Forbes: Eleven States On Financial "Death Spirals"

Thinking about buying a house or a municipal bond? Be careful where you put your money. Don’t put it in a state at high risk of a fiscal tailspin. Eleven states made Forbes list of danger spots for investments. They can look forward to a rising tax burden, deteriorating state finances and an exodus of businesses and employers.

Two factors determine whether a state makes this elite list of fiscal losers. The first is whether it has more takers than makers. A taker is someone who draws money from the government, as an employee, pensioner or welfare recipient. A maker is someone gainfully employed in the private sector.

Forbes published listed its of 11 "death spiral" states, which are states that people with any instinct of financial self-preservation might do well to steer clear of in the next few years.

The taker states are California, New Mexico, Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina, Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, New York, and Maine. There is no connection between blue and red states on this study.

Alabama is a state which I consider marginally included as many of the residents are military retirees who received earned benefits for their service as well as social security.

Michigan, on the other hand, avoided the list due to a state balanced budget amendment (read fuzzy math). This amazes me as Detroit has become one giant ghetto and is only months away from bankruptcy. Business flight to neighboring cities and states is unbelievable. Lansing has a similar problem as well.

Chicago has been corrupt since day one and with the highest murder rate in the nation (although Washington D.C is very close) businesses are folding and leaving left and right. This is the city that gave us Barry Soetero aka Barack Obama.

You may have noticed that music is back on my journal. The particular site that I'm using is a bit temperamental and the current playlist is limited. But fear not, my little iPods, I will continue to add to the last and improve it.  

The News As I See It: Prince William and Kate Middleton are expecting. Kate is said to be very nervous about childbirth. Giving birth to a baby wearing a crown is very hard. They don't know whether it's going to be a boy or a girl, but they do know it's not going to work a day in its life. One day that child could grow up to be one of the most powerful unemployed people in the world.

Snooki from "NewJersey Shore" says she wants to give baby advice to Kate Middleton. Her number one tip is to try to find out who the father is.

The Obamas have decorated the White House with 54 Christmas trees. It's all part of their "For the last time, we're not Muslim" campaign.

Just three weeks until Christmas, so CBS got into the Christmas spirit by showing the heartwarming family classic, "The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show." Some people say "The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show" serves no purpose other than showing sexy women and using them to bolster ratings. Those people are called "correct."

Hugh Hefner is getting engaged again. The engagement between 86-year-old Hefner and his 26-year-old girlfriend Crystal Harris is back on. They were engaged before and she broke it off eight days before the wedding. Well they have worked it out. I guess she has agreed to sign a pre-nup, but only if he agrees to sign the “do not resuscitate” order." He said today about his fiancée, "I've fallen for her and I can't get up."

Facebook has announced that it will not be developing any of its own games and will continue to rely on outside companies. Facebook can still take credit for that one popular game: "Guess who gotten fat since high school?"

President Clinton and Obama played a round of golf over the weekend. President Clinton asked Obama what his handicap was and Obama said, "It's a toss up between my Chicago mentality and Joe Biden."

This Date In History: 1776; The first scholastic fraternity in America, Phi Beta Kappa, was organized at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va. 1791; Composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died in Vienna, Austria, at age 35.

1848; President Polk triggered the Gold Rush of 1848 by confirming that gold had been discovered in California. 1872; Having left New York on Nov. 5, the brigantine Mary Celeste was found adrift off Portugal with everyone aboard mysteriously missing.

1933; The 21st Amendment to the Constitution, repealing prohibition, was ratified. 1955; The American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations merged to form the AFL-CIO.

2002; At Sen. Strom Thurmond's 100th birthday celebration, Senate Republican leader Trent Lott praised Thurmond's 1948 segregationist presidential bid. Lott subsequently resigned his leadership position.

Picture Of The Day: How cute is this? Whoever created this has a fantastic imagination as well as a keen sense of humor.

Printable Things I Never Told You: 1) What television advertising needs today is just a few more over-the-hill celebrities shilling reverse mortgages. 2) Politicians have "kicked the can" down the road for so long that we're now near the "fiscal cliff." You'd think that these morons could come up with more clever sayings just before they bankrupt the nation. It won't be long before they're just saying "Yo Momma!" 3) The inventor of the doorbell did not own a Chihuahua. 4) Just before Christmas, an honest politician, a generous lawyer and Santa Claus were riding in the elevator of a very posh hotel. Just before the doors opened they all noticed a $20 bill lying on the floor. Which one picked it up? Santa of course, because the other two don’t exist!  5) Don't you just hate it when your girlfriend asks you to hold her purse and it doesn't match what you're wearing?.....and that's five !

