Lexington, KY - Award-winning financial columnist and consultant Don McNay, of Richmond, Ky., directs his readers away from the road that leads to Wall Street, pointing them instead in the direction of Main Street, and toward the wealth he believes can be found in America's own backyards.
He begins: "Wall Street and Washington do not understand that entrepreneurs and small-business people have been the force behind economic growth the past few decades. ... Yet, Washington keeps throwing countless dollars at these 'too big to fail' money losers."
With focus on the accomplishments, and requirements, of small businesses, he extols two main ideas: improving people's economic lives and taking the power away from Wall Street and Washington.
And his road map is a no-nonsense, practical and easy to understand plan.
McNay's case against credit cards may be a hard pill to swallow but his justification is clear. He states that rarely is the balance due paid in full each month and the descent into debt is a quick fall. His advice: avoid them altogether. And his guide to reducing their influence, dealing with collectors, and formulating a strategy to eliminate them totally is the first step toward financial self-empowerment.
Is self-employment a possibility? McNay's belief in the entrepreneurial spirit is apparent, but he poses a number of questions with the understanding that it isn't in everyones nature, or best interest. And if you are far enough along in a large corporation's employ, he offers ideas and plans on how to best capitalize on what they have to offer as downsizing and layoffs occur.
While McNay cites a Gallup poll's finding that lawyers rank at the bottom of the list of professions that Americans consider the most honest and ethical, he adamantly recommends developing a business relationship with one, preferably the Main Street version. And the personal experiences he provides explain why. The complications and quagmire of legalities he encountered when his mother died unexpectedly, without a will, cost him countless hours of frustration and dollars that he had little control over.
"People may think that wills and attorneys are expensive. In the overall scheme of things, they really aren't," he writes. "I gladly would have paid 10 times the average cost for my mother and sister to have had wills. Everyone...would have come out way ahead."
"Think globally, act locally" is not a new concept, but one McNay feels is worth mentioning again. With an obvious lack of trust in the forces on Wall Street and in Washington, he advocates setting up finances in such a way as to limit the influence they have. By supporting local businesses, being a good neighbor and acquiring financial independence, McNay believes we can reduce the power and strength of Wall Street and Washington, individually and collectively.
The bailouts of 2008 were a defining moment for McNay. The disconnect between Wall Street and Main Street was made painfully clear to him. With his firm belief in capitalism, he writes: "Business owners know that if they screw up, they can go out of business. If I make a bad decision, no one is going to bail me out."
With a lengthy and impressive list of professional designations, Don McNay is considered one of the world's leading experts in helping injury victims and lottery winners handle large sums of money.