Its Been On My Mind

This has been on my mind recently...

I would really appreciate some feedback.

I have been wondering a lot about the weight of my own decisions. How much of what I decide to is right? How do I know my decisions are in God's will for my life? How do you make any decision without thinking 'Is this the right decision'?

I do my best to make sure to pray about any decision I make in life. But how much of what I do is my mind telling me something and God telling me something else.

I do my best to use the Word to see what God has to say. Thats why he gave it to us. But what if I fail to properly seek God in a decision? What kind of weight do my decisions hold in my life?

This isnt a major issue in my life. But it sure does make me think a lot. Ive heard many things through my life about trusting God, hearing God, and other things of that nature. It isnt God I worry about. Its me putting my own agenda first. Or ever really being sure of something. How can we be sure?

Sorry for the serious post. But its on my mind {You mentioned that}.

-Pat

Economic Wednesday

Before I talk any more about economics, want to know where I stand in the whole picture of the economic world? {No!}. Yes? Ok then, here it is...

I am very pro free market.

I am pro international trade.

I am pro union. <-- blog about that coming in the future.

I am against too much government involvement.

I am against government run institutions that can be {or are} also run privately. (i.e. a public option for health insurance).

I am pro babies, cause they are cute.

My favorite economist is Adam Smith.

I am not against giving to the poor. But I dont think redistribution of wealth is the right call. Giving to the poor should be by choice, not taxes. <----Going to be blogged about at some point.

I am pro Jesus. That could be relevant. I think.

That about sums up what I think. I am sure there are more. But I doubt they will be missed by anyone {true that}.

I hope that helps in some way {theres no way that could possibly help in any way} or at least gives you an insight into how I view the things I write about.

-Pat

Friday the 13th

Its Friday the 13th...

Which is irrelevant to what Im going write about today {Pat sure does know how to throw a curve ball}.

Really the main idea behind this post revolves around chicken pot pie...stay with me...this gets better {It absolutely does not get better}.

I made chicken pot pie last night, it was pretty good. Cooking is one of my many, many talents {A vast over exaggeration of how many talents Pat has, he has very few}.

I was so proud of it. I was like, "Look what I created from nothing". It made me really happy to create and enjoy that pie.

I have a very special relationship with my food....

-Pat

Economic Wednesday

{Pat is unsure if he can be this committed to these semi-daily posts}

Does anyone read these?

In this week's economic Wednesdays I will briefly give my opinion on debt.

Personal debt to be more specific. Is it bad? Should we be scared of it?

First of all, no it is not 'bad', but yes we should be at least weary of it. Should we just completely stay away from debt in every situation? No. Debt can be helpful. It can be used as a way to give your self an advantage, such as with a college degree, or it can be used wisely in investment. Where we need to very, very weary of debt is when we would classify it as 'consumer debt' {Consumer debt is no good}. Your house..not consumer debt; your school loans...not consumer debt; your car...consumer debt. Consumer debt is really anything you buy that you could live without {That is in very simple terms}. You could live without buying a $30,000 car {Pat sure can}. You could live without that new boat, or new dress, or...you get it.

Consumer debt totalled $2.58 trillion in October 2008. This amounts to a debt of roughly $8,500 per person. It has risen since that date.

The big kahuna in consumer debt...the credit card. The credit card really does a number on Americans consumer debt and purchasing practices. It is not inherently bad, but it sure can be dangerous.

So....

Debt isn't the worst thing ever. But consumer debt can really cripple people and sometimes an entire country. Consumer debt isn't backed up by any sort of assets {Like a house would be}. Its in a league of its own and should be avoided.

So when you think about whether or not debt is bad in your own life. Consider what sort of debt your getting into. Thats the best way to figure out what the right choice is.

What do you think about debt? Whats the best way to handle debt in life? Should we get into any debt? Or should we try and avoid debt in all situations?

Pat

Not About Sports

This blog is not about sports. {Actually it is}.

Its about the fact that there may be more than sports. {Its still technically about sports. Pat is misleading}.

Lets start on Sunday. Sunday = Football {Math is important}. But this Sunday was different, I had something I wanted to do more than sit and watch football. I wanted to....

...this is hard for me to admit...

...I wanted to go for a walk {*Gasp* Pat is loosing it...}

Tis true, I wanted to be with Mary {Girlfriend of Pat, lucky duck} and go for a walk down the train tracks by my house. It was the perfect weather, at the end of an awesome weekend, in the midst of my favorite season, on my birthday weekend, and with the perfect girl. I just couldn't think of a better scenario than that. I wanted to go for a walk INSTEAD of watching sports.

I don't know how to handle this...

...I am not equipped....

Pat

{Pat just ended up watching sports}

Do Not Bet on Basketball

Ive mentioned these things a few times thus far in my blog, I will now expand on them...

{Pat would like there to be a disclaimer on this blog post}

*Disclaimer*:

{Pat does not endorse nor do does he condone betting or a gambling lifestyle}

I am going to talk about...

