domestic oil and natural gas would be a priority to get us through the next 20 years. I would move forward with the Picken’s Plan as closely as possible in order to establish a large wind corridor in our country to fuel our electricity grid.

With regards to innovation, I would provide every incentive possible for companies producing new innovative concepts such as a car able to get 100 mpg. Perhaps, the company that produces this car is exempt from paying taxes on the sales of it for 10 years.

Social Security

I would be very unpopular when it comes to social security, but I would tell everyone under 35 years old that you are on your own. Why? Because in 20 years, the social security budget will be as big as the entire Federal budget of today. Tough circumstances call for tough measures.

I would eliminate the bloating of this entitlement program to prevent the future debt load of our nation. To assist retirement, I would incentivize saving over taking out debt. Currently, we are incentivized to take out debt (deduct mortgage interest paid) and are discouraged to save (pay tax on interest earned on our savings). I would reverse this. It’s time our country embraces personal responsibility and savings again.

Also, I would not raise taxes to fund bloating entitlement programs. I would keep taxes low for economic growth.

Defense

It seems that we have two options for defense these days; either cut the military budget or grow the budget. I would keep it the same, but force many reforms. For one, our country’s impressive military force is extremely good at one thing and not very good at another. It is incredibly competent when it comes to invasion. It is very incompetent at being a security force. This is not anyone’s fault except that too much of our military strategy is based on the Cold war mentality of fighting another super power.

I would help change our military to be able to handle the 21st century threats which will focus just as much on being a security force as being an invasion force. New thinking plus ample funding would help our military evolve and remain as the top fighting force of the world.

Obamania

I hope Obama puts good people around him and achieves great things. He talks about energy independence, so I’m hopeful there. I definitely have different views on social security and likely it would be political suicide to kick a group out of social security, although it is probably the only thing that will save it.

Like it or not, Barack Obama is the next President of the United States. If you don’t like it, perhaps, you’ll vote for me in 2012.