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My Career Plans

Thursday, May 7th, 2009

My career goal is to make a bunch of money so that I can spend my time focusing on my passions:

  • My religion (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)
  • My family
  • My liberty
  • Food (eating, not cooking) - My wife is a rock’n good cook.
  • Recreation - particularly skiing, biking, and basketball.
  • Cars

How the heck am I going to do that? Ummm . . . I’m not sure; but I am living by some principles that will help me get there:

  • Spend less than I make
  • Only use debt as an investment tool (education, home, business, etc.)
  • Never use debt to buy a toy
  • Tithe 10%
  • Save 10%
  • Continue my education (in and out of school)
  • [I keep writing "I" or "me" but really everything I just listed fully involves my wife and family so I should use "we"]

My talents are:

  • Teaching - my key is focusing on underlying principles.
  • Long, hard, manual labor - keeping my head in the books for more than a few hours is taxing, but when I’m doing physical work I get in a zone where I become almost unstoppable. I HATE leaving a job undone.
  • Fixing things - this talent really manifested itself when I competed in automotive repair. At the request of my teacher, I entered and won a competition at the local level. That spring-boarded me to state and national competitions where I took 1st and 2nd respectively. Before that point I knew I enjoyed it, but I had no idea how good at it I was.

Throughout the path of my career I would like to:

  • Work in the automotive industry - I think market research would be a good fit.
  • Work in the renewable energy industry - solar, wind, hydrogen, geo-thermal, and others fascinate me!
  • Write a book - I have one outlined already. I should write a post to tell you about it.

Near term:

I am using my time at the Census Bureau to gain some experience working with surveys and data. I might even pursue a Master’s degree in survey methodology or applied economics. I think this will position me well to make a transition into market research. I hope to end up in positions where not only do I analyze markets, but I also develop strategies for capitalizing on them.

My current job, while not particularly fulfilling, has been a great opportunity for my wife and I to get on our feet. We both graduated from college last year. We followed that shortly with a new baby.

Blogging has introduced me to a whole new skillset. I am working to become proficient in:

  • Basic Wordpress development
  • Web writing
  • Web Analytics
  • Various forms of online advertising
  • Basic web design using Photoshop and/or Illustrator
  • My latest project was a blog for my mom: http://mamacrane.com

So, going back to the orginal question of how I plan to make a pile of money, I obviously don’t know. But I think I am positioning myself well to take advantage of opportunities that come my way.

What do you think? Am I headed in the right direction? Are there other essential skills I ought to be developing?

Note: I hate MLMs and am not interested in getting involved in one. I have to throw that out there because this last year, for some reason, has brought on a bombardment of MLM proposals. MLMs do not fall under my career goals.

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Posted in Automotive, economics, liberty | 1 Comment »

I am Pressing Pause on My Liberty Rants

Tuesday, May 5th, 2009

Because I am an employee at the US Census Bureau, I make sure not to blog about political debates or candidates. It would not be right for me as a public servant to do so. If I did I’m sure it would jeopardize my employment.

Instead, I have made it a note to focus on underlying principles—the philosophy of liberty. My thought in doing so was that these principles are simply *American.* I didn’t think that writing about these principles would involve me in any politics.

Looking back over my posts, however, it is clear that I have not successfully avoided *politics.* I criticized bailouts when they were a hot political topic, I complained about the 2 party system, and I’m sure there were some other violations along the way.

I have decided that as long as I work for the government, I will no longer blog about liberty. It is a subject that I love and am passionate about, but it will have to wait until a different point in my career. It is just too closely tied to politics.

I apologize to my readers who enjoy my rants about liberty. Don’t worry though, they won’t be gone forever. I am certain there will be other points in my career where I will be in a position to write about political issues without restrain. In fact, I think I will follow this post with one about my career goals.

In the interim, I will continue to write about cars.

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Reason and Principle

Monday, May 4th, 2009

Is anyone else fed up with the never ending Republican vs Democrat debates? I am really bothered that any successful politician has to fall into one of two thought camps. I am even more bothered that both camps ignore guiding principles, stomp on the constitution, and spend like Paris Hilton on a shopping spree.

image source

Thomas Paine said of himself:

“He is unconnected with any Party, and under no sort of Influence public or private, but the influence of reason and principle.”

From that *reason and principle* he wrote one of the most influential manuscripts in American history: Common Sense. He based it on true principles that motivated our young country to demand independence and freedom.

So next time you hear about a new political proposal, ask yourself a few questions about it:

  1. What is the underlying principle?
  2. Is it the proper role of government?
  3. Does it diminish any of our freedoms?
  4. What is a better solution?

If you get in the habit of asking this type of questions, you can join Thomas Paine in saying that you are guided by reason and principle. That’s much better than riding your party’s bandwagon down one side of the aisle.

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Principle 5: Democracy is only a Means to an End

Thursday, April 30th, 2009
This is the fourth in a series of 5 posts in which I am trying to illustrate the basic principles of liberty.

