Allen and I got into a heated email debate this past week. This time it wasn't about Nancy Grace, but rather abortion. With 4 days left until Election Day, I want to clarify something for all the Christians. Despite a long winded diatribe by the likes of Randy Alcorn and others out there, you can vote for a candidate that is pro-choice, even if you are pro-life.

This might get long. I apologize. But I promise to keep it shorter than Randy's article.

I should explain from the beginning that I am pro-life. The following argument isn't a pro-choice argument, but rather an argument that those who are pro-life can still vote for pro-choice candidates.

The President Doesn't Matter
Ever since Roe v. Wade, the abortion issue is no longer a legislative or executive decision. It is a Judicial decision - meaning it is up to the Supreme Court, not the President to change. Now it is true that the President can appoint pro-life justices, but even if they do overturn it, the situation only returns back to the states. There is no way California or New York or others will ever reliquish this. So if someone in a "pro-life" state wants an abortion, they just drive to a "pro-choice" state. So we aren't any better off.

God's Not That Pro-Life
My atheist friends always say that God is only pro-life if you don't read the Bible. I have to admit, they are sort of right. On numerous occasions in the Bible, God commands his people to kill people - including women and children. Not to mention God killed his own son Jesus as part of His plan of salvation.

Not only biblically speaking, but historically speaking. Think of all the people - including children - who were martyred because of their faith.

Why? Because God isn't afraid of death. If death is just a transition to eternity, why are we so afraid of it - God isn't.

God Himself Makes A Distinction Between A Fetus And Birth
Have you ever read Exodus 21?

Exodus: 21:22 "If men who are fighting hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman's husband demands and the court allows. 23 But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, 24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.

Why does God make the distinction between a fetus and the rest of us? Becuase he isn't as pro-life as we have presented Him to be all these years.

Ridiculous Double Standard
But I am not the only one who can take scripture out of context. So can Alcorn and the like. For example, Alcorn uses Proverbs 6:16-19

There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood...

Ohh wait, but that isn't the whole scripture now is it? The whole thing goes like this:

16 There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: 17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, 18 a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, 19 a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.

If we voted under that premise we couldn't elect anyone, including ourselves. The problem is we hold the innocent blood clause as more important than the others, but we shouldn't, because God doesn't.

And take for example the death penalty. Allen for one holds that the death penalty is morally wrong (which I am starting to agree). So if being pro-life is the trump card, how can you vote for someone who supports the death penalty (i.e. John McCain and George W. Bush).

Simple, because pro-life isn't the trump card.

Born and Unborn
At the Allen Hunt Show we have a cheesily worded, but extremely important cornerstone. The Allen Hunt Show will "care for all God' s children, born and unborn." But here is the dilemma. What if you believe that McCain is better for the unborn and Obama is better for the born?

I am not saying Obama is better for the born, but if you believe he is, you shouldn't feel less of a Christian just because you choose the plethora of issues wrapped in the "born" category versus the one issue of the unborn.

Conclusion
Abortion isn't the trump card. It is an important issue, but not the important issue. It is an issue among many. So feel free to vote for a pro-choice candidate for President if you desire. Alcorn may judge you, but God probably won't.



P.S. Check back soon for who I decided to vote for. I'll give you two hints: he's black and I finally figured out who it was because of two Europeans. Think you know. Don't count on it.

While I could probably write another 10 posts on this topic, I am going to wrap this series up.

Over the past three years I have had numerous 20-somethings come to me struggling with the idea of doing something they love or doing something that pays the bills.

I find that most people I know who are struggling with this balance fit into one of two camps: 1.) they either do something because of the money/security/upbringing/family or 2.) they do something purely for the love with no regard to the security.

The answer is you have to find a balance in-between.

Neglecting the security needed in employment is wreckless and impractical. Yet doing something just for the money or security can be devastating towards a holistic and well rounded life.

I am going to use my brother for an example on this one. About a year ago my brother graduated from Indiana University with a degree in Theatre Communication and Culture and a minor in Theatre. My brother loves acting and from what I hear he is fantastic at it.¹

But like many people in that field, he realized upon graduating that it wasn't exactly going to pay the bills for a while (if ever). So he had a dilemma: does he just give up the acting thing and find a secure job with a future, or does he throw all caution to the wind and pursue acting with no regard to any long-term financial security.

My advice to him: neither and both.

