Category Archives: Uncategorized

OBAMACARE WAS A LIE, MILLIONS LOST HEALTHCARE COVERAGE AND PREMIUMS SKYROCKETED

New Study: Obamacare Caused Millions To Lose Insurance Plans, Premiums To Skyrocket

Obamacare caused millions of Americans to lose their insurance plans while premiums skyrocketed, according to a new study from the Committee to Unleash Prosperity.

OBAMA LIED ABOUT EVERYTHING, AND PROMISED TO CHANGE AMERICA, ONLY FOOLS BELIEVED HIM AND NOW EVERYONE IS SUFFERING THE HEALTHCARE MESS.

Former President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act (ACA) sought to make health insurance more accessible, all while reducing premiums and the government’s budget shortfall, and allowing Americans to keep their preferred medical providers. However, individual market premiums surged, hundreds of billions of dollars were added to cumulative U.S. deficits and seven million consumers had their plans canceled following the ACA’s passage, the Committee to Unleash Prosperity study found.

“Obamacare has failed in every particular – it failed to make health care more affordable; it failed to improve the health of Americans; it piled on an enormous amount of additional debt on taxpayers; it has principally enriched massive insurance company conglomerates, and it now serves as a major impediment to real heath care reforms that would empower patients and doctors,” Phil Kerpen, American Commitment and Unleash Prosperity president and one of the study’s co-authors, told the DCNF. “As we show in this paper, every single promise that was made to pass this law turned out to be false.”

Obama claimed the ACA would slow the growth in U.S. healthcare spending and “bring down premiums by $2,500 for the typical family,” but individual market premiums more than doubled from 2013 to 2017 and deductibles soared, according to the study.

The disparity between ACA advocates’ promises and the legislation’s actual effect on costs is largely due to a failure to implement the “Cadillac tax,” which was meant to use the proceeds from a tax on employer-sponsored insurance plans to prevent increases in private health insurance premiums, according to the study.  The tax was delayed for eight years due to a lack of political support, and was delayed again in 2015 and 2018 before Congress repealed it outright in 2019.

As Americans grappled with rising premiums and deductibles, the number of medical providers willing to accept coverage plummeted, with at least seven million consumers having their plans canceled in the fall of 2013 because they did not comply with the ACA’s new mandates, the study found. The wave of cancellations occurred despite Obama sayingin June 2009 that “if you like your health-care plan, you’ll be able to keep your health-care plan, period. No one will take it away, no matter what.”

Obama also claimed that the ACA would be a “deficit-reducing health care reform,” but the study found most of the tax increases that were going to be used to help fund the program have been repealed, and that student loan provisions embedded in the ACA had losses of $32 billion as of 2019.

The U.S. national debt stood at roughly $35.72 trillion as of Oct. 8, up from roughly $13 trillion in the first quarter of 2010 when the ACA was passed, according to data from the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

The study also identified several additional “enticing promises” that were untrue, including claims that the ACA would be reserved for U.S. citizens. However, ample Obamacare insurance subsidies now go to insure people who immigrated illegally, as the Biden-Harris administration expanded ACA access in May to include members of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

Obamacare also drove employers to move full-time workers into part-time positions in order to avoid ACA rules requiring companies provide 95% of full-time employees health insurance given they employ fifty or more people for more than 30 hours per week, the report found.

“The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has made healthcare in the United States anything but affordable,” Peter C. Earle, senior economist at the American Institute for Economic Research, told the DCNF. “A comparison between what was promised in the lead-up to the passage of the ACA in 2010, and how those assurances have actually played out, is well within the ability of any third grader. Yet there is a curious lack of motivation among intelligentsia in much of the media and virtually all of academia to point out how expensive the ACA has made healthcare for US citizens.”

DOJ FAILS TO INVESTIGATE FRAUD AND CORRUPTION IN THE LONGSHORMEN UNION

Some dockworkers earn more than $400,000 a year AND DO NOT WORK!t 1, 2024 FEDS LOOK THE OTHER WAY AND DO NOTHiNG!

– Some longshoreman regularly earn more than the president of the United States along with most other U.S. workers.

Under the existing contract with the East Coast union, a top-scale longshoreman could earn up to $39 an hour, which translates to about $81,000 a year. However, many workers take overtime and extra shifts that have higher rates.

Some 50,000 International Longshoremen’s Association members went on strike Tuesday against the East and Gulf Coast ports, hampering the flow of goods in what some predict could be the most disruptive strike in decades.

Dockworkers often earn more than $100,000 a year because of work rules and overtime requirements.

More than half of 3,726 dockworkers at the Port of New York and New Jersey earned more than $150,000 in the fiscal year that ended in 2020, according to the port’s regulator, the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor. About one in five dockworkers at the port earned more than $250,000 that year.

Eighteen dockworkers brought in more than $450,000 that year – more than the annual salary as the U.S. President ($400,000) and more than most U.S. workers. The real median household income for all Americans was $74,580 in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Some dockworkers get paid even if they don’t work.

“Every terminal within the Port still has special compensation packages given to certain ILA longshore workers, the majority of whom are white males connected to organized crime figures or union leadership,” according to the Commission’s 2019-2020 annual report. “Based on the industry’s reported figures, the Commission has again identified over 590 individuals who collectively received over $147.6 million dollars last year in outsized salaries, or for hours they never worked.”

The report noted the special packages were not memorialized in the applicable collective bargaining agreements. Rather than eliminate or cap them, the NYSA and ILA negotiated a 2013 Memorandum of Settlement of Local Conditions in the Port of New York-New Jersey. That guarantees special packages to certain people. Those individuals are paid for hours not worked or hours worked by others, as long as they are at the Port for 40 hours each week, according to the Commission’s report.

Such conditions have endured for decades, according to the Commission’s report.

