Harsh Economic Realities for Amercia's Families
Why is it that the groups who bear the most financial stress and hardship are families and the elderly?
Aren't these our two most precious Human assets? Our children, the America of tomorrow, the apples of our eyes. We all hold children dear, whether they are our own or someone else's. Even if we have no children, we know they are special, they need our support and protection through the most important developmental years. And our parents, those who raised us, supported us, nurtured us, and taught us. Senior citizens are our living repository of practical experience and wisdom.
But, how are these groups treated by society?
At least 65% of American children live in households with an almost unbearable amount of financial tension and stress. They have to do without things, like new clothes, really healthy whole foods, medical insurance, and worst of all, their parents' attention because parents must work long, draining hours just to provide food and shelter for their families. We can only hope parents don't get hurt or sick, because their little children could be out on the street before they know it!
Many retired people are having to face a harsh reality. after being told they must work a job for 40 years, to provide for their old age, they are now finding that there is no security in old age, no matter how hard they've worked or how long they've stayed with a particular company. Forced early retirement, bankrupt pension plans, social security benefits that aren't enough to live on, and sky high medical costs make old age even more treacherous than famlihood, because it's much harder for retirees to find decent work due to the limitations of age and also, age discrimination.
This is not right and something must be done about it immediately!
We get a lot of lip service from government and corporations about how they care. They care about children. They care about families. They care about senior citizens. But, do they really? Based on results, children, families and seniors can only say, "Yeah, right!"
Look at our politicians, hard at work in Washington making sure that the richest 10% of Americans get tax breaks, giving juicy government contracts to their fat cat buddies and trying to enforce an ideology that has no place in a government devoted to the separation of church and state. They have slashed, crippled or mismanaged every social program designed to help families and senior citizens. They don't have any plans to address the health care crisis in America because their pharmaceutical buddies really like things the way they are. Even victims of overwhelming natural disaster don't seem to rate timely government assistance. Our government today seems to be sending a very clear message, "If you don't have money, you're on your own."
Corporations smile at us through media and public relations agents while, behind the scenes, they downsize or mismanage pension plans. "Oops! Sorry. There's just no money left for you." But, the corporate managers have all been paid, and in many cases, each one has been paid enough to sustain 5 families or more! Is it really necessary to have such a disparity between executive and worker salaries? Who works harder?
Whatever our purpose in life, I KNOW we were not created to spend our lives consumed with working and worrying about money. No religion on Earth preaches that making money is the most important thing in life. Rather, they try to impress on us how important people and relationships are. It is love, fostered through correct action that makes life worth living. This is a spiritual concept that transcends religion, because people from every religion would agree, people are more important than money.
So, how did we end up with a system like this?
Lack is a very powerful and motivating condition. Many who have come from meager beginnings never want to endure it ever again. Many who have money are so afraid of losing it that they will go to any lengths to keep it all for themselves. It really does amount to fear, whether you have money or not. That is how this money based state of affairs arises and that is how it stays in effect.
What can we do about it?
I know. This system has been around for so long that it's hard imagine life any other way, but that is exactly where we must start. Try it now. Can you imagine what life would be like for you if you weren't worried about money? What would you do? Where would you live? What would your home be like, your clothes? What would your stress level be like? You'd be far more relaxed. Go on, imagine it now. Take a deep breath and let it out feeling as if you didn't have a financial care in the world.
Now imagine what other people would be like if they didn't have to worry about money. They'd be less rude. They'd smile more. You'd hear less yelling amidst your neighbors or even from your own family. Children would be raised by people who could actually focus on them for more time everyday, which means the adults of tomorrow would be calmer. They'd have fewer "issues" and hang-ups because they would grow up feeling they were the most important thing in their parents' lives, fostering greater self esteem.
This is only the first step, but it's very important. Our focus determines our reality. Thoughts become things. If you can't imagine a better world, you'll never realize it. We need everyone's participation here.
Act with compassion and integrity
I'll never understand why people with wealth don't seem grateful to the people who made it happen. Behind every million dollar corporation, there are thousands of employees and customers, without whom there would be no business. Those who have wealth, have it by the grace of all. No one can make money all by themselves and if you don't believe me, try going into a room alone (with no money press, phone, fax or Internet ready computer) and see just how much money you can make without anyone else.
Every person in America is rich compared to others around the world. Be grateful for it. Those who can afford to give to others without starving, should! Tithing has even been shown to be one of the fastest way to wealth. Give 10% of your income to others freely and it will come back to you many times over.
Vote!
