Umazon Blog

High schoola constant hub of activities, studies, and eventsand the last years of our school days shared with friends. High schools always hold a variety of events to raise funds for the many extra curricular activities that makes school fun.

High school students are old enough to realize that in order to have a successful fundraiser, a business plan should be in place. The plan should begin with the question, “what are we raising funds for?” What expenses will be incurred is also another consideration for your plan. Research the most successful fundraisers for high schools to produce. There are many Internet websites that have hundreds of ideas. Don’t use the same fundraiser year after year if profits have continuously declined. Recruit a lot of volunteers who are willing to work for the cause, and check your calendar to make sure there aren’t a lot of other charity events going on at the same time.

Once your plan is in place, think about the type of fundraiser you would like to hold. Successful fundraising ideas include scratch off cards, discount cards, car washes, bake sales, candy sales, seasonal gift catalogs and book fairs. You can find lots of information about any of these on the Internet.

Finally, make sure students alert the community about the fundraiser and promote it by placing flyers throughout the community. You might also try to get a radio or television station to sponsor your event, thus gaining greater exposure. Make sure thank you notes are sent to all those involved.

School Fundraisers provides detailed information about school fundraisers, elementary school fundraisers, high school athletics fundraisers, high school fundraisers and more. School Fundraisers is the sister site of Student Loan Debt Info.

How many new products and inventions can you dream up with in thirty minutes? At least a few if you know the techniques of innovation and creative problem solving. The following are thirty minute’s worth, with some notes at how they were arrived at.

New Products and Inventions From Old

A fast way to invent new things is to start with existing concepts and find new applications. With the concept of inflatable things, the first thing that comes to my mind is inflatable shelters for emergency situations, such as after earthquakes or hurricanes. Such shelters could be transported easily, and erected quickly with a simple air pump. A basic large tent design, but with inflatable ribs instead of poles might work.

We can always find new products and inventions for babies. Inflatable cribs or playpens come to mind. Deflated, they could be folded up and stored almost anywhere. A simple design for a playpen might be a plastic floor with a simple wall that surrounds it and is attached to it. Think of air mattresses for swimming, set on their sides, connected end to end and wrapped into a circle and you’ll get the idea.

When we used to go “tubing” down rivers in Michigan, we were forever trying new ways to carry a cooler with us while keeping it convenient to get a soda or beer out of it. A solution could be an inflatable bar. It might have a cooler built into it, have can and glass holders, and maybe even a secure place to set snacks. It could be used in a pool, lake or river.

Many people drive into water and die each year. One solution to this problem might be inflatable flotation that is activated when the car begins to sink. They would quickly inflate in an accident involving submersion, and would keep the car afloat. Put one in the trunk, and another inside the car, or have them come out from the wheel wells. To avoid accidental inflation, the triggering device would be activated by water, but be in a place where rain and car washing water couldn’t reach.

Vending Machine Products and Inventions

When I considered the concept of vending machines, the first thing that came to mind was a beer machine. It could only be used in a bar that was restricted to adults, of course. A big benefit is that it would lessen the need for bartenders, since half of all the drinks sold in a bar are just simple beers. It is an innovation that could be implemented tomorrow, using beer in cans in existing pop machines.

A vending machine for books and magazines might do decent business in an airport, bus station or other places where people are forced to sit for hours. They may already exist, but I haven’t seen them yet. Add some padding to the drop chute, and existing snack vending machines could be used.

They sell phone cards everywhere now, but I haven’t yet seen them in vending machines. You could also sell those collapsible umbrellas from a machine. There are dozens of other things that could be profitably sold from vending machines. Use simple techniques like this extension of existing concepts, and there are also thousands of other new products and inventions waiting to be made.

Steve Gillman has been exploring new ideas for decades. Visit his site for invention ideas, business ideas, story ideas, political and economic theories, deep thoughts, and more. Get a free gift too: New Ideas (www.999ideas.com)

www.currencies.co.uk are Great Britain’s starring independent foreign currency brokers, Foreign Currency Direct have been round from the year 2000 Foreign Currency Direct are nowadays experts in the industry and also possess a fantastic team of agents who are prepared and also waiting to help you yourself with almost anything you yourself might need.

