Second of my Bi-Partisan Interviews

This is the second in a series of short interviews I'm doing with public figures who have different political beliefs. Everyone will be asked the same five questions and I'm curious to see if their political stance makes any difference on their view of personal financial management.

My second interview is with Suzanne Venker. She describes herself as an Independent Conservative. Suzanne is a strong and controversial writer/speaker who is not afraid to stand up for what she believes in. You may visit her website for a complete description of her work. She it the writer of the blog No Bull Mom and two books, 7 Myths of Working Moms, and her most recent which she co-wrote with Phyllis Schafly The Flipside of Feminism

Here are her answers to my five questions:

Sustentation Finance: How do you manage money in your family? Is one person in charge or is it a family effort?

Suzanne Venker: My husband makes the real money; I spend it! No, really, it sort of IS that way, just as it is in millions of households around the country. I'm in charge of the daily bills, but neither one of us ever makes a large purchase without discussing it with the other.

S.F.: How do you view debt? Do you think there is "good debt" and "bad debt" or is it all "just debt"?

S.V.: Good debt is a mortgage. That's the only good debt in my opinion.

S.F.: What are your thoughts on all the foreclosures in the last few years? Who do you think is responsible for the high rate of foreclosures - buyers? real estate agents? banks? someone else?

S.V.: I think everyone has a role to play, but I'm a big personal responsibility person, so I place the ultimate blame on the individual who chose to live beyond his means. Because even though a loan officer might sit across the table from you and try to tell you you can afford more than you really can, most people know what they can and can't afford. They just did it anyway bc a bank was willing to lend them money. That said, I DO think there are other people who really don't know how loans work and were misled by loan officers who knew better. So there really is enough blame to go around.

S.F.: Do you have any opinion on Social Security? Do you think it will still be around in twenty years and if not do you think about what your financial plan will be if it's not?

S.V.: I think it's the wrong approach to helping people save money. Plus I think it's a form of stealing because I don't believe we'll see our money down the road.

S.F.: If you could be all-powerful and had no limits and could change whatever you wanted in our country - what would you do to bring down the huge debt in our government and balance the country's budget?

S.V.: 1) Flat tax. 2) Revive/encourage the traditional American family structure in order to alleviate dependence on government.