I can't say enough how important it is to pay close attention to politics on every level. I know, it's boring, but I am shocked at how far removed our current administration is from the common man. How did it happen? It didn't happen over night. The very politicians in office today have long shown their stripes of greed and corruption, but people voted for them anyway! They certainly have lots of friends and very slick public faces, but anyone who bothered to look at their records could have seen this situation coming before these guys were elected to more important offices.
Acting on the recommendations of others (be they teachers, parents, priests, co-workers, whatever,) may seem much easier that researching candidates for yourself, but look where it's gotten us. We must take our responsibilities to choose our leaders and vote much more seriously.
Gwenneth Morgan is a 40ish, Pagan wife, mother and businesswoman who is totally fed up with the old Way. With the belief that humans have evolved to a point where we can, as a group, embrace the light, she has found the courage to openly share her views and encourage others to do the same. Visit her web site to learn more. http://www.gwennethmorgan.com.
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Vera Bradley Luggage
What is the prettiest luggage available today? Without question, the prettiest luggage is Vera Bradley by Ricardo of Beverly Hills. This luggage for women is available in fashion forward quilted colors from Vera Bradley's newest collection. There's a Signature red print, a Signature navy blue print, a Signature solid black quilted, and a Java blue print. Fabrics are made of an abrasion tested, tightly woven micro PolyCord. The interior fabric, which complements but does not match the exterior print, is 100% quilted cotton. The exterior fabric is coated in Dupont Teflon for extra protection against soiling and staining. This luggage can withstand all the rigors of airline, bus, train and boat travel.
Vera Bradley luggage is not just "another pretty face." The side bound construction is sturdy Bengaline piping, which protects corners, zippers and edges. The in-line skate wheel system has industrial strength steel ball bearing for quiet and effortless effort in pulling or pushing when full. Zippers are travel tested to stand up to rigorous use, yet they provide smooth and quiet operation. The hardware is highly polished chrome and many of the zipper pulls have Vera's signature tape pulls.
The luggage is also lightweight in keeping with all of the new airline requirements and restrictions. The 21" "WheelAboard" carry on case weights less than 10 lbs. All of the Pullmans have a two-compartment construction with a patented floating divider that allows you to hang jackets or dresses or use the compartment to separate different types of clothing. The Pullmans also include a matching shoe case to protect your clothes.
There is a rolling wardrobe carrier available as part of the collection. The case hangs from double over-the-door hooks for ease of packing and use. No need to unpack this case either. There's a pocket for everything, with removable see-through pockets for cosmetics and other essentials. There's a padded extender panel for longer garments. Virtually any hanger type will lock securely in place on the "Wally clamp" inside the bag. There are six mesh pockets which hold folded clothes and accessories. For shorter trips, there's a 48" long folding garment carrier without wheels. This is an ideal size for weekends or shorter trips.
two of the most popular pieces available are the rolling tote and rolling duffle. The Vera Bradley tote will attach to the top of any of the Pullman pieces allowing you to roll just "one set." It has multi pockets inside and is the perfect size to carry on a tour when they require a 17" size. It has extra zippered pockets, which are handy for jewelry, glasses and all of those important papers. The rolling duffle is totally soft, but with the added feature of wheels. This will roll easily down an airplane aisle, fit virtually anywhere because of the soft construction, and is the weekend piece of choice with many women both young and old. It also has zippered pockets on the outside as well as the inside and is very lightweight.
Vera Bradley luggage also has a lifetime-limited warranty that the product is free from defects in material and workmanship.
Maxine Greco has been in the travel and luggage industry for over 35 years. She is currently working at http://www.villageluggageandgifts.com.
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How Does Yoga Reduce Your Stress?
The human body is a wonderful thing. It can take an unusual amount of punishment and stress, and still heal itself. But it needs your help to accomplish this cure. In order to rejuvenate your bodys natural defense system, you need to relax. Relaxation and rest will cure many diseases.
Certain yoga poses will help to stimulate glands in the brain, and will put the body into the Alpha state. The Alpha state will help increase the creative thought process, as well as help the body heal itself. The Alpha state is often attained during savasana, the final resting pose in yoga practice.
Yoga exercise consists of smooth stretches and twists combined with deep symmetrical breathing to help the body loosen up tight strained muscles, stretching the spinal column and relieving stress on the discs and joints. The muscles are stretched out releasing the poisons and toxins in the body. Pranayam (breathing exercises) help flush the lung tissues, allowing an increased oxygen level to enter the bloodstream, which fights off infection and helps the body heal itself.
On a physical level, yoga will increase strength, flexibility and grace. But equally important, yoga exercise will reduce stress levels by the process of healing and cleansing the mind along with healing the body. yoga views the body as having multiple levels or layers, and the various exercises and postures help create an energy flow throughout the mind and body.
