Addendum to Exploratins of Depression/WW1/WW2 Cooking and Baking

I forgot to mention the almost comical menu plans: How to Feed a Family of 5 on $15 a Week, $3.00 Daily Menus for Seven, and where to buy bread for pennies a loaf.

Families used to make up their annual grocery budgets, showing bread/wheat, eggs, and other common staples at extremely paltry prices compared to today. On top of that, they had an unstable farm income to work with, making grocery "forecasting" that much more difficult.

Can you imagine making up a shopping list a year in advance? Most of us can't even determine our needs a WEEK in advance!

It's no wonder many women became entrepreneurs on the farm--unstable income, unpredictable weather, unpredictable markets, diseases, and fluctuating taste would be enough to drive anyone to go into town and seek a stable job. Farming was hard enough as SUBSISTENCE (growing what you need for yourself), but to make a profit year after year? The uncertainty of it all is what drove the farmers left today to "go big or go home" and to government subsidies for NOT growing anything.

Just once I'd like to see a dozen eggs on sale for pennies somewhere.

Still, these books give all kinds of clues for feeding the family for little money, and include recipes. You may not be able to feed a family of 7 for $15/week any more, but the ingredients used are relatively cheap nonetheless--provided you don't have food allergies.

I recommend you watch the sugar and salt in the recipes--they were created before we knew anything about cholesterol and before obesity and the risk of diabetes was so prevalent. These people may have needed the energy out on the farm, but we don't need it here today--couch potatoes don't need fuel.

Welcome to the Cavalcade of Risk--the "It's My Party, and I'll Blog if I Want To!" Edition

Today's my birthday, and yep--I'm now a certified Old Bat (thanks for the certificate, Mom), and I'm not telling how many candles are on top of the cake. Grab a hat, a noisemaker, some cake and ice cream, and join my party!

On to my favorite part: opening the presents.

This box is marked "home", and inside is--

Do You Have Enough Insurance on Your Home? from Tom at Canadian finance blog. The card says "When you first bought your house, you most likely got insurance to cover against disasters like fires and storms. Since that time, has the value of your home stayed the same?"

Thank you, Tom, for the lovely present.

The next box is marked "auto", and inside is--

Just What Drivers Need--More Distractions! a limerick from Mad Kane's Humor Blog. This particular subject bugs me too, so Maddy gets extra cake. My hubby and I both cursed up a blue storm when Ford announced its "better idea" of turning the dashboard into a giant video game, i-Pod, and smart phone all in one. We've got ENOUGH problems around here with just texting, or just talking, on a cell phone. Hell, some people can't talk unless they're behind the wheel first, which isn't bad until they put the car in gear.

Thank you, Mad Kane. Don't forget your extra cake. :)

To counter-balance, we have Hank Stern's gift Hang Up That Cell Phone? Fuggetdabout it! Apparently, rats have less amyloid plaques after exposure to electromagnetic waves from a cell phone...but can they DRIVE any better? Extra cake for Hank, and thank you.

Six Tips for Lowering Your Auto Insurance Premiums from Jeff Rose and Good Financial Cents. I'd like to add a 7th--join the military or civil service, and that gets you a ticket into GEICO land (the cheapest insurance around).

Thank you, Jeff.

LATE BREAKING ADDITION: Auto Insurance Rates Collide with Credit from Bankrate.com.

This next box is marked "life", and it contains--

Life Insurance Reality Check--Do You Have Enough? from Free Money Finance.

Thank you, Free Money. An especially appropriate gift.

Is a Variable Life Insurance Policy the Right One for You? from Consumer Boomer. I, too, listened to Suze Orman, but now I figure if you have a variable life, why not insure it properly? :)

This next box is marked "health", and it contains--

A lovely handmade (no links) gift from Stephen Ambrose. I'll hold it up so everyone can see...oh wait. It's a stinky ad for subrogation software disguised as a lovely gift. No more cake for YOU, Stephen! Your gift is going in the trash.

Do Higher Co-Payments Decrease Health Care Costs? From Jason Shafrin at Health Care Economist. The card reads "The trend towards more patient cost sharing has not stemmed the tide of rising health care costs. Do higher copayments decrease patient demand for medical services? The Healthcare Economist argues that the answer is still 'Yes'."


I've always found that to decrease medical costs, you must decrease NEED for medical care in the first place...by taking better care of yourself. More cake for Jason!

