Poor, Rich, which is which?

"The poor will always be with us!"

There is a lot of talk these days about taking care of the poor. We need to do that. The politicians are batting all sorts of ideas back and forth on how they intend to tackle poverty and the poor.

We are taught from the time we can understand that we must take care of the poor. Who can disagree with that? There is one problem that has consistently muddied the water in the application of this charitable approach. The definition of exactly who the poor are goes all over the map. At one end of the spectrum: Wandering tribes living in portable housing without running water or electricity in the harshest territories on the planet often describe themselves as happy, free and not in need of anything. Some people not of their culture refer to them as poor. On the opposite end: Some people living in subsidized housing in developed countries are provided with food, clothing, shelter, heat and other amenities well beyond what we consider the necessities of life, with no need or inclination to fend for themselves and continuously whine for more are also considered poor. Some, not of their culture would call them rich. Although I find this situation very perplexing, I guess it's a matter of perspective.

One story: I co-signed a car loan for a guy that had lost his job and needed a car to get a new job to support his family and not lose his home. His new job payed him twice my income. He never made a payment for a hundred different reasons and I wound up paying the loan in order to maintain my credit. He said he just had too many bills with his family to meet the car payments. He described himself as one of the "working poor." A year after I paid off the car loan I put my motorcycle up for sale. He heard about it and came by my house (I hadn't heard from him in almost a year and a half), in his new car to see it. He said he always liked it and wanted to buy it. He offered me the asking price and hauled the cash out of his pocket. I asked if he realized that I had payed off his car loan and I felt he still owed me for it? He said he used the money for the car to pay his bills, this was different money.

Back to the politicians: Tax cuts, tax increases, housing, food and clothing assistance, tax exemptions, tax credits, tax free zones, overseas tax free accounts, tax deductions. It's as confusing as it always was. Occupy Wall street, occupy main street, it really doesn't matter. Taxes are a way of life. It's the definitions that do matter. The rich receive tax exemptions and credits as if they were poor in order to increase profits and create jobs. Mostly they create profits, effectively eliminating the need to create jobs. The poor receive assistance enough to meet almost every necessity and beyond, effectively eliminating the need for a job. Most of us are kind of stuck in the middle. Everyone is talking about this. Not much has been done about this because no one really knows who the poor are. And, of course, this is all different money.

The poor and the rich will always be with us. I wonder if it's us that will eventually disappear?

Asian Carp. How to cook them and make money

Countless numbers of Asian Carp have spoiled our rivers for sport fishing. They are as close as the nose on your face to invading the awesome Lake Michigan. Just an electric shock away. I can't, personally do much about that except continue to vote and write my elected politicians. However, I can contribute to a way of possibly using those fish for the nourishment of humanity in these trying times. It has always seemed to me that if you have an otherwise unsolvable problem, you make the best of what you have. Besides being ugly the Asian Carp is depicted to be difficult to prepare for eating. That's not entirely true in my opinion. I assure you, somebody is going to discover a financially rewarding method of preparation and build an Asian Carp empire. Feeding the hungry is a good way to start I think. Here's an idea:

Catch a bunch of Asian Carp
Clean them and scale them
Boil them in mild salt water until tender and flaky
Separate the bones from the edible meat
Add seasonings popular to the area or culture
Mix in onions, veggies flakes or peppers
Mix the meat with corn meal and flour
Roll into balls or flattened into patties
Deep fry, bake or broil
Eat immediately or freeze for later

I've used this recipe for numerous fish and it works well. Try it with Tuna, Sardines or Salmon. You'll be surprised. If some entrepreneur jumps on this idea and runs with it, an inexpensive protein food source will be available to the hungry of this country and others, buildings will be purchased to meet production, thousands of new jobs will be created, we can export millions of pounds to other countries, much needed money will enter the country, additional taxes will be collected, the deficit will go down and the authorities will eventually probably have to declare the Asian Carp as an endangered species. A win, win situation. But then again it may be too simple and easy.