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Because Social Security is getting cut down, you choose to put your money in an IRA… Since doing percents are easy with amounts starting with a one and ending in zeros, let us assume you choose to put $100,000 in an IRA for 20 years…. The Wall Street firm will charge you 2%. You think, $100,000? 2%, ok … $2,000 over 20 years that’s nothing.. I’ll still have 98% plus interest over 20 years…
You think? This is Wall $treet we’re talking about……
So take this interest compounding calculator. … Seriously, you need to do this. Right click it into a new tab so your computer doesn’t have to download flipping back and forth….
Add $100,000 as principle. No new additions on the first round. Time Frame: 20 years. For the interest rate put in negative 2. Since you are going to be receiving only 98% of your earnings on a yearly basis, a negative 2 works better than having to do the extra step latter and subtracting two totals.
Hit total… At 2% compounded off that $100,000 you originally placed,… after commissions all you will have left is $66,760… Wall $treet takes 1/3 of what you earn…..
Not convinced? Let’s go a different way. Let’s say you will average 7% increases with a 2% commission… We’ll do it in two steps. We will use the calculator to figure out what we would have earned at 7%, and again, what we would have earned at 5%. We will subtract the two to see how much Wall $treet is taking out from your future…
At 7% increases we would have earned $386,968 over 20 years with no additions after the initial deposit. At 5% increases our total maxes out at $265,329. That 2% costs us…..$121,639 dollars…. The same 1/3 as above….
The argument can be made that since we agreed to it in the beginning and never got it, the commissions really doesn’t cost us anything. But if we change the wording so we say that it costs us $121,599 in “potential earnings” that clears that hurdle and if probably a more truthful line.. But there is no question …. these calculations show us how much Wall $treet intends to make when our retirements go their way instead of coming through Social Security….
We now remember why Franklin D. Roosevelt went with Social Security in the first place. Those who saved across all their lives, can not afford to live after they stopped working.
Although the year is barely out, we do have our first nomination for the spot to be announced in December 2013. With the Kinder Morgan Deal now on hold semi-permanently, even they are pointing to our hero of the year as the man most responsible for allowing the port to remain state owned….
I can say it was Julius Cephas who was behind almost every move to combat the loss of good jobs at our port. He is being pointed out as the villain by the capitalists at Kinder Morgan. In Delaware’s eyes, that elevates his hero’s stature even more…
In truth, he is no villain and knowing him, he will probably shun the acclimations being made by us common folk as being our hero. In his eyes, he was just doing what needed to be done because no one else was there at that very moment to do it, and as that task swelled, it took a lot out of him….
Capitalists always need a villian. But it was the “truth” which actually is what killed this deal. Kinder Morgan WAS going to cut back on jobs, and their change of heart and blaming Julius instead of others, points exactly to the core of their problem with our port… …
People in Texas, do not understand unions. They simply can’t fathom or understand how there can be an actual law that lets people strike and shut you down, whenever you try to pay them less.. In their eyes, you work for what they want to give you and if it is too little, ..humph. go elsewhere….
The second culprit (after the “truth”), was our office of economic development. We gave Kinder Morgan too many “eager” signals that set us up as being seen as an easy pick. They truly thought they could waltz in, pick up a top notch East Coast Port for a song, and we would eagerly give it up… Again, that was because everything was done in secret. Had a meeting been forthcoming in the very beginning, Kinder Morgan might have moved on earlier when it became readily apparent, that southern Texas practices do not bode well in the Northeast…
Of course, being a corporation, they will blame the whistle blower. (Ironic since the whistle blower of Enron works for them).. Of course. It is not like they find anything immoral in taking a state asset for a song, in firing those skilled dock workers, and replace them with some Spanish speaking Texans who never even heard of a union….
And Julius did blow that whistle. . Like Rose on the Titanic, he took the whistle off of Jack (pun intended), and blew softly at first, then harder, and harder. Gradually the sound registered on others ears….
Without Julius, Bob Marshall would not have pushed through Senate Bill 3. Without Julius, most of the links showing up in everyone’s blog, would have not been found. Without Julius, the case for protecting workers would not have even made the rounds of the Norman Oliver show….