I told him that if he loved acting then he should pursue that responsibly, and the risk can be reasonable. He needed to get another job that allows him to pursue acting and keep him out of debt. If in three years he decides that it isn't working out, and assuming he isn't in debt, then there really is no long-term loss.

I have another friend who also is a theatre person who works at Starbucks. Sure, he knows Starbucks isn't his future. It isn't what he set out to do in life. But he fully recognizes Starbucks is what enables him to pursue what he loves.

The same rings true for people who love to teach or do research or own businesses or anything else. There is a way to pursue what we love and are passionate about and still be reasonable with it. It might me some lifestyle sacrifices. But in the long run, doing what one loves in a responsible, balanced manner leads to a more holistic and fruitful life.

It is 11:18 pm and I am just getting to the office for the first time today. Now this is not to say that I haven't worked at all. To the contrary, I have put in about 9 hours already. But it is almost midnight, and the fact that I am at the office instead of home right now is worth at least $15,000 a year to me.

I definitely grew up in a household/school system/personal mindset that those who are smart and can make a lot of money, should. It's one of the benefits of being educated. One of the largest hurdles for me to accept when going into ministry was that I would never make "Doctor" money.

Most of us will never make "Doctor" money, and that is ok. But to say that salary is not a factor in a job search is ridiculous.

The mistake I find a lot of 20-something make is their assumption that their job salary is only about money. But salary goes beyond money.

Maybe it is because of my upbringing, or maybe it is because I am a numbers and spreadsheet kind of guy, but I like to put a monetary number on the intangibles of a job - which I have included below.

Doing this helps one realize what sort of quality of life a job provides - and in the end - isn't that what we are looking for.

It also helps recognize how values change over time. Take for example, on the positive side, a flexible schedule. I know once I have kids, this will become an even larger perk. On the negative, take lack of weekends. If you would have asked me a year ago, this would have been in the neutral category. But this has been getting to me more recently.

When all is accounted for, I really do feel like I work a job making $150,000 even though my salary is $55,000. Now just as long as I don't spend like I make $150,000 I think everything will be alright ;)

Some might think posting about this is arrogant or self-centered. But when talking about job searches with friends and family, the topic of salary always comes up, so I figured I'd include it on the blog. Ignore if you'd like.

Actual Monetary Benefits
Base Salary		$55,000
Cell Phone		$1,044
Dental & Health (est)		$1,500
Stock Options		$0
Positive Incentives
Passionate About Mission (Ministry)		$45,000
Flexible Schedule		$15,000
	Sleep In
	Work Late
	Mid-Day Naps
Independent Thought (i.e. argue with boss)		$10,000
Creative & Technical Mix		$10,000
Great Vacation		$7,500
Live Close to Office / Work from Home		$7,500
Startup Environment		$7,500
	Challenging
	No Stupid HR Policy
	No Chain of Command Drama
Casual Environment (i.e. Baseball hat attire)		$5,000
Boss is a Mentor		$5,000
Large Growth Potential		$5,000
Position of Influence (Media)		$5,000
I Am Having Fun		$5,000
Interacting with People Like Erik		$5,000
Neutral Elements
Stability		$0
Negative Decentives
Not Where CJ & Andrea Live		-$15,000
Lack of Travel		-$7,500
Lack of Weekends		-$7,500
Misc Reason(s)		-$5,000
Grand Total Salary:		$150,044

Holy cow the game was amazing! The most intense Baseball expierence I have ever been apart of. Cowbells ringing. People high fiving all game long. Standing for most of it. And in the end we were victorious. Even leaving and getting out of the parking lot was remarkably easy (due to a back way I figured out).

To all the people expecting updates during the game, I am sorry. My iPhone died 5 minutes into the game and then Justin's Blackberry died shortly after that. We took photos though and you can see them below.

We got back to the hotel at 1:30. This is definitely going to have to be something we do every year.

Hey all. Made it to the hotel. Was relieved to see they got the reservation correct and there were two beds. Didn't want to share with Justin. Anyways, we checked in and are now heading to the park for Game 2. Take a look at the journey so far with the pics below.

Total drive time from office to Ocala, FL: 5 hours, 6 minutes.

Ohh, and I thought of the greatest sign I wish I had made for the game. Yes, it is Mastercard Theme (I know cheesy), but I think it would have been funny.

And we are on our way to Tampa for Game 2 of the World Series!!!

Be sure to check the Twitter update to the left -----------------------------------------------> for updates on the trip and photos. Enjoy!

