Book Review of Get a Job, Build a Real Career, Defy a Bewildering Economy by Charles Hugh Smith

There are a lot of unemployed people in our economy. All of them would benefit by reading Charles Hugh Smith's book, Get a Job, Build a Real Career, Defy a Bewildering Economy.

Theme

Smith's book first acknowledges that our current economy is undergoing a massive shift similar in scope to the industrial revolution.  He indicts the higher education system as a cartel that has lost touch with employer demand. Smith's premise is that the need for a higher education stamp (degree) is of much less value in today's economy than the cost associated with the massive debt load it inflicts. Instead, Smith urges people to "self-accredit" at a much lower cost, and he explains how a person should go about doing so.

 Skills That Are Not Taught in University

Professionalism.

Smith correctly asserts that employers are looking for professionals.  A college degree does little to teach people the skills of a professional. 

Employers are looking for professionals--people who are accountable and take ownership of their tasks. They want folks who communicate clearly and effectively and work collaboratively.  Employers seek people who learn and accept challenging new material. They want people who can creatively adapt and solve problems in changing environments.  The University curriculum does not focus on helping students develop these professional skills.

Once upon a time, employers were willing to hire people and teach them the skills of professionalism. However, in today's economy, with an abundance of college educated unemployed people looking for a job and the cost of hiring people escalating, employers will not hire people and invest years of on the job training. Employers want to hire employees who will hit the ground running. Smith's book tells how to become a proven professional and to be that person. 

Smith: "a professional is never unemployed; he is always self-employed."

Self Accreditation

Get a Job, Build a Real Career, Defy a Bewildering Economy gives details on how a person can self-accredit themselves.

Smith first urges readers to self assess and find their true calling. Once you know it truly, develop mastery over your field. Work hard to gain deep expertise based on experience and ownership of all aspects of your work, including the reputation that arises from its results. Become a professional in your chosen field.

As a practical matter, Smith asserts that a blog is essential for every person. The blog itself represents proof of a person's professionalism.  It is linked to social media platforms and used to continually build networks. It actively demonstrates the person's creative qualities and problem-solving skills. 

Smith urges us to seek out projects (in our field) and use our blog to document forensically the work associated with their completion. Do not use the blog as a grandstand to hype yourself. Rather, use it like an old-school journalist (or an attorney ) to forensically prove your professionalism. Incorporate photographs, audio and video files, and write about how you overcame obstacles to complete a project.

Use the blog as a tool to link social media accounts and to develop a network of mentors and peers. These are the people who observe and confirm your professionalism. When a prospective employer Googles your name, they will confirm you as a doer who puts professional skills and knowledge into practice. 

By the way, action is necessary.  In Get a Job, Build a Real Career, Defy a Bewildering Economy, Smith quotes Ralph Waldo Emerson several times: "Do the thing and you shall have the power." He argues you need to seek out and find projects in your field. This might include volunteering to work on community projects, or for a non-profit organization.

Conclusion

Get a Job, Build a Real Career, Defy a Bewildering Economy is an Austrian economics book.  It is full of truth and common sense. It blows the shroud off our higher education system and reveals a failing institution propped up by government and unable to prepare students for entry into the rapidly shifting new economy. Smith's book tells us how to be part of a do-ocracy, thriving in it, at a much lower economic cost.

Putting Your Silver Into a Self-Directed IRA

As the systemic risk of traditional banking increases, many people are opting to reduce risk by using a self-directed IRA. Of course, the risk of private holdings is potentially substantial (fire, theft, disaster), and must be factored into a decision to move IRA or retirement money from the traditional banking system into a self directed holding. A self-directed holding can include banks and brokerages as part of the program.

The first step is for the owner to form a special customized type of LLC that is owned by your Self Directed IRA. A Self Directed IRA LLC is made up of two parts:

• a Traditional or Roth Individual Retirement Arrangement (IRA)  and 
• a Limited Liability Company (LLC) .

South Carolina Statute, UNIFORM LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY ACT OF 1996

IRA Misconceptions Increase Risk

2012 IRS Publication 590

Estate Planning Concepts

Charitable Remainder Trust (“CRT”). 

ICE: Deferred Action Process

What is Deferred Action?

Deferred action is a discretionary determination to defer removal action of an individual as an act of prosecutorial discretion. Deferred action does not confer lawful status upon an individual. In addition, although an alien granted deferred action will not be considered to be accruing unlawful presence in the United States during the period deferred action is in effect, deferred action does not absolve individuals of any previous or subsequent periods of unlawful presence.

Under existing regulations, an individual who has been granted deferred action is eligible to receive employment authorization for the period of deferred action, provided he or she can demonstrate “an economic necessity for employment.” Deferred action can be terminated at any time at the agency’s discretion or renewed by the agency.

