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alxndxria · 3 years

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COVID-19 pandemic impact, Philippines’ economic growth drops.

COVID-19 started from a man that had contact with a bat which rarely happens so a virus developed in the man’s system, until now there is no guaranteed vaccine to 100% cure the said illness. On January 9, 2020 — WHO Announces Mysterious Coronavirus-Related Pneumonia in Wuhan, China. January 2, 2020 — Chinese Scientist Confirms COVID-19 Human Transmission. January 27, 2020 - 14 UNDER PROBE FOR SUSPECTED CORONAVIRUS IN PH. January 28, 2020 - DOH CONVENES THE FIRST INTER-AGENCY TASK FORCE (IATF) FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES. January 30, 2020 - DOH REPORTS FIRST CASE OF COVID-19 IN THE COUNTRY. January 31, 2020 — WHO Issues Global Health Emergency. February 2, 2020 — Global Air Travel Is Restricted. February 25, 2020 — CDC Says COVID-19 Is Heading Toward Pandemic Status. March 11 — WHO Declares COVID-19 a Pandemic. February 10, 2020 - DOH ANNOUNCES THE FIRST RECOVERY FROM COVID-19. March 7, 2020 - CLASS SUSPENSIONS, WORK-FROM-HOME SOUGHT AMID LOCAL CORONAVIRUS CASES. MARCH 8, 2020 - DUTERTE DECLARES A STATE OF PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY. MARCH 11, 2020 - WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION ANNOUNCES COVID-19 AS A PANDEMIC.

COVID-19 has caused the Philippines’ economic growth to decrease over time because of the lockdown on going to protect and prevent more people from catching COVID-19. In an article it says, “Between March and April 2020, the country’s Luzon Island went into a complete lockdown that restricted population movement with only a few exceptions. This resulted in a drastic decline in employment levels, with projections suggesting a maximum of one million people losing their jobs due to the lockdown. In addition, the imposed community quarantine would, at the very least, cause cumulative losses in gross value added of three billion Philippine pesos in every select key sector in the country”. Because of the lockdown, plenty of people lost their jobs and were left with no money to get through the pandemic, and because of this the Philippines’ economic growth dropped. The Filipinos are trying to get a job after losing their jobs and are having a hard time providing for their families. The government has actually distributed goods or “ayuda” to the less fortunate people, but sadly it’s not going to be enough for the amount of Filipinos that need help. Right now in the Philippines, there are around 433k people positive with COVID-19, around 409k people have recovered from the illness, and there are more than 8,000 deaths caused by COVID. In the beginning of COVID, people followed the proper health protocols and stayed at home but eventually they have stopped following the protocols and just go out whenever they want without considering the pandemic going on. Because of this, the people positive with the said illness, COVID-19, keep increasing on a day-to-day basis.

According to Wikipedia: On March 16, the president signed Proclamation No. 929 declaring a state of calamity throughout the country for six months, bringing into effect the following:

price control of basic needs and commodities,

granting interest-free loans,

distribution of calamity funds,

authorization of importation and receipt of donations, and

hazard allowance for public health workers and government personnel in the fields of science and technology.

Like I said in the first paragraph, the government has been making an effort to give out goods especially to those who lost their jobs and cannot provide for their own. Though the government makes an effort to do so, a lot of people still do not receive enough “ayuda” or don’t even receive at all. On March 23, 2020, President Duterte called for a session to ask for emergency assistance and powers to provide for what else is needed. Wikipedia says: A budget of almost ₱275 billion ($5.37 billion) from the estimated ₱438 billion ($8.55 billion) national budget approved for 2020. The health workers are doing their best to help out and help the Filipinos for the country to go back to normal, but then again sadly there are people who are not aware of the situation and do not follow the said protocols and still do as they please. For our country’s on-going developments right now, the government is doing what they can to put the country and its people back to normal. Our health care workers are doing their best to help the people, and I hope that the people, the Filipinos, cooperate with the officials and the whole country.

Cite the sources of information at the end of your essay:

https://www.ajmc.com/view/a-timeline-of-covid19-developments-in-2020

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_in_the_Philippines#

https://cnnphilippines.com/news/2020/4/21/interactive-timeline-PH-handling-COVID-19.html?fbclid=IwAR3oH2HZ138-xHJc3W4dcOwGhfD8gcDnQGxLti-Nqb2-Ka2-e2g_LACqDvk

https://www.adb.org/news/philippine-economy-decline-further-2020-amid-covid-19-recovery-2021#:~:text=MANILA%2C%20PHILIPPINES%20

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1103540/philippines-economic-impact-coronavirus-covid-19/

https://www.google.com/search?q=total+number+of+covid+cases+in+the+philippines&rlz=1C1SQJL_enPH908PH908&oq=total+number+of+&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0i457j0l6.6762j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine_government_response_to_the_COVID-19_pandemic

https://www.npr.org/2020/07/09/889307982/the-philippine-governments-covid-19-response-has-devastated-its-economy

https://www.who.int/philippines/internal-publications-detail/covid-19-in-the-philippines-situation-report-50

file:///C:/Users/User/Downloads/who-phl-sitrep-50-covid-19-25august2020.pdf

https://www.who.int/philippines/internal-publications-detail/covid-19-in-the-philippines-situation-report-63

file:///C:/Users/User/Downloads/who-phl-sitrep-63-covid-19-25november2020.pdf

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iloveyoupittsburghpirates-blog · 6 years

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We Can’t Go On Like This, Pittsburgh Pirates

My Dearest Pittsburgh Pirates,

I don’t know what there is really left to say. The last month has been a brutal slog. You’ve lost five in a row and 24 of your last 34 games. You are nine games out of first place and six games back of the final Wildcard spot. You went 1-5 this week splitting what turned out to be a two-game series with Milwaukee because of a rain out and then got swept at home in a four game series by the Diamondbacks. You showed no sign of life in that entire series. You scored eight runs in six games this week. That’s laughable. Your rotation started showing signs of life, but that hope has fizzled away. You can’t get anything resembling consistency from the rotation. Trevor Williams and Ivan Nova had been horrible for a month and then they gave you your two best starts of the week. Chad Kuhl and Joe Musgrove were riding high and then Kuhl got absolutely torched on Thursday (2 IP 8 ER) and Musgrove has been below average since his hot start. Taillon has been inconsistent all year, so you’re still left with the one guy who has arguably looked the strongest, Nick Kingham, still pitching in Triple-A. Not only do you not look like a playoff team, you look like one of the worst teams in baseball. What else is there to say? I’m annoyed I even have to write the letter this week. I can beg and plead with you to do better but the bottom line is that you aren’t good enough and I’m talking about everyone from the players to coaches to the front office. Blame being a small market team all you want but the fact remains that in the last 26 years you have had 3 winning seasons. What else is there to say?