All of the stress that we are subject to results in a great deal of physical tension in your body. yoga can reduce this stress and tension level and eliminate toxins from the body. yoga also helps clear the mind and spirit. Asana (posture), pranayama (breathing) and dhyana (meditation) will help release muscular tension which leads to better stress management and generates an overall feeling of well being.
yoga resting poses help to release abdominal tension, allowing improved digestive functions. The yoga resting poses also allow the body to enter into a relaxed calm state, which is free from the fight or flight stress, which also helps the body to rejuvenate itself. yoga also helps create focus, which allows our mind to relax and clear negative thoughts.
For those who just now discovering yoga, it truly is the best exercise method that not only increases your bodys strength, but will reduce your stress levels and improve your mental health.
sydney Heiden is a practitioner of yoga and founder of Yoga and Meditation for Beginners. For more yoga tips and information, go to her website, www.Yoga.Cool-Home-Stuff.com.
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Starting An E-Commerce Business
The development and expansion of the Internet has made business opportunities, once only available to the wealthy, available to nearly everyone. In the past, opening a business was a huge commitment in terms of finances and risk. Traditional business owners had to quit the their current jobs, obtain bank financing, and sign leases before they even made a penny. Its easy to see why 95% of them failed within five years. Today, business opportunities are available to anyone willing to put in the time and effort to learn about the world of e-commerce. best of all, you can start an e-commerce business with minimal funds and very little risk. This guide will take you though the steps necessary to start your own e-commerce business.
Find Your Niche
The first step to creating your own e-commerce business is to find you niche. Examine your hobbies and interests for potential business ideas. If you love soccer, consider selling soccer supplies or team uniforms online. You may also consider opening a business that is similar to your current job. For example, as a nurse you may know a lot about medical supplies and how hospitals obtain them. You could start a medical supply business. Your contacts and industry knowledge could give you an advantage over a competitor who does not know the inner-workings of hospitals the way you do.
Research The Demand
Now that you have a few business ideas, its time to research the demand for your products or services. If you plan to sell to the general public, youll want to find out how many people are looking for your products or services. As a small business owner, you will not have the marketing funds to create a demand for a product. The products you sell, must already be in demand. A great way to determine product demand is to see how many people are searching for a specific product. Overture has a wonderful keyword tool (http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/) that displays the number of searches for specific keywords. It will give you a good idea of which products are popular and the specific keywords you should target when building your website.
Scope Out Your Soon-To-Be Competitors
Before settling on a business idea, scope out your would-be competitors. Visit their websites and compare the following:
Professional Look & Feel
Products and Services
Search Engine Ranking
Page Rank (Available on the Google Tool Bar)
Keywords
Back Links (how many sites link to them).
Youll need to know your competitors websites inside and out. Spend some time exploring each one. This will give you an idea of what youre up against. Keep in mind, that your website will need to be equally as professional or better than theirs. Dont worry if you dont think you have the technical skills necessary to create a professional website. The use of professional website templates will be explained later.
While youre researching your competitors, check to see if the products you intend to sell are sold at large department stores such as Wal-Mart, Target, and Amazon.com. It is very difficult for a small business to compete with these large companies because the profit margins are extremely low. Youll need to sell products that are in demand, but arent sold by corporate giants.
Establish A Business Entity
In order to conduct business, you need to establish a business entity. Fortunately this can be as easy as filing a Doing Business As or Fictitious Name form with your local County Clerks office to become a sole proprietor. When you arrive at the County Clerks office, they will check their records to make sure your intended business name is not already in use. If its available, you will need to complete the appropriate forms and pay your filing fee. Each state has different requirements. Check with your state for requirements on becoming a sole proprietor.
You will also need a sales tax id. You will need to charge sales taxes in the state where your business resides. Contact your county office for details about sales tax IDs and any other requirements they may have.
Open A Business Bank Account
Now that you are a legitimate business owner, its time to open a business bank account. Take your court documents to the bank and open a business checking account. Most banks offer a variety of business accounts. Choose the one the best meets your needs. Its usually best to start with their least expensive account because it could be a while before you start earning revenue. You can always upgrade in the future.
Some banks require a business owner to wait specified amount of time, usually 90 days, after the court documents are filed before opening a business bank account. These rules are in place to help prevent fraud. Check with your bank to obtain waiting period information.
Choose A Domain name
While you wait to open a bank account, you can start building your website. First, register a domain name. names that end in .com are best. If possible your, domain name should include one or more of your target keywords. For example, if you are creating a yoga supply business, youll want to choose a name with the word yoga, such as yogacenter.com, yoga-supply.com, or yogastuff.com.
