Counterintuitive though it may be a downturn in the economy generally signals an upturn in higher education. Otherwise qualified individuals who have lost their jobs over the past year have been looking to higher education as a way to occupy their time productively and give them an edge when searching for a new job. In fact, many two and four year institutions are expanding their class offerings to fit the schedule of part-time students looking to boost their resume. Higher education is, indeed, the answer for many Americans who have had their hours reduced or eliminated. Of course, renewed education can be an expensive endeavor, but the digital age has given us a few tools to make higher education more affordable.
Many universities are now taking advantage of online technology to allow users to access lectures and course materials online for free. For instance, many schools are taking advantage of a program called iTunesU. iTunesU allows universities to post audio and video clips of their lectures in the iTunes store where users can download them to their iPod for free. This is a good option for individuals who do not posses the time or the resources to actually attend classes at a university. This also allows you to tailor your learning to your specific career field. This method does not, however, give you any credit that would be visible on a resume; it is simply a way of bringing your education up-to-date in your field.
Some two-year colleges and universities are offering course materials online for free as well. Visiting departmental websites for universities such as UNC Chapel Hill will yield a surprising amount of course work for some classes. You can use study guides and lecture notes to educate yourself on new techniques and theories in your field. Unfortunately this also does not provide a tangible benefit for your resume. Do not be fooled though, increased knowledge in your field will be evident to employers during an interview.
Perhaps the most effective way to redefine your career skills during a downturn is to attend a two-year institution. There are over 1900 community colleges in the United States and many of them are making special efforts to accommodate laid-off employees and part-time employees from local industries. For instance, some community colleges are offering classes that begin as early as 6 a.m. and as late as midnight to accommodate working individuals or individuals with families.
For more information on programs available here in our area you can check out Cape Fear Community College (http://cfcc.edu) or the University of North Carolina Wilmington (http://uncw.edu).
Source
http://money.cnn.com/2009/10/29/pf/online_classes.moneymag/?postversion=2009102904
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/28/education/28community.html?_r=1&pagewanted=p
Thursday, October 29, 2009
An Individual Mandate for Healthcare Coverage
Analysts, industry experts, insurance companies, congressional Democrats, and the Obama administration all feel that the only way to make healthcare reform a viable option is to include an individual coverage mandate. This means that Americans who do not have or are not offered health insurance through their employer will be forced to purchase individual coverage or face a penalty levied by the IRS. Unfortunately this is true, the type of healthcare reform that is currently making its way through our legislature would depend on convincing uninsured individuals that they needed health insurance despite the cost. While the government subsidies will easily convince the segment of the uninsured that currently cannot afford health insurance, it is the millions of Americans who already qualify for government subsidized healthcare (Medicaid) and choose not to participate or those that can afford insurance but choose not to purchase it that will take some convincing. The only way to convince these latter individuals is to impose a financial penalty on them for choosing not to participate.
The insurance industry has also clamored for the inclusion of an individual mandate because, they argue, if healthcare reform requires carriers to cover individuals despite pre-existing conditions then it will encourage individuals to go without coverage until they need it and then buy it. This practice goes against the very basis of health insurance which requires premiums from healthy individuals to help offset the costs of unhealthy individuals. The only way to lower health insurance costs while in-turn guaranteeing coverage for every American is to mix risk in the overall insurance pool. Unfortunately this means that healthy Americans who choose to go without health insurance will be forced to participate in the pool for the benefit of the unhealthy. While congressional Democrats and the Obama administration have gone to great lengths to convince voters that this mandate and accompanying penalty is not a tax, it is, by the very definition of the word, a tax.
Despite shifting phrases from the administration, you can bet that any healthcare reform bill that passes this year will include an individual mandate. It will not affect those of us who already have coverage, but it will affect anyone who chooses to go without coverage for any period of time. The only interests that stand to gain from an individual mandate are politicians and insurance companies. The more Americans that politicians can force onto healthcare, the better their statistics will be come next election cycle. And an individual mandate represents potential windfall profits for insurance companies. For those of us that it actually affects, the taxpayers, its just one more burden.