They offer one off overseas payment, so for the reason that one need to send a lump sum to a different country. They may supply one with a dedicated account manager to supervise all of the aspects of a transaction. Saving up to 0.04 in comparison to standard prices sold through high street agents will make the transaction noticeably more economic as well as stress free. Foreign Currency Direct also offer spot contracts aimed at settlement within 2 working days and it’s punctual transmission to the bank account you specify, or maybe forward contracts to set up a currency exchange rate targeted at the future, for example, when a property completion is scheduled in quite a few months time, by having a forward contract you yourself may know how much GBP one can often require in a future requirement within an overseas currency.

currencies.co.uk don’t forget have expertise in timed overseas transfers, if people own a EUR mortgage found in France, Spain or Portugal there timely payment plan is a wonderful practice to cut back the new monthly great British pounds cost. FCD sell free payments for transfers & zero bank prices for payments well over £300. Lastly but not least currencies.co.uk are specialists in bringing overseas currency back to the UK, should you happen to be selling some abroad houses with need to move overseas money back to the Great British Isles in sterling, then the company might often serve you. You might often use the business’s experienced account managers who can share their experienced knowledge with you yourself & serve people conduct all your necessary arrangements. Currencies.co.uk can help you with all your currency needs, they offer great currency exchange rates, and their team of specialist dealers work hard to save you money.

Rudraksha are beads which grow on select Rudraksha - Elaeocarpus Ganitras Roxb trees from select locations of South East Asia (Java, parts of Malaysia) and South Asia (Northern India and Nepal). They have powerful Electromagnetic properties which help in controlling Stress Levels, Blood Pressure, Hypertension, and induce tranquil feeling in the wearer. They also improve Concentration, Focus and Mental Stamina. Rudraksha have been widely used by people of Eastern cultures like Chinese, Buddhist, Tao, Japanese, Zen, Korean, and Indian since ages. It was found that wearing these beads around the heart instilled tranquility, and calmness which were found ideal for focused meditation which was an important aspect of Eastern culture.

Rudraksha beads have many other powerful properties in transforming one’s personality and outlook in a positive way. Studies have proven that Rudraksha have Electromagnetic, Paramagnetic and Inductive properties varying for different mukhis or facets and on wearing a particular mukhi or a set of mukhis specific Electrical impulses are sent to the brain stimulating certain positive brain centers (brain chemicals) thereby causing a transformation in the personality, outlook, charisma, and confidence of the wearer. It was also found that wearing Rudraksha beads controlled heart beat, in turn smothering the amount of blood going to the brain. It can be noted that at times of high stress and lack of focus there is a gushing of blood circulation to the brain and vice versa. With the help of these beads a kind of Tranquility, Concentration and Focus was easily achieved. It is found that those wearing Rudraksha beads have among other benefits also found the Stress levels reduced to unexpected levels something which was possible only with heavy and continued dose of tranquillisers. Rudraksha beads emit positive vibrations flushing out all the negativity in physical and mind level.

Thousands of persons who have worn authentic Rudraksha beads have repeatedly confirmed that it has given them considerable relief from Blood Pressure, Stress, Hypertension, Depression, and other mind related problems including neurotic conditions. Rudraksha has been found to boost the confidence and inner strength of the wearers significantly. Apart from the general purpose beads mostly 4,5 and 6mukhis there are more powerful Rudraksha beads from 1 mukhi till 21 mukhi each capable of aligning our mind and the positive energies around us to specific aspects like Prosperity, Creativity, Intutive Ability, Speculation, Sexual Harmony, etc. Surely Rudraksha are the wonder beads helping us perform better and lead a more successful life. Even for achieving success in business or professional carrear it has been found that the blessings of various Gods/Goddesses ruling different facet Rudraksha has proved greatly beneficial and several lives have got a new direction and positive success. However we also say a lot more research certainly needs to be done to really understand the miraculous powers of this powerful bead.