Procedures to Apply for Deferred Action:

Individuals who are not in removal proceedings or who are subject to a final order of removal will need to submit a request for a review of their case and supporting evidence to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Individuals may request deferred action if they meet the eligibility criteria. In the coming weeks, USCIS will outline and announce the procedures by which individuals can engage in this process. This process is not yet in effect and requests should not be submitted at this time. Beginning June 18, individuals may call the USCIS hotline at 1-800-375-5283, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., with questions or to request more information on the new process. The hotline offers assistance in English and Spanish. Individuals seeking more information on the new process should visit USCIS’s website (at http://www.uscis.gov).

For individuals who are in removal proceedings before the Executive Office for Immigration Review, ICE will, in the coming weeks, announce the process by which qualified individuals may request a review of their case. Additional information is available from the ICE Office of the Public Advocate. Beginning June 18, individuals may call the ICE hotline at 1-888-351-4024, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with questions or to request more information on the new process.

For individuals who are in removal proceedings and have already been identified as meeting the eligibility criteria as part of ICE’s case-by-case review, ICE will immediately begin to offer deferred action for a period of two years, subject to renewal.

Who is eligible?

Pursuant to the Secretary’s June 15, 2012, memorandum, in order to be eligible for deferred action, individuals must:

1) Have come to the United States under the age of 16;

2) Have continuously resided in the United States for at least five years preceding the date of this memorandum and are present in the United States on the date of this memorandum;

3) Currently be in school, have graduated from high school, have obtained a general education development certificate, or are honorably discharged veterans of the Coast Guard or Armed Forces of the United States;

4) Have not been convicted of a felony offense, a significant misdemeanor offense, multiple misdemeanor offenses, or otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safety;

5) Not be above the age of 30.

Individuals must also complete a background check and, for those individuals who make a request to USCIS and are not subject to a final order of removal, must be 15 years old or older.

How do you prove your eligibility?

Documentation sufficient for an individual to demonstrate that he or she came to the United States before the age of 16 includes, but is not limited to: financial records, medical records, school records, employment records, and military records.

Link to ICE

Individuals seeking more information on the new process should visit ICE’s website, USCIS’s website, or DHS’s website.  Beginning June 18, individuals can also call ICE’s hotline (at 1-888-351-4024) or USCIS’s hotline (at 1-800-375-5283) during business hours with questions or to request more information on the new process.

Seminar Outline

The National Business Institute asked me to speak on issues regarding subrogation and how they impact personal injury settlements. We have collaborated on an outline for the seminar. It is set forth below.

I. MEDICAL BILLS, STATUTORY and CONTRACTUAL LIENS, AND NEGOTIATION - Edwin Turnage

A. Typical Bodily Injury Releases and Indemnification

B. Payments to Physicians, Hospitals, Physical Therapists and Medical Insurers

C. What You Must Understand About Workers' Compensation

D. The Role Charity

II. UNDERSTAND THE ROLE OF CENTERS FOR MEDICAID AND MEDICARE (CMS), AND ERISA LIENS- Edwin Turnage

A. Statutory Basis of Liens

B. Procedures and Notice Issues

C. Negotiation Points and Issues

D. How to Handle Delay by Lien-holders

Doctors refuse to take bitter no-gift medicine

Drugmaker freebies can lead to harm for patients, some say
By Bruce JapsenTribune staff reporterPublished April 26, 2007

Whether it be Subway sandwiches for the office staff or reimbursement for continuing education, gifts showered upon doctors by drug- and medical device-makers have become so pervasive that they are a standard part of virtually every U.S. physician's practice.

Despite self-policing initiatives launched by organized medical groups and the drug and device makers to curb the cozy relationship between physicians and industry, 94 percent "or virtually all" physicians have at least one type of relationship with the drug industry, according to a study scheduled to be published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine. The study indicates that those self-policing initiatives are not always followed. Consumers should care about such relationships because drug companies tend to market the latest and most expensive brand names, and gift-giving can influence prescribing behavior and therefore how much Americans spend on prescriptions, the authors said. Drug marketing and conflicts of interest between doctors and medical product companies have come under congressional scrutiny because of their impact on costs and because of safety issues involving heavily promoted drugs, including Vioxx, the painkiller that was pulled from the market in 2004, nearly two years after studies showed it increased risks of heart attacks."

Relationships with industry are a fundamental part of the way medicine is practiced today," said the study's lead researcher and co-author, Eric Campbell, an associate professor of medicine at the Institute for Health Policy at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Campbell said consumers have reason to be concerned about the study's findings. "Would you care if this person was managing your 401(k) and you found out that they had financial relationships with mutual fund companies, or if an umpire was calling the World Series between the Cubs and White Sox would anybody care if the umpires were being paid by either of those two teams?" he asked. "If people would be very concerned that it was happening in a baseball game, you would be even more concerned if it was something like your health."

