Tag Archive for: lifeplanning

U.S. Air Force To The Rescue — Baby Formula Airlift To Needy Nations

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Breaking News! EXTRA EXTRA – Read All About It!

Gargantuan Globemaster C-17s
– Full Of Formula For Forlorn Foreigners

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Never let it be said that The Reporter is a Gloomy Gus or Debbie Downer. At the slightest inkling of good news, you, good reader, will be informed. Today is such a day.

Our crackerjack squad of mild-mannered reporters were researching momentous issues of the day. By watching TV. One alert reporter (see photo) pointed out the newsworthiest item of the day. Details are still coming in, but clearly, the U.S. has stepped up to the rescue, yet again.

vintage family around television from smithsonian magazine
Our Crackerjack Team Gathering Essential Information Credit: Smithsonian Magazine

Apparently, somehow, some way, Ireland and Germany managed to botch production of baby formula. That’s the white powdery substance that you mix with water for infants to drink. Infants do not have teeth, so they need this liquid stuff. Also, they are infants and not good with silverware. Can you imagine such a thing? Modern countries unable to provide for their own baby citizens? Having to rely on the kindness of strangers to feed the most precious and vulnerable? It boggles the mind that any modern nation with a shred of self- respect could allow it. Red-faced embarrassment, indeed!

Anyway, our gaggle of reporters reported that the TV showed pictures of U.S. Air Force cargo planes just loaded with this highly nutritious, if not delicious, essential cargo. In Germany. And Ireland.

c-17 us air force
C-17 Globemaster Aircraft of the Foreign Country Charity Baby Formula Force
Credit: US Air Force

Lucky for them that the old ole US of A was ready, willing, and able to help out once again. Gosh we are just the best. Stay tuned as we bring you all the details…

And while we are waiting for those additional details, we must ask the question, “How could this have happened? To modern, well-governed, intelligent nation-states?”

Just guessing here, as we await further details, but the cause of this sad blunder is no doubt linked to their benighted nondemocratic, royalist histories.

It appears that two formula-drinking babies died of infection. So imperialistic, unthinking Irish and German bureaucrats, drunk with authority and power, ignorantly shut down the baby formula factory that produced some huge percentage of the national baby formula supply. Then, the factory proved scientifically and without question that the tragic deaths had nothing to do with the factory. Or the formula.

And this is where the superiority of the American Way blazes like a supernova beacon in the night! In America, kindly, competent public servants would have evaluated the evidence, made corrections where needed, and with a heartfelt concern for their fellow-citizens, reopened that factory lickety- split! That’s the can-do spirit! Let’s show the whole world how to get the job done!

Not so for those poor Europeans! Oh no, not so. Those folks puttered around for months while supplies ran out. Their second-string newspapers reported shortages last November 2021. Even their government-approved, Establishment-sanctioned, politically correct mouthpieces (the Euro- equivalent of the New York Times and Washington Post) reported impending doom in January 2022. And still their governments did nothing. Sad.

Stand By For Additional Up-To-The-Minute Reporting From Roving Reporters

Our A-Team of Reliable Sources continues to investigate Old Europe’s shameful tragi-comic failure of every government’s most basic duties. By intently watching more TV. This time in black and white because black and white is more serious.

Now reading our Truth Squad’s follow-up report… The Squad states that our initial reports were wrong… we were too optimistic. Situation far far worse than could be imagined. Oh, the Humanity! What have those Germans and Irish done? Uh oh…

It’s Howdy Doody Time!

Hmmm. Well, it appears that, as we have always said, because we are never to blame for any misstatements however gross or negligent, it is not our fault. Plato, Aristotle, and Socrates all agree: “Reporting means never having to say you’re sorry.”

Turns out those heroic Air Force cargo planes were loading infant formula from Germany and Ireland. For delivery to Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.A. It was American bureaucrats who shut down factories, ignored scientific evidence, sparked panic buying, and moved with the charming speed of an exhausted three-toed sloth. A drunk, debauched, exhausted three-toed sloth. With the shakes. Dismissed the warnings from months ago. Pooh-poohed the damage and suffering. Gosh darn those unelected, unfeeling nabobs!

plane flying over crowd department of defense
Grateful Americans Anxiously Awaiting Generous Germans. And Irish.
Credit: Department of Defense

At least our elected political leaders have the good grace to be embarrassed, apologetic, and eager to set things right. They need our votes, after all. Certainly, they would never exploit parents’ anxiety or babies’ hunger for political expedience. Our statesmen and stateswomen have far too much respect for the intelligence of the American People and their own sense of honor and class to try covering up their failures and attempting to spin this humiliating episode as some sort of victory. Or not.

biden baby formula tweet

Records Set For New Regulations Not Just Inflation, Mortgage Interest Rates, And Gas Prices Anymore

U.S. politicians and government bureaucrats continue to set records that are unlikely to ever be challenged, let alone surpassed. In the last year, 69 brand new, major regulations. 72,000 pages of executive orders, regulations, and legalese. One think tank (probably evil or Russian or both) says this new red tape will cost over $200 billion. Another tank claims that 131 million more hours will be spent bending the proverbial knee to our do-gooding busybody federal potentates. No wonder it is tough to get good help!

boxes of paperwork
New Paperwork Required to Operate a 7-11 Convenience Store
Credit: Raiders of the Lost Ark

Did you know some say every 15% increase in federal regulations leads to a 1% increase in inflation? Me neither. Thank goodness inflation is so low we do not have to worry about that sort of thing. Whew!

Oh yeah. And the stock market is crashing too. Cheers!

Traditional Planning Is Death Planning

Avoid Probate, Save Taxes, Get To Kids?
And When You Die Broke, Drained By Long-Term Care, Probate Is Irrelevant

Traditional estate planning is supposed to avoid probate, save taxes, and dump your leftover stuff on your beneficiaries. After you die. Nobody cares what happens to you while you are alive. How does that help anyone? Stupid.

Traditional estate planning fails because the overwhelming majority of us will need long-term skilled care. 70% of us. For an average of 3 years. And we will go broke paying for it.

Is it surprising that thousands of recreation properties: cottages, cabins, hunting land, are lost to pay for long-term care? Why is your estate planner hurting you and your family? It is evil intent? Or stupidity?

LifePlanning™ defeats Nursing Home Poverty. Keep your stuff. Get the care you have already paid for. Good for you. Good for your family. Good example for society.

When my mother suffered from the dementia which led to her death, over 10 years ago, their estate plan preserved their lifesavings. Mom’s months in the nursing home did not mean Dad’s impoverishment. Dad spent the last years with security and peace of mind.

Is Now A Bad Time For A Real Solution?

Perhaps you think you already have an answer to this problem. Maybe you do not see this as a problem at all. It is possible that you do not believe in the passage of time or its effects on you.

Peace of mind and financial security are waiting for everyone who practices LifePlanning™. You know that peace only begins with financial security. Are legal documents the most important? Is avoiding probate the best you can do for yourself or your loved ones? Is family about inheritance? Or are these things only significant to support the foundation of your family?

Do you think finding the best care is easy? Do you want to get lost in the overwhelming flood of claims and promises? Or would you like straight answers?

Well, here you are. Now you know. No excuses. Get the information, insight, inspiration. It is your turn. Ignore the message? Invite poverty? Or get the freely offered information. To make wise decisions. For you. For your loved ones.

The LifePlan™ Workshop has been the first step on the path to security and peace for thousands of families. Why not your family?

NO POVERTY. NO CHARITY. NO WASTE.
It is not chance. It is choice. Your choice.

Get Information Now. (800) 317-2812

Shocking Fact From Planet Earth: Magic Is Not Real

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Multi-Verse Of Madness? A Random Walk Through The Valley Of The Shadow Of Incompetence

The Original Three Stooges, At Least, Were Funny

Why is our world run by 3 old men with health issues and questionable mental capability? Three geezers with sufficient atomic and hydrogen bombs to erase humanity? Two of them with sugar plum visions of long-lost imperial splendor dancing in their heads. Willing to slaughter other folks wholesale. Two greedy, stuffed-up potentates. Dozens of minor characters in supporting roles have similar grandiose cloud cuckoo land delusions. Complete the picture with a cast of thousands eager to murder for earthly paradise.

Is it surprising that totalitarian tyrannies spew forth thieving tyrants? Isn’t that pretty much what they do? Murder, conquest, plunder, looting, and pillaging are part and parcel of the tyrannical deal. Successful crime proves that the “mandate of heaven” rests on the tyrant.

A couple hundred years ago, a few, very few, people decided to chart a different course. To depend on one another. And vigorous, unrestrained debate. Government based on the consent of the governed. A radical idea that regular folks had something to say. A nation free of tyrants. Composed of free people. Thinking, speaking, and acting freely. Naturally, “smart” people have been desperately fighting against this dangerous idea ever since.

The good and the wise know that too much talking is bad for the peasants. Commoners need a Ministry of Truth, Commission for the Public Good, Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, “Disinformation Governance Board.” Intellectual leading lights from Ivy League universities must ensure you do not think the wrong thoughts or say the wrong words. Or hear anyone who does.

Can the third decrepit old gentleman really be blamed for much of anything? As a two-bit grifting politician, he sold out for cheap long ago. Enabling family members’ dirty dealing with foreign countries and powerful corporations. Selling influence and access. Kickbacks to the “big guy”. Penniless politician to Bruce Wayne multimillionaire. His only surviving son condemned to a maelstrom of drugs and paid-for sex. Pitiful really. Charley McCarthy in the White House. Merely a marionette. Pathetic puppet, dancing to strange tunes.

Yet this superannuated reprobate has performed a valuable service. He proved the obvious: when America retreats, tyranny fills the void. Ask Finland. Ask Sweden. Two countries with centuries of neutrality. Comfortably secure under the American umbrella. Until now. Today they frantically clamor to join the NATO Neighborhood Watch.

Harry Potter Is To Blame!
Or Maybe It Is Doctor Strange’s Fault

Remember the Marvel superhero movie, Ironman? A science guy builds himself a metal suit that flies and blows bad guy stuff up. Cool. Remember Spiderman? Radioactive spider bite, science-science, teenager with spider powers.

Beats bad guys up. Even Superman had the whole red sun/yellow sun science explanation for superpowers. Not anymore. Today superheroes are all magic.

Remember the Harry Potter books and movies? How about the vampire and werewolf books and movies? Say or think the right thing and stuff just happens. All magic. All the time. Magical!

Have you noticed that magical thinking has taken over? Men become women by simply saying so. You don’t even need a fancy spell. Or surgery. Why tampons in the Mens Room? Because men now menstruate. And give birth. How does a man have ovaries and a uterus? Perhaps it helps to start as a woman. Astounding new world records in women’s sports? Perhaps starting as a man helps. Not even Supreme Court Justices can tell the difference. Abracadabra indeed!

Imagine an old, broken-down horse. Shabby. Weak. Shuffling. Re-living its days as a foal. Kept around from pity. Would you enter that horse in the Kentucky Derby? Or the county fair? You might if you believed in the power of magical thinking. You would just tell yourself, and everyone else, that your nag is really a thoroughbred racehorse at the peak of its powers. And if anyone disagreed, you and your friends could shout them down. Fairness requires hobbling all the other horses, since their actual talents and abilities are “unfair” to the nag. Who would enjoy such a race? What would the outcome be?

Is it ridiculous to think that magical thinking in the real world leads to disaster across the board? Would you like to drive across a magical bridge? Live in a magical apartment house? Why not? It’s only fair.

Magical Thinking: Consequences

BASIC PRICE INFLATION. In April 2022, the United States failed to set a new 40-year record high for inflation. At least it stayed above 8%, though, so all of you buying groceries on your credit cards… keep it up, you will have to…

Ivy League Necromancers first blamed the magic inflation on too many people buying treadmills. Then Congressional Conjurers claimed it was temporary. Next Sorcerers Senatorial blamed it on Russia’s Mad Monk Rasputin. Now our trusted Thaumaturges assert something else, but frankly, we have lost track.

