Another Path To Prosperity

Check out these 12 ideas from American Solutions to create Jobs and secure prosperity for America:

1. Payroll Tax Stimulus.  With a temporary new tax credit to offset 50% of the payroll tax, every small business would have more money, and all Americans would take home more of what they earn.
2. Real Middle-Income Tax Relief. Reduce the marginal tax rate of 25% down to 15%, in effect establishing a flat-rate tax of 15% for close to 9 out of 10 American workers.
3. Reduce the Business Tax Rate.  Match Ireland’s rate of 12.5% to keep more jobs in America.
4. Homeowner’s Assistance. Provide tax credit incentives to responsible home buyers so they can keep their homes.
5. Control Spending So We Can Move to a Balanced Budget.  This begins with eliminating Congressional earmarks and wasteful pork-barrel spending.
6. No State Aid Without Protection From Fraud.  Require state governments to adopt anti-fraud and anti-theft policies before giving them more money.
7. More American Energy Now. Explore for more American oil and gas and invest in affordable energy for the future, including clean coal, ethanol, nuclear power and renewable fuels.
8. Abolish Taxes on Capital Gains. Match China, Singapore and many other competitors. More investment in America means more jobs in America.
9. Protect the Rights of American Workers. We must protect a worker’s right to decide by secret ballot whether to join a union, and the worker’s right to freely negotiate. Forced unionism will kill jobs in America at a time when we can’t afford to lose them.
10. Replace Sarbanes-Oxley.  This failed law is crippling entrepreneurial startups.  Replace it with affordable rules that help create jobs, not destroy them.
11. Abolish the Death Tax. Americans should work for their families, not for Washington.
12. Invest in Energy and Transportation Infrastructure. This includes a new, expanded electric power grid and a 21st century air traffic control system that will reduce delays in air travel and save passengers, employees and airlines billions of dollars per year.

Print it Out!

A Home Built On Good Soil

Read this today and I immediately thought of my children. This passage was meant to describe mans understanding of God’s word but I think it could also be a commentary on the family.

Our children are like the seeds in this parable and the type of environment we provide is like the soil.  It is no wonder that children stray when they are raised in rocky thorn ridden homes.  The type of home life we provide for our kids is one of the single biggest predictors of what kind of adults they will become.

I pray that God will always remind my wife and I to keep our home built on the good soil of God’s plan for our life and the lives of our children! 

Mark 4

The Parable of the Sower

1Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. 2He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: 3″Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times.”

It’s Time To Say No!

PRESS RELEASE

As a result of President Obama signing the stimulus bill there will be additional funds coming to the state of Georgia.  Many people around the state are already trying to figure out how to spend this money as if it were free.  This bill was wrong for America and in my opinion will do nothing but harm the future fiscal stability and prosperity in this country. This bill places this nation squarely on a path towards Socialism which our new President and his party have so fully embraced.

I am a fiscal conservative that believes in the redeeming characteristics of the free market system and its ability bring this country out of our current economic downturn. This lurch towards socialism will takes years to correct and it is time for the people of this country to say NO MORE!

As a result of this deep held belief I have asked Dr. John Harper the Superintendent of the Bartow School System to quarantine and account for all money received by the Bartow County school system through this stimulus bill.  I have further asked that a separate public vote take place on an item by item basis so that I and the other board members can record our position on this issue.

I will not be guilty of doing nothing while the free market fabric of our country is being ripped apart right in front of us each day.  It is my hope that we reject these funds and send them back to the state.  This will not be a popular position and there may very well be some costs associated with this action but we can no longer operate under the misguided belief that these choices bare no consequence.

Please feel free to contact me if you have questions on this issue.

Matt Shultz,

Bartow County School Board District 3

Teachers Make Sure You Look At All Investment Options

Last night at our school board meeting I asked to table an item that would have selected companies to provide investment choices to our certified employees.  Teachers have historically been vastly under served with 403 (b) plans and the fee structure and commission rates are significantly higher than other investment options.

There have also been problems with requiring teachers to keep the money in these accounts for a specified period of time or face massive withdrawal penalties. I believe that our teachers need to have a full range of options so that they can make the best decisions to supplement retirement.

I have asked our financial staff to make a low cost, low fee provider like TIAA-CREF, Fidelity or Vanguard available to our employees as an alternative to the companies that we have traditionally done business with. These companies offer some of the best products with solid returns with a fee structure of usually less than 1%.

Bartow County does not provide a match for these 403 (b) plans so there is really no real incentive for participating in them. In most cases teachers in our community would benefit more long term from avoiding all of these programs and investing in a ROTH IRA .  In a ROTH  the money is invested after tax and all the gains on that money grow tax free at withdrawal.

