Glenn Mollette

EDITORIAL: Graduation and Your Destination

EDITORIAL - Families across America are celebrating high school and college graduations. American young adults are now faced with going to work or pursuing more education. Employers across America are looking for workers. Colleges are looking for students. Will you spend $25,000 to $60,000 per year to go to school? Or, will you go to work and earn $25,000 to $60,000 or more?

Some of America’s graduates will find jobs working for state or federal government entities. One acquaintance went to work for her state government and retired by the time she was 46. With a full state retirement benefit, she started a part-time business that seems to do well. She did not have one day of a college education. She started out at an entry-level job but worked hard, showed up, and received several promotions that provided her with a good income and a very good government retirement.

EDITORIAL: Your House and Building Financial Security

EDITORIAL - As we approach Memorial Day, give thanks for our soldiers who gave and are giving sacrificially for our freedom. One of the freedoms we enjoy is the freedom to own a house. The greatest asset of most people is the roof over their heads. Your house may be worth more than all of your cash, savings accounts and in some cases retirement funds combined.

If your house is paid for then congratulations to you. You have achieved a beautiful piece of the American dream. When I was 26 years old, I bought a house on a land contract. The house cost $80,000. Interest rates were 17% back then and a man sold it to me for no money down and 10% interest rate. The rate then was good and it was good for him. He was using the sale to fund his retirement for 20 years at about $800 per month.

EDITORIAL: Do your children make you curse?

EDITORIAL - Kirk Dewayne Franklin is an American choir director, gospel musician, singer, songwriter, and author. He is best known for leading urban contemporary gospel choirs such as The Family, God's Property, and One Nation Crew. He is a beloved and influential figure in the gospel music world.

Instagram exploded recently with an audio of the famed gospel singer Franklin berating his 32-year-old son. The son posted the audio of the verbal exchange between him and his father. The audio was a profanity-laced call that included his father the elder Franklin threatening to break his son’s neck.

EDITORIAL: America’s Minimum Wage Crisis

EDITORIAL - One problem with all Americans making a minimum of $15 an hour is that some business owners don’t make $15 an hour. Hundreds of thousands of small business owners struggle every day to keep the lights on and the doors of their business open. The only way they can afford help is with people who are willing to work for a low wage. This is tough for all. In most cases, the business owner would like to pay more and the employee needs to make more.

You can’t economically survive on $290 a week. Apartment rent can easily be $500 to $3000 a month depending on where you live. Add utilities, cell phone, transportation and you can forget to eat much if any. The reality is that minimum wage workers can barely survive. They end up applying for public assistance, standing in food bank lines and eventually face deteriorating health and often homelessness. You cannot care for yourself on $7.25 an hour. Living out of your car or in a tent is not the American dream.

EDITORIAL: Blue or Merry Holiday Season?

EDITORIAL - Now is the time to develop your plan for avoiding a blue holiday season and having a merry holiday season. I love Elvis's song Blue Christmas, but I don't want to have one. However, In the best of times, holiday blues strike most people.

If you are missing a significant person in your life the blues are inevitable. You miss them sitting at your table. You miss them coming in your home. You are reminded of how much that person meant to you. Holiday shows don't often help. While some are festive, they often remind us of the voids we have in our lives. We don't always enjoy songs like I'll be home for Christmas because we know that often the home is a past memory. Being reminded of the past is not always warm and fuzzy.