Are you a fan of the GTD personal productivity system? Well if you like “Getting Things Done,” here's GFD, Getting Finances Done, which shows you how to map David Allen's same principals to managing your personal finance and achieving your financial goals.

Applying GTD principles to your personal finances - Part 1 [Getting Finances Done]

Use Prepaid Travel Cards to Budget Travel Expenses

Vacation is a time to let loose and have a little fun. It's all too easy, however, to let having a little fun turn into spending way too much. Use prepaid travel cards to keep spending contained, secure, and in budget.

Photo by eliazar.

Finance and frugality blog WiseBread shares a set of tips on using prepaid travel cards for safe, secure, and budget-friendly travel spending.

A prepaid travel card is generally usable in the place of a debit or credit card. You can withdraw cash at an ATM, pay for purchases, and make travel reservations. And as the name suggests, you prepay these expenses by loading money onto the card.

It is just as secure as a debit or credit card, since the prepaid travel card is protected by a PIN and/or signature. In fact, some would say that prepaid travel cards are even more secure, since the money is not linked to your bank account and has a limited balance (which limits your exposure).

It can also be a handy tool for budgeting, since you would load only the money you plan on spending for the trip onto the card, which helps you stick to your travel budget.

Check out the full article at the link below for additional tips and tricks including what to look for when shopping for a card like avoiding cards with a cash-out fee. Have your own tips for keeping your money secure and sticking to a budget while traveling? Let's hear about it in the comments.

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Small Business <b>News</b>: Small Biz Bill Passed

So what do you think of the new small business bill passed recently in the US Senate? Supporters are no doubt high-fiving each other and congratulating.

<b>News</b> from across the pond: Russell Brand allegedly attacks a <b>…</b>

Russell Brand allegedly attacks a photographer: here Kim Kardashian's body worries: here Justin Bieber's love for him mom: here 201009.

<b>News</b> Roundup: Kaley Cuoco Will Miss Multiple 'Big Bang Theory <b>…</b>

'The Big Bang Theory' star Kaley Cuoco will sit out more than the previously reported one episode due to her broken leg. According to The Ausiello.

Demand: fewer new households

Household creation depends on the state of the economy. The combination of high unemployment, weak wage and salary growth, and tight credit has led to a decline in household growth over the past few years. The two main surveys of household formation from the Census Bureau – the Housing Vacancy Survey and Current Population Survey – show that about 500,000 households were created annually over the past three years compared to an annual average of about 1.2 million during the first half of the decade (Figure 6). How can we explain such a notable drop in household formation?

Moving in with the folks

The obvious answer is to look at homeownership rates, which have tumbled to 66.9% from a peak of 69.2% in 4Q04. This translates to a loss of nearly 2.5 mn homeowners. Most of these homeowners became renters, which means they remain a household, but not all. As can be seen by the surge in the rental vacancy rate to 10.6%, it seems that there was not a perfect shift from homeowners to renters (Figure 7). This begs the question: what happened to these former households? There was doubling up among economically stressed households; in other words people moved in with friends or family. Many of these former homeowners were probably foreclosure victims (Figure 8).

As Figure 8 shows, household formation can also decline if there are fewer young households created to replace the aging homeowners. Given the nearly 10 point surge in the unemployment rate among 16 to 24 year olds from the trough to peak during this cycle, it seems like this was a considerable factor. A recent paper sponsored by the Research Institute for Housing America estimates that the probability of a young adult forming a household declines by 4% during a recession, and up to 10% if unemployed. In addition to the slowdown in “headship rates” domestically, there was a drop in household formation from immigration. According to the Office of Immigration Statistics at the Department of Homeland Security, the number of unauthorized immigrants decline by 1.0 million from 2007 to 2009 compared to a net gain of 1.3 million from 2005 to 2007.

Household growth to improve, but with a lag

Household formation will naturally pick up as the economy improves, but if our forecast for a sluggish recovery is realized, household growth will also be lackluster. The main factor influencing household growth will be the state of the labor market. The above-referenced paper finds that the unemployment rate must fall by 2pp from current levels to return to normal rates of household formation of about 1.2-1.4 million a year. We do not expect the unemployment rate to reach the mid-7% range until 2013, implying another two and a half years of sluggish household formation of about 800,000 a year. This is also when we expect the pace of foreclosures to slow notably, which means that fewer households will have to double-up.

Looking ahead to 2013 and beyond, we use forecasts from the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University. They present two possible trajectories for household growth: 1) an average of 1.48 million annually through 2020 assuming net immigration returns to the 2000-05 pace and headship rates at 2008 levels; and 2) an average of 1.25 million annually through 2020 assuming the same 2008 headship rates but slower immigration. We believe the latter is more likely and use this as our baseline forecast (Figure 9).

Renters will take market share

Although we expect household formation to start to improve in 2013, the homeownership rate should still fall further, suggesting that most of the gain in households will be due to an increase in renters. This is because there is still a considerable number of homeowners with mortgages in some stage of delinquency that are likely to end in foreclosure. Based on data from the Mortgage Bankers Association, there are about 5.5 mn seriously delinquent mortgages currently outstanding.

A recent paper by economists at the NY Federal Reserve (Haughwout, Andrew, Richard Peach, Joseph Tracy. “The Homeownership Gap”, Federal Reserve Bank of New York Current Issues in Economics and Finance, Volume 16, Number 5, May 2010) attempts to quantify the effective lower bound for the homeownership rate. They make the assumption that underwater borrowers (negative equity), who currently account for about a quarter of mortgage holders, will transition to renters over time. Subtracting these underwater borrowers yields an “effective homeownership rate” of 61.6% (Figure 10). This would be a record low in the data which goes back to 1965. We do not expect such a precipitous drop because not all underwater homeowners will become renters. Indeed, a recent study by Trulia.com and RealtyTrac found that 59% of respondents would not go into foreclosure simply because of negative equity. We believe it is more likely that the homeownership rate will bottom at 65%, returning to mid-1990s levels.

It is plainly obvious why the demand-side is so often ignored in polite conversation: it is the consumer-driven aspect of the house price variable, over which neither the Fed, nor the Treasury, nor the FHA has any authority, and which is a function purely of expectations of the future. Alas, those right now are lously and getting worse. We expect that Demand-side housing economics will take on progressively more importance in the future, as it becomes obvious that no amount of Supply-side tinkering will prevent another 20% drop in prices.

And speaking of Supply, this is also a critical factor, if much more prevalent in the daily media. Alas, that in itself does not make the problem any easier to resolve.

We all understand the impact the foreclosure crisis has had on homeowners. But the crisis has hurt communities, too. Foreclosed and vacant homes have a debilitating effect on neighborhoods and often lead to blight, neighborhood decay and reduced property values.

That’s why the Administration is announcing today another $1 billion to help communities struggling with foreclosures.  Already, HUD has provided $6 billion in two rounds of Neighborhood Stabilization Program funding.  These funds help communities buy and redevelop foreclosed and abandoned homes and residential properties – putting Americans back to work, creating more affordable rental housing and helping the neighborhoods that need it most. 

Today, the $4 billion first round of Neighborhood Stabilization funding is in communities, buying up and renovating homes, and creating jobs.  The $2 billion included as part of President Obama’s Recovery Act is making a difference as well.  This second round of funding differed from the first in that it was competitively awarded – to encourage innovative local partnerships, reward the best ideas for tackling the housing crisis and grow local economies in impactful ways.

You only need look at a city like Minneapolis to understand the impact Neighborhood Stabilization is having. With $5.6 million of Neighborhood Stabilization funds, Minneapolis was able to leverage an additional $30 million in resources from the Twin Cities Community Land Bank and the partnership of for-profit developers.  Already, they’ve bought up nearly 250 properties in targeted neighborhoods, which they are rehabilitating to green standards and selling to responsible homeowners through a local down payment program.

Now, in the most heavily foreclosure impacted neighborhoods in North Minneapolis, home prices are gaining and local experts believe private market recovery is underway. It was that success that led the Administration to award the city another $20 million in the second round of NSP.

And more help is on the way to communities across the country.  The additional $1 billion we announced today was included as part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform legislation ,

Building on the first two rounds, we expect the Neighborhood Stabilization Program will impact nearly 100,000 properties in the nation’s hardest-hit markets.  Because this makes up 20 percent of vacant and abandoned homes over the last 18 months in NSP-targeted areas, addressing these properties will have ripple effects that could have a profound impact on our local, regional and national housing markets alike.

Still, the Obama Administration believes government can’t solve this problem alone.  As Minneapolis showed, stabilizing neighborhoods requires private investment and other partners to step up. 

Last week, I announced an important Neighborhood Stabilization innovation that helps make that possible called “First Look.” A historic partnership with the National Community Stabilization Trust and the nation’s leading financial institutions, First Look will gives every grantee an exclusive 12-14 day window to evaluate and bid on properties before others can do so.  First Look will cut the time it takes to sell these properties in half, which is particularly important given that vacant and abandoned homes are more than three times as destructive to home prices as homes that have only begun the foreclosure process.  It will also give grantees access to state of the art mapping and management tools, so they know what properties are available and who owns them. 

