Beads, Jewelry Wire, Tools & Jewelry Making Supplies by WigJig Newsletter 11/29/2011

Past Techniques:
We maintain a techniques web page that provides links to the discussion of techniques in our prior newsletters.  You can visit this web page here.  Follow the links on that page to the discussion of the technique in that newsletter. 

Jewelry Technique:
This newsletter's jewelry making technique is free instructions for jewelry making basics.  In the past, we sold this video as one of many videos in our WEB-VIDEOs online training.  We are ultimately going to release all the videos in WEB-VIDEO into the free portion of our web site. 

In this video we will provide free instructions on the following basic skills:

• Cutting Wire with a Flush Cutter
• Straightening Wire with Nylon Jaw Pliers
• Making a "P" Loop with Round Nose Pliers
• Making a "P" Loop with Step Jaw Pliers
• Making an Eye Loop with Round Nose Pliers

This video is in .wmv file format.  It can be viewed using the Windows Media Player or by using the Real Player.  The Real Player software is free and can be downloaded here:

http://www.realplayer.com

Please select here, or select the picture above-right to view our free video for the four basic skills referenced above. 

Nostalgia Corner:

Our Nostalgia Corner project for this newsletter is our favorite chandelier earrings.  The Chain, Jewelry Wire, and Gemstones Earrings shown at right are our favorite earring design.  Making these earrings requires using one of our round patterns jigs -- either the WigJig Centaur, Cyclops or Electra.  If you like these earrings as much as we do, they make a great Christmas present for anyone who wears chandelier earrings. 

Please select here or select the picture at right to view our instructions on how to make the Chain, Jewelry Wire & Gemstone Earrings.

Warning! Joke Follows.  
This is only a joke.  We tell jokes because we are in favor of smiling, laughing and being happy.  This does not mean that we are opposed to anyone or anything. 

If you have ever in your entire life been offended by any joke  -- please skip the below paragraphs.  It is not our intention to offend anyone!  We don't write these jokes, we only re-tell jokes that we have heard on the public radio, television or over the Internet. 

Boomer Humor: 

A driver was stuck in a traffic jam on I-495, the beltway outside Washington DC. Nothing was moving.

Suddenly, a stranger knocks on the drivers side window.

The driver rolls down the window and asks, "What's going on?"

"Terrorists have kidnapped Congress, and they're asking for a $100 million dollar ransom.  Otherwise, they are going to douse them all in gasoline and set them on fire. We are going from car
to car, collecting donations."

"How much is everyone giving, on average?" the driver asks.

The stranger replies, "Roughly a gallon."

PLEASE NOTE:  This is a just a joke.  Congress has a very low rating because all the Republicans hate Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi and all the Democrats in Congress, while all the Democrats hate John Boehner and all the Republicans in Congress.  Everyone has someone to hate.  The result is that essentially no one likes everyone in Congress.  We really do not suggest dousing anyone with gasoline. 

Boomer Philosophy: 

If you have ever in your entire life been offended by any political philosophy  -- please skip the below paragraphs.  It is not our intention to offend anyone!  It is our intention to present current events from the perspective of a small business owner.   

Since our last newsletter, the situation in Europe has gotten progressively worse.  Greece appears to be on the road to defaulting on their debt.  The majority of Greek Citizens want the government to default on the debt because they feel the debt is held by rich banks outside of Greece.  The majority of Greeks don't understand the long term consequences of default and the resulting inability of the country to borrow in the future.  Greece has long been known for having a strongly socialist government.  The retirement age in Greece is roughly 55.  The people of Greece have become used to being dependent on the government.  40% of Greece's total economy is the government.  Unfortunately, Greece's consistent budget deficits have put the Government in the position where no one wants to lend Greece any money. 

While Greece is on the verge of default, the government of Italy is not far behind.  Interest rates for newly issued debt by Italy have climbed to around 7%.  Let's put 7% interest rates in context.  If the US debt had to be repaid at 7% interest rates, then just servicing the current $15 trillion debt (paying the interest only without repaying any of the principle) would cost over $1 trillion per year.  This is roughly 1/3 of the total budget for the US.  Another way of stating this burden on the government, is that at an interest rate of 7%, the US could afford to pay the interest plus pay Social Security, Medicare and Defense spending at current levels and no more spending on any other government programs.   No FBI, no border patrol, no food stamps, no subsidies to agriculture, nothing more.  (Please note: In the past 40 years the US Treasury has often paid interest rates of 7% or more.  This rate is not outlandishly high.  What is outlandish is the level of the national debt and the fact that historically normal interest rates would have tremendously adverse impacts because the debt is excessive.)

While Italy and Greece are on the verge of default, Spain, Portugal, and Ireland are not far behind.  The default of either Greece or Italy alone might be enough to drive Spain, Portugal or Ireland into default also.  In fact, default of several countries in Europe might be enough to significantly impact the US Government. 