“The hearings revealed that the hiring, training and promotion practices of the industry led to low-show jobs, favoritism and nepotism, the abusive and illogical interpretation of collective bargaining agreements, and the impact of those practices both on the competitiveness of the Port and on the morale and career prospects of decent, hard-working Port employees,” according to the report. “Connected individuals are awarded high paying, low-show or no-work special compensation packages, in some cases earning salaries in excess of $500,000. Such positions were overwhelmingly given to white males connected to organized crime figures or union leadership.”

The ongoing strike, which extends from Maine to Texas, could affect everything from bananas to European beer and automobiles.

The International Longshoremen’s Association blamed the United States Maritime Alliance for refusing a contract offer.

NOBODY IS PROSECUTING OR INVESTIGATING THESE CORRUPT OFFICIALS WHILE THEY ARE INVESTIGATING BAKERS FOR NOT MAKING A CAKE FOR SOME MINORITY.

It’s the first strike at these ports since 1977. The strike will affect 36 U.S. ports handling about half of U.S. ocean imports. Included are Boston, New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia.

Negotiations have been tense since June. The disagreement is between the International Longshore Association and Warehouse Union, which represents port workers across the country, and the U.S. Maritime Alliance, which represents terminal operators and ocean carriers.

Wages of East and Gulf coast workers are a base wage of $39 an hour after six years. The union is asking for a 77% pay increase over six years. It is also asking for more restrictions and bans on the automation of cranes, gates, and container movements used to load or unload cargo.

 

DOCKWORKERS BOSS IS A RICH ARROGANT “A-HOLE” WHO WANTS TO TELL THE USA HOW IMPORTANT HE IS JOE BIDEN IS SCARED TO STOP HIM

The union boss Harold Daggett “known as the goat” has long cast himself as a staunch advocate for blue-collar workers, even as he has lived in luxury, owning a yacht and driving a Bentley — and fought off alleged ties to the Mafia. Oh, what a surprise, a union boss thug, say it is not so!

Sporting a polo shirt with a chunky gold medallion around his neck, the 78-year-old Daggett, who as president of the International Longshoremen’s Association is leading the port strikes stretching from Maine to Texas, was prone to theatrical flourishes in a September interview as he geared up for the strike.

“They’re gonna be like this,” Daggett said, grabbing his neck in a choking gesture. “I’ll cripple you. I will cripple you and you have no idea what that means. Nobody does.”

Harold Daggett warned the port strikes will “cripple” the US economy if longshoremen’s demands are not met. AFP via Getty Images

Since last year, Daggett has threatened to shut down the 36 ports covered by his union if “money crazy” shipping companies refused to issue wage hikes and protections for workers against industry automation.

“Who’s going to support [workers’] families? Machines? Machines don’t have families,” he previously said.

Meanwhile, Daggett — has worked at the ILA for 57 years and took the helm as president in 2011 — raked in $728,000 in compensation last year from the ILA.

He collected another $173,000 as president emeritus of a local union branch, according to labor department filings.

He lives in a 7,136 square-foot house valued at $1.7 million on a 10-acre lot in Sparta, New Jersey, according to Zillow and NJ Property Records.

By comparison, his fellow union bosses at the AFL-CIO, Teamsters and autoworkers unions earn less than $300,000 a year, according to a Politico report.

Daggett formerly owned the Obsession – a 76-foot yacht – and his family reportedly saw him zipping around in a Bentley, according to The New York Times.

“Dude had more yachts than me!” billionaire Tesla founder Elon Musk wrote in a post on X on Tuesday.

In 2005, the Justice Department accused Daggett of being an “associate” of the Genovese crime family – one of the “Five Families” of the US Mafia. Are not union bosses always “associates”?

The dockworkers are seeking wage hikes and protections against industry automation in the new contract. AP

Daggett took the witness stand that year after federal prosecutors charged him with racketeering.

He described himself as a target of the mob – though a turncoat Mafia member had testified Daggett was under the mob’s thumb, The New York Times reported.

During the course of the trial, one of Daggett’s co-defendants – Lawrence Ricci, an alleged major mob figure – disappeared. His body was found weeks later decomposing in the trunk of a car outside a New Jersey diner, or on the docks???LOL.

Ricci’s death remained unsolved, though speculation circulated that he was killed after refusing to plead guilty to avoid news reports of the trial.

In 2005, Daggett was accused of being a Mafia “associate.” AP

Daggett was acquitted in two cases – even though the famous black-and-white mob movie “On the Waterfront” was inspired by his longshoremen’s union.

Over the years, Daggett has bad-mouthed the Waterfront Commission – a regulatory agency that was inspired by the movie and created to prevent corruption among New York and New Jersey ports.

Daggett called the commission’s accusations of mob ties “total bulls–t” and a “dark, ugly attack on Italian Americans.” TIME FOR AN IRS/DOJ AUDIT?

“It’s a damn tragedy for the Waterfront Commission to enjoy free rein and target Italian Americans as part of their historic anti-worker campaign,” Daggett said in 2022. “Let’s be real here. The Waterfront Commission has, for decades, claimed good jobs went to only those with so-called ‘mob ties.’”

Daggett’s sons — Dennis and John — reportedly earn similarly cushy salaries in their roles at the union.

Dennis, the executive vice president of the ILA, earned $250,156 in the fiscal year ended December 2022, according to ProPublica. John, the general vice president of the Atlantic Coast District ILA, reportedly earned $264,228 in the same period.

Now, he’s using his trademark aggression to fight suppliers, government agencies and even President Biden on the strikes – which will cause supply chain logjams and could cost the economy billions each day, according to JP Morgan.

Retailers, auto suppliers and produce importers had hoped Biden would impose the federal Taft-Hartley Act, which allows US presidents to enact an 80-day cooling-off period that forces employees to return to work during certain labor disputes.

Daggett has bad-mouthed the Waterfront Commission, a regulatory agency that seeks to prevent corruption. AFP via Getty Images

But those hopes were swept away when Biden said Monday that he does not “believe” in Taft-Hartley. BIDEN THE CLUELESS!

Daggett had mocked the idea during an interview in early September.

