Money Blue Book

The Internet is quite a mixed bag of information – a wild, wild west cornucopia of unfiltered and unadulterated questions and answers. Among the nuggets of knowledge, there’s an endless supply of trashy material and unsubstantiated half truths. For every debatable issue imaginable, there are legions of supporters and oppositions on both sides of the divide. Search engines like Google and Bing do nothing to segregate the legitimate articles from the biased quackery and it’s often up to the readers themselves to differentiate fact from fiction. Such is the case with a very contentious and controversial issue of mine that’s literally hitting close to home – the issue of living next to power lines and whether they have any negative impact on one’s health.

From the various articles available online, you’ll frequently read comments and posts from individuals claiming that their personal cancers and miscarriages were the direct results of living too close to nearby power lines. Though when subjected to scientific scrutiny, this does not necessarily indicate a definitive connection between the two, it’s easy to see how the passionate and emotional voices could come to such conclusions. In my case, both of my parents are survivors of lymphoma cancer. Both of them successfully completed their chemotherapy treatments and both were able to cure themselves of the cancers that plagued their bodies for months. However, as far as I know – they and I have never lived in close proximity to power lines of any sort. However, if we hypothetically had, I’m sure I would have immediately jumped to such emotional conclusions as well and pointed to power lines as the leading cause of the cancers. As I examine this controversial issue, it’s important to bear in mind that when it comes to such ubiquitous and misunderstood issues as the effects of electromagnetic fields from power lines, people’s reactions may frequently be driven more by emotion and passion than by reason and true evidence.

I’m Buying A Dream House: But It’s Located Near Electrical Power Lines

After years of renting, I’m finally in the process of buying my first home. At the conclusion of months of tireless searching and countless weekdays and weekends of visiting open houses and housing prospects, I’ve finally found the perfect starter home in the perfect location. It’s a beautiful single family house -  a brand spanking new construction home in a very desirable location near major transportation routes with excellent accessibility to stores and close proximity to places I need to be on a regular basis. But there’s a problem, and a big problem at that depending on how you look at it. The prospective new construction lot I’m looking at is located somewhat near a string of power lines and within viewing proximity of several gigantic power line towers. To be precise, the constructed home would be located approximately 350 yards (1050 feet or 320 meters) from the nearest high voltage powerline.

The first time I drove through the newly minted housing development – I instantly fell in love. But after I saw the looming power lines in the distance, I began to have second doubts. Aside from the unsightly nature of the looming eye sores, I had mild qualms about the safety and health hazards of living in such relative close proximity to the gargantuan steel structures and high tension wires. After all, I was brought up by my parents and shaped by the mainstream media and social norms to naturally believe in certain things – such assorted health based beliefs like – microwave ovens emanate hazardous radiation waves, smoking causes cancer, Tylenol damages your liver, immunizing your child may lead to him or her developing autism, diet coke causes cancer, red meat is unhealthy, eating too much fish can lead to mercury poisoning, too much egg yolk will kill you, and finally – prolonged exposure to high tension powerlines can cause leukemia in children and lead to other cancers and Alzheimer type afflictions in adults.

But instead of taking such beliefs at face value this time around, and probably because the home and the neighborhood otherwise satisfied almost every other factor on my check list, I decided to investigate the power line health issue in greater depth. What I discovered was rather troubling – but not for the reasons you might think. After hours and days of research and pouring over numerous governmental issued reports on powerlines and research articles on the alleged connection between power line generated radiation and cancer in humans, I’ve come to the overwhelming conclusion that there is simply insufficient evidence at this time to establish a causal link between the two. Despite my own hard conclusions based on existing data, concrete facts, and actual measurements conducted by invited powerline company personnel of the suspected area, I don’t think a consensus on this controversial issue will ever fully be reached by all people. It seems that for every scientific study which appears to conclusively link power lines to various health issues, there’s another prominent health study which conclusively refutes it. Despite the fact that the “scientific research reports” that allege a real causal link between power line electro-magnetic field radiation and cancer afflictions only comprise about 10-20% of the total research, and a dominant 80% or so (based on my very rough fuzzy math estimates) refute a definitive link between the two, the “yes it causes cancer” crowd seems to win out in most debates, drowning out the rest – presumably through their ability to sway opinions through the use of emotional rhetoric and scare tactics.

Is It Safe To Live Near Power Lines? Does EMF Radiation From PowerLines Cause Cancer?

Power lines frequently generate intense opposition and heated protest – from homeowners to environmentalists – from power company authorities to even bloggers like yours truly. The responses are frequently conflicting and emotionally heated. The debate stems from the powerful but invisible electro-magnetic fields (EMF) generated by power lines as electricity is transmitted through them. Some say the magnetic waves corrupt DNA structures and contribute to the development of various cancers. Although these electrical magnetic fields are also generated by common house hold appliances such as TV’s, alarm clocks, cell phones, hair blow dryers, computers, can openers, and electric blankets, much of this debate tends to focus exclusively on high tension power lines and the gigantic pylon towers that support them in certain neighborhoods.

While it’s nearly impossible for me to discuss the entire scientific bases for the various conclusions out there, suffice it is to say – once you are able to discard the hype and hysteria, the general consensus by the most reputable sources do strongly suggest that currently, there is insufficient evidence to make the quantum leap that magnetic fields from power lines have the capacity to cause childhood leukemia, childhood brain tumors, or other cancers in children – and that presently, there is totally inadequate and inconsistent evidence to establish a relationship between power line fields and breast cancer or other forms of brain tumors in adults. This is not to suggest there is absolutely no possibility of a casual link between the two, but that the realm of verifiable data and research can not yet scientifically link the two as cause and effect.

Extensive research has been performed on the issue and major health organizations such as the National Cancer Institute, the National Research Council, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) -  have all performed studies and looked at the available research – and opined that there is not conclusive evidence that EMF exposure poses a cancerous risk or that  residence near high voltage lines increases health risks. Authorities such as the NIH have noted that the available research, despite all of the inflammatory passions involved, fail to demonstrate that the levels of risk represent a real increase in cancer occurrences. Furthermore, such public health authorities have criticized the inflammatory research out there that report a causation link between powerline exposure and cancer, citing possible pervasive study biases stemming from the faulty selection of study subjects and failures to take into consideration other contributing factors such as poverty, nutrition, obesity, pure chance, and sample sizes based on volunteered opinions alone. Despite these authoritative findings, public hysteria will likely always remain – it’s just the infallibility of human nature.