That Gerrit Cole trade looks less and less impressive with each passing day. Cole has cooled down from his incredible start but so has most of the players you received in return. Joe Musgrove looked so good in his first couple of starts. He had four to five good pitches and laser sharp accuracy. After another poor performance on Saturday (5 IP 5 ER), his ERA has ballooned to 4.59 and his WHIP is up to 1.41. Those are the numbers of a mediocre pitcher. Michael Feliz got off to a good start in the bullpen before tail-spinning over the last month. He just went to the DL with shoulder problems but before that he had become the worst pitcher in your bullpen (5.51 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP) which is really saying something given how dreadful they have been. Colin Moran hasn’t been bad, but he’s nothing to write home about. He has 7 homers and 29 RBI’s while batting .265 with a .763 OPS. That’s slightly above average. You’re hoping for more than that when you trade your ace. Jason Martin is still lighting it up in Double-A with a .920 OPS but even his last ten games he only has a .776 OPS. You gave up a dollar and aren’t even getting four quarters back. These are still young guys so there’s always the chance they progress and improve. It’s just hard to feel optimistic right now when Cole is 9-1 with a 2.56 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, and 146 strikeouts in 105 2/3 innings. Woof.

The offense is on a steep decline. Francisco Cervelli is dealing with concussions issues from cumulative effect of having four concussions over the last eight years. That’s a bad sign. He was the only player in your starting lineup with an OPS over .800 (it’s .876) other than Austin Meadows who only has 110 at bats. Corey Dickerson and Starling Marte have nose-dived since their torrid start. Over the last month, Dickerson has a .665 OPS and Marte has a .721 OPS. Josh Bell had two hits yesterday but still sports a paltry .705 OPS. For as much as the fan base and I have criticized Gregory Polanco, he’s actually been coming around. Over the last two weeks, he has a .784 OPS. It’s sad when that’s considered impressive. Even as good as Meadows has been so far, his OPS of .662 over the last two weeks has brought his number down considerably. You rank 24th in baseball in home runs in a league that driven by home runs. That’s a problem. One solution would be to not play SRod in back to back games like you did this weekend. I can understand starting him against a lefty to see if he can snap out of his ridiculous slump. He’s batting .145 with a .559 OPS. He’s made 5 errors in 53 games so his defensive versatility isn’t even a strength anymore. I like SRod but this version of him doesn’t belong on a major league roster. This lineup was able to produce earlier this year so maybe they will get back to the point, but right now this is a below average lineup which had been the strength of the team.

Why does it seem like you are never a fundamentally sound team? You always make mental mistakes and avoidable errors. Whether it’s Elias Diaz throwing a ball away that cost you a run on Friday night or the seemingly countless defensive mistakes your pitchers make, you are constantly sloppier than your opponent. You are 24th in baseball in fielding percentage and you have made the 7th most errors in the league so the numbers prove the theory. I didn’t hear the quote myself but I was told Neal Huntington, your general manager, said that as an organization you don’t teach fundamentals in the minors because the players should already know that. Wow. That’s a striking statement and explains a whole hell of a lot. I don’t understand how that can’t be a major focus especially for an organization that likes to draft batters who don’t have true positions. Even if players should already know the fundamentals that doesn’t mean they do. If they do know them, it never hurts to go over them so they are burned into their brains. If it’s second nature, then they don’t even have to think about it. It’s all in reaction. That cuts down on the insane amount of mental mistakes you make. I have no tolerance for that kind of organizational philosophy. You can’t always control how well guys hit or pitch, but you can control the little things. Fielding bunts, situational base-running, which base to throw to, and things of that nature should be taught over and over again. Instead of spending all your time going over analytics, which has merit, maybe you should spend some of that time focusing on the basics. The good teams are always fundamentally sound and you haven’t been for quite some time.

I should be more excited about this week. I’m planning to drive to San Diego next weekend to watch you play two games against the Padres but maybe I’m wasting my time. You start the week with three games in New York against the Mets. They’re in a similar boat as you having lost six in a row. They’re 13 games under .500 and are really struggling. Maybe you can start to turn things around against them or vice versa. You get a day off on Thursday before traveling to play three games against the Padres. They are ten games under .500, so you finally get a break from playing first place teams. I’ll be there to see you on Saturday and Sunday, so if you could improve immensely between now and then, that would be super. I’ve said all I need to say. The only thing you can do is refocus and try to get back on track against some weaker competition. See you in a few days.

Wildly Disgusted,

Brad

P.S. stands for Pretty Sick which is the start that Oneil Cruz is off to in Low A ball. He came over in the Tony Watson trade a couple years ago. He’s knocking the cover off the ball this year with 10 homers, 44 RBI’s, and a .922 OPS in 66 games. He’s a shortstop that’s 6’6” and weighs 175 pounds so there’s obviously a huge frame he can build upon to add even more power. He might have to move to third base because the one downside for him is his defense. He’s made 24 errors in 66 games. That’s not a typo. It’s 24. But they don’t need to teach fundamentals, right? No way. I’m very intrigued by his bat, so he’s definitely a guy worth keeping an eye on.

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ladystylestores · 4 years

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Trump’s Visa Ban Has Foreign Workers And Families Desperate For Answers

Courtesy of Sraboni Bose

Sraboni Bose with her family.

Sraboni Bose was sitting in her parents’ home in India this week closely reading a proclamation signed by President Trump that restricted the entry of thousands of foreign workers and their families. As she did, she looked for any confirmation that it wouldn’t affect her family.

Her husband, a software engineer, was in Texas and had a current H-1B visa. Check.

She had come to India in February for her brother’s wedding, but had her H-4 visa —for spouses and children of certain foreign workers — stamped and renewed. Check.

Her 5-year-old daughter was set to get her H-4 visa renewed before the coronavirus pandemic prompted the US to halt regular processing of visas. Foreign workers and their families can receive extensions on their stay in America, but if they travel abroad, updated visa stamps are necessary to reenter the US. She had yet to get the stamp.

Bose, 32, read the order over and over, and every time she came to the same fear: Since her daughter did not have her valid visa on June 24 as required by the proclamation, she believes she will not be allowed to return to the US.

“I was devastated. We never imagined this would occur,” she told BuzzFeed News. “How can a 5-year-old affect the economy? She studies pre-K and wants to see her dad.”

Desperate, Bose tweeted about her family’s saga.

“How can A H4 minor waiting for stamping for 4 months in India affect the economy!?? @USCIS @StateDept . We have been waiting in India for four months for her F2F Interview which was cancelled in light of Covid-19. There should be some considerations when the H1 is in USA,” she wrote.

How can A H4 minor waiting for stamping for 4 months in India affect the economy!?? @USCIS @StateDept . We have been waiting in India for four months for her F2F Interview which was cancelled in light of Covid-19. There should be some considerations when the H1 is in USA. https://t.co/nwT0bTMmWE

06:22 AM – 25 Jun 2020

A State Department spokesperson said the agency could not comment on individual cases because visa records are confidential under federal law, and instead referred to the text of Trump’s proclamation.

Bose is just one of thousands of people stuck abroad or who have family outside the US seeking answers on social media in the days since Trump signed his order suspending some employment-based visas for foreigners.

It’s a phenomenon that’s played out since the beginning of the Trump era: a broad order impacting thousands of people who are left confused, anxious, and seeking help or advice online.

The proclamation has spawned hashtags such as #excludeusfromban and #LetMeGoHome. Immigration attorneys who have put out calls for stories or offered advice have been inundated with replies and messages. The State Department has been responding to tweets all week on the order’s particulars. Even some reporters have been sought out for their expertise.

“The administration’s execution of this and other immigration policies shows a complete disregard for the affected populations,” said Sarah Pierce, an analyst at the Migration Policy Institute. “Ideally, a major policy change like this one would have been accompanied by Q&As from relevant agencies to educate the public and efforts to reach out to stakeholders so they were prepared for the change. Instead, we’ve seen the affected population and their advocates reduced to seeking advice on their futures in 240-character bits.”