Communities struggling with foreclosures and budget cuts rarely have the time or funds to establish individual relationships with financial institutions and negotiate the best price one house at a time.  With the potent combination of Neighborhood Stabilization funds and First Look, they’ll have the resources and partners they need to buy target foreclosed homes strategically – and act quickly.

Obviously, these remain difficult times for every American.  Neighborhood Stabilization is only one tool in our toolbox. And it won’t help every block wracked by foreclosures. 

But with game-changing, market-oriented and cost-effective strategies like these—that bring more stakeholders to the table with a greater sense of shared responsibility—President Obama and I believe we can tackle tough challenges like foreclosures and blight.  We can put Americans back to work.  And we can help our communities recover. 

Shaun Donovan is Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

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With so many options, risks and complicated strategies, smart investments are not an easy thing to do. FutureAdvisor is a personal investment advisor that helps you with managing and optimizing your investment portfolio by providing in-depth analysis, forecasts and saving tips.

Once you synchronize your brokerage and retirement accounts to FutureAdvisor it tells you if you are on track to retire at your desired age and how your portfolio would fluctuate if market performance changes. You also get tips on how to diversify your portfolio, save money by investing in similar lower-fees mutual funds and build a portfolio customized to your exact needs. FutureAdvisor also lets you work out different scenarios for an early or late retirement.

Features:

• Get personal investment advice.
• Helps to optimize your investment portfolio.
• Get tips on asset allocation, cost savings and good investments.
• See an in-depth analysis and forecast based on your needs.
• Completely secure synchronization to your investment accounts.
• Get tips to retire early with smart investment strategies.

Visit FutureAdvisor at www.futureadvisor.com [Via LifeHacker]

With so many options, risks and complicated strategies, smart investments are not an easy thing to do. FutureAdvisor is a personal investment advisor that helps you with managing and optimizing your investment portfolio by providing in-depth analysis, forecasts and saving tips.

Once you synchronize your brokerage and retirement accounts to FutureAdvisor it tells you if you are on track to retire at your desired age and how your portfolio would fluctuate if market performance changes. You also get tips on how to diversify your portfolio, save money by investing in similar lower-fees mutual funds and build a portfolio customized to your exact needs. FutureAdvisor also lets you work out different scenarios for an early or late retirement.

Features:

• Get personal investment advice.
• Helps to optimize your investment portfolio.
• Get tips on asset allocation, cost savings and good investments.
• See an in-depth analysis and forecast based on your needs.
• Completely secure synchronization to your investment accounts.
• Get tips to retire early with smart investment strategies.

Visit FutureAdvisor at www.futureadvisor.com [Via LifeHacker]

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CBS Evening <b>News</b> Ratings Tie 20-Year Low - NYTimes.com

The “CBS Evening News” recorded its lowest total viewer rating in nearly 20 years last week.

Android Developers Blog: Licensing Server <b>News</b>

Licensing Server News. Posted by Tim Bray on 24 August 2010 at 10:57 AM. It's been reported that someone has figured out, and published, a way to hack some Android apps to bypass our new Android Market licensing server. …

Small Business <b>News</b>: Toughing It Through The Tough Times

You probably don't need us to tell you this, but starting or running a small business isn't easy. In fact, if you are looking for an easy life, one without.

Before I introduce our final six-figure soloist, I'd like to invite you to a free web event to help you learn more about taking your business to six figure profits. Join me and my peers at the International Association of Solopreneurs for a FREE FREEDOM Conference.  Learn what true Freedom really is–business ownership. Learn what pitfalls to avoid and how to get profits soaring! And yes, you heard me right – this virtual conference is FREE!

And now, wrapping up our “How to Make Six Figures” series with our final 6-figure soloist. Please know that these six weeks have featured only a handful of the responses I received when I set out to find the common links amongst the amazing men and women who single-handedly grew their businesses to six-figure profits, meaningful ventures and were willing to share the how and why of it all. I’d like to thank everyone who contacted me. Your stories were all wonderful, making my job all the more difficult!

Make sure to stay tuned for next week’s post where we’ll sum up our list of common links and see how we all measure up! Now I’d like to introduce you to our final 6-figure soloist.

International speaker, standup comedian and Professional Certified Coach David Wood is the author of Get Paid for Who You Are™ and a coauthor of the bestselling book Guerilla Marketing on the Front Lines. His tried and true methods for freeing oneself from the shackles of the timecard have been the inspiration for many people to gain a lifestyle of freedom and contribution. You can learn more at www.GetPaidForWhoYouAre.com.

Q. David, when you started your company did you have a plan in place, or did you just “wing it?”

A. Initially I was pretty much winging it. I printed a business card and started handing them out put up a website. It was much later while journaling that I created the master plan for the online business.

Q. Looking back, what would you say are the two important personal qualities or characteristics that are most responsible for your success?

A. 1) I’m willing to try things – unusual things, small things, big things. I try 100 things that don’t work, and then there’s one that takes off.
2) I’m willing to be uncomfortable. Whether it’s going on radio or speaking on a stage or sharing something raw and vulnerable about my life with 100,000 subscribers – I push that edge of my comfort zone.

Q. What mentoring or coaching experiences have you benefitted from?

A. I hired one of the top coaches in Australia – Christine McDougall, past Vice President of the International Coaching Federation, and then Marcia Reynolds, Past President of the International Coach Federation. Both coaches helped me with my vision and motivated me to keep stepping forward through uncertainty.

Q.  David, what was the key motivating factor in your drive and determination to become your own boss?

A. When I left Towers Perrin, a top management consulting company, my boss said, “I hope in 10 years we’ll be ready for someone like you.” I was a wave-maker and tired of needing 10 people to approve any new idea I had. I wanted to implement my ideas NOW, and to have time freedom (to work when I like), and location freedom (to work from home or Hawaii.)

Q.  Was funding ever an issue for you? If so, how did you solve the problem?

A. Initially I had about $30,000 in savings so I knew I had 6-12 months before I ran into trouble. I earned a little money with my first business, which was as a professional entertainer singing in Australian pubs, and then more money on the side as a consulting actuary (my former profession) at an hourly rate.

Q. What was your most challenging moment to date and how did you overcome it?

A. Stepping out on stage in front of 1200 people was one of the scariest. But higher on the list was going on national television in Australia on Hey Hey It’s Saturday (our equivalent of The Gong Show) and singing in a kilt. I was absolutely terrified and literally thought I might pee my pants. I overcame it by putting one foot in front of the other – ‘feel the fear and do it anyway’. It always works.

Q. What is the greatest reward in running your own business?

A. When I want a week or a month off, I can take it. Also I get to create websites, ebooks, CDs, DVDs and teleclasses as quickly as I like. I can impact lives. I had a thought this morning about financial worry and how it impacts all of us, so I posted on Facebook: “Would you attend a free teleclass on financial worry and how to improve your finances?” If the response is good I can have 50-300 people on a teleclass next week and begin impacting lives that quickly. I might even make some sales at the end of it.

Q.  Do you have a “top strategy” for success that you’d like to share?

A.  Nothing mind-blowing, but rather simple: Have a simple plan for what you’re going to accomplish, and each day spend the first two hours of your day doing the most important thing on your list.

Q.  David, entrepreneurs are idea machines, and that’s great. But sometimes too many good ideas can clutter the picture and stop progress. How did you harness your best ideas and bring them to fruition?

A.  Ha – I have a million ideas, and many are incomplete. I pick my favorite ones – the ones that will have the most impact on people’s lives or the most revenue potential, or both – and focus on those. The others I write down on another piece of paper and save them – knowing I can come to them when the time is right. So prioritize, and just keep going down the list.

Q.  Is there anything else you’d like to share with our solopreneurs?

A. It’s a challenging and rewarding life. The most important thing is a simple plan. I put everything I know about setting up an online business into five simple steps – and published them in Get Paid For Who You Are. I’m happy to give readers a free copy of the book at www.getpaidforwhoyouare.com.

In Summary: Wow, David's book for free! I'm on my way…
These “common links” are really adding up! Our final 6-figure soloist is most certainly a creative, flexible, out of the box thinker. David serves an important value of helping others through his work and he certainly values his freedom. Our soloists have all seemed pretty flexible in terms of their willingness to change the plan as circumstances change and David is no exception. Once again, a self funded startup whose creator is not risk adverse. David acts quickly and efficiently on his ideas and has a great system in place for “testing” them and determining whether they get shelved or acted upon. He seems systematic, yet doesn’t allow systems to stifle his creativity.  One of the things that struck me most was the speed and efficiency in which David brings his wonderful ideas to fruition – or not.  David is also very willing to push the limits of his “comfort zone” and do it with a wonderful sense of humor in place.  Personally, I think this is such an important quality; taking one’s self too seriously can really get in the way!

Despite the vast differences in city populations and budgets, the pay of city managers in those cities varies only moderately.

Eight of 10 city managers were grouped in a much narrower range from $160,000 to $270,000, according to The Times' salary database.

