Tuesday, May 3, 2016

America Week Veszprem 2016

The Father of The America Week Program is Dr. Scott M. Campbell, Professor & Chair in Philosophy, Director of the American Studies Program in Arts &; Sciences, at Nazareth College, Rochester, New York.
Dr. Campbell's teaching and research interests focus on the philosophy of life. He was a Fullbright Scholar at Pannon University in Veszprem, Hungary.
 https://www2.naz.edu/dept/american-studies/faculty-staff/scott-campbell
Being a Fulbright scholar in Hungary led to:
The above symbol speaks volumes. It visually represents the goals of the American Corners and the desire of the U S State Department spread American Culture all over Hungary.
The  main focus is to strengthen international relations between Hungary and the United States of America through its American Corners, America Week Celebration, and other programs.
The America Week is helping to create "a foundation of trust" between the Hungarian people and the American people.
This foundation can be built upon to form social, political, and economic ties to the Hungarian people. We wish to combat the notions perpetrated by Hollywood movies and the pop culture hip-hop and rap artists that the average Americans are shallow, violent, and godless. We wish to foster the notion that Americans have such values as loyalty, patriotism, family, faith, and the desire for education in common with the Hungarian people.
We wish to reach every level of Hungarian Society, and particularly the influential members of that society, who can not be reached through traditional diplomatic means , channels, and functions.
We want to encourage the use of the English language to communicate in every day discourse, and promote the reading of English books for leisure and for scholarship. Through the weekly Conversation Clubs and Book Clubs this is regularly and routinely promoted. All of these efforts combine and coalesce during the America Week with a special emphasis so as to grow together into a single mass.





Szilard Szentgyoergyi

Scholar Information

Title: Chair and Associate Professor
Discipline: Linguistics
Specialization: Linguistics
Home Institution: University of Pannonia
City: Veszprem
Country: Hungary

Grant Information

Scholar Type: Non-U.S. (Visiting) Scholar
Academic Year: 2015-2016
Program: Core Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program
Program Country: Hungary
Grant Type: Lecturing
Start Date: August 2015
End Date: May 2016
Project Title: Developing American-Hungarian Relations via Teaching

Host Institution

Nazareth College of Rochester

Faculty Associate: Dr. Scott Campbell
Department: Department of Philosophy
City: Rochester
State: New York
Country: United States






















- See more at: http://www.cies.org/grantee/szilard-szentgyoergyi#sthash.BqWIxyIo.dpuf
An all-star cast cannot guarantee a blockbuster show. It helps, but the purpose and fundamental reason for the show must never be forgotten. It was a good week but not a great week.
America week should be great and memorable. It should be great because of who was there; and, it should be memorable because of what was said. It should be a life changing experience,  a rite of passage, something that people and students will talk about for years to come. It should be a high point of a student's college education experience. 
One student at Pannon University once told me that she had decided that she wanted to be a lawyer because of something that I had said at an America Week presentation. And, she was already finishing up her second year of collage. 
Not every student will have that great of an experience; they might not experience a rapture or an epiphany, but they should take away something greater than what they experience from their regular curriculum, something  that they cannot experience in the normal nine to twelve months of classes and activities. 
Their America Week experience should be something they will remember a long time if not forever. It should be remembered like "Woodstock" or like the "Montraux Jazz Festival". They should be able to calibrate their memories by what they did or heard at, for example, the 2010 America Week, or at the 2015 America Week. They should be inclined to talk of fun memories and reminisce, as in  "where we you in your life during the 2012 America Week?"; or, what do you remember most about the year that Ambassador Colleen Bell spoke at the America Week Celebration about the need for a new generation of bold and beautiful women to step out onto the world stage.
This was the 9th America Week Celebration in Veszprém, Hungary. This year's program was most notable by who was not at the celebration than by who was.The appearance of the American Ambassador or the Charge' de Affaires highlights the importance given to America Week and the significance that the American State Department attributes to the program. Including accomplished and high level personnel in the program adds even more symbolic importance to the basic concept of this concentrated week of cultural exchange.
Dr Scott Campbell, Dr Monica Weiss (pictured, below), and no other professors or teaching assistants from Nazareth College were there.
                                    (Dr. Monica Weis, SSJ from Nazareth College)
America Week should be more than just business as usual. The programs should not be more of the same. The classes, clubs and school visits that are standard fare and randomly occur on an ad hoc basis all year long should not be served up during this hyper-emphasized week as a feast.
It is notable, however, that good use was made of Americans living in Hungary while on Fullbright Scholarships as special teaching assistants, such as, Susanne Liaw from San Bernadino, California. (http://smdp.com/smmusd-teacher-wins-fulbright-scholarship/150137)

                                         ( Above, Ambassador Colleen Bell)
Ambassador Colleen Bell at US Embassy Budapest, Hungary was not present; neither was her Charge' de Affaires.



When Ambassador April Foley (above) was unavailable, she would send her Charge' de Affaires, Mr. Jeffrey Levine (below).
Mr Jeffrey Levine even gave special presentations and made himself  available for several days.

                                       


The Cultural Attache', Carolynn Glassman, Cultural Attaché at US Embassy Budapest (below) attended all of the America Week Celebrations during her tenure as Cultural Attache'.
When their duty schedules would permit, they would stay for several days and mingle with the students and other presenters.
 