Trump’s proclamation details how “under ordinary circumstances, properly administered temporary worker programs can provide benefits to the economy.” But under the economic situation following the pandemic, “certain nonimmigrant visa programs authorizing such employment pose an unusual threat to the employment of American workers.”

The order, signed Monday, suspended H-1B visas for specialized highly skilled workers, most H-2B visas for nonagricultural seasonal workers, most J-1 visas for exchange visitors, and H-4 visas for those accompanying workers.

Sharvari Dalal-Dheini, director of government relations at the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said the conversations on Twitter were proof of “total confusion, lack of clear guidance, and fear for people’s livelihoods and their futures.”

The outpouring of questions and pleas for help this past week could also be attributed to the large number of people affected and the cumulative impact of yet another immigration order restricting access to the US, said Greg Siskind, a Tennessee-based immigration lawyer.

Siskind said he has received thousands of messages on social media. When he can’t get to a question on Twitter, people flood his LinkedIn, Facebook, and email seeking advice.

“This is the usual botched roll out we’ve gotten used to with this White House,” he said in reference to previous orders like the initial ban on travel from seven Muslim-majority countries that led to chaos at airports across the US.

Reed Saxon / AP

A woman offers legal services at the customs arrival area as demonstrators opposed to President Trump’s executive orders barring entry by Muslims from certain countries march at Los Angeles International Airport on Feb. 4, 2017.

This time around, he said, the order’s language has tripped up even the most seasoned of attorneys.

“The order itself is written confusingly so even the experts can’t really be sure who’s in and who’s out,” he said.

There are still questions on whether those who have current visas, but leave the US and go abroad, will be subject to the ban if they need new visa stamps to return.

Siskind said State Department officials have said online that these individuals would not be able to return to the US, but “that’s a complete contradiction of the plain language of the order.” He believes that those like Bose’s child could be denied entry.

Gayatri Patankar, a 32-year-old Arizona resident, was one of those who reached out to Siskind on Twitter. She had gone to India along with her infant and husband earlier this year. She had needed a new H1B visa stamp, but was unable to receive it because of the consulate closures. She later lost her job and hoped to return to the US on an H4 visa along with her husband.

“Hi, I came India with 2 month old infant for family reasons and have been stuck here since then. I have been studying/working in USA for 7 years now. We have our home, car and other belongings back in USA. Please help us go back home. This is not fair,” Patankar tweeted at Siskind.

@gsiskind Hi, I came India with 2 month old infant for family reasons and have been stuck here since then. I have been studying/working in USA for 7 years now. We have our home, car and other belongings back in USA. Please help us go back home. This is not fair.

05:22 PM – 24 Jun 2020

She asked for help and guidance on Twitter, she added, because “we don’t know what else to do.”

Sakshi Sharma, a 30-year-old H-1B visa holder who lives in Baltimore, had been thinking about her husband when she went on social media. He had to leave the US for Canada once his student visa ran out.

Because of the proclamation, he will not be able to receive an H-4 visa to accompany her in the US.

“I am personally impacted by the family separation ban. I know friends who visited India to meet dying parents for one last time, leaving newly wedded spouse, home, car, everything in US and are now stuck! This is inhuman,” she tweeted.

She posted her predicament on Twitter because she wanted people to know that the proclamation “separates me from my husband..we have a lot of things planned for our personal and professional life for the next 6 -12 months, now with this ban we have lost all of that.”

Meanwhile, Bose is left with difficult conversations with her 5-year-old daughter on whether they will be able to return to the US anytime soon.

The family has lived in the US for the last three years.

“I don’t know how to explain it to her,” she said. “I told her, ‘Right now the proclamation is not letting us because they think some of us can work and that cannot help them because they want more work. It’s like you’re grounded or in a timeout. You can’t see your dad for another 6 months.’”

Jun. 26, 2020, at 23:40 PM

Correction: Sraboni Bose’s name was misspelled in an earlier version of this post.

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marymosley · 5 years

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11 Financial Mistakes Lawyers Make

Let’s be honest. Law school didn’t teach us a lot about personal finance. We barely covered the law and many corporate lawyers would probably say the skills we learned related mostly to litigation. But then you’re thrust into a career, with a ton of student loan debt, and you realize you have a second job (whether you want to or not) managing your money. Let’s make sure we’re doing it right. Here are some of the top financial mistakes lawyers make:

1. Inadequate Savings Rate

Lawyers need to have a higher savings rate than the general population. You must save more than 5-10% to be successful.

Why? Because lawyers get a late start in the workplace. A typical college-grad expects to spend 43 years in the workforce. A typical lawyer might spend 35 years working.

Not only do lawyers start saving later in life, but before they can begin saving for retirement they must contend with significant student loan debt.

In other words, if you have student loan debt it will take some time before you reach net worth zero, which puts you even further behind. To catch up, you should be both reducing debt and saving for retirement.

For these reasons, lawyers need to be saving significantly more than 5-10% of their income. How much should be saving? The math is surprisingly simple. You need to save 25 times your desired annual income in retirement. Think you would be fine living off $100,000 a year? You need $2,500,000.

Keep in mind that your spending in retirement will almost certainly be substantially less than your current spending. You won’t be saving for retirement, nor will you be paying for most insurance products (e.g. life, disability, etc).

Also, your taxes are likely to be lower, particularly if you’re working in an expensive city like NYC or San Francisco. Retired people also have a lot of free time, so you won’t be spending money for prepared meals, cleaning services or someone to fold your laundry.

2. Over-Entertainment

Lawyers work long and often unpredictable hours and unwind late in the evenings with colleagues and friends. Hight stress jobs have a mentality of “work hard, play hard”. The result is that it’s easy to over-consume entertainment, alcohol and food.

The financial and physical cost of such over-consumption cost be high, but more importantly to you, it’s unnecessary. Unless you’re keeping track, most people will only have a fuzzy idea of the total amount they’re spending on entertainment each month.

If you’re trying to cut back, ask yourself how many times you need to go out each week? Do I need top-shelf alcohol for every drink? Do I need to be spending $80 at a restaurant 2 times a week plus have brunch with friends? What about movies/shows/sporting events? Do I need more entertainment or do I need more sleep? What about my cable bill? If you take some time to audit your entertainment expenses, it’s easy and painless to cut unnecessary expenses from your life.

I’m willing to bet you’re paying for things right now that you don’t use or enjoy.

3. Being Unaware of Firm Benefits

I’m always surprised when I discover a lawyer that isn’t aware of the firm’s entire benefits package. From large firms to small firs, nearly Every employer provides a bonanza of benefits for the taking.

If you’re in Biglaw, the firm will probably pay for meals after a certain hour or taking a car home .

If you’re at a small firm, you may have a high-deductible healthcare plan, which gives you access to the Health Savings Account. You might also be able to participate in taking transit deduction. All you need to do is take some time to understand you firm’s benefits.

Firms often also pay for things like bar membership, attorney registration fees and sometimes travel for conferences. They pay for professional development and continuing legal education. Firms subsidize your mobile phone bill. They even provide you with corporate discounts on your mobile plan (just enter your email and save 15%). Dust off the new hire packet and see what you’re missing.

