ray mathoda

Every American can and should be a part of the solution to the historic housing and economic crisis our country and people are currently grappling with. This is my strong personal view as well as a key founding principle behind my real estate company HausAngeles, and is a view that is shared by most everyone around me both at work and at home. The truth is that until America is back on its feet and stronger economically, there will be millions of Americans (possibly up to 5 or 10% of our population) who need different types of help….but this number will be far smaller than the number of Americans (likely 90 to 95% of our population) who are in a position to help…in some way, big or small, monetary or non-monetary. So if we can help connect those with the ability and willingness to help with those that need this help….we can accelerate the path to economic recovery in a manner that isn’t dependent on the government “bailing everyone out”.

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One of the fundamental reforms that is nowhere to be seen on the horizon…that I believe is absolutely critical to addressing one of the key root causes of the current crisis of confidence in the global financial markets is the lack of any significant education on the topic of personal finances and money management in middle/high school and college curriculums worldwide, including in the US.

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I find myself quite uncomfortable with the near consensus I see in America today (as reflected in the media and recent policy coming out of the House and Senate) on the belief that “the war” on terror is going poorly, and the answer to this problem is for America and the world to pull out and leave the Middle East to solve it’s own civil and societal issues. (more…)

Ultimately, I believe true ‘liberation’ and ‘freedom’ for the oppressed in the middle east (those that are denied opportunity and freedom….particularly youth, women and children) will have to be achieved by the people in the middle east for themselves.

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I just received my latest edition of the McKinsey Quarterly, a pretty interesting business journal mailed regularly to me by my former employer. I get about 6 a year, which I loyally place on a bookshelf at home for future knowledge seeking moments. But this one caught my attention: Fulfilling India’s Promise. (more…)

Almost everything I, and we, do at work or in life revolves around people and our relationships with them. I am fascinated by what makes relationships meaningful and what makes some people more successful than others in life. I have come to the conclusion that separating people’s actions from their words is the key to answering some of these questions. In fact, I believe actions are all that matter! (more…)

I’m falling in love with blogging. I’ve never kept a personal diary, but always wanted to. The opportunity to share my thoughts (even if the line of thinking isn’t always ‘complete’ i.e., there’s no clean resolution at the end of each thought) and have others comment, provide feedback, and tell me theirs is invaluable. I can’t help but believe that over time, in aggregate, I will find more answers than I would have on my own. Certainly, I have already found a different kind of community. (more…)

Education as a topic is of immense interest to me. I have seen what it has done for India i.e., created an educated populace that was primed for the opening of the capitalist pump in 1991, and positioned to harness economic opportunity to create immense economic growth and social value for India and Indians (e.g., great accumulation of wealth in American Indians, increased living standards, more jobs, hopefully an eventual reduction in poverty). (more…)