American Corner Veszprém and the English and American Studies Institute, University of Pannonia, held their annual America Week program series in Veszprém from May 2-6. The programs included presentations on various U.S.-related topics by university faculty and students, a photo exhibition, concerts, a theater evening and more.



                                         
                             
Please see the links to the detailed programs for each day.
  • America Week - Day 1
    May 2, 2016 4:00 PM University of Pannonia Veszprém, H-8200 Veszprém, Egyetem u. 10.
    OPENING CEREMONY
    Date and time: May 2, 2016, 4:00 pm
    Venue: Aula, Building B, University of Pannonia (H-8200 Veszprém, Egyetem utca 10.)
     - Welcoming remarks given by representatives of the University of Pannonia and the American Corner
     - Keynote speech delivered by Christopher MACHIN, Cultural Attaché at US Embassy Budapest
     - Musical performance by Zsolt FARKAS, Snétberger Music Talent Center
     - Opening of an ART EXHIBITION:
    László KONDOR: Architectural Images of Chicago, IL, USA
    Art and life can take strange turns. Hungarian born Kondor is better known for decades in the United States as a conflict and political photographer. This exhibition - a masterly body of vintage photographs from the 1960s-1980s of Chicago public art and architecture - has been long hidden from view.
    It was in 1961 that Kondor arrived in the City of Chicago. The photographer was awe-inspired by the unique and extraordinary architecture of Chicago, the birth-place of the modern skyscraper. He prowled this new landscape for decades, creating a prodigious number of photographs. It was a personal journey of discovery. The images illuminate the quintessential urban worlds. All of them reveal the ferocious curiosity of the outsider in this most American city.

    Courtesy of the Artist, László Kondor, all rights reserved
(Above, Welcoming remarks by Dr. Ildikó Hortobágyi, EASI-UP.)
(Above, Opening of the Art Exhibition by Mr. László Kondor: "Architectural Images of Chicago, IL, USA".)
(Above, Keynote speech delivered by Mr. Christopher Machin, Cultural Attaché at US Embassy Budapest.)
(Above, Welcoming remarks by Prof. András Gelencsér, Rector of the University.)
May 2 program: http://veszprem.americancorner.hu/event/america-week-day-1

  • America Week - Day 2
    May 3, 2016 10:00 AM American Corner - Eötvös Károly County Library Veszprém, H-8200 Komakút tér 3.
     
    STUDENT PANEL
    Date and time: May 3, 2016, 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
    Venue: Kisfaludy Room, Eötvös Károly County Library (H-8200 Veszprém, Komakút tér 3.)
     - Áron ROZGONYI: "Color Blind or color Brave?" The Cultural Set-up of the National Basketball Association
     - Dóra SCHUCK: President Obama's Visit to Cuba
     - Anett TÓTH: The Effects of Social Media on Our Language Use
     - Zsófia SZALKAI: Language in Motion: A Multilingual Community
     - Kinga DÉR: Teachers in the Harry Potter Series
     - Tamás TÓTH: Gothic Settings: From Bram Stoker's Dracula to Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire
     - Bence ZUBOR: The Unprecedented Presidencies of Franklin D. Roosevelt
    FACULTY PANEL
    Date and time: May 3, 2016, 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
    Venue: Kisfaludy Room, Eötvös Károly County Library (H-8200 Veszprém, Komakút tér 3.)
     - Dr. Andrea M. NOEL (University of West Hungary, Fulbright scholar): Best practices for supporting the early literacy and language development of young children in US preschools
     - Susanne LIAW (University of Debrecen, Wáli István Roma Residential College, Fulbright English Teaching Assistant): "How'd you end up in South Central, miss?": An urban educator's perspective on educational trends and equity in the USA
     - Boglárka FALUSSY (EducationUSA Adviser): Why study in the US? An introduction to US higher education
    AMERICAN EVENING
    Date and time: May 3, 2016, 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm
    Venue: Historia Hangvilla Restaurant (H-8200 Veszprém, Brusznyai utca 2.)
     - Bianka KŐSZEGI: Working in a Summer Camp in the U.S.
     - Boglárka FALUSSY (American Corner director, IVLP alumna): My Journey Through America
     - socializing, board games, quizzes
     - Concert: OKLAHOMA COUNTRY BAND
    ADVANCED REGISTER FOR THE AMERICAN EVENING IN ADVANCE AT VESZPREM@AMERICANCORNER.HU OR IN THE AMERICAN CORNER!
 (Boglárka FALUSSY (EducationUSA Adviser): Why study in the US? An introduction to US higher education.)

 (Above, Dr. Andrea M. NOEL (University of West Hungary, Fulbright scholar): Best practices for supporting the early literacy and language development of young children in US preschools.)
Dr. Andrea M. Noel of State University of New York (SUNY) at New Paltz, New Paltz has expertise in Pre-school Education, Language Education, Teacher Education.
(Above, Susanne LIAW (University of Debrecen, Wáli István Roma Residential College, Fulbright English Teaching Assistant): "How'd you end up in South Central, miss?": An urban educator's perspective on educational trends and equity in the USA.)
 Ms Liaw is in Hungary for the 2015-16 school year on a Fullbright English teaching scholarship where she helps historically underserved students as they prepare for and enter college.
“I never had the experience of living in a foreign country, and I wanted to put myself in a situation where I'm totally out of my comfort zone and every little thing is going to be hard,” she said.
Ms Liaw has been working specifically with the Roma population, a minority group living in Europe and the Americas whose origins can be traced to the Indian subcontinent.
http://smdp.com/smmusd-teacher-wins-fulbright-scholarship/150137



 (Above, Bence ZUBOR: The Unprecedented Presidencies of Franklin D. Roosevelt.)
(Áron ROZGONYI: "Color Blind or color Brave?" The Cultural Set-up of the National Basketball Association.)