New conflicting reports and absolutely contradicting updates by the media and various vested interests on both sides of the divide are constantly being disseminated every year on the supposed dangers of power lines, perpetually shaping the public’s emotional perception of the issue. However, if you really want to listen to the most authoritative voices on cancer research regarding EMF radiation fields, powerlines, and their effects on human children and adults, try reading the following online articles. Please let me know if there are any more authoritative sources on the matter:

1. Electric and Magnetic Fields: National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences
2. Health Risks Associated With Living Near High Voltage Power Lines: Health Physics Society (July 2008)
3. Electric and Magnetic Fields (EMF): Health Concerns: Connecticut Department of Public Health (April 2008)
4. Electric and Magnetic Fields (EMF) Radiation From Power Lines: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (May 2006)
5. Electromagnetic Fields and Public Health: World Health Organization (May 2006)
6. Magnetic Fields Exposure and Cancer: Questions and Answers: National Cancer Institute, U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) (April 2005)
7. Electromagnetic Fields Explained: Arizona Association of Realtors (2003)
8. Power Line Fields and Public Health: American Physical Society (1995)

Effect Of Home’s Proximity To Power Lines On Future Resale Value

Admittedly, regardless of the scientific research, people will always be scared of power lines. No matter what the government or health authorities tell the masses, and no matter what little concrete correlation there is with power lines and EMF induced cancers, it’s a virtual given that a vocal segment of the population will never be swayed and will forever regard power lines as instant cancer-causing implementations of electrical doom (laced with extra helpings of government cover ups). For property owners and real estate agents, this is what we call an unfortunate, but irremediable defect – something objectionable about a property that cannot be readily changed. Similar unchangeable defects would be living near railroad tracks, living near an expressway, or living within smelling distance of a waste treatment plant.

While it’s true that location in somewhat close proximity to power lines will diminish the overall buyer pool of individuals who would consider your home as a viable purchase (possibly turning off families with very small children perhaps), its desirably is also greatly influenced by other location factors as well. While there may not be a significant drop in property value in certain otherwise very desirable neighborhoods, there may be fewer buyers who will be willing to buy the house when you decide to resell it. Some may be paranoid of the potential health hazards, while others simply won’t be able to live with the prospect of having ugly power line towers as permanent ornaments of their neighborhood landscape. While obviously there will always remain an active market for these types of homes, some have suggested that the houses and condos located in close proximity to power lines and power line towers should expect a 1-2% price hit, while others have suggested higher discounts up to 5% or more. However, in my personal research of price comparables in various housing neighborhoods located near powerlines that I’ve sought out, I haven’t found that to be the case.

Remember, everyone has a price. While off the cusp, I’m sure everyone will say that they would never purchase a home near a power line – if they were offered the opportunity to purchase a sprawling mansion for half the price of other comparable homes in the area, I’m sure they would feel differently. The fact that there are homes located near graveyards, cemeteries, nuclear power plants, prisons, and heavily trafficked highways show that everyone has a price. It just depends on how accurately a property’s price reflects all of the variables.

Would I Personally Buy A House Located Near Power Lines?

Yes, I would – assuming the home was properly priced, not located directly underneath the power lines, was not directly within view from the front or back of the home, and was sufficiently far enough to satisfy my own whims of prudent avoidance. In fact, I am currently faced with that decision right now, and I believe the answer is a resounding – yes. In the spirit of prudent avoidance, it also depends on how far the home is in relation to the nearest powerline pylon tower and proximately to the powerlines themselves. If my property or backyard directly touched the power line towers or if they ominously loomed over my property like hulking giants, that in of itself would probably be a deal killer for me.

While I personally believe the EMF health dangers of powerlines to be overblown and vastly exaggerated, I think it’s still wise to exercise a reasonable dose of paranoid caution. While I believe the direct connection between powerline EMF waves are extremely tenuous and not proven by available science, I still think it’s best to limit the distance between powerlines and one’s home – just in case. Once again, this is simply prudent avoidance – as the possible dangers, no matter how miniscule or conceivably great, are so potentially devastating if ever found to be true. Besides, from a purely aesthetic point of view, who wants to stare at one of those ugly power line towers from either the front or back yard anyway? I think if the lines are only mere steps from you home or literally sitting in your backyard, this may be a concern. But if they are sufficiently far away in the distance, I think any potential health concerns would be greatly diminished.

So how close is it too close to be living near high tension power lines? Many power line researchers have pointed out that there is generally no serious cause for concern for homes located at least 300 feet away (roughly the length of a football field) from the nearest power line as EMF levels decrease rapidly and exponentially with distance from the lines. At this distance, the EMF levels from the lines are no different from the typical background levels found in most homes. If you are not certain about the EMF levels in or around your home, it’s best to contact your local power company and request an EMF reading. Many power companies will perform an EMF measurement for free, particularly if you are a prospective home buyer interested in a new housing development.

Just to get the opinion of readers, what do you think of the photographer’s proximity to the nearest power lines based on the photograph provided directly above? This is the approximate location of the housing lot I am currently considering as a prospective home buyer. The nearest power lines are about 350 yards away (more than 3 football lengths). In the photo provided, they perhaps appear larger than they ought to primarily because they are located on the top of a hill on a higher elevation, and there are no trees yet planted to obscure them as is usually the case in established old communities with power lines. Far enough to be objectively safe or still close enough to cause fear? What do you think?

After finally returning home from an extended three month overseas trip to spend time with my parents, I was greeted back home by an overweight mail box stuffed to the brim and absolutely overflowing with junk mail. Although I had authorized my mail to be temporarily redirected to my brother’s address while I was away, a very great deal of unsolicited junk mailers, expired coupon booklets, and pre-approved credit card offers still mysteriously winded up in my inbox. All in all, the entire paper pile, weighing in excess of many pounds, ultimately found its way straight into my trash can in a matter of minutes – fulfilling its pointless life cycle as not only a complete waste of my personal time, but as a fruitless consumer of precious natural resources.

Save The Environment and De-clutter Your Life By Reducing Junk Mail Trash

According to online statistics from sources such as the Center for a New American Dream (CNAD), a non profit organization based in Maryland whose stated mission is to protect the environment by helping Americans develop sustainable consumption habits – simply by eliminating the amount of junk mail you receive every day can significantly reduce the amount of energy and natural resources you consume, as well as greatly reduce the landfill space usage and carbon footprint that you leave behind. For example, according to numbers provided by CNAD, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and various sources, did you know that:

• The average American household receives unsolicited junk mail equivalent to 1.5 trees every year, which comes out to more than 100 million trees for all U.S. households combined – the equivalent of deforesting the U.S. Rocky Mountain National Park every four months.
• 5.4 million tons of bulk catalogs and other direct mailings wind up in the U.S. municipal solid waste stream every year – paper products which take as much energy to manufacture as 660,000 SUV’s consume in a single year, and not even including the energy needed to print and transport them all.
• American consumers throw away 44% of bulk mail unopened, while recycling only 32% of all that bulk mail – spending the equivalent of 8 months per lifetime opening junk mail letters and packages.
• The process of manufacturing and recycling bulk paper parcels wastes more than 28 billion gallons of water every year.
• Taxpayers spend more than $370 million every year just to collect and dispose of all the paper based junk mail that doesn’t get recycled.