Rudraksha is a seed of a fruit which is covered with a pulp and an outer skin. The skin is green in colour like a banana skin, but when plucked from the tree and allowed to remain as it is, the colour of the skin turn blackish blue. The diameter of the seed is upto 1inch and is nearly round in shape and belongs to the Elaeocarpus Ganitras family. The seed can have `1 to 14 mukhis or facets but Rudraksha till 21 mukhis or facets have also been obtained. The mukhi or facet is easy to count and is a natural division of the seed. A mukhi is a complete line from the top to bottom of the Rudraksha. The Indian epics are full of varying effects of the various faces. Most commonly found is the 5 mukhi which contributes to almost 90% of the entire crop and as the mukhis keep on increasing the rarity of the bead also increases. Prices of the different mukhis is on the availability of the bead and not on the effect of the bead.

More details can be had from our website http://www.rudralife.com or visit us at Rudralife, B-235, Oshiwara Industrial Center, Goregaon West, Mumbai - 400104, India Tel# 91 22 28793227 / 91 9322791218

U.S.P., in marketing, is the acronym for unique selling
proposition. This is asking, “What distinguishes you from
similar products or services, even businesses as a whole?”

After using the USP method to uncover the uniqueness of my
products and services, I continued to find them difficult to
name. Because of this, I developed a list of 50 easy-to-
answer questions to help me get through the process quickly.
[Please allow product and service to mean the same thing for
simplicity sake in this article.

First, select an equal playing competitor. If not equal,
choose one that is as closely matched as possible. Even if
you are selling apples, be careful on the choice of
characteristics. A Granny Smith apple is different from a
Winesap apple. Both are consumed by similar markets but
they have much different uses in cooking. Be mindfully
open, somewhere there is a similar apple — guaranteed.

Second, gather all their product information. Lay the
material before you, make a list of the features and
benefits. Read and compared line-by-line if needed. I like
to use the abbreviation’s S and D (similar/different). If
you didn’t come up with anything or your list is small, that
is okay, this happens to me a lot. Your mind isn’t seeing
them. The questions below will build on your list and
expand your view.

If you offer a new service, match target markets, and select
one that is less than two years ahead of your success. If
their product is too far ahead, you will suffer from
“measurement stress”. This will please your inner critic
but test your passion and sabotage your commitment.

After you have completed whatever list you could do, use
these questions to continue expanding:

1. Make a list of their product benefits?

2. What are the benefits your product offers?

3. Identify the features they have that you don’t have?

4. Identify the features that you have? Compare.

5. What features are better in their product.

6. What features are better in yours?

7. Why are they better (from a buyers perspective)?

8. What is their price?

9. What is your price?

10. Why is your price different?

11. What emotional needs/desires does your product meet?

12. What physical needs/desires does your product meet?

13. Does your product sell better at different times of the
year? And if so, why?

14. Are any of your competitors local? If so, where are
they?

15. What is the size of your competitor’s business?

16. Where is this competitor marketing? Find their ads,
always keep them in your file.

17. What age and gender are they marketing to? Is the same
as yours?

18. What income level are they marketing to? What are you
marketing to?

19. What type of customer care do they offer? Research and
find out.

20. What type of customer care are you going to offer?
What’s different about your customer care or how can it be?

21. Do you offer a special type of advice that they don’t?
If so, what?

22. If you offer confidentiality, in what ways do you offer
this?

23. How is your confidentiality different than your
competitors? Or is it the same?

24. How fast does your competitor fulfill orders?

25. What type of answers do they have for their product?
Do they offer a FAQ (frequently asked question page)?

26. How fast do they answer questions? Submit one and find
out.

27. Do they offer a range of payment methods or are they
limited? What will be yours?

28. What is their customer service policy? Write yours and
know the difference.

29. How many ways can people contact them?

30. What are their “availability” hours?

31. Do they offer product discounts? What are their break
points?

32. How do they ship? Is it fr*ee or discounted in some
way?

33. Do they offer value-added incentives? This could be in
the form of complimentary documentation or time,
newsletters, or other items. What can you offer that is
better?