 (Above, Anett TÓTH: The Effects of Social Media on Our Language Use.)


 (Above, Dóra SCHUCK: Re: President Obama's Visit to Cuba.)
                                               (Above, Faculty Panel.)

 (Below, Tamás TÓTH: Gothic Settings: From Bram Stoker's Dracula to Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire.)
(Below,  Zsófia SZALKAI: Language in Motion: A Multilingual Community.)
May 3 program: http://veszprem.americancorner.hu/event/america-week-day-2

America Week - Day 3
May 4, 2016 10:00 AM American Corner - Eötvös Károly County Library Veszprém, H-8200 Komakút tér 3.
 
STUDENT PANEL
Date and time: May 4, 2016, 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Venue: Kisfaludy Room, Eötvös Károly County Library (H-8200 Veszprém, Komakút tér 3.)
 - Eszter FARKAS: "Kód"-Switching on Facebook
 - Viktória KISS: Disney Princesses and Role Models for Femininity
 - Tímea KOVÁCS: Star Trek, the Edenic Tradition in the American Mind, and the Jeremiad
 - Alexandra GYIMESI, Vivien SZIBLER, Éva FORINTOS: Analysis of the Blue Paper from a Contact Linguistic Point of View
 - Zsófia SZALKAI, Éva FORINTOS: Visual and Linguistic Features of Bilingual Advertisements
 - Dalma RÁBAI, Dóra SKRINYÁR, Éva FORINTOS: The Contact Linguistic Study of the Newspaper titled: "The Messenger"
 - Csilla MOLNÁR: Marriage in 19th Century Women's Fiction
FACULTY PANEL
Date and time: May 4, 2016, 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Venue: Kisfaludy Room, Eötvös Károly County Library (H-8200 Veszprém, Komakút tér 3.)
 - Adriana TODEA ("Babes Bolyai" University, Faculty of Letters, Department of English Language and Literature, Cluj-Napoca, Romania): Language and Culture
 - Andrea SZABÓ (University of Pannonia, Faculty of Modern Philology and Social Sciences, English and American Studies Institute): The Western Reborn
 - Sándor CZEGLÉDI (University of Pannonia, Faculty of Modern Philology and Social Sciences, English and American Studies Institute): Language Policy and Party Politics in the United States: A retrospective look
 - Ildikó HORTOBÁGYI (University of Pannonia, Faculty of Modern Philology and Social Sciences, English and American Studies Institute): The Americas in the New Media
THEATER EVENING
Date and time: May 4, 2016, 5:00 pm - 6:30 pm
Venue: Latinovits-Bujtor Studio Theater (H-8200 Veszprém, Iskola utca 2.)
 At the 9th America Week in Veszprém, there was a theater evening to highlight American culture. The play "The War Room" was performed by Confuse-a-Cat Ltd. from Debrecen. The play is based on Stanley Kubrick's "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb", adapted to stage by Gergely Falvassy, directed by Péter Szurdoki. Thank you to the troupe for a fantastic performance!
"THE WAR ROOM", based on the motion picture screenplay by Stanley Kubrick, Terry Southern, and Peter George, adapted to stage by Gergely Falvassy and Confuse-a-Cat Ltd.
Performed by: Confuse-a-Cat Ltd., University of Debrecen
Admission is free, but please REGISTER IN ADVANCE FOR THE THEATER EVENING AT VESZPREM@AMERICANCORNER.HU OR IN THE AMERICAN CORNER!
May 4 program: http://veszprem.americancorner.hu/event/america-week-day-3

  • America Week - Day 4
    May 5, 2016 4:30 PM American Corner - Eötvös Károly County Library Veszprém, H-8200 Komakút tér 3.
    ENGLISH CONVERSATION CLUB
     Day 4 (Thursday) of America Week featured the American Corner's regular English Conversation Club, this time with a twist: a short concert by Lovassy Chamber Orchestra in the Exhibition Hall in the Library (next to the American Corner). Join the program, develop your English skills and enjoy the music!
    Date and time: May 5, 2016, 4:30 pm - 5:30 pm
    Venue: American Corner Veszprém
    CONCERT by LOVASSY CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
    Date and time: May 5, 2016, 5:30 pm - 6:00 pm
    Venue: Exhibition Hall, Eötvös Károly County Library

May 5 program: http://veszprem.americancorner.hu/event/america-week-day-4

  • America Week - Day 5
    May 6, 2016 10:00 AM American Corner - Eötvös Károly County Library Veszprém, H-8200 Komakút tér 3.
     
    USA Basics Study Circle
    Date and time: May 6, 2016, 10:55 am - 11:40 am
    Venue: Lovassy László High School
    The American Corner offered a special English class for a group of students in Lovassy László High School. The students will learn interesting and useful facts about the USA through an interactive quiz.
     America Week was closed with some of the greatest American musicians at the Music Club - Special Edition program in Eötvös Károly Megyei Könyvtár. Thank you, Krisztián Kindler, for putting together a great selection of songs and telling us interesting stories and fun facts about the musicians, from B. B. King's guitar to Johnny Cash's prison concerts!