1. Sports Betting

2. Not betting on basketball

3. NFL bets this weekend, including my pick of the week.

1. I use centsports.com, which I have mentioned before, to place very small wagers on sports games. And to reiterate a point, it is not my money on there nor would I ever bet my own money. I dont think gambling is wise.

However...it is funny to watch Alan put all his "money" on the Wizards +11.5 {That means the Wizards basically started out with a 11.5 point head start on the Cavs} and see the Cavs win by 12 points. It was great. Alan lost by .5 points. Classic.

I like talking about the lines with various people, listening to pod casts about the lines, and reading columns about the lines. It is interesting to see which team Vegas thinks will win and which teams I think are better. Fun way to watch sports...and so far I have been pretty good at it. Going from 10 cents {They give that to you at the beginning} to $10.88 cents. Not bad. It just makes sports more exciting.

That brings us to number 2...

2. {There it is} Do not bet on basketball. It is the wackiest of betting sports. You never know what will happen. Their is more of an emphasis placed on winning week in and week out in football, but in basketball its normal for a good team to loose to a bad team. Its way less predictable. It comes down to chance way more. The difference between making a shot and not. Too close to call. There can be some good bets...like me picking the over on the Hornets vs Knicks game....but thats the exception to the rule.

Just saying...its no good.

3. My NFL pick of the week is...

{I think he's trying to build suspense}

...49ers (+4) over the Titans (-4).

Heres why...49ers arnt as bad as they seem. Titans are really as bad as they seem. End of story. You have a sporadic Gore vs a sporadic Johnson...

Plus my bet has been re-affirmed by Vegas...the line moved up to +4.5 today. Which means Vegas thinks they put it too low. Good sign for me.

Thats all I got today.

Pat

Economic Wednesdays

Why I Like Economics

Economics is knows as the silly science. Why? Because you can never actually prove anything in economics. Sure you can speculate why something happened. Lets take the Great Depression for example. How did we come out of the Great Depression? Was it....

A. The New Deal saved us, by pumping the economy full of money, raising the savings curve and increasing productivity.

B. WWII. Increased production for the war...and WWII actually lowered unemployment because so many people were in the army or died {that's sorta depressing sounding}.

C. Easing of tariff taxes in the 40's cause more international trade.

D. It was just a very difficult recession and it bounced back like it was supposed to after a certain amount of time.

The Answer {unbelievable suspense right now}...

No one knows. Everyone has their theories. It could be all of them. It could be just one. All we can do is speculate and try and learn from what worked or didnt work in the past.

Barack Obama just pumped like a trillion dollars into the economy in hopes of revitalizing it. Did it work? Maybe. Would the recession have been even worse if he hadnt done so? Maybe. It could have just turned around on its own in due time. But people say that the New Deal helped during the great depression. So...well...maybe {we get the maybe part dummy}.

Thats why I like economics. Cause theres so many theories, opinions, and ideas but we really dont know what works. We have a pretty good idea in a lot of cases. But on the grandest of scales...no idea. Fascinating.

*Stay tuned for this Fridays special on sports betting. Including my sports pick of the week*

Pat

{Pat is severly missing something in his life right now....

....thats right...he has not been able to watch the Cav's games recently...}

This is Huge

{A glimpse into Pat's mind}

A great moment in my life happened this past week. The Cleveland Cavaliers tipped off the 2009-2010 basketball season. This is huge. You dont understand {seriously you dont}. I do {Pat does}. Im thinking long term on this baby. {Long term, 100% behind Pat today, as you should all be}. Im thinking like this, "You see Pat Jr. {Great Name} I actually witnessed the 2009-2010 season, I watched Lebron, Shaq, Mo, and company. I was there....". Now that is forward thinking {north-south}. I have all my hopes and dreams in this team. This could be it. This is what it comes down to. Im not freaking out about the 2-2 start. I am already freaking out about the playoffs {Forward thinking}.

But my point is...this is huge.

Side Point {Bonus!}...don't bet on basketball, way too unpredictable. Just nutty all around.

A side point to my side point. I am up 1000% on my original 10 cents on centsports.com. $10.47. Impressed? You should be. {Pat is}.

Go Cavs!

Pat

...Economic Wednesdays {Its friday}

Part 2

Let us carry on from Wednesday...

The issues I have with Obama's plan.

1. The public option is dumb. {Cool info on insurance}.

2. Universal health care isn't the best solution. But I have one! {oh boy}.

3. Its too government centered.

That's what we will address today...and more! {no that's probably it}.

1. The public option is dumb. We don't need another insurance company. We don't need a government run insurance company. We don't need another poorly run government business. A public option is the worst. First of all insurance is an odd mans game {like Pat}. More competition doesn't make lower premiums, it actually works the opposite way. More competition in the insurance industry actually drives up hospital prices and insurance prices.....

{say what!}. Stay with me.