While I’m by no means a tree-hugging hippy, at some point the issue of junk mail just gets to become too much of a colossal waste of environmental resources, not to mention a tremendous mis-allocation of time and money that could be better spent elsewhere. It’s time for each of us to cut back on the number of postal junk mail that we receive. Together in aggregate, we can indeed make a huge positive difference in the world. Besides, reducing junk mail solicitations can also greatly help us streamline and declutter our already complicated lives. Assuring that you only receive letters that are important to you, it also helps to reduce the chances that vital pieces of mail get lost in the shuffle amongst all of those weekly circulars, bulk catalogs, and credit card envelopes cramming up your mailbox.

Protect Your Mailbox Privacy and Prevent Identity Theft By Being Pro-Active

Because the whole concept of direct marketing is such an incredibly incentivized and lucrative business proposition for the mass mailing companies, it’s nearly impossible to stop the junk mail stream completely. Everytime you sign up for a new credit card, subscribe to a magazine, purchase an item from a catalog, donate money to a charity, fill out a product warranty card, or buy a new car – you are potentially offering up your name and address to the direct marketers. Not only do these casual exchanges have the potential to lead to more junk mail down the road if you allow your personal address to be used in that way, they are also breeding cesspools for potential identity fraud and privacy violations. To stem the flow requires a multi-pronged attack that entails that you not only take pro-active actions, but also adopt preventative measures. Remember, contrary to popular belief, there is no actual legal right to automatically opt out of all junk mail, however we do have the right to be free of unwanted solicitations once we’ve properly and duly notified the junk mail spammer.

For starters, I recommend that you not waste money on programs out there that purportedly offer to help you remove your name from the junk mail offers and mailing lists, as you can easily do it yourself for free and with minimal effort. But if you wish to automate the opt out process and perpetually keep yourself off such lists, you may wish to try out junk mail prevention services like Tonic Mail Stopper (formerly called Green Dimes). However, note that even with the use of online programs that automate the process, like trying to get rid of roaches, there is just no easy way to permanently halt the unwelcome torrent of junk mail that surges into your mail box on a daily basis. The nearly unstoppable junk mail solicitations simply have an uncanny way of showing up even after you’ve seemingly snuffed them out at their source. Fortunately, there are strategies and tactful ways to combat the junk mail problem.

Steps To Fight Back and Reduce The Junk Mail That You Receive

1) Remove Your Name From the Direct Marketing Association’s Mailing List: Consumers receive the vast majority of their unsolicited junk mail from just three sources: the DMA (advertising letters, flyers, and brochures), the Abacus Catalog Alliance (retail store and online catalogs), and the major credit report bureaus (credit card applications and insurance offers). If you do nothing else, I highly recommend that you at least take the time to visit the Direct Marketing Association’s DMA Choice registration page, and get your name placed onto their do-not-mail list. DMA member merchants are required to update their mailing lists regularly and stop marketing to consumers that have opted out.

Getting onto the DMA do-no-mail list is one of the easiest things you can do to significantly reduce the junk mail that you receive. You will be able to remove your name and mailing address from the national mailing lists of a great number of direct marketing companies this way. While wiping your name and address from their roster is quick and easy, bear in mind that your online removal request is only valid for 3 years and you’ll have to re-register again after that time. There is absolutely no fee for online registration, but mail in submission requires a $1.00 check or money order processing charge.

• Register Names Of Deceased: The Direct Marketing Association also gives friends, relatives, and caregivers the ability to remove the names of deceased family members and other individuals from commercial marketing lists via the association’s Deceased Do Not Contact (DDNC) registrar (no verification fee). I haven’t tried myself, but I wonder if it’s possible for very-much alive consumers to intentionally placed themselves onto the list and pretend to have died to rid themselves of junk mail. It’s worth a shot I suppose although I haven’t really thought out the potential consequences of such a creative approach. If you’ve placed yourself onto the Deceased Do Not Contact list before, please share your results!

2) Remove Your Name From the Epsilon Abacus Cooperative Mailing List: Abacus, a division of Epsilon Data Services runs perhaps the largest database of mailing addresses out there for its members, mostly catalog and retail companies. Merchant members of the Abacus Cooperative contribute information about their customers and transactions  in exchange for information about other customers that may be interested in their products. As such, Abacus retains a pretty accurate database of consumer spending habits and personal contact information. Opting out is easy and signing up allows you to permanently halt the catalog mailers from the association’s members. Simply visit the Abacus Opt Out page and follow the appropriate instructions, or e-mail abacusoptout@epsilon.com with your full name and current address to request permanent removal.

3) Opt Out Of All Pre-Approved Credit Card Junk Mail: Visit OptOutPrescreen.com to stem the flow of pre-approved credit card solicitations clogging up your mail box. The website is the official Consumer Credit Reporting Industry homepage to accept and process requests from consumers to opt-in or opt-out of firm offers of credit or insurance. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the credit reporting companies of Equifax, Experian, TransUnion, and even little known Innovis are permitted to include your name and address on marketing lists used by credit card issuers, mortgage brokers, and insurers to make offers of credit or insurance that are not necessarily initiated by you. However, they must also abide by your wish to opt out and put an end to these credit card pre-approvals if that is your wish. Simply visit the OptOutPrescreen.com website to get your name deleted from their lists for a period of 5 years or longer. If you desire permanent removal, simply select the mail-in option (I highly recommend this). To submit your request, you will need to provide your full name, mailing address, birth date, and social security number. Unfortunately, this service is not currently available for businesses or companies.

4) Opt Out Of All Flyers, Brochures, and Coupon Packs: Some people like receiving weekly flyers and monthly coupon books filled with assorted promotional offers from local stores and companies. I on the other hand hate receiving them and regard them as junk mail. These types of bulk mail bundles generally involve envelopes containing a wide array of ads and coupons for locally based stores and services such as window replacement, carpet cleaning, air duct services, car washing, restaurants, and even promotional leaflets for various acai berry scams. I have yet to find any of these coupons useful.

Most of these coupon booklets are usually generically addressed to “current resident” or “current occupant” and sent out en masse with no personalization of any sort. They also frequently contain postcards with ads, often accompanied by pictures of missing children. In almost all cases, the name, phone number, and sometimes even the website address of the company that issued the junk mailer will be printed on the bulk mail package itself or on the accompanying card that contains your mailing address. Simply call or send a letter to the company directly to have your name and address taken off the bulk mailing list. For your reference, here are several of the biggest bulk coupon book marketing companies out there:

• Valassis, aka. Red Plum Coupons: Get yourself removed from Valassis or Red Plum’s coupon book mailing list by filling out and submitting an opt out request at the Valassis Consumer Support page, or by calling 1-888-241-6760. It takes about 5-6 weeks to process.
• Val Pak Savings Coupons: You can opt out of Val-Pak’s ubiquitous blue envelope packs by visiting the Cox Target Media mailing list removal request page. Be sure to input your address information exactly as it is printed on your ValPak envelope to ensure proper removal.