34. Do they offer gifts? Are they special or common? What
do customers have to purchase to get them?

35. Create a list of unique, customer valued gifts, that
you might use make theirs eat dust?

36. What special skills do their employees offer? What are
yours?

37. Does their staff have some special type of training?
Do you or can you get?

38. What makes you excited about selling this product?

39. How long have they been in business? Where are they on
the product maturity line? Where are you?

40. If you haven’t been in business as long, can you
explain your quick success?

41. What do customers say about them? What do yours say?
Similar is good but unique statements help more.

42. What statistics do you have on your product that you
can use to show your uniqueness?

43. Do they have any celebrity endorsements? You can you
get that is already known by your customers?

44. How many ways does the product change people life
styles or mindset?

45. How long does their product last by the customer? And
yours?

46. Where is the product in the trend line with customers?

47. How frequently does your competitor introduce something
new in order to stay on the cutting edge? And you?

48. How fast can they get their product to their customers?
Can you do better?

49. Were they the first in developing this product? How
long ago was that? Do you have newness as an advantage?

50. Location can be a key. Where is your office or
distribution house located? Can you create more than one
location? Do they have other locations?

Always remember, everyone wants to eat at restaurants that
have the most cars in the parking lot? Customers trust that
if other people are eating there, they must have good food
and service. Your answers to these questions will help keep
your parking lot full.

About the Author

Catherine is a veteran entrepreneur and communications
master coach. Additional articles, newsletters, workshops,
and other information is available at:

http://www.abundancecenter.com

blog: http://abundance.blogs.com

Photos can look great. An astonishing landscape can transport the viewer to another time and place. Maybe it is just for a fraction of a second. A great photograph of a person can look into the person’s soul, and let you share their smiles or tears. A great photo communicates to the viewer. There is an enormous market out there for photographs. Publishers know that the people who buy their materials want photographs that reach out to them. Visual communication is something that we all can relate to. Subjects out there to take photos of are never ending. The only limitations are within your mind.

But what is it that makes a photograph successful? A photography course can definitely help you, but the answer is fairly simple, and you can improve your photography today, if you just learn a few very basic rules.

However, rules are meant to be broken. Some of my favorite photographs very purposely break a lot of the basic rules. But to break the rules in a way that enhance a photograph and effectively turns it into a great photo, you first have to know the rules and second you must have a reason for breaking them.

Number one: Get in close, really close, much closer than you think.
The first, and most essential, rule: Simplify. The more you simplify a photograph, the more attention you draw towards your subject. And the more attention you draw towards your subject, the more successful you will be in communicating your message to the viewer. There are approximately a million ways to do this, so I will keep it simple and stick to my preferred technique here, and that is to get in as close as possible. When you do that, you eliminate anything in the background that may distract from your subject.

Number two: The photographic composition
Most strong photographs position their main elements in certain specific places of the frame. When you think about where you want to put your subject in the photo, you are composing your picture. When a painter starts out with a blank canvas, he or she has full control to decide where to put that river, those mountains, the trees, clouds and whatever thing that needs to be included. Creating a photograph, you ought to go through the same process.

Number Three: Is there a better way to do it?
The last thing we will talk about is point of view. The photographers’ point of view more exact. How often have you seen something worth taking a photo of - perhaps a barn, a tree, or your dog - and picked up your camera to take a picture right then and there? If this is the way you go about taking photos, you can noticeably improve your technique with one simple process. Just walk around the subject. Notice how the background changes as you move 360 degrees around your subject. Try to lie down on the ground and point the camera up at your subject. Climb up a ladder and look down, trying the same thing. Tilt the camera vertically, even diagonally. Take a whole roll of film or fill a whole memory card if you use a digital camera, of the same subject from different points of view and compare the results. You will surprise yourself. You will certainly surprise the viewer by trying something different and that will add power to your photo.

So, should you take a photography course? I think so. It does not have to be a long tedious one with a lot of technical stuff and hour after hour with boring behind the desk lecture. No, go out and play with you camera - I will see you out there!

Huge amount of information on Photography Course - check out for your self.

In my previous article: Work from Home: 5 ways to generate sales. I explain the ways people can zero-in on sales. They can get their numbers up and start selling. In this article we examine how to CLOSE the deal and make more sales.