    Zenei Klub a könyvtárban – amerikai különkiadás
    2016. május 6-án, pénteken 16.30 órától
    az Eötvös Károly Megyei Könyvtár
    Közösségi terében
    (Veszprém, Komakút tér 3., III. emelet)
    A Zenei Klub május elején különkiadással jelentkezik. Az Amerikai Kuckóval együtt hívunk minden érdeklődőt az ”Amerika Hétre”, ahol ezúttal a 20-21. századi amerikai könnyűzene számos kiemelkedő alakjának egy-egy dala is felhangzik a közel két órányi válogatásban: Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Lady Gaga, Aretha Franklin, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Public Enemy, Lauryn Hill, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, B.B. King, James Brown, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash - csak néhány név a változatos programból.
    Továbbá a Zenei Klubba érkezők kvízjátékban is részt vehetnek, ahol értékes nyeremények várnak a legügyesebbekre.
    Klubvezető: Kindler Krisztián
    Helyben történő regisztrációt követően a rendezvény látogatása ingyenes.
    A program során a könyvtár állományában megtalálható dokumentumokat mutatjuk be.
    Szeretettel várunk minden kedves érdeklődőt!

May 6 program: http://veszprem.americancorner.hu/event/america-week-day-5

Some of the programs required registration at veszprem@americancorner.hu or in American Corner Veszprém.

Admission was free to all of the programs.















Posted by at No comments:
Labels:

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Undocumented Workers Keeping Social Security Afloat



In 2013, analysts at the Social Security Administration calculated that in 2010 undocumented immigrants had paid $13 billion into the system and were making on average $34,000 a year at the time. From 1996 to 2003, undocumented workers paid a combined $90 billion into both Social Security and Medicare.
Since 1996, immigrants who didn't qualify to get a Social Security card numbers have been able to apply for an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) from the IRS. ITINs were originally granted to foreign citizens who were active investors in the American real estate market.
A substantial percentage of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. pay billions in taxes annually and own their own homes, according to a 50 state report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (The Study).
 With an IRS ITIN number, undocumented residents can legally open a bank account and apply for mortgage financing and close on a real estate transaction.
"Contrary to a lot of myths out there, The Study shows that the undocumented pay a very significant share of their income to state and local taxes," Meg Wiehe, a co-author of the report told CBS MoneyWatch. "They are also establishing roots here because they are committed to their communities."
One in three of the nation's undocumented families own a home, according to the ITEP report. States such as Idaho and New Mexico report undocumented ownership rates as high as 46 percent. Those statistics are based on research done by the Migration Policy Institute and data collected by the U.S. Census's American Community Survey.
Expert opinion remains sharply divided on the impact of the undocumented on the U.S. economy.
While analysts at the conservative Heritage Foundation concede undocumented immigrant households do contribute tax revenue, they make the case that what they contribute is far outweighed by what their presence here in the U.S. costs taxpayers.
"In 2010, the average unlawful immigrant household received around $24,721 in government benefits and services while paying some $10,334 in taxes," according to Robert Rector and Jason Richwine in their analysis for the Heritage Foundation.
"This generated an average annual fiscal deficit (benefits received minus taxes paid) of around $14,387 per household," their analysis said. "This cost had to be borne by U.S. taxpayers. Amnesty would provide unlawful households with access to over 80 means-tested welfare programs, Obamacare, Social Security, and Medicare. The fiscal deficit for each household would soar."
While the expert debate over this hot button issue has raged for years, Pew Research Center polling suggests American public opinion has shifted greatly since the early 1990s. In a 2015 poll, 45 percent of those surveyed expressed the opinion that immigrants were a net benefit for the U.S. versus 37 percent who felt their presence had a negative impact.


One of the ironies of the challenging financial future faced by the Social Security Administration is this seldom-discussed fact: Undocumented workers contribute about $13 billion per year to the Social Security Trust Fund, and only get back a small fraction, adding a bit of black ink to a balance sheet in sore need of a boost. These Social Security payments are a proxy of sorts for the potential power of these workers who now stand in the shadows of the economy.
 