Wade G. McKinney, president of the California City Management Foundation and city manager of Atascadero, said that beyond base salaries, it’s difficult to define a norm for city manager compensation packages.

“I don’t think there is a typical, because every city is so different,” he said.

The Times analysis found cities with more residents and larger budgets tended to pay their chief executives more, but the exceptions were more notable than the rule. West Hollywood, a city of 36,000, had one of the county’s highest payouts: Paul Arevalo earned $285,496 last year. Beverly Hills, Palmdale and Bell Gardens also paid high salaries in proportion to their size.

Los Angeles and Long Beach, both large cities whose mayors oversee much of the executive staff, paid their administrators disproportionately low amounts.

But some large cities, including Pomona, LaVerne and El Monte, had lower-than-average salaries.

Wealthier cities did not necessarily pay their executives more. Like Bradbury, Rolling Hills, Hidden Hills and Sierra Madre all paid less than average.

Experts in public employee compensation said the largest factor in determining pay, benefits and perks, at least when hiring a new city manager, is what other cities with similar needs are paying.

“Most often, we see that it’s market driven,” said Bob Murray, president of Roseville-based executive recruitment firm Bob Murray & Associates. “Typically, cities look at the salaries of cities in what they determine as their labor market.”

–Sam Allen and Abby Sewell, with data analysis by Doug Smith

Follow the money: Times databases

City manager salaries: How much is your city manager making?

Bell council salaries: How did the Bell council make so much?

Taxes: Which cities pay the highest property taxes rates?

 

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Before I introduce our final six-figure soloist, I'd like to invite you to a free web event to help you learn more about taking your business to six figure profits. Join me and my peers at the International Association of Solopreneurs for a FREE FREEDOM Conference.  Learn what true Freedom really is–business ownership. Learn what pitfalls to avoid and how to get profits soaring! And yes, you heard me right – this virtual conference is FREE!

And now, wrapping up our “How to Make Six Figures” series with our final 6-figure soloist. Please know that these six weeks have featured only a handful of the responses I received when I set out to find the common links amongst the amazing men and women who single-handedly grew their businesses to six-figure profits, meaningful ventures and were willing to share the how and why of it all. I’d like to thank everyone who contacted me. Your stories were all wonderful, making my job all the more difficult!

Make sure to stay tuned for next week’s post where we’ll sum up our list of common links and see how we all measure up! Now I’d like to introduce you to our final 6-figure soloist.

International speaker, standup comedian and Professional Certified Coach David Wood is the author of Get Paid for Who You Are™ and a coauthor of the bestselling book Guerilla Marketing on the Front Lines. His tried and true methods for freeing oneself from the shackles of the timecard have been the inspiration for many people to gain a lifestyle of freedom and contribution. You can learn more at www.GetPaidForWhoYouAre.com.

Q. David, when you started your company did you have a plan in place, or did you just “wing it?”

A. Initially I was pretty much winging it. I printed a business card and started handing them out put up a website. It was much later while journaling that I created the master plan for the online business.

Q. Looking back, what would you say are the two important personal qualities or characteristics that are most responsible for your success?

A. 1) I’m willing to try things – unusual things, small things, big things. I try 100 things that don’t work, and then there’s one that takes off.
2) I’m willing to be uncomfortable. Whether it’s going on radio or speaking on a stage or sharing something raw and vulnerable about my life with 100,000 subscribers – I push that edge of my comfort zone.

Q. What mentoring or coaching experiences have you benefitted from?

A. I hired one of the top coaches in Australia – Christine McDougall, past Vice President of the International Coaching Federation, and then Marcia Reynolds, Past President of the International Coach Federation. Both coaches helped me with my vision and motivated me to keep stepping forward through uncertainty.

Q.  David, what was the key motivating factor in your drive and determination to become your own boss?

A. When I left Towers Perrin, a top management consulting company, my boss said, “I hope in 10 years we’ll be ready for someone like you.” I was a wave-maker and tired of needing 10 people to approve any new idea I had. I wanted to implement my ideas NOW, and to have time freedom (to work when I like), and location freedom (to work from home or Hawaii.)

Q.  Was funding ever an issue for you? If so, how did you solve the problem?

A. Initially I had about $30,000 in savings so I knew I had 6-12 months before I ran into trouble. I earned a little money with my first business, which was as a professional entertainer singing in Australian pubs, and then more money on the side as a consulting actuary (my former profession) at an hourly rate.

Q. What was your most challenging moment to date and how did you overcome it?

A. Stepping out on stage in front of 1200 people was one of the scariest. But higher on the list was going on national television in Australia on Hey Hey It’s Saturday (our equivalent of The Gong Show) and singing in a kilt. I was absolutely terrified and literally thought I might pee my pants. I overcame it by putting one foot in front of the other – ‘feel the fear and do it anyway’. It always works.

Q. What is the greatest reward in running your own business?

A. When I want a week or a month off, I can take it. Also I get to create websites, ebooks, CDs, DVDs and teleclasses as quickly as I like. I can impact lives. I had a thought this morning about financial worry and how it impacts all of us, so I posted on Facebook: “Would you attend a free teleclass on financial worry and how to improve your finances?” If the response is good I can have 50-300 people on a teleclass next week and begin impacting lives that quickly. I might even make some sales at the end of it.

Q.  Do you have a “top strategy” for success that you’d like to share?

A.  Nothing mind-blowing, but rather simple: Have a simple plan for what you’re going to accomplish, and each day spend the first two hours of your day doing the most important thing on your list.

Q.  David, entrepreneurs are idea machines, and that’s great. But sometimes too many good ideas can clutter the picture and stop progress. How did you harness your best ideas and bring them to fruition?

A.  Ha – I have a million ideas, and many are incomplete. I pick my favorite ones – the ones that will have the most impact on people’s lives or the most revenue potential, or both – and focus on those. The others I write down on another piece of paper and save them – knowing I can come to them when the time is right. So prioritize, and just keep going down the list.

Q.  Is there anything else you’d like to share with our solopreneurs?

A. It’s a challenging and rewarding life. The most important thing is a simple plan. I put everything I know about setting up an online business into five simple steps – and published them in Get Paid For Who You Are. I’m happy to give readers a free copy of the book at www.getpaidforwhoyouare.com.

In Summary: Wow, David's book for free! I'm on my way…
These “common links” are really adding up! Our final 6-figure soloist is most certainly a creative, flexible, out of the box thinker. David serves an important value of helping others through his work and he certainly values his freedom. Our soloists have all seemed pretty flexible in terms of their willingness to change the plan as circumstances change and David is no exception. Once again, a self funded startup whose creator is not risk adverse. David acts quickly and efficiently on his ideas and has a great system in place for “testing” them and determining whether they get shelved or acted upon. He seems systematic, yet doesn’t allow systems to stifle his creativity.  One of the things that struck me most was the speed and efficiency in which David brings his wonderful ideas to fruition – or not.  David is also very willing to push the limits of his “comfort zone” and do it with a wonderful sense of humor in place.  Personally, I think this is such an important quality; taking one’s self too seriously can really get in the way!

Despite the vast differences in city populations and budgets, the pay of city managers in those cities varies only moderately.

Eight of 10 city managers were grouped in a much narrower range from $160,000 to $270,000, according to The Times' salary database.

Wade G. McKinney, president of the California City Management Foundation and city manager of Atascadero, said that beyond base salaries, it’s difficult to define a norm for city manager compensation packages.

“I don’t think there is a typical, because every city is so different,” he said.

The Times analysis found cities with more residents and larger budgets tended to pay their chief executives more, but the exceptions were more notable than the rule. West Hollywood, a city of 36,000, had one of the county’s highest payouts: Paul Arevalo earned $285,496 last year. Beverly Hills, Palmdale and Bell Gardens also paid high salaries in proportion to their size.

Los Angeles and Long Beach, both large cities whose mayors oversee much of the executive staff, paid their administrators disproportionately low amounts.

But some large cities, including Pomona, LaVerne and El Monte, had lower-than-average salaries.

Wealthier cities did not necessarily pay their executives more. Like Bradbury, Rolling Hills, Hidden Hills and Sierra Madre all paid less than average.

Experts in public employee compensation said the largest factor in determining pay, benefits and perks, at least when hiring a new city manager, is what other cities with similar needs are paying.

“Most often, we see that it’s market driven,” said Bob Murray, president of Roseville-based executive recruitment firm Bob Murray & Associates. “Typically, cities look at the salaries of cities in what they determine as their labor market.”

–Sam Allen and Abby Sewell, with data analysis by Doug Smith

Follow the money: Times databases

City manager salaries: How much is your city manager making?

Bell council salaries: How did the Bell council make so much?

Taxes: Which cities pay the highest property taxes rates?

 

Scripting <b>News</b>: Nice things about the web

But making it possible for me to seek the information I want without anyone telling me what I want the web makes it possible for me to get more nourishing news and information, and other points of view. Before the web, well it was a lot …

Brad Friedman and Desi Doyen: Green <b>News</b> Report: August 17, 2010 <b>…</b>

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Tidal Power: 'Dumb' turbine ready for rough ocean waters; Survey: American's incorrect opinions on energy efficiency; U.S. Chamber sues EPA over emissions limits; Deutsche Bank ditches U.S. for …

Bad <b>News</b> For RIM: Only 150000 Torches Sold At Launch?

