Tag Archive for report

Use Your Brain and Your Heart

August 7, 2019 Comments Off on Use Your Brain and Your Heart

You may want to give in to charitable appeals for recent tragedies, like mass shootings, earthquakes, and fires.  But don’t just follow your heart–engage your brain. Be sure those donations do some real good for real people rather than enriching scam artists or CEOs.  Clark Howard offers some tips:

  • Don’t give cash. Legitimate charities will take a check.
  • Don’t give out your credit card, bank account or personal information to telemarketers. If you want to donate, initiate the call yourself.
  • Don’t fall for Internet appeals if the cause does not look legitimate and doesn’t check out. Make sure to do your research!
  • Expect specific information. Ask what kind of relief this organization is going to provide. Don’t accept vague explanations.
  • Check out the charity with national, state, and local authorities. Established charities register with the Internal Revenue Service. You can search for specific non-profit organizations on the IRS website: irs.gov.
  • Beware of newly formed organizations. If the charity is new, you may have to rely on your relationship with the company or sponsor of the organization to determine whether you trust the group.
  • Report abuses to the nearest Better Business Bureau and the State Attorney General’s office. Both are listed in local telephone directories. You can also report abuses to the National Fraud Information Center at (800) 876-7060. NFIC also has a web-based complaint form at www.fraud.org.

And here’s one of my own:  Check to see how much of your donation will go to charitable work as compared to administrative costs (including CEOs) and fundraising costs.  Look them up at www.CharityNavigator.org or the Better Business Bureau site www.BBB.give.org.

For more tips on donating, check out Clark’s Donation Guide.

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Why Are We Overrun by Immigrants?

June 19, 2019 Comments Off on Why Are We Overrun by Immigrants?

A new United Nations report has an answer. It points out that almost 71 million people have left their home countries, not because they want to but because that’s the only way they and their children can escape persecution, violence, and war. That’s approximately 1 in every 108 people living on this planet. We’re seeing them flee to our country, but so are other countries (ask Germany).

What’s wrong with us? Can’t we work harder toward peace? Get rid of world leaders who are egomaniacs, narcissists, power-hungry, greedy, or killing people in the name of God? Can’t we work on ourselves and our attitude of “We don’t care, because we’re fine here?”–an attitue that leads us to complacency and acceptance of violence and hatred we see in our daily lives?

Can’t we remember that, after all, we are a family of human beings?

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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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Worth-less Women

November 29, 2018 Comments Off on Worth-less Women

Remember all those reports about women making 70 – 80 cents less per hour than men doing the same job? Those were short-term reports. The gap is even larger, according to a 15-year study by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research. They say it’s actually 49 cents for every dollar a man makes in the same job.

Yes, there are laws that are supposed to secure pay equity. But they’re being ignored or circumvented by such devices as hiring two people to do the same job yet giving the man one title and the woman another title.

That gap really affects families and children, because half of the people in the workforce are women. If you’re a single mom, that hurts. If you’re a two-salary family out of necessity, that hurts. If you’re a child in either situation, that hurts.

This, then, is more than an economic or fairness issue–although it’s decidedly both.  It’s also a human issue, one that puts women and children, and even men, on the edge of financial disaster and out on the streets.

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You May be Richer than You Think (or Poorer)

July 24, 2018 Comments Off on You May be Richer than You Think (or Poorer)

Where we live REALLY does matter…in terms of how rich/poor our salary makes us.  I thought this report was interesting in general, then revealing after I clicked the “View Interactive” button and selected my state.  Try it. Find out where the money you make for working hard at your job places you. The new gilded age–Income inequality in the U.S. by state, metropolitan area, and county.

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Why Hate

November 14, 2017 Comments Off on Why Hate

The FBI just came out with a report on hate crimes in the U.S. in 2016.  They cited 6,121 cases during the year, BUT those were the ones that were reported and rose to the legal level of being criminal incidents.  How many more were there, I wonder. Far too many.

So why do people commit hate crimes to begin with? The FBI broke it down into three major categories: 57.5% were motivated by race, 21% by religion, and 17.7% by sexual orientation.

Are we so afraid of people of different races and religions and sexual orientations other than our own?  Are they, simply because of those differences, out to get us? Of course not. So why are we out to get them?

Something to think about.

