Economic Freedom

"A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is privately concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of a few men who, even if their action be honest and intended for the public interest, are necessarily concentrated upon the great undertakings in which their own money is involved and who necessarily, by very reason of their own limitations, chill and check and destroy genuine economic freedom."

-Woodrow Wilson
after regretfully creating the Federal Reserve

Thanks again Congress, for taking away our freedoms.

Bailout or Handout

As I have been reading and hearing on the news about this "Wall Street Bailout Plan", I see that the "fix is in" at first the Congress and all of the political pundits like Hannity, and Beck, were jumping down the throat of this plan. Then, we see Bush begin to speak on the plan, then all of the sudden, we hear, "Hey wait.... Maybe this plan isn't such a bad idea for America." Yeah right. I guess we did fall off of the turnip truck, because we fell for it hook, line and sinker. I just don't understand how they could do it with a straight face. Now that is gangster my friend.

My Do Group!

Everyday I look around and I see things in the world that I don’t like or I see things that I feel like need to be done for the better, so I have an idea. I am going to establish a do group. What is a do group? A do group is a group of people that get together with the sole intent of “doing” something positive to uplift the community. I am a member of a fraternity, and normally we say we are going to “do” different things, when all that we end up doing is going somewhere, drinking, partying, etc. My plan with my do group is to meet with the sole intention of doing something to uplift and change the community and make a difference in someones life as a result of our group. I have a couple of people in mind that I am going to ask to join my “do” group and I will keep you guys updated.

Darrin M. Marion, PhD.
www.pergamoninvestments.com

Searching for God

I was recently watching a show about the Universe, and I thought it was pretty hillarious. Why? All of these so called smart people were looking for something, they couldn't describe what it was, that is not made of atoms or matter as we know it, and somehow holds the Universe as we know it together? They kept speaking of some "thing" or something out there, that could not be quantified or described in any way. Well folks, I know exactly what the "it" is that they are looking for. Its called GOD. GOD holds the Universe as we know it together. Its funny that HIS divine plan is what we search for. It says in 1 Corinthians 3:19 that "For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God." What we consider as knowledge, faith and religion, means nothing to GOD. GOD has made himself open for us to know and receive, and find, all we have to do is ask. That is just my two cents.

Darrin M. Marion, PhD.
www.pergamoninvestments.com

The Best of Both Worlds, How to Protect Your Retirement Income

In today’s stock market, daily we are experiencing wild daily fluctuations in the security valuations. The question I often ask people when helping to plan their retirement income is, “What percentage of your retirement income would you like to come and fixed and stable resources?” If you were a sane individual, you would say that you would like 100% of your income to come from those areas.

Nowadays, there are very few opportunities out there to plan income from fixed and stable resources. One of those resources that I love to take advantage of personally are Equity Indexed Annuities. Equity Indexed Annuities are a type of tax-deferred annuity whose credited interest is linked to an equity index, typically the S&P 500 but which also guarantees a minimum interest rate (typically about 3% as of 2007) and against a loss of all or most principal. An equity index annuity is a contract with an insurance or annuity company. The returns are typically conservative and the contracts are mostly suitable for those who are retired or nearing retirement. The objective of purchasing an equity index annuity is most often to realize greater gains than those provided by fixed annuities, while still protecting principal.

In today and age, particularly for those in Indiana who are retiring, or nearing the age where they need to begin taking income from their savings, they cannot afford to experience a serious market downturn. In those instances an equity indexed annuity would be an excellent choice for them. While an equity indexed annuity is not for every investor. Those who are in the situation where their retirement funds are running the risk of running out, the equity indexed annuity is a great product for them... But then again, that is just my two cents… For what its worth.

Darrin M. Marion, PhD.
www.pergamoninvestments.com

Does Wal-Marts success show that the economy is picking up?

I was recently watching Cavuto on Fox Business Channel, and he had his normal crew of pundits on, and they were talking about how that since Wal-Mart is making more money; we can see that as an indication of the economy turning around. I don’t know about you, but, usually when I go to Wal-Mart, I go there for the low prices and the overall affordability of the products that are in the store. Usually when I go to my local Wal-Mart store, I can expect long lines, screaming babies and terrible customer service. I don’t know about you, but when I have extra disposable income, long lines, screaming babies and bad customer service isn’t my first choice.

I believe that the conversation by all of those “experts” on the show is an indication of how out of touch what we see on television is in respect to “real life”. I recall in a recent conversation with friends, about the Bush tax rebate, we spoke about how Wal-Mart is going to start making tons of money. One of the main reasons being, that Wal-Mart is the place where you can buy items in bulk. And when times are tough…. I buy in bulk baby!!!

The bottom line is that, increases in earnings for Wal-Mart doesn’t mean that the economy is getting better, it actually means that the worlds largest retailers’ strategic plan of becoming and staying the worlds largest retailer is working. That is just my two cents... For whatever that is worth.


Darrin M. Marion, PhD.
www.pergamoninvestments.com

Liberating Tibet... Any ideas????

As we see the Olympic torch making its way across the world, we are gradually hearing and seeing, increasing talk about freeing the people of Tibet. Why are these people protesting for the liberation of Tibet? And more importantly, what type of solution is proposed?

Here is a little back story on the liberation of Tibet

http://www.freetibet.org/info/key_issues.html

Now I am sure that this is probably a pretty biased site in concerning the liberation of Tibet. But again, what are some good solutions to fill the vacuum that would be created if China, hypothetically left Tibet, (knowing that this will probably never happen)?

One serious problem that I can see immediately with China leaving Tibet is that, the natural order of growth of the nation of is now irrevocably damaged, and who is going to step in and help a now damaged nation like Tibet, in a time when nation building vies a vie Iraq, Sudan, Rwanda, and the list goes on, is not “En Vogue” in today’s society? Will the United Nations step in and aid in building Tibet?

I know that the occupation of Tibet by China has been in play for the last 50 years, and the immediate withdrawal is not possibly a viable option, so if I can put my two cents in, I would ask these protestors of the Olympic Games, which is all about sportsmanship, cooperation and unity to come up with real solutions, and work to try and come up with some real solutions to aid the people of Tibet, instead of protesting for the sake of protesting.

Darrin Marion, PhD.
www.pergamoninvestments.com