So you've figured out your employee type, now it is on to the right job. Next up: the dreaded interview.

For some reason, I have never really dreaded interviews. It might be because I am a conceited bastard, but I think there is another reason. I have always held that interviews are a two-way process. It is always important to remember that you are interviewing a company just as much as they are interviewing you.

This is good for two reasons: 1.) Nerves and 2.) Long-term happiness.

When one goes into an interview with the mindset that the company needs to impress you just as much as you need to impress them, it has an amazing calming effect. This calm helps clear your head and your nerves so that your answers are more confident and precise. But it also helps you ask them the right questions as well.

The other reason this is important is because we often forget in the job search how large of an impact a job has on one's life. Usually out of desperation to find employment, we forget that we will spend more time at work than we will with our family and friends. And while it might feel secure to find employment at the first offer, if you don't interview the company correctly, you'll likely find yourself in a similar situation that you were in before.

A while back I was solicitated to take a job outside of my current employer. I had some phone conversations. I was tempted. They flew me out. I talked with people in the organization. And it was clear within 10 minutes of being there that I was interviewing them, as appose to the other way around. Now you might be saying to yourself, "yeah, but Andy, that's different. They wanted you to come. They were pursuing you."

This is true. But here's the kicker. The most important interview I had in making that decision wasn't at the new company; was the one with Allen back in April of 2005.

Allen's church was of course interested in me working or they wouldn't have flown me out. But I had no grand reputation with them. I was just some punk kid from California looking for a post-graduation job. It was, in the truest sense, a job interview.

But the two-way conversation that took place in that Waffle House on that early morning not only helped me realize Mount Pisgah was where I needed to go after college, it also helped me realize that I needed to stay put once there.

Since graduating from Azusa in May of 2005, I have been offered 11 jobs - both ministries and private sector companies - all around the country. Including some who were offering impressively more money. But not one conversation I had with any of them have ever been more impressive than the conversation I had at Waffle House. That's the power of a two-way interview.

It has been 3.5 years since I graduated college and while I am definitely not doing the job I thought I was coming to Georgia to do, in every stretch of my 2005-self's imagination, the past years have been an overwhelming success.

I am not sure what the reason (economy, younger friends graduating, older friends unfulfilled, etc...) but for some reason this summer I got bombarded with questions about how to find the right job.

So I am going to embark on a series of blog posts about work. Upcoming topics include The Interview: It Goes Both Ways and What Does the Job Really Pay: A Look Beyond Money. There might be a few others...

But before we venture into that, we must first recognize what a company exists for: to make money. A company does not exist to employ you. And it does not really exist to provide a service.

It seems somewhere in our coddled generation we got the idea that we go to college and then there will be jobs out there with the sole purpose to employ us. Wrong. The sooner one realizes this, the sooner they will be successful with their job search.

As one prepares for the job search they have to ask one question: am I a person who makes a company money or saves a company money (see #4 in this MSN article). If it is a non-profit or education it is slightly different, the question is do I directly fulfill the mission of the organization or do I save the organization money/resources.

Take for example my bestfriend CJ and I. CJ is a phenomenal salesman. At the age of 26, he is already a top performer in a very large corporation. He brings in hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue annually. He is definitely someone who makes a company money (and a lot of it). I on the other hand am a horrendous salesperson. I just don't have the skills. But I save organizations money like nobody's business. The amount of people (and therefore salary) it would take to replace all the different things I do at my current job would probably at least be three and probably more.

It was the same way when I was 16 and worked at the courthouse in Indiana. I got brought on to help with an influx in tax warrants. They were piling up faster than they could process them. But my value to the organization was that I figured out a way to process them 4x quicker than they were doing before. That saved the courthouse money because they didn't have to hire 4 other people to do the job.

Sometimes these traits stay the same over life (i.e. CJ and I will never trade positions), but other times they change. Take for example Attorneys. When you are fresh out of law school, your value to the practice is that they bill your time for a whole lot more than what they pay you. Thus you are saving the firm money. But as you age in your practice, your value becomes your client portfolio and thus you are paid more due to the business you bring into the firm.

Figuring out your role in an organization is not just monumentally important for the interview process, but also to figure out whether or not you'll be happy with your job. I would be miserable if I had sales quotas. Thus I don't waste my time in the job search for positions like that.

Come back later the week for more on the work series.