“Do you think when I go back for 90 days those men are gonna go to work on that pier?” Daggett said.

He painted a picture of the effects of the strikes over time – signaling he was readying to buckle down for the long run.

President Joe Biden said he does not “believe” in the Taft-Hartley Act, would would force employees to return to work for 80 days. AFP via Getty Images

“Everything in the United States comes on a ship,” Daggett said during the September interview.

During the first week of the strikes, media outlets will cover the picket lines, he predicted.

During the second week, car salesmen will struggle to hold onto their jobs as automotive shipments stall, Daggett said. The malls will start to shut down during the third week.

“Everybody’s hating the longshoremen now because now they realize how important our jobs are,” the union head warned.

MOST POPULAR “TAX HAVENS” REVEALED

Is The UK The ‘Biggest Enabler’ Of Corporate Tax-Dodging?

The Tax Justice Network has revealed the United Kingdom to be the biggest enabler of corporate tax dodging in the world.

British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies dominate the top eight roundup of places allowing multinationals to avoid paying tax on their profits. In total, this makes the UK responsible for about one third of global tax avoidance risk.

Infographic: The UK Dominates the Most Damaging Tax Havens | Statista

EU countries are also responsible for a third of corporate tax abuse risk, whereas African nations are responsible for just four percent of corporate tax abuse risks and Latin America for only three percent. Among the countries to have performed worse than before are Brazil, Poland and Mexico.

Ireland entered the top ten list for the first time in 2024 with an index value of 1,622, ranking in ninth place. It is followed by Luxembourg (1,480) and then the Bahamas, the latter of which is an independent member of the British commonwealth but not an OT or CD. In position 12 comes the Isle of Man and in 13 comes Guernsey, both Crown Dependencies. The United Kingdom places in 18th position with a value of 894.

According to the Tax Justice Network, about half a trillion dollars are lost to tax havens per year.

UNIONS CRIPPLE THE ECONOMY AND ONLY HELP THEMSELVES

Factbox-From Boeing to FedEx, US labor unions flex muscle

FILE PHOTO: Boeing’s Washington state factory workers vote on first full contract in 16 years -The first large-scale strike by dockworkers on the U.S. East and Gulf coast in nearly 50 years, blocking everything from food to automobile shipments, has highlighted again the increasing mobilization by unions in the country since last year.

Here are some key union disruption actions in 2023 and 2024:

PAY US OR WE WILL DESTROY YOUR BUSINESS OR THE ECONOMY seem to be the best motto for having a UNION in your business.

My own personal experience has been friendly and cooperative,  and I have several  congratulatory plaques on my wall attesting to what a good friend am to workers in my employ or at my company.

In fact one of the companies we acquired had 12,500 Union employees, and another 4,500. I met personally with Teamster top brass in their Washington, DC headquarters and we got along just fine.

As buyers, as acquirers we inherit the union when we buy a unionized business. So, it is what it is,,,however, the attitude of the leadership is often in contravention to the interests of the employees.

Just look at how the union demands have destroyed the trucking business for LTL truck lines.All the major LTL lines are long gone after bankruptcy.

RECENT UNION ‘WINS” which raised costs for everyone

LOGISTICS

Members of the International Longshoremen’s Association walked out at the major U.S. ports on Oct. 1 after talks with United States Maritime Alliance over a new contract failed.

The combined 36 East and Gulf Coast ports handle 57% of U.S. container volume, and analysts warned the disruption will cost the economy billions of dollars a day.

Teamsters union workers at United Parcel Service ratified a new five-year contract in August 2023, averting a strike.

** FedEx pilots have been involved in a standoff with the firm over wages and legacy pensions since May last year.

AIRLINES & AEROSPACE FIRMS

** More than 32,000 Boeing workers in Seattle and Oregon walked off the job on Sept. 13, in the union’s first strike since 2008, seeking a 40% pay rise and restoration of a defined-benefit pension.

** Pilots at airlines including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines Holdings, Spirit Airlines and Jetblue Airways negotiated new job contracts in 2023.

** Spirit AeroSystems negotiated a new contract to end a week-long work stoppage at its Kansas plant in June 2023.

AUTOMOTIVE

** General Motors, Ford and Chrysler-owner Stellantis ratified deals with United Auto Workers members in November 2023. The UAW said on Nov. 15, 2023 that about 3,900 of its members at Mack Trucks ratified a new five-year contract, ending a month-long strike at the Volvo Group-owned company.

MEDIA

** Members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) approved a new three-year contract with major studios on Oct. 9, 2023 after striking in May over compensation, among other issues.

** Hollywood actors reached a tentative agreement with major studios on Nov. 8, 2023 to resolve the second of two strikes, over higher pay in the streaming era, that hit the entertainment industry.

STEEL

** U.S. steel producer Cleveland-Cliffs reached a tentative agreement with the United Steelworkers union in August 2023 on a new labor agreement for its Northshore mining operations.

CONSUMER & RETAIL

** In Las Vegas, thousands of workers reached agreements with casino operators and resorts Caesars Entertainment, MGM Resorts and Wynn Resorts in November 2023, averting strikes.

** The Detroit Casino Council reached a tentative agreement for a contract covering 3,700 workers at casinos operated by MGM Resorts, Penn and the MotorCity Casino, in November 2023, after calling its first ever strike.

** Over 3,000 workers at more than 150 Starbucks stores held strikes in June 2023, following claims the company had banned Pride Month decorations at some cafes.

** Workers at hundreds of Starbucks stores walked off their jobs during a promotional event last November, over staffing.

** Thousands of Los Angeles-area hotel staffers went on a three-day strike in July 2023 over wages and benefits.

HEALTHCARE

** More than 7,000 nurses went on a three-day strike in New York City over staffing and pay in January this year.

** Kaiser Permanente’s healthcare workers voted to ratify a new contract with the hospital chain on Nov. 9, 2023, following the largest recorded strike in the U.S. medical sector.