4. Poor Tax Management

Financially successful lawyers manage their taxes and use tax-advantaged accounts. They use tax-advantaged accounts before investing in taxable accounts.

For many high-income lawyers, every dollar put into a tax-advantaged account saves around $0.40 in taxes. Because a lawyer’s marginal tax rate is always higher than his effective tax rate, by contributing to retirement accounts he can save his marginal tax rate today and pay his effective tax rate tomorrow in retirement. This tax arbitrage will add thousands of dollars to your savings.

What types of tax-advantaged accounts are available? Start with a 401K. Then learn about Backdoor IRAs. Once those are funded, max out your Stealth IRA (HSA). Then read a book about taxes. Once you have a basic tax understanding, you realize that it’s more important to change your tax behavior throughout the year than it is to focus on taxes on April 15th. Planning your tax strategy for next year will likely save you thousands of dollars.

Keep in mind that you don’t have to learn the entire tax code. All you need to understand is the tax code that’s relevant to you. Luckily, that’s a significantly smaller part of the overall tax code. If you learn only a couple of things a year, but the time you’re five years out of law school you’ll be a tax master.

5. Poor Debt Management

It’s no secret that many lawyers graduate law school with substantial debt.

Often, poor debt management begins during undergraduate years and compounds during law school. I’ve been there. Law school debt is funny money and it’s easier to spend it than when you incurred your first $1,000 of credit card debt.

For new lawyers, the debt manifests in student loan debt, credit card debt, vacation debt and sometimes mortgage debt. The cumulative interest paid on these debt becomes a major financial drag. The truth: your debt works harder than you. It’s working 24/7 and 365 days a year generating interest that you have to pay back. The sooner you destroy it, the better.

Earlier in your career, you’re likely to be overwhelmed by many competing demands, such that it’s easy to put things on auto-pilot (like your student loans).

Big mistake.

If you’re planning on paying off your student loans (i.e. not pursuing student loan forgiveness through a plan like PSLF or IBR/REPAYE), refinancing your students loans is a no brainer. You’ll save tens of thousands of dollars.

Holding a $150,000 debt at 6.8% a year generates a staggering $10,200 in yearly interest. Cutting that rate to 3.4% will save you $5,100 a year. That’s a hard return to beat for a few hours of work.

I’ve negotiated cashback bonuses with the student loan refinancing companies, so that you can get a bonus and pay off your student loans even quicker.

6. Investing Too Aggressively or Too Conservatively

In 2008, hedge fund manager Ted Seides made a $1 million bet with Warren Buffett on whether the S&P index fund would beat a portfolio of hedge funds over the next ten years.

How’s the bet going?

Buffett crushed him.

Warren Buffett has consistently advised making monthly investments in a low-cost index fund. On page 20 of his 2013 letter to Berkshrire shareholders, he writes:

My advice to the trustee could not be more simple: Put 10% of the cash in short-term government bonds and 90% in a very low-cost S&P 500 index fund. (I suggest Vanguard’s.) I believe the trust’s long-term results from this policy will be superior to those attained by most investors – whether pension funds, institutions or individuals – who employ high-fee managers.

Because lawyers start careers later in life, there can be pressure to be overly aggressive with investments. This is foolhardy.

The greatest portfolio returns are achieved by matching the market returns through a low-cost index fund. It’s a counterintuitive proposal that the best return is to be as close as possible to average but it’s a proposal that has borne out time and time again.

As Vanguard founder Jack Bogle said, we are collectively the entire market anyway. Splitting the returns between you and the “helpers” just leads to lower returns for you.

This may be hard to accept. Lawyers might think that they are smarter than the general population, so it’s reasonable to think they can beat the market. But, financial professionals themselves cannot beat the market (as evidenced by Warren Buffett’s $1M bet). It’s too risky, too complicated and too much trouble to try and select winning investments. Take a billionaire’s advice. He probably knows what he’s talking about.

Plus, while you’re building wealth, the most important number is your savings rate anyway. Too many people are focused on chasing returns when they barely have any assets anyway.

7. Not Knowing How to Get Rich

It turns out that living below your means is the only way to build wealth. Building wealth has two variables: income and expenses.

Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen pounds nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds nought and six, result misery. – Wilkins Micawber from David Copperfield.

Most Biglaw associates have a fixed income. Make sure you qualify for the annual bonus, but otherwise, your salary is set and so there is not much you can do to increase income. However, you have great control over your expenses. Focus on increasing your savings rate. Related: See my sample 1st Year Biglaw Associate Budget.

8. Not Having a Written Financial Plan

An Investment Policy Statement (IPS) is a statement that defines general investment goals and objectives. It describes the strategies that used to meet these objectives and contains specific information on subjects such as asset allocation, tax rates and financial goals. Having an IPS provides the foundation for all future investment decisions made by an investor and serves as a guidepost for your financial goals.

Your IPS need not be complicated or lengthy. An IPS can easily be 2-3 pages. If you do not have a written policy, day-to-day events will influence your financial decisions. This leads to chasing short-term performance that will impact your long-term goals.

Your IPS will be a short document answering basic questions like:

Where are your financial assets located?

How much is in tax-advantaged accounts versus taxable accounts?

How much will you be contributing to these accounts?

What are your short-term and long-term financial goals?

What asset classes will you use to meet these goals?

What is your effective tax rate?

What type of insurance policies do you have and what type of coverage do they provide?

9. Expensive Investments

The price you pay for investment advice has a significant impact on your overall wealth.

Many mutual funds charge an expense ratio for investing in their fund. If your fund has an expense ratio of 1%, then that means that for every $10,000 you have invested, the fund will take $100 each year to cover its expenses (regardless of whether the fund makes or loses money during the year).

Rather than debiting this money from your account, the expense ratio is baked into the fund’s annual returns. If your fund returns 4% over the year, the real return was 5% minus the 1% expense ratio.

As you can see, a 1% expense ratio may not sound like much but can be quite expensive. In the above example, a 1% expense ratio represented 20% of your total gains for the year paid over to the fund manager!

10. Assuming You’ll Have More Money in the Future

Lawyer salaries are weird. Biglaw associates are promoted each calendar year automatically and receive a corresponding salary increase. There are no opportunities to negotiate the raises, yet you know in advance your salary for the next year.

It makes it easy to assume that you’ll always be making more money in the future, which allows you to artificially inflate your lifestyle now. It also makes it easy to put off saving.

Yet at the same time many Biglaw associates do not know if they will be employed at a firm within five years. Many lawyers leave during their 3rd or 4th year (my assumption is that the large salary increase from a third to fourth year associate is an attempt by firms to retain associates during those years).

The reality is that outside of law firms there are no guaranties for large salary increases each year. Therefore, it seems much better to assume your salary is fixed and simply bank the raises. This helps you grow into your lifestyle slowly.

After all, making even $100,000 straight out of school is a huge windfall. If you set your salary at the latest biglaw salary scale, you will be able to save a substantial sum of money as your salary increases.

11. Buying a House/Apartment

Many Biglaw associates live in high cost of living locations. Therefore, they may be less likely to buy an apartment or home than a doctor living in Kansas. Still, many associates focus on purchasing real estate early in their career. The prevailing notion that “you’re throwing your money away on rent” is prevalent. But it doesn’t always work out well.

It may be easy to make a profit on the sale of a home, but lose money overall. This is because the cost of owning a home is high and often not included in the calculation when someone casually mentions that they “bought a condo for $600,000 and sold it four years later for $700,000”.

