Tag Archive for business

Fireworks & Your Insurance

July 1, 2020 Comments Off on Fireworks & Your Insurance

Independence Day is this weekend. Traditionally, we celebrate the 4th of July by setting off fireworks in our yard or maybe in the middle of our court. Add a bit of alcohol to the participants, and carelessness can lead to injury and property damage. That’s why fireworks of all kinds, even the “Safe and Sane” variety, are banned in many places.

Here’s the thing. If they are banned, that means they’re illegal. If you set off illegal fireworks and they hurt someone or burn down your house, your homeowner’s insurance (or any insurance) will NOT cover you. You’ll be left to bear the financial burden totally yourself. (This, of course, is on top of the fine you’ll get.) If you burn down someone else’s house (or nearby business), their insurance company will pay to rebuild their home–then sue you to get their money back.

So, take this into consideration when those fireworks look so tempting. I hope you’ve learned what most of us have, that the idea that “it won’t happen to me” is totally untrue and a dangerous premise to base your actions on.

Please have a safe holiday without fireworks. My property and my dog will thank you.

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Personal: My Mom

May 11, 2019 Comments Off on Personal: My Mom

My mother had three kids, kept a spotless house, worked in the family business, dealt with laundry down steep cement steps in a dank, unfinished basement using a ringer washer and depending on a clothesline and sunshine, lived through the death of her youngest as an infant, managed questionable activities of her son, and taught independence to her physically disabled daughter. She has been gone for many, many years, but she lives on in the hearts of the kids who survive her. On Mother’s Day, I reflect on her love for us.

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Is Airbnb Costing the Rest of Us Too Much?

February 4, 2019 Comments Off on Is Airbnb Costing the Rest of Us Too Much?

In light of Airbnb’s possibly being able to get around taxes and regulations imposed on others, the Economic Policy Institute has released a report, The economic costs and benefits of Airbnb, that’s  worth reading. It answers questions like benefits vs. economic costs (and who gets richer and who suffers the loss), affects on housing availability and prices, the effect on local businesses, and other issues.

It really does affect all of us, whether we use Airbnb or not. How does it affect you?  Read the report.

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Great Places to Shop Today

November 24, 2018 Comments Off on Great Places to Shop Today

Mall is crowded. Are you getting a good deal online when you can’t see and touch the item? Who can use your money more–the CEO of a large corporation or your neighbors? Think about it. Then celebrate Small Business Saturday and shop at your neighbor-owned local stores. It’s good for them, for you, for your community, and even for the environment!

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You’ve Come a Long Way, Lady….

March 8, 2016 Comments Off on You’ve Come a Long Way, Lady….

[Although this was sent out, at least in part, as a self-promotion for a group called “Credo” (I’ve left off the parts that do that), it offer some interesting end encouraging facts about progress women are making…some things to celebrate on this International Women’s Day, and some things to continue working toward.]

Recognizing Progress, Working for True Equality

Women are getting an education. Worldwide, girls now enroll in primary school at almost the same rate as boys. And national constitutions adopted since 1995 are more likely to ensure equality in education for girls than those adopted before—86% vs. 50%. However, educational opportunities for girls lag far behind in parts of the world, and women make up two-thirds of the world’s illiterate.

Women are a boost for business. Women are receiving recognition for their contributions to the places they work. Research shows companies with three or more women in senior management do better in all facets of organizational effectiveness.  Yes, the pay gap continues.

Women are a critical force for peace. Research shows that when women are involved in the peacemaking process, the chance of lasting peace dramatically increases. However, they are often left out of the process.

Women are safer in pregnancy. Maternal mortality has dropped by at least 40% in 76 countries, thanks to better access to prenatal care, fewer unsafe abortions and better family planning. Yet many women around the world still lack reproductive healthcare.

Women are leaders. Almost twice as many women hold political office today than did 20 years ago, but the total numbers are still far too low.

[You’ve come a long way, Lady, but still have far to go.]

 

 

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Sad News: No More Chocolate

November 18, 2014 Comments Off on Sad News: No More Chocolate

Get out your Kleenex, fellow chocolate-lovers.  Soon the cocoa plant–chocolate is made from its seeds–may be be no more.  Disease and pests are killing off cocoa crops, thanks in large part to monoculture, a cultivation method that makes the plants especially susceptible.

The main cause, though, according to many experts, falls in the lap of business. Although large corporations rake in the money, farmers have little incentive to grow cocoa because they make less than $1 a day doing so–not enough to support a farmer and his family.