The findings arise from a survey of more than 1,600 practicing physicians in late 2003 and 2004. The survey was conducted at least two years after the American Medical Association launched a high-profile educational campaign for doctors to reinforce ethics guidelines that recommend that any gifts be of nominal value and benefit patients.

The AMA guidelines, which are voluntary, say any gifts should "primarily entail a benefit to patients and should not be of substantial value." Subsidies should not be accepted to pay for the "costs of travel, lodging or other personal expenses of physicians attending conferences or meetings, nor should subsidies be accepted to compensate for the physician's time." If physicians accept gifts, they should be worth less than $100 and "benefit patients," the guidelines say. Acceptable gifts include textbooks or drug samples.

The study suggests that many doctors do not always follow the AMA guidelines. It notes, for example, that 35 percent of respondents accept reimbursement for continuing medical education or for travel, food or lodging for medical meetings.

The drug industry lobby, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, said its member companies have worked to eliminate certain relationships and in 2002 established guidelines to curb such sales tactics as golf outings, entertainment and "dine and dash" dinners that drug companies order at restaurants for doctors to pick up for essentially doing nothing. Modest meals for the doctor at his office, however, are OK." The meals are recognition that the physicians are extremely busy [and] maybe the only time they have to meet is over a working lunch," said Scott Lassman, senior assistant general counsel for the lobby, which includes Abbott Laboratories, Pfizer Inc. and Merck & Co. in its membership.

Some doctors say, though, that free samples are needed, particularly in practices where there are a number of uninsured patients who cannot afford drugs. Take Dr. Kristin Coyle, a family physician in Sterling, Ill., who said her patients have been hit hard by unemployment. "We definitely have not only a physician shortage and a lot of people who cannot afford things like drugs -- we are a community trying to rebuild," said Coyle, who has accepted Subway, Applebee's and other drug-company-ordered lunches for herself and her office staff. Coyle said she allows reps to drop off free samples and that they are also allowed to make an educational presentation, such as explaining how a new drug or device works. "Basically, they are not allowed to interrupt my patient activity," Coyle said.

Some say, however, that doctors should at least let it be known to their patients that they have a relationship with drugmakers and why it exists. "People have no clue about this," said Jamie Reidy, a former Pfizer sales rep who wrote a book about his experiences selling Viagra and other Pfizer drugs. "They should care," Reidy said. "If they are getting a drug simply because the doc just got back from an advisory board and is pumped full of drug propaganda, that's a problem. But if the doc truly believes Drug X is best for that patient, fine."

----------bjapsen@tribune.com
Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune

Insurance Company Exec receives $22.5M salary

By Eileen Alt PowellApril 11, 2007

Martin J. Sullivan, who has been running insurance giant American International Group Inc. since the ouster of longtime chief executive Maurice "Hank'' Greenberg, received compensation valued at nearly $22.5 million (euro16.82 million) in 2006, according to a regulatory filing.
Sullivan, 52, who is president and chief executive of AIG, collected a salary of $1 million (euro750,000), a bonus of $10.1 million (euro7.55 million) and non-equity incentive plan compensation of $5.8 million (euro4.34 million), according to the proxy filed on Good Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

His "other'' compensation totaled $703,432 (euro526,009) and included some $257,498 (euro192,550) for personal use of corporate aircraft, $135,014 (euro100,960) for a car and driver and $278,250 (euro208,068) for home security. The home security spending was "a result of implementing the recommendations of independent, third-party security studies,'' the filing said. It did not elaborate.

In addition, Sullivan also was awarded restricted shares under the 2006 performance program with an estimated value of $4.88 when they were granted.

The Associated Press calculations of total pay include executives' salary, bonus, incentives, perks, above-market returns on deferred compensation and the estimated value of stock options and awards granted during the year. The calculations don't include changes in the present value of pension benefits and sometimes differ from the totals released by the companies.

The proxy was filed in advance of AIG's annual meeting on May 16 in New York City.
AIG had a very profitable year in 2006, with net income totaling $14.05 billion (euro10.51 billion), or $5.36 per share, compared with $10.48 billion (euro7.84 billion), or $3.99 per share. Its fourth-quarter profit rose eight fold from the year-earlier period when the insurer spent $1.64 billion (euro1.23 billion) to settle the allegations of improper accounting practices.
Sullivan took over as head of the New York-based company in March 2005 after the AIG board removed Greenberg, who had led the company for nearly four decades, amid federal and state probes into accounting irregularities in AIG's property and casualty insurance business. Greenberg later resigned the chairmanship, too.

British-born Sullivan had served as AIG's vice chairman and co-chief operating officer before being named chief executive.
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On the Net:
www.aig.com
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