RIM needed a hit, and the data increasingly indicate that the Blackberry Torch is not that. While 150000 units sold is nothing to …

In the past I have been in financial prison while making a ‘good’ living, and now find myself more financially ‘free’ while making less money than I’ve earned in almost 20 years. I think financial freedom is mostly about attitude. Freedom means that I have choices, and mostly, choices are about having an awareness of what my choices are.

e.g. I bought gas for the car today and when I wrote down the debit in my checkbook and spending notebook (that I carry everywhere) I realized I had not spent any money in almost one week. I also realized that although it is two days til payday, I have over $250 in my checking account. (not including a small amount in savings.) When I was earning three times my current income in the early 1990’s it was rare that I had any money by two days before payday, making those last couple of days before payday very fearful.

I could have chosen not to buy gas today and instead walked or taken the bus everywhere I need to travel, in my city it is not an easy way to function but it is doable. So buying gas for the car was a choice. However it was not a choice I wanted to make.

However, some “spending less” choices I do make. I choose not to have cable TV. I have “rabbit ears” and get seven channels, which is about six more than I need. I rarely buy clothes, (probably about $200 per year total) and usually they come from Goodwill or TJ Maxx or big sales at Macy’s. I rarely eat out, but I eat very well at home. I NEVER buy coffee out, even though I am a coffee snob. Instead, I buy fair trade organic coffee a pound at a time and make it at home. A pound for $10 lasts over two weeks, compared to $2 per cup in a cafe.

I have a busy social life, I am involved in church and civic life, I have family and relationship commitments, I teach and consult and write professionally. I go to cultural events (many are free or super cheap in my city.) I read a lot. (mostly used books or library books.)

My life is rich and full and I use my money is as a tool to make that happen. I also donate ten percent of my gross to my church, which is heavily involved in social justice causes.
At times I get wistful about things that I want or places I’d like to travel. At some point I will make a choice to shift some of my money toward those things, but I feel financially free about 90 percent of the time in my current lifestyle.

Part of my money goes toward saving and part on paying off old debt but both are at a pace that is workable for both me and my creditors. I don’t let it make me crazy or compromise my quality of life.

Every time I make my mortgage payment I am making a choice. Every time I pay my electric bill I am making a choice. The consequences of not making those payments are not consequences that I want to experience. However, it is still MY CHOICE.

I don’t know what the meaning of life is, but I think that if something happens to me tomorrow, I will be much more satisfied with my time on earth living how I live today than if I had spent the last several years sacrificing everything I enjoy in order to put more money in the bank, in order to have “financial freedom.”

“To Have More, Desire Less.”

Normally when people sign payment plans with a bank, they are not able to calculate the final costs themselves. This is mostly because they do not know how to factor in everything and how to derive the final charges. Thankfully they can use the services of a wonderful tool name CalcMoolator.

CalcMoolator is a website that offers a collection of free financial calculators online. You can use the site to compute payments involving vehicles, mortgages, jobs, taxes, money saving schemes, loans, credit cards, and anything else.

Each type of calculator has different values you input to reach your result. For instance the “Mortgage Payment Estimate Calculator” requires you to enter values of principal amount, interest rate (in percentage), duration of plan (in years), home value, annual taxes, annual insurance, and annual PMI. It factors in all these values and reaches the required mortgage amount.

Similarly other calculators on the site help people conduct financial calculations without having to learn any mathematical formulas.

Features:

• A collection of free online financial calculator.
• Each calculator factors in a number of values to reach a reasonably accurate result.
• No extensive knowledge of banking or financial formulas is required.
• Can be extrememly helpful for anybody planning to sign up a payment deal with a bank.
• The website also has an iPhone app that Apple device owners can use.
• Similar tools:  Mookal, MyBankTracker, IRS Withholding Calculator, WhatsTheCost, TripLittle and Repayment Calculator.

Check out CalcMoolator @ www.calcmoolator.com (by MOin from ThumbPress)

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Actually, I think he might be getting a bad rap on this one. Although, at this point, who knows what the hell goes on inside the RNC brain trust.

An RNC intern sent a message late last month to at least one ambassador on behalf of Neil Alpert, a senior finance aide, with little explanation.

“As you know, the November election is just 103 days away and the chairman would like to extend to you an invitation to sit down either at the RNC or at your embassy to discuss the upcoming 2010 midterm elections,” wrote Christopher Kelleher, a finance department intern. “With literally hundreds of congressional seats up for grabs in just under four months, Chairman Steel would love to have the opportunity to discuss the party’s outlook with you.”…

Steele’s outreach to foreign representatives heading into the final stretch of the midterm election cycle is exasperating senior Republicans, already fed up with the controversial chairman’s knack for bad publicity.

“They can’t give any money and they can’t vote,” former RNC Chairman Jim Nicholson said, referring to the ambassadors. “I don’t know why you’d take time to do it.”

On the one hand, if Steele really was trying to wrangle a meeting with, say, the ambassador from Iraq, would he have farmed the task out to an intern who can’t spell his name? Politico notes that ambassadors typically aren’t contacted by e-mail but rather via their political officers. Sounds like maybe the intern was told to contact a bunch of different VIPs to feel them out for meetings and didn’t realize that foreign ambassadors can’t do anything for the RNC financially. On the other hand, assuming that Steele really does want to meet with these people whether for personal prestige purposes or with an eye to forging relationships for his post-RNC career (per the article, he has a history of cultivating ties to foreign officials), what’s the harm in it, really? We’re talking about a half-hour or an hour here and there. Granted, it’s fundraising season, but if The One can carve a few hours out from saving the world to play golf occasionally, surely Steele can spare a little time for photo ops with foreign dignitaries. It’s a feeble way to kick up PR for the GOP but at least it keeps him away from microphones for a few hours. Net win!

Exit question: Who’s leaking?

J.D.’s equation is correct, but it’s only part of the story. cash flow is in fact income minus expenses like the article states. However, cash flow does not correlate directly to wealth. You would naively think that wealth is the integral of cash flow with respect to time. It isn’t.

Suppose you earn $50,000. You immediately spend this money on building supplies and build a house with it. Your net cash flow is $0, but you now have a house that’s worth more than what you paid for it. You’ve got a property with a value of, say, $60,000. This is investment. Certainly you needed some cash flow to start the investing process, but cash flow itself is not wealth. Also, you now have the ability to generate $60,000 new dollars in positive cash flow by selling the house you built, in which case you can invest in something new.

The average American household income is about $3,000/month, after taxes. If you spend *all* of that on living expenses, you will never save your $50,000 to build your house. If you manage to cut your living expenses by half, you can now save your $50k in about three years. However, if instead you were able to double your income, you could save your $50k in half that time. If you take this even further and double your income again (to $12k/month) you could save you $50k in only 6 months. However, if instead you cut your living expenses by half a second time (to $750/month) it would still take you 22 months to save $50k.

You quickly hit a point of diminishing returns with cutting expenses, where each additional percent cut from your budget buys you less and less. The opposite is true for increasing your income. There is absolutely no way to save $50k in less than 16 months on $3,000/month. However, if you’re making enough money, there’s no limit to how fast you can do it.

Here’s one more example that’s not so extreme:

Set a goal to save $250,000. Pretend you want to buy a house in cash.
Start off with the same $3,000/month salary.
Start with the same $3,000/month living expenses.

Scenario 1: Your living expenses never change, but each year, you manage to increase your income 7% over the previous year. This seems feasible, it’s not a “get rich quick” scheme, you can probably find some way to improve your performance in whatever business you’re in by about this much.

You save your $250,000 in a bit over 12 years. At the end of the 12 years, you make about $120k/year. This is definitely a good salary, but it’s not ridiculously, infeasibly high.

Scenario 2:
You keep the same salary every year, but cut your expenses by 7%.

You save your $250k in 17 years, which is significantly longer. You’re also living on $920/month at the end of this, which is probably infeasible in real life. You just can’t keep cutting and cutting and cutting to this degree.

Scenario 3:
You combine both 1 and 2, both increasing your income by 7% every year, and cutting expenses the same amount. You’d think this would make a huge difference, right?

You’ll save your $250k in 10 years. This is definitely an improvement over either one of the other scenarios, but it’s not nearly the same sort of improvement you see if you solely increase income instead of solely decreasing spending. It also requires you to live on $1500/month at the end, which is certainly a lot more feasible that $920, but you still may think that’s a bit low.

This whole calculation ignores inflation (meaning, your 7% raise per year is probably more like 10% in absolute terms). It also means that at the end, when I say you’re living on $920/month, that’s $920 dollars at 2010 value, not 2027 value.

This is essentially the same concept that J.D. likes to call ‘the power of compound interest’, except applied in a slightly different way.

