Too Afraid To Plan, Unprepared To Succeed

Written by Howard Ramsamugh

http://www.howardramsamugh.com/



This is the dilemma many of us are experiencing now. Since leaving high school or college in the 70's, 80's or 90's, can you say that you really spent some quality time planning your financial future? Some of us are on our third or fourth job. The financial markets must seem like an uncharted territory to many of our brothers and sisters. Well, don't worry! I am going to try and get you moving again.

The first thing you need to do is to determine exactly where you are now. There can be big changes. By
now, I hope you have started putting money away for your future. If you did, then it is quite possible that your account balances are down significantly since in 2008, as the mortgage crises came to a head. Hopefully, you have recovered from some of your negative account value by now. Remember, you only have lost when you sell shares of stocks or other investments. Those shares still have value and you still own the same number of shares, if no sale has occurred.

Let us revisit the issue of the mortgage crisis so that we can reduce the chance of being blindsided again. What happened is that many Americans got caught up in the frenzy of making money easier and were willing to be less cautious in hope of becoming more financially secure. This trend of thought rippled across this great nation. This nation - teachers, policemen, lawyers, doctors, tradesmen, secretaries and others were told by their friends that real estate was "the" investment of the times.

The problem was not with real estate buying and selling. It was with the group thinking of the general public, and many professionals who were caught up in the conversation that real estate was the answer for all people. Blame can be assigned to buyers and sellers, regulators, and most importantly, lenders and appraisers to go around. As home prices escalated beyond historic norms, lenders became more enticed by the possibility of making more revenue selling mortgage debt to Wall Street firms.

This was allowed to perpetuate itself month after month and year after year. It grew into a bigger problem. It grew into Wall Street being on the hook for most of this bad debt. The problem got even bigger than that. Wall Street was on the hook, but who had the "stuff"? Millions of loans were put together to sell to investors. Many of the firms on Wall Street sold them to private and institutional investors. Institutional investors (your pension) manage assets such as 401k, 403b, 457 and IRA.

This was the environment many investors found themselves as the financial markets needed to correct itself in 2008. This has led many of us to be too afraid to plan, and unprepared to succeed as we adjust our individual finances. No problem! The first step to get back on track is to know what happened but to not get
caught up in the reverse of the mortgage crises. If you are too afraid to resume saving for your future, you are essentially giving up on your financial future and your retirement.

I know you do not want to do that. It makes no sense to be around for the CRASH, but nowhere to be found for the recovery. You may not have understood your investments before. Now is a good time to allocate some time to learning about your finances and getting a financial checkup done.

Secondly, you need to realize that things have changed and you may need to change. There was a time when fathers and mothers, aunts and uncles went to work and there was a pension in place to provide income for employees in their retirement. Strong companies prided themselves on their ability to provide a check to employees after years of service. You should know that that level of joint effort is dwindling fast and should not be expected in the future.

Therefore, if your employer provides a pension you should expect changes in benefits or contributions in years to come. I fully expect employers to have more and more workers to contribute to a pension directly and not the company making that 'contribution'. Contributions can always be cancelled or obligations shifted to another party. This is a common practice in many school districts in America, as teachers pay into their own pension plans directly. Be prepared to experience change and recognize the changes that may come in the future.

Thirdly, know your finances and be determined to win. Life has always been full of good and bad, ups
and downs. We are living during an era that requires knowledge and determination to retire comfortably. There is no cavalry coming to rescue you. You have to help save yourself... You are the architect of your own financial success.

Therefore, you are going to have to take more time and care making financial decisions and not put them off. The hardest part is to "refine" your thinking and have your thoughts defined, then you will be ready to implement your plans with conviction. Most people just need a little more information before making a decision to invest or purchase insurance. This can be your time to get it right. Believe that you are ready. You may have been knocked down but you are not knocked out. Visit howardramsamugh.com for more financial information and share with others. No investment strategy can guarantee a profit or protect against loss in periods of declining values.

BLACKBRIGHT NEWS



Written by Myrna Loy

Mothering Sunday is a very controversial event. For those who have lost their mothers, it is an insensitive and cruel reminder of someone they miss; for those who have mothers, but are not on good terms with them, Mother’s Day can conjure up feelings of guilt; for those who have been fostered out or have adoptive parents, this could be a moment when they reflect on their real mother; for those who have been treated cruelly by their mothers, this could be a time when they feel anger and resentment. What I am trying to say is that Mother’s Day does not necessarily conjure up nice memories or images of love and the giving of nice gifts - sometimes the emotions felt are hatred, disgust, anger, frustration and resentment.