Plus, investments tend to go up as well. The person who bought a condo for $300,000 twenty years ago and sold it for $1,200,000 sounds like a genius but probably would have done better in the stock market with index funds.

Also, consider the outcome if you had bought a condo in NYC in 2006 right before the Great Recession. A lot of lawyers lost a ton of money during that time. If you’re considering purchasing a home, make sure to run your numbers through The New York Times Rent vs Buy Calculator.

What do you think? Have you made any of these mistakes? I know I’ve made several. Let us know what you think in the comments.

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themoneybuff-blog · 5 years

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A Loan Won't Solve Your Money Woes If You Don't Fix These 10 Issues First

Sometimes even the best-prepared households get knocked sideways, financially speaking. Illness, unemployment, divorce, a car accident that triggers a lawsuit these and other situations can quickly put a hurt on the budget. In such times a personal loan or one of several types of home equity loans can provide a little breathing room until you rebuild your finances. As noted, money woes are sometimes the result of plain old bad luck (illness, job loss). However, sometimes were our own worst enemies: We buy too much, we save too little, we plan not at all. You cant get ahead that way. And you cant keep borrowing your way out of trouble. A loan wont help you unless you fix the following issues. 1. Not having a budget The simplest way to wind up in debt is to spend without thinking. Stop, then, and think for a moment about what you would like to have happen five years from now: buying a home, starting a business, getting married, traveling? When you create a budget, youre not just allocating your dollars youre enabling your dreams. An easy way to do it is the 50/30/20 budget: Spend no more than 50% of your take-home pay on essentials, 30% on wants, and 20% on saving (including retirement planning and an emergency fund). Plenty of budgeting apps exist as well (some are even free). 2. Not tracking spending You cant plug budget leaks unless you know where they are. Track your spending for a month, using pen and paper or a budgeting app. The cumulative effect could be eye-opening. For example, a relatives ex-husband was shocked shocked! to realize that spending $8 a day on fast food added up to $240 a month. His wife had made more money than he did, and their commingled finances made it easy for him to swipe a card and think no more of it. Heres hoping that your own habits arent quite that clueless. But even those of us who think were doing pretty well could be surprised by the cumulative impact of certain habits: beef jerky and a soda every time we pay for gasoline, daily iTunes downloads, $20 a week on scratch tickets. Add up the opportunity cost of those non-essentials, and ask yourself if you could do better. (Spoiler alert: You probably can.) 3. Keeping up with the Joneses Just because next-door neighbor bought the priciest riding mower on the market doesnt mean you have to ditch your trusty Snapper. When your coworker talks about all the activities her kid participates in, you dont have to sign your own tots up for horseback riding and soccer camp. You should not let other people determine your clothing, dcor, automobile, or anything else. Its no ones business that you bought a fixer-upper, that you drive your car until the wheels fall off, that your idea of nightlife is to read a new library book once the kids are in bed. Remember: The Joneses may be up to their hairlines in debt. They might be focused on keeping up, too with the minimum payments, that is. 4. Wanting your kids to have things you didnt Theres nothing wrong with this! Except when there is. Obviously you want your children to be well-fed, reasonably well-dressed, and housed comfortably. You might also want to give them treats and opportunities you never had, such as vacation trips, a big allowance, loads of extracurricular activities, and fully funded education plans. But dont let this noble impulse bust your budget. Just because your kid wants snowboarding lessons, a new smartphone every year, and a car of their own at age 16 doesnt mean you have to give these things. Staying out of debt and funding your retirement should take precedence over granting every whim. At the very least they should have some skin in the game: doing additional chores to help save up for a big-ticket item, say, or mowing lawns or babysitting for extra pocket money. Besides, we arent doing our kids any favors when we give them everything they want. Setting the bar too high now could mean setting them up for problems later on. Specifically, when they move out on their own theyll want to keep living in the style to which we have accustomed them and if their salaries dont allow for that, theyll wind up in debt. 5. Automatic upgrades Whats wrong with your old smartphone or car or whatever? If you bought it relatively recently and it still works, whats with the rush to replace? If you get the newest phone as soon as it comes out, or trade in your vehicle every few years, or replace anything else before it really needs replacing, ask yourself why. Because your co-workers do? Because some commercial made you want a new car? Because you dont know why, but you really, really want to anyway? Think about the opportunity cost of that cash. Then think about the way you want to live, and whether or not you want other people making decisions about your money. 6. Shopping mindlessly If you dont need anything, stay out of the mall. Going shopping with friends puts you in a position to find something you suddenly cant live without, or something that looks so cute on you or would be so cool in your house or so useful in the garage. Except that you were doing just fine without that item until you saw it. Ditto online shopping: Dont cruise your favorite retailers websites unless you have a specific reason to do so. Better yet, undo the one-click function and remove stored credit card info from all sites where youve shopped in the past. Bonus frugal points if you change your online passwords to something that has personal significance, such as WeDDingDAy8192020, or 19YEarsLEftonMORTgage, or EARLYretire2028 these little reminders of where your dollars could be going instead might help you from overbuying. 7. Always buying retail Why automatically pay full price? Instead of heading straight to the shopping center when you need (or want) something, consider these options instead: Thrift shops: Some are junky, but others are great. Its like a treasure hunt. (Pro tip: Find out if there are senior discounts or other special deals. For example, a secondhand store my daughter likes offers 50 percent off every Monday.)Consignment stores: Like thrift shops, except theyre more discriminating about whats accepted.Flash sales: While online shopping should be approached with caution, sometimes a sale really is too good to pass up. Hold yourself to limits, though: Just because those slacks are a great deal doesnt mean you need to buy a pair in every color.OfferUp, LetGo, Craigslist: Sometimes people want (or need) to get rid of furniture, tools, bikes or automobiles without the hassle of a yard sale. Caution is required, but you can get some darned good deals this way.Newspaper classified ads: Yes, really. A guy I know recently bought a pickup truck (necessary for his job) from a newspaper ad, spending many thousands less than he would have paid at a dealership.Freecyle: You might be surprised at whats being given away, no strings attached. Ive seen beautiful furniture, clothing, bicycles, toys, books, and other useful stuff offered up.Yard sales: Another treasure hunt. Ive seen items still in the shrink-wrap at these sales. Its a great place to buy baby stuff, including newborn-sized clothing that seems never to have been worn.Buy Nothing Facebook groups: Last month my partner and I just picked up an almost-new Weber grill. Some of the other things Ive seen lately: baby stuff, solid wood table, sewing machine, board games, computer desk, cookware, and tons of childrens clothes. All of it is free.8. Overdoing it on special occasions Are holidays and birthdays completely over the top? Maybe its time to tone it down. When they become extravaganzas of gift-giving, we cheapen the meaning and also set the bar higher and higher. A kid who gets tons of presents is unlikely to appreciate each one fully and more to the point, he develops a sense of entitlement. As for birthday parties, when did they start resembling mini-coronations? Even one-year-olds are having party rooms reserved, decorations put up, and gift registries established. Really? Think of all the money thats spent and quickly forgotten. Now think what those dollars could have done for a childs education fund or your own retirement. Celebrate joyously, but celebrate sensibly. 9. Overbuying for grandchildren While waiting in line at a crafts store, I met a woman who developed the bad habit of having small gifts waiting for her granddaughters whenever they visited and they visited a lot. The woman was fretting visibly as she looked over the items in the stores dollar section. What do you buy for someone who already has everything? she asked me. After hearing her story, I felt very sad not just for her but also for the kids. A visit to grandmas house had become an exercise in acquisition. The first thing they do upon crossing the threshold is to ask what theyre getting. (Does anyone else find that quite sad?) Expectations are made, not born. If youve gotten into the habit of treats and more treats, scale back. Replace them with activities and gifts of time. The kids who are used to getting stuff will gradually become used to not getting stuff and when occasionally you do treat them, it will mean a lot more. Again, the money you save could go toward their education funds or toward shoring up your own budget. You cant finance retirement. 10. Giving more than you can afford Charity is a noble impulse. But giving to the American Red Cross or the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals should be done after youve taken care of business. Specifically, after youve built an emergency fund, started saving for retirement, and taken care of any consumer debt. Put on your own oxygen mask first, financially speaking. Award-winning journalist and veteran personal finance writerDonna Freedmanis the author of Your Playbook for Tough Times: Living Large on Small Change, for the Short Term or the Long Haul and Your Playbook for Tough Times, Vol. 2: Needs AND Wants Edition. Read more: https://www.thesimpledollar.com/loans/blog/a-loan-wont-solve-your-money-woes-if-you-dont-fix-these-10-financial-issues-first/