One other note on this example: selling your ’stuff’ makes almost no difference here. Even assuming you had $10k worth of stuff to get rid of at the beginning of this, it only buys you a few extra months in any of these scenarios. This is because a single, one-time influx of $10k is small in a scenario that takes 10-17 years to play out. At the end of these scenarios, you’re saving in the ballpark of $2000-$5000 every month. The extra $10k just isn’t that big of a deal any more. Selling ’stuff’ can help you reduce debts and stop paying interest to other parties if you can do it all at once, but it really doesn’t help you build long-term savings very well.

I know the site is called “get rich slowly”, but I like to think that is meant to convey an idea of perseverance and the fact that “get rick quick” schemes don’t work. It’s not meant to imply you should go artificially slower than you have to, just because.

In short: ask for a raise every year, even if you don’t always get it. Don’t be afraid to take a job at a competing company if they’ll offer you a better salary (assuming the job is otherwise similar). You don’t need to start your own company to make a few more percent every year. Just be valuable in your industry, show that to your employers, and don’t be afraid to ask for raises.

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Actually, I think he might be getting a bad rap on this one. Although, at this point, who knows what the hell goes on inside the RNC brain trust.

An RNC intern sent a message late last month to at least one ambassador on behalf of Neil Alpert, a senior finance aide, with little explanation.

“As you know, the November election is just 103 days away and the chairman would like to extend to you an invitation to sit down either at the RNC or at your embassy to discuss the upcoming 2010 midterm elections,” wrote Christopher Kelleher, a finance department intern. “With literally hundreds of congressional seats up for grabs in just under four months, Chairman Steel would love to have the opportunity to discuss the party’s outlook with you.”…

Steele’s outreach to foreign representatives heading into the final stretch of the midterm election cycle is exasperating senior Republicans, already fed up with the controversial chairman’s knack for bad publicity.

“They can’t give any money and they can’t vote,” former RNC Chairman Jim Nicholson said, referring to the ambassadors. “I don’t know why you’d take time to do it.”

On the one hand, if Steele really was trying to wrangle a meeting with, say, the ambassador from Iraq, would he have farmed the task out to an intern who can’t spell his name? Politico notes that ambassadors typically aren’t contacted by e-mail but rather via their political officers. Sounds like maybe the intern was told to contact a bunch of different VIPs to feel them out for meetings and didn’t realize that foreign ambassadors can’t do anything for the RNC financially. On the other hand, assuming that Steele really does want to meet with these people whether for personal prestige purposes or with an eye to forging relationships for his post-RNC career (per the article, he has a history of cultivating ties to foreign officials), what’s the harm in it, really? We’re talking about a half-hour or an hour here and there. Granted, it’s fundraising season, but if The One can carve a few hours out from saving the world to play golf occasionally, surely Steele can spare a little time for photo ops with foreign dignitaries. It’s a feeble way to kick up PR for the GOP but at least it keeps him away from microphones for a few hours. Net win!

Exit question: Who’s leaking?

J.D.’s equation is correct, but it’s only part of the story. cash flow is in fact income minus expenses like the article states. However, cash flow does not correlate directly to wealth. You would naively think that wealth is the integral of cash flow with respect to time. It isn’t.

Suppose you earn $50,000. You immediately spend this money on building supplies and build a house with it. Your net cash flow is $0, but you now have a house that’s worth more than what you paid for it. You’ve got a property with a value of, say, $60,000. This is investment. Certainly you needed some cash flow to start the investing process, but cash flow itself is not wealth. Also, you now have the ability to generate $60,000 new dollars in positive cash flow by selling the house you built, in which case you can invest in something new.

The average American household income is about $3,000/month, after taxes. If you spend *all* of that on living expenses, you will never save your $50,000 to build your house. If you manage to cut your living expenses by half, you can now save your $50k in about three years. However, if instead you were able to double your income, you could save your $50k in half that time. If you take this even further and double your income again (to $12k/month) you could save you $50k in only 6 months. However, if instead you cut your living expenses by half a second time (to $750/month) it would still take you 22 months to save $50k.

You quickly hit a point of diminishing returns with cutting expenses, where each additional percent cut from your budget buys you less and less. The opposite is true for increasing your income. There is absolutely no way to save $50k in less than 16 months on $3,000/month. However, if you’re making enough money, there’s no limit to how fast you can do it.

Here’s one more example that’s not so extreme:

Set a goal to save $250,000. Pretend you want to buy a house in cash.
Start off with the same $3,000/month salary.
Start with the same $3,000/month living expenses.

Scenario 1: Your living expenses never change, but each year, you manage to increase your income 7% over the previous year. This seems feasible, it’s not a “get rich quick” scheme, you can probably find some way to improve your performance in whatever business you’re in by about this much.

You save your $250,000 in a bit over 12 years. At the end of the 12 years, you make about $120k/year. This is definitely a good salary, but it’s not ridiculously, infeasibly high.

Scenario 2:
You keep the same salary every year, but cut your expenses by 7%.

You save your $250k in 17 years, which is significantly longer. You’re also living on $920/month at the end of this, which is probably infeasible in real life. You just can’t keep cutting and cutting and cutting to this degree.

Scenario 3:
You combine both 1 and 2, both increasing your income by 7% every year, and cutting expenses the same amount. You’d think this would make a huge difference, right?

You’ll save your $250k in 10 years. This is definitely an improvement over either one of the other scenarios, but it’s not nearly the same sort of improvement you see if you solely increase income instead of solely decreasing spending. It also requires you to live on $1500/month at the end, which is certainly a lot more feasible that $920, but you still may think that’s a bit low.

This whole calculation ignores inflation (meaning, your 7% raise per year is probably more like 10% in absolute terms). It also means that at the end, when I say you’re living on $920/month, that’s $920 dollars at 2010 value, not 2027 value.

This is essentially the same concept that J.D. likes to call ‘the power of compound interest’, except applied in a slightly different way.

One other note on this example: selling your ’stuff’ makes almost no difference here. Even assuming you had $10k worth of stuff to get rid of at the beginning of this, it only buys you a few extra months in any of these scenarios. This is because a single, one-time influx of $10k is small in a scenario that takes 10-17 years to play out. At the end of these scenarios, you’re saving in the ballpark of $2000-$5000 every month. The extra $10k just isn’t that big of a deal any more. Selling ’stuff’ can help you reduce debts and stop paying interest to other parties if you can do it all at once, but it really doesn’t help you build long-term savings very well.

I know the site is called “get rich slowly”, but I like to think that is meant to convey an idea of perseverance and the fact that “get rick quick” schemes don’t work. It’s not meant to imply you should go artificially slower than you have to, just because.

In short: ask for a raise every year, even if you don’t always get it. Don’t be afraid to take a job at a competing company if they’ll offer you a better salary (assuming the job is otherwise similar). You don’t need to start your own company to make a few more percent every year. Just be valuable in your industry, show that to your employers, and don’t be afraid to ask for raises.

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Business <b>News</b> You Need Today: Aug. 6, 2010 - DailyFinance

David Schepp has covered business news for more than a decade at news organizations such as Dow Jones, BBC News and Gannett. His beats have included technology, biotechnology, health care and workplace. He lives in New York's Hudson …

Small Business <b>News</b>: The Online Entrepreneur | Small Business <b>News</b> <b>…</b>

Planning a new small business? You may want to consider doing it online. In this small business news roundup, we look at a variety of tools and tips for.

Rex Ryan sees Super Bowl win for Jets in 'my crystal ball'

CORTLAND - The day after Rex Ryan signed an ESPN training camp tour bus with "soon to be champs," the most confident coach on the planet backed up the bravado with, well, more bravado. So, will the Jets win the…

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Forget the coupon clipping. A straightforward, realistic budget is the best deal you'll ever find.

Why is a budget the best deal? Because, just like your childhood puppy your budget will always be there for you, no expiration dates, no fine print to yank away the savings after you've already been whipped into a furry of consumerism. If you care for your budget it will take care of you so that “saving” isn't just not unnecessarily spending an extra $5 at the grocery store this week; but actually saving money in a high yield savings account. Another great thing about a budget is that, again like your puppy, it will take you back even if you screw up.

Think outside the sale. For years I chased after deals and discounts like they were the oxygen keeping me alive. It didn't matter if I needed an item or not — if there was a sticker advertising 60, 70, 80 or 90% off a gadget, I wanted to buy it. How could I pass up the savings?

It wasn't until recently that I realized a budget is the best deal you can find. After taking a few minutes to look at how to put together a budget I realized that it takes less time to set up and follow a budget than it does to look for deals every day of the week.

Thanks to great free personal finance management (PFM) tools from sites such as like Mint.com, Rudder and others you can easily create a budget and track how well you are following it each day. These tools will even send you a notification when you go outside of your budget so you aren't shocked at the end of the month. If you don't already have a successful budget don't start creating one yet. First go read these tips for setting realistic budget.

Advice on Budgeting

• Reverse Budget - A savings first solution from FiveCentNickel
• Budgeting basics - a Budget primer from Consumerism Commentary including suggestions on how to get started.