During my 2 years in the Air Force ROTC I noticed the common justification for America’s war in Iraq was “to spread democracy.” Sounds great, right? Only on the surface. Democracy in and of itself says nothing about a people’s freedom or level of justice.

Democracy is nothing more than *majority rule.* It can be just as coercive, monopolistic, and exclusive as any dictatorship. It’s not hard to imagine majorities exploiting minorities.

Democracy must be founded on guiding principles. These principles provide limits to what a majority can do. In the case of our country, The Constitution was intended to provide those limits. This *limited democracy* is known as a *republic* or *rule of law.*

Democracy is not an end goal; living peacefully and free from coercion is. Principle based democracy is a means for getting there (certainly not the only means.) One of my motivations for this blog is to convince you that principles of liberty are the foundation that made this country great but they are not an inherent part of democracy. If we don’t carefully abide by and protect our liberties we lose them. The irony, though, is that liberties are rarely taken from us. More often than not we use our democracy to give them away—think Patriot Act.

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Principle 4: Teacher vs Cop

Tuesday, April 14th, 2009
This is the fourth in a series of 5 posts in which I am trying to illustrate the basic principles of liberty.

Generosity should be measured by what you do with YOUR money. It should NOT be measured by what you advocate doing with other people’s money.

Where freedom exists, philanthropy is educating and encouraging others to give (think teachers and missionaries). Where freedom is missing, philanthropy is requiring or forcing others to give (think police and soldiers).

Enough said.

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Principle 3: Pride Leads to Captivity

Tuesday, March 31st, 2009
This is the third in a series of 5 posts in which I am trying to illustrate the basic principles of liberty.

Pride Kills Freedom

I’m not referring to the pride you have after a job well done or the pride of a *proud* parent, teacher, or coach. I’m talking about the sinful pride that keeps us from acknowledging others when things are going well. Ironically, it’s the same pride that causes us to blame others when things are going bad.

Liberty and Responsibility

Liberty is forever tied to responsibility. You can’t have one without the other. If a man is truly free then he will merit praise for his good actions but no more so than he will deserve blame for his bad actions.

Liberty is Lost in 2 Ways

  1. It is taken away.
    By whom? By prideful people (usually well connected politicians) who either seek power or think that people need to be governed and regulated into doing right, or by prideful people (usually very educated) who think they know best.
  2. It is given away.
    By whom? By people (usually average Joes like you and me) who pridefully blame others when things go wrong. We refuse to accept the responsibility that comes with freedom.

Education Example

A relatively small group of politicians, bureaucrats, and educators are busy *reforming* America’s education system while a relatively large group of American parents are saying, “I’m not responsible for my child’s education. The government is.”

The result? A piss-poor public school system that all but the most priveledged children are forced into (think opposite of freedom).

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Principle 2: Equality Sucks. . . . Literally

Tuesday, March 17th, 2009
This is the second in a series of 5 posts in which I am trying to illustrate the basic principles of liberty.

Making everyone more equal at the expense of the rich literally sucks the progress out of a society and ends up costing all classes, including the poor. Equality sucks!

It seems quite popular in the world of politics right now to fund political programs through taxes on the rich. The idea is that these rich people have more than they need. It won’t hurt them to be taxed a little heavier to help all the poor and struggling people. This type of policy is terribly shortsighted.

The Rich Fund Progress and Innovation

Think of a few things that were luxury items to our parents and grandparents, but now you and I enjoy them everyday:

  • Air Conditioning
  • Television (pick your version: color, digital, HD)
  • Telephones (once again take your pick: land-line, cell-phone, VOIP, satellite)
  • In-home movies (VCR, DVD, Blue-Ray, DVR, etc.)

All of these things started out as luxury items that only the rich could afford. The rich pay asinine prices for things while they are still rare, new, and novel. This isn’t a bad thing. Without even realizing it, they fund further development of these products so they become more affordable and available. Soon the products trickle their way down the classes until they become commodities enjoyed by almost everyone.

Everyone is Equal Means Society is Stagnate

Imagine the Utopia where we all earn an equal amount of money. Who would lead off in the charge for new innovations? Who would pay the outrageous amounts of money required to develop new things? No one. Income and wage equality kill a society’s progress and innovation.

The Good Kind of Equality

Not all types of equality have such negative effects. I dream of a society where everyone’s life, liberty, and property is equally protected.

It’s not bad to be rich. It is bad to take from the rich (or the poor). How can we be so disrespectful of other people’s property?

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Principle 1: Stealing is Bad—Even for Barack Obama & Terrell Owens

Thursday, March 5th, 2009
This is the first in a series of 5 posts in which I am trying to illustrate the basic principles of liberty.

I want a Ferrari like Terrell Owens

I’m poor. Terrell Owens is rich (despite being unemployed). Even so, it would be wrong of me to steal from him. And, of course, it would be REALLY wrong for him to steal from me. ;-) Neither of us would ever think of taking from the other (I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt here).

