We had a great LIVE show on-location at Maggie’s in Westminster! We wanted to address all the uncertainties in the economy and also answer any questions that may be out there concerning the current market. Our first guest to join us was Kevin McIntyre, Economic Professor at McDaniel College. Kevin joined us on the show last year and made a prediction about what the state of the economy would be like this year. His prediction – it will be BAD. He was right. 

Going forward, he is slightly more optimistic about 2012, because of the new election. It will relieve some uncertainty and will unveil decisions that will be made to move forward. The federal deficits have been revealed and hopefully, there will be actions made.

One of the biggest negative impacts is the job market. Unless the government is creating an environment that businesses can be successful, businesses won’t be able to grow, expand and increase positions.  These types of uncertainties are what keep businesses (and the economy) in jeopardy. Also,

despite a few positive things going on, such as low interest rates and the decrease in housing pricing, the uncertainty that lingers has not helped sustain the real-estate market.

Our next guests was Delegate Justin Ready, serving district 5A which includes, Westminster, Manchester, Finksburg, Hampstead & Silver Run. Delegate Ready explained that issues such as re-districting and tax increases that may directly affect our area. He and his colleagues are fighting to  keep tax payers and business owners as a priority. He also is fighting to keep unemployment rates in check to help business owners.  

He, with the support of the community and followers, was able to petition over 100,000 votes to help fight the legalization of in state tuition for illegal immigrants. The bill will be on the ballad for voters to vote for the bill. Delegate Justin Ready is confident that we can stop the bill because our budget simply cannot handle the magnitude of costs this will create. Ready believes that we need more business owners or people with experience working in a small business or running a small business in office that will fully understand the way to help/hurt business owners.  Go to www.justinready.com for more information about your representative in the House of Representatives!

Maggie’s owner, Jim Brewer joined us for the last segment to explain how stressful for small business owners to think about taking care of employees in such a low economy right now. Generating business doesn’t just affect him , but the other 60 employees that he has. By developing monthly specials and events, he can bring in diners in affordable ways for both the customers and the restaurant.  Steve explained how important it is to spend local. Visit locally owned and operated businesses to keep Carroll County thriving!

We’re back!! After a great summer, we are happy to be back on the air! We have changed the time of the show to 5pm this season.

We would like to announce that we are hosting a few events coming up. On September 28^th, we will be LIVE at Maggie’s Restaurant in Westminster with special guests,  Maryland Delegate Justin Ready and Professor Kevin McIntyre.  We will hold an open discussion following the show. We are also hosting a workshop on October 11^th to touch on the new regulations for 401ks. You need to know how these changes will affect you!

This summer, we had many events that we all should learn from. For instance, BE PREPARED! Who thought we needed to be protected from natural disasters such as, hurricanes, earthquakes and extreme flooding in Central Maryland? But we learned that we should be protected from everything, because we DID in fact experience hurricanes, earthquakes and extreme flooding! Your home, property and family should be protected as much as possible for the unexpected. Its also important to keep emergency funds reserved for urgent situations, cash on hand if you must leave your home, and preserve copies of important family financial and personal records.   

We also learned from all of the events occurring in the media that we NEED leadership at the top. A leader should have courage, vision, delegation to other leaders, share credit, take responsibility, prove competence, and be inspirational to those you are leading. There seems to be a struggle in society of what is important and what is not. We predict that the upcoming campaign is going to get nasty.

Politics is an obvious form of leadership, but what about in our everyday lives? We need to be leaders, too, to help ourselves and others. Every day, ask yourself, are you part of the solution or part of the problem?

Today we keep with our usual theme of being an unusual financial radio show. Our interesting guest, Paul Carney joined us to explain his experiences dealing with dramatic traumas and crippling natural disasters. Of course our first topic we were curious about was the recent catastrophe in Japan. The earthquake/tsunami hit the people of Japan and people across the world were eager to help. Mr. Carney reminded us, however, that it is very important to consider the cultural differences in other societies when attempting to offer assistance. Many times helpers rush in without fully knowing or understanding the circumstances. Paul explained that is important to understand this to avoid further stress or other traumatizing experiences to the people that are in need of help. Cultural differences can range from Macro-Cultures (nations, countries, etc.) to Mico-Cultures (states, counties, towns, neighborhoods). It is vital to learn, understand and respect the culture of the people in need.

