November 2013 - cipec.org

Today’s Youth Needs To Wake Up And Realize They Need To Save And Invest

Last updated on October 27th, 2019 at 07:18 pm

Many young potential investors don’t trust the stock market. Many times this is because they have seen their parents lose money in the market plunges in the early 2000’s and 2008. Watching the angst their parents went through would naturally lead many of them to shy away from stocks. There was also the silly Occupy Wall Street protests that also put portrayed the market negatively. So, for people in their 20’s or early 30’s, learning how to start buying stocks isn’t a priority.

Sadly though, it is exactly that age group that will do best buying stocks as they have the longest time horizon possible. Someone who is just out of college or who has recently gotten their first job perhaps has thirty to forty years before they will retire. That extended time period would allow them to make it through any market downturns and keep holding on for retirement.

Investors who have short time periods to invest in have the most risk when it comes to stocks. You need to be able to stay strong and not sell when faced with a sinking market. Eventually, history has shown, things will go back up and you need to still be holding on to your stock to get that money back. For instance, everyone who held their stocks in 2008 and early 2009 took a beating but are now ahead in 2013 if they didn’t sell.

Another reason youngsters should get interested in stocks is because they might not have families yet and actually have money they can invest if they want to. The word “want” is the key word though, as too many don’t feel the need to save and plan for a future that is too far off for them to vision. It is too bad that in today’s world, going into debt is socially acceptable and planning for retirement is rare. It should be the other way around and today’s youth may never have a chance if they don’t wake up and think ahead.

Military Funding Increases in 2014 — Civilization’s Decline in Full Swing

Last updated on October 27th, 2019 at 07:18 pm

Perhaps it’s a bit irresponsible to link the world’s military budgets to the decline of civilization. Regardless, there’s no question that most militaries around the world continue to fund at record levels. In the USA, where politics and finances have been particularly turbulent lately, the military will be given a 1.0-1.7% raise for 2014 according to current tables.

President Obama increased military pay scales in December 2012 as per the National Defense Authorization Bill. The 1.7% pay increase was effective on every member of the uniformed forces. However, salaries for enlisted soldiers and for officers follow a slightly different scale. Both members receive a basic pay, which is augmented with allowances, incentives, tax advantages and recoupment benefits. This doesn’t compare that favorably with some other military forces from European countries, these can be checked directly although you’ll need something like a German proxy because of various geo-blocks.

The military pay chart is readily available on the US Undersecretary of Defense, Personnel and Readiness website. The chart lists separate payments for enlisted members and for officers according to rank and years of service. Enlisted officers are referred to as E and are graduated from E — 1 to E — 9. Some branches may have a Warrant Officer rank and this is referred to as W with different W grades from W -1 to W – 5. Similarly, officers are referred to as O with grades from O-1 to O-10. Please note that these pay grades may vary considerably if incentives, taxes, and benefits are added to the basic pay grade. The chart only provides a list of base pay. Members also get drill pay when they are on active duty. Housing allowance is provided to family of members. Unmarried members usually stay in military barracks but standards have changed and each member is allotted a single room with shared or single bathroom. All active duty military members also get a monthly allowance for food called substance allowance. Family separation allowance and combat allowance is provided to military members when they have to travel or are deployed on government work. Some grades also get an annual pay raise which increases the basic salary that is offered.

It’s a good idea to check with the Department of Defense website to get an accurate idea of current pay grades and scales.