Issue 385 Driver-less cars July 23, 2014

It has been announced by some experts that highways will be allowed to have driver-less vehicles within the next two to three years.  And you know what, I have one of my usual predictions.

Prediction:  I believe that this will spark a new industry.  While it will not happen right away, I think that highways will eventually be restricted to driver-less vehicles.  However, between that time and when we get driver-less cars an industry similar to the railroad will develop.  This industry will be comprised of rent-able driver-less cars that will take you to your destination.

How it works:  Basically, you will drive or walk to a driver-less car station.  From there you get into your driver-less car and type in your destination.  At this point the driver-less car takes you to the next closest driver-less car station.  At this point you can walk, bike or rent a regular car to finish your trip.  Basically, it is like a train on wheels that is restricted to highways.  

Evolution:  This industry will however be affected by changes in law and technology.  As such once the driver-less cars become legal to ride on the back streets, the industry will be able to deliver people door to door.  So you will be able to call a driver-less car to be at your home by a specified time and even give it the option to carpool which could give you a discount on you payment price.  While some people would still prefer to own their own driver-less cars (hence the auto industry not disappearing any time in the future) people will not need cars in general.  From there a new status quo will develop as taxi services are replaced entirely by these driver-less pickup vehicles and personally owned driver-less cars.

Conclusion:  Can you imagine a world where your car gasses up its own fuel tank when it knows its running low.  Or how cars can drive you from place to place via the highway in the same manner as a train would, which eventually would evolve to get you to your destination like a cab.  Of course the only annoyance will be paying by the meter for the amount of fuel to get to your destination.  We have an interesting future ahead.

Issue 384 Underground Diners July 22, 2014

Our final alternative is about underground diners and dining.  This elite group of chiefs escape the usual rules, regulations and taxes in their own way.  Here is how they work.

The underground diner:  The concept is simple.  The chief accomplishes their task in one of two ways.  They either go to the home of the individual who has hired them, or they have the clients come to the comfort of their own home.  In some cases, the chiefs will procure their own ingredients, and in others the clients will have to get the ingredients for the meal.  The amount of ingredients is of course based on the number of guests that will be attending what looks on the outside to be a basic dinner party.  From here, the chiefs cook their clients the meal.  Of course the chiefs are paid off the books so as to avoid the taxation by Federal, State and local officials.  In addition, the chief need not worry about typical health code violations due to all the cooking being done in the comfort of home.  Thus, he/she escapes the typical burdens of over regulation.  The government tries to crack down on this citing possible health issues, but in reality, they just want to tax the chief and his/her underground business.  

Conclusion:  This is yet another fun and creative way to bypass the system to embrace your chosen profession.  Yes, there are potential problems, but those same health problems exist in regular restaurants as well.  Also, you know the risks of cooking in your own kitchen, and as far as I know, these underground chiefs take precautions as well for their reputation and business is staked to their cooking.  So I say cook on underground chief, Cook on!!!

Issue 383 House Sharing (alternate to Hotels) July 21, 2014

Continuing with alternatives to over-regulated businesses from last week we have house sharing.  So how does that work?

House Sharing:  The way it works is similar to ride sharing.  The person makes a suggested donation which takes the place of a fee for service.  This is where the similarities end as far as I know. The methods of operation however vary and I see two models based on my knowledge of the subject.  

The first method is the house sitting model.  Basically, you rent your home to a person or persons for a specified period of time.  They live in your home for that period of time fending for themselves in the same manner they would if they were at home.  

The other method is the bed and breakfast model.  In this case, the homeowner is home, but is renting out extra rooms to clients to stay for a limited period of time.  The homeowner takes care of the traditional role of housekeeping and even providing breakfast.  Simple right?

As to the vetting process.  There are those who advertise on social media or other websites like Craigslist.  How they are vetting their potential customers for being respective clients is something that I do not know.  Thus I can only speculate that it works in a similar method to the ride sharing model where they use Facebook to identify their clients and gather information if they are a worthy client that will not be a home wrecker.  