Speaking of medical and health, we have Night Shift/Calls May Lead to Increased Risk for Cardiovascular Disease from Dr. Ves Dimov. Good thing this party's happening in the daylight hours! It's always wise to invite a doctor to your gatherings. :) Thanks, Doc!

Next, we have a box marked "personal", and it contains--

Buy Insurance From an Insurance Guy; Buy Your Tax Advice From a Tax Advisor from Joe Kristan of Roth & Co. I couldn't agree with you more, Joe--would you call a plumber for an electrical problem? More cake for Joe, and thank you.

Portfolio Insurance: Designing an Ethical Asset Protection Plan from Nate Kragness at My Free Cash. The card reads "Designing a solid yet ethical asset protection plan is one of the most important ways to protect your portfolio from the unforeseen, and can be even more important than carrying a general insurance policy. By creating redundant layers of separation between your assets, you can insulate and protect yourself from judgments, and even avoid lawsuits altogether."

We all want to avoid the dreaded "L" word--more cake for Nate, and thank you.

Why You Should Check Your Credit Report Regularly from Jeff Rose and Good Financial Cents. I would think this is Step #1 of identity theft protection. Two gifts? More cake and ice cream!

Message is "Adventures are Cool" as Brazier Stokes Risk Debate from the UK's Health & Safety News. The card reads "With his proposals, announced today, to encourage more adventure training and sports activities, Julian Brazier MP has helped fuel a much needed debate on the causes of risk and liability aversion and the need to create a more ‘risk intelligent’ society."

Good luck with THAT one--we've got people about to drive around in an X-box on wheels, courtesy of Ford. Any chance we can put an age limit on these cars--say, anyone over 25 allowed to buy and drive them, or anyone who can afford bubble-wrap-style insurance protection to go along with the car? It's been scientifically proven that people cannot make sound risk assessments until they're at least 25, but I guess the UK can try with lectures and adventure classes.

No cake for them--they've probably outlawed it anyway.

The last box is marked "business" and it contains--

Older Workers and Comp: Low Risk and a Few Surprises from John Coppelman at Workers Comp Insider. The card reads "In 1988, 11% of those who were 65 years old or older were working, and now 17% of that age group work. Jon Coppelman of Workers Comp Insider posts about a recent report that looks at workers' comp, safety, and the relative risks of the older worker."

Having worked alongside older people, I find them to be more reliable than younger workers. At least they CALL when they can't show up for work, and they dress appropriately when they DO come to work--no tattoos, no piercings, and no bright red hair. More cake for John, and thank you.

Incivility Costs Business Millions from Nancy Germond. The card reads "Germond's rant on incivility borders on incivility. Read it yourself and see. Thanks!"

I see something similar going on with E-Harmony's dating service--they don't serve anyone who isn't Christian. At least J-date tells you up front that they specialize in pairing up Jews.

Extra cake and ice cream (more "holiday" pounds for you) Nancy, and enjoy! I don't care how much you weigh. :)

And last, but not least, a present to myself.

The Permanent Temporary Work Force (an MSN article along with my snide comments). The great risk shift has begun--it's now up to us to secure our own benefits with whatever meager salary we can pull down form our own efforts.

Okay--all the presents are opened. Call the cleanup crew!

More cake and ice cream for everyone...what the hell. Blow your horns and noisemakers as we begin moving the party over to the next host (sorry--it isn't listed in the Blog Carnival, so no link). Grab some balloons and streamers, and let's go!

Hank--where are we going? :)

My Explorations of Depression/WW1/WW2 Cooking, Baking, and Home Life

After ravenously devouring Eating For Victory, A Prairie Kitchen, and Hearts & Homes (more books on order), in search of recipes of the "ration" spirit combined with gluten-free ingredients (or easily-converted ingredients), along with all the stories an sidebars tucked in between the recipes, I get a better sense of what it was like back in those times (on the farm and elsewhere).

In spite of well-known war rationing, I see recipes that pre-date that time (from the Roaring 20's) that call for up to 2 cups of sugar--either all white sugar, a combination of white and brown sugars, or half sugar and half molasses. Recipes dated during and after the Depression cut back to 1 cup even 1/2 cup of sugar, with a modest few going less than that.

We now know where our sweet tooth comes from!

As far as life in general goes in these books, it seems I was right about the farmers making out better than anyone else. Farmers who had a sense of efficiency about their operations did the best.