These immigrants are often accused of creating outsize social services costs, but in this important instance the opposite is true. Undocumented workers using fake, invalid, or borrowed Social Security numbers are subject to payroll taxes but usually receive nothing back.
The extent of their contributions hints at the vast scale of the underground economy.
The chief actuary of the Social Security Administration estimates that, out of the approximately 7 million unauthorized workers currently in the US labor force, about 3 million use either false or expired Social Security numbers.
The payroll taxes paid by these unauthorized workers go into the Social Security’s “Earnings Suspense File” — in effect, money without a lawful home.
 “You could say legitimately that had we not received the contributions that we have had in the past from undocumented immigrants . . . that would of course diminish our ability to be paying benefits for as long as we now can,”. Undocumented immigrants have contributed $100 billion into Social Security over the last decade.
 Major immigration reform legislation would provide work authorization and Social Security numbers for an estimated 11 million immigrants working here illegally. But without changes to protect Social Security, illegal workers whose status later changes could become entitled to benefits based on jobs worked under fake and invalid Social Security numbers. Social Security could be on the hook for hundreds of billions in new liabilities according to a new  research report based on data from the Social Security Administration.
Unauthorized immigrants getting jobs show employers false or invalid Social Security numbers. When the Social Security Administration receives copies of W2s in which the name and Social Security number do not match those on Social Security’s records, they go into the Earnings Suspense File (ESF). The W2s remain on file until the earnings can be reconciled with the real worker, even if that occurs years later. Since 2000, the Social Security Administration has received about 9.3 million such W2s per year on average, representing more than $69.4 billion per year in earnings.
The earnings reported to the ESF over the past 11 years now total more than $763.5 billion, unadjusted for inflation. “Those earnings are important, because that’s what the Social Security Administration uses to determine entitlement and initial benefit amounts — not the amount of taxes paid in,” .
Although Social Security is aware of the problem, no government estimates of the potential future cost of benefits based on work under fake Social Security numbers exist.
Immigration advocates say that the taxes on earnings worked under invalid Social Security numbers help boost Social Security’s financing and that workers would have little chance of collecting benefits. “But that would change under immigration reform that provides work authorization”. “Work authorization and a valid Social Security number are the two requirements that would allow former unauthorized workers to file a claim for benefits.”
That could have significant implications for future Social Security costs because, under current law, the fraudulent use of Social Security numbers to gain employment is not penalized. “One would think that the earnings under fake Social Security numbers would not be used to calculate Social Security benefits. But to the contrary, under current policies, those earnings can be reinstated — no questions asked”.
Social Security uses all earnings to determine entitlement even for jobs worked under fake Social Security numbers. If workers have kept evidence of earnings, like copies of their W2s, tax return earnings under invalid Social Security numbers would be reinstated to the new valid number.
“Congress is considering Social Security changes that would cut the benefits of U.S. citizens and authorized workers who paid into the system under valid Social Security numbers”. “Yet our current polices reward people for the use of fraudulent Social Security numbers, undermining the financial solvency of the program”.
“You could say legitimately that had we not received the contributions that we have had in the past from undocumented immigrants . . . that would of course diminish our ability to be paying benefits for as long as we now can,”. Undocumented immigrants have contributed $100 billion into Social Security over the last decade.
(In part based on an article by Robert Hennelly in MoneyWatch February 29, 2016)
Posted by at No comments:
Labels:

Friday, February 26, 2016

Election 2016

Please GOD, give us a President who loves America first. Give us a Pro-American, and America-First strong leader; give us an American Nationalist; not an apologist, who wants to fundamentally change this beautiful free country; not someone who does not believe in the Rule of Law, individual freedoms, free enterprise, innocent until proven guilty, equal justice under the Law, and upward mobility.
Please God, give us Donald Trump. Please do not give us a first generation immigrant who has not had enough time to learn and to appreciate the beauty of the American Culture.
And, Lord God, please give us a man of integrity, good judgement, discernment, and a man who loves and respects You, the only True God and the Creator of the Universe.
Don't give us someone like Marco Rubio who is a Con Artist,  Light-Weight, A Destroyer and not a Builder. This man has never accomplished anything in his life. He has not built a business, built a building, or created a service or a product that any people have ever wanted or needed. He has never hired anyone. He has never had to make a payroll. No families have ever depended on his judgement or work product.
Yet, he has the nerve to attack a builder, like Donald J. Trump​. Trump is Pro-American; he is an American Nationalist. He loves his country. He is not beholden to anyone. Unlike, Marco Rubio, who has been bought and paid for by people who hate America. Shame on Marco Rubio. You are finished. Your political career will go downhill from here. It will be a miracle if you get re-elected in Florida. You certainly will never be the President of the USA.This is my Prayer, Oh Lord, and I ask it all in the precious and loving name of Jesus.
I ask this in all humility.
Please Go, Bless America, again.
Make America Great Again.
This is my fervent prayer. 


(An anonymous FB member stated the Case for Trump for President most eloquently. He said:QUOTE:
I've been thinking a lot about Donald Trump, people say that he doesn't have a platform, that he just wants to make America great again. I have something to say about that. 
Donald Trump is not telling you his plan he's giving you an outline. Why? Every time he brought something to the table, the other candidates took it and ran. Such as immigration, the wall and other issues. 
I can guarantee you that he won't give you his full plans in detail until he is standing at the podium next to one of the Democrats. That is when he will reveal everything. He doesn't need to do that now. Donald Trump is a visionary. He doesn't go into business without a strategy, and a form of negotiation already set. This man is prepared in business and he will be prepared when the time is right in a debate. 
He is a brilliant man, and he will not reveal his hand. He doesn't have to, he has his supporters. They believe in him, they know he could be the Commander-in-Chief and lead this country in the right direction. 
As far foreign policy, you say he lacks. What I say is he knows the economy; he knows the about taxes, trade, laws, foreign values; he knows that inside and out because he's dealt with them for so many years. 
Now if he hadn't been good with dealing with the foreign market, he wouldn't be the billionaire that he is now. He is a international brand. He knows leaders and foreign dignitaries. 
He is an economic genius with the skills to "make this country great again '. By bringing businesses back into this country and creating jobs. This will only help our economy.
He would protect the United States from those who want to do us harm. He loves this country, and. will do what he has to do to protect it. 
HE IS bold and brash, he says what he means it means what it says, and that is what we like about him so much. He will be a tough negotiator and our allies will know where he stands at all times. They know his word will mean something, and so will our enemies. 
This is a brilliant man who has focus and he is pragmatic. He knows how to solve problems quickly. He will surround himself with the best of the best in all branches of the government. 
You will not see our soldiers kneeling at the feet of Iranians, nor will you see Isis take over the world. You haven't seen the guy work yet. All you've seen is a businessman turned politician before your eyes. His supporters are standing shoulder to shoulder with him and will not sway. 
Lobbyist and special interest groups will no longer be able to line the pockets of our House and Senate representatives. Because when they do, the Senators and congressmen will pass a bill and legislation and it will be a conflict of interest to the United States. 
No more will you have super PACs running this country. The media can ridicule Donald Trump and his supporters all they want, But we are digging in our heels. We will not be deterred. The fact of the matter is, you think Americans are stupid. But we are the backbone of this country. 
Americans will determine the vote, not the special interest groups or the lobbyists. They will finally understand clearly. Our voices will be heard. 
We will support our troops and build up our military and take care of our vets. Because this administration has not had their backs, nor have they listened to our top military leaders. No longer will our military hands be tied. 
He will secure our borders and revamp our visa program. He will do everything in his power to keep American safe. He will call our enemies by name, radical jihadists. There will no longer be political correctness, for it is destroying our country and dividing us. Americans are finally pulling together as one, United we stand, shoulder to shoulder with Donald Trump!!
UNQUOTE. 