My personal favorite and current method of budgeting isn't so much a budget as it is smart spending. Ramit Sethi explains the model in his book I Will Teach You to Be Rich, calling it, “Conscious Spending.” Instead of focusing on the minutia Sethi concedes that it is in fact OK to, “Spend extravagantly on the things you love, and cut costs mercilessly on the things you don't.”

A budget may be the best deal, but that doesn't mean you need to give up on coupon clipping and bargain hunting; just make these tools that support your plan instead of the main focus. If you plan for your purchases, by saving up at SmartyPig or setting a goal in Rudder, you can still go looking for a deal on your next purchase and pay in cash. Trust me, there's something really incredible about paying in cash for the new camera that you've researched and found the best deal on.Thanks to great free personal finance management (PFM) tools from sites such as like Mint.com, Rudder and others you can easily create a budget and track how well you are following it each day. These tools will even send you a notification when you go outside of your budget so you aren't shocked at the end of the month. If you don't already have a successful budget don't start creating one yet. First go read these tips for setting realistic budget.

Advice on Budgeting

• Reverse Budget - A savings first solution from FiveCentNickel
• Budgeting basics - a Budget primer from Consumerism Commentary including suggestions on how to get started.

My personal favorite and current method of budgeting isn't so much a budget as it is smart spending. Ramit Sethi explains the model in his book, I Will Teach You to Be Rich, calling it, “conscious spending.” Instead of focusing on the minutia Sethi concedes that it is in fact wise to “spend extravagantly on the things you love, and cut costs mercilessly on the things you don't.”

A budget may be the best deal, but that doesn't mean you need to give up on coupon clipping and bargain hunting; just make these tools that support your plan instead of the main focus. If you plan for your purchases, by saving up at SmartyPig or setting a goal in Rudder, you can still go looking for a deal on your next purchase and pay in cash. Trust me, there's something really incredible about paying in cash for the new camera that you've researched and found the best deal on.

In 2006, recent Harvard grad Alexa von Tobel was headed for a job at Morgan Stanley. But though she would soon be managing the bank’s investments, she realized she didn’t know the first thing about her own finances. Most financial guides seemed to be written for middle-aged readers with millions in assets, rather than recent college grads. “I was reading every book I could find, but none of them spoke to me,” she says. So she came up with the idea for LearnVest, an online personal-finance resource for young women like her, and ended up writing an 80-page business plan.

After two years at Morgan Stanley, von Tobel entered Harvard Business School in 2008. But upon winning a business plan competition held by Astia, a non-profit that supports women entrepreneurs, she took a five-year leave of absence and invested $75,000 of her Wall Street earnings to start LearnVest in November. She quickly enlisted advisors, including Betsy Morgan, the former CEO of the Huffington Post, and Catherine Levene, the former COO of DailyCandy, to help develop the site’s content and technology. In January 2009, she secured $1.1 million in seed funding from executives at Goldman Sachs.

LearnVest’s site launched a year later and has since signed up more than 100,000 members. It offers online budgeting calculators, video chats with certified financial planners on the company’s staff, and free e-mail tutorials on topics such as opening an IRA. The company earns revenue from advertising and by referring its users to companies such as TD Ameritrade. In April, after just four weeks of fundraising, von Tobel closed a $4.5 million investment round led by Accel Partners, which has also invested in Facebook and Etsy. (Incidentally, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg lived in the same dorm as von Tobel at Harvard.)

Von Tobel likens LearnVest to an online version of The Suze Orman Show, but with the goal of reinforcing positive finance habits early on. “Suze Orman helps 45-year-old women get out of debt,” she says. “Why not reach 20-year-olds to keep them from getting into debt?”

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<b>News</b> Quiz | July 30, 2010 - The Learning Network Blog - NYTimes.com

See what you know about the news of the day. … A 'View' of Obama. 6 Q's About the News | Why do you think the president decided to appear on “The View”? A guest post by our college intern, Carrie Montgomery. July 30 …

Small Business <b>News</b>: We Need You | Small Business <b>News</b>, Tips <b>…</b>

We need you, small business owners and entrepreneurs. To start new businesses and create new jobs. To drag us out of this long recession and into new prosperity.

Fox <b>News</b>: Apple Is The New Religion And The Pope Is Scared

Jesus. Maybe literally. Fox News has a long and illustrious history of saying some fairly outrageous things. A story today on FoxNews.com may be one of the best yet — certainly from a tech perspective. The post entitled.

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<b>News</b> Quiz | July 30, 2010 - The Learning Network Blog - NYTimes.com

See what you know about the news of the day. … A 'View' of Obama. 6 Q's About the News | Why do you think the president decided to appear on “The View”? A guest post by our college intern, Carrie Montgomery. July 30 …

Small Business <b>News</b>: We Need You | Small Business <b>News</b>, Tips <b>…</b>

We need you, small business owners and entrepreneurs. To start new businesses and create new jobs. To drag us out of this long recession and into new prosperity.

Fox <b>News</b>: Apple Is The New Religion And The Pope Is Scared

Jesus. Maybe literally. Fox News has a long and illustrious history of saying some fairly outrageous things. A story today on FoxNews.com may be one of the best yet — certainly from a tech perspective. The post entitled.

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How HAMP Makes Elizabeth Warren The Only Choice For Consumer Protection

Thursday, 07/22/2010 - 5:19 pm by Mike Konczal | One Comment

No one else has been a stronger advocate for public disclosure.

There’s a debate going on about who should be nominated to run the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau at the Federal Reserve. One side says Elizabeth Warren, while another says someone from Treasury, likely Michael Barr.

At a quick glance you might not see a big difference. As Felix notes, Michael Barr is very strong on consumer finance.

But I think Warren would be a far superior choice. There are many reasons why, but I want to discuss a very specific one here that distinguishes her from anyone in Treasury. The biggest: she is a strong critic of HAMP, Treasury’s largest intervention into the massive foreclosure crisis hitting millions of regular Americans, and she demands accountability on behalf of the people.

HAMP As Failure

The Home Affordability Modification Program is widely considered to be a failure. Here is Shahien Nasiripour reporting on the latest numbers from June. They haven’t remotely hit the numbers they projected. Homeowners continue to suffer from a lack of modifications due to servicer problems and the overvaluation of their books. I wrote here about how the creator of the mortgage bond instrument in the early 1980s said in 2007 that a major market failure was coming. There was need for government action.

HAMP is such a failure that it is a bit of a game among the financial bloggers as to who has the best write-up of how bad it is each month and what the killer statistics are that prove it. I’m calling Stacy-Marie Ishmael over at FT Alphaville this month’s winner with BarCap vs HUD on HAMP.

Evidence shows that there are principal increases for 80% of the people who go through HAMP. That is the exact opposite of what you’d like to see! It lowers interest rates, but it also increases the length of the loan. And for those who don’t have principal reduction, there is a massively high redefault rate. People lose their homes anyway, even after jumping through cumbersome hoops.

Predatory lending is hard to define, but a product is predatory that sinks people deeper into debt without the expectation that they can pay it off. And that is exactly how HAMP functions. For millions of people HAMP is their main interaction with the government and embodies what the government is capable of, and this creates disillusionment and discredits the liberal state in a profound way.

And Warren Demands Accountability

The Congressional Oversight Panel, lead by Warren, has been in the lead at making information public and bringing the complaints of the people straight to those in power. (It falls under her jurisdiction because HAMP uses TARP money.) When you see the fights on youtube between Warren and Geithner, the biggest ones, the ones that make Geithner cringe the most, it is about how HAMP isn’t working. Click through on that link to watch a video that gets straight to this. She demands accountability from the government and from the banking sector on the single most important issues facing Americans right now.

This is important. There’s pressure to be quiet, to hope that a quick housing and economic recovery will just make this whole foreclosure crisis go away. But Warren has demanded answers. COP released a report in early 2009 about the problems with HAMP, data collection and foreclosure, a report that still stands up. She’s done that at every step of TARP, but it matters here specifically for consumer protection.

And this is exactly how the CFPA should work. They fight to get good information disclosed to the public about how the banks and the Treasury department are failing the American people, reporters and wonks explain the information to the public, Treasury is held accountable. Treasury is currently working overtime to make HAMP work better; every month they are putting pressure where they can to make it better. That’s how a healthy government is supposed to work, but it can only be done if the tone is set by an outsider. And Elizabeth Warren is the one qualified candidate with a proven track record of standing up to the banks and to the Treasury.

And as Steve Clemons wrote: “It’s about time that at minimum, the White House got a ‘team of rivals’ on economic policy rather than just a ‘Team of Rubins.’”

Mike Konczal is a Fellow at the Roosevelt Institute.

Join the Discussion

4 Comments

• Note: the video is not showing on iPad.
  Any chance of an alternative format (I assume the one on the page is in Flash)?
  Thx.

  Posted by readerOfTeaLeaves | July 9th, 2010 at 11:03 pm

• Parents, Education, & Symptoms

  Parents have got to get in the game, if they want to continue participating. The education system is an abject failure. It has to be replaced, and the tool is there to do it. Parents do not require permission from government or multinational corporations. Uncontrolled multinational growth is a function of community failure.