Insurance companies want to pay hospitals less money and keep more. Hospitals want insurance companies to pay more and keep less. {easy}. So how do insurance companies keep prices down? Well, by saying they wont pay that high of prices. They tell the hospitals they will make their holders go to another hospital if they raise prices. But...insurance companies can only do this if they have enough holders to scare the hospitals. So they need to have what is called "Market Power", or an ability to affect the market. If there are a bunch of insurance companies about, like a new government run one, then the insurance companies wont have any market power and the hospitals will be able to charge whatever they want. The insurance companies will have to make up for this rise in prices and they will make their insurance premiums higher. So the public option is dumb. Theres needs to be more focus on hospital practices.

2. Here is where I say my plan for our health care debacle...

Regulate hospital prices. Get medicine back to the point where it runs like a normal market. How? Making people pay for their own health care. That's right. People will know, understand, and appreciate the cost of health care. We can effectively do this through health care programs where you put money into a pool {Employer run, maybe even a public run plan..whoa..}. You can then take money from this pool if you are sick and need health care. But you will know how much you are spending because if you can stay under how much you put in {or a certain amound, have not done the math yet}, you actually get a percentage {or all of it, but that's not really feasible} back. You get paid to stay healthy. Instead of not paying when you get sick. {Hey it could work}.

3. This whole thing is too government centered. Nuff said.

PEACE!

Pat

The Return of Economic Wednesdays

This weeks edition...

...Health Care. Whats up!

{Prices?}

Universal health care. Obama's plan. Insurance. Economics. The world. Just some of what we will briefly {yeah right...briefly..Pat has no idea} cover in today's (and Friday's) edition of "Economic Wednesdays".

I'm hoping to briefly give some explanation to whats going on and then give you more of my opinion than is probably necessary on this issue.

On second thought...there is going to be two parts {Pat's lazy so maybe even three parts} to this edition.

PART 1

An Intro

Universal health care, a public option (which is a not-for-profit insurance company run by the government) {Pat's least favorite part of this whole thing}, regulated insurance industry, and regulated prices {the only part Pat likes} are all a part of Obama's health care plan. He wants every person in America to have health care, sounds ideal, but there are many things you have to keep in mind.

Lets get started.

Since this is an economic blog. We will look at the issue from an economic view point. Lets look at health care as a viable product in the market system. It is a product. It has a price. There is a limited supply. There is competition. So like everything else, the market system should be able to regulate health care. The market should be able to find the right price (through supply and demand), create better products (competition, effort to increase profits), and distribute the right amount where it is needed (again...supply and demand). But NO! {over dramatic}. Health care doesn't work that way. For a couple of important reasons,

1. Most people don't have a limit on how much they will pay for health care. Even more so in a life or death situation. This effectively ruins the whole supply and demand aspect.

2. We don't even pay for our health care. Insurance does. This again ruins supply and demand laws. {Even if insurance is a good idea, having employers get it for you doesn't make sense}.

These two main reasons are why health care is all out of wack. They effectively ruin health care as a viable market activity. Yet people need health care. People want health care. But the market is not able to work out correct {reasonable} prices. So whats the solution?

Obama's solution is a universal health care plan. Give everyone health care for free. Tax them. Call it a day. Ok, not exactly but kinda. I don't think universal health care is the best solution. But it can work...

I think the real issues lie within the public option plan, current insurance industries, current hospital practices, current health care costs, and people's choices.

The next part will take a look at these issues from an economic view point....get pumped!

Pat

New Venue. {Same Crap}.

Welcome to 'The Blog of Pat' V 2.0 it is new and impr...well new. {Confidence is low on the improved part}. My confidence is high with this new blog {No its not, we just went over that}. I plan to write often and furiously {What does that even mean?}.

I hope everyone is buckled down for what may or may not happen.

This blog is written in 1st person and in 3rd person commentary {Lame}. When you see {} that's the 3rd person commentary, just to avoid confusion {Really didn't need explaining}.

In my first new blog {'First new'<---dumb sentence} I will begin with an intro from a good pal...enjoy...

"From the world-renowned author, Pat Breslin, comes his newest, most electrifying installment of the "Blog of Pat". Hold on to your hats, buckle your seat belts, and trim your nose hairs, because you are about to be taken on a wild ride. Through sweltering amazon jungles of sports ramblings to icy arctic caverns of economic jargon, where we will end up nobody knows, but I can promise you these two things: 1. you will be entertained. 2. there is a chance you might learn something.

Pat's unique writing style has been critically acclaimed by many critics. A wise man once wrote... in first person. Another wise man once wrote in third person. Pat has brilliantly combined the best of both worlds (legal issue: this was in no way a reference to Hannah Montana) and speaks in multiple persons, making him the third wise man and twice as wise as the first two wise men. Along with this astounding wisdom, he brings the incredible combination of wit and randomness that will cause you to experience a reading experience like no other experience.

I thank you for giving me the honor and privilege to introduce the epicness that follows. Without further ado... I give you the "Blog of Pat".

TJ Breslin (Brother of Pat)