5) Ask Magazines and Charities Not To Sell Your Name Or Address: Tell magazines that you subscribe to and charities that you donate to the magic words – that you don’t want them to “sell, rent, share, or trade your name and address” with other businesses or charity organizations. 

6) Remove Yourself From Sweepstakes and Prize Drawings: The chances of ever winning are incredibly slim and not worth the hassle of having to deal with future junk mail solicitations. Besides, the main purpose of these contests and reward promotions is for companies to compile mailing lists of prospective customers, not to award prizes. Always avoid participating in any such offers unless you have the option, based on contest rules, to completely opt out of being placed on a mailing list. To get yourself removed from the major sweepstakes and prevent your address from being passed on to other companies for the purpose of receiving future marketing offers, contact the following:

• Publishers Clearinghouse Sweepstakes: Call: 1-800-645-9242 or e-mail privacychoices@pchmail.com
• Readers Digest Sweepstakes: Call 1-800-310-6261 or send a letter request to Reader’s Digest customer service at: Reader’s Digest, PO Box 50005, Prescott, AZ 86301-5005

7) Avoid Filling Out Product Warranty Or Buyer Registration Cards: Contrary to popular belief, those product warranty registration cards that come with the products you buy have less to do with warranty coverage than they have to do with allowing the company to update their mailing lists. A product warranty is effective the moment you purchase the product and is almost always valid whether or not you return the product warranty card (as long as you have a proper receipt). You may have noticed that many of these registration cards frequently ask for lifestyle and personal interest hobby type information, along with details about your household makeup, your income bracket, and other seemingly irrelevant data. This is to allow the company to better categorize you into the proper demographic list for future marketing solicitations, and has little to do with the underlying warranty.

8) Refuse To Accept Junk Mail By Returning To Sender: Here’s a tip to combat against other unsolicited junk mail offers not covered by the items listed above. When junk letters arrive in envelopes that specifically indicate “change service requested” or “address service requested”, it means that you can refuse to receive the letter and have it returned to the sender on demand. Simply write “Refused – Return To Sender” or “Return To Sender – Refused By Addressee” on the envelope and drop it unopened back into the outgoing mailbox to have it sent back to the sender. In most cases, this will cause the sender to remove the address from its bulk mailing list. Additionally for such letters or bulk mailers where there is indication on the face that return postage is guaranteed, you may also wish to write “Remove me from your mailing list immediately” on the face of the envelope to punctuate your point. Remember, all such returned letters to the sender must be unopened so be certain of the nature of the contents before rejecting them.

9) Beware Of The U.S. Postal Service’s Change of Address Cards: One of the biggest and sneakiest secret of all – is that the United States Postal Service is perhaps one of the biggest exploiters of your mailing information out there. The Post Office generates a very large amount of income from selling the mail forwarding database that it regularly updates. Every time you move and fill out one of those permanent change of address cards or mail forwarding forms at the Post Office, your new mailing address information is almost always immediately offered to prospective direct mail marketers for a price. I’ve tried contacting the post office to compel them to stop giving out my new addresses to companies – but it’s been a pretty futile gesture on my part.

One way to get around this is to submit a temporary change of address for a long period of time such as 6 months. Your new address information is not passed along to businesses for temporary moves, only permanent ones. If you are willing to manually contact all of the legitimate companies that you do business with or have accounts with to advise them of your new permanent address change, this is one way to prevent the Post Office from updating the junk mail marketers of your new location. Of course, make sure all of your friends, relatives, and bill collectors know of your new address.

For consumers who wish to forcibly stop the flood of sexually explicit mail to their residence, one way is to submit a USPS Form 1500 (Prohibitory Order Application), which notifies the senders to cease and desist their mailers to you. I have yet to hear of anyone using this powerful tool to stop an overly aggressive (but non-sexually based) bulk mailing company’s marketing attempts, but it certainly is another potential way to discourage junk mail companies from cluttering up your mailbox.

10) Opt For Electronic Statements, and Stop Receiving Paper Bills: It’s time for everyone to join the modern era and put an end to paper statements by banking online and accessing their monthly bills and statements via the Internet. Not only do paper statements generate an inordinate amount of trash and clutter, these paper based bills are yet another opportunity for businesses to send you more junk through the mail. Contact your banks, credit card issuers, insurance companies, and utility providers – and sign up for automatic debit payments and electronic billing as soon as possible. Along with the reduction in clutter and paper usage, you’ll also save a lot of money on stamps by going paperless.

Tax Cuts, Social Spending, and New Jobs – But What About Stimulus Checks?

A second economic stimulus package for 2009 is on the way and from the looks of things in the news, it appears newly minted President Barack H. Obama and his Democrat controlled House of Representatives and U.S. Senate are determined to ram the lucrative spending proposals through the legislative meat grinder no matter what, much to the chagrin of skeptical and deficit-weary Congressional Republicans.

As Congress debates the wisdom and intricate details of the current version of the 2009 economic stimulus package, it’s clear that something needs to be done very soon to jumpstart and save our suffering economy before we spiral into a full blown economic depression. The unemployment rate is rising fast and everywhere you turn, there seems to be a never ending stream of unemployment and layoff news being announced everyday. The stock market has already shed more than half of its value since its peak in 2007, and billions to trillions of dollars worth of wealth have already been eliminated from the economy. Major banks and financial giants like Citibank, Bank of America, and JP Morgan Chase, once the financial pillars of our economy and the lifeblood of our credit industry, are now clinging onto U.S. government bailout money for dear life – hoping to still be in business at the end of every quarter.

With its almost limitless resources, it’s clear the federal government must intervene somehow and put this broken economy and financial system back on track to prosperity. But the question is – what should be the government’s role in all of this? More specially, what method should the government take to effectively jump start the economy to life again and ease the suffering on Main Street and Wall Street? Should the 2nd economic stimulus package continue to focus directly on sparking consumer spending by featuring a second round of free stimulus checks to consumers – perhaps for amounts much higher than the previous 2008 economic stimulus checks? Or should the plan this time around focus more on longer term indirect measures like job creation, infrastructure investment, and tax credits?

Current 2009 Economic Stimulus Package Focuses Less On Stimulus Checks – And More On Job Creation, Infrastructure Projects, and Tax Cuts

Before Barack Obama was elected president and during his 2008 Presidential election campaign, he supported implementing additional economic stimulus measures in 2009 – and even whispered at the rumored possibility of a second round of stimulus checks for taxpaying consumers in 2009 before tax day.

Whether a second stimulus check was a real possibility or not, the mere mention of a second round of stimulus payments and the prospect of getting more free government money certainly made my greedy ears perk up, but much of my optimism and enthusiasm were quickly dashed when Obama finally came into power. Almost immediately, he signaled a different stimulus proposal shift that favored a more multi-pronged approach of using tax cuts, tax credits, and pet projects, rather than relying on the 2008 economic stimulus check tactics of his predecessor, George W. Bush. Instead of just distributing free bailout money to the masses and hoping the funds will naturally trigger a huge surge in consumer spending activity to put the economy back on its feet again, Obama’s stimulus package focuses more on middle class tax cuts and massive increases in government spending to fund various infrastructure investments, green energy projects, financial aid to states, and social education initiatives – designed to create jobs and put people back to work.