Today's Horoscope: Sagittarius - December 5th: You may come up with a number of interesting ways to spend your money, including Christmas shopping. If you haven’t yet started, I suggest you get busy unless you want to be mugged again like you were on Black Friday. Keep all receipts in case you need to take anything back. Remember that you're not known to have the best taste when selecting gifts.

Birthdays: Martin Van Buren, 8th president of the United States 1782, Christina Rossetti, poet 1830, George Armstrong Custer, American military officer 1839, Bill Pickett, cowboy, rodeo star 1870, Walt Disney, film producer 1901, Strom Thurmond, U.S. senator 1902, Otto Preminger, director, producer 1906, Little Richard, musician 1932, Joan Didion, writer 1934, Frankie Muniz, actor 1985.

The AREA 51 Retirement Home Bar And Grill: A couple was Christmas shopping at the mall on Christmas Eve and the mall was packed. As the wife walked through the mall she was surprised to look up and see her husband was nowhere around.

She was quite upset because they had a lot to do. Because she was so worried, she called him on her mobile phone to ask him where he was.

In a calm voice, the husband said, "Honey, you remember the jewelry store we went into about 5 years ago where you fell in love with that diamond necklace that we could not afford and I told you that I would get it for you one day?"

The wife choked up, started to cry and said, "Yes, I remember that jewelry store." He said, "Well, I'm in the bar right next to it."

The United Way realized that it had never received a donation from the city's most successful lawyer. So a United Way volunteer paid the lawyer a visit in his lavish office. The volunteer opened the meeting by saying, "Our research shows that even though your annual income is over two million dollars, you don't give a penny to charity. Wouldn't you like to give something back to your community through the United Way?"

The lawyer thinks for a minute and says, "First, did your research also show you that my mother is dying after a long, painful illness and she has huge medical bills that are far beyond her ability to pay?" Embarrassed, the United Way rep mumbles, "Uh.....no, I didn't know that."

The lawyer says, "Secondly, did it show that my brother, a disabled veteran, is blind and confined to a wheelchair and is unable to support his wife and six children?" The stricken United Way rep begins to stammer an apology, but is cut off again.

The lawyer continues, "Thirdly, did your research also show you that my sister's husband died in a dreadful car accident, leaving her penniless with a mortgage and three children, one of whom is disabled and another who has learning disabilities requiring an array of private tutors?"

The humiliated United Way rep, completely beaten, says, "I'm so sorry, I had no idea." The lawyer replies, "So......if I didn't give any money to them, what makes you think I'd give any to you?"

The Hits Just Keep On Coming: My thanks to my pals Skip and Victor for their contributions to today's stories.

A woman goes to her doctor who verifies that she is pregnant. This is her first pregnancy. The doctor asks her if she has any questions. She replies, "Well, I'm a little worried about the pain. How much will childbirth hurt?"

The doctor answered, "Well, that varies from woman to woman and pregnancy to pregnancy and besides, it's difficult to describe pain." The woman says, "I know, but can't you give me some idea?" 

The doctor says, "Grab your upper lip and pull it out a little..." The woman asks, "Like this?" The doctor says, "A little more..." The woman asks,  "Like this?"

The doctor says, "Yes. Does that hurt?" The woman replies, "A little bit." The doctor says, "Okay, now stretch it over your head!"

According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, while both male and female reindeer grow antlers in the summer each year, male reindeer drop their antlers at the beginning of winter, usually late November to mid-December.

Female reindeer retain their antlers till after they give birth in the spring. Therefore, according to every historical rendition depicting Santa's reindeer,  every single one of them, from Rudolph to Blitzen, had to be a girl.

We should have known. Only women would be able to drag a fat man in a red velvet suit all around the world in one night and not get lost.

That's it for today, my little sleigh belles. Remember, some days, life just seems like bunches of "it seemed like a good idea at the time" strung together. It's time to head over to AREA 51 for happy hour.

That's it for now. More on Friday.

Stay Tuned !