Good news

I got a call this afternoon from a man named Bobby Johnson. I had no earthly idea why a Bobby Johnson from Minnesota would be calling me. He explained that his family was featured in the same episode of Real Families Real Answers that we are and he just had to call me to say how much our story had touched him. He said that the episode had already showed and we didn't even know because it was supposed to be on in December. We looked it up online and watched it and let me tell you it is GOOD. Get out the tissues and have a watch. Go to http://www.byu.tv and go to Tune in now BYU television and click the link. Then go to the listings and go to Saturday October the 4th at 1:30 pm. This is a powerful episode and is almost exactly what we prayed for. The expert they had commenting has a bit different view of autism than I do so please don't think that I agree with her. You do NOT lose your child when they have autism which she called a chronic mental illness, I do not feel it is a mental illness, but rather a different way of being. I hope that other families will be reached by our story. Please pass this along to anyone you know who might need it.

Edited to add: Try this link and go to October 14 at 8:00pm.

Dave Ramsey's site

William and I have been doing Financial Peace University at church. This is a class to teach us how to handle our finances in a way that allows us to meet our needs, honor God and build wealth over time. It is really making a difference for us and we are learning so much. Dave Ramsey made millions in the real estate business and lost it all during the housing crunch in the 80's. He fought tooth and nail to come back from financial ruin and now is sharing his insight with others who want to succeed the right way. He, being the financial common sense go to guy, now has on his site his take on what we as a country should do about the so called financial crisis. I have e-mailed all my congressmen about this and I pray that the right thing will be accomplished. If Americans would wake up and read their Bibles they would see that the borrower is slave to the lender and strive to never borrow again. William and I have made a pact to never borrow again with the exception of a mortgage that we can afford and we will work our butts off to pay that off early. Peace comes with knowing that no one can come and take the stuff you worked so hard to earn for your family. The following is his common sense plan to get out of this mess:

Years of bad decisions and stupid mistakes have created an
economic nightmare in this country, but $700 billion in
new debt is not the answer. As a tax-paying American
citizen, I will not support any congressperson who votes
to implement such a policy.  Instead, I submit the
following three steps:

Common Sense Plan.

I. INSURANCE

A. Insure the subprime bonds/mortgages with an underlying
FHA-type insurance.  Government-insured and backed loans
would have an instant market all over the world,creating
immediate and needed liquidity.

B. In order for a company to accept the government-backed
insurance, they must do two things:

1. Rewrite any mortgage that is more than three months
delinquent to a 6% fixed-rate mortgage.
a. Roll all back payments with no late fees or legal
   costs into the balance.  This brings homeowners
   current and allows them a chance to keep their homes.
b. Cancel all prepayment penalties to encourage
   refinancing or the sale of the property to pay off
   the bad loan. In the event of foreclosure or short
   sale, the borrower will not be held liable for any
   deficit balance. FHA does this now, and that
   encourages mortgage companies to go the extra mile
   while working with the borrower—again limiting
   foreclosures and ruined lives.

2. Cancel ALL golden parachutes of EXISTING and FUTURE
CEOs and executive team members as long as the company
holds these government-insured bonds/mortgages.  This
keeps underperforming executives from being paid when
they don’t do their jobs.

C. This backstop will cost less than $50 billion—a small
fraction of the current proposal.




II. MARK TO MARKET

A. Remove mark to market accounting rules for two years
 on only subprime Tier III bonds/mortgages. This keeps
 companies from being forced to artificially mark down
 bonds/mortgages below the value of the underlying
 mortgages and real estate.

B. This move creates patience in the market and has an
 immediate stabilizing effect on failing and ailing
 banks—and it costs the taxpayer nothing.




III. CAPITAL GAINS TAX

A. Remove the capital gains tax completely. Investors
 will flood the real estate and stock market in search
 of tax-free profits, creating tremendous—and immediate—
 liquidity in the markets. Again, this costs the
 taxpayer nothing.

B. This move will be seen as a lightning rod politically
 because many will say it is helping the rich. The truth
 is the rich will benefit, but it will be their money
 that stimulates the economy. This will enable all
 Americans to have more stable jobs and retirement
 investments that go up instead of down. This is
 not a time for envy, and it’s not a time for politics.
 It’s time for all of us, as Americans, to stand up,
 speak out, and fix this mess.