Wives who had a sense of meat and crop market ups and downs helped them best--when meat, milk, or certain crops weren't commanding a good price, they stepped in and filled the gap with homemade quilts, canned/tinned/baked items or produce for sale or barter, taking in sewing or laundry, making clothes from scratch, or exploiting any other talent they may have...in addition to making sure the household ran smoothly and efficiently, and rearing kids.

Even back then we were overproducing, but the government was stepping in and buying some excess for soldiers and creating a national stockpile for future disasters and foreign aid (what do you think we're sending to Haiti?).

It was this unevenness, or view that some had too much while some had nothing, that led to The New Deal. Like Scarlett O'Hara, leaders of this country vowed we would never again go hungry with the social policies that came with this new Deal.

There will always be uneveness, and some having "too much" while some "have nothing" as long as we continue to abdicate our futures and personal freedoms to others--government in particular.

If we all worked to secure our own efficiency and our own sources of "must haves", then we gain personal freedom, a more leverl playing field, and breathing room to make better choices for ourselves and our futures. Independence can be a wonderful thing.

These families had it (thanks to some hard-working men and women) back in a time of much fewer modern conveniences than we have (and dismiss) today, and we can have it tomorrow (you'd think, given the convenience and inherent efficiencies), but we have to turn our backs on the one obvious source of security and stability: government. The cost is just too dear to submit, and as we can see today, government itself is not too big to fail.

Perhaps we need to get back to simple, prairie life (minus the outhouses and wood stoves) and learn how to become more efficient and independent. Simple Depression life with less sugar, wheat, eggs, fat, and other items sounds like what we need now to combat obesity and food allergies (some might add ADHD and autism). Mother and father working together to make money is what we need right now, even when jobs are scarce.

There is a wonderful story in Heats & Homes about a man and wife who (after much deliberation about the startup cost) invested in a home canning machine, and proceeded to can their own excess corn, undercutting the local canned corn dealer by .05--a big deal back then. Needless to say, they made their investment money back in the first 6 orders, and produced at a profit after that (I don't know if they exist today--chances are that they quit, died off, or sold their operation).

My own romantic notion is that they became Libby's canned vegetables--so named after the farmer's wife. More than likely, they quit canning after the Depression ended.

These three books are full of stories about tough times, what people did to fight them, and the realization that everything will be okay on the other side.

A really nice tie-in is the amount of India flatbread recipes I've managed to find that don't call for wheat flour--they use ground beans instead. No sugar, no yeast, no fat (except maybe to coat the skillet), no dairy, no eggs, and no wheat--just ground beans into bean flours, sometimes rice flour mixed in, and some water, then left to ferment overnight. Perfect "rationing" recipes and perfect gluten-free recipes--as far as I can tell, beans weren't on the rationing list.

Let the commodity traders do their worst! While they're busy bidding up the price of wheat and corn, I'll be just fine...sittin' on that there sack of beans (tip of the hat to Jim Stafford and the WildWood Weed).

Beans are always cheap when bought in bulk, and store well. To Obama and inflation, I fart in your general direction! :)

Related article: The Amish--Their Past and Present May Hold Our Future

This Just In: These Are Supposed to Be Social Security Fixes?

From Martin Weiss Research.

"The GAO report reviewed eight areas where, it said, benefit changes were most commonly proposed. The report looked at how effectively each proposal would help lower-income beneficiaries, whether it would have much of a financial impact on Social Security, and on how difficult it would be to administer.”

So just what were those areas? What are some of the most common ideas our lawmakers are coming up with when it comes to making Social Security better? Here are a few of them:

1. Guaranteeing a minimum benefit amount for people who have worked lower-wage jobs during their careers.

2. Lowering the number of credits needed to become eligible for the program.

3. Adjusting Social Security calculations to get more money into the hands of low-income single workers.

4. Giving credits to stay-at-home parents so they don’t miss out on benefits.

5. Increasing survivor benefits so widowed spouses, particularly those who didn’t work, are less affected by spousal deaths.

And the other ideas are much the same — they essentially amount to increasing benefits and coverage, particularly for folks who didn’t pay into the system (in many cases, voluntarily)."

...and the big one nobody's talking about since Lou Dobbs went off the air: immigration reform. The theory is, you let more Toms, Dicks, and Harrys in, they get jobs, they pay into the system to support people currently on it. According to some of the proposals above, the aim is also to get more people ON the system--more of that social justice again.