** Workers at CVS Health and Walgreens Boots Alliance held a three-day walkout in October 2023 over working conditions and staffing.

ENERGY

** More than 200 Teamsters members working at Marathon’s Detroit refinery walked off their jobs on Sept. 4, 2024 after months of pay- and safety-related negotiations stalled.

** Unionized workers at Phillips 66’s Illinois plant ratified a contract with the refiner in late-stage negotiations over pay and benefits, averting a strike in September last year.

SO NEXT TIME YOUR BUSINESS IS ASKED TO JOIN A UNION…THINK ABOUT THE FUTURE. WILL YOUR BUSINESS SURVIVE IN A COMPETITIVE MARKET WITH YOUR NEW HIGHER EMPLOYEE COSTS?

DAY IN THE LIFE OF JEFF BEZOS-AMAZON FOUNDER

Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO Amazon.com
Jeff Bezos’ daily schedule looks different now that he’s not running Amazon.
  • Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is the second richest man in the world.
  • He’s no longer CEO of Amazon, but he now spends extra time with his space company.

He may no longer be running Amazon, but he’s kept busy.

The Amazon cofounder has a net worth of $195 billion, according to Forbes. In addition to founding the online retail behemoth Amazon, Bezos also owns The Washington Post and an aerospace company, Blue Origin.

Bezos stepped down as CEO of Amazon in 2021 to focus on his rocket company Blue Origin, but he still advises the company as chairman and gives his input on AI efforts. Andy Jassy took over the CEO role. Now, Bezos spends most of his time on his rocket company, saying recently in a podcast interview that he’s “working harder than I ever have.”

Bezos has also been dating his fiancée Lauren Sánchez since 2019.

So what does daily life look like for the tech mogul? Sánchez described their morning routine in an interview with People.

Here’s a look inside his daily routine:

He wakes up every morning naturally, without the aid of an alarm clock.

Jeff Bezos
Jeff Bezos prioritizes eight hours of sleep every night.Drew Angerer / Getty Images

Bezos makes sure to get enough rest — he sleeps for eight hours every night. The former CEO told CNBC in 2021 that while he could sleep less and be more productive, the quality of his decisions would be lower, which isn’t worth it to him.

“I prioritize it,” he said at a dinner hosted by the Economic Club of Washington, D.C. “I think better. I have more energy. My mood is better.”

Bedtime is 9:30 p.m., according to his fiancée.

Jeff Bezos like to “putter” around in the morning.

Jeff Bezos
Jeff Bezos likes a slow morning.Amy Harris/Invision/AP

“I like to putter in the morning,” Bezos told a gathering of Economic Club of Washington, DC, Axios reported “So I like to read the newspaper. I like to have coffee.”

 

Bezos and Sánchez have a no-phone rule in the mornings

Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez in Aspen, Colorado, last holiday season.
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez in Aspen, Colorado, last holiday season.BG041/Bauer-Griffin

Sánchez told People she and Bezos have a “magic moment” before the kids wake up, where it’s just the two of them talking in the morning. She said during this time, the two don’t use their phones and it’s “one of the rules.”

“He definitely made that rule,” Sánchez told People. “It wasn’t me. But the mornings are just us for as long as we can.”

Bezos and Sanchez also like to start off their morning with journaling, although Sánchez said in a Vogue interview in November that the two weren’t quite there yet.

“We’ll do it, like, three days a week,” she told Vogue.

Whoever wakes up first makes the coffee, Sánchez said.

Jeff Bezos
The billionaire Amazon drinks his morning coffee in a self-heating Ember mug.Alex Wong / Getty Images

While the billionaire Amazon founder drinks his morning coffee in a self-heating Ember mug, Sánchez says she uses a mug Bezos got her from Amazon that says, “woke up sexy as hell again.”

Bezos reportedly never schedules early-morning meetings, in order to spend quality time with his family.

Jeff Bezos and his fiancée, Lauren Sanchez
Jeff Bezos and his fiancée, Lauren Sanchez.MEGA / Getty Images

Bezos has said he likes a slow morning to spend time with his family.

Sánchez told Vogue Bezos calls out, “don’t learn anything I wouldn’t learn.” The line has become a staple in their everyday routine and her daughter now finishes it for him.

Once the kids leave, Sánchez and Bezos get to work

Lauren Sánchez and Jeff Bezos hold hands and walk on a sidewalk.
Lauren Sánchez and Jeff Bezos at the Sun Valley Conference 2024.Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

Sánchez told People that once the morning rush is over and the kids drive to school, her and Bezos get to work.

“After the kids leave, it’s just me and Jeff and the dogs,” she said, People reported.

Bezos also reads the newspaper and chats with his fiancé before heading to the gym for cardio and weightlifting, he said.

Jeff Bezos, Amazon
The Amazon founder goes to the gym even when he doesn’t feel like it.Drew Angerer, Getty images

“Most days, [going to the gym is] not that hard for me, but some days it’s really hard and I do it anyway,” he said.

The billionaire said he goes to the gym almost every day.

Bezos said in a Lex Fridman podcast on a good day he does 30 minutes of cardio and 45 minutes of weightlifting or resistance training of some kind.

“I have a trainer who you know I love who pushes me,” Bezos said in the podcast. “Which is really helpful.”

But Sánchez said they don’t do the same exercises.

“He’s on a whole different level than I am,” Sánchez said in the Vogue interview. “He is a monster in the gym.”

But he does like to get his more intensive meetings rolling before noon. “I do my high-IQ meetings before lunch,” he told the Economic Club of Washington, DC.

Jeff Bezos
Jeff Bezos likes to schedule mentally challenging meetings before noon.Joshua Roberts/Reuters

“Like anything that’s going to be really mentally challenging, that’s a 10 o’clock meeting,” Bezos said back in 2018, according to Axios.