The current 2nd economic stimulus plan laid down by President Obama for 2009 is a whopping, super-sized $825 billion economic rescue package containing staggering spending initiatives and ambitious tax cuts, and sprinkled with dozens of pork-based proposals and suspect social initiatives within hundreds of pages of legislation. The current package contains $300 billion worth of aggressive construction projects designed to improve the country’s  infrastructure and create millions of new artificially generated jobs in areas like health care, renewable green energy, school upgrades and repairs, and transportation related improvements. The package also contains about $200 billion worth of state social assistance provisions designed to help keep state sponsored health and unemployment programs well funded – to offer a measure of cushion for those people who have been recently laid off due to the economic down turn. Along with the state assistance portion are other safety net type provisions to help fund and keep afloat local food stamp programs, food banks, state sponsored health care, and governmental health insurance plans for those suddenly unemployed.

The other primary feature of the current Obama economic stimulus plan is the series of tax cuts and tax credits offered to qualifying individuals and small businesses. Under the tax cut portion of the stimulus deal, small businesses suffering losses because of the economic downturn and recession would receive more favorable tax loss write off terms.

For individuals, the current 2009 economic stimulus package offers pretty generous tax cutting proposals. The plan highly favors low and middle-income working families since the idea is that these income groups are more likely to spend and invest their tax savings rather than save the money. In terms of stimulating the economy, increased consumer spending is good, and consumer saving is bad. Nicknamed the “Make Work Pay Credit” by President Obama, the proposed tax credit is supposed to reach close to 95% of workers, and benefit even working tax filers without any tax liability – typically very low income workers. Here is a basic overview of the stimulus plan’s Make Work Pay Credit:

• Middle Class Tax Credit: Under the plan, there would be a tax cut amounting to $500 a year for individuals, and $1,000 for couples. The economic stimulus would be issued in the form of a tax credit, and would be limited to those making $75,000 or less ($150,000 or less for married workers filing joint tax returns).
• Low Income Tax Credit: For low income taxpayers, there would be an increase and expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit to provide a refundable tax credit for low income assistance. The expansion would affect even working tax filers without any actual net tax liability – typically very low-income workers – and allow them to potentially qualify for free stimulus tax refund credits.
• Child Tax Credit: For those who have children, a temporary increase in the child tax credit would result in larger tax refunds.

Should The 2009 Economic Stimulus Plan Be Re-Written Or Re-Packaged To Contain Major Provisions For A Second Economic Stimulus Check?

It’s too bad the eventual 2009 stimulus plan probably won’t contain another round of hefty stimulus check payments to ordinary consumers like the ones that were dished out last year. While the 2008 stimulus tax rebate wasn’t much (only a few hundred dollars in my case), some additional government handouts in higher dollar denominations would still have been greatly appreciated by individuals like myself and put to good use. Plus, as an American consumer who embraces the virtues of capitalism, I feel I would have made a better decision for myself as to how best spend my portion of the stimulus money pursuant to what’s in my own best capitalist self interest.

Overall, I think President Obama’s administration is probably right in its revised efforts to focus more on job creation, offering greater tax cuts, and enhancing safety net protections to help suffering Americans survive the economic downturn for the long term. Offering greater financial assistance to struggling state unemployment programs (many on them on the verge of running out of funds), and stimulating growth with more job building projects is a proven way to stabilize the markets and improve consumer sentiment. However, I’m still a bit disappointed that the President and Congress have not explored the prospect of an enhanced second stimulus check further.

At least for now, President Obama’s administration seems to have given up on the idea of using government stimulus checks en masse again to jump start the economy. Instead, Obama’s advisers have indicated that they would prefer searching for viable ways to get government stimulus money into the hands of American taxpayers quickly that would not require or duplicate the tax rebate checks of last year. Apparently the $150 billion spent in 2008 in the form of stimulus payments to consumers proved to be quite an economic failure and pointless exercise of futility in terms of actually stimulating the economy to any extended degree. But perhaps the reason it didn’t work properly the first time around was because too little money was given out to substantially change consumer spending habits to forcibly inject money back into the economy again (simply compare the $150 billion spent last year to the $800 billion-plus worth of spending being proposed for 2009).

Perhaps The Problem With The First Stimulus Checks In 2008 Was That They Were Too Little To Make Much Of An Impact

I have mixed feelings about the prospect of yet another around of direct stimulus checks to consumers. On one hand, I understand that there are many struggling American families getting hammered by higher living  costs, and suffering from the ills of unemployment and layoffs. However, I’m not entirely convinced that the idea of handing out free money to families will really solve all of our economic woes and jump start the economy at its core. But yet I still wonder if perhaps we gave up on the idea of stimulus checks too early and that maybe, the concept is still workable. Maybe the amounts issued in 2008 were simply to small to change anyone’s spending habits as initially intended – after all, only about $150 billion was spent in 2008, when the current 2009 economic stimulus proposal’s already ballooned to a whopping $850 billion.

I know when I received my tax rebate stimulus check in early 2008, the check only amounted to a few hundred paltry dollars – not really enough for me to go on a greedy spending spree. So instead of spending it and doing my part to stimulate the economy, I ended up doing what most people probably ended up doing with their tax rebate check – putting the money in a bank and depositing it into a high yield savings account. Of course, my plans for the money would likely have been very different if the amount wasn’t something low like $300, $600, or $1,200, but rather something as high as $10,000. If the stimulus check issued to me was indeed worth upwards of $10,000, I would very likely have saved a small portion of it but ended up plowing a sizable portion back into the economy by spending it on major expenditures like a new wide screen plasma TV set, new home appliances, or even a new car.

What If The Entire Economic Stimulus Bailout Package Went Towards 2nd Stimulus Check Payments? Would This Actually Stimulate The Economy?

Almost all polls among ordinary American consumers show overwhelming support for a second stimulus rebate check. After all, who would really oppose it? Who would be opposed to receiving free stimulus check money. Think the prospect of getting a second stimulus check worth as high as $10,000 as a consumer bailout is impossible? Well it’s probably unlikely, but it’s not out of the realm of financial or budgetary possibility, at least based on the fiscal numbers alone.

On CNN Money, a very interesting question was proposed in regards to the bank bailout and economic stimulus packages. If instead of bailing out these credit crisis-stricken banks (who probably deserve their fates due to the risky mortgage bets they greedily placed into subprime loans), we just gave all of the bailout money to taxpayers in the form of a massive consumer cash stimulus. How much would we each get if the entire current economic stimulus proposals were issued out to consumers as a second round of stimulus check payments? The second important question to ask is – would this actually stimulate the economy for the necessary extended period of time to get it going again?