Please do not just make the simple choice because it may not be in your best interest in the long run!

The Obama Bailout Plan!

Abbott Labs: A Prescription for Success

Check out this great information on Abbott Labs!

Behind The Scenes at Oak Leaf Church

more about "Behind The Scenes at Oak Leaf Church", posted with vodpod

Spiritual Giving: When The Other Shoe Drops!

I just wanted to follow up my earlier post on giving with some additional insight from our life.  I just wanted to let everyone know that when you turn your finances over to God you can expect unforeseen complications to enter into your life.

It was not long after Stephanie and I made this decision that thing after thing began to happen in our life that caused us unplanned additional expense. We honestly felt like we were under “attack” for making the choice to be more faithful with our money. As hard as things were we never departed from our plan and continued to do what we had set out with our giving plan.

This attack went on for a couple of months and I really believe it was to see how serious we were in our commitment to give God what is his.  Eventually things began to turn and as i told you before 2008 was our best year of giving in our marriage so far.

Once you commit yourself to this path be prepared for the spiritual warfare that will follow. The clouds will pass and the sun will shine through the clouds and God will honor you for your faithfulness!

25 Year Retirement for Teachers May Be An Answer

If you have been reading the paper lately or listening to the news then you no doubt understand the budget troubles that the state and local governments are having.  As a member of our local school board we are combing through the budget looking for ways to save money with as little impact as possible to staff.  I wanted to share an idea with you that I have contacted each of our state legislators about. I have also discussed this plan with both local school systems, the governors office, the state superintendents office and the school board association.

We are fortunate in Bartow County that I believe many of our reductions will be achieved through attrition but there are many school systems around the state who may need to lay people off to meet the necessary reductions in head count. I believe this plan would allow these individuals to select themselves through early retirement. This is a process used routinely in the private sector and I think could be rolled out with success for teachers around the state.  Here are the highlights of the 25 Year Retirement Plan that I proposed:

1. Teachers can retire with 25 years of credible service and draw 50% of their highest average pay.
2. This would be optional so teachers could elect to work 30 years to get the full 60%
3. The retirement system saves 10% on anyone who retires early
4. The retirement system also saves on the increased salary that would have been earned over the last 5 years
5. Currently teachers can retire at 25 years but that have to wait until 60 to draw
6. This plan would allow for immediate draw on earned retirement at 25 years
7. The teachers who retire early would reduce headcount and help mange this crisis for local school systems
8. Local school system would replace those retiring teachers with teachers at the lower end of the salary schedule
9. This would bring us in line with some of the states that border Ga. who already offer real 25 yr retirement

This is the kind of creative approach that we need in this difficult budget crisis. In running the numbers this appears to be a win for everybody involved. This kind of major policy change is never welcomed with open arms down at the Gold Dome.  There are always people with a list of reasons why we can’t do something instead of figuring out how to make this work.

If you are interested in this solution I encourage you to call your state legislators and advocate for this as a tool in the kit to help us move through this economic crisis!

Spiritual Giving Is As Easy As The Number 1

This past week we began a new series at Oak Leaf called Bailout. As you may surmise from the title this is a series on money. Over the past 6 months we have all be bombarded with news on the economy and struggles with our own personal finances.  There are many experts that will tell us that this is the worst the U.S. economy has been since The Great Depression. In the midst of all of this bad news what does the Bible teach us about money and faith during both turbulent and prosperous times.

Jesus spoke on money and the consequences of how it is used many times throughout the scriptures.  Jesus understood 2,000 years ago that this subject would be the issue that we struggle with the most. Financial disagreements are the single leading cause for divorce in America today. There are a number of experts and strategies on how to get started with a better money plan but I would like to make it very simple for you today. Spiritual giving is as much about strategy as it is about faith!

Over the course of our marriage we have always tried to give to the church and almost every year we have given more than the year before. Having said that I will tell you that we were coming up far short of where God needed and desired us to be. Our intentions were always honorable and our excuses rationale.  You will never achieve the results you want in giving by placing God at the bottom of your balance sheet!

There is only one program that has produced winning results for both God and us and that is simply to put God first. It is really that easy…..As simple as the number 1! We started writing out our tithe as soon as we were paid and it has made all of the difference. We did not starve or have to make major adjustments in our life to achieve this result. We did this all year for 2008 and I can tell you that this was our most successful year ever.  Our strategy was sound and our faith even stronger! It is so easy to do this the right way and  God wants you to test him and his blessings in this area of your life!

Start with the number 1 and write your first check to GOD! I know that you will be blessed and find the kind of peace that this new approach to giving has brought to my family.  The amazing thing is we never even missed the money we gave because God provided even more in return!