Conclusion:  Again we have a method of bypassing traditional federal or even local regulations that allows businesses to operate untaxed and unhindered.  Sure, these people escape taxes, but I could care less.  The businesses who run their businesses in the normal way simply pass the taxes on to us, their clients anyway.  So why care as these people will be taxed in other ways in the first place.  We are bogged down by so many mandates by government, so I celebrate the entrepreneurs who have found a way to bypass the government’s red tape.

Issue 382 Ride Sharing (escaping the taxi) July 18, 2014

Did you know there is a way to escape the business regulations that govern taxi cab drivers and similar highly regulated industries?  Well there is a way and it is modeled a little on carpooling.  Here is how it works.

How it works:  The concept is simple, you set up your clients with you as their driver and you drive them to their destination.  However, you take a suggested donation.  How these drivers vet their clients varies (some use Facebook or other social networking sites) but the ultimate method of this underground industry is to set up a system that allows their clients to write reviews on them and them on their clients.  The drivers of course can write reviews on their clients so as to warn other drivers of bad tippers, bad attitudes or even black listing them. 

The suggested donation part makes it actually legal to do however.  While by law, it is a donation (terminology is subject to change based on changes in what is taxable by law) it is actually income, with the terminology being the fine line.  However, we do not care about that as if these drivers go through traditional methods including becoming a taxi cab driver, they would be forced to pay thousands of dollars to be licensed to a company and would not be able to keep most of their earnings.  If fact to become an independent operator, a taxi cab driver would have to pay almost one million dollars just to get that "privilege".  But this ride sharing scheme ensures you keep your earnings as a private driver who can pick and choose their clients (untaxed).

Conclusion:  No I am not saying break the law, but this business is a reaction to the over-regulation that squeezes out the little guy.  Those independent drivers now have a place to practice their preferred trade without the extra burden. So pardon me, but I am rooting for this underdog and the success of these men and women who wish to bypass the illogical regulations and embrace the true spirit of capitalism and freedom.

Issue 381 College should be a job finding company July 17, 2014

We know that certain industries need colleges to train their employees.  However, the number of industries that actually need some level of college of education is limited to around 20% of the job market (and that number is being generous). Colleges are losing out to online courses including in areas that requires traditional training that is usually required for one of those jobs that require a college degree.  As such, they are inevitably going to lose money and may even go bankrupt in the long run.  However, colleges need to adapt.  Some and soon all will offer online courses, but even that is not enough.  Hence why they need to become brokers for businesses with respect to finding new hires.

What needs to happen:  Colleges are losing the battle for cheap education.  So they need to offer a service that is not offered by the online institutions.  That is being a job hunting agency.  So the college will market you, groom you and then help place you in a business or corporation.  Some do this to a certain extent based on connections with former Alumni, or small scale partnerships.  But, they need to scale that up and then offer courses that are flexible for the needs of both the students and their business clientele.  

It works as follows.  Essentially, a business would contract with a college and give the college a set of specifications for training they want from a new hire.  The college would then develop the course on demand with the students wanting to work in the particular business or even just that field of study attending.  The business would then have its pick of perspective new hires, and the students have a chance at a good job.  These courses would be more adaptable than the current ones as they would be able to be modified on demand due to the changing nature of the business market.  The results are obvious, businesses, colleges and former college students especially benefit.

Conclusion:  Yes, this is a dream scenario.  However, it is feasible with the right tools and technology.  Of course this would take vast sums of money to even develop such a system in the first place, but it may spell the survival of brick and mortar colleges. So, the question is, is this worth the cost, or will the advancement of technology render colleges completely obsolete.   

Issue 380 School to work program. July 16, 2014

How about a way to get children into the working world as soon as possible so as to give them a head start.  Would that be beneficial for the country, not to mention the children themselves who will come out of high school with hands on working experience?   Here is my idea.

