Life Coaching For Low Income?

When I first decided to write this article I was kind of confused on what to write about. Then I began to reflect on my own life and different situations that I have gone through myself. I asked myself several questions:

What if pregnant teens had the opportunity to have a life coach to let them know that life is not over but they would now have to work a little harder?

What if students were assigned a life coach when schools noticed they were at high risk for dropping out?

What if at the very moment when a young mother stood in the welfare line for the first time and applied for food stamps one of the requirements would be that she was assigned a life coach?

What if government housing programs offered life coaching programs designed to motivate families into home ownership? Continue reading “Life Coaching For Low Income?”

The Ethical (Or Unethical) Issues in Government PR

More than any other organization, governments use public relations as a way to reach out to and share information with their citizens. “Public relations’ central value to government is its ability to engender a more informed society through ethical, transparent, and honest communications between the government and its citizens” (Corbett). Although the United States government does utilize public relations methods to make citizens aware of valuable services like Food Stamps, WIC, and services that protect victims of abuse, a good portion of tax payer funds that the government uses for public relations purposes is used unethically. As early as 1913, special interest groups have expressed concern over the appropriateness of government use of public relations. Political activists have promoted “vague and general fears that a government relations activity could be perverted into a propaganda machine that would manipulate public opinion” (Turney).

In November of 2008, the Albany Times Union reported that certain local government and law enforcement officials were using coded windshield stickers to avoid parking tickets. These stickers were also widely distributed amongst the officials’ personal relations. When Albany Police Chief James Tuffey was approached by the media to answer to the allegations, he gave a false statement, saying “There’s no policy here on that, I can tell you, that I know about. If there’s something out there that’s been abused, I’m going to deal with it.” (Walters). It was later revealed that Tuffey initiated the practice years before, while he was the head of the city’s police union. Continue reading “The Ethical (Or Unethical) Issues in Government PR”

Rubber Stamping on Chocolate

Give a hand stamped romantic treat to your sweetheart this Valentines Day by stamping extra special chocolates. You will need some cooking oil, store bought chocolates, little paper liners for individual chocolates to sit in and small clear acrylic rubber stamps. Experiment with different chocolate brands. It may be easiest to begin on solid chocolates.

1. Place a small amount of vegetable oil on a paper towel and allow it to absorb. Take your choice of new acrylic rubber stamps and dab it in the oil. It is important that you use new rubber stamps for this as the finished product will be consumed and you don’t want any ink coming off the stamps onto the chocolate.

2. Heat the surface of the chocolate with a heat embossing tool.

3. Place the oiled clear rubber stamp (without a stamping block) into the melted chocolate. Refrigerate the chocolate with the clear stamp still in the chocolate. Complete your set of chocolates using different rubber stamp images. Continue reading “Rubber Stamping on Chocolate”

How to Lower Your EFC to Zero – Become Self-Employed

You can lower your EFC to zero and automatically maximize your federal and college financial aid by becoming self-employed and controlling your own W-2. This is certainly not what most financial aid advisors will advise you to do, but it is the way that college financial aid works. It’s the federal government’s big secret that they prefer people did not know.

The FAFSA student aid form, the CSS profile, and a university’s own independent financial aid form rely on the parents and students W-2 income. Assuming that you aren’t unemployed, there is an enormous benefit to becoming self-employed. You can form a corporation, such as an S-Corp, and control the income on your own W-2.

I would advise you to secure a competent CPA who is well versed in the college financial aid process. The CPA should be able to guide you regarding the best type of corporation to form. There are General Corporations, S-Corps, LLC or Limited Liability Company’s and Partnerships. They each have their own advantages and disadvantages.

Continue reading “How to Lower Your EFC to Zero – Become Self-Employed”

Child Support Common Questions

How to begin the application process?

If as a parent you are acquiring public assistance from the government such as food Stamps and/or Medicaid, you are automatically referred to the Child Support Enforcement Division. In order to obtain support it is required to collaborate with the efforts of the CSED. If you fail to reply to the requests for information or miss any appointments or court hearings you have the possibility for your benefits to be reduced or eliminated.

If as a parent you are not receiving any Medicaid or public assistance, it is required to complete an application for the services. The cooperation is also required if you are not receiving assistance. If you fail to cooperate, this can cause the child support to be closed. Continue reading “Child Support Common Questions”

Why File Bankruptcy? When the Government Can Bail You Out

Over the last couple years there have been a lot of talk about the fiscal cliff, the debt ceiling, bank bailouts and how the economy continues to recover and now has turned the corner. If you were a bank, there is no need to File Bankruptcy. The government will bail you out and you will come back bigger and stronger than ever before. The problem is, middle America is nowhere close to being their own financial institution and are not on the receiving end of any government bailouts. Recently, the number of Americans filing for bankruptcy has declined and the media uses this for a platform to prove the economy has turned the corner. There is only one mistake with that theory, the US GDP for the last quarter was negative.1%. To me, this sounds like things are getting worse and not getting better. In 2012 alone, the United States trade deficit is expected to come in between $500 billion and $600 billion. Businesses are leaving the country by droves and if they don’t leave they’re filing bankruptcy and shutting the doors. Continue reading “Why File Bankruptcy? When the Government Can Bail You Out”