Why is so much importance placed on Mother’s Day? I guess it is a reflection of how things are today – children are so busy, caught up doing their own thing, living their own lives, that they don’t have time to demonstrate how they feel about their mothers, so a day set aside once a year serves as a reminder of their mother’s gift of life to them. A separate day is set aside to honour fathers - I am not sure why they don’t make one day of it, and call it Parents Day?

Mothering Sunday as we all know, sews the seeds of cynicism because of its commercialism - it is a massive money making scheme for retailers, where the prices of flowers triple, as do the prices of other popular gifts. Restaurants make a killing by putting on a Mother’s Day spread, feeding into the guilt of those who have not spent as much time with their mother as they would have liked to. Mother’s Day forces many to think, I had better do something special - supposing my mother dies suddenly, or supposing she is diagnosed with a terminal illness, and so for this one day, many make an effort to do something special to indicate how much they love their mothers.

My mother will be in hospital on Mother’ Day. I usually give or send my mother flowers periodically throughout the year because she loves them, but she is not allowed flowers in hospital. My children will not call me up and tell me how much they love me, nor will they buy me flowers because they show their love for me in different ways. So when my friends tell me enthusiastically that their daughters are taking them out for dinner and ask me what are my children doing for me, I save bravely “nothing” - I may get a text saying “Happy Mother’s Day” and I may not - I really do not need material proof of their love, although it is good for my ego (smile)!

The history of Mother’s Day is centuries old and goes back to the times of ancient Greeks, who held festivities to honour Rhea, the mother of the gods. The early Christians celebrated the Mother’s festival on the fourth Sunday of Lent to honour Mary, the mother of Christ. Later on, because of the intervention of an American woman called Anna Jarvis, in 1907 who celebrated the way her mother raised the family alone, Mothering Sunday is now celebrated throughout the world to include all mothers.

The web definition of a mother is “a female person who is pregnant with, or gives birth to a child or a female person whose egg unites with a sperm, resulting in the conception of a child” However, not every woman who gives birth to a child deserves to be a mother, similarly not every man who biologically produces a child deserves to be called a father. It is the mother’s role to ensure her offspring feels safe, secure and loved. If she fails to protect her child from harm and does not allow the father to protect the child, it leads to many of the emotions cited at the beginning of this editorial. Love of a mother (like that of a husband) is enduring... ‘through sickness and in health’.

Mother’s Day should be deserved, and not a guilt-ridden ritual.

How can we truly honor Trayvon Martin and Steven Lawrence?

Written by Janice Maxwell

www.JamaicanDiaspora.com

For the past few months the media has hyped a teenage senseless death. With all this media exposure, has this stopped the marginalization of Black youth in general and Black young men in particular? Trayvon Martin’s death is to Black America what Steven Lawrence’s death was to Jamaicans in the UK.

The similarities are eerie despite the fact that the incidents occurred in two different countries. Trayvon Martin was a Black American teenager; his crime was that he was walking to his father’s house, so a racist decided the he should die. Steven Lawrence was a Black British teenager, whose parents are Jamaican; his crime was that he was standing at a bus stop. A group of whites decided he should be killed because England has too many Blacks. These are the same English people that colonized Africa and exploited their natural resources. They use to brag that the sun never sets on the British Empire. In both cased, the police refuse to prosecute even though the evidence was obvious.

Since the news cycle highlighted these two young men, opportunist profited economically and politically. In the US and UK people marched, signed petitions and community leaders came out for their 15 minutes of fame. 20 years later Steven did not get justice. How long will Trayvon have to wait? In the meantime, the vultures circled.

Racism is big business. So far, the Steven Lawrence case has had two documentaries made; PBS made a Masterpiece theatre movie; the play of Steven Lawrence ran in the UK for a good while. Who made money on these ventures? Because Trayvon was wearing a hoodie, a line of hoddies and hats were patented on with his image. Black flesh has always made money for non Blacks.

Profiting from murder does not further race relations. Let’s not be like the money changers in the temple. Steven and Trayvon short lives deserve to be honored in a dignified manner and not fodder for a quick buck. Community groups should examine the structure of worldwide racism; create projects that will encourage entrepreneurship; revamp the judicial systems in both countries and change the common stereotypes that the media is more than willing to perpetuate. That way, no other teenage Black male will be targeted for death.

Adventure Vacation: Jamaica’s Best Attraction

Written by Maureen Wright-Evans

www.JamaicaAdventureSecrets.com

If I had to choose only one attraction in Jamaica, I would choose Dunn’s River Falls and your trip to Jamaica will not be complete if you do not include this tour in your itinerary.

Dunn’s River Falls… A magical Experience awaits you here….

