Either reinforcing the structure or building some type of safe area isn't that expensive.  The concept of a secure undergrounf shelter will protect you from a class 5 tornado; about all you can expect from structural reinforcement is to protect you from a class 3 or weak 4.  My cabin in Minnesota will take a 3;  I a...more

So somebody has to pay for it; mobile payment isn't free.  The trend I'm seeing in the small businesses who cater primarily to locals is moving toward cash because it doesn't cost the merchant anything and the cash flow is instant.  ATMs are maintained for those who don't have adequate cash.  As the fees for a business...more

It is my house and I pay the taxes on it so I should be able to rent it out as a vacation home.  This is even more true when it is my vacation home and I rent it when I'm not using it.  There shouldn't be any more activity in the neighborhood than if I was there instead.     I could see where there might be an issu...more

saved and worked most of my life; put together a nice portfolio.  Took early retirement and have been retired 8 years now and it is becoming apparant I can't do all the things I would like to because of health.  The portfolio was severly damaged by the great recession and the Feds policies to try and restart the econom...more

life is good in SE MN.  First warm evening to be outside and no bugs.  Steak on the grill, dinner on the picnic table; can't ask for much better.

Medicare and Social Security are programs we have paid into for many years while Medicaid is a welfare program that the politicians put in with Medicare.  Both SS and Medicare should be removed from political control and managed by professionals.  The SS trust fund must be paid back to the SS program.  After that, both...more

highly protfitable to the lender; they need to hold the risk of default should it happen

For most of my years, JC Penney was a place you could go and get the more basic items of a higher quality at a reasonable price.  No, they weren't the fashion leader but out here in the rural area, they were the place you could buy what you needed for your home and your everyday wardrobe.  JC was a midwest store that c...more

It appears that the goal of this administration is to make all but a very few equally poor.  They are using multiple means to reduce the amount a responsible person can have or save.  Think about the reduction in the value of the dollar, the inflation of daily expenses, the total lack of investment return, and now, mor...more