Researchers are studying ways to save cocoa, which will take years. Right now, farmers can help by using sustainable farming methods in place of monoculture. They’re willing to do that, but it will take teamwork, with governments and us, so that farming this crop is practical.  Governments need to enact Fair Trade Agreements. Note that this isn’t “free Trade” but “FAIR Trade.” That’s a system in which more of the money goes to the actual workers and small farm owners rather than big agribusiness (people who’ve never even stepped foot on a farm).  As for us, we should buy Fair Trade chocolate for ourselves and as gifts, thus supporting the farmers who will then cultivate more cocoa for us to enjoy.

This is something to think about during this upcoming season of indulging ourselves.  Save chocolate and improve peoples’ lives: urge our legislators to make Fair Trade agreements, and buy Fair Trade chocolate.

 

 

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Kids Are Not Good Business

November 17, 2014 Comments Off on Kids Are Not Good Business

This morning’s news brought a disturbing statistic: 1 in 3 American children are homeless, and 2 1/2 MILLION kids were without a home sometime during last year–so says the National Center for Family and Homelessness.  (For details, read the article in The Guardian.)   The two main causes are the impact of domestic violence and lack of affordable housing.

It’s this second cause that shouldn’t exist.  In the same news I learned that Candlestick Park in San Francisco is slated to become a luxury shopping center, hotel, and housing.  You can bet it won’t be affordable housing!  San Francisco is doing the same kind of project there that they’ve done at Hunter’s Point and the shipping yard.  The argument for the Candlestick Park venture is that it will create 3000 permanent jobs.  I can’t help wondering, though, where those service and hotel workers filling those jobs will live.  They won’t earn enough to live at that complex or anywhere else in pricey San Francisco, or down the road in nearby cities, either.  If they’re among the many under-employed homeless people, they can’t put a roof over their children’s heads.

I’d like to see the $1 BILLION this project will cost put into something more practical and humane.  We can live without another upscale shopping center, hotel, and fancy condos.  But how long can our kids survive living on the streets?

Oh, I forgot.  That wouldn’t be good business.

 

 

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Prison Cell-Phone Business

April 11, 2014 Comments Off on Prison Cell-Phone Business

Don’t believe that the kidnapping of Frank Arthur Janssen, a prosecutor’s father, was orchestrated via cell phone from prison?  How is it possible for inmates to get their hands on and use cell phones, anyway?  http://people.howstuffworks.com/prison-telecommunication3.htm describes the widespread problem and lack of solutions.  It’s an interesting read.

However, the article glosses over the role of prison guards.  As a person who has visited and written to state prison inmates for many years, I hear things from the mouths of those who live it.  I’ve been told again and again how some guards run a cell-phone business.  A guard brings in a phone and charger, sells it to Joe in cell D222.  After awhile, there’s a search of Joe’s cell and the phone is confiscated.  Then, that phone is sold to Sam in cell 114.  And so it goes.  What, the prisoner is going to complain to the warden that a guard stole his illegal cell phone?  I don’t think so.

Cell phones are a lucrative business for cell phone companies and for unscrupulous prison guards.

 

 

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Let People SNAP Back

November 1, 2013 Comments Off on Let People SNAP Back

As America struggles to pull itself out of a devastating economic slump, 48 million of us have just had their chances of survival pushed even farther down.  The average food-stamp cut of $36 a month (for a family of four) doesn’t seem like much to some of us.  But how many of us could adequately feed our family on $632 a month?  (If you think you spend less, save your receipts for a month and add them up.)

SNAP—the largest anti-hunger program in our country—affects many people.  Those receiving food stamps can provide food for themselves and their families, nourishment that helps children learn in school, parents to keep up strength for jobs, and bodies to remain healthier.  These people also shop at dollar stores, discount grocery stores, and the like; spending less hits those businesses hard.  Other businesses are hurt, as well, because food comes first and “extras” like clothing and household goods come second.

SNAP was raised in 2009 to help meet the needs of vulnerable Americans who lost their jobs and were otherwise caught in the terrible recession.  That was the humane action to take.  Yes, the recession is over, but our recovery is not.  If we are to recover fully we should not reduce SNAP. We need to give all of our citizens a chance to fight their way from the economic edge.  Now is NOT the time to pull the rug out from under their feet.  Besides, feeding the poor is the moral thing to do.

 

 

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Suspicions re: Air Traffic

April 26, 2013 2 comments

Call me suspicious. Or jaded. Or weary. I’m glad that Congress is speeding a sequester-necessitated bill through to switch funds so that all air traffic controllers can get back to work, meaning the end to flight delays and cancellations. Travelers can give a sigh of relief. But what if the situation affected only travelers? What if business were not being affected, like delays in transporting goods and important people? Would the speed of the bill be closer to 20 mph than 150 mph?

 

 

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