Bezos usually keeps his afternoons clear of high-intensity meetings.

amazon hq2 jeff bezos
If high-IQ meetings come up at the end of the day, Jeff Bezos holds them off.Alex Wong/Getty Images

If something that necessitates a “high-IQ meeting” pops up later in the day, Bezos typically puts it off until the next day.

“By 5 p.m., I’m like, ‘I can’t think about that today. Let’s try this again tomorrow at 10 a.m,'” he told the Economic Club of Washington, DC in 2018.

When it comes to meals, Bezos has a taste for unusual dishes.

Jeff Bezos
Jeff Bezos once famously ordered an octopus for breakfast.Alex Wong / Getty Images

He was photographed eating an iguana once.

And, during a meeting with Woot founder Matt Rutledge, he ordered octopus with potatoes, bacon, green garlic yogurt, and eggs for breakfast.

“When I look at the menu, you’re the thing I don’t understand, the thing I’ve never had,” Bezos said. “I must have the breakfast octopus.”

Bezos and Sánchez like to cook. Sanchez said Bezos makes churros in his deep fryer, a recipe passed down from his Cuban grandfather.

Jeff Bezos
Both Jeff Bezos and his fiancée like to cook.David Ryder/Stringer

“Abuelo made churros whenever we were with him,” Bezos said.

Bezos also has a fondness for food trucks.

Jeff Bezos Amazon
Jeff Bezos told the former BI editor in chief about a food truck outside Amazon’s office.Scott Olson / Getty Images

In 2014, he told Henry Blodget, who was then Business Insider’s editor-in-chief, about a phenomenally popular truck outside of Amazon’s headquarters. “It’s out of control, actually,” he said.

Bezos said he’s never worked harder than he has since he left Amazon.

photo of Jeff Bezos wearing Blue Origin jumpsuit and cowboy hat
Jeff Bezos’s space company Blue Origin has a multi-million dollar contract with NASA to build a space station.Joe Raedle / Staff / Getty Images

His day revolves around reading documents and having meetings in person or over Zoom, he told Lex Fridman in a podcast.

Architecture and technology meetings almost every day about different subsystems inside the vehicle and engines.

“My favorite part of it is the technology,” Bezos said.

His least favorite part is building the organization, he said.

Bezos does “little thinking retreats.”

Jeff Bezos Charlie Rose
The billionaire said he’s very good at focusing.Scott Olson / Getty Images

The billionaire said he’s very good at focusing but he doesn’t keep to a strict schedule.

He told Lex Fridman he believes in wandering and his “messy” meetings often go overtime.

Family movie nights are a Saturday night tradition in the Bezos household, according to his fiancee.

jeff bezos
The Amazon founder’s favorite movie was “Oppenheimer,” his fiancée said.Mike Segar/Reuters

“Of course, Jeff’s favorite movie was Oppenheimer, and I love Barbie,” she told Vogue. “And there you have us summed up in two movies.”

Sánchez told People it takes a “little bit of time” to decide what to watch but the two “love” their TV time. They recently watched Baby Reindeer, Fallout, Presumed Innocent, and Severance, People reported.

Amazon now runs several popular original series, like “The Man in the High Castle” and “Transparent,” but the former Amazon CEO is a Trekkie.

Jeff Bezos Star Trek alien
Bezos on the set of “Star Trek Beyond.”Jeff Bezos/Vine

Bezos even made a surprise cameo in the 2016 film “Star Trek Beyond.”

Other than watching “Star Trek,” Bezos has another space-related hobby: gliding about in a submarine looking for old NASA rockets.

Jeff Bezos rocket model
Bezos with a model rocket.Win McNamee/Getty Images

He’s brought his kids along for the adventure.

“As a senior executive, you get paid to make a small number of high-quality decisions. Your job is not to make thousands of decisions every day,” he said, according to Axios.

Jeff Bezos
Jeff Bezos said his job isn’t to make thousands of decisions every day.Reuters/Lindsey Wasson

“Is that really worth it if the quality of those decisions might be lower because you’re tired or grouchy?” Bezos asked the Economic Club of Washington, D.C.

ACCOUNTING IS CRUCIAL FOR BUSINESS SUCCESS

ACCOUNTING IS CRUCIAL FOR YOUR BUSINESS REPORTING

There are many reasons why businesses fail, but many failures can be attributed to poor financial management. Financial health is the bedrock of any successful business, and effective bookkeeping lies at the core of strong financial management. Bookkeeping is often seen as a tedious administrative task, but in reality, it’s the backbone of any successful business. Effective bookkeeping not only ensures compliance with legal and tax regulations but also provides invaluable insights into a business’s financial health, enabling informed decision-making. So, the question begs to be asked: is your bookkeeping truly helping your business, or is it holding you back?

The Costs of Poor Bookkeeping

We all know driving blindfolded would be a bad idea. You will not be able to see the road ahead, how fast you are going, or even what direction you are headed. Similarly, operating a business without meticulous bookkeeping is akin to driving blindfolded. This can cost you in multiple ways:

  • Inaccurate Financial Reporting – Inaccurate financial reporting is arguably the most significant consequence of poor bookkeeping practices. Without a clear understanding of a business’s financial position, you risk making uninformed decisions that could jeopardize your company’s long-term viability. Incorrect financial statements can also lead to legal and tax issues, resulting in costly penalties and fines.
  • Inefficient Cash Flow Management – Cash flow is the lifeblood of any business, and effective bookkeeping is crucial for managing it efficiently. Poor bookkeeping practices can lead to missed invoices, late payments, and a lack of visibility into your company’s cash position. This, in turn, can result in missed opportunities for reinvestment, slow growth, and even bankruptcy.
  • Missed Tax Deadlines and Penalties – Failing to keep accurate records of your business’s income, expenses, and deductions can lead to costly tax penalties and missed deadlines. In some cases, poor bookkeeping practices can even result in audits by tax authorities, further compounding the financial and administrative burden on your business.

