Commentary:Here comes Santa Claus, Congress finally passed the federal budget. The 2016 Omnibus Funding Bill formally called the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016 is a $1.15 trillion spending bill for Congress. A spending bill. What if each of us got a $1.15 billion check from Santa, what would all of us good boys and girls do with this money? How would we spend one hundred and five million dollars a thousand times? A thousand million is a billion. Congress has to spend $1.15 billion dollars a thousand times this year. Its hard work spending our money.
Years ago I did a thought experiment when I was having trouble sleeping one night. I was worried about money and my future, we know both are intertwined. At the time I owned a business. The more money I made the more I needed. How did I get into this situation? Even more important how could I get out? Why was I working? I wanted to create financial security for myself and my family.
So, I gave myself and everyone I knew and loved all the money they might ever need to help their families and friends and communities. The question then became, now that I had all I needed and everyone else had all they needed, what would I do with my life?
I started out with the typical scenario, what if I won the lottery? $200 million or even $500 million would not be enough. People who see lots of money want lots more. More is good, all is better, its one of the Ferenghi Rules of Acquisition. Keep it simple stupid (KISS), I made the experimental question simple. If I had all the money I needed and everyone else had all they needed for everyone else, what would I do with my life?
I had to simplify the experiment because the thought experiment leads to exponential growth of wealth quickly, which then required people to administrate the money, like Congress. I needed to get back to the original question. What would I do with my life?
I’d go back to school. I wanted an education. Simple. I don’t need all the money in the world to go back to school. The next day, I went to my office and offered my staff of one the same gift I was giving myself. I’d pay her tuition if she wanted to go to college. It worked, we both enrolled for a course at NMSU, The year was 1982. Inflation was out of control, interest rates were 17 to 21%. Housing sales were at a standstill, buying a new car was out of the question for most Las Crucens. Jimmy Carter was President and Paul Volker was the Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve.
The class I enrolled in was Graphic Arts. My office was one of the first to have its own computerized typesetting equipment. Yet, I needed much more that typesetting. I needed to understand some of the fundamentals of design. But the class was not being offered because the teacher quit. I was in my office when NMSU called, and told me the problem. Rats. Not to be deterred, I marched over to NMSU and met with the head of the Journalism Department. What a nice man, I forget his name but I am forever grateful to him. He asked me to teach the class. You know, that’s the best way to learn a subject. Teach it. I am blessed we live in a country with public libraries, universities, wonderful faculty and yes, where there is opportunity to think and dream.
I received $1,500 for teaching that class which I invested in the stock market. I bought the Templeton Growth fund. I still own it. The other lesson I learned that I am still learning is how to make money work for me. I love my work, and in order to keep that up, I make sure money works for me, not the other way around. And, yes, I finally earned my Ph.D. I did not need all the money in the world, I needed NMSU. I needed to live in Las Cruces in the Land of Enchantment.
We are each other’s Santa Claus, as we are the tax payers that keep this great nation going. It is our job to determine how this money is spent. So, I keep my eye on it. A few more gifts our country gives itself includes the aerospace and defense industry. This industry is our nation’s largest manufacturing exporter. Granted the 2014 sales of $228.4 billion include weapons but also airplanes, space craft, human spaceflight programs, space exploration and provides for our national defense and security. My life has been one of give and take. I hope yours has some balance in the holiday season. And should you want to give yourself all the money you will ever need, go for it. You may be surprised at the wealth you find.