Good News! The Ginger Oracle’s Replacement says Inflation will be cured! By raising taxes. We swear we are not making this stuff up. Here is what the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics says:

cpi consumer price index chart

MORTGAGE INTEREST RATES. Mortgage rates continue to astonish, but the American Dream lives! “Homebuyers continue to show resilience even though rising mortgage rates are causing monthly payments to increase by about one-third as compared to a year ago,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist. Thank you, Sam! Great to see our public servants serving the public!

Hey Home Sellers! Interest rate increases caused monthly payments go up by ONE-THIRD… Could HOME PRICES be affected? What do YOU think? Can you pull a Homebuyer out of a hat? You may have to….

freddie mac mortgage rate chart

ONE MILLION DEAD FROM ELDER PLAGUE. Do you remember a politician who claimed he would stop COVID? Neither does the Washington Post. Or New York Times. Or the politician himself. He even forgot he was vaccinated. Oh well. Elections are supposed to be magic!

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than a MILLION AMERICANS have died from the virus of unknown origin. Widespread hysteria about the kids was manufactured by people who did not go to work, but still got paid. Fortunately for the children, the virus of unknown origin DOES NOT (hardly at all) KILL KIDS, but it is deadly to older folks. Almost exclusively.

From the very beginning the Reporter has described COVID as the “Elder Plague.” And that has NEVER changed. Here’s the current official CDC chart. Notice anything about deaths among kids ages 0-17? 0-29?

cdc covid death by age chart

NEW RUSSIAN BEACH FRONT RESORT. In Ukraine, on the Black Sea, is a steel plant. You may have heard of it. Bombed for months. Blasted to smithereens. Now your best Russian friend and mine, Crazy Vlad, is repurposing this fixer-upper opportunity as beach resort. Come for Time Share Presentation, leave with new set of steak knives! Wow! Magic solves everything, no?

TOP 10 AMERICAN THEME PARKS. Because inquiring minds want to know, USA Today, a “newspaper” asked regular folks which were the BEST THEME PARKS. #1 is an aquarium which used to have whales in a tank, but not anymore. Winners include a brewery-sponsored park, another that smells like chocolate, and two with country music themes. But the “Happiest Place on Earth” was shut out. Maybe normal folks have had enough of rich people insults. Maybe, finally, “Ladies and Gentlemen! Boys and Girls! Children of All Ages!” isn’t the only thing headed for the garbage dump. Did they think they could magically wish away their customers? Guess so!

Why Can’t You Live In The Magic Kingdom?

Why are the magical thinkers so unhappy? Why does everything they touch turn to crap? Why are they angry? Why are they unable to hear anyone but themselves?

Are you opposed to living in the real world? Are you against your actions having consequences? Do you live to blame other people for your own faults and failings? Do the real abilities and accomplishments of others fill you with jealousy and rage? Are you so special that the world owes you a living? Are you a precious snowflake that all must admire? Are you happy and secure in your own talents and abilities and appreciative of others? Does Magical Thinking work for you? Do you think it would work for your kids?

Is it ridiculous to think that primitive humans, whose lives were “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short,” were still more grounded in reality than the politicians, intellectuals, and other talking heads who insist on one absurd foolishness after another?

It is a blessing to be middle class. No one worships you. You do not inspire fear, anxiety, or dread. Others will tell you the truth. And demand truth from you. We have our challenges to be sure. And the good news is that we are not surrounded by toadies lying to us about those challenges. Lucky you! Lucky me.

 

Traditional Planning Is Death Planning

Avoid Probate, Save Taxes, Get To Kids? And When You Die Broke, Drained By Long-Term Care, Probate Is Irrelevant

Traditional estate planning is supposed to avoid probate, save taxes, and dump your leftover stuff on your beneficiaries. After you die. Nobody cares what happens to you while you are alive. How does that help anyone? Stupid.

Traditional estate planning fails because the overwhelming majority of us will need long-term skilled care. 70% of us. For an average of 3 years. And we will go broke paying for it.

Is it surprising that thousands of recreation properties: cottages, cabins, hunting land, are lost to pay for long-term care? Why is your estate planner hurting you and your family? It is evil intent? Or stupidity?

LifePlanning™ defeats Nursing Home Poverty. Keep your stuff. Get the care you have already paid for. Good for you. Good for your family. Good example for society.

When my mother suffered from the dementia which led to her death, over 10 years ago, their estate plan preserved their lifesavings. Mom’s months in the nursing home did not mean Dad’s impoverishment. Dad spent the last years with security and peace of mind.

Is Now A Bad Time For A Real Solution?

Perhaps you think you already have an answer to this problem. Maybe you do not see this as a problem at all. It is possible that you do not believe in the passage of time or its effects on you.

Peace of mind and financial security are waiting for everyone who practices LifePlanning™. You know that peace only begins with financial security. Are legal documents the most important? Is avoiding probate the best you can do for yourself or your loved ones? Is family about inheritance? Or are these things only significant to support the foundation of your family?

Do you think finding the best care is easy? Do you want to get lost in the overwhelming flood of claims and promises? Or would you like straight answers?

Well, here you are. Now you know. No excuses. Get the information, insight, inspiration. It is your turn. Ignore the message? Invite poverty? Or get the freely offered information. To make wise decisions. For you. For your loved ones.

The LifePlan™ Workshop has been the first step on the path to security and peace for thousands of families. Why not your family?

NO POVERTY. NO CHARITY. NO WASTE.
It is not chance. It is choice. Your choice.

Get Information Now. (800) 317-2812

How Did It All Go So Wrong, So Quickly?

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I’m As Mad As Hell And I’m Not Going To Take This Anymore!

—Howard Beale, Network, 1976

We’re Not Gonna Take It, No, We Ain’t Gonna Take It, We’re Not Gonna Take It Anymore!

—Dee Snider, Twisted Sister, 1984

USA! USA! USA!

It was not that long ago. A year or so? America was recovering from the COVID. Economic growth was rebounding. Interest rates continued at historic low levels. Minimal inflation. Energy affordable and secure. Americans doing what Americans do. Getting on with it. Making the best of the situation. Recovering.

Remember before-COVID? Best economy ever for working Americans of all ages and racial groups. Record employment. At the highest real wages in history.

COVID and the response to the pandemic was a body blow. Confronted with a virus of mysterious origin. COVID deaths were 90+% among older folks with other ailments but affected us all. Lockdowns, economic paralysis, “No gardening for you!”.

Yet there was some desperate pride in adversity. Frontline healthcare workers’ extraordinary courageous efforts. Army field hospitals established overnight in Central Park. Navy hospital ships designed to treat battle-wounded soldiers converted at incredible speed to COVID treatment. Car factories suddenly manufacturing complex ventilators. Personal Protection Equipment production ramped up. Scientific research and vaccine development at “warp speed”.

Some sought political advantage. Blame Game. Extraordinary stresses resulted from lockdowns, masking, different therapeutic and preventive approaches to dealing with the pandemic. Some violence was excused. Other violence exaggerated and hysterically condemned. Rules for thee, but not for me? Raise your hand if you are surprised by politicians’ hypocrisy. Me neither.

And yet. Despite all the blame-gaming. Whatever your personal politics. Whomever you think is at fault. Let’s look over the edge of this foxhole. Aren’t there are some undeniable realities, some inconvenient truths?

Inflation is at 40-year highs. And getting worse.

Interest rates doubling, tripling. Home ownership out of reach. What do you think higher interest rates will do to the deficit?
Energy dependence is our future. America pleads with oil potentates who refuse our President’s phone calls and verbally abuse his envoys. “Strategic Petroleum Reserve” is pumped out to temporarily mask reality.

Crime and murder rates are skyrocketing back to the bad old days. Carnage in the streets.

Economic gains erased. Recession talk is back. Recession reality about to bite. Stagnation looms.

No borders for the U.S. Millions already crossed over. Given a joke legal document. And a cell phone. And a ticket to your town. To compete with you and your neighbors.

America is on edge. Agitated and anxious. Withdrawn and passive. Contradictory emotions and impulses. Remember Jimmy Carter? Malaise? Anything feel familiar nowadays?

How did we get here? Where do we go now?

Russia Russia Russia

Early 2022. Russia’s main rival (that’s us!) dazed and confused. Some American politicians and partisans credit Russia with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men. Russia chooses America’s president. Some believed this. Others said it for political advantage.

Russia riding high. Europe, with fresh America approval, agreed to new pipelines from Russian oil and gas fields. Europe cast away its independence. Europe invites the Russian boot upon its neck.

Russia’s Chief Crime Boss believed the American politicians. And the American newspapers. And his generals. Russian Chief Crime Boss thought he was really something. Also thought he had a real military.

Chief Crime Boss thought, “Now’s the time!” And invaded another country. Threatens others.

How’s that working out? Tens of thousands of dead or missing Russian soldiers. Thousands of dead Ukrainians. Billions of destroyed civilian and military property. Sunk ships. Millions of wrecked dreams. Years of effort demolished overnight with artillery shells, missiles, and bombs. Medieval brutality. Standard Operating Procedure for Russia, from czarist times to the time you read this. No surprise to anyone familiar with any ancient or modern Russian military adventure.

But Europe has had enough. Petroleum extortion blackmail is okay but killing people and breaking things… too much!

Henchmen of Chief Russian Crime Boss lied to him. Military was for show, not go. Crime Boss losing. But Crime Boss can never lose. Now Chief Russian Crime Boss threatens nuclear weapons.

How did this happen? What now?

USA vs Russia

There is no easy way out. No effortless solutions. We are past that now. Yet there is hope. America still has Americans. People who do not like being lied to. People who want to say what they want to say. We are a talkative bunch. We do not like to be shut up. We like to irritate our betters. We like to shake things up. That is what the First Amendment is all about.

Russia has the Russian system. Shut up or die. Shut up and die. No way out. No Exit. No solution when your country is run by a Chief Crime Boss and his henchmen. For as long as the Crime Boss lives. History provides countless examples. Napoleon: France. Hitler: Germany. Idi Amin: Uganda. Pol Pot: Cambodia. Franco: Spain.

Sadly, some Americans like the Russian Way. Some Americans are afraid of other people talking. So afraid that the government is setting up a “Disinformation Governance Board” staffed by political appointees. To govern “Disinformation”? Who decides which information is true blue, all-American, reliable, sanctified, and Government- Approved Information? Who decides which is evil, bad, horrible, no-good Disinformation? How can anything like this be consistent with the First Amendment? Can it be reconciled? Of course not.

Fortunately, many American immigrants seem to understand the importance of free discourse better than some of us born here. One immigrant, naturalized American has even spent some of his own money to buy a communications company. He promises to make it available to all. We shall see.

And that is the difference. We have our troubles, but the American Way of free speech, without fear or favor, will eventually enable us to solve our problems. If we continue to believe and act as Americans.

This is not a new issue with us. About a hundred years ago, in Whitney v. California, 274 U.S. 357 (1927), the Supreme Court upheld a conviction for dangerous speech. Forty years later, the Court, in Brandenburg v. Ohio, 395 U.S. 444 (1969), overruled that precedent and forcefully upheld free speech under the First Amendment.

Who wants to turn the clock back? Who wants to suppress, prosecute, and imprison their fellow Americans for speaking on political issues? Why do they fear talk? Are their ideas so weak? Do they have no confidence in their fellow citizens? Are they so smart that no one else need express any thought? Who are these people? Why do they reject the American Way and embrace the Russian Way?

Although it appears nowhere in his writings, Winston Churchill is often credited with saying:

You can always count on Americans to do the right thing – after they’ve tried everything else.

The Russian Way leads to death and destruction. The American Way leads to disagreement, discomfort, annoyance, and a better future and outcome for us all. We tried a mild variation on the Russian Way. And threw it out. Let’s stick to the American Way!