Right now, the US Government has a level of debt compared to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) that is similar to Canada's level of debt about 10 years ago.  Canada's citizens recognized at that time that they could not sustain that level of debt and they took steps to reduce their debt by reducing government spending and changing their tax code.  Now, ten years later, Canada has a level of debt to GDP of about 25% and their currency is strong and their government can easily borrow money. 

Many politicians today are publically stating that the US Government can solve this debt problem by increasing taxes on the rich.  Simply put, those politicians are lying because it serves their political needs for re-election.  I could say this in a less inflammatory manner, but the truth is that the politicians know that they can't solve the debt issue by increasing taxes and they say it anyway.  The debt problem can only be solved by dramatically cutting spending.  Here is why I know that the politicians are lying when they say increasing taxes is the answer.

1. We have over 100 years of history with an income tax.  Over the last 70 years of history, you can view income tax increases and their impact on revenue to the Federal Government.  In this period of time, one can see that increasing income taxes almost always results in less revenue to the government.  The reason is that both companies and tax payers change their behavior based upon the tax consequences.  20 years ago, when income taxes were increased, affluent tax payers would move their income from taxable income to non-taxable income including tax free municipal bonds.  Income tax increases also tend to slow or stop economic growth.  The end result of tax increases has historically been less income and not more.  More taxes on anyone just will not help make a dent in the debt. 

2. If the government were to take all the income (100%) of the 1% of highest income tax payers in the US it would not pay the current federal debt.  It would not even cover the current annual deficit in spending over income.  In other words, you could raise the tax rates on the 1% of highest income taxpayers to 100% (all of their income) and it would not make any dent in the Federal deficit.  It would just reduce the increase in the debt. 

3. All politicians know both items number 1 and 2 above. 

Our business does not make enough money to put us in the top 1% of earners.  In fact, if our profits were to triple, we would still not be in the top 1% of income earners.  We are opposed to tax increases on the rich because history says it does not work, and not because if would impact us. 

The US Government must cut spending by at least $1 trillion per year (about 1/3 of the current annual budget) or we will follow in the path of Greece, Spain and the other debtor nations in Europe.  Washington talks about cutting $1 Trillion over ten years and the "Super Committee" was unable to agree on cuts at the level of $1.2 trillion over ten years.  Unfortunately, we need to cut $10 Trillion over ten years.  This is a very significant cut, but anything less will not resolve the problem.  Delaying budget cuts to later, will only mean that the cuts will need to be a larger percentage of the budget at that time.  If the interest rates to refinance the debt grow to 10%, it would take about 1/2 of the current annual Federal revenue to just pay the interest on the debt.  We have a choice now.  We can be Canada and solve the problem, or we can be Greece or Italy and choose default.  Please choose Canada and vote for politicians who will solve the debt problem by reducing spending.

Texas Sunsets:

The following sunset pictures were takes on November 9, 2011.  The times of each picture are shown below in CST.  The total duration shown in these pictures was 12 minutes. 

6:35PM

6:38PM

6:40 PM

6:44 PM

6:47 PM

Announcements:
Online Books.  If you are looking for new and interesting jewelry projects -- try one of our Online Books.  Our most detailed instructions are for sale online.  Please select here to view our selection of online books.  These books are delivered over the Internet and there are no shipping costs on an order with just online books. 

Shipping Policy.  We waive the shipping charge on orders over $60 shipped within the US (as long as these orders remain over $60).  For International orders we ship via Global Priority Mail and charge $5 over the US Mail charge for this shipping service.  Please select here to view our entire shipping policy.

WigJig University.  We provide over 3,000 web pages of free information, tips, techniques and free jewelry making designs in WigJig University.  We encourage everyone to view this information as a source for new ideas, projects, or a way to learn new techniques.  We now have a page in WigJig University that shows our designs sorted by the WigJig tool used to make them.  Please select here to view that information. 

International Vendors.  We do have vendors who sell our WigJig products outside the US.  We encourage customers to contact these vendors in their home country.  Please select here to view our list of overseas vendors.  We are also happy to sell our WigJig tools to stores.  Please send us an e-mail if you are interested in selling our WigJig tools. 

Classes.  We have a listing of various jewelry making classes using our WigJig tools that are offered by bead stores throughout the country.  If you are interested in classes, please select here.  If you know someone who has classes in using our WigJig tools, please ask them to send us an e-mail at custsrv@wigjig.com so that we can include them in these pages. 

We are continuing to improve our newsletter, so please feel free to provide feedback at custsrv@wigjig.com. 

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(800) 579-WIRE (phone), (240) 597-2262 (fax), custsrv@wigjig.com (email).  Privacy Policy.  All content on this web site including jewelry and wire designs are copyrighted© by WigJig.  WigJig® is a registered trademark. 
Last modified: 11/29/2011