My mom gave me an article to read the other day. She told me it was because she thought it would make a good post for my blog. But I think she had an ulterior motive.
The article title glared back at me from the black and white xeroxed copy - ”The Young and the Riskless.”
The subtitle began - “Investors under age 35.” Yep, that would be me. Maybe this article was less for this blog and more as a message from my mother that I need to step up my investments.
I decided to read it anyway. After all, I don’t want to hurt mom’s feelings.
There was a statistic that grabbed my attention: “Today only 34% of people under age 35 say they’re willing to take substantial or above-average risks in their portfolios, down from 48% in 2005, according to the Investment Company Institute.”
That statistic doesn’t really come as a surprise, but what is interesting is that young people are investing less and that could mean damaging things for our future.
I’m not quite sure what the solution is. The unrest in the Middle East, now in Libya, has been threatening the stability of the stock market everyday. Maybe our generation is taking fewer risks because we are so exposed to world affairs and we see how our investments can drop or entirely disappear in an instant. Just as quickly as something gets posted on Twitter, the stock market could plummet.
The article warns that young adults are not saving enough to have a comfortable retirement. I think this phenomenon may also be due to our feelings as a generation of living in the present. With all the technology that surrounds us, we’re most concerned with what’s happening now. Not really with what’s going to happen next week never mind in 50 years.
The article refers to twenty and thirty somethings as growing up in the so-called Lost Decade. That’s the first time I’ve ever heard that reference. Perhaps we were “lost” in the shuffle of all the changes in the past few decades. But I’m confident we’ll find our way through and maybe even become a little more financially “risky.” Now, I better go call my financial advisor.
So I was reading the DrudgeReport this morning (my news site of choice) and I started laughing when I read this headline:
Brazil looks at adding ‘happiness’ to constitution
I immediately conjured up images in my head of the Carnival in Rio de Janeiro. Only the Brazilians - known for their crazy parties - would add ‘happiness’ to their constitution.
Then suddenly I realized - how could I forget - that in the United States we also guarantee ‘happiness’ for all our citizens. Remember the phrase (Reach back into your mind to all that random knowledge you store back there):
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
How quickly we forget about happiness. With everyone worried about getting their next paycheck or how they’re going to pay their mortgage or keep their lights on, happiness seems to have been put on the back burner. I can’t remember the last time we in this country talked about happiness. Kind of depressing actually.
However, my spirits were restored as I began to research online the “pursuit of happiness.”
Did you know there’s an entire nonprofit that dedicates itself to studying happiness - the history of it, the science of it and how we can all try to be happier in our lives. Pursuit-of-happiness.org even has a section of teaching resources.
There’s also Happiness.com where you can look up happiness tips and positive tips. Even the trivia section can bring a little bit of happiness into your day. Like you can find out the answer to the question:
Which planet is about 93 million miles from the sun?
Hmmm. I’m going to go with Pluto. Not because I actually think that’s the answer but because Pluto has always been my favorite planet. Again, I don’t really have a reason for that either. I think it’s just because Pluto is so far away that I find it mysterious and fascinating. So just thinking about Pluto for even these few seconds has taken my mind off my hectic day ahead and has brought me a small piece of happiness.
If you want to look up how to be more happy in your life, it only requires a quick Google search of pursuit of happiness. Nothing fancy. It’s so easy to do that it may make you a little happy. Hey, these days, it’s the small things in life.
* By the way, the answer is Earth!
It seems like Facebook is everywhere recently and everyday it seems like people are finding more and more interesting ways to use the social networking site.
I was intrigued when I read that a police department in California is thinking about putting the pictures of people arrested for DUI on the department’s Facebook page. Not such a bad idea, I guess, although I’m not quite sure what the purpose serves rather than to embarrass the offenders, which maybe is the purpose.
As I continued to read the article, I was surprised to see that this has actually been done in several police departments across the country, including in New Jersey and Hawaii.
I think police departments would better serve the public if they posted pictures of convicted (not suspected but convicted) rapists on their Facebook pages. Then that raises the question: should departments post the pictures of registered sex offenders? I’m sure this will all play out in the world of social media.
Courtesy: Citizen Concepts
Have you ever dreamed of being an FBI agent? Have you toyed around with the idea of using your cell phone camera to go undercover and expose corruption? Have you ever lost yourself in a daydream of being thanked by the President of the United States for spotting and thwarting another terrorist attack?
Well if you have an iPhone you may want to log onto the application store right now because there’s a new application that allows you to be a sort of spy for the U.S. Government.
The new PatriotApp allows people to contact the FBI, the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) with pictures and text. It enables users to record what they believe to be suspicious activity.
Users can fill out a “National Security Threat” form, including the incident address, and send it right off to the appropriate government agency. The form has a wheel people can spin to choose the threat level: high, elevated or guarded. The application even has an employee whistle blower page.
Launched by Florida-based software company, Citizen Concepts, the application capitalizes on the ”see something, say something” motto we all are growing so accustomed to hearing.