Is Now A Bad Time For A True Estate Planning Solution?

LifePlanning™ Is A Real Solution Traditional estate planning is concerned with avoiding probate, saving taxes, and dumping your leftover stuff on your beneficiaries.

After you die. Nobody cares what happens to you while you are alive. How does that help anyone? Stupid.

Traditional estate planning fails because the overwhelming majority of us will need long- term skilled care. 70% of us. For an average of 3 years. And we will go broke paying for it.

Is it surprising that thousands of recreation properties: cottages, cabins, hunting land, are lost to pay for long-term care? Why is your estate planner hurting you and your family? It is evil intent? Or stupidity?

LifePlanning™ defeats Nursing Home Poverty. Keep your stuff. Get the care you have already paid for. Good for you. Good for your family. Good example for society.

When my mother suffered from the dementia which led to her death, over 10 years ago, their estate plan preserved their lifesavings. Mom’s months in the nursing home did not mean Dad’s impoverishment. Dad spent the last years with security and peace of mind.

Perhaps you think you already have an answer to this problem. Maybe you do not see this as a problem at all. It is possible that you do not believe in the passage of time or its effects on you.

Peace of mind and financial security are waiting for everyone who practices LifePlanning™. You know that peace only begins with financial security. Are legal documents the most important? Is avoiding probate the best you can do for yourself or your loved ones? Is family about inheritance? Or are these things only significant to support the foundation of your family?

Do you think finding the best care is easy? Do you want to get lost in the overwhelming flood of claims and promises? Or would you like straight answers?

Well, here you are. Now you know. No excuses. Get the information, insight, inspiration. It is your turn. Ignore the message? Invite poverty? Or get the freely offered information. To make wise decisions. For you. For your loved ones.

The LifePlan™ Workshop has been the first step on the path to security and peace for thousands of families. Why not your family?

NO POVERTY. NO CHARITY. NO WASTE.
It is not chance. It is choice. Your choice.

Get Information Now. (800) 317-2812

“Golden Age” or “Hell In A Hand Basket”?

Download the print version

A Confederacy Of Dunces?
Are The “Best And Brightest” In Charge?
Did We Elect The Most Arrogant and Stupid?

Five Basic Laws of Human Stupidity

Setting New Records For Pitiful Stupidity?

Every day in every way, we are getting better and better! Who believes that? You try and try, but isn’t it getting more and more difficult to keep the faith? Just look around. Or in a grocery store. Or any kind of store. We are #1! Setting records every week… ain’t it grand?

BASIC PRICE INFLATION. In March 2022, the United States set a 40-year record high for inflation. April 2022 says, “Hold my beer.” And catapults past March, with a new 40-year record high. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Let’s blame Russia.

(Don’t you just love this chart which pretends you can ignore food and energy prices? Excellent!)

cpi change

MORTGAGE INTEREST RATES. Not to be outdone, mortgage interest rates also jumped to new highs. The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, known to its friends as “Freddie Mac,” proudly proclaims prodigious price proliferation. “Well done, Freddie!” say us. You want to buy a house? Ha ha ha. Renting is good.

freddie mac

FEDERAL FERTILIZER FRACAS. Is it ridiculous to observe that large quantities of cow-based organic fertilizer are produced by government operations? Do you doubt that the highest level of government work product consists primarily of bull-based fertilizer, also known as “BS”? Verily, the highest praise from one bureaucrat to another: “That is total BS!” How can there be a fertilizer shortage with all this manure and BS? Our “public servants” find the way.

BONUS QUESTION: Will skyrocketing fuel and fertilizer costs reduce food prices? What do you think? Asking for a friend…

fertilizer price index

IT AIN’T JUST FERTILIZER. Is it crazy to think that raw material costs have something to do with store prices? Do manufacturers get everything for free? Is the cost of steel and rubber and aluminum and a whole bunch of other stuff irrelevant to the price of your new car?

ppi 12 month change

Let’s look at overall raw material costs. Remember that store prices are up 8.5%. How about raw material prices? Any good news there? Nope. Those prices are up 11.2%. Unexpectedly.

RUSSIAN INVASION. Everybody feel bad for murderous thieving Russian crime boss. Crime boss unhappy because neighborhood victims no want murder or stealing no more.

Is good club in neighborhood. Nice neighborhood people make good club so murderous Russian crime boss no murder them and steal stuff. But Russian crime boss like murder and steal. Sad now.

Other neighborhood folks name Sweden and Finland want join good club. Russian crime boss no like that idea! So, Sweden and Finland not join good club so Russian crime boss not get very sad then start murdering and stealing again.

Nobody to murder or steal from. Russian crime boss sad, so sad. And bored. Russian crime boss get angry. Say no one even think about join good club. Then Russian crime boss start murder and steal from neighbor.

Sweden and Finland see Russian crime boss murder and steal. Sweden and Finland now say, “Hmmm, maybe good time join good club.”

Russian crime boss get many Russians killed. Russian crime boss lose lots of Russian stuff. Russian crime boss get many neighbor people killed. Russian crime boss wreck lots of neighbor’s stuff. [By the way, there are very few Russians healthy and young enough for military service. And this idiot is feeding them wholesale into a meat grinder. That’s how stupid he is.]

Russian crime boss gets nothing good, loses lots. Russian crime boss neighbor gets nothing good, loses lots.

No good. All bad. Very bad.

Russian crime boss evil, yes. Very evil. Russian crime boss worse than evil. Russian crime boss stupid.

“Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.”

—Robert J. Hanlon, Hanlon’s Razor, 1980

The Five Basic Laws Of Human Stupidity

Carlo M. Cipolla stated that there are 5 basic laws of Human Stupidity that help to explain the world around us. Do politicians intend to harm us? Are they doing it on purpose? Some are, probably, but most are just stupid. They actually believe that creating more money will cure inflation. Well.

Last week we visited the first 3 of Cipolla’s Laws:

The First Basic Law Of Human Stupidity

Always And Inevitably Everyone Underestimates The Number Of Stupid Individuals In Circulation.
There are more stupid people hanging around that you can possibly imagine.

The Second Basic Law Of Human Stupidity

The Probability That A Certain Person Be Stupid Is Independent Of Any Other Characteristic Of That Person.
Rich people, poor people, Harvard graduates, elementary school dropouts, artists, butchers, bakers, candlestick makers, lawyers, doctors, politicians. All are equally, proportionately, stupid.

The Third and Golden Basic Law Of Human Stupidity

A Stupid Person Is A Person Who Causes Losses To Another Person Or To A Group Of Persons While Himself Deriving No Gain And Even Possibly Incurring Losses.

BANDIT. It is possible to be an almost intelligent bandit. The bandit always harms others. Bandits are evil. But not necessarily stupid. An intelligent evil bandit steals your car. And keeps your car. You are down a whole automobile. Bandit is up by an automobile. You lose. Bandit gains. Gains and losses balance. The whole is not worse off, even though evil stuff happened.

Most bandits are not intelligent. Most bandits are stupid. Most bandits cause far more harm to you than they benefit themselves. Bandit carjacks your car. Shoots you. You lose automobile, pancreas, kidney, and part of your left lung. You are way way down. Bandit does not get to keep stolen car. Bandit sells for cheap to chop shop. Bandit is now Public Enemy #1. Bandit gets caught, goes to jail. Bad things happen.

Bandit hurts you and hurts self. Stupid.

BANDIT POLITICIAN. Politician wants to be liked. Pumps up trilllions of money from nowhere. Gives to friends. Lots of friends. Would print up and give away even more, but spoilsports say “NO!”. Politician sad.

Price inflation takes away more money than Politician gave to friends. Friends now unhappy. Much more unhappy than before. Cannot buy house. Cannot go on vacation. Cannot buy food.

Politician now unliked by all. Popularity in the toilet. Most people say “Big Stinker!”. Politician loses. Friends lose. Everybody loses.

Politician hurts you and hurts self. Stupid.

The Fourth Basic Law Of Human Stupidity

Non-Stupid People Always Underestimate The Damaging Power Of Stupid Individuals. In Particular Non-Stupid People Constantly Forget That At All Times And Places And Under Any Circumstances To Deal And/Or Associate With Stupid People Always Turns Out To Be A Costly Mistake.

Did you think Russia would be threatening thermonuclear war against Sweden and Finland (and the rest of us) in the Spring of 2022? Did you guess that the United States would be fighting a land war in Europe right about now? Did you foresee the highest inflation rates in 40 years? Did your crystal ball foretell that testicle’ed humans would be celebrated for beating uterus’ed humans in athletic contests? Did you predict that the Massachusetts Institute of Technology would give up the most effective screening tests available to admit unqualified students who flunked out at astounding rates? And so on and so on and so on…

Stupid people endanger us all. With nuclear war. And conventional war. Murder. Destruction. And the acceptance of preposterous positions that no one with a grain of common sense could countenance.

As George Orwell once said:

“Some ideas are so stupid that only intellectuals believe them.”

The Fifth Basic Law Of Human Stupidity

A Stupid Person Is The Most Dangerous Type Of Person

Traditional Planning Is Stupid Planning

Traditional Planning Is Dangerous To You And Your Family

Stupid people are unpredictable. Totally and completely unpredictable. You cannot protect yourself, or any part of what you value, from the stupid person.

For example, you can calculate how a bandit will operate. An “intelligent” bandit wants your stuff. If you give the “intelligent” bandit your stuff, the bandit will (probably) not harm you further. It is evil. You have lost. But you live another day.

Stupid bandits shoot you. You lose. They wind up in a bad place. Everybody loses. See, Ukraine. Intelligent people are quite predictable.

Intelligent people see what is good for them. You can understand why they want what is good for them. Intelligent people do not want to hurt you, because you can benefit them again in the future. Also you get good things from the intelligent person. Cooperation! Even competitive cooperation, where both persons actively and intelligently strive for advantage, without gratuitously harming the other. What a wonderful thing!

Middle class folks may be proportionally as stupid as any other groups. But, middle class people act more intelligently than any other group. Murderous thieving Russian crime bosses, grifting politicians, overbearing tech oligarchs, and other persons in positions of power are tolerated because of their power. They do not hear the truth because they are feared.

Who fears you? Who lies to you rather than tell you the truth because of your awesome, terrible power? Nobody.

Powerful People are just as stupid as we are. But we get better information than the Powerful People who are surrounded by fear-ridden toadies. Do you want to be the one who tells murderous thieving Russian crime boss that his big missile boat was blown up? Me neither.

Stupid Powerful People unpredictably, do harmful things that hurt all of us and benefit them not at all.

Thank God that you are middle class. You have the power to do good. And nobody lies to you out of fear.

Traditional Planning Is Stupid Planning

Traditional Planning Is Dangerous To You And Your Family

Traditional estate planning is concerned with avoiding probate, saving taxes, and dumping your leftover stuff on your beneficiaries. After you die. Nobody cares what happens to you while you are alive. How does that help anyone? Stupid.

Traditional estate planning fails because the overwhelming majority of us will need long-term skilled care. 70% of us. For an average of 3 years. And we will go broke paying for it.

Is it surprising that thousands of recreation properties: cottages, cabins, hunting land, are lost to pay for long-term care? Why is your estate planner hurting you and your family? It is evil intent? Or stupidity?

LifePlanning™ defeats Nursing Home Poverty. Keep your stuff. Get the care you have already paid for. Good for you. Good for your family. Good example for society.

When my mother suffered from the dementia which led to her death, over 10 years ago, their estate plan preserved their lifesavings. Mom’s months in the nursing home did not mean Dad’s impoverishment. Dad spent the last years with security and peace of mind.

Is Now A Bad Time For A Real Solution?

Perhaps you think you already have an answer to this problem. Maybe you do not see this as a problem at all. It is possible that you do not believe in the passage of time or its effects on you.