Clarity and Control: The Power of Informed Decisions

Accurate and current financial records illuminate the path ahead, allowing you to confidently steer your business. Up-to-date books provide the visibility to make informed choices as well as avoid costly detours and wrong turns that could otherwise derail your enterprise’s progress.

The benefits of effective bookkeeping include:

  • Improved Financial Visibility and Control – Effective bookkeeping provides a clear and accurate picture of your business’s financial health. With up-to-date financial records, you can quickly assess your company’s performance, identify areas for improvement, and make informed decisions about resource allocation, investment opportunities, and strategic planning.
  • Cash Flow Management: This is probably the most important thing that a good bookkeeper can do to improve your business. Understanding your cash flow, and the movement of money in and out of your business is crucial. This allows you to identify potential cash flow issues, take proactive measures to address them, and ensure that your business has sufficient funds to meet its obligations and capitalize on growth opportunities.
  • Tax Preparation: At its core, bookkeeping is the meticulous process of recording all financial transactions. This serves as the backbone for effective tax preparation. Organized and accurate bookkeeping records make tax filing a breeze. This saves you time, minimizes the risk of penalties, and ensures you take advantage of all available deductions and credits.

From Chaos to Calm: Streamlining Your Operations

Disorganized bookkeeping breeds chaos and inefficiency. Receipts accumulate in haphazard piles, invoices go missing, and looming deadlines cast an ominous shadow. This disarray not only squanders precious time but also breeds frustration and costly errors. Embracing effective bookkeeping brings order and clarity to your financial operations through:

  • Establishing Consistent Processes – Effective bookkeeping begins with establishing consistent processes for recording and categorizing financial transactions. This includes setting up a chart of accounts, documenting bookkeeping procedures, and defining clear roles and responsibilities for those involved in the bookkeeping process.
  • Leveraging Professional Expertise – For many small business owners, bookkeeping can be a daunting task, particularly when navigating complex tax regulations and financial reporting requirements. Partnering with a professional bookkeeper or accountant can provide valuable expertise and ensure that your financial records are accurate and compliant.
  • Fostering a Culture of Financial Discipline – Ultimately, effective bookkeeping requires a culture of financial discipline within your organization. This means instilling the importance of accurately recording and documenting financial transactions, adhering to established bookkeeping processes, and fostering open communication and collaboration between all stakeholders involved in the bookkeeping process.

Leveraging Technology: From Physical to Digital

Accounting as we know it, double-entry bookkeeping, was invented sometime around 1300-1400 AD for centuries after its invention, people relied upon paper ledgers and handwritten entries.  Today, the act of bookkeeping is a lot more digital than physical. Leveraging technology in bookkeeping will allow you to streamline record management, minimize errors, and optimize efficiency. The following are several ways to leverage technology in bookkeeping:

  • Cloud-Based Accounting Software – The advent of cloud-based accounting software has revolutionized the way businesses manage their bookkeeping tasks. These platforms offer a range of features, including automated data entry, real-time financial reporting, and secure data storage, making it easier than ever to maintain accurate financial records.
  • Mobile Accounting Apps – In today’s fast-paced business environment, the ability to access and update your financial records on the go is invaluable. Mobile accounting apps allow you to capture expenses, track mileage, and even generate invoices from your smartphone or tablet, ensuring that your bookkeeping is always up to date.
  • Integration with Other Business Tools – Many modern bookkeeping solutions offer seamless integration with other business tools, such as e-commerce platforms, point-of-sale systems, and payroll software. This integration streamlines data flow, reducing the risk of errors and improving the overall efficiency of your bookkeeping processes.

Drive Business Growth: Recording the Past to Valuable Insights

While maintaining accurate bookkeeping records is essential, it’s only the first step in leveraging financial data to drive business growth. Regular financial reporting and analysis are crucial for extracting valuable insights and making informed decisions that can propel a company forward. Financial reporting involves the preparation and distribution of comprehensive financial statements, including the balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement. These reports provide a snapshot of a business’s financial performance over a specific period, allowing the monitoring of key metrics, identification of trends, and the tracking of progress toward financial goals.

  • Income Statement Analysis – The income statement is a critical tool for analyzing a business’s profitability. By examining revenue and expense line items, you can identify areas for cost optimization, assess pricing strategies, and evaluate the performance of various product lines or services.
  • Balance Sheet Review: The balance sheet provides a comprehensive overview of a business’s assets, liabilities, and equity at a specific point in time. Regular analysis of the balance sheet will help to monitor the company’s financial health, assess liquidity and solvency, and make strategic decisions regarding investments, debt management, and capital allocation.
  • Cash Flow Monitoring – Cash flow is the lifeblood of any business, and monitoring the cash flow statement is crucial for ensuring adequate liquidity and avoiding cash flow shortages. By analyzing cash inflows and outflows, you can identify potential cash flow issues, implement strategies to improve collections and optimize your working capital management.
  • Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) – In addition to traditional financial statements, it’s essential to track KPIs that are specific to your industry and business objectives. These metrics can range from customer acquisition costs and lifetime value to inventory turnover ratios and employee productivity measures, providing valuable insights into a business’s operational efficiency and growth potential.

Beyond the Numbers: Building Trust and Credibility

Attempting to secure a loan from a bank without financial statements would be futile. Well-maintained financial records are the bedrock upon which trust and credibility with external parties are built. Proper bookkeeping strengthens a business’s standing in the following ways:

  • Investor Confidence: Investors rely heavily on accurate financial data to make informed investment decisions. Comprehensive bookkeeping records provide a transparent window into a business’s financial health and stability, enhancing its attractiveness to potential investors.
  • Lender Trust: Financial institutions mandate clear, well-organized financial statements when evaluating loan applications. Having meticulous bookkeeping in place demonstrates financial responsibility and increases your chances of securing favorable loan terms.
  • Vendor Relationships: Strong bookkeeping practices foster better relationships with vendors and suppliers. Timely payments, facilitated by organized records, showcase your business’s reliability, potentially leading to preferential payment terms or discounts.