There were many helpers. Bob Marshall, Nancy Willing, Norman Oliver, Norinda, Helene Keeley, Al Mascitti, Liz Allen, John Kowalko, and (an other blogger too shy to be mentioned here). When one looks back through all of them one sees from everywhere, there in the center of the universe, stands a normal human being just like us, known to most … as Julius.
There will come a time when a better deal will arrive. Could even be this year. There will come a time when a suitor who does care about Delaware, who does care about unions, about human beings, about those businesses on the outside, and who will want to upgrade the port for everyone’s interest, not just their own… And that suitor in this day and age, could even come from abroad. Germany is very committed to union labor, to the environment, to being a good neighbor…. There are a great many possibilities out there that are immeasurable…. We definitely dodged a Texas bullet with this one….
When that suitor arrives… Julius’s stature will be set in cement…. For he did nothing really Herculean, except argue the truth… He didn’t lie. He didn’t connive, He didn’t threaten….
That was done by our office of economic development. Instead and unlike them, Julius told the truth. He told the truth to anyone who would listen. He told the truth enough, so many “did” listen….
And that is why, he deserves this nomination as Delaware’s Man of the Year. I know it is early into 2013, but great things just do not wait!!….
You will hear smears that Julius tubed the deal… I saw the letter and it is already out on WDEL and the Delawareonline’s News Journal… But as an impartial blogger, I can tell you exactly what killed this deal.
It was “the truth”. The truth of what this deal would cost us Delawareans….. is what turned the tide and caused the outcry that rose up against it….
If Kinder Morgan really wanted this deal, they could have easily said… “we are expanding and putting 5 new berths out into the river. We are buying the port for the bargain price of $5 billion. We need those businesses outside the fence because the jobs we get, will soon be too big, we can’t do it ourselves. We will keep the union just as it is; Wilmington needs good jobs and we are going to do our part…. We are also going to contribute into an emergency fund to be used for any spill or environmental accident that takes place under our tenure….
Kinder Morgan could have done any of those things, … and didn’t…. The blame doesn’t lie with Julius after all…. Especially when you consider the following…
This Economic Council erred on Fisker Automotive. Then it erred on Bloom Energy. Then it tried to Kinder Morgan us out of our port….. Someone rushed in with a save to make sure that last one didn’t happen.
That person is now hereby nominated for Delaware’s Person of the Year…….
DCAS is rotten to the (Common) Core.
“I called over another adult in the room. That adult who specializes in math thought the question was just as inappropriate. Sharing the question details would be a violation of the rules, so you won’t be seeing the question here. All I will say is this test is bad. Very bad. And our students and teachers are being judged on it.”
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This folks is too close to home… these our our kids. Delawareans….
We have see reports across our country of how bad this test is. Now we have our first example on the home front. Here I believe is what is now required.
The test needs to be vetted by General Assembly. We are being asked to spend one third of our state budget on education. If we are getting bunk for our $1.3 billion of money given to the state by residents and businesses, we all have a stake in this too. A very big stake…
Dave Sokola and Catherine Cloutier, Bethany A. Hall-Long, Margaret Rose Henry, Ernesto B. Lopez, Nicole Poore and Bryan Townsend, members of Delaware’s senate education committee, need to vet the test.
Of course, tests need to be kept secret to cut out cheating. We know that. However this secrecy appears to be such that no one, except I believe Pearson, the educational company that is in charge of producing, distributing and grading these tests, knows both the questions and the answers…..
What if Pearson is wrong? Someone has to vet the test.
It would be a good piece of publicity as well as serve parent’s peace of mind, if the entire Senate Educational Committee in a public session, were given the 5th grade test as if they too were in elementary school, and then, and only then, would we be able to discuss whether or not it is more appropriate for a New York firm trying to manage its bottom line, or a teacher who knows every student personally, to make up the questions and grade the test…..
Perhaps we could raise the stakes at little by putting some accountability into this exercise and say… oh btw,… if the legislators didn’t pass the 5th Grade test, and weren’t deemed “smarter than a 5th Grader”, they’d be tossed off the committee…… and publicly embarrassed….
If the House wishes to compete with the Senate on this issue, here are their names as well ….