  Of course the multinationals want nations, states, communities and individuals competing against each other; their controlling interests naturally breed on control. Of course they pay the economists to argue that competition is the be all and end all. On the one hand parents are competing in a system designed to ensure they lose, and on the other they attempt to give their own children a comparative advantage over other kids, locking failure in for the community.

  The best thing parents can do is build strong, independent communities, so all kids can be successful. In net, parents are isolating their children into a competition with the multinationals, while their own governments are offering them a near-term profit to dissolve their families, paid for by the multinationals, which the governments are competing for, by giving them your money, your property, your taxes, and your ideas. And what makes it all work is parents competing to get in their cars and go shopping to feed the multinationals.

  Economies are self-correcting. Multinationals cannot change their behavior. They destroy their own food chain, new families, by economic design. The multinationals are writing the laws, to which parents are subjected, and to which the multinationals are exempted, in a political system paid for by the parents. If the community is simply an extension of the State, the system may only liquidate. A constitution is designed to protect the State from itself. Only a community can protect liberty, and liberty is the path to the future.

  Much of America is a victim of its own success. The multinationals have grown alongside strong communities. GDP measures consumption cost. It in no way measures investment or profit. The multinationals are simply a looking glass, and what parents see is what they want to see. Politicians tell parents whatever they want to hear, largely that the problem is government or corporate.

  Yes. The more you shop, the longer it will take for the machine to target you, but the machine has caught up to everyone now. An American flag does not make a multinational American. Because some communities choose to be fat, dumb, and lazy in no way limits other communities. Liberty is not subject to majority vote. If a majority jumps off a bridge, will you?

  Anything is fixable, if the right people are in charge. In this case, the parents have to take charge of the economy. There is always a reservoir of goodwill for children somewhere. When you have ruled everything else out, what remains, no matter how improbable, is the solution. Not so ironically, Barack Obama was a community organizer.

  So long as those cleats hold onto the bank, and you have a good strong rope of small businesses, we’ll pick that $500T load.

  Right now, your problem is RICO organization of multinationals through every level of government to preempt participation by small family businesses, to backfill the economy.

  Posted by kevinearick | July 10th, 2010 at 4:26 pm

• @readerOfTeaLeaves Unfortunately the video we embedded is from GRIT’s site, and they put it up in flash, so there’s not much we can do. Sorry I can’t be of more help!

  Posted by Bryce | July 12th, 2010 at 10:57 am

• Thanks Bryce. I came back and viewed it on a ‘not-an-iPad’, but appreciate your explanation.

  Posted by readerOfTeaLeaves | July 12th, 2010 at 5:41 pm

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Fwix Aggregates Hyper-Local <b>News</b> for Nearby and Relevant Stories

Fwix is a news aggregation service focused on dishing the dirt on hyper-local news stories to help you stay on top of what's happening right in your backyard. Fwix is available both in the US and select countries abroad.

Housing markets: Hooray for bad <b>news</b> | The Economist

Hooray for bad news. Jul 26th 2010, 19:56 by R.A. | WASHINGTON. STRANGELY enough, many news outlets have reported todays figure on new home sales for the month of June in a positive fashion. Bloomberg, for instance, noted: …

EU launches antitrust probes of IBM | Business Tech - CNET <b>News</b>

The two investigations by the European Commission surround alleged abuse of the company's dominant market position in the mainframe market. Read this blog post by Sam Diaz on Business Tech.

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Fwix Aggregates Hyper-Local <b>News</b> for Nearby and Relevant Stories

Fwix is a news aggregation service focused on dishing the dirt on hyper-local news stories to help you stay on top of what's happening right in your backyard. Fwix is available both in the US and select countries abroad.

Housing markets: Hooray for bad <b>news</b> | The Economist

Hooray for bad news. Jul 26th 2010, 19:56 by R.A. | WASHINGTON. STRANGELY enough, many news outlets have reported todays figure on new home sales for the month of June in a positive fashion. Bloomberg, for instance, noted: …

EU launches antitrust probes of IBM | Business Tech - CNET <b>News</b>

The two investigations by the European Commission surround alleged abuse of the company's dominant market position in the mainframe market. Read this blog post by Sam Diaz on Business Tech.

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If you’re seeking a job in social media, we’d like to help out. For starters, Mashable’s Job Lists section gathers together all of our resource lists, how-tos and expert guides to help you get hired. In particular, you might want to see our articles on How to Leverage Social Media for Career Success and How to Find a Job on Twitter.

But we’d like to help in a more direct way, too. Mashable’s job boards are a place for socially savvy companies to find people like you. This week and every week, Mashable features its coveted job board listings for a variety of positions in the web, social media space and beyond. Have a look at what’s good and new on our job boards:

Mashable Job Board Listings

Senior Manager, Social Media & Marketing at Electronic Arts in Redwood City, CA.

The Senior Manager, Social Media & Marketing is responsible for developing, communicating and implementing a comprehensive social marketing strategy against EA’s priority titles and initiatives.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Area Sales Manager at AT&T in Tulsa, OK.

Join us as an Area Sales Manager-Internet.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Account Executive at Social Media Link in New York, NY.

This position demands a skilled and creative strategist, able to communicate technical topics in a clear and concise manner.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Social Media Strategist at iCrossing in New York, NY.

As a Senior Analyst in this group, you will help plan and execute social media marketing programs for clients.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Digital Strategy at Hill Holiday in Fairhaven, MA.

While serving as the digital marketing lead for a set of clients, you will build the case for digital solutions and help conceive and execute marketing programs that cross digital channels, integrate with offline media and push interactive innovation.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Art Director at Digitas in Philadelphia, PA.

The Art Director at Digitas will be responsible for the conception, design, and execution of innovative visual materials for integrated, cross channel initiatives including: large web initiatives, online advertising, digital marketing, direct marketing and/or print advertising.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Web Developer at Clorox Creative in Oakland, CA.

We are looking for a contract Senior Web Developer experienced in building modern web sites and web apps utilizing OO PHP5 and Javascript/Ajax functionality.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Experienced Front End Developer at Clorox Creative in Oakland, CA.

Looking for a true front-end HTML and CSS guru that hand codes.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Project Manager at Infuse Creative in Santa Monica, CA.

The Project Manager’s role is a mission critical client interface and project management role.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Vice President, Digital Strategy at Ketchum in New York, NY.

We’re looking for a Vice President/Digital Strategy to join our ranks, an individual deeply ingrained in media culture, “pull-not-push” marketing and the dynamics of on- and off-line community building.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Social Media Ambassador at Buick in Chicago, IL.

To kick-off this program, Buick is seeking three Brand Ambassadors in Chicago who will serve as the in-car Buick representatives during Tweet to Drive.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Facebook Engineer at Demandforce in San Francisco, CA.

Demandforce is looking for an outstanding individual to join the engineering team, reporting directly to the CTO.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Engineering Manager at Synacor in Buffalo, NY.

We are seeking an Engineering Manager to direct the development, creation, and modification of computer applications software and specialized utility programs.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Online Marketing and Engagement Manager at Make-A-Wish Foundation in Phoenix, AZ.

This position is responsible for the tactical implementation of online marketing and key audience engagement functions at the National Office to advance the Foundation’s goals in corporate and individual fundraising, mission delivery, chapter support and brand advancement.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Social Media Manager at PETA in Los Angeles, CA.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) seeks a social media manager to lead PETA’s award-winning social media efforts which include PETA’s Facebook and Twitter presences, PETA’s popular blog, The PETA Files, and online activism efforts.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Community Editor at AOL in New York, NY.

Urlesque.com, AOL’s internet trends and web humor site, is looking for a NYC-based temporary freelance community editor to engage, grow and interact with the Urlesque audience.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Director of Engineering at Synacor in San Francisco, CA.

We are seeking a Director of Engineering who will be responsible for leading a team of Internet developers and architects in a fast-paced and quickly growing company.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Social Media Intern at All Wet Beachwear in Hollywood, FL.

We are seeking a Social Media Public Relations Intern who has the passion, drive and knowledge to develop an effective and cutting edge social media campaign.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Director of Engineering at Synacor in Buffalo, NY.

We are seeking a Director of Engineering who will be responsible for leading a team of Internet developers and architects in a fast-paced and quickly growing company.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Editor in Chief, Startup at Life and Home Style Digital Network in Los Angeles, CA.

You must have digital exp., knowledge and interest in consumer/lifestyle, emerging home design and its customers.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Manager, Marketing at Digitas in New York, NY.

Day-to-day management of all digital media (online advertising), offline media (print, direct mail) strategy, production and execution through strong partnership with extended teams.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Senior Platform Engineer at Gilt Groupe in New York, NY.

As a hands-on Senior Software Engineer for Gilt Groupe on our platform team, you’ll help develop and maintain the scalable data and services platform upon with the Gilt Group sites are built.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Application Engineer at Gilt Groupe in New York, NY.

The Application Engineer is responsible for developing applications for the production websites ranging from search, product presentation, usability etc.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Multiple Job Openings via UrgentCareer in New York, NY, Silicon Valley and elsewhere.