Your adventure to Dunn’s River Falls starts on the bus ride to this awesome resort…

Feel the excitement as you travel through picturesque towns and rural villages where time seem to stand still as you see sugar cane fields standing tall and weary farmers chopping away in the sun…

Continue on your journey and see breathtaking sceneries of rolling hills covered with lush vegetation. Everywhere there is the spectacular sight of flora and fauna.

You know you have arrived at Dunn’s River Fall when you hear the roaring of the water rushing down the hillside…

Your tour will begin with knowledgeable and experienced guides who will guide you up the cascading falls in a human chain.

Your water shoes or strong sandals will be essential to help you walk and sometimes crawl on the rocks and stones… But you’ll be rewarded with some of the most exhilarating moments of your life as you savour the feel of water pounding on your head or just lose yourself in one of the many flowing pools.

Close your eyes and experience ecstasy…

For the less brave or the more cautious… take a refreshing dip in one of the many shallow pools that lead off the winding stairs that run along the falls… or take a ‘shower’

under one of the many waterfalls…

Climb the Falls as many times as you wish as there are no limits to the number of times you can climb. But there is much more than the Falls… You can swim in the crystal clear waters just below, go boating, diving, and surfing. If you do not want to do any of these, just do sun bathing or watch the numerous tourists or locals as they have fun… fun… fun…

Of course you wouldn’t forget to take your camera to capture these awesome sights….

Maureen Wright-Evans is the owner and operator of Smokey Manor, a company specializing

in packages to see Authentic Jamaica.



The Jamaican Diaspora And The Brain Drain



By George W Graham

An examination of the effect American immigration policies have on Third World countries. My brother, Bill, who lives in London, Ontario, remarked recently that whenever an athlete from Britain or Canada wins anything, he or she turns out to be Jamaican born or the child of Jamaicans. He was exaggerating, of course. But there's a lot of truth in his observation. Jamaicans have emigrated in droves and many achieve remarkable success in their adopted countries.

General Colin Powell is perhaps the most famous example. I'm sure you know his parents were from Jamaica, although he was born in the United States. But the most publicized successes are in sports. In track and field, for example, Jamaicans have excelled as long as I can remember. "Little Jamaica Beats the World" the headline proclaimed when a Jamaican relay team won the men's 4-by-400-meter event at the Helsinki Olympics in 1952. And "little Jamaica's" athletes have been beating the world ever since - even if they often wear some other country's colors.

The island has produced too many cricket stars for me to count. And if you're a boxing fan, you know Jamaica has given many champions to that sport. Former world heavyweight champion Lenox Lewis had Jamaican parents. But did you know that Patrick Ewing, acclaimed as one of America's 50 best basketball players of all time, was born in Kingston? Even in baseball, which is rarely played in Jamaica, we can claim at least one star - Devon White, who was selected for three All Star teams. I could go on and on.

Hundreds of thousands of Jamaicans now live in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. The largest expatriate communities are in London, Miami-Dade, Atlanta, Philadelphia, New York, Los Angeles and Toronto. This "Jamaican Diaspora" - as it has come to be called - has enriched the destination countries. And it has impoverished Jamaica. You can see the effects reflected in our recent performances at cricket. And even in track, it's the Jamaican women who are left to carry the torch. But while sports may grab the headlines, the talent drain's impact may be more hurtful in other fields. Just think of the nurses the island has given to the world - for free. Jamaican taxpayers helped train them, yet many of them have taken their skills to other countries. In almost every walk of life, you will find the same kind of talent drain.

There's little that Jamaica can do to stop the drain. Jamaicans leave home because the grass is greener elsewhere. Even so, the island needs to do what little it can. Support for youth sports could be increased, for example. And attractive tax breaks could be provided for professions deemed vital to the island's prosperity.

Other nations are not as generous as Jamaica. When the Boston Red Sox wanted to sign Japanese pitcher, Daisuke Matsuzaka, they had to pay about $50 million just to talk to him. The total cost of acquiring the baseball player topped $90 million. Now, Major League teams are recruiting talent in China. And it is
costing them plenty. Perhaps some form of compensation could be worked out for exploitation of Jamaican talent. How about asking the United States, Canada and Britain to pay us what it cost Jamaican taxpayers to train a nurse who goes to live in those countries?

Having said that, my complaint is not so much against Jamaica as against the developed nations.
These countries assume they are entitled to the riches of the world without argument. When the Statue of Liberty was erected, the proclamation inscribed on it called for other countries to send America their "poor, their huddled masses yearning to breathe free." Now, a more accurate inscription would be: "Send us your computer engineers, your rocket scientists, your doctors and nurses..."

A furious debate rages in the United States over the influx of undocumented immigrants from Mexico. Employers in several industries benefit from these people who are willing to work for substandard wages, and their representatives in government are eager to keep the flow of cheap labor coming. But many
Americans resent the Mexican "invasion" and protest that American jobs are threatened.