The idea:  The premise is simple.  At the age of 13, the student with the parents’ permission would get their working papers.  Hence they would be allowed to work at a place of employment.  From here the program takes over where the student either works for four to five hours each day (excluding weekends, unless the parent gives permission or circumstances dictate) to gain work experience.  But some of you are saying now that this will interfere with their schooling.  Well, I can alleviate your fears, you just have to read the next section.

  How it works: It is fairly simple.  Yes the student will be working four to five hours each day, but this is set up in a way that does not interfere with time in school or with private time at home.  To accomplish this, the core subjects of reading, writing, math along with elements of history and science will take up the first few hours of the day (or the remainder of the afternoon).  The students will have a lunch period and a study hall time so as to do their homework and other assignments prior to going to work or starting their school day.  So as an example, a student will be dropped off by their parent at the place of employment (or by bus) to work.  Then, a bus will pick them up and drive them back to school where they will eat lunch and have a study hall.  For those who work in the afternoon, the children are dropped at school first and then are dropped off at their place of employment.  Thus, all the core subjects are accounted for and the student will most likely leave school (or work) approximately around three, four or five in the evening depending on the situation and the nature of the job.

To ensure a diverse range of experiences, a student will work at a particular job for at least two months (longer if parents give approval due to the student wishing they can stay at their place of employment and the business owner accepting).  By giving a two month window, the student can get a sense of what the job is like.  Essentially it is trying to get as many job experiences under the belt of the student as possible.  This accumulated experience will give the students the knowledge and skills necessary to hold a job after they get out of school.

Advantages to all:  The first advantage is to the students as they will gain work experience and be trained to do multiple jobs depending on how well the program is run.  As such they get a head start in life with respect to knowing and retaining job related skills (and cash too).   The second advantage is to the businesses. They get a work force of students being paid minimum wage (or more depending on the circumstances), which means cheap labor for them.  Finally, the schools can rotate their students which allows for smaller class sizes and thus cost savings with respect to certain elective classes or man power.

Conclusion: Is this a good idea? I only think it is because I thought of it, but what about you?  Do you think that this is an option that can be used to give students a head start in life with respect to the job market?  I hope this idea will at least spring forth a better one as at this point in time, the next generation will have to work very hard to adapt to this ever faster changing society. 

Issue 379 Can you pray for your enemy? July 15, 2014

Jesus told us to both love and even pray for our enemy.  But why is that?  What was the purpose of Jesus telling us Christians to do that?

What I think:  I think Jesus wanted us to pity them.  An enemy who only knows hatred is someone to be pitied.  Thus you pray for them to find peace that does not use violence and bloodshed which inherently begets more.  There is also the notion that by praying for your enemy, you can pray that they are enlightened to stop whatever foolish notions or fighting they are committing.  Thus, they are better able to negotiate with and a possible future trust out of the ashes of conflict can come about.  

The naive answers:  Jesus never wanted us to look down upon others, hence his quote "may the first without sin cast the first stone".  So we do not look down upon the enemy, but respect them for their prowess.  We do not wish them dead for then would they not wish us dead?  Wishing ill harm to others can and possibly will bring ill harm unto yourself.  So any of the negatives where you wish harm or ill fortune and looking down upon the "enemy" as pathetic rather than basic pity is from my perspective a non-starter.  

Conclusion:  Praying that once a conflict is over, that you can get alone with your former adversaries is good.  Asking God to enlighten them to halt their path of destruction is also good.  In short, the purpose of praying and even loving your enemy is to understand that you will not always be enemies.  Are we not supposed to be above the foolish notions of hatred and twisted revenge?  Yes you are allowed to defend yourself from harm, but not if you become as violent and horrid as those who had attacked you wrongfully in the first place.  And thus why we pray for the conflict to end in a way that lets us acquire the peace we seek, not the peace forced upon us by desperation of war and hatred.