I get a trade publication called Advertising Age sent to me on a weekly basis. I don't know why it started arriving, but I love it. It is a fantastic wealth of information.

Last week, I opened it and it answered a question I had been wondering for years: what do advertisers pay per :30 spot on a regular basis. Sure we always hear about the million dollar spots during the SuperBowl and what the last episode of Seinfeld pulled. But on average, what is a company paying for me to watch an episode of Chuck or Big Bang Theory or Bones or Dirty Sexy Money?

The answer: the average for a :30 spot in primetime TV is $124,920. But that is only half the picture. What about viewership? If you take spot rates and divide by average viewership, the advertisers spends $0.0171 per person to watch their ad spot.

But being the self-centered person that I am, I want to know about me?

Well, first of all, I learned that advertisers are willing to pay more for my attention than average - since the shows I watch averaged $186,316 (or $0.02431 per time I watch). But at a more humbling point, very few of the shows I watch are anywhere near the top 10. So I am expensive and unpopular. Done.

But what I think is even more interesting is what this says about what advertisers think our lives our worth.

Think about it. Say there are an average of 7 minutes of advertising per 30 minutes of shows. This makes 14 total :30 second units per half hour of TV. The average American lives to be 78.16 years old. If you do the math, that basically means that according to advertisers, the average American's life is valued at $327,829.

Now, my life is worth $465,980 - which makes me better than you - but still pretty humbling huh ;)

Well lucky for us, God and our love ones think we are entirely more valuable than the average advertiser.