Posted by at No comments:
Labels:

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

The Rich Keep Getting Richer and The Poor Are Getting Poorer

Inequality, class and life expectancy in America

15 February 2016
A study by Brookings Institution economists released Friday documents a sharp increase in life span divergences between the rich and the poor in America. The report, based on an analysis of Census Bureau and Social Security Administration data, concludes that for men born in 1950, the gap in life expectancy between the top 10 percent of wage earners and the bottom 10 percent is more than double the gap for their counterparts born in 1920.
 (DISCLAIMER: I neither agree nor disagree with the social or political philosophy expressed in this article. It is presented merely to disclose the underlying factual basis of the arguments put forth. The Facts and the Statistics speak for themselves.)
For those born in 1920, there was a six-year differential between rich and poor. For those born in 1950, that difference had reached 14 years. For women, the gap grew from 4.7 years to 13 years, almost tripling.
Overall, life expectancy for the bottom 10 percent improved by just 3 percent for men born in 1950 over those born in 1920. For the top 10 percent, it soared by about 28 percent.
Life expectancy for the bottom 10 percent of male wage earners born in 1950 rose by less than one year compared to that for male workers born 40 years earlier—to 73.6 from 72.9. But for the top 10 percent, life expectancy leapt to 87.2 from 79.1.
The United States ranks among the worst so-called rich countries when it comes to life expectancy. But its low ranking is entirely due to the poor health and high mortality of low-income Americans. According to the Social Security Administration, life expectancy for the wealthiest US men at age 60 was just below the rates for Iceland and Japan, two countries with the highest levels. Americans in the bottom quarter of the wage scale, on the other hand, ranked just above Poland and the Czech Republic.
Life-expectancy is the most basic indicator of social well-being. The minimal increase for low-income workers and the widening disparity between the poor and the rich is a stark commentary on the immense growth of social inequality and class polarization in the United States. It underscores the fact that socioeconomic class is the fundamental category of social life under capitalism—one that conditions every aspect of life, including its length.
The Brookings Institution findings shed further light on the catastrophic decline in the social position of the American working class. They follow recent reports showing a sharp rise in death rates for both young and middle-aged white workers, primarily due to drug abuse, alcoholism and suicide. Other recent reports have shown a dramatic decline in life expectancy for poorer middle-aged Americans and a reversal of decades of declining infant mortality.
It is no mystery what is behind this vast social retrogression. It is the product of the decay of American capitalism and a four-decade-long offensive by the ruling elite against the working class. From Reagan to the Obama administration, Democrats and Republicans alike have overseen a corporate-government assault on the jobs, wages, pensions and health benefits of working people.
The ruling elite has dismantled the bulk of the country’s industrial infrastructure, destroying decent-paying jobs by the millions, and turned to the most parasitic and criminal forms of financial speculation as the main source of its profit and private wealth. Untold trillions have been squandered to finance perpetual war and the maniacal self-enrichment of the top 1 percent and 0.1 percent.
The basic infrastructure of the country has been starved of funds and left to rot, to the point where uncounted millions of people are being poisoned with lead and other toxins from corroded water systems. Flint, Michigan is just the tip of the iceberg.
Under Obama, this social counterrevolution has been intensified. The financial meltdown of 2008 has been utilized by the same forces that precipitated the crash to carry through a reordering of social relations aimed at reversing every social gain won by the working class in the course of a century of struggle. A central target of the attack is health care for working people.
Obamacare is the spearhead of a worked-out strategy to reduce the quantity and quality of health care available to workers and reorganize the health care system directly on a class basis. Corporate and government costs are to be slashed by gutting employer-paid health care, forcing workers individually to buy expensive, bare-bones plans from the insurance monopolies, and rationing drugs, tests and medical procedures to make them inaccessible to workers.
The rise in mortality for workers and the widening of the life span gap between rich and poor are not simply the outcome of impersonal economic forces. In corporate boardrooms, think tanks and state agencies, the ruling class is working to lower working class life expectancy. In late 2013, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank with the closest ties to the Pentagon and the CIA, published two policy papers decrying the “waste” of money on health care for the elderly. The clear message was that ordinary people were living much too long and diverting resources needed by the military to wage war around the world.
The social and economic chasm in America finds a political expression in the vast disconnect between the entire political establishment and the masses of working people. Neither party nor any of their presidential candidates, the self-described “socialist” Bernie Sanders included, can seriously address the real state of social conditions or offer a serious program to address the crisis.
In his final State of the Union Address last month, Obama presented an absurd picture of a resurgent economy. “The United States of America, right now,” he declared, “has the strongest, most durable economy in the world… Anyone claiming that America’s economy is in decline is peddling fiction.”
In the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, Hillary Clinton and Sanders are seeking to outdo one another in seizing the mantle of the Obama administration and praising its supposed social and economic achievements.
They cannot address the real conditions facing the masses of working people because they defend the capitalist system, which is the source of the social disaster. The remedy must be based on an understanding of the disease. It is the building of an independent socialist and revolutionary movement uniting the entire working class, in the US and around the world.
(Barry Grey, World Socialist Web Site)
(DISCLAIMER: I neither agree nor disagree with the social or political philosophy expressed in this article. It is presented merely to disclose the underlying factual basis of the arguments put forth. The Facts and the Statistics speak for themselves.)
Posted by at No comments:
Labels:

You Have To Pay Taxes On Your Social Security Retirement Benefits

Tax On Social Security May Come As Surprise


The requirement to pay income tax on Social Security Retirement benefits may come as a surprise to many retirees. Baby boomers beware. It is a fact.
Many Americans don't realize that the Social Security benefits they receive in retirement can be subject to income tax. But millions of Americans will find out in the years to come, because the percentage of Social Security benefits that they'll end up returning to Uncle Sam in the form of income taxes will rise dramatically, according to a study from the Social Security Administration.
How much will income taxes on Social Security rise?
In the past, most of those who paid income taxes on their Social Security benefits are among the top half of income earners. The quarter of the American population that had the highest income paid about 14% of their benefits to the government in 2010 in the form of income taxes. That compared to just 5% for those in the second-highest 25% of the population, and the bottom half of the income distribution paid 0.5% or less of their benefits in income tax.
But the SSA sees that percentage rising dramatically, and most of the additional burden will be on the middle class. By 2025, the percentage of benefits that upper-middle class Americans pay in taxes on their benefits will have doubled to almost 10%, and families in the second-lowest 25% of the income distribution will have seen their tax liability rise sixfold to 3%.
The main reason why people will pay more of their Social Security benefits in income taxes has to do with the formula the IRS uses. In order to figure out how much of your benefits you have to include in taxable income, you have to total up all of your taxable income, and then add in half of your Social Security benefits. If that figure is more than $25,000 for single filers or $32,000 for joint filers, then up to half of your benefits can get taxed. If it's above $34,000 for singles or $44,000 for joint filers, the maximum percentage of your benefits included in taxable income rises to 85%.
Most IRS formulas are indexed for inflation, but the one that calculates Social Security taxation isn't. Therefore, as inflation pulls wages up, more people will pass the dollar thresholds listed above. Unless lawmakers add an inflation index provision, a law that initially affected only high-income taxpayers will slowly but surely affect all Americans.




For an individual, 50 percent of Social Security benefits are subject to income tax if the individual’s income is more than $25,000 a year and 85 percent of benefits are subject to tax if the income is more than $34,000 a year, according to the Social Security Administration.
For a couple, the respective income levels are $32,000 and $44,000. Income for these purposes includes adjusted gross income, tax-exempt interest income and half of the Social Security benefits.
 Social Security is a primary source of retirement income for tens of millions of Americans, and financial planners urge people to take maximum advantage of the Social Security benefits they've earned. For many planners, that means advising their clients to wait beyond the early claiming age of 62 before taking their benefits. But even though waiting can be smart for some people, there are good reasons for others to go ahead and take benefits as soon as possible.
These are desperate times for many people in America who were once considered among the Middle Class. They have seen their living standards decline and are struggling to make ends meet. Many were laid off in the last eight years and have not been able to find new jobs. They are not counted in the Unemployment Statistics because they have dropped out of the labor pool. Many are between the ages of 50 and 65 and do not yet qualify for Social Security Retirement Benefits. They have not even reached the age when they would be eligible to apply for early retirement. For many Baby Boomers that is around age 62.
Social Security pays out smaller monthly benefits to those who claim early, but the extra payments give early claimers a head start over those who wait. The Social Security Administration's goal initially was to set things up so that timing didn't have a material impact on how much you would receive in benefits over your lifetime.
If you don't expect you'll live as long as the typical Social Security recipient, then claiming early can make sense. Keep in mind, though, that if you have a spouse or other loved ones who will claim benefits based on your work record, your decision can affect their benefits as well. But if you don't have family members who will claim survivor benefits, then you'll end up better off claiming early if you expect not to reach the age that the SSA's life expectancy projections would predict.