Immigration reform is slated for the 2010 presidential agenda--this, too, will go over like a lead balloon.

Health care reform was supposed to fix Medicare--instead of "fixing" these programs, we should look for ways OUT of them altogether. Look for another welfare reform package in 2011 (I can smell it).

Update to the Permanent Temporary Work Force

Original article.

UPDATE: I'm going to call on one of my recommended authors over on the left of the screen to solve this issue--Stephen Pollan and his book "Fire Your Boss."

Related articles: Why Women Earn Less

Working for Perks and Benefits

From the Timeless Moves collection, a paragraph about employment: "Negotiate, negotiate, negotiate! Employment contracts, termination agreements, and lateral moves to other companies are all ways to add to your bottom line. Become a “freelancer” in your company and learn to negotiate for more $$ when you deserve it. With the new economy, we all have to become our own freelancers and negotiators—we have to sharpen our spears and fight for what we get. There’s no such thing as job security and automatic raises any more. Read Fire Your Boss and Live Rich by Stephen M. Pollan, and Negotiate This! by Herb Cohen for more in-depth information."

This Just In: Tax-o-Rama! 7 Changes on the Docket

From CNN Money.

The 7 changes

1. Tax banks to make taxpayers whole

2. Tax banker bonuses more

3. Tax investment managers more

4. Tax financial transactions

5. Temporarily extend all tax cuts

6. Bring in more Medicare tax

7. Tax profits earned offshore

I have problems with some of these...pretty much all but #5. The #6 change should have happened decades ago--it aims to means-test Medicare, and make wealthier people pay more in medicare taxes, but in the same breath, it aims to tax UNEARNED income for Medicare--this means dividends, rental income, lottery winnings, etc. As for the rest, if you tax a business, it will flow down to the customers, and it ends up being a backdoor way to tax US more!

What a way to drive more and more of us onto the welfare rolls and into the underground economy!

I really, REALLY dislike #4 (the trader tax), because it could affect everyone's retirement accounts--as if market losses aren't bad enough, now we have the "Uncle Sam cut" to worry about and try to offset. But you can't offset this one--the more you make by moving your money around, the more HE makes.

Well, this just goes to show that when you want money, you have to go where the money is: the banks. Obama's desperation is showing.

This Just In: The Permanent Temporary Work Force (L-O-N-G)

From MSN Money. You mean we get to compete as an INDIVIDUAL now, and not as part of some faceless corporate staff cubicle herd? Oh my...it's MERIT time!

"I thought, 'Hey, I've got a law degree and an MBA. I'm not going to be out of work.' It's just not the case anymore."

...

"Employers' unspoken message to employees, says Cornell University labor economist Kevin F. Hallock, is this: "You can absorb more risk, or you're going to lose your job. Which would you prefer?"

...

"Some young people are so desperate to get a start, they're working for free as semi-permanent interns. "Companies that used to use only one or two interns are now asking me for five or six at a time," says Lauren Berger, who runs a company that matches interns with entertainment, marketing and media companies. Berger also reports a rise in the number of "adult interns," who work for free while trying to break into a new career.

Those internships might look like plum spots in years to come, for the gloomy trends in the labor market show no sign of abating."

...

"When employment in the United States eventually recovers, it's likely to be because American workers swallow hard and accept lower pay. That has been the pattern for decades now: Shockingly, pay for production and nonsupervisory workers -- 80% of the private work force -- is 9% lower than it was in 1973, adjusted for inflation."

...

"For a glimpse of where things might be headed in the United States, look at Europe, which makes a lot more use of temporary and part-time workers than U.S. employers do. That's in large part because of Europe's famously rigid labor laws; rather than hiring permanent workers, employers turn to temps and contractors who can be let go more easily during a downturn.

In Spain, 85% of recent job losses in this recession were by temps or contractors. One big difference: Most European countries cover temps and part-timers with government health insurance and require that they receive wages and benefits comparable to those for permanent employees doing similar work.

Look far enough into the future and it's possible to see better times ahead for labor. A decade from now the retirement of the baby boom generation could cause labor shortages and hand some bargaining power back to younger workers, says Robert Mellman, a senior economist at JPMorgan Chase. If that happens, woe unto employers. A survey in 2009 by the benefits consultant now known as Towers Watson found that top-performing employees will be ready to jump ship as soon as a better offer comes along. Says Wharton's Cappelli: "The idea of loyalty -- 'I will stick with you and you will reward me' -- is effectively gone."