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spookystudentgui · 5 years

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Salt about pet ownership.

Well here it is! Here's my first real Salt. Grab some tea or whatever because I'm about to throw it down!

Context: I've been working in the veterinary industry for five years (cumulatively). I have Seen some Shit™. I'm also happy to answer whatever non-medical questions you might have.

My Salt:

1. If you can't afford the general medical care for basic pet needs (vaccines, parasite prevention, office visit, etc) you should strongly reconsider getting a pet.

1.2. If you don't believe in vaccinating and you think your precious baby won't get sick... don't even bother getting a pet. Because they will get sick and it WILL be your fault. Most pet diseases are always going to be way more expensive to treat than to prevent. And treatment is not always guaranteed to be successful.

2. Consider this: you more than likely will outlive your pet in most cases. Prepare yourself emotionally and financially for this possibility ahead of time. Yes, it will still hurt. Yes, we know you won't want to let go. But if you're keeping your pet alive only for yourself while they're visibly suffering, then you seriously need to reconsider your priorities.

3. Along that same vein, the same day you bring puppy or kitty home, decide which pet crematorium you'll be using in 10-12 years. Some vet clinics will do a "general disposition" and take care of the pet's remains for you (this applies only if you don't want ashes back). There is usually a charge for this service. If you're just gonna bury Fluffy in the backyard after they depart from this life, be aware of pet burial laws in your city/county/state/country.

4. Don't dump your pets if you no longer want them! Not only is it inhumane, it is also a crime in most places. Also, we've had some literal idiots who dumped their dogs after microchipping them. Guess who always forgets to update their contact information and gets charged (or in rare cases end up getting their pets back anyway)? The pet dumpers! D'oh!

5. Stop picking up pets off the side of the road unless you want to take responsibility for their care and/or become financially responsible for them!! There's this weird ideal out there that if you "rescue" a pet off of the side of the road they get cared for for free and you get to go about your day with good vibes... NO!! No and no! Do not let me discourage you from doing a good deed but be aware that even if an owner is located for a stray pet, you may have to travel, feed and house the pet at your own risk and expenditure, the pet may need medical attention, etc... Or in most cases, we at the vet clinic simply say: "congratulations on your new pet!" because their care is yours now because there was no microchip or tags. And even if you dump them back onto the street, you could be charged for the crime, even if the pet wasn't yours to begin with!

6. You always have the right to ask for a treatment plan AFTER the veterinarian does the initial exam and before they charge for anything else. If your vet doesn't follow this practice, you may want to look for a new vet (your wallet will thank you).

7. Don't be shy or play dumb if you know your animal is aggressive. Tell someone. Use a muzzle. Be responsible. If you need help bringing your pet into the clinic, you can usually call from the parking lot.

8. The veterinary clinic is NOT a damn dog park so stop letting your dog roam around! Also: throw away your retractable leash and get a real leash!!

9. If you think you know more about medical care for your pet than the vet does, or believe a homeopathic remedy will surely cure the tumor in their nose... why the hell are you even there at the vet in the first place??

10. People who shoot dogs for fun should not own pets. That should be a given but we've had some weirdoes before..

11. Your female dog isn't spayed but there's a male dog in the house. The male hasn't been neutered but you don't think the bitch won't get pregnant? Congratulations, not only are you a damn idiot, but I hope you can find homes for all of those puppies that you will inevitably have. I hope your bitch also doesn't need an emergency c-section.

12. You could be the president of the damn USA but if you're late to your appointment, you WILL be rescheduled. Your cat doesn't understand the concept of time so don't blame him/her.

13. Stop calling the clinic to demand diagnoses over the phone. We can't do that. And descriptions don't help, either. Just bring your pet in.

14. Learn general care for your pet BEFORE you go to get one. I literally had a lady once ask me how to use litter... Right as she brought in a brand new kitten from the humane society. Like.... Wtf!!

15. If your pet is obese, and your vet brings it up... Believe me, it's not a personal attack on you. We just don't want your pet to suffer from joint/heart/breathing/etc. problems later.

-----

Guh. I'm tired. I have more salt but I'm typing this on mobile and my thumbs hurt. I need to go take my office scrubs off, too.

Here is a cute photo of one of my happy, healthy sons as a token of my gratitude for reading this far:

Student Gui out.

#lessa speaks #salt #veterinary #pet care #dog #cat

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allineednow · 6 years

Text

The survival stories which - KMOV.com

(CNN) -- Harvey Weinstein's predatory behavior was described as an open secret in Hollywood, one perpetuated by a culture of silence.

Like abuse, is not confined to Hollywood -- and it only took two words to open the floodgates: me.

Since the Weinstein allegations broke, countless people from all walks of life have shared stories of abuse and harassment at the hands of folks.

CNN received dozens of responses and asked readers to share their stories with us.

Most came from women, though men are not immune to abuse. The themes were familiar: a vulnerable target, a perpetrator that is powerful, fears of retaliation and witnesses that let it happen.

The cumulative effects can be lasting: missed opportunities, barriers to education, depleted self-esteem, guilt for "letting" it happen or not speaking up.

We've heard it all before. Still, the status quo endures. This time, because of the sheer quantity of shared accounts, some see hope for change.

Memories are flooding back, galvanizing some girls while others. Men are being jolted, too, as their media feeds up blow with stories. Advocates say the way they influence policy and people are beginning to connect the dots between violence and misogyny. Could this be the time when a hashtag-inspired moment actually results in cultural change?

The girls CNN interviewed hope which is why they opened up. We are not disclosing their names and we could not check the accounts. Here are their testimonies.

'Anxious, fearful, and apparently paralyzed'

She shadowed a respected therapist . Since he was attractive and charming and she was overweight and insecure, she was flattered by his flirtatious texts requesting to "rendezvous."

They were following an assessment when he advised her to show her breasts to him.

"Anxious, fearful, and apparently paralyzed, I did what he asked," she says. "People make it seem very simple to simply say no, or only don't give in, or do not respond. But it can be quite paralyzing when someone is in control of where your future may go."