Chairman: Darryl M. Scott
Vice-Chairman: Kimberly Williams
Members: Michael A. Barbieri
Donald A. Blakey
Stephanie T. Bolden
Timothy D. Dukes
Debra J. Heffernan
Earl G. Jaques Jr
Harvey R. Kenton
John A. Kowalko Jr.
Joseph E. Miro
Edward S. Osienski
Charles Potter Jr.
Jeffrey N. Spiegelman
Today Governor Scott, Florida Tea Party who rode into the statehouse itself upon the promise he was going to abolish the abomination of Obamacare in the state of Florida.
He threw in the towel and now supports it. His state is joining the Federal exchange. His reason? He saw with his mother that it was a really super great plan full or wonderfulness, and that not buying in, would be very bad for Florida.
Go figure.
Republican Governors have thrown in the towels one by one. It is such a great plan, they can’t refuse… Without it, balancing a state budget is impossible. Ironically Republicans who supposedly hate bigger government, are all lining up for the Federal exchange.
It is the best and will be the closest best thing to single payer.
Furthermore, more great Obama care news.
Because of Obamacare, the Medicare expense projected for the rest of this decade, has just in this past year alone, fallen half a trillion dollars. $511 billion dollars to be exact! Obamacare is cutting the deficit right in the entitlement belt….
Half a trillion dollars.
This is not new news. It was out there when the bill first got passed. It has been out there ever since. But for some reason the American media chose to focus on those who were against it, long before they understood it… Once understanding, everybody is coming aboard.
Where was the communication breakdown? Why wasn’t this positive news rolled out int he beginning? Just think, it could have save a lot of drama had these facts been picked up and extolled by the media, and had the right wing been excoriated for their stupidity.
Good things win out in the end, and Obamacare, as one can see by the Republican Governors coming aboard one by one, is a good thing.
Just think how horrible it would have been if on day one, Romney had signed a bill to abolish Obamacare?
Fortunately for all of us, America always knows best.
Today the rate is $7.25. Let us use Obama’s $9.00 an hour for calculations. The difference is $1.75.
So one guy working 4o hours a week, over one year?
$1.75 X 40 X 52 = $3640 per year.
If you business is fixed income, each $40 hour full time employee will cost you that much. $3640 per year. And don’t forget FICA, another $228. Rounding up, this minimum wage per employee will additionally cost roughly just under $4000 a year. ($3868)
On the Federal scale, whereas there are 6 million people as of 2009 working at the minimum wage, this increase boosts the national economy by roughly $24 billion dollars.
Estimates of how many of Delawares citizens work minimum wage are not kept, but if we take those making incomes under $20,000 and use that total which is 90,000, we get a state boost to our economy of $360 million…. Whereas all of that increased economic activity will not be applied to new hires, the potential is there to add 40 million hours of $9.00/ hour jobs, right here in Delaware’s market. That translates into 19,200 new full time new minimum wage jobs.
By raising the minimum wage,…. we exert pressure to create jobs.
Bottom line, we are in an economic crises; we can ill afford to miss this growth opportunity by not raising the minimum wage to $9.00/hour.
Their contract ends this Friday… No one is talking about it. Except every port mayor, every governor, and those that study economies… The American press, hardly a mention… The English? A totally different story!!!!
America is likely to face the threat of a strike by longshoremen, which could shut down America’s major ports. The last time that happened, it cost the US economy $1bn a day. A week ago, talks broke down between the International Longshoremen’s Association and the US Maritime Alliance Ltd. The ILA represents around 15,000 dockworkers and the Maritime Alliance represents the management at 14 of the biggest US ports, including Boston, New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Savannah, New Orleans, and Houston.
The longshoremen’s contract expires on Friday, and a strike would begin on Saturday. The issue is so major that the National Retail Federation joined 100 other associations – including the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, American Apparel & Footwear Association, American Farm Bureau Federation, National Association of Manufacturers, National Retail Federation, Toy Industry Association and the US Chamber of Commerce – to send a letter to the president on Wednesday pleading for White House intervention….
As one can see here, ports make up a huge part of any ocean bordering state’s economy……
All the ports have to do, is give unions what they want. It will not work the other way around…. People eating trumps other people’s dividends….
Reading a recent critique of the debates, it focused on a fact. Millions of Americans are not enjoying the benefits of this economy. Romney had the lucky position to point out all that was wrong, without the responsibility of finding any solution to fix it.