To arrive at the figure, CNN Money took the total amount of the bank bailout package of $700 billion and added that to the proposed 2009 economic stimulus spending estimation at the time of $819 billion – resulting in a total bailout package of $1.519 trillion (that is quite a staggering figure). Dividing that number by 156.3 million, the total number of U.S. workers who filed federal income tax returns in 2008, that number equaled $9,718.49 per U.S. taxpayer, or roughly the equivalent of a juicy $10,000 cash bailout payment for each qualified tax payer. Now that’s stimulus with oomph! With $10,000 in our pockets in the form of instant windfall economic stimulus checks, it’s very likely that the tremendously high amount would be sufficient to incite a major change in spending activity than a measly $600 check ever could.  People would probably go out and actually start stimulating the economy by buying cars, purchasing TV’s, paying for college studies, and going on vacations.

As a dose of devil’s advocate inspired reality though, while it’s very possible that $10,000 checks in every working taxpayer’s hands would probably send the economy skyrocketing, it’s also possible the growth could be short lived and not actually get to the true root of our current economic problems. The massive surge in consumer spending probably won’t do much to solve the lingering fundamental issues surrounding our current credit crisis, which centers around a failed banking system and a failed home mortgage lending market. But then if repairing the banks and injecting confidence back into our home mortgage and credit lending markets are our primary objectives – I’m not sure the current economic stimulus proposals by President Obama, which are focused more on tax cuts and job creation and most prominently, aggressive social spending programs – will actually accomplish those goals. At least for stimulus checks, they could be able to help alleviate some of the immediate economic suffering being felt by ordinary consumers – many of whom are fighting to stay alive, with a great deal currently resorting to desperate emergency fund measures like 0% credit card offers, balance transfers, and risky high interest payday loans.

I’m curious as to everyone’s opinion on the wisdom of a second stimulus check (if it ever happened). What’s your take? Would substantially higher stimulus checks of $1,000, or possibly even as high as $10,000, actually encourage you to spend the money (thereby stimulating the economy) instead of merely saving the amount or using it to pay down debt? How would your decision compare to how you actually spent your previous 2008 tax rebate stimulus check?

Review of MonaVie and The Acai Berry Fruit Juice Company’s Health and Marketing Claims

MonaVie. Mona Vie. The word actually sounds like a spin off of some french phrase (mon ami), but when I hear the name, two things immediately come to mind – acai berry juice and multi level marketing pyramid scheme. The MLM business scheme or pyramid marketing concept usually elicits a series of red alert alarm bells in my brain’s BS scam detector, however, I’m willing to take a closer look at MonaVie before rendering my personal critique and verdict. After having tried out and actually tasted the MonaVie acai berry fruit drink, I have to admit, it’s a rather sweet and tasty beverage – sort of a crisp combination of grape juice, blue berries, black berries, and a hint of dark chocolate. There’s not much negative commentary I can sling at the MonaVie product in terms of taste alone, but the outrageously expensive price tag and the rather suspicious marketing approach of the company leave much to be desired.

As an ordinary American consumer and a casual observer, I’m not sure what to make of this whole MonaVie acai berry fruit juice craze that seems to be sweeping the health and fitness world. The product’s been featured on the Food Network and on daytime talk shows for women like the Rachel Ray show, and eagerly touted by popular television hosts like Oprah Winfrey as the ultimate nectar of the gods. At least several medical commentators have appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show recently to promote the acai berry as an invaluable source of super food nutrients and as a magical method to promote youth and bodily rejuvenation. While most of the on-air health commentators were on the Oprah show to promote their individual books, even Oprah herself seemed to jump on the acai berry bandwagon, endorsing the nutritional claims of the tiny purple berry in her own boisterous way.

And it’s not just celebrity women either (who in my sexist opinion tend to be very ultra health conscious). Even celebrity guys seem to be getting in on the acai super fruit craze as well. There are numerous photos floating around on the internet of well known celebrities (both male and female) photographed with  their MonaVie acai juice bottles. I’ve seen hip hop stars and motor sport athletes on MTV’s Cribs show opening up their refrigerator doors for the camera to proudly display their prized rows of ultra-expensive MonaVie branded acai juice bottles. To top it off, when the Boston Red Sox won the Major League Baseball World Series in 2007, you even had several pitchers and players publicly thanking the Mona Vie company and attributing their athletic success to the seemingly magical healing powers of the MonaVie acai berry drink. When professional athletes who have just won the most competitive pinnacle award of their profession celebrate their triumph by giving a ringing endorsement of a particular enhancement product, citing the competitive advantages it allegedly provided their bodies through the grueling eight month long baseball season, I definitely take notice. However at the same time, my curiosity is greatly tempered with a strong dose of skepticism and suspicion at the celebrity’s personal motivations for such a resounding product recommendation – and I find myself wondering if the celebrity was partly motivated by financial considerations.

Without a doubt, MonaVie is a popular and highly promoted superfruit juice product, frequently mentioned in popular entertainment and athletic circles among the rich and trendy. It also has a strong growing presence online and on TV, but then again, so do many of the numerous get rich quick schemes and snake oil scams out there, featuring all types of facial cleaning products and useless weight loss shakes and pills. All such popular products have their own legion of compensated celebrities ready to help make the sales pitch and enthusiastically promote the product to the audience. Just because a product is heavily marketed and seems popular does not make it legit. Thus I wanted to take a more objective look into the MonaVie product itself, its health claims, and its marketing approach to decipher for myself the legitimacy of the brand. My primary goal is to answer these series of questions – Is MonaVie a scam? Does MonaVie acai juice berry drinks actually provide the health benefits re-soundly touted by its army of rabid distributors? And finally, is MonaVie a product I would actually purchase and consume for myself as an average, everyday mildly health conscious consumer?

The MonaVie Acai Berry Juice Product

MonaVie is a fruit juice drink made up of a blend of 19 different fruits. In a nut shell, it’s like Odwalla or Naked branded smoothie drinks – except the drink is marketed as an acai berry product and it comes in a fancy looking wine bottle to give it allure. While the company refuses to disclose the actual numbers detailing individual juice makeup, it eagerly markets the fruit juice cocktail as some type of specially formulated super fruit juice, citing its composition of acai berries for its supposed magical ability to cure all sorts of physical and mental ailments. While the company does not expressly state that the MonaVie acai berry juice drink is capable of amazing healing properties, that is the marketing direction the company seems to strongly hint at. Obviously due to legality reasons, MonaVie can’t officially claim its juice drink to be a health elixir, but it sure seems like it unofficially wants to based on the promotional dance it’s constantly engaging in.