Create Your Website
One of the keys to successful e-commerce businesses is a professional website. Your website is the first and often the only impression your visitors will have of your business. A professional website can be the difference between your visitors viewing you as a home-based business operating out of your garage and a multi-million dollar business with hundreds of employees. Fortunately, you dont need to be a web programmer to create a professional website. There are companies that sell professional website templates. You can get website templates for free, but its much better to pay for a highly professional template. To find these templates, simply search for website templates. You should expect to pay $50 $150 for a good template with multiple pages and professional images.
Most website templates can be customized with common HTML editors and a simple graphics program. Templates can be edited without having to invest a lot of time and energy into learning how to code web pages.
Youll want your website content to target specific keywords. This can be achieved by creating articles, product reviews, product comparisons and detailed description of your products. Avoid repeating the keywords so often that the text becomes difficult to read. There is a fine line between good copy text and spam text. Spam text is designed to increase your sites listing in the search engines, but often backfires when penalties are issued and your website is dropped from the listing.
Host Your Website
Now that your website has been created, its time to find a company to host your website on their servers. You should be able to find a good hosting company for around $10 per month. This fee should include technical support and email accounts with your domain name. Domain name-specific email accounts are important for a professional image.
Your website files can be uploaded with a simple FTP program. The hosting companys technical support personnel can walk you through the steps to upload your files and launch your website.
Implement A Shopping Cart
No e-commerce website is complete without a secure shopping cart. There are many shopping cart options. Many e-commerce business owners make the mistake of using Pay Pal to accept payments, which immediately tells visitors that their company is very small and not professional.
A good alternative to Pay Pal is a remotely hosted shopping cart. Remote shopping carts take the burden of maintaining security and credit card numbers off your shoulder and places the responsibility on another company. Remote shopping carts can usually be configured to look similar to your website. In fact, your customers may not realize that they have left your website to place an order. The remote shopping cart provider will give you the HTML to add to your website. When your potential customer clicks on the Buy Now button, he or she is taken to the remote shopping cart to enter the personal information and payment details.
Depending on your choice of a shopping cart, you may or may not need a merchant account to process transactions. Some shopping cart services allow you to use their merchant accounts for a slightly higher fee.
Stock Your Inventory
Now that your website has been created, its time to stock your inventory. The first step is to find the manufacturers of the products you wish to sell. You can find this information by reviewing your competitors websites. Some of them may list the manufacturer with the product name or description. Once you have the name, you can search for the manufacturer online.
Contact the manufacturer and tell them that you are interested in becoming a distributor. Ask for a wholesale price list and an application. The price list will help you determine if the profit margins are high enough to justify selling their product.
Youll want to ask the manufacturer the following questions:
What is the MSRP (Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price) for the item?
Am I required to sell the item at MSRP?
What is your minimum order quantity/amount?
Some manufacturers will not sell to e-commerce businesses that do not have a brick and mortar retail location. If this is the case, youll simply have to find a company that manufactures a similar product and is willing to sell to an e-commerce business.
Promote Your Business
Now that your website is live and youre open for business, its time to promote your website. If no one knows that it exists, you will not receive any sales. Most website visitors originate from search engines. Before search engines can list your website, they have to know that it exists. Youll need to submit your website to search engines and directories such as Yahoo!, DMOZ, Excite, and others. Search engine submission programs and services are available, but they not effective. Most good search engines require websites to be manually submitted. They enforce this by displaying an image with a series of letters or numbers that automated programs cannot read. The code embedded in the image is required to submit your website.
Search engine algorithms are extremely complex. The ranking of a website in their search results depends on a number of factors, including keywords, density, back links, page rank, and other factors. After submitting your website to the major directories and search engines, the next step is to establish back links. When search engines crawl the web and find a link to your site, they count the link as a vote for your site. The more votes you have, the higher your site will rank (assuming other criteria has also been met). You can acquire back links by sending emails to other website owners and offering to exchange links. Its very difficult for new websites to acquire back links. Most people prefer to exchange links with established websites. In a way, its a catch-22, but it can be done and the results are worth it.
Starting your own e-commerce business is a lot of work. Making it successful is even more work, but the pay-offs can be rewarding. Thanks to the explosion of the Internet age, e-commerce business opportunities are now available to anyone with a computer, a few hundred dollars for start-up costs, some spare time and the desire to create a business.
Copyright 2004 ZIP Baby. All Rights Reserved.
About The Author
Danna Henderson started ZIP Baby in order to provide parents with comprehensive potty training information as well as a large selection of potty training products. For more information about potty training, or to browse the potty training store, visit the Toilet Time Targets for Potty Training.
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