Social Security: Your Piece of The Pie

Rumor has it that Social Security may not be around for you to collect in your retirement years. There's plenty of controversy surrounding the Social Security system, and certain trends are worrisome. To understand the concern, consider how Social Security works.


When you're employed, you pay into the Social Security system in the form of taxes withheld from your paycheck. Through these payments you earn Social Security credits. Your employer also pays into the fund, and together your contributions are used to pay today's Social Security recipients. When you retire, some of the money you draw upon will be contributed by tomorrow's workers.


The amount of your Social Security benefit will depend on your earnings averaged over most of your working career and on the age you begin receiving the benefit. The earlier you decide to retire, the smaller your monthly check will be. But did you know that Social Security is likely to provide you with less than 40% of the amount you earn at the time you retire?


Now back to the key question. Will you ever see your payout from Social Security? Consider this: Census figures indicate that in the near future, when the huge population of baby boomers begins to reach retirement age, the number of retirees will grow much more quickly than will the number of workers supporting them. So money will be flowing out of the system faster than it flows in. There is concern that Social Security could run out of money as early as 2029.


The federal government has promised that the money will be there. In order to keep its promise, however, the government will have to cover a shortfall, probably by increasing taxes or reducing benefit levels now or in the future.


Whether Social Security will be more than pie in the sky remains to be seen. Whatever happens with Social Security, your future financial well-being is in your own hands. Used effectively, your retirement saving plan is still the best opportunity you will have to provide adequately, even handsomely, for your retirement years.


© 2006 SmartMoney. Prepared by SmartMoney Custom Solutions. SmartMoney is a joint publishing venture of Dow Jones Company, Inc. and Hearst Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Healthy Cells

Glyconutrients - The Super Sugars That heal



I stumbled upon this reading while doing some research for a friend. The Idea of natural sugars being needed in order to stimulate cellular health intrigued me so I am going to give it a test run.





I'll let you know what I find out.



Technorati Tags: cellular health, Wellness, natural health, healing, alternative medications

Today

This Morning I arise with a new purpose and since of understanding. I do not rightly know what has brought about this feeling, but I am just going along with it. I have taken on the daunting task of creating a web site. I wanted to create a site that I could use as fuel for and an addition to this Blog. A place where others could voice their opinions and concerns. Basically a community portal. Keep in mind that I am not a web developer or anything like that so this task is major. But who knows I may be able to pull it off.



So please if there is any thing news worthy or gripe worthy let me know so we can add it to the sight. There is also an event calendar on the site so if you have a function we can add that too. Hope to talk to ...someone soon!

PRINCIPLES FOR ACTION

Malcolm X: A Research Site

The Campaign to Remember Malcolm in the 1990's is designed to encourage the militant rebirth of radical consciousness and mass action. These principles should guide us:

1. FOLLOW MALCOLM X's EXAMPLE
   There are more myths than truth about Malcolm X. The first task is to study what Malcolm actually said and what he did. It is important to follow his entire life and not just one part of it. He went through four stages. The challenge for us is to begin where Malcolm X left off, therefore the most important speeches are those he gave in the last 6 months of his life. There are no easy answers, no ready made solutions. We have to be serious, disciplined, and we have to study.
   
   
2. SPREAD THE WORD
   In order that others will be able to follow Malcolm X's example we have to make sure that his books are available to as many people as possible. We have to make sure his books are in every library, and bookstore. Every home library should have books by Malcolm X, and toward this end his books should be given as gifts on birthdays and holidays. Students should do research on Malcolm X in school.
   
   
3. ORGANIZE COMMUNITY SELF DEFENSE
   Self respect requires self-defense against all forms of attack. Black people are attacked on all fronts, mentally, culturally, socially, politically, and physically. In the USA racist attacks have always threatened the survival of Black people. What we need is the local organization of militant activist study groups. These groups have to be independent, engage in study, use only community based resources, develop collective democratic decision making, and stay away from the news media. The main tactic of self-defense is to educate and mobilize the community to arm themselves with knowledge, and then to fight their oppressors by any means necessary to gain freedom and justice.
   
   
4. RESPECT AND PROTECT BLACK WOMEN
   Black women have the responsibility to build an independent movement to fight for their special rights, and to make a special contribution to building the overall self-defense of the community. Special effort should be made to develop women as leaders, mastering the skills of public speaking and political analysis.
   
   
5. BUILD INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY
   Malcolm X directed us to a global analysis, and he stressed unity with friends. It is critical now to unite through concrete acts of solidarity with our friends in South Africa, Eritrea, Palestine, Cuba, El Salvador, and Haiti. Moreover, we must prepare for the overall world struggle against new forms of imperialism and the neo colonial state in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

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What we Know...

Yesterday was a good day for me I was able to vibe with several brothers in the course of one day. At the Gym last night a brother that i talk to on a regular basis and I began to talk about the word Nigger and this lead to other discussions. This brothers views on the word was interesting and deeply thought about. And that moved me and gave me the ability to discuss other things with him. We talked for about 40 minutes to an hour about this topic and others. This brother is very educated and I believe that he is a Lawyer here in the D.C area. When I began tying in the history and struggle of blacks and key figures in the struggle I saw a reaction that I had not expected. He seemed to have that look in his eye where he was being introduced to New information. I had tapped into fertile ground. Let me tell you there is no feeling better than this. When you find someone who is RAW and willing to learn, lets just say that it is a power feeling. Ask any Teacher that you know who loves what they do, they'll attest.



This brother and I touched on the Civil Rights movement, Black Power, and the lack of knowledge of these things today in our children. Being that he is from the South, I think Mississippi to be exact, he understands the feelings behind these topics and has first hand accounts of the RAW and uncut nature of the word Nigger. And this is a more powerful lesson than anything that can be taught in school or anywhere else. I must admit that I look forward to speaking to the brother again and going further into depth with these and other topics.



