The recent Glenn Beck broadcast, which showed the similarities between the Roman symbol of fascism (a bundle of rods with an ax attached, symbolizing collectivism and power) and the design on the reverse of the Mercury Dime (introduced in 1916, with basically the same symbol described above), left many people wondering what the economic differences between the two ideologies really are.

Here’s a brief rundown:

Economic Control

Socialism - Seeks totalitarian control of the economy through direct state operation of production

Fascism - Seeks indirect control of the economy through domination of nominally private owners

Property

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Capital Gains Tax Rates - History (Kirk's Market Thoughts, 7/28/11)

Read more on Nissei Build Kogyo at Wikinvest

For those interested, I can now be followed on Twitter as user richerbytheday. I plan to use Twitter for more interactive discussions and topics that don’t warrant entire blog posts. Twitter followers will also be eligible for free book giveaways and other promotions.  For anyone who hasn’t used Twitter, it is a social networking and micro-blogging service that enables its users to send and read other users’ updates known as tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 bytes in length. Updates are displayed on the user’s profile page and delivered to other users who have signed up to receive them.  To create a free account, go to twitter.com.  Then you can go to my profile page and “follow” me to keep in touch.

Bernie Madoff’s guilty plea today makes him the latest confirmed proprietor of a ponzi scheme, adding him to the long list dating back to the original namesake Charles Ponzi.  Charles himself wasn’t the first to use the technique, but his was the first large scale use in the US and so his name is infamously linked to the scheme.  So what exactly is a ponzi scheme and how do they work?

A ponzi scheme pays returns to investors either from their own money or the money of other investors rather than from profitable investments.  High returns in the scheme typically make early investors more likely to reinvest their returns and also attracts new investors.  As the scheme grows it becomes more and more difficult to maintain, since an increasing number of new investments or reinvestments are required to keep it afloat.  This is similar to a pyramid scheme except that ponzi schemes tend to have a flat hierarchy where the fraudster deals directly with victims and is the only one to profit.

Most ponzi schemes have at their core a seemingly plausible business or investment idea.  Investors are

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Daylight Savings time begins at 2AM on March 8th here in the United States, so advance your clocks one hour ahead before bed on the night of Saturday March 7th. 2009 is the second year of a provisional expansion of the daylight savings schedule.

Daylight savings time began as an energy reduction measure and that primary reason continues to be cited today. The basic idea is that by shifting time by one hour, more of the natural light of the day will be available during the afternoon hours. This not only gives workers sunlight for outdoor activities during non-work hours, but also reduces the need for artificial lighting in the evening. Having that extra hour of sunlight during the afternoon, as opposed to the early morning when many people are still asleep, seems to be a reasonable idea.

The true economic benefits of daylight savings time are highly controversial. First, artificial lighting accounts for a significantly smaller percentage of our energy usage than it did when daylight savings time began in the United States in 1918. Also, recent advances in compact fluorescent bulbs even further reduces the cost of lighting. Second, many of the benefits seen by one sector of the economy are offset by declines in other areas. Outdoor equipment manufacturers and leisure facilities certainly stand to gain from the extra afternoon sunlight. But indoor entertainment business likely suffer proportionally.

Even if the effects of daylight savings time are a wash economically, the average citizen is probably still in favor of the shift. Since the standard workday remains fixed throughout the year, daylight savings time gives workers the option of spending their leisure time indoors or out. I know that my mood always improves after the time change and I suspect that holds true for the majority of workers on a fixed schedule.

Small business owners are largely seen as the ones who can help to bring us out of the economic crisis.  Women entrepreneurs are an important factor in that group’s success.  A New York non-profit,  Count Me In for Women’s Economic Independence, has been contributing to the success of women-owned small businesses for years and now their help may be more important than ever.  They are the group behind the business growth competition, Make Mine a Million $ Business.

With a grand prize of $100,000 and a year’s worth of advertising opportunities, the Make Mine a Million $ Business RACE (M3 RACE) is a competition to inspire women entrepreneurs to reach revenue goals.  It does this by providing personalized business assessment and revenue tracking tools; quick and easy networking; sales, marketing and promotional opportunities; and the chance to win

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Many people who read Richer by the Day and my posts on the Lending Club blog know that I am a full time telecommuter.  To address the needs of other telecommuters and give insight to those considering this career path, I launched a new Telecommuting Blog this week.  Content is still rather light, but over time it should become a valuable telecommuting resource.  The site will also give career and productivity advice, so even those with traditional jobs may find the information useful.  I hope you take the time to check it out and would welcome any feedback or comments that you have.  Thanks!

As reported by The Digerati Life and elsewhere, Experian is terminating their relationship with Fair Isaac that allows consumers to access their Experian FICO score.  Starting tomorrow, Experian will continue to sell your FICO score to the banks and lenders that decide on your credit approvals, but will no longer give you a way to access the information.

So today is your last change to get your Experian FICO score.  You can access that individual score using the FICO Standard product from myFICO.com and choosing your Experian score.

The US Mint unveiled plans for a new penny back in September and today the coin enters circulation.  The release coincides with the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth and was marked with a ceremony at his birthplace in Hodgenville, Ky.  There are actually four new pennies, each honoring a different period in Abraham Lincoln’s life.  All of the coins will have the same front as the current penny.  The reverse will feature the Kentucky cabin where Abraham Lincoln was born and spent his early childhood,  a young Abraham Lincoln educating himself while working as a rail splitter in Indiana, a professional looking Abraham Lincoln in front of the Illinois Capitol, and finally the half-finished United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.  The coins will be released, in order, about every three months.

The new penny is bound to renew the debate on whether the penny should be eliminated, which remains one of the most popular posts of all time here on Richer by the Day.

The total price tag of the stimulus plan being pushed through congress by President Obama has yet to be finalized, but it seems to be settling in near $800 Billion.  A number like $800,000,000,000.00 is difficult to comprehend, so I decided to look at it in a more tangible way.  Here’s the value of the stimulus in terms of Ford Mustangs, in their many shapes and sizes.

Hot Wheels Mustangs

Amazon has this 5 pack of Hot Wheels Mustangs available for $16.99.  At that price, the stimulus could be used to buy 20 of these 5 packs, or 100 Hot Wheels Mustangs, for every child in the entire world.

Power Wheels Mustang

Also available from Amazon is the Power Wheels Mustang.  At $304.39, the stimulus could alternatively send one of these to every child in the world.  Perhaps a split between Hot Wheels and Power Wheels would bring

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Phishing scams continue to be a popular method for identity thieves to extract valuable information from unsuspecting targets.  In the traditional method, victims receive an official looking email from a bank or service provider requesting account information.  A new scam began today involving Vantage Credit Union and used a text message, rather than emails to solicit a response.  The medium may have changed from email to text, but the goal is the same: gaining access to your sensitive information.

The text message was sent to both members of the St. Louis area Vantage CU as well as non-members.

The message varied, but followed this basic form:

MSG: Vantage CU urgent notification: unusual activity, please verify your account at [www.

Recipients who went to the indicated website (omitted here to prevent anyone from visiting inadvertently)  were actually going to a false site designed to look like the actual Vantage Credit Union site.  The real VCU site, has more information about this incident as well as what to do if you responded to the message.

What today’s incident should remind us all is that unsolicited messages cannot be trusted.  Sure, some banks use text messages to alert their customers and this could have been an legitimate alert.  To be sure, always call your service provider (or visit their website) directly rather than following the link or instructions in an unsolicited message.