On its website, Citizen Concepts says the new PatriotApp, ”empowers citizens to assist government agencies in creating safer, cleaner and more efficient communities via social networking and mobile technology.”
But some people are calling the new application a gigantic “snitch” network. A website called InfoWars.com says the application is nothing more than a glorified way for the government to spy on its citizens. InfoWars Blogger Jason Douglass writes, “An app like this is meant to solidify the climate of fear in which our leaders want us to exist.”
I think Douglass may be going a little far. I don’t see a “Big Brother” phenomenon developing out of an iPhone application, but then again, you never know. In the meantime, I’m downloading the app.
So you’re at the airport going through the security checkpoint. You have two options: you can either go through the new high-tech body scanner which allows those people who check the screen to see your body - your ENTIRE body - all the way down to your private parts - or you can opt for a pat-down in which a security official touches pretty much every part of your body.
The Transportation Security Administration and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano are standing behind the new body scanners and the pat-downs, saying they’re the best way to protect passengers.
But there definitely are some concerns.
First, let’s start with the body scanners. About 35,000 images taken of people have already been leaked online by a site called Gizmodo. Thankfully Gizmodo had enough decency to blur out, well let’s just say, the sensitive areas of the images before posting the images online.
When TSA officials announced the plan for the new scanners, they said none of the images would be saved. But somehow these 35,000 images were. Who knows how many more are out there.
In terms of the pat downs, some people are already starting to allege sexual harassment against TSA security personnel. Some bloggers are talking about the possibility of the personnel getting turned on by the pat downs.
I, myself, have been through one of the pat downs and, let me tell you, I was a little shocked about how hands-on it was - no pun intended. The female TSA employee told me she would have to touch my chest in order to make sure I wasn’t hiding anything in my bra. With her gloves on, she literally grabbed my chest, working her fingers around my breasts. It was definitely more hands on then I was expecting.
I understand that these days we need to have enhanced security. I’m never one to complain about long security lines (although I have to admit the whole taking off the shoe thing really annoys me, but I just grind my teeth and get through it).
I agree with the TSA that the body scanners and the pat downs are necessary procedures. However I do think that the TSA has to do a better job of regulating who’s looking at the images and what’s happening with the images. For example, those 35,000 images should NEVER have been saved and leaked online.
The pat-downs are a more difficult thing to address. I understand if people don’t want to go through the full body scanner, then the only other option is the pat- down. People are already threatening to sue some TSA employees for sexual harassment.
The TSA has said it will investigate any complaint brought against a security employee.
There’s a growing movement online calling for people to protest the new body scanners next Wednesday - the day before Thanksgiving and the height of the holiday travel season. Proponents of the scanners dread that this protest may create long lines at the airports.
I’m not flying next week, but let me tell you if I was, I would opt for the scanner. There’s much less of a chance of my naked image making it out over the Internet than the good chance, well the absolute certainty, of a female TSA employee groping me.
The Republicans did what everyone thought they would do last night - took over control of the U.S. House of Representatives. But they did it in larger numbers than some expected. They only needed to regain 39 seats, instead they picked up 54 seats.
The Senate, however, remains in the power of the Democrats. But not by much. Right now they only lead by three seats. Although a big win for the Democrats last night was Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada being reelected. Many conservative pundits had predicted he would be out, after supporting many of President Barack Obama’s unpopular policies.
While the sweeping win in the House is all good news for Republicans, I don’t know how good it will be for the American people. The fact that the two legislative chambers are going to be split in terms of the governing power majority (once again, Democrats in the Senate and Republicans in the House) could mean it may be difficult for anything to get done.
I predict a lot of bickering between the two houses. I see bills going back and forth between the two houses, approved by one and then rejected by the other and then have the process repeat over and over again.
One would hope that the two houses and the politicians themselves would live up to their promises of “working across party lines” and being “non-partisan.” But those are promises we’ve been hearing for years. Unfortunately, I see this split between the Senate and the House carrying out like a modern version of the battle between the Capulets and the Montagues.
To see some of the election results, click here.
It’s only 12 days until Americans will head to the polls to vote in the mid-term elections. All eyes are on the elections this year as many people believe there may be a big shift of political power.
The rise of the Tea Party, growing disappointment with the Obama Administration and the stagnating economy may prompt many Independent voters or fringe voters to vote for the Republican ticket.
U.S. Press Secretary Robert Gibbs recently acknowledged that Democrats may lose control of the House.
In fact recent polls show that the GOP will likely get the 39 seats it needs to reclaim control of the House.
However, on the other hand, more than 3 million Americans have already completed early voting. Most of them are Democrats.
It’s sure to be an exciting race.
If you want to stay on top of things on election day I would recommend the following sites:
http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2010/results/main.results/#val=S
http://www.politico.com/2010/maps/
In fact on the CNN site you can make a profile for the elections you want to keep an eye on, perhaps your local election. Just go to the “My Election” tab.