Another Light Bulb Moment--This Time, It's Taxes

As I was writing a letter to Glenn Beck to accompany an article I was sending him, it occurred to me why it was so important to store and grow your own food (besides the obvious): taxes.

I've apparently stumbled upon another method of tax avoidance that's completely legal.

If we all bought only raw materials for our food, clothes, and whatever we could logically and reasonably create for ourselves and our existence, we'd only be paying tax on those items once.

Why is that important?

Let's take flour for example. If we buy a 50-lb. bag of it, not only are we saving money by buying by the pound, and NOT buying flour again in the near future, but we aren't paying additional taxes (or spending additional money) by buying all the things that could be made from that flour--pasta, bread, cakes, pastries, etc.

Lumber is another example: from boards, we pay taxes once. From those boards, we can make a whole myriad of other wooden things AND PAY NO ADDITIONAL MONEY (other than the electricity to run the power tools).

Let's look at fabric: from raw fabric (from any source--sheets, used clothing, or new), a whole myriad of things can be made, and tax paid once on the raw material itself.

The list goes on. Pick a raw material, and it all ends up the same: pay taxes on it ONCE, yet make many tax-free products from it. Gardening comes to mind---pay taxes once on the seed (if you don't save your own or exchange with others), and get a tax-free bountiful harvest for now AND later when you preserve the excess!

Property taxes also come to mind--a raw, unimproved plot of land doesn't raise much in the way of property taxes, but an improved lot with a house on it certainly raises the value. More improvements means more taxes, and the assessor doesn't necessarily walk into your house to evaluate its worth, does he? The INSIDE worth is assessed by the next buyer, and tax is raised accordingly. Yup, those granite counters and SS appliances will come back to bite you in the end if you buy them already installed.

Taxes are yet another way convenience and bling are robbing us blind.

Dieters Beware! Calorie Counts Can Be Way Off

From Yahoo News.

"According to a new study published in the Journal of the American Diabetic Association, prepared foods may contain an average of 8% more calories than their package labels own up to and restaurant meals may contain a whopping 18% more. Worse still, as far as Food and Drug Administration regulations are concerned, that's perfectly O.K."

See what happens when you put your trust in the government? You don't get accuracy, you don't even get ball park...you get "close enough for government work."

Just know that proteins have more calories than fruits and vegetables, and the purer your form of protein (as in meats and dairy), the higher the calories. The more vegetarian your form of protein, the lower the calories.

All this is BEFORE you add the sauces and dressings.

Book Recommendation for the Planet

Larry Winget (of financial education fame) wrote a stellar tome that should be required reading: Your Kids Are Your Own Fault.

A worthy strike back at parental abdication, I'd say.

"Kids today are over-indulged, over-entertained, under-achieving, and under-disciplined, with a sense of entitlement that is crippling society. And the real problem is that parents aren't paying attention to what's going on. If they were they would realize that most kids today barely read and write, except with their thumbs on their cell phones!

Well-behaved, respectful kids are the exception, not the rule, and for the most part, parents are to blame. Responsible parenting is about beginning with the end in mind and parenting with a plan. But most parents have never stopped to consider what kind of adult they want to raise. They have all this fun creating a baby, but they don't have a plan for the end product."

This should be taught in high schools.

From the Tax God: Losing a Home? A Tax Bite May Be Next

From MSN Money.

Did you know that debt relief of any kind is counted as income unless there's a tax break for it?

"The basic tax rule on debt discharge is simple: If a lender cancels your debt, that's taxable income to you, and you and the Internal Revenue Service will get a 1099-C form, and you will have to pay tax on that forgiveness.

But Congress gave homeowners a big gift with the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007. It excludes as much as $2 million in debt relief from income taxes through 2012.

It applies, however, only to debt on primary residences. If you had a mortgage canceled on your vacation beach condo, you could get stuck. And you'll still have to pay tax on relief from auto loans, credit cards and similar debts."

Not only would the relief be taxable as income, but the loss of other deductions, credits, and exclusions, as well as state-level taxes add to your burden. Also, any tax credits or other special programs you qualified for (fed or state) in recent years may come back to haunt you for repayment.

Owing the IRS is far worse than owing anybody else--you can't escape them.