Name of Show	:30 Cost	Sta	Day	Time	Viewership	Cost / Person
Sunday Night Football	$434,792	NBC	Sun	8:00 PM	14,207,000	$0.03
Fringe	$343,000	Fox	Tues	9:00 PM	9,906,000	$0.03
Grey's Anatomy	$326,685	ABC	Thus	9:00 PM	14,797,000	$0.02
Desperate Housewives	$318,552	ABC	Sun	9:00 PM	15,505,000	$0.02
Two and a Half Men	$276,433	CBS	Mon	9:00 PM	13,577,000	$0.02
CSI	$262,600	CBS	Thus	9:00 PM	23,485,000	$0.01
House	$260,179	Fox	Tues	8:00 PM	12,978,000	$0.02
The Simpsons	$250,000	Fox	Sun	8:00 PM	7,408,000	$0.03
Family Guy	$231,306	Fox	Sun	9:00 PM	8,384,000	$0.03
The Office	$213,164	NBC	Thus	9:00 PM	9,245,000	$0.02
Survivor	$212,800	CBS	Thus	8:00 PM	13,076,000	$0.02
Dancing With the Stars	$205,000	ABC	Mon	8:00 PM	18,592,000	$0.01
Extreme Makover: Home Edition	$200,347	ABC	Sun	8:00 PM	11,832,000	$0.02
Brothers & Sisters	$198,532	ABC	Sun	10:00 PM	10,326,000	$0.02
Heros	$198,379	NBC	Mon	9:00 PM	8,198,000	$0.02
Prison Break	$193,902	Fox	Mon	9:00 PM	5,372,000	$0.04
Dancing (Results Show)	$191,403	ABC	Tues	9:00 PM	15,065,000	$0.01
Private Practice	$182,656	ABC	Wed	9:00 PM	8,163,000	$0.02
CSI: Miami	$182,101	CBS	Mon	10:00 PM	13,884,000	$0.01
King of the Hill	$181,429	Fox	Sun	8:30 PM	6,589,000	$0.03
Worst Week	$179,727	CBS	Mon	9:30 PM	8,848,000	$0.02
American Dad	$159,533	Fox	Sun	9:30 PM	6,855,000	$0.02
Eleventh Hour	$155,400	CBS	Thus	10:00 PM	11,373,000	$0.01
Ugly Betty	$151,870	ABC	Thus	8:00 PM	8,521,000	$0.02
Law & Order: SVU	$146,679	NBC	Tues	10:00 PM	10,391,000	$0.01
How I Met Your Mother	$142,117	CBS	Mon	8:30 PM	8,977,000	$0.02
Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles	$140,879	Fox	Mon	8:00 PM	5,726,000	$0.02
Samatha Who?	$140,124	ABC	Mon	9:00 PM	2,118,000	$0.07
Eli Stone	$139,898	ABC	Tues	10:00 PM
CSI: New York	$137,648	CBS	Wed	10:00 PM	15,873,000	$0.01
Big Bang Theory	$135,357	CBS	Mon	8:00 PM	8,597,000	$0.02
Life on Mars	$133,233	ABC	Thus	10:00 PM	11,333,000	$0.01
Dirty Sexy Money	$130,164	ABC	Wed	10:00 PM	5,852,000	$0.02
My Name Is Earl	$127,978	NBC	Thus	8:00 PM	7,166,000	$0.02
Without a Trace	$127,766	CBS	Tues	10:00 PM	12,611,000	$0.01
The Amazing Race	$127,634	CBS	Sun	8:00 PM	10,999,000	$0.01
Kath & Kim	$125,683	NBC	Thus	8:30 PM	7,515,000	$0.02
NCIS	$121,718	CBS	Tues	8:00 PM	16,288,000	$0.01
Criminal Minds	$117,359	CBS	Wed	9:00 PM	16,185,000	$0.01
Saturday Night College Football	$114,649	ABC	Sat	8:00 PM	6,739,000	$0.02
Kitchen Nightmares	$114,146	Fox	Thus	9:00 PM
Bones	$114,084	Fox	Wed	8:00 PM	10,559,000	$0.01
The Biggest Loser	$113,218	NBC	Tues	8:00 PM	7,265,000	$0.02
Boston Legal	$112,610	ABC	Mon	10:00 PM	8,746,000	$0.01
Pushing Daisies	$111,125	ABC	Wed	8:00 PM	5,501,000	$0.02
ER	$110,049	NBC	Thus	10:00 PM	9,408,000	$0.01
30 Rock	$104,178	NBC	Thus	9:30 PM
America's Next Top Model	$103,714	CW	Wed	8:00 PM	3,935,000	$0.03
Knight Rider	$102,754	NBC	Wed	8:00 PM	6,856,000	$0.02
Cold Case	$101,112	CBS	Sun	9:00 PM	11,095,000	$0.01
Fooball Night in America	$100,811	NBC	Sun	7:00 PM	7,561,000	$0.01
60 Minutes	$99,000	CBS	Sun	7:00 PM	17,470,000	$0.01
My Own Worst Enemy	$98,909	NBC	Mon	10:00 PM
The Mentalist	$97,006	CBS	Tues	9:00 PM	15,603,000	$0.01
Chuck	$92,645	NBC	Mon	8:00 PM	5,832,000	$0.02
Oppurtunity Knocks	$92,427	ABC	Tues	8:00 PM	5,960,000	$0.02
Deal or No Deal	$92,115	NBC	Wed	9:00 PM
America's Funniest Home Videos	$90,044	ABC	Sun	7:00 PM	8,916,000	$0.01
Deal or No Deal	$90,034	NBC	Fri	9:00 PM	6,633,000	$0.01
Life	$86,948	NBC	Fri	10:00 PM	4,978,000	$0.02
The Unit	$84,630	CBS	Sun	10:00 PM	9,713,000	$0.01
Ghost Whisperer	$82,400	CBS	Fri	8:00 PM	4,427,000	$0.02
Supernanny	$82,200	ABC	Fri	9:00 PM	3,205,000	$0.03
'Til Death	$82,108	Fox	Wed	9:00 PM	4,610,000	$0.02
Numb3rs	$81,700	CBS	Fri	10:00 PM
Old Christine	$79,535	CBS	Wed	8:00 PM	7,526,000	$0.01
Lipstick Jungle	$78,000	NBC	Wed	10:00 PM	4,764,000	$0.02
20/20	$75,950	ABC	Fri	10:00 PM	7,017,000	$0.01
The Ex-List	$73,800	CBS	Fri	9:00 PM
Gary Unmarried	$72,019	CBS	Wed	8:30 PM	7,357,000	$0.01
Wife Swap	$70,300	ABC	Fri	8:00 PM	4,104,000	$0.02
Don't Forget the Lyrics	$68,789	Fox	Fri	9:00 PM	4,347,000	$0.02
One Tree Hill	$67,902	CW	Mon	9:00 PM	3,420,000	$0.02
Toughest Jobs	$66,442	NBC	Fri	8:00 PM	3,972,000	$0.02
Gossip Girl	$62,139	CW	Mon	8:00 PM	3,398,000	$0.02
The Moment of Truth	$61,729	Fox	Thus	8:00 PM
Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader	$59,900	Fox	Fri	8:00 PM	5,443,000	$0.01
Dateline	$59,708	NBC	Sat	8:00 PM
90210	$58,347	CW	Tues	8:00 PM	3,116,000	$0.02
Cops 2	$57,081	Fox	Sat	9:00 PM	5,528,000	$0.01
Smallville	$54,323	CW	Thus	8:00 PM	4,119,000	$0.01
48 Hours Mystery	$52,300	CBS	Sat	10:00 PM	7,319,000	$0.01
Cops 1	$50,367	Fox	Sat	8:00 PM	4,683,000	$0.01
Stylista	$48,942	CW	Wed	9:00 PM
Law & Order: SVU (repeats)	$46,884	NBC	Sat	10:00 PM
Everybody Hates Chris	$44,533	CW	Fri	8:00 PM	1,697,000	$0.03
America's Most Wanted	$41,730	Fox	Sat	10:00 PM	5,428,000	$0.01
Crimtetime Saturday	$38,000	CBS	Sat	9:00 PM	5,559,000	$0.01
Supernatural	$37,982	CW	Thus	9:00 PM	3,508,000	$0.01
Knight Rider (repeats)	$36,738	NBC	Sat	9:00 PM
Privileged	$33,305	CW	Tues	9:00 PM	1,873,000	$0.02
Crimetime Saturday	$32,600	CBS	Sat	8:00 PM
The Game	$29,583	CW	Fri	9:00 PM	1,805,000	$0.02
Easy Money	N/A	CW	Sun	9:00 PM
In Harm's Way	N/A	CW	Sun	7:00 PM
Surviving Suburbia	N/A	CW	Sun	7:30 PM
Valentine Inc	N/A	CW	Sun	8:00 PM