The primary reason to wait to take Social Security benefits is one based on mathematics and maximizing your family's total benefits. For some, however, getting the biggest check possible isn't as valuable as living the life they want.
For many, taking Social Security early allows them to retire at an earlier age or cut back on their hours. Others prefer to use the additional cash early in their retirement when they can still enjoy it the most. Financial planners would tell you that you're leaving money on the table in many cases, but the actual value of those additional dollars might not be as much as getting to pick the time when the money will have the greatest impact.
People who die earlier should start drawing their Social Security Retirement Benefits earlier. Life-expectancy is the most basic indicator of social well-being. The minimal increase for low-income workers and the widening disparity between the poor and the rich is a stark commentary on the immense growth of social inequality and class polarization in the United States. It underscores the fact that socioeconomic class is the fundamental category of social life under capitalism—one that conditions every aspect of life, including its length.
The Brookings Institution findings shed further light on the catastrophic decline in the social position of the American working class. They follow recent reports showing a sharp rise in death rates for both young and middle-aged white workers, primarily due to drug abuse, alcoholism and suicide. Other recent reports have shown a dramatic decline in life expectancy for poorer middle-aged Americans and a reversal of decades of declining infant mortality.
Late last year, lawmakers made changes to benefits available to Social Security participants who waited until full retirement age to claim benefits. Among them were the repeal of the restricted application or file-as-a-spouse-first strategy and the file-and-suspend strategy. Under a restricted application, those who reached full retirement age could elect to claim only spousal benefits, leaving their own retirement benefits untouched. Similarly, using file and suspend, someone at full retirement age or older could file for benefits but immediately suspend them and still allow a spouse to claim spousal benefits.
As a result of these legal changes, there's no longer as much incentive for married couples to wait until full retirement age -- currently age 66 -- to claim their benefits. The thousands of dollars that these couples will no longer be eligible to receive could be enough to push the balance toward claiming earlier rather than waiting, especially if some of the other factors above would ordinarily lead them to take benefits at 62.
When to claim Social Security is a tough decision that involves plenty of variables. But even though many financial planners urge their clients to think twice before claiming benefits at the earliest possible age, there are situations where it makes more sense to go ahead and take Social Security at 62 rather than waiting.
Financial advisors need to know this and be prepared to warn clients about the issue. Tax planning affects when a person should take Social Security Retirement benefits and when benefits should be delayed and that money instead taken from an investment portfolio.
In most situations, a retiree is better off delaying receiving Social Security benefits until he or she is 70 years old because benefits grow by about 8 percent a year until the recipient reaches 70.
In addition, with the current high market value, taking withdrawals from a portfolio now will not deplete the portfolio as much as they would if the market makes a correction. When a retiree hits 70.5 years of age, a minimum distribution amount is required to be taken from an IRA or 401(k). If some money has already been withdrawn before the person reaches 70.5, the required minimum distribution will be less and the tax burden decreased accordingly.
Each client’s situation is different. The tax implications must be determined for each retiree. But advisors may want to help their clients build an income bridge so Social Security Retirement benefits can be delayed until they reach their maximum.

Oldest Boomers Face Big Birthday


The oldest Baby Boomers are facing a big birthday this year as they turn 70, which brings with it some forced financial decisions.
The oldest boomers will have to start taking required minimum distributions (RMDs) from their qualified retirement accounts and those who have delayed receiving their Social Security benefits will start receiving that money.
Ideally, the oldest baby boomers began talking with their financial advisors and planning for retirement a decade ago, says Bill Van Sant, senior vice president at Girard Partners Ltd., a Univest Wealth Management company in King of Prussia, Pa.
“This is an important birthday. Those turning 70.5 years old can take their RMD the next year but we advise them to take it the year they turn 70.5 or they will have to take two in the following year, which could push them into a higher tax bracket for that one year,” Van Sant says.
The RMD for retirement plans is determined by a formula based on the value of the assets in the plan. In most cases, the money was not taxed when it was contributed, so it is taxed as it is taken out.
If an annual withdrawal is missed, the penalty is a stiff one, says Mike Piershale, president of Piershale Financial Group in Crystal Lake, Ill. Piershale had a client who was unaware of the required withdrawal, which in her case turned out to be $16,000 for the first year.
“She would have been penalized $8,000 or 50 percent because no one had told her she was required to take money out of her tax qualified plan. We managed to get the money back for her by explaining to the IRS that it was a mistake on her part that first year,” Piershale says.
Withdrawals are required from traditional IRAs and also from company 401(k) plans, if the person is no longer working for the company.
“We make sure we remind our clients of the required withdrawals before they turn 70,” says Piershale.
Ellen Jordan, senior vice president at Bryn Mawr Trust, a wealth management firm in Bryn Mawr, Pa., notes that baby boomers are the first generation that has saved in tax deferred accounts because companies phased out pensions.
“Now they have to start spending what they accumulated and the big scare is that they will not have enough money for the rest of their lives,” Jordan says. “Depending on their health, they may want to continue working.”
Jordan says Bryn Mawr sometimes advises clients to start taking distributions from tax-deferred accounts gradually before they turn 70.5 so they are not pushed into a higher tax bracket when they begin required withdrawals.
Advisors also need to remind clients that Social Security benefits can be taxed. For an individual, 50 percent of Social Security benefit is subject to federal income tax if the income is above $25,000 and 85 percent is taxed if the income exceeds $34,000, according to the Social Security Administration. The limits for couples are $32,000 and $44,000, respectively.
This year presents another deadline as well, advisors are reminding their clients. The Social Security Administration is phasing out the strategy known as file and suspend. Under this strategy, one spouse is able to file and suspend his benefits to allow the other person to collect spousal benefits. This allows the first spouse’s benefits to grow until age 70.
The SSA has given couples until the end of April to file for this benefit, after which it will no longer be available.
(In part Based on Articles By Karen DeMasters)
Posted by at No comments:
Labels:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)