I agree with the public outcry about the bonuses paid to AIG executives who failed not only their company but created an enormous problem that we taxpayers are digging out of now.

Like most things, though, let's not confuse the proper and effective use of bonuses and other incentives with the  mess promulgated by the so-called "brainiacs" at AIG.

I encourage you to study what happened at AIG.

If you are starting or running your own business, listen up!

Check out Harlan Kilstein's site, Tactic 7. Yes, I'm biased. Yes, I'm a huge fan. Yes, I have actually worked with Harlan. Chances are you need his no BS, take no prisoners approach. 

Check out his site here: http://tactic7.com/

And, come back and thank me!

In trolling for the most thought provoking insights about our money, I came across an intriguing article highlighting Social Security, Medicare and the current Universal Healthcare initiative sponsored by the Obama administration as....drum roll please....

PONZI SCHEMES.

That's right. The very scheme that Bernie Madoff pled guilty too last week is what columnist Craig Cantoni is calling two of our

I sure wish our federal govenment had the intestinal fortitude that Jim Rogers talks about during his interview with Maria Bartiromo of Business Week.

 It's absolutely nuts that many people actually believe the hype that there are companies that are simply too big to fail. The real crime is in not letting the companies and the people that run them the "opportunity" to experience the impact of

Did you catch the Wall Street Journal article March 11, 2009 about the scam artists coming out of the woodwork offering to "negotiate" great terms with banks on behalf of the more than a million people who are threatened by foreclosure on their homes?

Forgive me for generalizing, but many of these people are vulnerable. These are the same people who didn't do their homework to understand the

 Aren't you relieved that Bernie just pleaded guilt already?!

Can you imagine the expense of a long-drawn out drama of a trial? Aren't you thrilled that he's spared us that?

I'm still so pissed. And I got even more pissed when I read his testimony before the judge during his hearing to waive his trial and plead guilty. The judge asked him about the genesis of his bilking scheme. Madoff replied, “I

I'm rather enjoying seeing the arrows flying back and forth since the Obama administration unleashed, I mean released, its budget package last Thursday.

I, for one, am happy to see green energy and healthcare as priorities that might actually receive adequate funding and serve our society much more effectively than past initiatives have.

And, I'm equally disturbed and dismayed at the notionof

Though it's only been a few months, we are starting to see some thoughtful analysis about what caused the economic meltdown. In scouring the net, I discovered an excellent news analysis from the Wall Street Journal about the End of Wall Street as we know it.

Here's the link to the first video:

http://online.wsj.com/video/end-of-wall-street-what-happened/1F02EFEC-569A-4FED-9BF9-D89CD6E57AD0.html

As

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Clearly I wasn't done ranting about the misguided stimulus plan.

If it weren't bad enough that the US Treasury and Congress are mucking around for new fangled ways to save banks...now relying on private investors to help bail out the banks...now I'm digging into the Senate and House versions of the stimulus package and what a disappointment.

 Instead of providing relief to state governments who