Peace of mind and financial security are waiting for everyone who practices LifePlanning™. You know that peace only begins with financial security. Are legal documents the most important? Is avoiding probate the best you can do for yourself or your loved ones? Is family about inheritance? Or are these things only significant to support the foundation of your family?

Do you think finding the best care is easy? Do you want to get lost in the overwhelming flood of claims and promises? Or would you like straight answers?

Well, here you are. Now you know. No excuses. Get the information, insight, inspiration. It is your turn. Ignore the message? Invite poverty? Or get the freely offered information. To make wise decisions. For you. For your loved ones.

The LifePlan™ Workshop has been the first step on the path to security and peace for thousands of families. Why not your family?

No Poverty. No Charity. No Waste.

It is not chance. It is choice. Your choice.
Get Information Now. (800) 317-2812

Why Only Rich Kids At The Lake?

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Whatever Happened To The Family Cottage/Cabin/Hunting Land?
A Little Bit Of Smarts, A Future Of Golden Memories

Birds Do It, Bees Do It, Even Educated Fleas Do It
Let’s Do It! Let’s Go To The Lake!

—Sincere Apologies to Cole Porter

In uncivilized countries, such as those in Europe and Asia, new workers start out with 6 weeks of mandatory vacation (which they confusingly call “holiday”). Not including public holidays (which they call “festivals” or something). What do these folks do with such excessive periods of sloth and inactivity? Who knows? Who cares?

In America, on the other hand, we have weekends. And summer! And a week or two of “vacation”. And being Americans, we do not wish to waste this time. If Americans were as sedentary and unambitious as our global neighbors, we could spend this time in sidewalk cafés, art museums and reading. Improving our minds. Getting culture. Ghastly stuff. “Deliver us O Lord, we pray…”

Unlike our fellow travelers on Spaceship Earth, all true Americans find home improvement projects irresistible. Paint the walls. Build a deck. Plant a garden. Cut the grass. Replace, polish, fix or improve whatever has not been recently replaced, polished, fixed or improved. Pitiful, benighted foreigners have foreign places with palaces, temples, pagodas, and castles. Blessed, muscular Americans have Lowe’s, Harbor Freight, and Home Depot. Seems like an easy choice.

Sooner or later, though, all true Americans feel the restless urge to get out of Dodge, at least on the weekends. In the summertime. Or hunting season. We ran out of things to improve around the house. The deer ate all the tomato plants. It’s too hot. We were bored. So we got another house. In God’s country!

In the American Tradition, the second home could be a house. Or single wide. Perhaps a shack with no indoor plumbing or insulation. On a 40 foot lot. At the lake, at the shore, in the woods, somewhere other than here. From Idlewild in Lake County to Beaver Island in Lake Michigan, American middle class workers by the thousands filled the developments which sprang up around every lake, pond, and ditch within driving distance. And because the lake wasn’t big enough, we dug canals, dammed creeks, and otherwise expanded our Water Wonderland. Magnificent! And not only lakes, but the woods filled with weekend escapes too! Glorious!

At grandmother’s cottage many of us learned to swim and fish. Caught tadpoles and watched them grow to frogs. Searched for salamanders under logs and rocks. Got mosquito bites and poison ivy. Fell in the mud. Played in the sand. Went ice-fishing in the winter. Campfires on the shore. Remember?

Whatever happened to that place? How much would it cost to buy something similar today? Why did we get rid of it? Too bad our kids and grandkids won’t have the experiences we did. Or the memories. At least they have iPads.

The Family Cottage LifeCycle

To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven:
2 A time to be born, And a time to die; 6 A time to gain, And a time to lose;
A time to keep,
And a time to throw away;

—Ecclesiastes 3:1-2,6

Is it a ridiculous idea that there is a lifecycle to family cottages and recreation properties? There is a routine evolution in the relationship between family and property. Is it a bad idea to recognize the lifecycle and work with it? Are you against preserving unique opportunities for your family?

The Family Cottage Lifecycle:
1. Young Child: Best. Place. Ever!
2. Teenager: So stupid. Boring. Smells funny.
3. Young Adult: My life is busy. I have no time for that place. If I inherit a share, I’m selling it… I need money for tuition/new car/down payment/taxes…
4. Parent of Young Child: Why did we ever sell the cottage? We can’t even afford to rent at the lake today.
5. Older and Wiser: If I ever get the opportunity, I won’t make that mistake again.

We all pass through seasons in our lives. As we gain experience, some important-seeming situations will fade to nothing. Other events will become more meaningful as time goes by. Wisdom and perspective cannot be taught, only learned. Growing up is the tuition that must be paid for insight.

Are long-term decisions best left to the youngest, least- experienced folks? Is it wrong for those with proven perception and prudence to plan for the long-term? Do you sacrifice long term gain for short term pleasure?

Estate Planning Done Wrong
Two Estate Planning Blunders That Guarantee Failure

Traditional estate planning, if it has any purpose at all, dumps your leftover stuff on your beneficiaries. After you die. Don’t much care what happens to you while you are alive.

Traditional estate planning fails because the overwhelming majority of us will need long-term skilled care. 70% of us. For an average of 3 years. And we will go broke paying for it.

Is it surprising that thousands of recreation properties: cottages, cabins, hunting land, are lost to pay for long- term care?

LifePlanning™ defeats Nursing Home Poverty. Keep your stuff. Get the care you have already paid for.

LifePlanning™ means you do not have to sell the cottage and “spend down” the proceeds. Now what to do with the recreational property?

Traditional estate planning offers two options:
1. Circular Firing Squad or Last Man Standing
2. The Corporate Model or Last One Out is a Rotten Egg

Circular Firing Squad is easy, cheap and disastrous.

The Corporate Model is not easy, not cheap, and not as disastrous.

Circular Firing Squad

Putting all the kids “on the deed” is the circular firing squad. It is the easiest, cheapest, most popular, and worst possible way to leave recreation property to kids.

“Last Man Standing” is the most common Circular Firing Squad method. This involves naming all of the children or other beneficiaries as Joint Tenants with full Rights of Survivorship (JTWROS) on the deed. As joint tenants with rights of survivorship, the last living person owns the entire property. Did you plan to disinherit most of the family?

JTWROS deeds also deny Medicaid benefits to your kids and their spouses. Medicaid treats their share as if it was cash in the bank. But it is NOT cash in the bank, it is a fractional interest that is totally locked up in the property. And now your kids are disqualified from Medicaid. Whoops!

But that is not the worst. JTWROS deeds have no rules. Other than each person can fully use the property without the others’ permission. Congratulations! Your child is the new president of the Pagan Assassins Mud Wrestling Team – Australian Rules. Your child invites the entire 32 member, mixed gender team to the cottage. On the 4th of July. Your child has never paid their share of the taxes, utilities or maintenance. When the Pagan Assassins leave, the place is a bloody shambles. And there is nothing the other kids can do about it. In fact, since you signed a standard, immediately effective, JTWROS deed, there is nothing YOU can do about it. Not even dead yet and already you have lost control of your property. Did you know that when you signed on for this quick and easy solution?

Ladybird to the Rescue? You may have used a ladybird or transfer on death deed to create this living hell. Good News! At least the suffering will not begin until after you have passed on to your reward. Then the JTWROS takes effect and we are off to the races.

You may also create a Circular Firing Squad using a “Tenants in Common” deed. The TIC deed gives individual shares to each child while you retain a share. Unlike JTWROS, each child owns a piece that they can give to the grandkids. Or sell to the Pagan Assassins. Just as with JTWROS, there are no rules.

Did I mention that each Circular Firing Squad method leaves the other kids open to liability claims from the unsanctioned “activities”? And it does no good for them to abandon the property, now they can be prosecuted for housing code violations. And please! Do not get me started on that methamphetamine lab in the basement. Or the fentanyl stockpile in the shed. Oh my!

If you are going to create a Circular Firing Squad, use the TIC method. If they all hate each other enough, they can go to probate court, sue one another, and force a sale. Thanks Mom! Thanks Dad! Great planning!

The Corporate Model: Last One Out Is A Rotten Egg

Do you really want to leave stuff to the kids without any rules? Is blunt force trauma the best way to make sure your grandkids will learn how to swim at the lake? Do you want to empower one of your kids to hold the others hostage?

There are many permutations of the Corporate Model. Most use a limited liability company to hold the real estate and give shares to the kids. And there are rules. And governing provisions. And limited liability for the kids. Still have that pesky Medicaid problem with disqualification, but I guess you cannot have everything.

A general rule in a corporate structure is that minority members can sell their shares and get out. The usual Cottage LLC requires the other members to buy out the one who wants to sell. And if they do not… say hello to the Pagan Assassins.

Doesn’t seem like such a big deal. One kid wants to move to the Himalayas and commune with the mountain spirits. That kid is not planning to come back. Or perhaps another kid wants his money to buy a car. The cottage does not seem so important right now. The problem is not one of law. The buyout provisions are clear and enforceable.

The problem is that as soon as one kid wants out, so do the rest. The other kids don’t want to pay, frequently they are not able to pay. It was a blessing to have had the cottage so long, but now it must go. Over and over again, if one kid wants out, they all do. Last one out is a rotten egg!

The Corporate Model fails because it depends on the continued unanimous support of all the family members. The chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

What if there were no links? What if no individual could torpedo the entire family’s legacy?

The National Park Model: Recipe For Success

There is nothing so American as our national parks. The scenery and the wildlife are native. The fundamental idea behind the parks is native. It is, in brief, that the country belongs to the people, that it is in process of making for the enrichment of the lives of all of us. The parks stand as the outward symbol of the great human principle.

—Franklin D. Roosevelt

You will never go to Yosemite National Park. You have Yosemite-phobia. And a doctor’s note to prove it. Since you will never go to Yosemite, you write to the National Park Service. You demand your share of the value of Yosemite. Cash me out! Do you expect a response?

Roosevelt’s “fundamental idea” is that the national parks belong to everyone, down through the generations. The big idea is simple: Preserve it now or lose it forever.

Isn’t that the idea behind leaving the family cottage to the family? Could you afford, right now, to purchase your cottage, cabin, hunting land? Of course not! Lake Michigan properties that sold in the $20-30,000 range in the 60’s and 70’s are in the millions now. If you can find one. And the same is true of smaller lakes. The wild price inflation is less for hunting land, but still forbidding.

At the turn of the last century, a few visionaries like Teddy Roosevelt and John Muir saw that without national preservation efforts, irreplaceable natural treasures would be lost. In other countries, the rich and the royal preserved land for their own benefit. In America, we did it for all of us. And our descendants.

The National Park Model is a new way of looking at your cottage or recreational property. You are making a promise to your future family that short-term considerations will not outweigh long term goals.

The basic principles are straightforward and are familiar to anyone who has ever traveled or camped in a national, state or local park:

1. Rules for Use. Family members are stewards of a gift. Rules for use and care will be clear and must be observed. There will be an evenhanded system for allocating the available space among various family members.
2. Financial Responsibility. Budgets will be prepared, including all taxes, utilities, insurance and sinking funds for all capital improvements, including the roof, plumbing, fixtures and utilities. Present and future expenses will be identified and incorporated.
3. Nobody Rides for Free. You can’t get in a Park without a sticker to pay for the road. You can’t stay overnight without paying for your campsite. You can’t stay at the Cottage without paying the necessary charge to cover your share of the budget. In advance.

There are other provisions that allow for limited liability and definition of membership. These can all be tailored to the specific needs of individual families.

On March 1, 1872, President Ulysses S. Grant created Yellowstone as the first national park in the United States and the world. For over 150 years, Yellowstone has been preserved and available to all Americans.

Is it ridiculous to think that the same concepts that worked for Yellowstone for the last 150 years could preserve your family’s heritage too? Are you against providing that sort of experience to your children, grandchildren, and generations yet unborn?

If not you, who? If not now, when?
Is Now A Bad Time For Real Solutions?