Inside of its fruit juice drinks, MonaVie lists as one of its primary ingredients – the acai berry (pronounced ah-sai-ee) – a small purple black fruit about an inch in size and produced from the acai palm tree in the Amazon of Brazil. Through its network of distributors, the MonaVie company promotes the message that its unique acai berry juice blend contains many of the antioxidant related health benefits associated with the acai berry and other special fruits. Supposedly, these super fruits are packed with powerful nutrients and antioxidant compounds that uniquely protect the body’s cells from damage and disease, boost the immune system, and slow down the otherwise inevitable process of aging. However, much of the alleged health benefits of MonaVie and the extent of the nutritional value of acai have been called into constant debate and frequently questioned by naysayers that cast suspicion at what exactly is contained in MonaVie and the extent of its alleged nutritional value if any. Certainly, the company’s reluctance to share detailed information about the specific acai berry concentration found in its bottles and its mysterious refusal to reveal detailed proportional make up of how the  fruit juices in the MonaVie blend are made up continue to fuel discussions abut the health claims made by the product’s distributors.

Monavie Acai Is Sold Exclusively Via A Questionable Multi Level Direct Sales Approach (AKA Pyramid Scheme)

Mona Vie acai juice drinks are not available in traditional supermarket chains or grocery stores like Safeway, Kroger, or Wegmans, and they’re not even available via specialty health minded retailers like Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s. You definitely won’t find the company’s products at discounters like Walmart or Costco – no, the MonaVie company shuns the traditional sales outlets in favor of a more personalized and almost cult like marketing approach.

MonaVie was launched in January 2005 by a long time direct sales marketing veteran and since then, the company has relied exclusively on a multi level marketing strategy to promote and sell its expensive juice drinks. For all intents and purposes, the company’s more of a powerful marketing machine than a health food provider. Certainly there may be substantially better fruit juice products out there at much cheaper prices, but frankly, and somewhat commendably, MonaVie does a pretty powerful job of hyping and cleverly convincing health fanatics that they absolutely must drink this product everyday to live their lives to the fullest.

By tapping into a sales stream that takes advantage of trusted personal relationships to generate sales, the company has become wildly successful – at least on the sales side. Those unfamiliar with multi level marketing (MLM) may be more familiar with its common nickname – the pyramid scheme. A MLM or pyramid scheme relies on a direct sales technique based on a relationship referral business model whereby trusted people are the engine components that drive the commission based sales. Whenever a sale is made, a lofty commission is paid out, not only to you (the person who made the sale), but also to the person who referred you into the marketing program as well as to the person who referred your direct referrer – hence the pyramid nature of the arrangement. Because these multi level marketing programs are so potentially lucrative for those at the top of the pyramid (the upline), the system strongly encourages and incentivizes participants to zealously promote the product and heavily recruit new entrants into the program (the downline) to further earn sales and commissions for those on the up line.

Now, the one thing that must be made clear is that not all multi level marketing programs or pyramid schemes are inherently evil or illegal. Not all pyramid schemes are blatant scams or disreputable shell games the same way that Ponzi Schemes are. In fact, there are many otherwise thinly legitimate multi level marketing programs out there such as Amway, Avon, Mary Kay, Herbalife, Tupperware, and all sorts of online affiliate programs. However, many of these MLM based companies suffer from the same stigma and questionable scrutiny that MonaVie faces as well. While not outright frauds or scams like the way Nigerian 419 scams are for example, the same scammy concerns arise because many of these MLM programs really only benefit those at the top of the marketing pyramid and often encourage overzealous sales techniques that frequently lead to almost predatory recruiting tactics and pitches. Oftentimes as well, many of these MLM programs demand contractually obligated sales quotas that members must satisfy every month or face having to purchase the products themselves to meet the sales quota requirement. In the case of MonaVie’s contractually obligated arrangement for wannabe new distributors into the program, new entrants are obligated to buy at least 4 bottles a month of the pricey acai berry juice. They don’t come cheap and failure to sell enough bottles every month will require that the distributor contractually purchase the required quota for personal use.

As noted by an investigative news article from Newsweek, according to income disclosures, most of the million strong sales team of MonaVie appear to be really just drinking the juice themselves rather than selling them as originally intended. More than 90% of supposed distributors of MonaVie are actually considered wholesale customers, whose earnings were mostly discounts on sales to themselves. Remarkably according to the article, fewer than 1% of the MonaVie marketing pyramid’s sales people qualified for commissions and of those, only 10% made more than $100 a week. The Newsweek article even goes on to state that according to a top MonaVie recruiter, while obviously not disclosed by the company, the MonaVie multi level marketing program’s drop out rate’s around 70%. It’s certainly a fascinating tidbit to keep in mind as you ponder the question of whether MonaVie’s a scam. While I personally don’t think MonaVie is a scam as they do offer an otherwise legitimate fruit juice product, the acai juice company sure has rather unsavory fringe elements to it.

In regards to the secret world of direct sales and pyramid marketing, I had my first negative exposure to MLM programs when I was recruited by a company called Vector Marketing to sell Cutco branded knives back when I was just an 18 year old high school student. For some odd reason, many fellow high school students such as myself were targeted with elaborate marketing sales pitches by Vector Marketing recruiters to become trained in the art of tapping personal relationships to sell ridiculously and insanely overpriced Cutco steak knives to our friends and family members. Obviously, our recruiters were eager to train us into becoming their commission earning downline so that they could profit from our sales as our upline referrals. While the Cutco knives we lugged around and sold were of obvious high quality, they were no where even close to being worth the exorbitant price demanded of each individual cutlery. Quality is one thing, but they were and to this very day, are still vastly overpriced. While I was able to tap into my personal relationships and beg a few neighbors to shell out hundreds of dollars for a few knives out of pity, I remember always feeling extremely scammy and sleazy during my rehearsed sales pitches to supposed loved ones. As a mere 18 year old at the time, I wasn’t too fond of  having to take advantage of my close relationships for financial gain. There was nothing illegal or deliberately evil about the whole sales system, but the whole multi level marketing approach simply felt shady and rather manipulative to me.

Mova Vie Is Extremely Expensive and Overpriced Despite Its Alleged Acai Berry Health Properties

The MonaVie acai berry juice product is not cheap. In fact it’s downright expensive – ridiculously overpriced at astronomically rip off levels if you ask me. A single MonaVie juice bottle will cost you $30-$40 per bottle, for a little more than 25 fluid ounces of the fruit berry mixture. According to the promotional material, to fully appreciate the nutritional benefits of acai berry juicing, you’re supposed to drink at least 2 fluid ounces of the purple stuff in the morning, and another 1 ounce at night. At the rate suggested by the MonaVie company, a single bottle will last you about a week. At $30-40 a bottle, that comes out to $120-$160 a month, and $1,440-$1,920 a year. Unless you are swimming in money and flush with dollars like the professional athletes or financially well off  like celebrities Oprah Winfrey or Rachel Ray, chances are, you’re going to find regular consumption of this product to be well beyond your financial means. The lucrative price of each expensive bottle of Mona Vie can probably be traced back to the high cost of commission maintenance that must be paid out to the entire pyramid marketing chain upon each sale.