Recidivism – Its Causes and Cure

For many decades, the U.S. recidivism rate – the rate at which released prisoners return to prison or get convicted again – has hovered around two-thirds or 70%. In other words, our correctional methods don’t rehabilitate very well. A wise prison warden in 1912 set forth the requirements of a good prison system, but our society has not listened to his advice. Instead, prisoners get worse over time by learning sick prison values, the process of “prisonization.” The gang culture thrives in prison, sometimes recruiting new members there or simply continuing previous gang membership. Our prisoners do not always receive drug rehabilitation or psychiatric counseling and only a minority learns valuable trades or skills or obtains a GED in prison. The mentally ill should be in mental institutions, not prisons; 16% of prisoners have significant mental problems. Inactivity and boredom take a toll, punctuated by violence and sometimes rape. Responsible conduct is not encouraged; we do not trust our prisoners to act responsibly. Their conduct in prison is judged by whether they have obeyed prison rules, not whether they are capable of navigating in the outside world. Because U.S. laws inhibit and discourage prison industries, relatively few convicts work productively while behind bars. In the federal and many state systems, determinate sentences release prisoners on a set date whether they are ready for the free world outside or not. After release, ex-cons are denied food stamps, welfare benefits, public housing, student loans and most jobs, and they are perceived as poor marriage, employment, housing and business prospects. Prisoners lose contact with family and friends, especially during longer sentences, and invariably find that things have changed while they were gone. Continue reading “Recidivism – Its Causes and Cure”

In Today’s Economy Is Filing Bankruptcy Only for the Low Income?

Since 2007, we have seen the US economy go through major changes due to political and banking policies. While the mainstream media is still trying to say that the economic numbers are showing a recovery, they obviously aren’t out on the streets talking to real people. The average American income is now close to $30,000. The sad thing is, the poverty level in the US is someone making $24,000 a year. So when the majority of people are making less there is no way the economy can be improving as people have less money to spend. Adding to that, we are seeing inflation and all the commodities from gas to food and housing. Recently, it was reported that 51 million American households are receiving food stamps. With the total number of people on food assistance reaching over 100 million and when you consider there are only a little over 300 million living in the US it just doesn’t add up. I don’t see how anyone can honestly believe that we are seeing in economy recovery at all. Continue reading “In Today’s Economy Is Filing Bankruptcy Only for the Low Income?”

Review – All You Can Eat: How Hungry Is America?

All You Can Eat: How Hungry is America?, Joel Berg, 2008, ISBN 9781583228548

This book looks at the current state of hunger in America. Written by an anti-hunger activist, and former government official, it is not a pretty picture.

If food insecurity (the new euphemism for “hunger”) is such a huge problem, then why are there so many obese African-Americans? Doesn’t it show that they are getting more than enough food? What it really shows is that those whose food insecurity situation is bad, but not totally desperate, have to rely on cheaper high-calorie food that is full of chemicals and preservatives.

Why don’t inner-city residents buy more vegetables, even organic vegetables? Most inner-city neighborhoods don’t have a supermarket, so the people have to rely on convenience stores, that will carry cheaper pre-processed foods, instead of organic vegetables. Also, if you are given a certain amount of money, and have to make it last an entire week, vegetables are rare, and expensive organic vegetables are simply not a possibility. Find out what your state gives food stamp recipients each week to live on, and see if you can do it. Continue reading “Review – All You Can Eat: How Hungry Is America?”

Three Reasons Why Baby Squirrels Die in Captivity

Did you ever take in a baby squirrel and start to feed and care for it, then have it go downhill physically and die? You’re not alone! The following are three common reasons why baby squirrels die in captivity:

1. The Wrong Diet.

Improper diet is the number one reason why squirrels die. There’s a lot of controversy over what is the correct formula to feed baby squirrels who are still nursing. Many wild animal rehabilitators will tell you to buy an expensive puppy formula, and to never feed a squirrel cow’s milk. I’ve used the expensive puppy formula with marginal success, but recently they changed the formulation which left it lacking enough milk fat for squirrels. Now, all of a sudden, they’re telling people to add heavy cream to boost the fat content! Hello! What is heavy cream? It’s the cream from cow’s milk! The reason cow’s milk will kill a baby squirrel is because there are substances in the milk that will give a squirrel severe diarrhea. Diarrhea will lead to an electrolyte imbalance,which will lead to a heart irregularity and ultimately death from sudden cardiac arrest. Continue reading “Three Reasons Why Baby Squirrels Die in Captivity”