Mr. Carney explains how spectators and people who were not physically impacted by a disaster can be vicariously traumatized. People many times want to help in a situation but see many disturbing and damaging sites by doing so. Also, the media often spreads fear and traumatizing visuals to the public. There is a “ripple effect” when it comes to a tragedy. There is a point of impact which hits directly and then the effects slowly spreads to other areas, people and situations.

Paul Carney explained that people interested in helping or donating to people suffering from disasters can visit contact their local Red Cross facility or by looking up information on the FEMA website.

Delegate Justin Ready joined the show over the phone to give us an update on an important issue that we were discussing on the show with him last week. Delegate Ready explained a possible bill to give instate tuition breaks to illegal immigrants. Many people, including Delegate Ready, believe this is a bad idea and unfair to other college students, as well as those who have immigrated legally. It will also be very expensive to fund and could even increase tuition to both in-state and out-of state students . He explained that there is a petition currently circulating to oppose this bill. Go to www.mdpetitions.com to fight this decision, there is a target number of 200,000 signatures to make an impact.

It is important to take precautions in case a disaster impacts your family. Our advice, as always, is how you can be prepared financially.

1. Develop an EMERGENCY FUND. Set aside liquid, ready funds in an easily accessible account like a savings account. This can be helpful to quickly repair damages caused to your home from a natural disaster, or any unexpected financial emergency.
2. Keep cash on hand. It is important to have cash available in case of a disaster that may cause banks to be closed or a power outage that would prevent you from accessing accounts.
3. Maintain a list of all your accounts with the account number and company contact information.
4. Flood-proof important documents. Keep in a safe area in bags or another water-proof container.
5. Use cell phone and email as a back-up record keeper. Keep important phone numbers saved in your cell phone and copy vital information to your personal email for easy access away from home.
6. Be sure to have a fire proof filing system
7. Don’t give all account information/cash/credit cards to just one family member in the event of an emergency. Disperse funds and give cash to all members of your family incase you are separated for any reason.
8. Have an emergency credit card available with no balance and ready for immediate use.
9. Take updated “inventory” pictures of your home, property, valuables, etc. on a digital camera for records. 
10. Have an insurance policy review annually.

April 20^th, 2011

Segment I Guest: Mike Fox, Bonds Meadow Rotary Club

Segment II Guest: Delegate Justin Ready(R-5A)

We welcomed two guests today! Our first guest, Mike Fox explained what the Bonds Meadow Rotary does and their important role in the community. Rotary is an international organization dedicated to help the community. There are over 200 different Rotary clubs around the world, Bonds Meadow being one of them. There are over 1.2 million members in the various Rotary clubs. The Bonds Meadow chapter has 35 members who meet on Tuesday morning at 7:15am for breakfast. Their focus is to assist the community by raising funds for local non-profit organizations, as well as assisting people in need in other countries. One of their biggest projects was to Combat and Control River Blindness in Tanzania and Enhance Delivery of Health Services, for which Rotary Foundation support of nearly $300,000, together with District and Club support of $25,000 was received in 2001.  That project, completed by June 2006, protected about 500,000 people from the parasitic worm that causes river blindness, as well as providing 14,600 insecticide treated bed nets (ITNs) to prevent malaria and 6,000 latrine slabs. They also sponsor a child in Haiti and have a large part in the fight against Polio.

In Carroll County, the Bonds Meadow Rotary has assisted 13-15 organizations with fundraising opportunities and support. They will be hosting a Bull Roast on May 6^th to benefit Target Community and Educational Services. Mike Fox explained how he enjoys being a party of the Carroll County Community because he has lived several places throughout the US and Carroll County is the most community oriented place that he has lived.

Bonds Meadow Rotary also provides Safe Mother Packages to third world countries to promote safe pregnancy and delivery for those who may not have the best resources. In the county, many of the Bonds Meadow Rotary members volunteer their time at local public schools. Recently, Mike Fox was at Elmer Wolfe Elementary School to read Dr. Seuss stories to the kindergartners on Dr. Seuss’ birthday.