What if, however, a policeman came along and said, “It really isn’t fair that T.O. gets to cruise in a Ferrari while Benton rolls in a beat up Camry.” Terrell would, of course, have a fit if the policeman took his Ferrari, so instead the officer takes Terrell’s Audi and gives it to me. Sounds great right? T.O. is still rich, and now I’m better off too. That policeman just made the world a better place.

Okay, I’ve never seen a policeman do such a thing, but what about a mayor? A governor? President of The United States?

Government

How often does the government take money from one group and give it to another? The reasons are countless: help the poor, bailout big companies, stimulate the economy, support “green” technology, etc. etc. The good intentions of these programs do not change the fact that they all rely on force. What is the difference between being forced to give and being stolen from?

Liberty is tossed out the door whenever force enters the room.

No one illustrates this principle better than Frederic Bastiat. I highly recommend his short book (it was orginally a pamphlet) The Law. Read it on pdf , or buy it for $2.49 from Amazon.

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Why I Left the Air Force ROTC

Monday, February 23rd, 2009

I left the Air Force ROTC because internal threats to America’s freedom are far greater than external threats. I can contribute more to America’s freedom by being a liberty maven/missionary than I ever could have as a fighter pilot.

Why I joined in the first place:

I joined BYU’s Air Force ROTC in 2005 with high hopes of fulfilling 3 dreams (in order of priority):

  1. Protect the liberties that make America great.
  2. Show my appreciation for the founding fathers and everyone else who helped make America great.
  3. Fly jets.

It wasn’t what I expected:

Within a year, I knew there were better ways to fulfill goals 1 and 2. The Air Force places high focus on leadership, camaraderie, and discipline; but liberty is rarely discussed and never defined. The general attitude I observed had more to do with “spreading democracy.” No one seemed particularly interested in justifying the war we had just embarked on—questioning it was certainly outside the social norm.

My big dilemma:

Despite all this, I couldn’t leave. I had a great shot at landing a pilot slot. The slots are not determined until your third year so I still had a long way to go, but in my second year I was doing very well in many of the categories by which pilot candidates are judged:

  • High test scores and grades.
  • No medical issues.
  • Perfect vision.
  • Perfect physical fitness test scores.

I had quite an internal battle knowing that the Air Force wasn’t the place for me to fulfill my main goals; but if I left, the window of opportunity to fly would slam shut. It wasn’t until my backseat flight in an F16 that I was able to walk away with some closure. I’ve never regretted it.

Going Forward:

I see the internal fight for America’s freedom being fought on 2 fronts:

  1. Education/general awarness.
  2. Legislative/political.

I love teaching but I hate politics. I am working to become an influential writer/speaker/teacher (I know, I have a long way to go). Hopefully this blog is helping me refine my skills, network with others like me, and maybe even convince those within my circle of influence to stand by principles of liberty.

Speaking of which, stay tuned for the 5 principles of liberty, Benton style.

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The difference between Obama’s Stimulus Plan and FDR’s New Deal

Tuesday, February 17th, 2009

Obama’s Stimulus plan is similar in many ways to FDR’s New Deal. Where do they differ? The gold standard. The current stimulus efforts are not subject to the same monetary printing restraints that FDR’s New Deal faced. Now our only protection against inflation and hyperinflation are the men in charge.

Similarities

Both plans operate on a similar philosophy: deficit spending. It’s the same philosophy that “Quick Cash” stores thrive on:

My rent and car payment are both due this week. I don’t get paid until next week. No problem. I will run down to the “Quick Cash” store, get a loan, and I’ll be out of this bind. I certainly couldn’t and wouldn’t do this on a regular basis, I just need some temporary help.

Apply the same philosophy on a national scale and you have a government stimulus plan:

We are in a bind. Consumers are not consuming, lenders are not lending. Jobs are being lost. Let’s run down to the “Quick Cash” store. We will get a trillion dollars to get consumers to spend, banks to loan, and employers to hire. We certainly couldn’t and wouldn’t do this on a regular basis, we just need some temporary help.

Where does the “Quick Cash” come from?

“Quick Cash” stores commonly loan money against your car title. Governments, on the other hand, have three sources of revenue: taxes, borrowing, and printing. They can choose to use any combination of the three to produce the needed “Quick Cash,” but there are dangers in over-tapping any one of the three sources. Fortunately, taxes and borrowing have built-in limiters. Printing, however, has no natural limiter.

I discussed the 3 sources of government revenue, their limiters, and the dangers of each here.

The Big Difference

Until 1971 we used a gold standard. Every dollar was attached to a certain value of gold. We could only print more dollars if we got more gold. FDR’s New Deal doubled the national debt by borrowing piles of money to fund all the government projects, but because of the gold standard the government couldn’t fund the projects by printing money.

Today, we no longer use the gold standard. The amount of money printed is only limited by the people in charge. How are we to ensure they won’t print us into nasty inflation or even hyper-inflation?

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