Source
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31782553/ns/health-health_care/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/21/AR2009072103410.html
http://www.aishealth.com/Bnow/hbd102209.html
The insurance industry has also clamored for the inclusion of an individual mandate because, they argue, if healthcare reform requires carriers to cover individuals despite pre-existing conditions then it will encourage individuals to go without coverage until they need it and then buy it. This practice goes against the very basis of health insurance which requires premiums from healthy individuals to help offset the costs of unhealthy individuals. The only way to lower health insurance costs while in-turn guaranteeing coverage for every American is to mix risk in the overall insurance pool. Unfortunately this means that healthy Americans who choose to go without health insurance will be forced to participate in the pool for the benefit of the unhealthy. While congressional Democrats and the Obama administration have gone to great lengths to convince voters that this mandate and accompanying penalty is not a tax, it is, by the very definition of the word, a tax.
Despite shifting phrases from the administration, you can bet that any healthcare reform bill that passes this year will include an individual mandate. It will not affect those of us who already have coverage, but it will affect anyone who chooses to go without coverage for any period of time. The only interests that stand to gain from an individual mandate are politicians and insurance companies. The more Americans that politicians can force onto healthcare, the better their statistics will be come next election cycle. And an individual mandate represents potential windfall profits for insurance companies. For those of us that it actually affects, the taxpayers, its just one more burden.
Source
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31782553/ns/health-health_care/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/21/AR2009072103410.html
http://www.aishealth.com/Bnow/hbd102209.html
Friday, October 23, 2009
Issues at Stake for Small Businesses
Over the last few months we have heard a lot of rumors about the affect that healthcare reform might have on small businesses. Some claim that the proposed legislation will have no effect on small groups, while others claim is will make it easier for small groups to afford coverage, while yet others claim that it will force small businesses to provide coverage that they cannot afford. The truth probably lies somewhere in between, but until the actual text of the bill is laid out we will have no way of knowing who is right. Unfortunately all that the Senate committees are releasing are gilded summaries of what is supposedly in the draft legislation rather than the actual wording.
Many experts contend that people may lose their employer sponsored coverage if a play-or-pay mandate system was enacted. The argument being that if given the choice between sponsoring expensive healthcare and paying a fine, many companies will just choose the fine. The truth of the matter is that while companies that do not currently offer benefits may choose to pay the fine rather than take on coverage, most groups that currently have coverage will see no reason to get rid of it just to pay an fine, whether it is less than the cost of a policy or not.
The real area that may come in to play for small business owners is the proposed tax on what lawmakers are calling “cadillac” health care plans. Basically, this means that if your plan has a richer schedule of benefits than the proposed national standard, you may pay a penalty tax. Until the actually wording of the bill is released we will not know what constitutes a cadillac plan and depending on the wording of the bill it is impossible to know how many small businesses will be affected by this penalty. Senate Democrats have marked up the section concerning the taxing of cadillac plans to allow employees in high risk fields such as mining to be exempt after heavy pressure from labor unions and lobbyist. Small business owner really do not have a powerful lobby to support them in Congress, so it is unlikely that they will be making exceptions for any small businesses.
Hopefully in the next few weeks the final wording of the bill will be presented, but by then it may be too late for any change.
Source
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20670001&sid=ajWDP_UCYBoo
http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/30/will-health-care-reform-encourage-small-business-to-drop-health-coverage?htm
Many experts contend that people may lose their employer sponsored coverage if a play-or-pay mandate system was enacted. The argument being that if given the choice between sponsoring expensive healthcare and paying a fine, many companies will just choose the fine. The truth of the matter is that while companies that do not currently offer benefits may choose to pay the fine rather than take on coverage, most groups that currently have coverage will see no reason to get rid of it just to pay an fine, whether it is less than the cost of a policy or not.
The real area that may come in to play for small business owners is the proposed tax on what lawmakers are calling “cadillac” health care plans. Basically, this means that if your plan has a richer schedule of benefits than the proposed national standard, you may pay a penalty tax. Until the actually wording of the bill is released we will not know what constitutes a cadillac plan and depending on the wording of the bill it is impossible to know how many small businesses will be affected by this penalty. Senate Democrats have marked up the section concerning the taxing of cadillac plans to allow employees in high risk fields such as mining to be exempt after heavy pressure from labor unions and lobbyist. Small business owner really do not have a powerful lobby to support them in Congress, so it is unlikely that they will be making exceptions for any small businesses.
Hopefully in the next few weeks the final wording of the bill will be presented, but by then it may be too late for any change.
