From James Clear’s 3-2-1 newsletter:
It’s waaaay too easy to “multi-task” these days. The distraction device in our pocket or purse doesn’t help.
Pick a thing, any thing, and see it through.
The rest will still be waiting for you when Task #1 is done.
Speaking o’ the ol’ distraction devices, I’ve been shutting down the computer and phone earlier in the evening, and reading books before bed. My sleep has been better. That’s not a coincidence.
Because I’m a person of advanced years, I DO think about Social Security a bit more than I did in my carefree younger days. But I quickly tire of any talk about Social Security insolvency. Not because it isn’t possible, but because the fix is so patently obvious.
It’s time to raise the roof!
Here’s why:
I know $184,500 is more than most Americans earn in a year. But there are plenty of people making a LOT more than that. (6% of covered workers, per the Social Security website.) And it seems unfair that once they’ve hit that mark, they don’t contribute another nickel… even though their SS payments will be higher than the Average Joe’s (and Average Jane’s) based on their lofty income.
And the $184,500 is based on “earned” income (wages, salary, tips, bonus…). So if you make a killing in the stock market, or pulling in thousands in dividends, that’s not even taken into consideration.
Raising the roof (i.e. the max or cap) would deliver a lot more money into the system, without creating a hardship on anyone. What should that roof be? 300K? 400k? Greater minds than mine can sort that out.
OR, maybe instead of raising the roof, we shouldn’t have a roof at all!
Nick Hanauer‘s proposal calls for that (eliminating the roof), and actually goes a couple of steps further, by lowering the contribution rate by 50% while also eliminating the capital gains and investment exemptions and loopholes. Check it out:
“Half of all national income is now above the cap.”
I’m not one of those “eat the rich” types. But I do think that Social Security could be much better for America if it were more social.
Jason Kottke’s newsletter led me to Molly Burford’s “list poetry” as Jason called it. I thought this one was very poignant:
I especially love “Those who are kind to those who can do nothing for them.” because I think it’s a great litmus test. And “scrappy souls” is a great moniker too!
If you have people like this in your life, you’re truly blessed. As Molly advises “Hold them close. Love them hard.”
And better still, be the type of person that others want to hang on to.
Molly Burford’s first poetry collection Moments to Hold Close is available now here.
So Agent Orange waddled up to a podium last night and read from the teleprompter about how American elections were “worse than any Third World country.”
If you’re trying to keep score at home, here’s your cheat sheet (no pun intended):
*meaning Electoral College votes – he lost the popular vote in 2016.
As is typically the case, every accusation is a confession. T-Rump urging the Senate to pass the SAVE America Act (a better name would be the Voter Intimidation and Disenfranchisement Act) is a good example:
“How easy is that to do? Unless you want to cheat. The only reason you wouldn’t do it is you want to cheat because your policies are so bad and your candidates are so pathetic that you can’t get elected any other way.”
Bad policies, pathetic candidate, wanting to cheat… yep, that sounds just like the guy who has spent every day of his presidency ignoring laws and screwing over the working class and poor to line his own pockets. And the guy who welcomed Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Donny can delude himself about election fraud all he wants… even most of his minions aren’t buying it. But this is about sowing the seeds of doubt and distrust now, in advance of the mid-terms. He knows they’ll be a referendum on his policies. And he knows that what his feckless Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson said back in February is actually true:
“If we lost the midterms — heaven forbid — if we lost the majority in the House, it would be the end of the Trump presidency in real effect.”
From Holy Mike’s lips to God’s ears. Because the biggest fraud was (and IS) the guy behind the microphone making accusations last night.
No one would be trying to take your vote away from you with this level of intensity if they didn’t understand how important your vote is, how powerful it makes you. Trump always says the quiet part out loud. He’s doing that now. Your vote matters. Prepare to do whatever it takes this fall to cast it. Let’s put a stop to the lies once and for all. — Joyce Vance on her Substack
I am on the email list for a Cincinnati ad agency specializing in social media. No shade to that agency (I signed up for the newsletter), but the general use of the term “creator” in relation to social media sticks in my craw a bit.
Here’s an excerpt from the newsletter:
it’s not just there, it’s everywhere.
If you have carved out a niche — or even a career — on social media, then God bless, and more power to you.
But if you’re just doing “unboxing” videos or livestreaming your video games, what have you created, really? And take that times 10 for anyone simply preening for the camera, knowing that the algorithm will deliver eyeballs for eye candy.
And if you’re not on social media, but you write, or paint, or sculpt, or draw, or sing, or dance… you’re a creator.
Heck, even if your creations are outside the realm of the traditional arts, you’re still a creator. Planting a garden makes you a creator. Decorating a cake for a kid’s birthday (and not as part of some cooking challenge) makes you a creator. Hanging drywall makes you a creator (and keeps you in demand long after social media trends have turned).
We’re all creators. Don’t cede that title to the folks that are mostly in it to monetize your eyeballs.
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