We currently are managing over 80 positions from more than 50 top companies.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Director, Social Media at National Association of Home Builders in Washington DC.

This position serves as the technical point of contact for the NAHB social media and social networking activities.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Social Media Applications Engineer at Triton Digital Media in Kentucky.

Triton Digital Media, a quickly growing media company,is looking for experienced social media application developers in Cincinnati, Ohio and the surrounding area.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Director, Online Content at National Association of Home Builders in Washington DC.

This newly created position is responsible for ensuring that NAHB’s website and social media networks clearly and effectively communicate the association’s messages, promotes its products and services and provides high-quality information and content to numerous publics.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Online Marketing Specialist at Quikbook.com in New York, NY.

Group of successful ecommerce travel websites seeks a new team member to head customer acquisition efforts.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Director of Engineering at Gilt Groupe in New York, NY.

Lead software development activities such as software design, development, unit testing, documentation, integration testing, deployment documentation, code reviews, adherence to software development standards

Read more about this opportunity here.

Senior Planner at Wunderman in New York, NY.

The Senior Planner (eCommerce) will articulate consumer insights to drive digital demand generation communications strategies and programs related to eCommerce for local sales units.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Youth Marketing Manager at PETA in Los Angeles, CA.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) seeks a youth marketing manager to build awareness and recognition of PETA’s campaigns and reach the youth (teen, high school and college) audience with PETA’s message through media, special events and peer-to-peer marketing.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Manager of Creative Media Design and Development at The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis in Indianapolis, IN.

The Manager of Creative Media Design & Development is a hands-on management position responsible for the design, development, implementation and maintenance of gallery creative media to drive significant new and repeat visitation to the museum and to enhance the visitor experience.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Social Media Intern, Marketing at The Walt Disney Company – Disney Retail in Los Angeles.

The successful candidate will join our internal marketing team as an intern to monitor our social media presence, become an ‘intra-preneuer’ serve as a customer service agent, develop, implement and monitor successful campaigns resulting in real world results and author social media activities.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Sr Software Engineer at IGN Entertainment in San Francisco, CA.

IGN Entertainment is looking for a passionate Rails engineer who believes an agile development and believes in vertical ownership of technology stack. Experience with large scale production systems and Java is a plus.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Senior Digital Communications at Bayada Nurses in New Jersey.

We seek an experienced and results-driven Senior Digital Manager to join our Communications team to develop and direct digital strategies for Bayada Nurses.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Senior Storage Administrator at Synacor in San Francisco, CA.

We are seeking a Senior Storage Administrator who will work under limited supervision, administer all aspects of an advanced storage area network.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Senior Storage Administrator at Synacor in Los Angeles, CA.

We are seeking a Senior Storage Administrator who will work under limited supervision, administer all aspects of an advanced storage area network.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Webmaster at Pacific-10 Conference in Walnut Creek, CA.

The webmaster will oversee the editorial and technical operation of Pac-10.org and also contribute to our long-range site strategy and planning.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Analyst, Strategy and Analysis at Digitas in Detroit, MI.

The Digitas Strategy & Analysis Group is responsible for driving strategic thinking and economic insight across multiple client engagements

Read more about this opportunity here.

Sr Copywriter at Digitas in Philadelphia, PA.

As an Integrated Sr. Copywriter for Digitas you are responsible for the conception and execution of innovative copy for integrated, cross channel initiatives including large web initiatives, online advertising, digital marketing, print advertising and/or direct mail.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Customer Experience Manager at GigMasters.com in Redding, CT.

GigMasters.com, based in Redding, CT, is seeking an experienced manager to supervise our dynamic Customer Experience Team.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Product Manager, Mobile at HealthCentral in Arlington, VA.

Understand the company’s vision and lead product and business development for our mobile services in tracking health symptoms and care.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Front End Developers at Modea in Blacksburg, VA.

Modea is looking for developers who can create engaging, interactive experiences on platforms ranging from small micro-sites to large, global, multilingual enterprise systems.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Interactive Website Project Manager at TIG Global in Chevy Chase, MD.

As a result of continued growth and expansion, we are currently seeking an Interactive Website Project Manager

Read more about this opportunity here.

Director, Social Marketing at Yahoo! in Sunnyvale, CA.

We are seeking a dynamic, creative and innovative leader to drive social marketing programs at Yahoo!

Read more about this opportunity here.

Social Media Manager at Milestone Internet Marketing in Santa Clara, CA.

Milestone Internet Marketing in Santa Clara, CA is seeking a Social Media Manager within the travel vertical.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Intern – Social Media at Vans in Cypress, CA.

The Vans Direct to Consumer Communications intern assists the department with social media efforts both internally and externally

Read more about this opportunity here.

CSS Producer at Buddy Media in New York, NY.

Work extensively implementing sites into our Platform/CMS from HTML/CSS templates.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Mashable’s Job Board has a variety of web 2.0, application development, business development and social networking job opportunities available. Check them out at here.

Got a job posting to share with our readers? Post a job to Mashable today ($99 for a 30 day listing) and get it highlighted every week on Mashable.com (in addition to exposure all day every day in the Mashable marketplace).

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Today I was able to catch up with Gary Key who is a Technical Marketing Manager for ASUS to ask him a few questions about Internet Explorer 9 Platform Preview 3.

James : Thanks for your time Gary. As a Technical Marketing Manager, how have you been involved with the release of Internet Explorer Platform Preview 3?

Gary : It’s really exciting to be involved! ASUS has been providing both mainstream and cutting edge hardware to Microsoft to ensure the best possible user experience with Internet Explorer 9. Not only have we been supplying exciting hardware for testing but we’ve also been providing input and feedback on how to make IE9 perform its absolute best on ASUS products.

James : You said that it’s been exciting being involved with Platform Preview 3. What’s been most exciting for you?

Gary : Here at ASUS we’ve been at the forefront of netbook and notebook innovation by providing the type of CPU and graphical processing power that Internet Explorer 9 thrives on. For example, we shipped the first Intel Atom dual-core with NVIDIA ION powered netbooks, NVIDIA 3D Vision enabled notebooks and one of the first DX11 gaming notebooks powered by ATI’s Mobility Radeon HD 5870 GPU. It’s this type of power that enables IE9 to provide an extremely responsive and interactive user experience on the Web. ASUS’ continued commitment to provide excellent CPU and GPU performance in its mobile products along with Microsoft’s innovative use of hardware acceleration in IE9 will help to create an unlimited possibilities for new Web applications that are both graphically and functionally rich.

James : You mentioned some of your innovative hardware. I’ve had my eye on your U30Jc or UL80Vt notebooks. How will they perform with the latest Platform Preview?

Gary : Thanks to the Intel dual-core processor and discreet graphics performance of the NVIDIA mobile GPU chipset in either notebook the user experience with Internet Explorer 9 will be incredible. In fact, even our AMD based Eee PC 1201T netbook will provide enough graphical and CPU processing power to ensure the user has a terrific web experience with IE9.

James : How about elsewhere in your range? Is there a price point or a particular type of machine I should be looking for?

Gary : We have a vast number of new mobile products launching this summer that are built with Internet Explorer 9 in mind. Everything from our upcoming Eee PC 1215N netbook and slim and light U35Jc notebook to the new 3D capable Republic of Gamers G53 gaming notebook will offer users a rich and interactive internet experience with IE9.

James : So do I need to buy a new notebook or workstation to take advantage of the hardware acceleration in Internet Explorer 9?

Gary : Not at all. We’ve been using discrete graphics and multi-core processors in most of our machines since we started shipping Windows Vista and Windows 7 machines so Internet Explorer 9 will be able to take advantage of that horsepower too. Of course, buying a new shiny notebook with an aluminum body never hurts does it?

James : You’re really trying to talk me into that U30Jc aren’t you? One last thing, what’s your favorite Platform Preview 3 demo on the www.ietestdrive.com site and why?

Gary : That’s a very difficult question to answer. I really do not have a single favorite Internet Explorer Platform Preview 3 demo as they all show how the combination of IE9 and the processing power available in ASUS mobile products will provide a uniquely rich, responsive and interactive Web experience for the user. However, I would have to say during testing that we probably ran the Flickr Explorer demo the most as it truly displayed the power of our current and upcoming mobile products when using IE9.

James : Gary thank you so much for your time.

Gary : It’s been a pleasure.

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<b>News</b> Roundup: Gabriel Macht Joins USA Network Pilot, 'Glee' Casts <b>…</b>

Gabriel Macht, known to many for his role in 'The Spirit,' is getting a very 'Legal' state of mind. Macht has joined the cast of USA.

Amy Walter Joins ABC <b>News</b> As Political Director - The Note

Amy Walter joins ABC News as political director, it was announced today. Based in Washington, Ms. Walter will oversee all political coverage on ABCNews.com, including ABC's 'The Note.' The Note, authored by ABC News' Rick Klein, …

Robert Naiman: Defense <b>News</b>: War Supplemental Not Needed to Fund <b>…</b>

If the war supplemental is not approved this week, the troops will still be paid and the troops will still be fully supplied. There is no "emergency" requiring action this week.