Captured Lights
What if… to solve the budget problems we did this. All new employees will not get any pension benefits, all current employees within 20 years of retirement at age 75 or more, will be expected to put in 3/4 of the towards cost of pension. There will be more options than the stock market, such as raw land investments, “Gracious Good Will” stocks. What is already call Socially Responsible Stocks or Socially Responsible Investments (SRI).
Locally you could belong to a group that purchase foreclosed homes to be rehabbed and greened (by habitat for humanity?) for first time buyers (we benefit from the mortgage). New employees will have these options too but outside of the employment sector and in the private one instead. Wean us off the pension baby bottle and more on us to develop our own retirement. In other words, occupy your life, grab the reins of what you want to do. You can be at the bottom 99% or you can help pull up the other 99% by learning more what is needed to improve all of our lots in gain more middle class stability for all of us. Plus, think about the children.
Am I nuts? No. For example, “Gracious Good Will” stocks will be stocks that have IPOs for humanitarian causes. Water wells, malaria vaccinations, schools and teachers as well as supplies, medical centers etc. Other can be for conservations and many other methods of investment that have more investment in community building than just products. People invest in these and also in small loans and as some places prosper, we can to. Yes some will fail or not meet standards quickly. This would give the Stock Market some serious composition and a run for their money in working to keep the faith, at least I like to think so. Also by booting the employer out of the picture, we can gain more control over what we want to put into, how much and where. I lost a lot of money because I thought the money I put down would remain safe and I would only lose what I gained “on paper” if things crashed. I would never have chosen to play the stock market because I did not have money I can afford to lose at that point.
Credit Unions can be a good place for these type of community “stock market” types of things. We can start local and work up. It will also make us have more direct contact with how we live in our world and build up our wealth. I have dreamed since I was fourteen of having my own land and home. Not sure if I can still pull that off, but not entirely giving up on it either. I just know for me, the stock market has robbed me blind twice through what I thought was honest pension plans.
There is information out there for young people to learn about this. I just did not have access or awareness to know where and how to get to that information. Being Deaf can do funny things like that. Don’t let that happened to you. Things are a lot better information wise now than they were when I was in my 20’s.
Nancy Louise
Along with my new post, I will post my “Top Ten” from my Xanga blog site based on number of views, and or comments got about them. The first blog is a personal favorite of mine. Enjoy.
If dogs go to heaven, will I meet the chicken I just ate?
109 views September 29, 2008 8:15 PM
I mean think about it. Unless you have been a strict vegan with vegan parents, and animals do go to heaven, you will probably meet the chick the egg never became, (if you eat farm fresh fertile eggs), the cow, the pig, the turkey….. Will they greet me with happy smiles? I know its a weird thing to think about. I have been followed around by a white cat lately, a ghost cat actually and no its not white because it is a ghost. That the color it was in life. My dear friend has a cat that we gave to her is white and had a bad scare thinking she was gone (missing) and maybe dead. She came back, dirty, hungry and very happy to be home, but fine. So that not who the ghost was. Which got me thinking again about the animals go or not go to heaven thought. Most people when they talk about this, have just lost a beloved pet (like I did in March and May) and of course we want to see them again, often desperately so (as do I).
Being a Meat and Fish eater however, I had to think. What if… All these Near Death Experiences or NDE for short, talk of humans and animals from their lives that they see and meet with much fanfare (if they have a happy encounter). But what about the driver you yelled at that dies eventually? Or the someone you stiffed a dollar or two from thinking they never were going to miss it? What happens when you meet them?
The closest work I have seen is “The Five People You Meet In Heaven.” movie which explored this in a very non-religious way, mystical thoughts instead. It is not how I would view heaven, purgatory if there is one, is how I would see that one. Still, there is no mentioned of animals… I have to admit, meeting the Bull or Cow whose tongue, hind quarters (or what ever parts hamburger is made from these days) would be a bit of an awkward moment, huh?
Nancy Louise