Robin Hood Was Right

First off, I want to thank all of you that have clicked through and joined Prosper, especially those of you who went so far as to fund a loan - felt pretty good getting that instant $25, didn't it? :)

Remember, once you're a member, if you get others to join through the referral program, you'll get another $25 for each one of them that joins and funds a loan, or joins for the purposes of borrowing. And, as if I need to remind you, every dollar that is loaned from one person to another is one more dollar that THE BANKS don't get any part of (I just felt a tingle in my nether regions). Remember that banker that gave you a really hard time and just wouldn't listen to reason? Well, using Prosper is the financial equivalent of replacing his toilet paper with 80 grit sandpaper. Yeah....Ouch. ;)

That to me is the true win/win scenario. It's always great if I can save some money, or make some money - but add to that the thought that I might be able to sucker punch a financial institution in the process - well hell, that just makes Debt Daddy giddy as a schoolgirl (avert your eyes from the visual that may have stirred up).

I guess that's why Robin Hood has always been one of my heroes. He saw a wrong and he righted it. He saw inequity and did something about it, usually with a broad smile on his face. Because he knew - taking ill-gotten gain from one whom neither deserves nor requires it, and returning said money to those from whom it was originally taken, is not theft - it is justice.

It's not about stealing, it's about turning the tide. Nature knows all about this - there's a part of North Carolina called the Outer Banks. It's a truly beautiful stretch of barrier islands, best known for Kitty Hawk, where the Wright Brothers had their maiden flight. More important than its historical significance however, is the inlet system of the islands themselves. Every year, the tide carries sand from the ocean side of the islands through the inlets and deposits it on the sound side. In time, the currents take that sand back from the sound side and replace it on the ocean side, so the islands are ever shifting, but always there.

Then progress came along and mucked everything up. A large bridge was built many years ago across one of the major inlets, stifling the ability of nature to do its job. Does that mean that the sand stops moving? No. Now, instead of moving the sand to the sound side, a good portion of it simply gets washed out to sea, causing beach erosion and, in worst case scenarios, causing beach homes to be condemned because there's simply not enough land left to safely support their homes.

This is what's happening with money as well. When interest rates on credit card debt are allowed to skyrocket, it erodes your funds. When wealthy CEO's hoard millions, often billions of dollars in offshore accounts, the money doesn't flow and the system doesn't function as it should. When the government denies worthwhile programs that would help the poor and middle class while at the same time rewarding the wealthy, they have blocked the cash flow yet again. And when all of these financial factors are combined, eventually there is not enough left to support you and your financial life is condemned - condemned to a seemingly endless race to get back what you lost, to claw your way out of debt - to do whatever it takes to somehow turn the tide and regain that which the sea has taken from you.

That's what Robin Hood was about - restoring the balance. The king was overtaxing those who could not afford to be taxed so heavily, and Robin Hood took it back, returning the cash to those that needed it most. Was he a thief? Depends on how you look at it - as far as the British were concerned, George Washington was a terrorist. The FBI had this to say about Martin Luther King, directly following his "I have a dream" speech; "We must mark him now . . . as the most dangerous Negro of the future in this Nation from the standpoint of Communism, the Negro and national security." It's all about perspective.

From my perspective, we need more Robin Hoods. And each of us, in our own way, can become Robin Hoods. PLEASE NOTE: DEBT DADDY IS NOT ASKING YOU TO STEAL FROM ANYONE AS DEFINED BY THE LAWS OF THE LAND. DEBT DADDY DOES NOT CONDONE, NOR IN ANY WAY ENCOURAGE FELONY BEHAVIOR! We clear? (That said, if you wanted to cover Rush Limbaugh's front lawn in pink paint, forcing him to pay a struggling landscaper to put down new sod, well then - that's your call. I'm pretty sure that's only a misdemeanor, but check with your local authority.)

What I am suggesting is that we play their game. After all, the banks and the government don't break into your house and steal your prized possessions, do they? No; instead they legally jack up your interest rates and your taxes so that you are forced to sell those prized possessions on Ebay to pay the bills. We need some perfectly legal Robin Hooding ideas, and here are a few:

First of all, take a full weekend and study your income tax code and guidelines. Are you absolutely making the most of your deductions? Time to think outside that cursed box - is there a hobby that you engage in that might, with a little tweaking, become a business? If so, the money you spend on that hobby is tax deductible. When you tithe to your church or other place of worship, do you do so by check? You should - that check is a receipt for your charitable contribution - again, tax deductible. Could your own home possibly be considered a place of worship? I know of Orthodox Jews in my area that are using that strategy. Take a fine tooth comb to the tax books, and see what you might be able to use for your situation.

Speaking of taxes, have you appealed your property taxes? I had thought about this, but was afraid it might backfire and my taxes might go up. Turns out, if you appeal, they can only lower your tax or it remains the same - they cannot raise it (this is in my area - again, check your local authority for rules and regs).

Have you looked at Prosper.com? Many of the borrowers on Prosper are there for the purposes of debt reduction. A loan from Prosper is a fixed rate term loan, quite often at better interest rates than you're getting from Visa and the like. A whole lot of people are benefiting from Prosper, so much so that it was named as one of TIME magazines top 50 websites. Again, if you're interested or curious, click the blue link on the left of this page.

These are just a few thoughts - I hope that you will post your own ideas in the comments section. I'm open to any idea, however "out there" it might seem. Because we've gotta turn this tide, folks. We've gotta get back some of what they've taken from us. And we've gotta do it Now.

Rock on, Robin Hoods.