Conclusion

Bookkeeping is often perceived as a mundane and tedious task, but its impact on the success of a business cannot be overstated. Effective bookkeeping practices provide the foundation for informed decision-making, efficient cash flow management, and compliance with legal and tax requirements. By embracing technology, establishing consistent processes, and fostering a culture of financial discipline, you can transform your bookkeeping from a burden into a strategic asset that drives your business’s growth and long-term success.

 

DIOR $2,800 Ladies Bags Cost $57 To Make, only the Stupid Buy them!

  • IF YOU  ARE THE DUMMY PAYING $2,800 for a $57 Ladies handbag…you are the chump making billionaires ever richer.

  • The Italian police raided some of LVMH’s Dior suppliers that make luxury handbags.
  • Italian prosecutors found Dior paid $57 to produce bags retailing for $2,780.
  • Judges placed Dior and Armani units under judicial administration for one year.

Two Italian luxury giants pay just a small amount to produce handbags that retail for thousands of dollars, according to documents in a sweeping investigation of subcontractors.

There’s a lot to love about designer goods. The luxurious materials, quality craftsmanship, prestigious logos, and fashionable silhouettes — the list goes on and on. But let’s face it: those price tags can be discouraging.

Still, you shouldn’t have to keep coveting that trendy handbag or even a classic investment piece.  From resale to rentals, there are plenty of online retailers where you can find new and used luxury items at a discount. For example, The Real Real is one of the most popular consignment shops that features both household names and lesser-known designers.

If you want to test drive a designer bag so you can swap it out the next month for a different one, we recommend Vivrelle. Contributing author Talia Ergas used Vivrelle to rent her Gucci camera bag, and was so impressed with its pristine condition that she ended up buying it.

$57 Bag Sells for $2,800

 

The prosecution said violating labor rules was a common industry practice that luxury giants relied on for higher profits.

“It’s not something sporadic that concerns single production lots, but a generalized and consolidated manufacturing method,” court documents about the decision to place Dior under administration said, according to Reuters.

“The main problem is obviously people being mistreated: applying labor laws, so health and safety, hours, pay,” Fabio Roia, the president of the Milan Court, told Reuters earlier this year. “But there is also another huge problem: the unfair competition that pushes law-abiding firms off the market.”

Last year, LVMH had 2,062 suppliers and subcontractors and undertook 1,725 audits, according to its environmental- and social-responsibility report.

LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault is the world’s third richest person, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. His daughter, Delphine Arnault, is the CEO of Dior.

I am planning to sell bags I will make by child laborers in North Korea for $2, for $2,800.

 

 

GENERAL MOTORS IS A FEMINIST FATALITY, MARY BARRA ITS CEO IS A FLAMING WORTHLESS WOKE LEMMING!

General Motors Company (GM): IS NOT BEING RUN FOR THE BENEFIT OF ITS STOCKHOLDERS, BUT ON A WOKE AND DISASTROUS FEMINIST PATH

With the passage of time, the role of women in the modern day workplace has slowly started to grow. In less than a century, more women not only lead companies but are also among some of the wealthiest individuals in the world.

At the same time, women have demonstrated that they are equal to men when it comes to disrupting industries. One of the best examples of this phenomena is America’s best known rocket company SpaceX. While SpaceX is famous for its founder and billionaire Elon Musk, the firm’s chief operations officer and president Gwynne Shotwell has been equally responsible for its massive success in the rocket industry which has dislodged decades of monopolies held by a few defense contractors.

In fact, this rising trend of women leading the charge at some of the biggest companies in the world has also generated interesting statistics when it comes to compensation. Data from Equilar shows that in 2023, out of the 341 CEOs part of the study, 25 were women. Their median pay package stood at $17.6 million, which according to Equilar, was 7.7% higher than the figure for the complete data set. At the same time, the 25 female CEOs saw five new executives added to the list when compared to 2022. However, the list is long of failed WOMEN CEO’s and distrous results…

ARE YOU KIDDING, DOES HAPLESS CLUELESS MARY BARRA DESERVE A $20 million annual payday? NO WAY!

In the last several year shareholders were rewarded by a share decline from $60 a share to a low in the twenties, while the woke queen extolled the virtues of every woke piece of jargon, and totally took GM out of the running in the manufacture of fossil fueled vehicles.

Pushing EV’s only with the assistance of the semi-senile old grandpa JOE, she pushed the company ito losing BILLIONS on EV’s which caught homes on fire and lost billions for the company, not to mention killing off the iconic Cadillac as an only ELECTRIC vehicle…

Is the GM Board of Directors asleep? Why is the Board allowing the femiinsts to run this company? Look at their ads? Are there any men in this company ?

Mary Barra fraudulently represents herself in the corporate reports as looking young, but in reality she is a haggard old grandma with woke ideas and is way pat the time she should be getting paid $20 million annually and pushes ideas that will destroy the GM business!

This is the real Mary Barra…OLD over the hill management.

But this is what she publishes as herself in the reports to stockholders; LOL

WHAT CARS WILL GM SELL IN 2030…WHEN ALL WILL BE ELECTRIC? Oh, yeah, she will long be retired on that gigantic and undeserved pension!

Considering this, it would appear that the gender pay gap in the US appears to be narrowing. To confirm this, we’ll have to look at the pay statistics for the entire country as opposed to only S&P 500 CEOs. Well, on this front, data gathered by Pew shows that there’s a lot to be done. The research firm points out that in 2002, women earned 80% of what men were paid. Two decades later, i.e. in 2022, this stood at 82%, indicating that there’s a lot more to be done to decrease the wage gap between the two genders. However, at the same time, younger women might be changing these trends. This is because according to Pew, women aged between 25 and 34 earned 92% of their male counterparts, which is quite higher than the figure of 86% in 2002.

We ranked publicly traded Fortune 500 companies with female CEOs by the number of hedge funds that had bought the shares in Q1 2024. Why do we care about what hedge funds do? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points.