After, he sent texts asking her for photographs of her body parts. Then, another staffer began texting her. The interactions wore her down although she refused them both. She felt suicidal and depressed, resulting in breakdowns at school and home.

Eventually, she transferred to another program, one that opened doors to another career path that was fulfilling. That's the upside, she said. The drawback is she struggles with intimacy and blames herself for letting it happen. She's a mental health counselor but she has yet to fully work through her injury, she said. Meanwhile, he continues to practice as a therapist.

"I need a counselor who can out-counsel me," she said. "It's not a process you can rush. It comes when it's supposed and it'll come when I need it to."

With that, she shut up.

A couple of months into a new career in healthcare public relations, the invitation to travel to a conference was. Made her a little nervous, but just because she feared she would not fit in. Then the group text messages began.

As a girl presenter addressed the audience, a coworker mused that the speaker had "a dusty snatch." It went downhill from there.

The men typed about breasts and breast milk, spoke about needing the speaker and hoped she would mention the word "orgasm ... five times really fast."

While going to the airport the texts continued. "Cabbies prefer a good hug to a cash tip," wrote one man. "Only if you slip them a little tongue," wrote another. And then, this time mentioning her by name, "You ought to try it."

When she confided in two female colleagues, she said they "told me to not be 'so uptight' and to 'have a much better sense of humor.'" With that, she shut up.

The four men who wrote the words remain in positions.

"My daughter, now 7, is why I still feel awful," she said. "I try to teach her to stand up for what is right, and I did not do it myself."

As she struggled, he got more excited

She was in her 30s, working as a corporate trainer -- among the few women in a branch office of a tech company in the 1980s.

A couple of years into her career, her manager asked her to stay late to work on a job. He grabbed her when they were alone in a conference room.

"He began trying to feel me up through my coat and I jumped back," she said. "But what he did not know, and what most people do not know, is that I was molested as a kid."

As she struggled, he got excited. He tried to kiss her forcibly. She fled the room and jumped loose.

"He tried to apologize to me another day but I made sure that I was never alone with him. I could see the fear in his eyes," she said.

She was also afraid -- fearful that speaking out could be a "career-ending move."

For her attacker, she worked for two years .

'That's just the time he's from and the way he's'

She entered a boy's club and walked into college, never mind that half her classmates were women.

The homiletics professor, an esteemed scholar, taught this lesson her first week there: "The length of a sermon should be like a woman's skirt -- long enough to cover the subject, but short enough to keep it interesting."

The school's manager invited male pupils . He booked for her and other girls advice about "presenting yourself in the best possible light," which included tips on makeup, manicures and heels.

That he had been -- and still is -- this manner was no secret. Other women and she complained. Those in positions of power knew.

"The thing about the Jewish community is we work so hard to make it feel like a family," she said. "What they'd say back to us is, 'He's like a kooky old uncle. That's just the time he's from and the way he is.'"

An internship at a synagogue during the High Holidays proved the boy's club extended beyond school. She donned her robe and was ready to face the congregation for the first time during Judaism's holiest time of the year, when pulled her.

"I'm going to have to get you more robes for Yom Kippur since your legs are really distracting to me when I am trying to lead the congregation in prayer," she remembered him saying. "And it was like a gross, really disgusting voice. It wasn't that he was going to order me fresh robes but that he wanted me to know he was looking at my legs."

'Ooh that sounds so dirty'

A month into a job as a paralegal she became the target of inappropriate comments from among the attorneys.

The girl, in her 40s, began noticing a pattern in 2010. The man swung his arms to touch her behind, made sexual innuendoes and corrected himself in front of her for moments at a time right.

One morning, about what to order for breakfast a conversation took a perverted twist. Someone mentioned country ham and she said, "It's so salty and rubbery."

The managing partner said, "Ooh that sounds so dirty."

She told him his comment was gross and appeared to her manager, who was there. She asked him to produce the partner stop saying things like that. He did nothing.

When she took her story to human resources, she had been told he had been a partner for years and would not have done those things.

Three colleagues who had tales and she launched an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint in 2011 and filed a civil lawsuit in 2012. "The three people in the criticism is 100% of the staff at that office," she said. "Every single girl had the exact same story, different versions."

They won on their sexual harassment allegations. The law firm broke up three months later.

Having famous people share their Weinstein experiences, as well as seeing countless women share their stories online, helped her come out with her own. "It happens to people that are regular people. I'm a person with a family and I did not do anything. I've got nothing to be embarrassed about," she said.

'I hope that people stand up'

She worked her way up to retail purchaser from a series based in the Northeast's headquarters from customer service. It was a big deal for a woman from the suburbs without a college education, she said.

It was going well until the company's boss took an interest in her. "It was common knowledge that this man was a creep," she said. Worse, other executives complained about having to "clean up his mess."

It still makes her so angry.

"He'd ask me out for drinks. He had put his hand on my leg, and I would laugh it off. He told me he would write my bonus check for half once, after Christmas, everybody got their bonus checks, if I went out with him for drinks alone, and I would get the rest.

"Against my better judgment, I did. I was counting on that bonus, and was living on my own. He asked me to hold his hand while he drove me home. Asked if I'd hug him while I was getting out of his car. He felt up my shirt," she said.

Eventually, she could not take it anymore. A different employee was confided in by her and found out she had experienced similar treatment. They complained to management together, and she left the organization.

In her new job it took some readjusting to get used to a new boss who keeps things impersonal, she said. Then, the Weinstein story brought a flood of memories back. She worries for girls at her previous job.

"I feel very guilty. I took steps so that I could leave but I feel like me being silent just made it to happen to other girls," she said.

"I just hope that more people stand up against it when they see it and do not turn their back."

'He got what he wanted from me'

She's a flight attendant. He's a captain she called a friend. She believes he raped her while she was unconscious and drugged.

"The following morning I woke up naked in his bed, I had bruises all over my body. Because my vagina was so raw, I could not sit down. I was bleeding that is how tough he was with me and that I had bruises on my breasts, on my hips, on my inner thighs," she said.

"I'd asked him what happened last night. I do not remember anything. I don't remember how we got back to the resort. And, he came back with a snide remark: 'I believe that you can put two and two together.'"

She took pictures of the bruises and reported it to police. She contracted sexually transmitted diseases and a urinary tract infection . But he had to say it was consensual for the airline she said.

"He got what he wanted from me and I have to deal with it for rest of my life."

0 notes

themoneybuff-blog · 5 years

Text

A Loan Won't Solve Your Money Woes If You Don't Fix These 10 Issues First

0 notes

allineednow · 7 years

Text

<p>The survival stories Which powered #MeToo</p>

(CNN) -- Harvey Weinstein's predatory behavior was described as an open secret in Hollywood, one perpetuated by a culture of silence.

Complicity, like abuse, is not restricted to Hollywood -- and it only took two words to open the floodgates: me.

Since the Weinstein allegations broke, millions of people from all walks of life have shared stories of abuse and harassment at the hands of powerful folks.

CNN asked readers to share their stories with us and received dozens of responses.

Most came from women, though men are not immune to abuse. The themes were familiar: a perpetrator that is potent, a target, fears of retaliation and witnesses who let it happen.

The cumulative effects can be lasting: missed opportunities, barriers to education, depleted self-esteem, guilt for "letting" it occur or not speaking up.