Does anyone on this earth have all the answers? Does that mean we should give up seeking the best answers we can find? Perhaps you already have an answer to this problem. Maybe you do not see this as a problem at all. Why not find out? Is now a bad time to find out how to obtain security for yourself? And your family?

Peace of mind and financial security are waiting for everyone who practices LifePlanning™ You know that peace only begins with financial security. Are legal documents the most important? Is avoiding probate the best you can do for yourself or your loved ones? Is family about inheritance? Or are these things only significant to support the foundation of your family?

Do you think finding the best care is easy? Do you want to get lost in the overwhelming flood of claims and promises? Or would you like straight answers?

Well, here you are. Now you know. No excuses. Get the information, insight, inspiration. It is your turn. Ignore the message? Invite poverty? Or get the freely offered information. To make wise decisions. For you. For your loved ones.

The LifePlan™ Workshop has been the first step on the path to security and peace for thousands of families. Why not your family?

NO POVERTY. NO CHARITY. NO WASTE.
It is not chance. It is choice. Your choice.

Get Information Now. (800) 317-2812

The Covid Party Is Over… Are You Ready For The Hangover?

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Trillions Of Deficit Dollars, Years Of Ridiculous Rules

Child Victims: Speech Pathology, Suicide, Isolation

If You Call The Tune, Do You Have To Pay The Piper?

Ever go to Florida in the winter? Or just remember that first warm day of spring when you simply had to go to The Lake. Once upon a winter dreary, while you shivered weak and weary… But now it’s bright sunny summer sunshine! Pull on your bathing suit… who needs a shirt? Sunscreen? That’s for July! Stretch out on the sand… ahhh! Time for a nap… so nice!

Six hours later… Red as that lobster you had for lunch. Burnt to a tender pink crisp. You’re gonna need an ocean… of Solarcaine lotion. (If you are melaninically endowed and cannot personally relate to this scenario, ask a friend who is not so fortunate.)

Ever have a few too many? Maybe your 18th birthday when you were finally “legal”. Perhaps New Year’s Eve. Last Saturday night? Gosh that was fun! You were the life of the party. Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends! Until closing time. You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here.

Next morning… the Russian Army has been camping out on your tongue. Wearing felt boots. Some S.O.B. replaced your brain with hot sand.

Then substituted poached eggs for your eyeballs. Why can’t you feel your legs? What is that awful smell? Is there Alka-Seltzer in the house?!

Saturday and your kid is finally moving out. To their own home/apartment/cave/who really cares? You are helping. Is it parental pride and love? Or do you just want to make sure? Hard to say. But you are happy to tote that barge, lift that bale, carry that couch, relocate that refrigerator.

Sunday… hey, not so bad, there’s life in the old dog yet. Monday… you are immobilized. Egyptians carved on pyramid walls are more flexible than you. Everything hurts and nothing works. All at the same time. There’s not enough ibuprofen. In the world.

Back when we were young, ignorant, idiotic, immature, woke, we could kid ourselves that our actions had no lasting consequences. Do you still believe that? Chickens never come home to roost?

Truth Or Consequences

Do you remember the pre-COVID time? Was it that long ago? Things were different then.

You know that governments have always printed phony fiat money. That is what politicians do. And it is so easy. But once there was a sense of proportion. The politicians would not go “too far.”

And then COVID said, “You can go too far if you want to!” That is why government created trillions of ersatz dollars. Outright thieves stole billions through naked fraud. Ordinary working folks learned too. You can get more money staying home than working. Brilliant! Businesses got billions more in free “loans” and tax credits. Billions more were loaned to feeble firms on skimpy security at insignificant interest rates for 30 years. Repayment deferred for the first 24 months.

Did you think this government geyser of bogus bucks would Build Back Better? Did you think prodigal printing of demon dollars would eliminate the emergency? Did you enthusiastically endorse the Washington wizards who cooked up this cockamamie crapfest?

Small businesses lost and gone forever. Dreadful sorry, Clementine. More small businesses reduced to financial zombies, hooked on government hand- outs, staggering, ready to collapse. Inflation the highest in 40 years. Young children, deprived of ordinary human contact, suffering from speech pathologies at unprecedented rates. Teen suicide more deadly than teen COVID.

TRUTH: Bizarrely, some folks want to let the “good” times roll on. Having already spent trillions of your grandchildren’s dollars on “infrastructure” (a word which means whatever they want it to mean), they want more. They always want more.

CONSEQUENCE: Inflation is the highest in 40 years. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics:

consumer price index chart selected categories

TRUTH: Some folks want to scare you into believing that COVID kills kids. Not true now. Never been true. COVID is the Elder Plague. If you are over 70, it can be a killer. Your Elder Law Reporter has been saying so for years. All the reliable, scientific, government-approved information has been consistent on this point.

CONSEQUENCE: Children subjected to extreme, debilitating restrictions based on fear, not fact. And now that the public opinion polls are turning against them, power-grabbing politicians have suddenly discovered science. They are running away from their own rules. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

covid weekly cases and deaths

TRUTH: Children need to interact with one another to grow up healthy and smart. Shutting classrooms and masking faces deprives kids of the experiences they need to live good, productive, satisfying lives. Or even speak clearly.

CONSEQUENCE: “We’ve seen a 364% patient increase in patient referrals of babies and toddlers from pediatricians and parents,” said Jaclyn Theek, a clinic director and speech-language pathologist at the Speech and Learning Institute in North Palm Beach, Florida.

Theek said that during this pandemic, her speech therapy clinic has seen an enormous shift in the ages of its patients. Before the pandemic, only 5% of patients were babies and toddlers, while today it’s soared to 20%. Many parents call it “COVID- delayed.” WPBF News, ABC 25.

What Does Any Of This Have To Do With LifePlanning™?

Remember supply and demand? What do you suppose happens if your supply of health care providers are burned out and quitting? And they are burned out and quitting, according to a U.S. National Institutes of Health study: Burnout in United States Healthcare Professionals: A Narrative Review.

Burnout has reached rampant levels among United States (US) healthcare professionals, with over one-half of physicians and one-third of nurses experiencing symptoms. The burnout epidemic is detrimental to patient care and may exacerbate the impending physician shortage.

Another study, by the Florida Atlantic University’s School of Nursing finds:

The survey reports that nearly 37 percent of nurses identify as being burned out, stressed and/ or overworked.
*** 29 percent of nurses say their desire to leave the profession is dramatically higher now versus pre-pandemic
*** 66 percent of nurses expressed some level of consideration to leave the profession, signaling long-term impacts on our health system post-pandemic.

Is it ridiculous to think that if you have fewer nurses, you would have to pay more to hire the nurses that are still available?

Have you ever wondered what a nursing home costs? Wonder no longer.

But does a nursing facility charge real people that much money? How would you like to get this bill in the mail?

And another the next month and for each month thereafter? Pandemic burn out, plus the “age wave” of Baby Boomers surging into long-term care facilities or requiring at-home care, means that these skyrocketing prices are not over yet.

State Of Michigan Admits Long-Term Care Costs Are Soaring

Each year, the State of Michigan, through its Bridges Eligibility Manual, tells us how much a month in a long-term care facility should cost. This year, the number is up almost 10%. Michigan believes that skilled nursing costs Nine Thousand Eight Hundred Eighty Dollars ($9880) each month.

How will you pay for that? How will you avoid nursing home poverty? How will you make sure caregivers get paid? How will you provide for the next generation? That is what LifePlanning™ is all about.

Is Now A Bad Time For A Real Solution?

Perhaps you already have all the answers. Maybe this is no problem at all. Possibly you do not believe in the passage of time.

Your habits and values have earned you peace of mind and financial security. LifePlanning™ is the easy part. You worked for the peace that only comes with financial security. What is most important, legal documents? Avoiding probate, is that the best you can do? Is family about inheritance? Or are the deeper things most significant?

Is any of this easy? Do you want to get lost in the overwhelming flood of claims and promises? Or would you like straight answers?

medical bill account summary

Well, here you are. Now you know. No excuses. Get the information, insight, inspiration. It is your turn. Ignore the message? Invite poverty? Or get the freely offered information. To make wise decisions. For you. For your loved ones.

The LifePlan™ Workshop has been the first step on the path to security and peace for thousands of families. Why not your family?

No Poverty. No Charity. No Waste.
It is not chance. It is choice. Your choice.

Get Information Now. (800) 317-2812

When You Absolutely Positively Have To Put It Off Until Some Other Time

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We Also Scream To Avoid Planning

Don’t worry, be happy
Ain’t got no cash, ain’t got no style
Ain’t got no gal to make you smile
Don’t worry, be happy
‘Cause when you worry your face will frown
And that will bring everybody down
So don’t worry, be happy
“Don’t Worry, Be Happy”

—Bobby McFerrin

Did Your Parents Raise A Sluggish Sloth Or A Competent Character?

When you get home at night, do you leave the lights off? Does the thrill of bumping into things, falling down the stairs, and stepping on awkward items appeal to your adventurous spirit? Do you favor a life of anxiety? Do you look forward to high blood pressure, poor digestion, experiencing that creepy feeling of dread? Are you opposed to happiness and contentment? Do you embrace chaos and upset? Or do you seek Peace of Mind®?

Would you be surprised to learn that there are two paths to Peace of Mind™? The first path involves effort, work, dedication, stick-to-it-iveness, dauntless spirit, reasonable focus on accomplishment. Path #1 is where you find volunteer firemen, blood donors, the folks you can count on.

More popular is Path #2. The second path requires ignoring your own obvious needs and the needs of those around you. Ignorance is Bliss! Stick your head in the sand. If you cannot see it, it cannot hurt you. Gee, I wonder if the crowds at those new marijuana dispensaries are on Path #1 or Path #2…

Unfortunately, you were brought up by folks who chose the first path. Work, love, dedication, achievement. All those uncomfortable things that get in the way of TV binge watching. Consuming YouTube cat videos. Absorbing bargains galore on the home shopping networks. Golly, your folks made it very difficult for you to live the sweet couch potato life.

How can you get beyond your inbred desire to deliver? Vanquish your drive to survive? Squash your sense of responsibility? Unraveling habits of a lifetime can be difficult, but, as they say, it’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but whether you can have your cake and eat it too!

Olympic athletes train for years to hone their skills to a razor edge of perfection. You have worked for years to reach your goals, raise your family, do a great job at work, and be a valued member of your church, community, team, euchre tournament. You are an Olympian of the American Dream. A Medal of middle-class Gold hangs from your neck. Your world celebrates!

But now the looming spectre of estate planning looms like a hideous hobgoblin. You feel an inner urge to get this done…see it through. Will power is not enough. Fanatical focus will fail. How can you run away from the dreadful demons of trusts, wills, and powers of attorney? Is resistance futile? Is an Estate Plan inevitable? How can you escape?

Super easy! Barely an inconvenience. With the following professional excuses, you can put off facing the facts almost indefinitely. You are welcome!

Warm Up To Provide Peak Performance

“Everyone Has The Will To Win But Very Few Have The Will To Prepare To Win.”

—Vince Lombardi

Olympians and professional football players getting ready for the “big game” share a secret. All elite athletes know that mental and physical preparation is key. Can you escape your future-planning responsibilities without focused training? Of course not!

Follow the protocol. Stand in front of a full-length mirror. Hands on hips. Throw your head back. Suck your gut in. Stick your chest out. Draw and deep breath, then…

Loudly And Firmly Proclaim These Statements Three (3) Times:

  • Only Nerds Want To Retire Comfortably
  • Financial Security Is Bad. And Impossible
  • I Want To Die Broke, Splurging My Last Nickels
  • On Long-Term Care
  • I Look Forward To Nursing Home Poverty
  • My Spouse Can Look Out For Herself. Or Himself.
  • My Kids Don’t Need Money And Would Waste Any Inheritance Anyway

Excellent! And now for a cleansing breath… Your body tingles. Your mind expands. You have looked forward all week to this installment. The moment of truth has arrived. Excellent

Excuses. Decisive Defenses. And now, Effective Evasions to frustrate and deflect any attempt at making you look ahead.

