Well said, Speaker!

A couple of days ago Speaker John Boehner addressed criticism from democrats who are trying to raise the debt limit (the amount that the US Treasury can go into debt). If we don't cut spending or raise the debt limit then the Treasury is projected to run out of money to pay its interest (or medicare/social security) in mid-August.

“What we – and the American people – are asking for isn’t radical. We want to stop tax hikes that destroy jobs; Democrats want to raise them. We want to stop Washington from spending money it doesn’t have; Democrats want a free pass to spend more. We’re in a hole and we want to stop digging; but Democrats won’t give up the shovel.

“I also want to address those who’d suggest our efforts to cut spending could somehow hurt our economy or hurt the markets. If we don’t act boldly now, the markets will act for us very soon. Remember, Standard & Poor’s warned several weeks ago that it may downgrade its U.S. debt rating not over the debt limit fight – but because Washington has no plan to tackle its massive debt. The greatest threat to our economy, to job creation, and to our children’s future is doing nothing. Doing nothing is not an option. The American people won’t tolerate it, and neither will we.”

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2011/05/12/boehner-strikes-back/

Well said, Speaker Boehner. Thank you for not standing down. Thank you for understanding basic economics; and thank you for realizing that we need to live within our means. Draw the bright line and make others choose which side they're on.

Bill Gross, the head guy here at PIMCO, wrote an article called 'The Caine Mutiny part II' talking about why he has a negative outlook on treasuries (Bonds from the US Gov) and has sold all of the ones we had.

http://www.pimco.com/EN/Insights/Pages/The-Caine-Mutiny-Part-2.aspx

Job Search

Ok, just so you don't have to call me every couple of hours to ask, here is the job situation:

In order from best to worst:

1. PIMCO. World's largest mutual fund. Talked to them earlier this week and they said they are calling me back with an offer by Monday at the latest. One of the most prestigious places I have interviewed with. They have an exclusive contract with Alan Greenspan (please tell me you know who that is) and he comes in once a month to discuss macroeconomic factors. - Newport Beach
2. Goldman Sachs - Told me early this week that I am on hold. (Kim Smith says this means sometimes that they have offered someone else the job and are waiting to see what they respond). Credit Research -SLC
3. Sears Holding - Asked me today if they could fly me out to Chicago on April 22 for final round interviews with people at headquarters. Not the exact job I would want, but would pay decent - Merchandise Planning - Chicago.
4. Capital One - Flying me out to Dallas on April 29th for final round interviews. Data Analyst - Plano, TX
5. Fidelity - Final Round interview on April 26th. Would be working in AF as Customer service agent. Told me straight up they would pay me $35k a year. Lowest paying but would get to stay in Utah.
6. Walmart - Never got back to me :(
7. Interlink Capital Strategies - DC - pursuing other candidates :(

So, as long as PIMCO gives a decent offer I would probably go to Newport Beach and work for a couple years.

I PASSED!!!!!

I got an email just a couple of minutes ago saying I passed the CFA test that I took in the beginning of June! This is super good for a number of reasons:

1. most people don't take the test until they have worked in the field for a number of years and so it looks incredibly good on my college resume,
2. only about 30% of professionals pass
3. I get a retroactive scholarship for $1100 fromBYU,
4. it gives me credibility for work, and
5. it is like having a gold star next to your name while job searching.

Brigham Young - The American Moses

I'm taking a church history class by Susan Easton Black this semester and some family members wanted to hear the recordings that I take during class so i am going to post some online for a few people to listen to. Sister Black really knows her stuff. Enjoy :)


"Brigham Young had only 11.5 days of formal schooling, and so you wonder why our college is named after him...but after you get to know him there is no one you would be prouder to have your university named after." -earlier lecture

The Known Universe

I always loved to see how we fit in the big picture... It makes you appreciate what we have

24

Clocking in at the second longest-running espionage series in television history, 24 is my favorite TV show. In 2008, Empire magazine ranked 24 as the sixth greatest TV series of all time. I just finished season 7 and have officially watched every episode ever made.
The series is about protecting America from terrorist attacks. It has a lot of gunfights, political leverage, and ethical issues. I watch it because I like seeing someone who won’t ever give up or back down to someone threatening his country. It is riddled with plot twists and always keeps you guessing intellectually. I get so into the series. I’ve never been so emotionally attached to anything on TV before.
One of the main issues of this season is that Jack was brought under trial for torturing a terrorist in order to get information to save the people the bomb would have killed. I like this segment from the last part of the season. Jack is dying because he sacrificed himself and stopped a bio-weapon at the cost of exposing himself.

This past week I had the opportunity to see my dear friend Kirtley get baptized. It was a tough road with unique challenges, and she did it without the support of her parents and many of her friends. But in the end it was worth it.

Sometimes you realize that one of the best things about life is seeing people change for the better. It's worth more than money; and, to tell the truth, I don't think its something that you see happen very often.

Kirtley has been through a lot in her life. She used to believe in God and was active in a church until her parents got divorced while she was in high school. Then she lost her faith and started to go downhill.

Here is a part of a letter she wrote to me a few weeks ago:
"...Thank you for sharing your religion with me. It has made me interested and helped me find my life back again. I finally know my purpose and what I am supposed to do with my life. I know I can handle anything as long as I have my faith in my heavenly father. Thank you."
-Kirtley

"Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God." -D&C 18:10

Brilliant Madness

This comes from one of my favorite movies, A Beautiful Mind. John Nash came up with the Nash Equilibrium, which I learned about last year in my 300 level Econ class. His works today are used in game theory, differential geometry, and partial differential equations, and have provided insight into today’s market economics, computing, artificial intelligence, accounting and military theory. The funny thing is that he had schizophrenia, and most people thought him crazy.



Sometimes you look at what people do or say and it just doesn’t make sense to you. It just doesn’t. But you can’t always see things from their perspective. One of the things you learn in Economics is that people do everything for a reason. The hardest part in convincing someone or in just understanding them is figuring out why they act how they do, and what reasons they have for it. Sometimes those reasons are wrong or perhaps non-existent, but to those people they are as real as anything else.

So when someone doesn’t act like you think they should, or does something that just doesn’t make sense, you have to try and see what reasons they might have for doing it, and then you can change them.