Mindconnection eNL, 2006-11-05

Past issues

In this issue:

1. Product Highlights
2. Brainpower tip
3. Time tip
4. Finance tip

5. Security tip
6. Health tip/Fitness tip
7. Miscellany
8. Thought for the day

Buy two and save $10 more! That is, get your second box for only $27!

It's perfect for parents on the go, kids on the run, and anyone else who needs something other than junkfood and who likes a tasty treat that helps muscles grow rather than waistlines and chins.

If there's a good response on this deal, I'll see what other ones I can bring to you. With taxes climbing faster than wages, we could all use some help and I'm just doing my part to help my subscribers.

It's also why so many folks gain the "middle age spread" when they really don't have to. One way to help you avoid this problem is to monitor your bodyfat and make small adjustments as needed.

Be in control, this season.

Diane Vianello has posted an excellent article on holiday eating, at http://www.supplecity.com/articles/holidaytips.htm.

Now, in keeping with tradition, I'm going to use my time-tested (and often testy!) approach of illustrating a concept with an emotional hot button issue. I've thrashed religious themes pretty well, so let me descend into the other area polite people aren't supposed to discuss: politics.

For those who don't know, I am not a Democrat or a Republican. I see the huge flaws in both parties, and I see them as opposite sides of the same coin. These folks spew a lot of promises, but they don't do what they are elected to do. Most people view the political spectrum on a horizontal plane: Democrats on the left, and Republicans on the right. This leaves out the vertical axis, which consists of statism (communism, socialism) on the bottom and freedom/liberty on the top.

Viewing the political landscape through this fractured lens, people tend to choose between the Democrats and the Republicans--which is like choosing between the Genoveses and the Gambinos or the Crips and the Bloods.

• Democrat voters tend to pick out the good things about the Democratic Party and totally ignore such things as their continued backing of the Violent Criminal Working Conditions Improvement Program and other nonsense.
• Republican voters tend to pick out the good things about the Republican Party, and totally ignore things that no citizen should tolerate.

People in both camps ignore the things both parties do, such as spend us into oblivion, tax us to death, and refuse to take governing seriously. Consequently, CONgress is the opposite of PROgress.

Did you know we have a National Sales Tax and it's the largest single tax you pay? Here's how it works:

1. Senators and CONgressmen collude on pork barrel spending projects, most of which are illegal and unconstitutional. This is how they reward the people who actually put them in office. It's why the federal govt is 85 times the size it was 100 years ago (that's an actual number) even though we obviously don't have 85 times the population to pay for it.
2. The money to pay for this largesse has to come from somewhere. It comes from a combination of currency devaluation (inflation) and borrowing.
3. When the govt borrows in such massive amounts as it does, this crowds out the credit market and makes capital far more expensive than it should be.
4. Again, money has to come from somewhere. To pay for the grossly increased cost of the capital they need, business raise prices.
5. The result is you pay a stealth tax. The price of every product or service you pay for includes more funding for govt spending than any other component of its price composition.

This has been going on for decades, yet people continue to vote for Democrat or Republican because they match patterns to see what they want to see. We have a nation mostly of blinded voters who have it exactly backwards about the concept of a "wasted vote." If you vote Democrat or Republican, nothing of any significance will change. Ever. We will still endure our 85% tax rate (that's a conservative estimate, taken from several financial newsletters over time), still see our national treasures plundered, and still be disenfranchised voters. All these two parties do is pass the ball back and forth while playing the same games with your money.

Ask yourself why Americans work 60 to 80 hours a week, are lucky if they get two weeks "paid" vacation (while being expected to stay current on e-mails), and have 10 to 12 holidays a year while their European counterparts work 30 to 38 hours a week, get at least four weeks of real vacation, and enjoy many holidays. We are working to pay for the spending sprees our "elected" officials gorge on, simply because we keep voting for one of two parties.