LifePlanning™ Is Unnecessary And A Total Waste Of Time & Money Because:

Firetrucks have sirens because loud noises are great! Whoever is yelling must be winning…
So let’s get loud. As follows:
Number One: Raise your voice and strongly state: “LifePlanning™ is Stupid, Superfluous, and a…”
Number Two: Quickly follow with one of these Negative Nuggets:

#10 … Waste Of Time Because It Is Overkill!

All I want is a simple will! All these fancy schmancy papers would be great for Thurston Howell the 3rd or maybe multimillionaire Bruce Wayne. You have to understand, we are working folks who managed to save a little. Paid off the house. Contributed to the 401(k). And here you are dumping all this confusing paperwork on us. Sure, I like to go deer hunting, never miss it. But you’re trying to get me on an African safari shooting elephants! Fishing for bluegill, perch, bass, and the occasional muskie is the best. But you want me to chase down the great white whale Moby Dick. Sorry! It is all just too much. Simple is best. Mom and Dad had a will. Gramma and Grampa had a will. And that’s fine by me!

Totally agree! Simple is best. That’s why you simply put blocks of ice in the icebox to keep your perishables from perishing. Newfangled refrigerators, who needs ‘em? Simple is best. That’s why you have always refused to have flush toilets in your house… ever hear of an outhouse that backed up? Ever need a plunger in a privy? Of course not. Who needs all that confusion? Besides, it is good for the kids to pump the handle when they want water… and we even brought the handpump into the kitchen… in my day it was out in the yard.

Yes, simple is best. Mr. Ford made the Model T in every color anyone could desire: black. Who needs windows on the sides, anyway? Some poor deluded folks actually have windows that go up and down. And cars that blow warm air around in the winter. And cool air in the summertime. Gosh that is just too much! Simple is best. Next thing you know, you’ll want special belts or something to protect passengers in a crash. Or balloons that pop out of nowhere so you don’t go through the windshield. That stuff is not for you! Simple is best.

Folks next door got this talking picture box. Like the movies, but at home. Almost as big as the movies. Just awful how confusing it is. Simple is best. Our 1935 Zenith Stratosphere 1000Z radio receiving set burnt out its tubes a few years ago. But it still looks good and besides, I couldn’t find Little Orphan Annie on the dial anymore. Simple is best.

And do not get started on modern medicine! With their highfalutin’ cardiac bypasses, pacemakers, cataract eye operations and penicillin. Humph. Lydia E. Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound was good enough for Granny and it’s good enough for me. Simple is best.

So let your friends buy cars with wind-up windows, air conditioning, air bags, crumple zones and upholstery that survives little kids. You don’t need a garbage disposal. Or indoor plumbing. Or an electrical refrigerator that makes ice cubes. Cell phones, cable boxes, streaming TV services, big screen TVs, flat screen TVs, gas stoves, microwave ovens, running water. So complex! You are very simple.

Are you against airbags in your car if it means your spouse doesn’t fly through the windshield? Are you against LifePlanning™ if it means your spouse is not left in nursing home poverty? Does it matter if you are the one going through the windshield? Left in poverty?

Are you opposed to indoor plumbing and central heat? Are you opposed to doing what must be done to get benefits that you value?

Albert Einstein was a very smart fellow. And he did not like things that were too confusing or complicated. And this is what he said:

Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.

Simple is good. But is it still good if you lose your savings, house, cottage, independence?

#11 … Waste Of Time Because I Will Spend It All Anyway!

Do you know anyone who goes to the payday lender? Anyone who heads to the casino as soon as their Social Security money shows up? How many people do you know that, as soon as they pay off one installment contract, run right out and get into another one? Can you imagine buying groceries on a credit card? Can you imagine buying groceries on a credit card when you don’t pay off the balance each month? Can you imagine paying 26.5% interest on last night’s dinner?

Did you hate paying off the mortgage? Do you wonder how some people don’t seem to care how much money they owe? Some of your co-workers used to complain about how they always had more “month than money”. Did you ever think, “Hey knucklehead, maybe if you weren’t always buying the latest and greatest doo-dad, gee-gaw, or watchamacallit, you’d have more money than month.”? Did you ever think anything like that?

Since everyone always has saved enough money to pay for long-term care, there is no need for any government long-term care program. So Medicaid is bad and wrong. It is just like Social Security. Everyone always has saved enough money to pay for their retirement. There’s is no need for any government retirement income program.

But wait! Social Security is different! You paid in. With every paycheck, the government skimmed off 15+% FICA (employer and employee) to pay for Social Security. So getting some return on your Social Security taxes is OK!

Help me out here… Is Medicaid different? Did you ever get a paycheck where you didn’t pay federal and state income taxes on every nickel you earned? Does the government run Medicaid for free? Did you somehow skip out on paying for Medicaid? With every paycheck. And Social Security check too?

Why are you opposed to getting something back for all the dollars you paid in? It is OK to get Social Security because you paid taxes for it. But it is bad to get long-term care Medicaid because you paid taxes for it?

There are lots and lots of Medicaid programs – dozens of them. Most Medicaid programs provide for our fellow Americans who have very little. But there is a slice of Medicaid, middle-class Medicaid, that pays for long-term care. For all Americans. Even you.

For most Medicaid programs, you have to be broke. Middleclass Medicaid lets you keep your house, up to $700,000. And your stuff, no limit on value. And your “motorized vehicle”, also no limit.

So, Medicaid is bad and you hate it. You hate it so much that you will spend all your money. Then, sell the house and all your stuff, spend all that too. And then wind up on Medicaid anyway. Sounds like a plan to me! Good luck with that.

#12 … Waste Of Time Because Medicaid Won’t Work When I Need It!

Medicaid nursing homes, long-term care facilities, skilled nursing facilities, assisted living facilities, and anyone else who provides Medicaid care are just the worst! If a facility accepts Medicaid, the place smells bad, the staff is rude, the management is poor, and the care is awful. God forbid that you or a loved one is ever condemned to a Medicaid facility or is forced to receive Medicaid services. Great excuse!

Gee, I wonder what percentage of skilled nursing facilities accept Medicaid? 10%? 30% 50%?

Actually every skilled nursing facility accepts Medicaid. All of them. 100%. Do you have enough money to pay $10,000 – $15,000 per month for skilled care? For an average of 3 years. With a good chance of 5 years? Is it ridiculous to think that nursing homes would like to get paid when you go broke? Are you opposed to caregivers getting paid? Do nursing homes get everything for free?

Not so fast! Everybody knows that there are very few “Medicaid beds”. You know, the ones that they seal with plastic. So the bedbugs cannot escape. Just a few Medicaid beds.

Funny thing, though. About 70-80% of long-term, skilled nursing facility residents are paid for by Medicaid. How did that happen? Maybe because all beds are Medicare-certified. And all Medicare beds can be paid with Medicaid dollars.

#13 … Waste Of Time Because Every Other Attorney Must Be Doing This!

Medicaid is for poor people (meaning people without any money or stuff). And you have money and stuff, so Medicaid is not for you! Logical! Makes sense!

Question: How long will you have any money or stuff if you are paying $10-15,000 per month for long-term care?

Are you opposed to not going broke? Is it ridiculous to think that you (or your loved one) might get better care if your lifesavings had not melted away like a snowflake on a hot griddle? Are you against paying for the extra services you want?

You get a shower a week in a long-term care facility. How often do you shower now? Are you against paying some of your hard-earned savings to get a shower more frequently?

If your long-term care “insurance” (also known as Medicaid) paid for the $10-15,000 cost of basic services, and, if your lifesavings were intact, would you choose to spend some of those savings to make your days more pleasant? Do you want to be poor? Is poverty more noble? Is it honorable to spend down a lifetime of work in a matter of months? Does it make sense to believe that the government knows best? Is it foolish to plan for your future?

#14 … Waste Of Time Because If This Worked, Every Other Attorney Would Be Doing This!

Yesterday I was looking in the mirror. I felt depressed. I said to my bride of 15 years, “Honey, when I look in the mirror I see an old, fat, bald guy, and it depresses me. Honey,” I said, “I need your help.”

“Oh?” said the love of my life, “How may I be of service?” “Honey,” I replied, “I need a compliment. Looking at this fat, old, bald guy in the mirror here is bringing me down. I really feel the need for some compassion, a compliment would sure make me feel better!”

“Well,” said my soulmate, “Your eyesight is damn near perfect!”

Since I have been wearing glasses since the 8th grade, my wife’s compliment was exactly what the doctor ordered. I felt better immediately. So, when I ask you, “Is it ridiculous to think that you are not getting older, you are getting better?” Remember this little love tale of mine. And draw your own conclusions.

And the hits just keep on coming! More great excuses are on their way!

Here’s a sneak preview of the next fabulous five excuses to avoid planning:
#10 … Waste Of Time Because It Is Overkill!
#11 … Waste Of Time Because I Will Spend It All Anyway.!
#12 … Waste Of Time Because Medicaid Won’t Work When I Need It!
#13 … Waste Of Time Because Every Other Attorney Must Be Doing This!
#14 … Waste Of Time Because If This Worked, Every Other Attorney Would Be Doing This!

Is Now A Bad Time For A Real Solution?

Perhaps you already have all the answers. Maybe this is no problem at all. Possibly you do not believe in the passage of time.

Your habits and values have earned you peace of mind and financial security. LifePlanning™ is the easy part. You worked for the peace that only comes with financial security. What is most important, legal documents? Avoiding probate, is that the best you can do? Is family about inheritance? Or are the deeper things most significant?

Is any of this easy? Do you want to get lost in the overwhelming flood of claims and promises? Or would you like straight answers?

Well, here you are. Now you know. No excuses. Get the information, insight, inspiration. It is your turn. Ignore the message? Invite poverty? Or get the freely offered information. To make wise decisions. For you. For your loved ones.

The LifePlan™ Workshop has been the first step on the path to security and peace for thousands of families. Why not your family?

NO POVERTY. NO CHARITY. NO WASTE.
It is not chance. It is choice. Your choice.

Get Information Now.
(800) 317-2812

Estate Planning Is Dumb, A Waste Of Time

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You Scream, I Scream, We All Scream For Ice Cream!
We Also Scream To Avoid Planning

“We have forty million reasons for failure, but not a single excuse.”
—Rudyard Kipling

“It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one.”
—George Washington

Are You A Failure At Making Excuses?

Poor Rudyard Kipling. He is like you. Forty million reasons, but not a single excuse? Perhaps he lacked skill. Or talent. Not even a single excuse in a gigantic 40 million straw haystack of reasons? And you are in the same boat. Have you ever come up with an excuse that satisfied your spouse? Me neither.

George Washington, Founding Father, spoke with the voice of experience: “Better to offer no excuse than a bad one.” How could it be that George Washington, “First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.” failed so miserably at making excuses? And fail at excuses he did… How else could he learn that bad excuses are the worst? And when George failed to excuse failure, what did he do? Founder the United States. Revolutionary. Beat the British. Farmer. Inventor. Statesman. Stuff like that.

You have 40 million reasons to avoid LifePlanning™. But when your dearly beloved suggests planning ahead, your 40 million reasons to do something else strangely evaporate. Like mist in the morning sun. Dense fog one minute, clear day the next. What is this phenomenon? The answer is obvious!

It is not reasons that you lack, but excuses. And we are here to help. As a public service. No charge. Expert excuses, here for the reading. High quality, too. When it comes to shirking important responsibilities, ordinary, everyday dodges will not suffice. You need professional help.