We've heard it all before. Still, the status quo persists. This time, because of the quantity of shared accounts, some see hope for change.

Memories are flooding back, galvanizing some women while others. As their social media feeds blow up men are being jolted, too. Advocates say how public policy is influenced by them and people are beginning to join the dots between misogyny and violence. Could this be the time when a hashtag-inspired moment leads to cultural change?

The women CNN interviewed hope which is why they opened up. We are not disclosing their names and we could not verify the accounts. Here are their testimonies.

'Anxious, fearful, and apparently paralyzed'

She shadowed a therapist at the county health department in an internship for her master's program. Because he was attractive and charming and she was overweight and insecure, she was flattered by his flirtatious texts asking to "rendezvous."

They had been following an assessment when he advised her to show her breasts to him.

"Anxious, fearful, and apparently paralyzed, I did what he asked," she says. "People make it look very simple to simply say no, or only don't give in, or do not respond. But it can be very paralyzing when somebody is responsible for where your future may go."

After, he sent texts asking her. Another staffer began texting her. The interactions wore down her although she denied them both. She felt depressed and suicidal, resulting in breakdowns at school and home.

Eventually, she transferred to another program, one that opened doors to another career path that was fulfilling. That is the upside, she said. The drawback is that she blames herself for letting it happen and struggles with intimacy. She's a mental health counselor but she has yet to fully work through her own injury, she said. Meanwhile, he continues to practice as a therapist.

"I need a counselor who can out-counsel me," she said. "It's not a process you can hurry. It comes when it is supposed and it will come when I need it to."

With that, she shut up.

A couple of months into a new career in public relations, the invitation to travel to a seminar was one she welcomed. The four male colleagues she went with, including her boss, made her a little nervous, but just because she feared she wouldn't fit in. Subsequently the group text messages began.

As a woman presenter addressed the crowd, a coworker mused that the speaker had "a dusty snatch." It went downhill from there.

The guys typed about breasts and breast milk, spoke about wanting the speaker and hoped she would mention the word "orgasm ... five times really fast."

The texts continued while going to the airport to fly home. "Cabbies prefer a good hug to a cash tip," wrote one man. "Only in the event that you slip them a little tongue," wrote another. And then, this time mentioning her by name, "You ought to try it."

When she confided in two female colleagues, she said they "told me to not be 'so uptight' and to 'have a much better sense of humor.'" She shut up.

The four guys who wrote the words stay in positions.

"My daughter, now 7, is the reason I still feel awful," she said. "I try to teach her to stand up for what's right, and I didn't do it myself."

As she struggled, he got more excited

She was in her 30s, working as a corporate trainer -- among the few women in a branch office of a tech company in the 1980s.

Several years into her career asked her to stay late to work on a project. He grabbed her, when they were alone in a conference room.

"He began trying to feel me up through my jacket and I jumped back," she said. "But what he didn't know, and what most people do not know, is that I was molested as a child."

He got more excited, as she struggled. He tried to kiss her forcibly. She jumped free and fled the area.

"He tried to apologize to me the next day but I made sure that I was never alone with him. I could see the fear in his eyes," she said.

She was also afraid -- fearful that speaking out could be a "career-ending move."

For two agonizing years, she worked for her attacker .

'That is just the time he's from and the way he is'

She entered a boy's club and walked right into rabbinical college, never mind that her classmates were women.

Students were invited by the school's director to special meetings and dinners. He reserved for her and other women advice about "presenting yourself in the best possible light," which included tips on makeup, manicures and heels.

He had been -- and still is -- this manner was no secret. She and other women complained. Those in positions of power understood.

"The thing about the Jewish community is that we work so hard to make it feel like a family," she said. "What they'd say back to us is, 'He's like a kooky old uncle. That is just the time he's from and how he is.'"

An internship at a synagogue during the High Holidays proved the boy's club extended beyond school. She donned her robe and was ready to face the congregation for the first time throughout the most holy time of the year, when the head rabbi who hired her pulled her aside of Judaism.

"I'm going to need to get you longer robes for Yom Kippur since your legs are really distracting to me when I'm trying to lead the congregation in prayer," she remembered him saying. "And it was like a gross, really disgusting voice. It was not that he was going to order me fresh robes but that he wanted me to know he was looking at my legs."

'Ooh that sounds so dirty'

A month into a job as a paralegal she became the target of remarks from among the attorneys.

The woman, in her 40s, began noticing a pattern. The guy swung his arms to touch her behind, made innuendoes and adjusted himself in front of her for minutes at a time right.

One morning, about what to purchase breakfast, a conversation took a twist. Someone mentioned country ham and she said, "It's so salty and rubbery."

The managing partner said, "Ooh that sounds so dirty."

She told him his comment appeared and was gross to her manager, who was there. She asked him to produce the partner cease saying things like this. He did nothing.

She had been told he wouldn't have done those things and had been a partner for years when she took her story to human resources.

She and three female colleagues who had similar tales launched an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint in 2011 and filed a civil lawsuit. "The three people in the complaint is 100 percent of the staff at that office," she said. "Every single woman had the exact same story, different versions."

They won on their sexual harassment allegations. The law firm broke up.

Having men and women share their Weinstein experiences, as well as seeing their stories are shared by millions of women on the internet, helped her come out with her own. "It happens to people who are regular people. I'm a person with a family and I didn't do anything. I've got nothing to be ashamed about," she said.

'I just hope that more people stand up'

She worked her way up to retail buyer from a chain based in the Northeast's corporate headquarters from customer service. It was a big deal for a girl from the suburbs with no college education, she said.

It was going well until the company's boss took an interest. "It was common knowledge that this guy was a creep," she said. Worse, other executives complained about having to "clean up his mess."

It still makes her mad.

"He'd ask me out for drinks. He'd put his hand on my leg, and I would laugh it off. He told me he would write my bonus check for half, after, after Christmas, everyone got their bonus checks, if I went out for drinks with him and I would find the rest.

"Against my better judgment, I did. I was living on my own, and was counting on this bonus. He asked me to hold his hand while he drove me home. Then asked if I'd hug him while I was getting out of the car. He felt up my top," she said.

Eventually, she could not take it anymore. She confided in another employee and found out she had experienced similar treatment. They complained to management together, and she left the company.

In her new job it took some readjusting to get used to a new boss who keeps things impersonal, she said. Then, the Weinstein story brought a flood of memories back. She worries for women at her job working for this guy.

"I feel really guilty. I took steps so that I could leave but I feel like me being silent just made it to happen to other women," she said.

"I just hope that more people stand up against it when they see it and do not turn their back."

'He got what he wanted from me'

She's a flight attendant. He's a captain. She believes he raped her while she was unconscious and drugged.

"The next morning I woke up naked in his bed, I had bruises all over my body. I could not sit down because my vagina was so sore. I was bleeding that is how rough he was with me and that I had bruises on my breasts, on my buttocks, on my inner thighs," she said.

"I had asked him what happened last night. I do not remember anything. I don't recall how we got back to the hotel. And, he came back with a snide remark: 'I think you can put two and two together.'"

She took pictures of the bruises on her body and reported it. She contracted a urinary tract infection and sexually transmitted diseases from the attack. But he had to say it was consensual for the airline she said.

"He got what he wanted from me and I have to handle it for rest of my life."

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