Bruce’s Poor Man Survival Bulletin
A Digest of Urban Survival Resources
ISSN 2161-5543
In This Issue:
1. Oprah for President-Save the Middle Class
2. Free Security Upgrades
3. Birthday Freebies
4. New Health Care Comparison
site
We can't be so
fixated on our desire
to preserve the rights of ordinary Americans..."
-- Bill Clinton, Former President
to preserve the rights of ordinary Americans..."
-- Bill Clinton, Former President
Saving the Middle Class from its worst decade – Oprah
for President?
Few would argue that our
middle class has taken a beating. Lower
wages, fewer jobs, jobs without benefits, non-stop wars, a decline in civil
rights, an ever expanding federal government, an unfair tax policy and declining
home values - all have contributed to a lower standard of living.
Neither party seems
able to work through our (their) problems.
Without addressing the
many problems which face our country, it’s unlikely we’ll ever bounce
back. The gap between the rich and poor
has been growing since the 1970s. Much
of the country is stagnating and most college degrees aren’t worth the
parchment they are printed on so many of the younger generation are not
optimistic about the future either.
Platoons of Wall
Street supported lobbyists have helped to shred economic safeguards and to
reverse the tax structure whereby fewer Fortune 500 firms pay any meaningful
taxes.
For whatever reason,
many Americans are more enamored by Hollywood and its non-stop gossip, than the
future of our country. Perhaps if Oprah
ran for president, the flocks would wake up and listen.
In reality, I’m not
kidding. Few celebrities have the
credibility and following that Oprah has and she has done a lot of good through
her talk show program.
Perhaps we should all
consider her as a write-in candidate this coming election. How’s this for a thought, Oprah and Palin
running together!
ATM machine terminals
are loaded with germs, more than public restrooms. Use the corner of your card instead of
fingers to touch the screen. Outdoor
ATMS have fewer germs than inside ones…might be a good idea to carry antiseptic
wipes to use afterward.
PM’s
Compendium of Useful Resources
Obama Care Notes…Health insurance is too expensive
Health insurers routinely turn away or deny 20% of
Americans for insurance…
While the Poor Man
agrees the costs for health care in this country is staggering, Obama care does
not seem to be addressing this challenge.
There are significant elements being overlooked in terms of tort reform,
the need for new worker’s comp rules, and the affordability for average
Americans.
>>The absence of
health coverage results in significant difficulties accessing care. Among
uninsured adults ages 19-29, 57 percent go without essential medical services
at some point during the year because, they cannot afford the cost of care.
>>The impact on
older adults is even more startling. Peer-reviewed studies suggest that more
than 13,000 adults ages 55 to 64 die each year because they have no health
coverage, making lack of insurance the third-leading cause of death in this age
group.
People are rejected
for new health insurance for reasons as little as visiting a chiropractor; as
many as one in five are rejected by insurers.
Denial rates vary by state and by insurer . The 2010 federal health overhaul will ban
such denials of coverage in 2014.
The federal government's new health care website takes much of the mystery and frustration out of
shopping for a health plan. For the first time, consumers can find and compare
prices and benefits for thousands of private insurance policies as well as
community health services and public health programs like Medicaid or Medicare
"Unlike health
insurance sales sites, we're not selling you anything," says Todd Park,
chief technology officer at the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The website does not rate or recommend plans. "We're a totally objective,
unbiased source of information focused maniacally on the consumer."
Avoid
Fraudulent Websites
It seems each year the
number of online scams grows, fleecing millions of dollars from hapless
citizens. Learn if a site is trustworthy
or has already scammed someone by going to:
www.SiteJabber.com
Free Security
Upgrades
TrackMeNot.org
- offers a Firefox and
Chrome add-on that prevents Yahoo, Google and other search engines from
creating a profile of you.
CyberGhost VPN
Free - a program that
temporarily replaces your normal IP address with a ghost address so that you
can work online anonymously - great from when you’re working from a public Wi
Fi hot spot or other sensitive area.
SIDEBAR: There are many community minded programmers
who create software applications called freeware or donationware. These entrepreneurs deserve your support and
you can find these certified free of malware or spyware resources at:
Source: PC World
Turn an old lunchbox into a first aid kit. Stock it with antiseptic wipes, bandaids,
gauze, tape, scissors, etc.
Get
Birthday Freebies…
Use the following sites – simply type in your
zip code to discover free items.
FreeBirthdayTreats.com
BirthdayFreebies.com
FreeBirthdayStuff.com
Search
Coupon Matching Sites for Bargains
Discover money-saving matchups at these sites:
CouponDivas.com
MoneySavingQueen.com
Protect
garden tools stored in sheds or garages from rust by spraying them with a light
coat of WD-40 or petroleum jelly.
The Nanny
State Updates…
America’s
hidden tax and jobs nightmare…
The regulatory burden on
Americans has continued to increase during the first half of FY 2011, with $5.8
billion in new annual costs and $65.5 billion in one-time implementation costs.
Overall, 75 new major regulations costing over $38 billion annually have been
imposed by regulators from the beginning of the Obama Administration to mid-FY
2011. Action by Congress as well as the President to stem this regulatory surge
is essential.
Click here for more information
Click here for more information
A TSA agent is demanding
$500,000 from a passenger who described the agent’s aggressive search of her
crotch as “rape.” The passenger
described the event online and the agent’s lawyer demanded its retraction and
pay a half million dollars.
Super Cookies and it’s all legal!
The university researchers
found both MSN.com and Hulu.com websites were installing "history
stealing" supercookies. Supercookies are more
invasive than regular cookies and more difficult for an individual to remove on
his or her own. Also, supercookies persist and stay embedded on your computer,
even after regular cookies have been deleted.
Freshen your toilet bowl
without scrubbing by pouring in a can of cola and let sit for an hour.
The Parting Thought – Being an entrepreneur is a
viable alternative
Amy Parsons used to
work as a telecommunications executive, but the stress was eating her alive.
Diagnosed with an autoimmune condition aggravated by stress, she didn’t let it
frustrate her when she was laid off. Instead, she picked herself up and started
a business, reports Philly.com.
“It’s a different type of stress,” she said during an
interview this month as one of her seven dogs, Basta, a four-year-old Italian
mastiff, sat at her feet. “I always tease I used to work with cold-blooded
animals. Now, I work with warm-blooded ones.”
When Canine Creature Comforts opened in 15,000 square
feet of rented space at the Great Valley Shopping Center on Route 30, it
initially offered dog grooming, training, day care, and supplies. The $130,000
in start-up costs were covered, Parsons said, with her and husband Terry
Cummings’ 401(k) savings.
But with overhead “pretty high,” including a monthly
rent of $16,000, the company of 16 employees was in need of an infusion of
money for operating capital about a year into its existence. Contrary to what
she heard on television and radio commercials, banks were not lending, Parsons
said.
Parsons said her corporate work had not prepared her
for that: “I didn’t understand how difficult it is for a business to get
financing,” especially a service business that rents rather than owns its
property. “We had to become extremely creative.”
About two years into
the business, Parsons added boarding services at Canine – with an employee who
sleeps over, and even allows the more well-behaved “guests” to share the bed –
to help offset the losses from the more recession-vulnerable day-care
operation. Both boarding and training (considered more of a necessity than a
luxury) represent the most promising areas for growth, she said, especially as
the local economy continues to struggle.
Finally, it was a bad
week for Iranian publishers when they discovered that thousands of cut-rate
Korans imported from China were littered with mistakes. The Islamic Republic is now banning holy
books from being printed in China!
Yours for ‘thinking on
your feet’ – the Poor Man
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