Tip-Top Training And Practical Preparation In The Art Of Avoidance

Otter: No, I think we have to go all out. I think that this situation absolutely requires a really futile and stupid gesture be done on somebody’s part.
Bluto: And we’re just the guys to do it.
—Animal House, 1978

Four years at the University of Notre Dame, majoring in Philosophy and English. Juris Doctor from the Boston University School of Law.

Master of Laws, Taxation from Georgetown University Law Center. Judicial clerk. Five years in the Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps, mostly on the Army General Staff, at the Pentagon. Topped off by a couple years with BigLaw. Then 32 years of growth: from one guy answering the telephone all alone to a firm of 50 persnickity professionals. Need know-how? Get know-how. Now.

We don’t just solve problems, we observe how folks run away from problems, too! Flee from foul facts. Dismiss, diminish, deride loved ones’ concerns. Deny, discount, deflect their own painful predicaments. Years of daily experience with responsible, middle-class, hard-working men and women who would prefer to chew their arm off than submit to the terrible torture that is estate planning.

Who else has seen it all? Who else can help you escape? You are in good hands. You came to the right shop. It is not an easy job. And we’re just the guys to do it.

Loudly And Firmly Proclaim These Affirmations Three (3) Times:

  • Only Nerds Want To Retire Comfortably Financial Security Is Bad. And Impossible
  • I Want To Die Broke, Splurging My Last Nickels On Long-Term Care
  • I Look Forward To Nursing Home Poverty My Spouse Can Look Out For Herself. Or Himself.
  • My Kids Don’t Need Money And Would Waste Any Inheritance Anyway

Take a deep breath. Excellent! You have achieved the correct state of mind. Remember, last week we covered the first four Excellent Excuses. Let us get down to this week’s Decisive Defenses to avoid any attempt at making you look ahead.

LifePlanning™ Is Unnecessary And A Total Waste Of Time & Money Because

Don’t loudmouths always impress you? So always lead off with an audacious affirmation!

Number One: Raise your voice and daringly declare: “LifePlanning™ is Stupid, Superfluous, and a…”

Number Two: Quickly follow with one of these Negative Nuggets:

#5 … Waste Of Time Because I Only Have A House And An IRA!

Are you opposed to draining your Individual Retirement Account (or 401(k) or 403(b) or Thrift Savings Plan or other retirement account) for long-term care? Of course not! Money in a retirement plan account is just a number, it does not reflect years of working and saving, right? Besides, what would you do with that money anyway? Might as well shoot it out the door at $10,000 to $15,000 per month. And you might get lucky. Maybe you only need assisted living services that cost $5,000 to $10,000 per month. Happy Days! And home care services are only $25 per hour and up. Foolish to worry about preserving that retirement money for your spouse when the government knows so much better than you do about how to spend it.

And everybody says that the homestead is “PROTECTED” so nothing to worry about there! Of course, even without planning, the house will go through probate to your family. And when everybody was explaining how the house was “PROTECTED”, everybody also told you that if you need help (Medicaid) with long-term care, the state wants its money back. And when you go through probate, because you are too smart to waste money on planning, the state will collect its payback. From your house. Which maybe isn’t so “protected”, after all…

Of course your kids would never sell your house while you need care, right? That’s why you do not even have to think about having cash instead of a house anymore. Cash that must be “spent down.” That is not a problem because you can keep $2,000 of it. More Happy Days!

So don’t worry! There is no way you would be one of the 70% of folks who the federal government says will need skilled nursing long- term care services for an average of 3 years or one of the 20% who will need services for 5 years or more. And neither would your spouse. So you should not be concerned about $360,000 to $900,000 of skilled care costs. Never happen.

#6 … Waste Of Time Because I Hate Medicaid

Since everyone always has saved enough money to pay for long-term care, there is no need for any government long-term care program. So Medicaid is bad and wrong. It is just like Social Security.

Everyone always has saved enough money to pay for their retirement. There’s is no need for any government retirement income program.

But wait! Social Security is different! You paid in. With every paycheck, the government skimmed off 15.3% FICA (employer and employee) to pay for Social Security. So getting some return on your payroll taxes is OK!

Help me out here… Is Medicaid different? Did you ever get a paycheck where you didn’t pay federal and state income taxes on every nickel you earned? Does the government run Medicaid for free? Did you somehow skip out on paying for Medicaid? With every paycheck. And Social Security check too?

Why are you opposed to getting something back for all the dollars you paid in? It is OK to get Social Security because you paid taxes for it. But it is bad to get long-term care Medicaid because you paid taxes for it?

There are lots and lots of Medicaid programs – dozens of them. Most Medicaid programs provide for our fellow Americans who have very little.

But there is a slice of Medicaid, middle-class Medicaid, that pays for long-term care. For all Americans. Even you.

For most Medicaid programs, you have to be broke. Middle-class Medicaid lets you keep your house, up to $700,000. And your stuff, no limit on value. And your “motorized vehicle”, also no limit.

So, Medicaid is bad and you hate it. You hate it so much that you will spend all your money. Then, sell the house and all your stuff, spend all that too. And then wind up on Medicaid anyway. Sounds like a plan to me! Good luck with that.

#7 … Waste Of Time Because Medicaid Nursing Homes Are Lousy Nursing Homes!

Medicaid nursing homes, long term care facilities, skilled nursing facilities, assisted living facilities, and anyone else who provides Medicaid care are just the worst! If a facility accepts Medicaid, the place smells bad, the staff is rude, the management is poor, and the care is awful. God forbid that you or a loved one is ever condemned to a Medicaid facility or is forced to receive Medicaid services. Great excuse!

Gee, I wonder what percentage of skilled nursing facilities accept Medicaid? 10%? 30%? 50%?

Actually every skilled nursing facility accepts Medicaid. All of them. 100%. Do you have enough money to pay $10,000 – $15,000 per month for skilled care? For an average of 3 years. With a good chance of 5 years? Is it ridiculous to think that nursing homes would like to get paid when you go broke? Are you opposed to caregivers getting paid? Do nursing homes get everything for free?

Not so fast! Everybody knows that there are very few “Medicaid beds”. You know, the ones that they seal with plastic. So the bedbugs cannot escape. Just a few Medicaid beds.

Funny thing, though. About 70-80% of long-term, skilled nursing facility residents are paid for by Medicaid. How did that happen? Maybe because all beds are Medicare-certified. And all Medicare beds can be paid with Medicaid dollars.

#8 … Waste Of Time Because Medicaid Is For Poor People!

Medicaid is for poor people (meaning people without any money or stuff). And you have money and stuff, so Medicaid is not for you! Logical!

Makes sense!

Question: How long will you have any money or stuff if you are paying $10-15,000 per month for long-term care?

Are you opposed to not going broke? Is it ridiculous to think that you (or your loved one) might get better care if your life savings had not melted away like a snowflake on a hot griddle? Are you against paying for the extra services you want?

You get a shower a week in a long-term care facility. How often do you shower now? Are you against paying some of your hard-earned savings to get a shower more frequently?

If your long-term care “insurance” (also known as Medicaid) paid for the $10-15,000 cost of basic services, and, if your lifesavings were intact, would you choose to spend some of those savings to make your days more pleasant? Do you want to be poor? Is poverty more noble? Is it honorable to spend down a lifetime of work in a matter of months? Does it make sense to believe that the government knows best? Is it foolish to plan for your future?

#9 … Waste Of Time Because I Am Not Getting Older, I Am Getting Better!

Yesterday I was looking in the mirror. I felt depressed. I said to my bride of 15 years, “Honey, when I look in the mirror I see an old, fat, bald guy, and it depresses me. “Honey,” I said, “I need your help.”

“Oh?” said the love of my life, “How may I be of service?”

“Honey,” I replied, “I need a compliment. Looking at this fat, old, bald guy in the mirror here is bringing me down. I really feel the need for some compassion, a compliment would sure make me feel better!”

“Well,” said my soulmate, “Your eyesight is damn near perfect!”

Since I have been wearing glasses since the 8th grade, my wife’s compliment was exactly what the doctor ordered. I felt better immediately. So, when I ask you, “Is it ridiculous to think that you are not getting older, you are getting better?” Remember this little love tale of mine. And draw your own conclusions.

And the hits just keep on coming! More great excuses are on their way!

Here’s A Sneak Preview Of The Next Fabulous Five Excuses To Avoid Planning:

#10 … Waste Of Time Because It Is Overkill!
#11 … Waste Of Time Because I Will Spend It All Anyway!
#12 … Waste Of Time Because Medicaid Won’t Work When I Need It!
#13 … Waste Of Time Because Every Other Attorney Must Be Doing This!
#14 … Waste Of Time Because If This Worked, Every Other Attorney Would Be Doing This!

Is Now A Bad Time For A Real Solution?

Perhaps you already have all the answers. Maybe this is no problem at all. Possibly you do not believe in the passage of time.

Your habits and values have earned you peace of mind and financial security. LifePlanning™ is the easy part. You worked for the peace that only comes with financial security. What is most important, legal documents? Avoiding probate, is that the best you can do? Is family about inheritance? Or are the deeper things most significant?

Is any of this easy? Do you want to get lost in the overwhelming flood of claims and promises? Or would you like straight answers?

Well, here you are. Now you know. No excuses. Get the information, insight, inspiration. It is your turn. Ignore the message? Invite poverty? Or get the freely offered information. To make wise decisions. For you. For your loved ones.

The LifePlan™ Workshop has been the first step on the path to security and peace for thousands of families. Why not your family?

NO POVERTY. NO CHARITY. NO WASTE.
It is not chance. It is choice. Your choice.

Get Information Now.
(800) 317-2812

Why Your Shiny Brand-New Estate Plan Is A Dangerous Clunker!

Simple Questions… That Nobody Asks Until It Is Too Late.

Things Everybody Takes For Granted… But Shouldn’t

Would You Happily Put Your Kids In The Back Seat Of A Pinto?

Eyewitness: “the car exploded “like a large napalm bomb” when it was hit”

Why does anyone plan their estate? Why did you spend all that time and money for a will or trust? If you are like most people, you plan ahead for peace of mind. Sure, the future is uncertain, but we are not helpless. Estate planning and elder law can ensure that our life’s work will serve us. And our families or loved ones. Too bad most planning does not work that way.

What does everybody know about the Ford Pinto? It was a good-looking car. Economical! Popular in the 70’s. Millions sold. But it had an unfortunate tendency to explode on impact, engulfing its passengers in a gasoline fireball. With disastrous consequences for all concerned. Yikes!

I love my 1956 Chevrolet BelAir. Less than 26000 miles on the odometer. All original, from the canvas “carpet” to the radio with tubes rather than transistors. But the dashboard is painted steel, no padding. Seatbelts? Not in 1956. The steering column is solid metal. That ends in a point. Disturbing tendency to turn the driver into a shish kebab in a head-on collision. Airbags not invented yet. Whoops!

I do like to drive my BelAir… it is not a museum piece. But I drive it carefully. Cautiously. Defensively. With my kid in the backseat.

Today’s cars are loaded with airbags, mirrors, collision avoidance systems, backup cameras, beepers, buzzers, bells and whistles. New cars have airbags all over the place. Some slam on the brakes automatically. The Caddy even tightens your seatbelt before a crash. Nothing to worry about. Whew!

Your Estate Plan Is An Edsel

Most estate planning is like the Edsel. Obsolete from the get-go. Answering the wrong questions. And doing it poorly.

The Wrong Goals: Avoid Probate. Save Taxes. Get It to the Kids. These things all happen after you die. But you are not dead yet. Shouldn’t we be a little concerned with what happens before you die? Maybe taking care of you is the best way to take care of them.

How do you feel, loading your kids into the backseat of a 1975 Pinto? Taking them to school. Driving around town. Going to see grandma. Safe? Secure? Or are your eyes locked on that tiny rearview mirror. Fearfully scanning for danger?

Why Is LifePlanning™ Never Obsolete?