In all of the thousands (millions?) of words produced in this debate, no one has challenged America's right to accept only the cream of the world's crop. Official U.S. policy bars prospective immigrants who lack skills that the country wants. The same is true in Canada, where immigration officials use a scorecard to weed out less qualified applicants. This attitude seems to prevail throughout the developed world.

But is this fair? What right does a rich country have to plunder the talent of a poor country while refusing to offer opportunity to that country's needy? The answer should be obvious. It is not fair. Indeed, it is downright immoral.

A New Jamaica

Written by Hansen Von Shneir

Now comes a new era for Jamaica, under the stewardship of the Peoples’ National Party.  Transformation in Jamaica is about leadership, but can we expect anything new under the sun if we continue choosing leadership from the same old stock of career politicians?

Only the next generation can contribute towards this renaissance we so badly desire.   It’s time to commit to educating our young people in critical thinking and ethical service, values that will be crucial for the nation-building that lies ahead.

Jamaican Diaspora, will we continue to sit isolated and insulated in our little think-tanks and talk-shops, engaged in endless, idle chatter, trying to piece together the jigsaw images of the Jamaica of yesterday, relishing the past but having no real hope for the future of our homeland?  Where will we go when we feel the need to return home?

Nevertheless, We who are not yet willing to give up on Jamaica must find the courage to mobilize around our elected leaders, and in support of any approach that may empower our people; including greater synergy and partnerships with the Jamaica Diaspora.  In her role at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Minister Marlene Malahoo-Forte showed great prospects in re-engaging the Diaspora community.  We are hopeful that her replacement will be someone with similar qualities and inherent characteristics.  Ms. Lisa Hanna would be an excellent choice.

 I look forward to continuing our dialogue in 2012. And remember, your participation is still needed required with 2012 - Jamaica Matters  Compilation Project.  Stay up-to-date on: JAMLINK.COM

SCHOOLS AND ‘THE RIOTS’ - Parents and Students Beware!

                               

                                





At a meeting in Manchester on Wednesday 31 August 2011 and the following day at a meeting in Lewisham, I warned parents and students that when schools reopen their children would most likely be targeted either by teachers or by the resident police in those schools to find out where they were and what they were doing during the recent civil unrest, or/and who they knew that took to the streets and became involved. Parents needed to be prepared for that and guide their children as to how to respond, as I was sure that many schools would see it as their business to ‘help police shop rioters’ as a newspaper headline put it.

And all of this at a time when, with the active encouragement of the Government, courts were ‘naming and shaming’ juveniles for taking part in the disturbances on the streets or for receiving looted goods.

On Saturday, one of the young people who attended the Lewisham meeting sent me an email saying that his brother was given the following homework which was set for his entire year group:

Write an eye witness account, describing what you saw during the riots:

-the setting

-the people you saw

-what happened

Definition of eye witness: a person who actually sees some act, occurrence, or thing and can give a firsthand account of it.

While that might look like an attempt to test school students’ writing skills and their powers of recall, it is clearly inviting children to incriminate themselves and others. In order to be able to give a firsthand account, one must have been present and observing (taking pictures on your mobile phone, for example) or present and participating. In either case, the police would be interested in you. The school for its part would no doubt form a view about the fact that you were present on the streets at all.

So, what might present itself as a straightforward curriculum exercise could result in school students being excluded from school or being referred to the police as having information that could support a prosecution, theirs or those they name or are cajoled into naming in their ‘eye witness’ accounts.

Ever since 6 August 2011 when the disturbances started in Tottenham, the police have been stopping and searching school students indiscriminately and more often than not in an intimidating, humiliating and provocative manner. Now, the schools are using their equivalent of ‘Stop & Search’.

Guidance to Parents:

Be watchful!

Talk to your child about what s/he is being asked in school concerning ‘the riots’.

Tell your children that since they are not ‘rioters’ they should not be running off their mouths about what happened on the streets. Their teachers would have seen on television or read in the newspapers the same things that they saw.

If your child brings home homework of the sort described above, telephone or write to the school as follows:

My child has been asked to describe what s/he saw during ‘the riots’.

I take it that s/he could approach this as a creative writing exercise?

I have been having discussions with her/him about the ‘Arab Spring’ and the civil unrest in Egypt, Tunisia, Syria and Libya. Libya is especially interesting at the moment.

I want to make sure that my child will not be penalised for describing and commenting upon what s/he has been witnessing the citizens of those countries doing on their streets.

If the school insists that they want your child to write about ‘the recent riots in Britain’, tell them that your child is not a ‘rioter’ and cannot therefore give an account of what s/he saw during ‘the riots’.



Professor Gus John

Interim Chair: Parents and Students Empowerment

London England