This is just one example of the disabling effects of pattern matching. Thanks to a nearly complete reliance on it, elections in America keep producing the same undesirable results. We still have mere employees of federal agencies making up their own laws as they go along, we still have legislators getting paid a pile of dough for essentially sleeping on the job, and we still have the vast majority of our wages seized from us only to be pi--ed away on more stupid pork barrel spending. That is, collectively, our own fault. But it won't change until we stop relying on pattern matching as our way of viewing what's going on around us.

Look for pattern matching also in your relationships. For example, do you hear what the other person is actually saying or do you simply play a "tape" of what you expect that person to say? Don't answer too quickly. Take the time to assess what really goes on in the conversations you have.

Pattern matching works great for emergencies and for many other things. But don't let it be the only tool in your mental repertoire. To get past its limitations, you need an open mind. You need to ask, "How else might I view this information? What assumptions am I making, and how do I know those are true? What if I flip things around?"

Here are some time tips:

• https://www.mindconnection.com/main/timemanager/files/productivity/tutorials/avoidingrework.htm
• https://www.mindconnection.com/main/timemanager/files/timetips/breakitdown.htm
• https://www.mindconnection.com/main/timemanager/files/timetips/emailtimetips_003.htm
• https://www.mindconnection.com/main/timemanager/files/timetips/findinghiddentime_003.htm
• https://www.mindconnection.com/main/timemanager/files/timetips/perfectionvsprogress.htm
• https://www.mindconnection.com/main/timemanager/files/timetips/predefinegoals.htm

This concludes our discussion on this topic.

So, you've looked at all the facts, disinformation, propaganda, etc., on LTC and decide you need a policy. How can you find a salesperson who isn't a sleazeball? The same way you hire anyone (and you are hiring this person). You interview. Call an agent and explain you are shopping for an LTC agent. You aren't looking at price quotes, yet. You want to find the right person to help you with the purchase (that's the salesperson's job, as opposed to simply being an order taker). So, ask some questions such as these:

• What kinds of insurance do you sell?
• Why do you sell LTC?
• If you were asked to, could you do policy comparisons against at least one competitor?
• What are some common mistakes people make with LTC?
• Tell me why I should do business with you.

The point of these questions is to determine if this person:

• Knows the business.
• Believes in the product.
• Is someone you feel comfortable with.

Don't comment back on the answers, argue, or waste this person's time with chit-chat. Don't make promises. After you get the answers, thank the person. Then say something like, "This is a job interview, and if I decide to hire you I will let you know. I'm hiring someone to guide me to the right policy."

You might interview 2 or 3 people. Don't spend huge amounts of time trying to find the perfect sales person. You may really click with the first one you contact. If so, call back the next day and ask about setting up an appointment.

It's worth noting that the LTC market is dominated by 10 players who sell 80% of the policies. These are names you would recognize--they are simply big players in life and health insurance, period.

You may find an independent agent who deals solely in the other 20%. When working with your agent, ask for comparisons with policies that agent doesn't sell. Any agent who doesn't know the marketplace and doesn't know the competition is pretty much just an order taker.

This organization may help: www.ahip.org

The same thing happens with snail mail. I am forever receiving invoices for magazines and for various products and services. Unless you actually ordered such things, none of these "invoices" can legally bind you.

Yes, you can get false invoices from the American Taliban. An OMB report showed 95% of the notices they send out have at least one error. But you still have to answer these folks, because the assumption is you are guilty until you prove your innocence beyond a reasonable doubt. It would be easier to convict O.J., but that doesn't matter.

With invoices, then, the rule is this: If they are from the American Taliban, you must call and write and you must then follow up every 10 days until you receive written confirmation that the issue is completely resolved. Otherwise, you could find all of your assets seized without notice.

1. A rabbit's teeth never stops growing. They are kept worn down by gnawing on food. Similarly, Congress' appetite for pork-barrel spending never stops. They keep you worn down by gnawing away at your wallet with ever-increasing taxes.
    

2. See: Special Offers (expired link now removed). It has some great offers that are worth following up on.
    

3. We don't run ads in our newsletter. We do get inquiries from advertisers, all the time. To keep this eNL coming, go to www.mindconnection.com and do your shopping from there (as appropriate).
    

4. Please forward this eNL to others.