LifePlanning™ is not a Pinto. Or a 50’s Edsel. LifePlanning™ is focused on you. On the real concerns that affect you and your family. Incapacity. Dementia.

These dangers are real. Ignore them if you like. At your peril. That is what the Pinto folks did. With explosive results. You can take an outdated, obsolete approach. With an estate plan that has not evolved since the 1950’s. Resulting in Nursing Home Poverty. No choice for you. No legacy for the kids.

LifePlanning™ maximizes the things that are most important to you. We all have to go sometime, but why rush it? Why not remain alert? Independent? Engaged? Aware? In charge? Why shouldn’t your choices matter? Refuse to let others decide “what to do” with you! Reject dependence.

LifePlanning™ gets you the benefits you have earned, while preserving life savings. Not for the kids, but to supplement those earned benefits. Eight thousand dollars a month ($8,000/ month) for assisted living. Fifteen thousand ($15,000/month) for skilled care. Who can afford it? Medicaid is the way America pays for long-term care. Medicaid wants you broke. Medicaid is the government solution.

LifePlanning™ says OK! You earned the government solution. But since when was the government solution adequate? Why did you work? Take overtime? Save and invest? You do not have to settle. You can make your lifesavings work for you while receiving the benefits you earned.

Is A “Pinto” Plan “Good Enough” For Your Spouse And Family? For You? Why Don’t You Deserve “Cadillac” Planning? Is The “Cadillac” Plan Too Good For Your Spouse? Your Family? Why?

Thousands of middle-class families have used LifePlanning™ to get the peace of mind that comes from loading your family into the safest, most comfortable vehicle possible. Without thorough planning you will spend yourself into Nursing Home Poverty. You get what they feel like giving.

Not what you have earned. Not what you want. Not what you deserve. With a whimper, not a bang. Quieter than a flaming fireball of dramatic death, but just as devastating. To you. To your family. Are you really opposed to getting a small return on all the tax dollars you paid in?

Without LifePlanning™ , you are driving a Pinto. Do not have good answers to the questions. No one has your back. Maybe things will work out. Maybe you will get home today. Maybe. Why not be sure? Do you think security is a bad thing?

LifePlanning™ preserves your lifesavings. You never go broke. Your earnings serve you throughout your lifetime. And that means…
You stay home. Longer. You get the help you need, that your spouse needs. Clear-eyed. Relevant. Participating in your own care.

The Choice Is Yours. Does Quality Of Life Matter To You?

We Wasted 2021. See It Through in ‘22!

Last year, the number of regular folks planning their futures dropped. Significantly. Fewer people focused on planning ahead, LifePlanning™. I fear 2021 was a year of wasted opportunity for regular families. Devastating.

Get the information you want. In- person workshops and one-on-one meetings. Recorded and live-streaming webinars. Like you, we have never stopped serving. As you seek out new ways to accomplish your life’s work, we are on the same journey. By your side. Making the rules work for the people who play by the rules.

Sixty minutes to personal control. Now and as long as you wish. Because you earned it. Avoid Nursing Home Poverty. Thousands of middle-class families have learned and use these techniques. Why not yours?

Got Questions? Get Answers!
Get Answers Now… The Call That Changes Your Life…
(800) 317-2812

Come To An In-Person Workshop…
Livestream On-Line And Get Answers
To Your Particular Questions Whatever It Takes To Serve!

Losing a Loved One… Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night

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Can The Last Days Be The Best Days?

Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
—Dylan Thomas, 1947

Newsflash: Life Is Not Easy

Don’t we live in a loud, demanding world? Personal and professional responsibilities compete for each moment of attention. Spouse, Children, Parents, Job, Commitments. And you want to do it all. For everyone. To satisfy each person’s need. You run as hard as you can, as fast as you can. Will it be enough? Will you be satisfied with your choices, your decisions? Have you had enough practice with the balancing act? Navigating through conflicting imperatives is second nature to us now, like breathing out and breathing in. Does that make it easy?

Gratitude comes in moments of calm reflection. As you consider your own life, who are your heroes? With whom do you seek to spend time? Business partners? Professional colleagues? Bankers or financial advisors? With whom do we spend the most time? Are our brief moments with loved ones: good friends, grandparents, parents, brothers, sisters, wife, husband, children… are they insignificant? Are personal, intimate experiences and relationships without meaning? Are commercial attachments the most important?

You are an adult. A grownup. You know the truth that younger people seek to deny. You know that: Life is choices. Balance is critical. There are no easy answers. Hard decisions must be made. Family responsibilities are real and must be honored. Obligations to business team members and others who rely on you are genuine, too. You cannot run away from the tough stuff. You cannot pretend it is easy. You cannot wish it away. That is not how the world works. Whatever the storybooks say.

Hold Yourself To Account

When your mother closes her eyes for the last time, will she regret that you did everything possible for her comfort and support in her twilight hours? Or will she wish that you had closed another deal? Taken some more overtime? Kept your nose to the grindstone?

Will your aging father be disappointed that you spent as much time as possible with him and provided well when you could not be at his side? Or will he be distressed that you preferred his companionship to another company meeting?

Having done the very best you can for your loved ones in their time of need, will you feel guilty? You have run the race, fought the good fight, poured yourself lovingly into care for your loved one. You were there when you could be. You provided for care when you could not. Is it ridiculous to think that you could be contented, even quietly proud, while grieving the loss of that special person?

Something Is Gained And Something Is Lost In Living Every Day

Not many World War II veterans are still around. There are a few. Like my father. Winding down a life that stretched almost 97 years. Still “sharp as a tack” he still does things according to his own notions. He has no mental limitations and has never seemed to appreciate his own physical limits. So, my brothers and sisters and I have been taking turns living with Dad, a couple weeks at a time. For years. A couple weeks at a time, sharing the opportunity, so that Dad is never alone. Well, hardly ever.

Recently a checkup revealed a serious progression of congestive heart failure. Not unexpected, not welcome either. So we decided to spend a few more days with Dad. Two of my brothers were already staying there.

On the way to his house, one morning, my brother called to redirect me to the hospital. Dad was unresponsive. The EMTs said his heart had stopped and they put him on an external pacemaker in the ambulance.

Dad woke up in the hospital. And immediately demanded to go home. And rejected the idea of a pacemaker. Which the doctor said was his only chance for continued life. Which Dad firmly refused again. Consistent with earlier statements.

So the doctor got the palliative medicines ready. Turned off the machine. And… Dad kept going without the machine. An astonished doctor said he would not try to explain it and that Dad could go home.

When will that final moment arrive? Not yet. But 8 children, 20 grandchildren, and a couple of new great-grandchildren got one more opportunity to know Dad.

Available Options Are Unacceptable

When my mother suffered from the dementia which led to her death, over 10 years ago, their LifePlan™ preserved 50 years of lifesavings. Mom’s months in the nursing home did not mean Dad’s impoverishment. Dad has spent the last years with security and peace of mind.

But now the limitations of the system have struck home. More profoundly than ever before. Hospice has been wonderful, a Godsend. But Dad now needs round the clock care. No one wants him in a long-term care facility. Least of all himself.

But how to provide care? My family’s solution only works if you had 8 children most of whom could work remotely. And we are not all medical people. We do not know what to do. Or how to do it.

The current situation is simply not acceptable. Dad is ready, willing and able to hire a Certified Nursing Assistant, even an RN. But the demand is so great, they are hard to find. At any price.

Does it seem right to you that the person you have hired to keep watch overnight gets more sleep than you do? Well at least you didn’t wake your caregiver by snoring. As she woke Dad. Twice. As the video shows.

Large families like my father’s are few and getting fewer. There once was something called the “Sandwich Generation”. When your children were willing to care for their own kids and care for you as well. The Sandwich Generation is almost a thing of the past. Not quite gone yet, but…

Over the last 32 years there have been tremendous changes in long-term care. From “Nursing Home or Nothing!” to a wide range of options and choices. From an acceptance that your lifesavings would be quickly eaten up by long-term care costs, to the realization that there are programs that can preserve those savings. For yourself. For your family.

At-home care has changed also. The “friend from church” or “neighbor lady” who could be counted on to help out for $5/hour… gone. She has either retired or been hired at $20/hour by an agency. An agency that charges $40/ hour for caregivers with minimal training and no credentials. “Caregivers” who cannot stay awake.

For 32 years, I have rejected traditional notions of estate planning. Traditional planning is failure planning. My firm pioneered and advocates for LifePlanning™. No Poverty: You will not go broke. No Charity: Your caregivers will get paid. No Waste: Your heirs will get their inheritance.

Maybe it is time to reject traditional notions of at-home care. Are you opposed to living your last days independently in familiar surroundings? Is it a ridiculous idea to expect you could receive cheerful, professional, wide-awake care without a nursing facility? LifePlanningTM™ has always focused on preserving your lifesavings so that your lifetime of work and thrift would continue to serve you until the very end.

But what if the services are not available? What if the money does not matter because the choices for care are so limited? Or not acceptable? Who will fill the gap? Who can you trust? Is now a bad time for a new solution?

Is Now A Bad Time For A Real Solution?

Perhaps you think you already have an answer to this problem. Maybe you do not see this as a problem at all. It is possible that you do not believe in the passage of time or its effects on you.

For many years, that’s how I felt about my father. He seemed to never age. Always the same peppery mix of cutting humor, sentimentality, ferocious attention to detail, and strength. He has not changed in his personality, but he is no longer independent.

My brothers and sisters and I have been privileged to be with him almost the entire time. Without each other, this moment would have come years ago. We have come to terms with the situation. But I am determined that everyone should be able to make good choices.

Peace of mind and financial security are waiting for everyone who practices LifePlanning™. You know that peace only begins with financial security. Are legal documents the most important? Is avoiding probate the best you can do for yourself or your loved ones? Is family about inheritance? Or are these things only significant to support the foundation of your family?

Do you think finding the best care is easy? Do you want to get lost in the overwhelming flood of claims and promises? Or would you like straight answers?

Well, here you are. Now you know. No excuses. Get the information, insight, inspiration. It is your turn. Ignore the message? Invite poverty? Or get the freely offered information. To make wise decisions. For you. For your loved ones.

The LifePlan™ Workshop has been the first step on the path to security and peace for thousands of families. Why not your family?

No Poverty. No Charity. No Waste.
It is not chance. It is choice. Your choice.
Get Information Now. 800-317-2812

Client Success Stories…

We were very happy with the information at the workshop on Estate Planning [LifePlan workshop]. Amanda was very helpful in explaining the options we could choose from to protect our assets from excessive taxes.

All questions were answered in depth and in a manner that was very understandable. I left feeling confident that we can contact them at any time for help navigating the system.

The staff are incredibly professional. My mother was treated with utmost respect. Her paperwork was organized and concise. I dealt with David and Jim and they spoke in terms my mother and I could understand.

I was totally lost when my husband’s dementia got bad. David and his group helped me feel in control again. They are there to help me whenever I need them. I should have done this sooner.

Perfect balance of pleasant and professional. Starting with workshops with targeted info, to chit chat with David (and all the staff we met) – great experience. Thank you!

My husband and I just returned from your workshop in Portage…We are so pleased we attended and came away with so much information and insight. The workshop was well organized, well presented and your staff was wonderful. Patrick made things fun, and as he promised, the time flew by. Thanks you again for 2 very well spent hours.

Donna & Stephanie are extremely professional, on top of everything, friendly and just a joy to work with. Very prompt on phone calls, emails, etc. I am very thankful for these two people!

We have been extremely pleased with the professional service of David and the staff. It has been a pleasure working with everyone to make sure our future is secure. David was also very helpful finding an out of state attorney to help our parent’s address their Elder law needs.

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“The Law Offices of David L. Carrier is an estate planning and elder law firm located in Western Michigan. Our main office is in Grand Rapids, and we have 3 other conveniently located offices in West Michigan. We specialize in medicaid crisis planning, estate planning, elder law, probate, wills and trusts.

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