BUT GM IS NO SHINING STAR>.

General Motors Company (NYSE:GM)

Number of Hedge Fund Shareholders In Q1 2024: 78

CEO: Mary T. Barra

General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) is one of the oldest and most iconic car manufacturers in America. Amidst a tumultuous couple of months which have seen General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) resume its autonomous driving efforts and settle disputes with unions for a battery manufacturing facility. Citi kept its Buy rating for the shares and a $96 share price target in June 2024.

The two key reasons behind the sustained optimism even as General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) has struggled in the EV industry are Citi’s belief that the US auto industry is robust and the car maker’s $11 billion share buyback. Between Q2 2024 and 2025, Citi now expects $7.1 billion in share buybacks which is significantly higher than the earlier estimate of $6.3 billion in buybacks.

SHARE BUYBACKS DO NOTHING TO ENHANCE STOCKHOLDER VALUES AND WASTE MONEY THAT SHOULD BE PAID IN DIVIDENDS!

General Motors Company (NYSE:GM)’s forward price to earnings ratio is just 5.02, which is less than 4x the S&P 500’s reading. This shouldn’t fool you though. We remember David Einhorn pitching GM at an investment conference more than 10 years ago and telling investors that GM’s PE ratio is 8 and it is an extremely cheap stock.

If GM’s true PE ratio was really 8 and the company was managed by talented individuals, they would have bought back enough shares to buy 1.5 GMs in 12 years. GM is still an “extremely” cheap company after 12 years and it underperformed the market S&P 500 Index during this period. GM’s market cap is around $50 billion, but it also has nearly $100 billion in net debt. It is a risky stock with a bankruptcy in its history. Unless General Motors’ management demonstrates a clear commitment to prioritizing shareholder interests over those of employees, we remain cautious about the GM stock.

Diamond Hill Capital mentioned the firm in its Q1 2024 investor letter. Here is what the firm said:

Automobile manufacturer General Motors continues capitalizing on the shift to electric vehicles (EVs) while maintaining the strength of its core gas-engine truck and SUV business. Though it has experienced some setbacks — such as needing to roll back its Cruise driverless car project — we believe the company remains well-positioned relative to secular tailwinds ( HE MEANS TO SAY A KICK IN THE BUTT?) within the automobile business.

THESE GENIUSES THINK THAT??? When pigs fly will Mary Barra lead GM to new glory…if ever!

Let’s list the auto brands that this feminist killed off…..now she is looking to kill off the entire company!

 

 

USA AND 13 REALLY STUPID OTHER COUNTRIES LABEL COWS AS CLIMATE TERRORISTS!

These 13 Countries Just Signed an Agreement to Engineer a Global Famine by Destroying Food Supply the USA id ONE OF THEM

The United States and the following 12 countries have all signed on to an agreement that in practice will destroy agriculture worldwide while ushering in global famine and starvation:

DUMBEST COUNTRIES ON THE PLANET ARE LISTED BELOW:

  • Argentina
  • Australia
  • Brazil
  • Burkina Faso
  • Chile
  • Czech Republic
  • Ecuador
  • Germany
  • Panama
  • Peru
  • Spain
  • Uruguay

A loss of meat production from Australia, Brazil and the U.S. alone would be enough to starve countless people, not to mention all the other foods that are raised and grown in these three countries.

 


Citing “climate change” and “global warming” as the reasons why such drastic measures must be taken, the globalists behind the climate scam are pushing the notion that agriculture, including animal rearing, must end in order to prevent animal flatulence from heating the environment.

“I am glad to see the shared commitment by the international community to mitigate methane emissions from agriculture as a means to achieve the goals we signed for in the Paris Agreement on climate,” said Luis Planas, Spain’s Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, in a statement.

Marcelo Mena, CEO of the Global Methane Hub, of course agrees.

“Food systems are responsible for 60 percent of methane emissions,” Mena explained in an announcement.

Without farms, there is no food-you GLOBAL MORONS!

Over the weekend, Vice President Kamala Harris made a statement of her own calling for a “reduced population.” This can be accomplished in part through the destruction of the global food supply.

The latest version of the global warming narrative is that food itself causes it. Apparently, the entire world must go back to a hunter and gatherer society with very few actual people remaining in order for the planet to “cool” itself down and return to “normal.”

“Mitigating methane is the fastest way to reduce warming in the short term,” claims former presidential wannabe John Kerry, who continues to be one of the loudest purveyors of global warming propaganda.

“Food and agriculture can contribute to a low-methane future by improving farmer productivity and resilience. We welcome agriculture ministers participating in the implementation of the Global Methane Pledge.”

Part of the Global Methane Pledge, by the way, involves transitioning the world from eating real foods like beef and chicken to instead consuming crickets and insect larvae, which are toxic and non-nutritious to humans.

As you can clearly see with the ongoing inflationary trend, which appears to be hyperinflation in slow motion, we are reaching a point where meat and food in general will become so unaffordable for the average person that many will have no choice but to try bugs, assuming they want to continue living in such a world.

“We can presume from this language that among the practices being considered are replacing a major portion of the beef and dairy cattle, pork, and chicken stocks that populations rely on for protein with insect larvae, mealworms, crickets, etc.,” says journalist Leo Hohmann about what the Global Methane Pledge entails.

“The U.N., World Economic Forum, and other NGOs have been promoting meatless diets and the consumption of insect protein for years, and billionaires have invested in massive insect factories being built in the state of Illinois, in Canada, and in the Netherlands, where mealworms, crickets, and other bugs will be processed as additives to be inserted into the food supply, often without clear labels that will inform people of exactly what they are eating.”

The powers-that-be REALLY want us eating crickets, lab-grown “meat,” or both. It’s all about control.

COWS ARE NOW CONSIDERED GLOBAL CLIMATE TERRORISTS!

Are we even surprised that our leaders want to murder us by destroying the food supply?

STOP THE INSANITY….!!!!! PLEASE LET ME HAVE  STEAK!