Source
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20670001&sid=ajWDP_UCYBoo
http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/30/will-health-care-reform-encourage-small-business-to-drop-health-coverage?htm
Saving Effectively for Life's Little Expenses
Undoubtedly, we have all been there at one time or another. You have been putting a little money in your retirement account, you are utilizing your health savings account, and you did not even owe any taxes but seemingly out of the blue those yearly expenses start to pop up. Home insurance, car insurance, vehicle registration renewal, annual income taxes, holiday gifts and now you are charging on your credit card or nabbing cash out of your emergency account. Its not that you did not know they were coming, but expenses that occur annually rather than monthly are easy to forget even if you are religious about your budget. Fortunately, there is an effective way to budget for these expenses and keep them from becoming an issue each year.
When you pay a bill monthly it is difficult to forget to budget for it, but when you pay annually its easy for these expenses to fly under the radar. The easiest way to keep these expenses out in front is to devise a system where you pay the bill monthly. By setting aside money each month for annual expenses you can ensure that when the due date comes around you will have the cash to make the payment without having to put it on your credit card or dip into your savings. One way to go about this is to set up a savings account for each large annual expense that you incur and divide the total amounts by twelve months. Each month, deposit the necessary funds into each account and when the bill comes due, pay it from the account and begin saving for next year. This way those large annual sums will be much easier to swallow. For instance, let’s say that you have a $300 life insurance premium due every October. If you set up a separate savings account (or checking account if you prefer) and deposit $25 a month into the account, by next October you’ll have the $300 sum and you will not have to dip into your other savings to pay the bill. There is no doubt that it is much easier to come up with $25 a month than $300 all at once and this way you will never be caught unprepared for an annual expense.
An easy way to set up multiple savings accounts for annual expenses is through an online bank such as ING Direct. Also, many traditional banks offer free checking accounts with no minimum balance and no maintenance fees that you can link to your current online banking. Contact your local bank and tell them what you are looking for and chances are they will be able to point you in the right direction.
A few examples of common annual expenses:
• Home Insurance Premiums
• Life Insurance Premiums
• Car Insurance Premiums
• Vehicle Taxes
• Property Taxes
• Annual Income Taxes
• Holiday, Birthday, and Anniversary Gifts
• Vehicle Maintenance
While none of these expenses are life-altering, they can catch up to you and its best to budget for them now rather than later.
Source
http://www.kiplinger.com/printstory.php?pid=16267
http://qvisory.org/posts/dealing-with-annual-expenses
When you pay a bill monthly it is difficult to forget to budget for it, but when you pay annually its easy for these expenses to fly under the radar. The easiest way to keep these expenses out in front is to devise a system where you pay the bill monthly. By setting aside money each month for annual expenses you can ensure that when the due date comes around you will have the cash to make the payment without having to put it on your credit card or dip into your savings. One way to go about this is to set up a savings account for each large annual expense that you incur and divide the total amounts by twelve months. Each month, deposit the necessary funds into each account and when the bill comes due, pay it from the account and begin saving for next year. This way those large annual sums will be much easier to swallow. For instance, let’s say that you have a $300 life insurance premium due every October. If you set up a separate savings account (or checking account if you prefer) and deposit $25 a month into the account, by next October you’ll have the $300 sum and you will not have to dip into your other savings to pay the bill. There is no doubt that it is much easier to come up with $25 a month than $300 all at once and this way you will never be caught unprepared for an annual expense.
An easy way to set up multiple savings accounts for annual expenses is through an online bank such as ING Direct. Also, many traditional banks offer free checking accounts with no minimum balance and no maintenance fees that you can link to your current online banking. Contact your local bank and tell them what you are looking for and chances are they will be able to point you in the right direction.
A few examples of common annual expenses:
• Home Insurance Premiums
• Life Insurance Premiums
• Car Insurance Premiums
• Vehicle Taxes
• Property Taxes
• Annual Income Taxes
• Holiday, Birthday, and Anniversary Gifts
• Vehicle Maintenance
While none of these expenses are life-altering, they can catch up to you and its best to budget for them now rather than later.
Source
http://www.kiplinger.com/printstory.php?pid=16267
http://qvisory.org/posts/dealing-with-annual-expenses
Thursday, October 1, 2009
The Politics of Healthcare Reform
In early June of this year Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Edward Kennedy (D-MA) introduced a sweeping piece of legislation with the aim of reforming our current health care system. The “Affordable Health Choices Act” totals more than 615 pages and makes an attempt to bring the nearly 40 million uninsured Americans an affordable way to obtain health insurance. As the bill has passed through the various Senate committee’s it has grown in both length and scope. The most recent iteration, Senator Max Baucus’s proposal, seems to be the plan that the Obama administration wants to push forward into law.