His line, “bring down the rates, broaden the base.” simply has not worked. It didn’t work in Reagan’s time. It didn’t work for Bush HW. It didn’t work for Bush W. It is called: “trickle down”.
Clinton, who practiced kavipsian Economics, raised the rates, causing profits to revert back into the economy stimulating even more growth; that growth grew people’s incomes. That is the key. People will take lower wages if they know they will grow out of them. But ever since Republican Tax Rates went into effect, wage growth immediately stopped. 99% of Americans are earning exactly what they did in 2000. It’s been twelve years since wages for the 99%, increased. Higher taxes takes away all incentive for any employer to pay his people more.
Here is the funny part. To actually do something about the economy, President Obama has to eradicate the Republicans. Get rid of them. Make them a non player. Republicans and republicans alone, are the reason the economy is in such a slump.
Let’s review.
Republicans fought the stimulus.
Republicans fought the car buying incentive.
Republicans fought infrastructure development.
Republicans fought giving Veterans jobs upon returning to USA after fighting for years.
Republicans fought lowering insurance rates.
Republicans fought lowering gas price legislation.
Republicans fought regulating big banks from literally stealing your money.
Republicans fought against balancing the budget.
Republicans fought against payroll increases for all Americans.
Republicans fought against lowering medical costs.
Republicans fought against a better economy.
Republicans fought against hiring more policemen.
Republicans fought against hiring more fireman.
Republicans fought against hiring more school teachers.
Republicans fought against building roads and bridges that were sorely needed.
Republicans fought against not defaulting on the US Dollar.
Republicans fought against strengthening America Abroad.
Republicans fought against stopping corporate corruption.
Republicans fought against fighting wealthy tax cheats.
Republicans fought against closing the loopholes Romney used to get rich.
Republicans fought against raising wages for all Americans.
Republicans fought against legislation that allowed workers to ask for more money without being fired.
yeah. There is a reason the economy is bad. It is called the Republican Party.
Having “No Republicans” equals massive investment back into our economy. The formula for a successful America is…..
NO REPUBLICANS EVER ELECTED AGAIN = MASSIVE AMERICA ECONOMIC GROWTH
So Obama, you are at fault according to Mitt Romney and the Conservative Cheer-leading squad… Because you didn’t get rid of Republicans… Shame on you!!!!
I guess it is up to us, to do so if we EVER want our economy back.
If not… I guess every vote for a Republican is a vote in support of Communist China…..
The impetus for this came from a thread over at Delaware Liberal, discussing crime around Adams 4 Shopping Center in Wilmington, in the number one unsafe city in America…
Those of you that follow me regularly know that every once in a while I get an idea and run with it, just to see how viable it works. I did so here and you are welcome to ride along….
Is there a religion out there that centers around imbibing alcohol? If so, I haven’t heard of one… I would think things would get rather tense, after inhibitions wore off and everyone started getting sick… But there definitely are religions centered around marijuana and peyote… two natural highs…
So the thought occurred to me… What would Wilmington be like if you gave everyone free pot? Don’t even worry about the cost if the city bought it… instead of burning it in WV, the DEA could just cut in and put in on a Norfolk Southern train car… so consider it a free remedy… What would Wilmington be like?
Have you ever shot a gun while on a marijuana high? In fact, the thought of pulling out a gun never occurs to you. And with free pot, the walls especially in summer seem to be closing in, so everyone in the neighborhood, would congregate outside on the streets… And if some straight person did come in from out of town, the bullet fired would travel along in s l o w motion, and everyone would have plenty of time to limbo around it.
So you have a bad day at work… and a bad commute home… It doesn’t matter… In minutes your with neighbors smokin’ a bowl… Soon the best jokes ever told come out into the air, and everyone is bent over laughing…
The city is full of social problems… How many would having free pot solve?
Unwanted pregnancy… solved. Can’t get it up. No sex.
Robbery; pot is free, one doesn’t need drug money.
Fighting: never happens when everybody love everybody
Violence: even if started, by the time you stop laughing, it is all forgotten.
Drug Sales: who could sell crack when pot is free? Keepin’ my money dude.