For more information about the works of the Bonds Meadow Rotary, or for information about becoming involved, visit. www.bondsmeadowrotary.org.

Next, we were joined by Delegate Justin Ready! He recently attended the Legislative Wrap-Up Session in Annapolis and we were eager to hear about that experience. But first, we asked him how his new leadership has begun. Delegate Ready explained that he has enjoyed the learning process and his experience working as an aid for the Senate and House prepared him a lot as to what to expect. He was surprised at the number of meetings per day that he had to attend! He explained that there was a magnitude of positive changes going on, but after going from one meeting to another, he had to do lots of homework for keep himself refreshed on the content. There were some issues that disappointed Delegate Ready. The issue of the budget seems to be getting increasingly unsteady. But he is hoping that there will be positive changes soon.  On a good note, Justin shared that he was happy there were positive changes regarding Government Transparency Laws and human trafficking. Ready went on to explain that although there was no progress made in the efforts to lower taxes, there was a great hearing held discussing the issue. He supports lowering taxes, but the motion was shot down by the Democratic majority. Delegate Ready’s main concern is that Maryland is raising taxes to help generate funds to aid lower income families, but by increasingly taxing residents, they are hurting the same people that they are trying to help. In recent years, Maryland has increased sales tax and implemented a higher alcohol tax. They did by pass the proposed gas tax increase, a motion that Delegate Ready was opposed to. The next major issue that needs to be address is how to reduce budget spending without cutting back necessary funding. Delegate Ready explains that he feel Maryland should spend less, but it seem difficult to stop the rate of growth and increasing needs of funding to be able to cut back.

Next, we discussed his first Session in Annapolis. He explained that though there were some heated conversations and a mix of personalities, everyone seemed to work well together and make an effort to hear one another. An important topic discussed was a requirement by the Federal Health Care Reform, which is currently under review for being unconstitutional, to implement a health care exchange in Maryland and all states.  There was a study group to examine this approach, Delegate Ready explains that he is in favor of the original idea, but there are many aspects that will not be ideal for the residents of Maryland.  He is also feels that if there are too many mandates, health care costs will end up increasing. But on the other hand, more options available will give citizens the opportunity to get health care on their own terms and not rely on employers. It has been found that many people stay at a “dead end” job or position in order to maintain their health care.

On a local note, there was a bill passed to give wineries in Carroll County 12 permits to be able to sell and market their products at farmer’s markets. This is in addition to the 3 permits available for events, such as the annual wine festivals. This is a good thing for the agricultural community.

Another bill that was reviewed requires any repeat drunk driving offenders to have a mandatory Interlock system installed in their vehicle. If there blood alcohol level is about 1.5, this may also be a mandatory action, regardless if it was the first or repeated offense.

Lastly, Delegate Ready explains his opposition to the decision to make state tuition and aid available for illegal immigrants to attend college. Justin fears that this will increase costs in colleges and take away the funds available for tax-paying residents. Though, the bill states that the immigrant be a tax payer for at least 3 years, it is very difficult for schools to be certain of this. Montgomery Community College has already faced a monthly increase of $6million dollars due to the immigrant policy that they have allowed for the past 3 years. Ready says that there will be a petition in the near future opposing this recent change, it is an issue that will be put on the ballot to get a public vote on.

We asked Delegate Ready about his feelings on the recent passing of Governor William Donald Schaefer. He explained that he has made an effort to learn more about Governor Schaefer because he was fairly young while Schaefer was in office. Delegate Ready admires how hard he worked to fix problems and really cared about addressing the peoples’ issues. He strives to vote correctly to make positive progress. Delegate Justin Ready represents district 5A, which covers northern Carroll County (excluding Taneytown), Westminster – Silver Run, Manchester and Finksburg. Log on to his website, www.justinready.com for more information about Delegate Ready and to access his contact information.

7 Things Today’s Politicians – And All of Us – Can Learn from William Donald Schaefer

1. Sincerity counts.
2. If you believe in your vision, you can make it happen.
3. It’s also about the “little things”
4. Focus on what you are doing NOW, not on climbing the ladder
5. Get it done today.
6. People will believe you are, if you REALLY care
7. Be yourself, not who everyone else thinks you should be