Because of the multi level marketing nature and aggressive direct sales promotional tactics of MonaVie distributors, a wide array of ridiculous health and nutritional claims seem to have blanketed the internet. Sometimes it’s a little difficult figuring out which writer is trustworthy and which one is blatantly a sales guy. I have personal gut-feeling suspicions that sizable portions of these favorable web-based health comments and supposed online testimonials were made by MonaVie distributors and financially interested sales promoters trying to hype up the appeal of their pricey cash cow via fake product reviews. A quick browse of the internet quickly reveals all sorts of outlandish testimonies and anecdotal stories by random people – claims of how MonaVie acai juice drinking cured their heart disease, healed their arthritis, alleviated stress and depression, cured their acne, reversed their aging, repaired joint damage, got rid of joint and back pain, cured their cancer, treated their diabetes, made them more energetic, and even improved their sex life. The craziest claim I’ve seen was some gentlemen who claimed that his steady diet of Mona Vie acai berry juice made his special male anatomy organ larger and more virile. I’ve even read a few ridiculous claims by anonymous female commentators on various Mona Vie related blog posts touting how acai berry juicing grew their chests and helped make their breasts larger. The myriad of outlandish and totally unsubstantiated claims are quite abundantly available online – an unfortunate side effect that distorts the truth, whenever there is a lot of sales money to be had.

Now it’s one thing for a product to be expensive and it’s a whole different matter altogether if the product doesn’t actually do what it says it is supposed to do. The literature and research on the amazing health benefits of drinking MonaVie and the supposed God-like healing properties of acai berry juice are still not entirely definitive. While there is little doubt that berries and fruits such as acai, blue berries, blackberries, and pomegranates common loads of nutritional vitamins and powerful compounds such as cell repairing antioxidants, the research is not yet entirely supportive that these are indeed super fruits that can cure all and heal all. There is scientific evidence that the acai fruit and other dark berries are uniquely high in Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity (ORAC), a rating system that evaluates a food product’s ability to fight harmful free radicals in the body, but that doesn’t mean that a single fruit can potentially replace all other alternative sources of vital nutrients.

To be fair, the MonaVie company doesn’t actually go out of its way to blatantly promote the MonaVie product as a magical berry elixir anymore. MonaVie does not actually make the health and nutritional claims itself. Due to stricter federal scrutiny of Mona Vie’s official claims, the company has drastically cut back on its previous assertions of health benefits and healing properties. The company is now content with marketing the MonaVie drink as merely a high end fruit juice product, letting its legion of cult like Mona Vie acai berry drinkers and promoters hype the unbelievable health benefit innuendos on their own. After all, the motto of the MonaVie company is – “Drink It, Feel It, Share It” – which sounds more like a sales focused marketing directive of sorts to me.

Acai Berries Do Contain Lots Of Nutrients – They Just Don’t Have Super Healing Powers As Suggested By Some Independent MonaVie Distributors

As a mild defense for the key heralded component of MonaVie’s juice product – the acai berry does indeed contain abundant nutritional value. There is quite a bit of research touting the health benefits of acai berry as a good source of fiber, minerals, vitamins, polyphenols, and antioxidants for healthy bodily performance. The expensive acai fruit does indeed contain a wealth of nutritional benefits compressed into each little purple berry, but then again, much of the same health benefits can easily be found in large concentrations in other more common and cheaper fruits such as bananas, blue berries, and apples as well.

Despite my admitted fondness for the taste of acai, I’m extremely wary of buying into the whole MonaVie acai juice product because I simply do not know how much of acai can be found in each bottle. Because MonaVie refuses to disclose the actual composition of its juice drinks, we do not know for certain the exact breakdown of its juice cocktail and the exact amount of expensive acai berry concentrate in the blend. It’s very important to keep in mind that the MonaVie juice mixture doesn’t contain acai berries exclusively. It’s comprised of an admitted blend of 19 fruits – including many common and cheap fruits like bananas and apples, easily found in your neighborhood grocery store. If you really buy into the claimed health benefits of juicing and nutritional potency of acai berries, there are much easier and cheaper ways to get your purple berry fix. Most grocery stores sell acai berry juice variations and even certain online stores sell similar acai berry laden juice drinks, acai powders, and acai capsules for much, much less.

The fact of the matter is that people are always looking for the easy way out and frequently are all too eager for a magic potion that will make take away the need to put in effort. There is plenty of research touting the overwhelming health benefits of a low fat, low sugar diet comprised of lots of fish and whole grain foods. There is also overwhelming evidence that smoking and excessive alcohol drinking wrecks havoc on physical and mental health, and that daily consistent exercise is absolutely essential to healthy living. Yet, we as humans seem to ignore those simple practices and remain perpetually enamored with the possibility that there are super fruits out there that can serve as magic silver bullets to our health problems and ailments. The reality is that there is no such thing as a one size fits all super fruit. Proper health and nutrition requires a good moderated balance of fruits, vegetables, and proper exercise – not the services of a single food product – especially not one that is so expensively priced.

How To Buy MonaVie Online And Test Out Acai Berry Juices For Yourself (Remember, It’s Not Cheap and Its Health Claims Are Not Fully Substantiated Yet)

Recently, I purchased a few bottles of MonaVie online simply to test out and review the juice product for myself since I didn’t know how else to try it out for free. While I have no intention of actually signing up as a distributor or getting myself locked into some multi level marketing contract, I think it’s perfectly understandable if there are people out there who remain curious about the fruit juice blend. It’s admittedly rather tasty, albeit extremely expensive and somewhat overrated. Personally, I don’t buy the magical juice berry claims of the MonaVie supporters and chose to consume the drink on a one time limited basis as I would any new drink. If you really want to start juicing, buy a fruit juicer for yourself or buy pre-made fruit smoothies from the grocery store. Many of these pre-made blends contain acai berry and they’re a much cheaper way to get exposed to the nutritional value of acai should you so choose to partake. If you really insist on joining the MonaVie acai berry craze, there are plenty of equally good generic acai berry brands out there as well – in various just-add-water powder products and pills.

In the event you are determined to test out MonaVie acai berry drinks or similar acai berry products based on curiosity, here are a few ways to buy them online. Remember, it’s not an endorsement, and I’m just pointing the way for you if you insist:

1. MonaVie Active Health Juice With Acai (Amazon) – 1 Bottle of the dark purple stuff.
2. MonaVie Active Juice Bottles With Acai (Amazon) – 4 bottles – A way to buy MonaVie online without having to agree to some recurring sales contract.
3. MonaVie Juice Bottles With Acai (eBay) – Cheapest method to buy MonaVie online without commiting to a distributorship agreement, but requires eBay auction bidding.
4. Natrol – Acai Berries 1000mg Per Serving 60 Capsules (Amazon) – 60 capsules
   
5. Organic Acai Fruit Capsules with Camu Camu (Amazon) – 60 capsules – The Brazilian acai berry in pill form.
6. 100% Pure Acai Fruit Powder with Camu Camu (Amazon) – 90 grams – Just add water to make an acai powder juice drink.