Most salespeople I know look great and look the part of the sales person but don’t make superstar sales. These hot looking people are missing out on the “close”. You’ve seen those really nice “suit-wearing” or “provocative” dresses and ultra polished smooth talking types. They could just as well be on the cover of a magazine. They know everyone and they network like crazy. They must…they don’t make enough sales. Women tend to drool over them. Men tend to flock to them. They must…they don’t make enough money to make a living. So they think drawing people with magnetism helps. And it does. But it doesn’t help them close.

Nudge:
Closers ain’t that nice. Closers don’t have to be pretty. Because closers know, no matter what they look like they really have to nudge someone. If you don’t like nudging…don’t go into sales. If you think sales is about “people liking you” and being the “life of the party” then you will be poor. Many people continue to think being likable and trusting is the key to sales. So “if they trust me” then they will “be able to buy from me”. Trust is only one factor the closer uses to seal the deal. If they really trusted you there would be no selling whatsoever. A real closer knows the potential customer doesn’t trust anyone even if they like them. The closer appeals to different buttons and intellectual buttons and emotional buttons until the potential customer realizes themselves “I must have this product and since I don’t trust anybody anyway I might as well get it from someone that has taken the time to make me realize it”. Most sales people are being too nice and stop at the affinity part. They think because they golf, and the customer golf’s this will help in the sale.
Nope, it’s only one part.

Energy:
Energy distribution is also another factor that translates to the potential customer. “How much is someone really spending their time, effort, and money to understand me?” Does it seem like they are pushing me to make a sale? Or does this energy really point at my intellect, emotions and needs? Closers understand that there are pushy sales people out there. And a closer to some degree is pushy but in a different way more focused on intellect, emotions, and needs of the potential customer. They are pushy to the degree that they know about what the potential customer needs. Seldom does a buyer attribute pushyness to their favorite salesmen. They don’t push for a sale they push the solutions of their product, they push that their product will fill that emotional void, they push that this makes sense and that they are proud of it. In fact, a closer, is very close to the American Entrepreneur. They give people what they think they would want if they were in their same shoes. Only by knowing your potential customer, their needs, emotions and problems can you accomplish and deliver such service.

Niche:
You don’t have to look great. You have to look acceptable to your potential audience. You must communicate to them in a way that translates into sales. For instance, if you are selling to a young demographic, a suit and tie may not be the best apparel to communicate to that group. It gets even more specific per your potential customer audience. You must know your potential customer. You must choose them wisely. For example: If I am in the property foreclosure business I don’t want to focus too broadly on any home, and any owner in foreclosure. Because I won’t know how to communicate directly to their emotions and needs and solutions. I want to be specific: Homes within a certain zipcode that are 3 bedrooms 2 baths, with the owner between the ages of 25-44 years old. Having 1-2 young children and being unemployed 5 months or more possibly going through divorce. They will have had income of $80k within the last two years from a job that required 50% or more on commission. They have loans on their home of more than 70% of the value. Their home is in foreclosure but they are not late on their car payment. Their home is in perfect shape and they want to move on with their life.

The above example gives you a peek into the life of someone. This “someone” is going through something and has a certain apparel, hobbies, and other choices that you must match in order to effectively communicate. It’s not always with a suit and tie.

Needs vs. Wants:
It goes without saying that the US economy is based primarily on a well known marketing concept: retailers attempt to sell people things they don’t need. In doing so they are sure to create a market for their products that they can have command through their branding. Branding is important because since they don’t need it they must IDENTIFY with a brand in order to purchase again. And what better way to identify something you don’t need than through branding. I need a car but wouldn’t it be great to buy a Mercedes instead. But that would cost approximately two to three times more than the cheapest essential basic car. “Because around here, you have to love what you drive” is Mercedes Benz slogan. Hopefully, you understand where I’m getting at. If you don’t brand yourself and the sell people things they don’t need. You are sure to get mixed up and drowned out by tons of advertisements, and slogans if you are not branding yourself and sell people based on their wants. We all have to eat. Then why do some of those suburbanite women insist on paying $2 more for a head of lettuce? Because that would be regular. And why should we buy with all the regular people? The special people here buy $2 more a head of lettuce. Especially in a suburb where every house looks the same and parked in the driveway a white SUV.

