Al Gore Buys “Carbon Offsets” From Himself!

Posted on March 15, 2007 by scottsoapbox

This shows the power of the “new media” – that is blogs and such. In a case of pure irony, Al Gore’s financial/social/ecological trickery has been brough to light by his own invention: the Internet. ;)

Aside: Thanks to the Internet, any inspired (bored) person can research (dig around) and find all kinds of interesting (embarrassing) information. Take for instance a blogger that also happens to be an attorney. With the aid of lexus nexus, tremendous amounts of public info filed away in courthouses around the country are a few keystrokes away. Your typical blogger doesn’t have that technology advantage but what they lack in tech they make in sheer numbers. And since blogs feed off each other, one random blogger finds a connection… the blogosphere picks up on it… one mainstream org picks up on that…. and suddenly one random guy has shaped the national news cycle. Pretty sweet eh?

So here’s the scoop: Al Gore is loving the attention his war against Global Warming has brought him. One problem though: his jet-setting lifestye, the big mansion, etc. – well, they aren’t that eco-friendly. The solution: Carbon Offsets. A carbon offset is the expending of money to offset your polution. Now that’s a little vague ’cause offsets abound and vary. The best offsets do things like take your money and plant trees (minus an admin fee of course), but they get much less practical. The next level promises to “research” or “invest” in “green” products or companies. These promises could be a lot of things in practice – ah, the power of vague marketing speak. The BEST level promises to send to a certificate complete with decorative ribbon saying that you bought offsets from them. NO word on what those offsets entail, but you’ve got a clear conscience AND a way to show off to your friends. What could be better?

So now that you understand the “industry” here’s what Gore is doing he is buying “offsets” from a company called Generation Investment Management, LLP. Can you guess who the founder and Chairman of this investment group is? That’s right: Al Gore.

This is BRILLIANT. Al Gore makes his eco-buddies happy through purchasing “offsets” to balance out his uneco-friendly lifestyle. But in a deft finacial move, he buys them from himself. His “offset” company then invests in green companies that will benefit if people start believing global warming is real. So Gore gets to not only use Global Warming to be a star, but also to increase the value of his portfolio.

I am actually so inspired, I want to get into selling these indulgences -er- offsets myself. Anyone feeling guilty for living like an American? Send me money and it will make you feel better. I promise. I’ll even whip you up a nice cert to hang above your pollution-neutral natural gass fireplace. :D

Welcome To The World, Here’s $500

Posted on March 1, 2007 by scottsoapbox

California is looking to pass a law that would give EVERY baby a $500 savings account. And they do mean every baby, since it will be "regardless of their parents’ income or immigration status." I’m sorry, what? Come to America to have your baby illegals!! Not only will we allow your babies birth create an "anchor" for your immigration status – we’ll throw in $500 cash. Has the government gone completely mad?

Sadly, it gets much worse when you actually think about this proposal. Setting the illegals question aside lets look at the math behind this "encourage savings" project that will only cost California tax payers $285,000,000 each year. The article states that "If families added $50 a month to the state’s initial contribution, the savings account would grow to nearly $17,500 at 5 percent interest over 18 years." ACTUALLY, if you know how to use a financial calculator (and set it to monthly payments of $50 instead of yearly payments of $600), the account will really grow to $18,687 (though you are supposed to give back the initial $500 at that point so $18,187). What it fails to point out is that if families saved the $50/month WITHOUT the governments $500 it would grow to $17,460. Well suddenly all that growth doesn’t look quite as impressive does it?

Beyond that, you can simply visit your local bank to discover that a 5% savings account is a tad optimistic. I called my broker and found my current money market rate to be 4.875% – which is actually up with rising interest rates. So really 3-4% is a more realistic CD/savings account rate. Change the ROI to 3.5% and the governments magic $500’s interest drops from the already low $727 to a mere $438.

But wait, there’s more! When you take into account inflation the money is worth even less. Inflation in this country is typically 2-3%, so we’ll use 2.5%. This means $438 of free government interest in 18 years will be worth the equivolent of $98 in today’s money. Everyone give the governement a standing "O" – they came up with a way to give everyone $98 for college, and it only costs $285 MILLION dollars a year

Now I hate to beat a dead horse, but there are a few more glaring problems with this great idea. First of all, undoubtedly the program’s cost stated in the article only accounts for the actual $500 of savings multiplied by the number of babies born. On top of that you will also have the efficient government administration of millions of tiny savings accounts. Think social security. And speaking of social security, we all know what happend to the money being saved for the good of the people. That’s right all the money was raided and replaced with a thick stack of IOUs. Don’t think it won’t happen here.

If the government wants to encourage savings it should try teaching math in school. I mean practical math. Financial math. Barring that, it could run community service announcement ads extolling the virtues of savings. This would in the end prove less expensive and more effective than this bill.

What the government should really try to increase is INVESTING not savings. Let’s take our earlier example of $50/month for 18 years and instead of saving it at 3 or 5% lets invest it. A good mutual fund will average around 12% over the long run. Invested, that $50/month payment would grow to $37,893. Adjusted for inflation your looking at the buying power of $28,369. And since the government didn’t give you the wooping $500 head start, you can spend that money on anything you want – free of government restrictions. Oh but the government will take 15% of your gain in taxes to help them pay for programs that encourage illegal immigration -oh- I mean savings.

California Bill Would Give Newborns $500 Savings Accounts

Great Race Of 07

Posted on February 9, 2007 by scottsoapbox

While the major news networks hem and haw over the "upcoming" Presidential election (a mere two years out), I would point out the great race of 07: The Nobel Peace Prize.

Created by inventor Alfred Nobel in his will in 1896 to be given to the individual or organization who "shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding of
peace congresses." The first Nobel Peace Prize was awarded in 1901 to Henry Dunant and Frederic Passy.

This year promises to be a banner year for the peace prize as both Rush Limbaugh and Al Gore have been nominated. Rush has been nominated for his "two decades of tireless efforts to promote liberty, equality and opportunity for all humankind, regardless of race, creed, economic stratum or national origin. These are the only real cornerstones of just and lasting peace throughout the world". Al was nominated for his movie, An Inconvenient Truth, about global warming and "making a difference".

I believe this underscores the waning respect this honor now garners. And has everyone forgotten that this is a PEACE prize? Aren’t their any more Mother Teresas in the world?

Adding Ethanol To Gas Hurts Mexico And America

Posted on February 9, 2007 by scottsoapbox

National Review Online has an interesting article on the impact of increasing the ethanol content in gasoline. The idea sounds good: increase the amount of corn-based ethanol in gasoline to reduce our dependance on foreign oil and help protect the environment. Unfortunatley in practice it does a lot more.

Increasing ethanol in US Gas has increased corn tortillas in Mexico 55% – bad for poor Mexicans. Increasing the cost of food for the poorest people in Mexico is creating political instability there. If trends continue, Mexico won’t be the only one experiencing higher food costs. Not only will the cost of everything made from corn increase, but food that is fed corn (think meat) will increase in price as well.

The worst part is that the government is considering mandating a 20% level of ethanol into gas by 2017. The problem is that America doesn’t have that much corn. If all the corn grown here was converted to ethanol instead of food, we would be at a 12% level. So our great plan is to trade dependance on oil for corn while increasing the cost of living and destabilizing Mexico. Great idea guys.