Sadly enough these kinds of interactions are far and few in between. I know for a fact that it is easier for us to sit around and talk about sports and things of that nature because there we are all on a level playing field. But in the end we do not learn anything new, because next week it all changes. These types of dialog are powerful because the information and the ideas taken away from them stay with us. We may not always agree with what the others around us may say but we tend to find our truth in some of it and walk away with that Jewel.



My direction today is to try and spark more of this type of dialog and to hopefully build it into a group who will willingly and eagerly meet on a regular basis in order to discuss life as it is for us.

Cypher!

Last night I had the opportunity to join a cypher with 5 other brothers of which I was probably the second youngest. The group appeared to be a collection of varying backgrounds. As I was the newest person to join this little group which meets twice a month. I opted to sit back and absorb as much as I can. But of course knowing the Nature of my Energy I chimed in, in little time.



The Topic which was being discussed was meaning/purpose - why does it take men so long to find theirs? The question was interesting although not one that I personally had not thought of before time and again. As I tell people, that I know I did not become a man until I was about 33 years old. Now what this means is that I do not feel that I made the transition from boy to man until this time. In a sense I had not found my purpose/meaning. I have always known and have been comfortable about who and what I am, But my path has always been unclear. I did not know in which direction I was going. One of the Brothers in the group posed the question can we find our purpose and be happy without the involvement of Financial means? I believe you can. I honestly believe that I did. My inner peace came long before I had a since of financial peace. I am not going to sit here and lie to anyone. When I say financial Peace I mean the ability and the means to pay my bills monthly without worry. Now this does not mean that I am financially secure, it simply means I can pay the bills that I have. I have always believed that even without money I would find a way to survive and be happy. Growing up without a lot of money I learned to enjoy life without possessions. As I am older now and far from where I started I will say it is nice to be able to have possessions, but I know that they do not make me, and knowing this they will not break me.



All in all last nights session was enjoyable and enlightening. I look forward to the next.

Pay your Bill

Black Power was a political movement that arose in the middle
1960s, that strove to express a new racial consciousness among Blacks
in the United States. Robert Williams, who revived the Monroe, NC
chapter of the NAACP and later entered exile in Cuba and China, was the
first to put the actual term to effective use in the late 1950s.
Williams, who was also the first to publish the poetry of Ray Durem,
used the phrase "Black Power" in the American political context.

One main point of the Black Power Concept was the necessity for
Black people to define the world in their own terms. At times this
included a call for revolutionary political struggle to reject racism
and imperialism in the United States. As the Black Power Concept began
to grow, it also began to build resistance and condemnation from whites
and from several African American organizations, including the NAACP,
because of the anti-white message associated (often unfairly) with
Black Power.

When the Black Panther Party began to grow in the late 1960s,
it became the largest Black organization advocating Black Power.
Eventually because of the continual condemnation of the theory of Black
Power as a separatist and anti-white movement, along with the
destruction of the Black Panthers in the early 70s, the Black Power
Concept seemed to disappear. Yet, scholars of African American art and
politics still see the idea of Black Power as a strong effect on the
consciousness of Black America today, though its institutions have been
destroyed and the radical politics largely discredited and defused. In
essence, the focus on cultural autonomy and self-esteem of the Black
Power Movement has survived and, not surprisingly, grown in strength.

Okay people the following excerpt was taken from the University of Michigan's web site.

I wanted to start the week off in a big way. so what better way than this. What happened to us did we just give up? The Term Black Power today is almost non-existent. The Same people that are now running around condemning the "N" word are the same ones that caused it to grow and to go unchecked. I know this is a big leap but in the 60's and 70's there where many blacks who spoke out against the Black Power movement. Had these individuals embraced the movement instead, today maybe our children and their children would have had something tangible to hold on to rather than a dead man's "DREAM". Few people today really know anything about Black Power yeah they know the slogan they now the sign, but that is it. What black power stood for and what it was about are lost to this generation. Just think of the ways that the oppressor has tricked our own people into turning against themselves.

In my humble opinion Black People today need to turn on the NAACP and stop paying homage to this cancerous entity. I have my issues with the NAACP. This organization is nothing more than a tool that the oppressor has put into place in order to keep blacks in check. The Overseer if you will. Even on the Plantations the master would have a few blacks who would watch-over and keep the rest in line and if needed to run and tell him of any disturbances coming up. Now-a-days it is harder to that so they have sold us the idea of a group fighting for us so that we do not have to fight for ourselves. But now if you have kept up with this Blog you have already ready a post I did a while back about the NAACP and their endorsement of the PREZ.

It is our "the collective black thought" responsibility to bring the idea's and philosophies of the Black Power movement back into existence. It was these types of movements which had the biggest chance of bringing about change for Blacks in this country, that is why they where destroyed. Think about it. White America never feared the Civil Rights Movement because it was a system that basically worked within the Laws that they made. So there was no real threat to their way of life. But those movements that called for blacks to work outside of the mere idea of asking the Oppressor to treat us better met with heavy and deadly resistance. Proof of this is the Assassination of El Hajj Malik El Shabazz, when he started to speak of Blacks taking our case to the UN in an effort to fight for our Human Rights which where being violated, he was dealt with. When Martin started to stray from the conservative approach and actually started to listen to some of these other blacks ie. Shabazz he became a liability and had to be dealt with. This trend goes on and on. Our Freedom of speech only goes as far as they allow it to.

So it is on this day that I call out to all of my people to go out and Pay your Power Bill, it is time to turn the lights back on.