Closing is about a firm stance that they must purchase, buy or opt-in to your product based on a specific emotional void that only you could fill through branding. There is no time like right now. The world will pass that person by leaving them “less” of a person without your product. Follow the above concepts and you will start closing more sales.

Cheers.
J. Kenneth Ezra

J. Kenneth Ezra is a writer, real estate consultant, producer and Elite Success Coach. His articles have been read by thousands of people looking to do better and make more money. International Coaching Federation Member #1020768 Investigate the real money advantages of working from home and the newest systems available to help make money from home. See the bank statements to view how profitable or not so profitable.
Follow the money at http://howtocreateonlinemillionaires.com

As part of Google’s
humble mission to organize all the world’s information and make it universally
accessible and useful, the Mountain View California company is now offering
satellite imagery as part of it’s online street-map service.
http://maps.google.com/
This technology comes from Google’s acquisition of Keyhole, which formerly
supplied imagery to certain ‘government agencies’. The photo’s were taken from space
in the not too distant past, which I agree shouldn’t just be for the CIA. We all
need to see things every once in awhile from 100 miles up. Now Yahoo maps,
Expedia and Mapquest are going to be pressured to get there own satellite thing
going, and that competition will probably drive the price way down. (Except it’s
already free.) Well, at least now
we can get our directions and scout the surrounding area for WMD factories.

One cable news
network ran a
provocative headline telling us that the new feature will
enable us to “zoom in on homes and businesses” which may raise “privacy concerns.”

“Everyone run and hide underground!”

Well, I checked out the ‘zoom’
feature on my own home address, and it’s not like I was able to see into my
bedroom window. You won’t be using this technology to see over your neighbors
fence right away. Maybe, they’ll have an upgrade for that, but for now it’s sort of like ‘zooming’ in by
looking out the window of a Boeing 767 a few minutes after take off. Actually
some areas have a better zoom than others; here’s one of me waving out of a bus just before going under an overpass
on

Interstate 5 in San Diego.

Businesses
don’t really need to fear losing sensitive information either. I tried to steal the
latest designs from the
fashion district in New York
but instead of Versace’s line, it was more like a blurry industrial air conditioner,
or a secret North Korean reprocessing plant.

But seriously, it’s pretty fun. Look up your old neighborhood and see if they demolished your house. Try to locate the old ‘fort’ you built in the woods. Oh, what these companies must do to keep us happy. I want holograms from back in time to appear out of my cable modem.

“Nostradamus, could you have predicted that I would write this last article?

Oh.

Well did you predict that I would do… THIS!

Alright that’s enough show-off, I’m going to surf a different century.”

Rick writes a humor column called,

“Don’t Laugh It Could Happen To You” for
http://sandiego.merchantamerica.com

When we feel that something has gone wrong and are very much disappointed then people will console us saying “Probably, there is some good in whatever is happening to you”. Here I would like to comment on this saying. Firstly, don’t think that people console this way. It is the truth that there is some good in our present situation. The reason behind this is that how can God, our Creator, put us in trouble? It is lack of our faith that we are feeling that wrong has happened to us. Secondly, its NOT PROBABLY but DEFINITELY there is some good in our present situation. At this time, we may be feeling bad but sooner or later we will discover that whatever has happened to us was good infact.

Let me give my real experience to emphasize my point. It may seem boring but follows a very good point. One afternoon, I had to go for some denting-painting work of my car. My wife stopped me. Then, I thought of going to a weekly book market. Again, she held me back. I was very much frustrated and angry with her. Suddenly, I found that my son was having some severe breathing problems. I ranged up our family doctor who advised me to rush to the hospital. Instead of taking my son to the hospital where we usually go, I took him to another hospital on the view that our first hospital admits the patient (whether really required or not) just for making money. My son was hospitalized in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) as he was having pneumatic and asthmatic attack. Doctors were trying their best to make him survive and we all were praying to God for his life.

In the above cited my real-life experience, there are so many points that put forward the belief that “EVERTHING IS HAPPENING FOR THE GOOD”. I was made to stay at home. This helped me to take my son to hospital at the right time. Similarly, if we had taken him to our first hospital then we would have brought him home back assuming that hospital people unnecessarily asking for hospitalization and at home, he would have got more serious and some worst could have happened.

