Attached here is the ”EXECUTIVE ORDER: ADJUSTMENTS OF CERTAIN RATES OF PAY” signed by President Obama on Friday. The Order ends the 2010 federal employees’ pay freeze, at which time the White House estimated that a salary freeze would save $2 billion for the remainder of fiscal year 2011 and approximately $28 billion over the next five years.… [Read more]
The third and final presidential debate is over. And, despite the idea that this was the time for the voting public to learn something new about the candidates, looking back all three debates it turns out that there was nothing new to learn. The same things were said over and over again, and it was the same talking points we’ve already heard before.… [Read more]
Make no mistake about it: despite Mitt Romney’s changed tone and policy flips during his debate with President Obama, the fact remains that although they will never state it directly, a major political party, the GOP, has built its platform on the backs of the poor, middle-class, civil servants, veterans, elderly, disabled, ‘working stiffs’ and ‘non-elite’ people of this nation — even though unemployment, poverty, illness and disability affects people of all political affiliations.… [Read more]
Poverty is the worst form of violence. – Mahatma Gandhi
Almost two weeks ago 57-year old Moshe Silman, a social protester from the northern city of Haifa, set himself on fire at a demonstration for social justice in Tel Aviv. Standing before a crowd of people, Silman read a letter explaining how the State of Israel had “robbed” him, poured flammable liquid over his body then set himself alight.… [Read more]
By the time you have read this article you will have most likely heard the controversy over the U.S. Olympic teams’ uniforms being made in China. Although most of the U.S. seems alarmed and shocked by this, I can’t say I’m surprised…
Most people seem to think of China as this monolithic force that’s stealing U.S.… [Read more]
So, you’ve set an intention to get yourself out of debt. Noble, my friend. Studies have shown that the average American has over $10,000 in debt, most of which is credit-card debt. Yikes. But then you’re staring at your pile of bills, or your Mint.com account, and wondering — where do I start? Which debt do I tackle first?… [Read more]
I recently had a conversation with someone regarding the current global state of affairs. Whether in the U.S., England, China or Nigeria the masses of the people are struggling just to survive. Why is that? Why is living in the 21st century, when there is an abundance of resources, so arduous. Especially when the fact of the matter is it doesn’t have to be. … [Read more]
In case you aren’t painfully aware that the student loan situation has gotten terribly out of hand, consider this: the average college graduate owes $25,000 in debt—what do you say to someone in that situation? Add to this the sublime impossibility of finding a job (days and days spent, dozens of CVs sent out… it’s like a ritual of sorts) and the proliferation of unpaid, or “for credit/experience/exposure” internships, and moving back home to your parents seems like more of a dire necessity than a sensible decision.… [Read more]
What can $250 Million dollars buy?
62 islands in Belize
500- $500,000 houses
6,250 Brand New Mercedes Benz
$250 Million Cheese Burgers at McDonald’s
A financial report that was released last week said that Mitt Romney has a personal fortune of $250 million.
For President Obama to make $250 million he would have to be president for 625 years.… [Read more]
This is part three of a four-part series on aligning your personal finances with your values. Find parts one and two here.
Okay, now we get to the fun stuff. And by “fun”, I mean “the part where you actually have to face your realities and how that may or may not be in line with what you think.” Don’t be afraid; I’m here to hold your hand, and I promise I’ve heard it all before.… [Read more]
Education is going to be a hot button issue during this election cycle. The GOP will call President Obama an elitist for insisting the youth of America learn stuff. Liberals will yell that the real elitists are rich white kids who get into Harvard and Dartmouth on legacy merit alone while the poor and middle class try to compete.… [Read more]
On Wednesday, April 25th, the youth and students of America are taking action and sending a message to big banks and Wall Street: they need to stop destroying our climate and bankrupting our future. It is a nationwide day of action against both crippling student loan debt and Bank of America, the number one financier of the coal industry AND the number one fore closer on American homes.… [Read more]
“The borrower is servant to the lender.”
~ The Bible, Poverbs 22:7
We’ve talked often at BNV about debt in its many forms – both personal and governmental. The fact that most nations have debt obligations is not news. The U.S.’ debt to China has been a point of political contention that continues to stoke the flames of partisanship and incite fervent Congressional battles.… [Read more]
Last week I applied for a house loan. I used my credit score only, and therefore only my income, because my husband’s credit is not the best. In the end I was denied a loan because my debt to income ratio was too high at 54%.
Meanwhile, “The 2011 United States public debt-to-GDP ratio was about 69.4%”. … [Read more]
I’ve grown afraid of turning into an armchair reporter. A search engine, a bag of English-class composition tricks, and a backlog of polysyllabic words I picked up from listening to too much Bad Religion as a kid; I’m only 3 articles into my stint with BNV and this formula’s getting old already. Maybe being a research monkey isn’t my thing after all.… [Read more]
Millions of people spend years planning for retirement. Many invested their income into stocks expecting investment returns of at least 8% and others expected their homes to have appreciated in value by 10% each year. Their expectations have been shaken to the core during this recession and long periods of economic uncertainty.
Because a large portion of people nearing retirement are not going to have as much to retire on as they initially thought, many are facing some serious questions that must be answered: How much more will I have to save?… [Read more]
I attended my friend’s 25th birthday dinner this past Saturday night. Surrounded by a few of her friends and a majority of her family, we indulged in plenty of alcohol. What should have turned into chaos instead evolved into a conversation about education. Included in the group of friends was one whom I had not seen since middle school.… [Read more]
“This is war(fare)”! We’ve heard that declaration quite frequently though, in recent weeks, the rhetoric has toned down somewhat and been replaced by other nonsense spewed by the CONservative spin meisters. Despite being ratcheted down a notch, the whining and lying talking points from the right continue to focus on how the poor and middle-class have declared war against the ultra-rich. Read more…
…Let the Bush tax cuts expire. Congress will, at some point, have to make a decision before their next taxpayer subsidised vacation on whether or not to extend the tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans that were put in place during George W. Bush’s presidency. It’s really clear to me though not clear to any viewers of FOX/Fake News that the Republicans aren’t anxious to take any action that will move the country forward given how much they loathe the POTUS represent compromise with the Democrats but, perhaps, they can consider that letting the tax cuts expire will boost their image among sane people and enhance the nation’s overall economic picture.… [Read more]
Who came up with this dumb-arse idea? A committee evenly comprised of Democrats and Republicans to do the dirty work of finding over $1 trillion in savings within the federal budget and reduction to the nation’s debt. Really?
I’m sure some of you are wondering if I’m saying that it’s wrong to find ways to save money in the budget; that is not what I’m saying.… [Read more]