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Helping Flood Victims–Don’t Do This

September 1, 2017 Comments Off on Helping Flood Victims–Don’t Do This

There are tragedies and suffering from catastrophes in various parts of the world, including floods in our own country.  You probably want to help somehow. For most of us, all we can do is to donate to charities that are on the scene helping the victims.  Go ahead.  But be sure those donations do some real good for real people rather than enriching scam artists or CEOs.  Clark Howard offers some tips:

  • Don’t give cash. Legitimate charities will take a check.
  • Don’t give out your credit card, bank account or personal information to telemarketers. If you want to donate, initiate the call yourself.
  • Don’t fall for Internet appeals if the cause does not look legitimate and doesn’t check out. Make sure to do your research!
  • Expect specific information. Ask what kind of relief this organization is going to provide. Don’t accept vague explanations.
  • Check out the charity with national, state, and local authorities. Established charities register with the Internal Revenue Service. You can search for specific non-profit organizations on the IRS website: irs.gov.
  • Beware of newly formed organizations. If the charity is new, you may have to rely on your relationship with the company or sponsor of the organization to determine whether you trust the group.
  • Report abuses to the nearest Better Business Bureau and the State Attorney General’s office. Both are listed in local telephone directories. You can also report abuses to the National Fraud Information Center at (800) 876-7060. NFIC also has a web-based complaint form at www.fraud.org.

And here’s one of my own:  Check to see how much of your donation will go to charitable work as compared to administrative costs (including CEOs) and fundraising costs.  Look them up at www.CharityNavigator.org or the Better Business Bureau site www.BBB.give.org.

For more tips on donating, check out Clark’s Donation Guide.

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How NOT to Help

October 7, 2016 Comments Off on How NOT to Help

There are tragedies and suffering from catastrophes in various parts of the world, including floods in our own country.  You probably want to help somehow. For most of us, all we can do is to donate to charities that are on the scene helping the victims.  Go ahead.  But be sure those donations do some real good for real people rather than enriching scam artists or CEOs.  Clark Howard offers some tips:

  • Don’t give cash. Legitimate charities will take a check.
  • Don’t give out your credit card, bank account or personal information to telemarketers. If you want to donate, initiate the call yourself.
  • Don’t fall for Internet appeals if the cause does not look legitimate and doesn’t check out. Make sure to do your research!
  • Expect specific information. Ask what kind of relief this organization is going to provide. Don’t accept vague explanations.
  • Check out the charity with national, state, and local authorities. Established charities register with the Internal Revenue Service. You can search for specific non-profit organizations on the IRS website: irs.gov.
  • Beware of newly formed organizations. If the charity is new, you may have to rely on your relationship with the company or sponsor of the organization to determine whether you trust the group.
  • Report abuses to the nearest Better Business Bureau and the State Attorney General’s office. Both are listed in local telephone directories. You can also report abuses to the National Fraud Information Center at (800) 876-7060. NFIC also has a web-based complaint form at www.fraud.org.

And here’s one of my own:  Check to see how much of your donation will go to charitable work as compared to administrative costs (including CEOs) and fundraising costs.  Look them up at www.CharityNavigator.org or the Better Business Bureau site www.BBB.give.org.

For more tips on donating, check out Clark’s Donation Guide.

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20,000 of Our Military Sexually Attacked? Who Cares?

May 20, 2016 Comments Off on 20,000 of Our Military Sexually Attacked? Who Cares?

“There were more than 20,000 cases of sexual assault, rape, and unwanted sexual contact in the military in 2015.1 It’s an epidemic of sexual assault that is made even worse because the assaults are under-reported and under-prosecuted, with victims often facing devastating retaliation.

“The Pentagon has repeatedly claimed that it can handle this problem – and repeatedly tried to thwart or water-down Congress’ efforts to intervene. It’s clear that the military is failing to protect victims of sexual assault and punish perpetrators. Of the incidents in 2015, around 6,000 were reported and 543 proceeded to trial.2 And according to the Pentagon, somewhere between 40 and 60 percent of women who report being sexually assaulted experience retaliation.3″

Read the read the rest of this report (including documentation for the footnotes) at Credo’s The Military Assault Epidemic.  While you’re there, consider signing their petition to the Senate seeking justice for these victims.  The situation should not be tolerated!  We must care!

 

 

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More Sexual Assaults in the Military

April 19, 2016 Comments Off on More Sexual Assaults in the Military

The Pentagon misled Congress by using inaccurate or vague information about sexual assault cases in an effort to blunt support for a Senate bill that would make a major change in how the military handles allegations of sexual misconduct, an Associated Press investigation found.

Read the rest of this troubling AP article:  Pentagon misled lawmakers on military sexual assault cases.

 

 

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