Drug violence: head honchos would remain straight, but everybody working for them would be floating on moonbeams. No suburban girls driving in for pills, if pot was free. There would soon be no money coming in; the business would have to move.
Traffic accidents: pot smokers are very conscientious drivers.
Crack Houses: don’t need them; you can smoke pot openly on the street.
Since there would be no crime, police working that beat should be allowed to smoke too, It would improve bonding between police and community. The population would be overall healthier from all the natural cures that marijuana can supply…
And then there’s guns. I think if everyone is high, even the NRA would think taking guns off the street would be an enlightened idea. It would aid the community spirit. Plus, after you lit up the entire block with some good bud, all you had to do was ask nicely and all the guns would be brought down to you…. no explanations demanded…
Simply put, if you remove the guns, and dissolve the anger, and create a positive friendly environment, you fix the problem….
In fact the only foreseeable problem requiring any expenditures, is that Wilmington doesn’t have any Taco Bells in its downtown region… That would definitely have to be rectified before we begin giving out free pot…
For sure…
Often we tend to get caught up in the hyperbole of political campaigns… without taking the time to realize these are people just fighting for their “lives” and taking hold of any weapon being handed them…..
Today, Rush Limbaugh called a university-coed a hooker, whore, and told her to spread her legs into a camera because he wanted to see…..
Today, Rick Santorum got heated over a DJ’s phone call that questioned whether or not he’d put any rational thought into his “no sex” plank he was promoting….
Today, with the death of Brietbart, we see a lot of people on both sides saying quite a few bad things about him.
One has to see these exchanges in the context of a battle.. One would not be surprised to hear similar heated exchanges if the trash talk going back and forth were between the overly drunk fans of the the Islanders say, vrs. those of the Stanley Cup worthy Flyers, or the Romo-Copped-Out Cowboys vrs. the Eagles Dream Team, or the cry-baby Yankees vrs. the best baseball team of all time: the Phillies…. Trash talk before a game is an American past-time. One would assume that if politics were to leave its ivory tower, it too would have to adapt to the rules of the playing field on which all of America was accustomed…
Problem is: it is a distraction from what needs to be said and is not… ”Washington: we have a problem and it needs to get fixed… Which of you knows how to do it?”
In sports you have a definite measure over which team is better: one team wins on the field.
The reality is a bit more confusing in politics.
The research and hard work IS getting done by members of the press, but no one out there is absorbing the data.
For example, how many of you know that Gingrich’s plan explodes the deficit by 7 trillion more than Obama, Santorum’s plan explodes the deficit by 4 trillion more than Obama, and Romney’s plan will cost 2 trillion more than Obama’s plan…..
That is important. You should know this…. Hearing it for the first time? Exactly my point……
How many of you know that Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security will have to have adjustments if they are to stay solvent? Its the equivalent of a $1000 car payment on an income of $2000 a month. The other bills not getting paid, are taking a back-seat….
The three Republicans know and say this, but… Obama and the Democrats have so far gotten a break on facing up to this…. Hearing it for the first time? Exactly my point…..
Where we need to go with this, is responsible journalism. The trash talk needs to be called for what it is… Hell, if ESPN calls it out; why can’t CNN?
“Just for fun, here is some trash talk from around the political arena today” (Show Clips of Rush, Santorum, Breitbart-haters.) Now the real news is this: The US can’t pay it’s bills unless they raise taxes on the wealthy, unless they keep discretionary spending where it is, and unless they increase the funding by 2% each from both employers and employees segments on their payroll deductions for FICA, Medicare/Medicaid….. Only this full court press can balance the budget by 2021.
Currently only the platform of Obama comes close to meeting this objective…”
That is what is required of our Fourth Estate; work like that is what we pay them to do… Had we had that in 2000, I don’t think the policies of Bush would have slipped through unnoticed as we instead debated leadership styles, ease and comfort, and who we’d rather drink beer with…..
And so….. we got what we voted for…..
Mission Accomplished……
(Overheard in background (before mic shuts off)… “That was easy; I think that went over well… Now back to the trash talk; got any new stuff?…..)
Right click to open full image… Pictograph Courtesy of Viral..
So, can someone tell me again, why we shouldn’t tax the rich, and instead, balance the budget on the backs of everyone else?…….
I seem to be missing that little detail where that all makes sense……