Tonight is the final Presidential Debate and I am not watching. In chief due to the fact that neither candidate either a.) knows what the current economic problem is, or b.) won't say it.

Everyone is saying that greed is the problem. Sure. But greed is nothing new. Blaming greed is like blaming boobs for affairs. Or, more generally blaming sin or evil. Sure, it might be the root of the problem, but it doesn't really say anything. So what is the real problem? Immigration and an unstable market since the tech boom.

The History.
Because of the economic policy of the mid to late 80s, there was a lot of generated wealth in the early 90s. But wealth can only go so far before even the extremely wealthy don't know what to do with it - so they become venture capitalist and invest in other companies. Thus generating more wealth.

Now in the mid 90s, the digital revolution was ramping up, so all the 80s generated wealth got pumped into tech companies. This created a bubble that ultimately burst on March 10, 2000. But just because an industry burst, doesn't mean there is less money out there per se.

So the hot new thing out there was real estate. Since everyone was making hand over fist in the tech growth, real estate values sky rocketed. Hold on to that thought for a moment.

Also due to the economic growth during the mid-90s, immigration from Mexico grew exponentially. This new "cheap" labor meant that building new houses was incredibly cheaper to do so.¹

The Perfect Storm
So the perfect storm for developers and lenders which allowed greed to succeed was a large influx in cash to the real estate markets and an equally large decrease in the cost of developing. Thus profit margins were widening by the day, thus spurring more growth and greed.

But the problem is that housing isn't a commodity for the most part and there is only so much demand. Thus, a builder can develop property very cheap, but sooner or later their isn't the demand for said property. Thus, we have the housing burst of lets say 2007.

The Future
So what's the next "burst?" Well, where is all money being driven to because of speculation in this unstable market: energy. Sure, we will have some advances in the next 10 years in the energy sector because of the influx of cash and the increased technology. But that sector currently is driven widely by speculation and thoughtless investing. This will lower oil and energy prices (*cough* like the mid-90s²) and thus potentially repeat the cycle.

The Presidential Race
So what does this have to do with the Presidential Debate. Neither McCain or Obama seem to understand economic policy. And this is where if McCain would wake up, he might be able to come back.

Economics 101 - practically on day 1 of class - will teach that economic policy takes anywhere from 8-12 years to mature. What does this mean?

• The good economic times of the 1950s were largely due to the economic policy FDR set in the 40s.
• The poor economic times of the 1980s were largely due to the economic policy of Nixon, Ford, and Carter.
• The good economic times of the 1990s were largely due to the economic policy of Reagan.
• The poor economic times of the 2000s were largely due to the economic policy of Clinton - (and not really helped by Bush - lets be honest).

I will say this. As a legitimately undecided voter, I will vote for the candidate who has the balls to recognize the above and actually put a plan together to address the situation.