Unfortunately, that’s where the clarity ends. For the past three months liberal Democrats have battled it out with moderate Democrats and Republicans over the airwaves and thousands of ordinary Americans have attended various town hall meetings to voice their concern over the proposed bill. All summer, speculation has driven wild rumors of death panels and single-payer systems but little has actually come out about what the final bill will contain.
The only obvious aspect of this debate is the disconnect between Congress and the American people. The most recent poll numbers show a growing majority of Americans disapprove of the proposed healthcare reform and an even larger majority of Americans are opposed to the installation of a public insurance option. On September 28th, Rasmussen Reports’ polling showed that 41% of Americans favor the proposed healthcare reform and 56% percent oppose it. These numbers not only reflect the American people’s frustration with the current administration’s healthcare reform proposal, but growing frustration with a string of government actions. Declining approval ratings for both the administration and Congress support the growing opinion that Americans are disillusioned with the aggressive spending of the last several months. Most Americans are smart enough to know that we are in the process of writing a check that will be awfully painful to cash down the road.
In the end, this issue will be decided in Congress, as it is in most American homes, on party lines. Most Liberal Democrats support the President and the healthcare reform proposal. Moderate Democrats and nearly all Republicans oppose the bill. And while most Americans fall into the latter category, we managed to vote a liberal Congress and President into office with enough votes to do as the see fit regardless of public opinion. Reports over the last month have noted that the administration is prepared to move forward with healthcare reform without any support from the Republican Party, which it seems they are unlikely to receive.
In the end, passing the bill will come with a price tag. In many of the upcoming senate and gubernatorial races early poling shows that Republican candidates are winning more support. The truth is that any Republican Party opposition will be weak over the next few years while the party searches for a message that the American people will trust, but they can certainly take advantage of the backlash of opinion against the Obama administration and Congress’s liberal spending tactics.
Source
http://www.businessinsurance.com/article/20090609/NEWS/906099972
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/05/health/policy/05health.html?bl&ex=1252296000&en=aca08736a6e52505&ei=5087%0A
http://prescriptions.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/09/baucus-to-press-ahead-with-senate-proposal/
http://money.cnn.com/2009/09/10/news/economy/healthcare_defensive_medicine/?postversion=2009091010
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/healthcare/september_2009/health_care_reform
Unfortunately, that’s where the clarity ends. For the past three months liberal Democrats have battled it out with moderate Democrats and Republicans over the airwaves and thousands of ordinary Americans have attended various town hall meetings to voice their concern over the proposed bill. All summer, speculation has driven wild rumors of death panels and single-payer systems but little has actually come out about what the final bill will contain.
The only obvious aspect of this debate is the disconnect between Congress and the American people. The most recent poll numbers show a growing majority of Americans disapprove of the proposed healthcare reform and an even larger majority of Americans are opposed to the installation of a public insurance option. On September 28th, Rasmussen Reports’ polling showed that 41% of Americans favor the proposed healthcare reform and 56% percent oppose it. These numbers not only reflect the American people’s frustration with the current administration’s healthcare reform proposal, but growing frustration with a string of government actions. Declining approval ratings for both the administration and Congress support the growing opinion that Americans are disillusioned with the aggressive spending of the last several months. Most Americans are smart enough to know that we are in the process of writing a check that will be awfully painful to cash down the road.
In the end, this issue will be decided in Congress, as it is in most American homes, on party lines. Most Liberal Democrats support the President and the healthcare reform proposal. Moderate Democrats and nearly all Republicans oppose the bill. And while most Americans fall into the latter category, we managed to vote a liberal Congress and President into office with enough votes to do as the see fit regardless of public opinion. Reports over the last month have noted that the administration is prepared to move forward with healthcare reform without any support from the Republican Party, which it seems they are unlikely to receive.
In the end, passing the bill will come with a price tag. In many of the upcoming senate and gubernatorial races early poling shows that Republican candidates are winning more support. The truth is that any Republican Party opposition will be weak over the next few years while the party searches for a message that the American people will trust, but they can certainly take advantage of the backlash of opinion against the Obama administration and Congress’s liberal spending tactics.
Source
http://www.businessinsurance.com/article/20090609/NEWS/906099972
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/05/health/policy/05health.html?bl&ex=1252296000&en=aca08736a6e52505&ei=5087%0A
http://prescriptions.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/09/baucus-to-press-ahead-with-senate-proposal/
http://money.cnn.com/2009/09/10/news/economy/healthcare_defensive_medicine/?postversion=2009091010
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/healthcare/september_2009/health_care_reform
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