Some people (generally, these people lack faith in God) ask if someone’s son dies then what good is happening in this case. But, I still hold the faith that there is some good in his death. Exact reason God knows but one reason can be that he may have to undergo severe illness in his life ahead.

Now I ask you to feel the rightness of my belief yourself. Think of a period when you think you were in trouble and distressed. Now think of events and happenings after that period. You must have felt later that there was some good in your so called trouble.

Similarly, THERE IS SOME GOOD IN my writing and your reading of this article. ALSO, REMEMBER THAT there is good for all parties involved in a happening. More on this belief in my coming articles. Till then have great faith in God and believe that EVERTHING IS HAPPENING FOR THE GOOD.

Syed Feroz Zainvi has obtained M.Tech. (Comp Sc & Engg) degree from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (INDIA). His areas of interests are distributed computing, computer graphics and Internet Technologies. Currently, he is involved in Software Project Planning, Development and Management. His other interests include writing for magazines and contributing utility softwares on Magazine’s CDs. He also have flair for teaching computer science with new teaching methodologies. His web-page URL is http://www.zainvi.tophonors.com

The power to tax is the power to destroy. Even Pharaoh, 3000 years ago, was aware of this wise saying. Unfortunately, it seems to have been forgotten by some of the more influential modern economists. But, what is destroyed? What is destroyed are economic incentives for business formation and growth.

With Congress and the White House talking sporadically about a stimulus package to spur economic growth, it is important to distinguish what tax policies will work and what is sheer political puff and business as usual (increase spending) disguised as an economic stimulus package. With this in mind, you might say that this article is a short primer on understanding the growth aspects of tax policy.

Taxes, broadly speaking, can be categorized into two types of headings–taxes on capital and taxes on labor. Since this article will be dealing with taxes on income, capital taxation would be identified with the corporate income tax. Similarly, a tax on labor is equivalent to the personal income tax schedule. Now the sixty-four thousand-dollar question. Which one is more important in helping to stimulate economic and business growth?

As President Lincoln stated in one of early speeches as president, the tax on labor is of more importance than the tax on capital. Why? Economic growth is driven by net new business formation. Or, to put it another way–the economy is driven briskly when everyone wants to be a business owner. When entrepreneurs (risk takers) start an enterprise, their business income tax is initially reported on the personal income tax schedule. As the business grows, the owners may incorporate and file using the corporate tax rate. (As a reminder, when individuals start businesses, they hire people. Businesses with less than 100 employees are responsible for 75% of the net new job growth. Net new business formation should be the goal of tax policy designed to stimulate economic growth.)

Since the tax on labor is more important than the tax on capital, the top marginal income tax rate on labor should be less than the top corporate rate. Presently, the top corporate tax rate is 35%, while the top tax rate on labor is about 35%. If policy makers are serious about providing incentives for stimulating vibrant business growth, the top personal income tax rate should be reduced to less than 35%. To provide a real fillip to economic growth, the top personal income tax rate should be significantly below 35%. It was no accident that President Regan, in his second term, reduced the top individual rate to 28%. This was a true top rate that did not include any phaseout of deductions or any of that nonsense that has the perverse effect of increasing the marginal rate.

Economic policy makers, whether they are in an administrative or legislative position, like to take the path of least resistance–similar to electrons in a circuit. Their path of least resistance to stimulate economic growth is to increase spending. It doesn’t work! (If it did, many of the major European economies would be booming by now. Instead they have been in the doghouse for the past ten years.) The money for their increased spending is just sucked-out of the private sector. The net effect is zero.

Providing financial incentives for individuals to take business risks by significant and immediate reductions in the top individual marginal income tax rate is the best way to promote sustained and vibrant economic growth.

Sanford Kahn, Business Author/Speaker, has been a professional speaker for over 30 years to both the corporate and national trade and professional association markets. He was the host and producer of the popular Times mirror cable vision series “Ask the Economist”. Mr. Kahn has authored many articles on the business impact of future economic trends. His most recent publication is The Great Economic & Business Myths That Dominate Our Lives. For more information please visit his web page at http://www.businessspeaker.biz.