Several of the largest natural disasters have occurred recently. These include the earthquake and tsunami in South East Asia and Hurricane Katrina in the Southern United States. Thousands of disasters occur every year. They all don't affect thousands of people, but the impact is as dire for each one that has to experience it. Each time a disaster occurs our hearts go out to those affected. However, what can we do when we are many miles away?
The following are some of the ways you might contribute to others affected by a disaster:
1. Pray. If you believe that miracles happen every day, as I do, then prayer should be at the top of your list.
2. Give Blood. There is always a need for blood. Especially when major disasters occur. Contact the Red Cross to learn about giving blood and schedule a time to donate at 1-800-GIVELIFE.
3. Send Notes. Give hope to the victims of the disaster as well as the relief workers by sending an encouraging note. If you do not have specific individuals to send to, send your notes to the local area through relief agencies, churches, schools and newspapers.
4. Volunteer. Go with a group to the location of the disaster to be a part of the rebuilding process. This could be with a local church or organization. You can also donate your time to volunteer organizations that respond to disasters. One of the first to respond is the Salvation Army. You can register your desire to volunteer by contacting your local Salvation Army office.
5. Donate Funds. Make a financial contribution to organizations that support the victims of the disaster. The Red Cross responds to thousands of disasters each year. You can donate at 1-800-HELP-NOW.
6. Donate Items. When disaster strikes, people can be without necessities for a long time. You can help by donating some of these items. If you want to support relief efforts by providing items, one of the best ways is to build and send relief kits. The United Methodist Committee on Relief and Operation Blessing are two organizations that teach you how to make the relief kits and where to send them. You can contact these organizations at 1-800-814-8765 and 1-757-226-3401, respectively.
7. Provide Shelter. If you are a property owner with vacant rental housing, you might help those driven from their home. Contact Disaster Housing Resources Online to learn more and register your available space.
8. Have a Fundraiser. If you cannot afford to donate funds, conduct a fundraising event. The event does not need to be extravagant. I am aware of adults and kids that raised money for a cause by having a yard sale and selling lemonade.
9. Purchase Items. Shop at stores and eat at restaurants that donate a portion of their profits to support disaster relief efforts. You will discover several businesses making this kind of contribution following major disasters.
This list is a sample of things you could do. I challenge you to identify two or more ways you plan to contribute to disaster relief efforts. Act on them starting today.
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Kamis, 30 Juni 2011
Sabtu, 10 Juli 2010
Donating A Used Vehicle To A Charity
If you are interested in making charitable donations and claiming then on your tax return then you should consider donating a used vehicle to a charity. This will allow you to claim a deduction on your tax returns. However, there are some rules you will need to follow and some safeguards you should keep in mind.
The first thing you should do is check to see if the organization you plan on donating the vehicle to is qualified. This is actually very easy to do and all you need is an Internet connection. Go to the IRS web site and search charitable organizations and see if the one you plan on donating to is listed. If the organization is not listed then you will not be able to claim the donation on your tax returns, so this is an important step to take.
Another important question you need to ask the charity is what are their plans for the vehicle? You have every right to ask this question and receive a reasonable response. Some charities might accept vehicle donations and then sell them in order to raise money while other charities might use the car for poor people without transportation. Regardless, find out what the vehicle will be used for before you donate it. If you do not receive an answer then perhaps you will look for a different charitable organization to donate to.
Also, the IRS requires that you determine the fair market value of the vehicle to claim on your taxes. Reporting the Blue Book value is not an option, so you will have to come up with the fair market value. Fortunately, there are several IRS guides that will help you determine this number.
Another tip is to find out what laws govern the donating of a vehicle to charity in your state. Some states will require you to transfer the title to the charitable organization while other states handle the transfer differently. Also, you will need to remove any license tags from the vehicle before giving it to the charitable organization. This will keep the car separate from you once you have donated it.
After you have done the research required for donating your vehicle to charity, if you still have additional questions then you should call the IRS directly to have your questions answered. This is really the only way to get accurate information so do not rely on what the charitable organization tells you. Make sure the IRS provides you with your information.
Donating anything to charity is a good action, especially if you donate a vehicle, because you are allowing others with little to nothing lives to be a little easier. However, take care when making donations in order to make the most of them on your tax returns.
The first thing you should do is check to see if the organization you plan on donating the vehicle to is qualified. This is actually very easy to do and all you need is an Internet connection. Go to the IRS web site and search charitable organizations and see if the one you plan on donating to is listed. If the organization is not listed then you will not be able to claim the donation on your tax returns, so this is an important step to take.
Another important question you need to ask the charity is what are their plans for the vehicle? You have every right to ask this question and receive a reasonable response. Some charities might accept vehicle donations and then sell them in order to raise money while other charities might use the car for poor people without transportation. Regardless, find out what the vehicle will be used for before you donate it. If you do not receive an answer then perhaps you will look for a different charitable organization to donate to.
Also, the IRS requires that you determine the fair market value of the vehicle to claim on your taxes. Reporting the Blue Book value is not an option, so you will have to come up with the fair market value. Fortunately, there are several IRS guides that will help you determine this number.
Another tip is to find out what laws govern the donating of a vehicle to charity in your state. Some states will require you to transfer the title to the charitable organization while other states handle the transfer differently. Also, you will need to remove any license tags from the vehicle before giving it to the charitable organization. This will keep the car separate from you once you have donated it.
After you have done the research required for donating your vehicle to charity, if you still have additional questions then you should call the IRS directly to have your questions answered. This is really the only way to get accurate information so do not rely on what the charitable organization tells you. Make sure the IRS provides you with your information.
Donating anything to charity is a good action, especially if you donate a vehicle, because you are allowing others with little to nothing lives to be a little easier. However, take care when making donations in order to make the most of them on your tax returns.
Minggu, 07 Februari 2010
American Morality - A Glimmer of Hope on the Horizon
Has the United States lost it’s basic principle of morality? Has the United States moved away from the guiding principles that this country was founded on? In this article, these and other questions will be examined, with the hope that by addressing these issues, we can as a society, move in a direction our founding fathers had envisioned.
Has the United States lost it’s basic principle of morality? Has the United States moved away from the guiding principles that this country was founded on? A single line from the Declaration of Independence describes these basic principles, and it is the meaning of these words which provided the foundation for the formation of the United States:
"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." - Thomas Jefferson
All Americans are created equal and that life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is a right granted to every citizen of the United States. Our founding fathers acquired these principles from their religious beliefs, and regardless of what people may think, the United States was founded on Biblical principles. Our founding fathers did not use certain aspects of the Bible just to satisfy what they wanted in a country. They used the Bible as a whole in order to create an understanding of what the basic rights are for an individual. They concluded that these rights are from God and are given to all individuals.
One of the unalienable rights given by our creator is the right to live our lives. Our creator placed each individual on this earth for a reason. Is it not true that other people in the world have that same unalienable right to live and fulfill God's purpose? So, if this is a founding principle for our country, does it not follow that we as a country should help others less fortunate then us? Should not others, who were born in underdeveloped countries, have the same right to life? In this article, I will address some of these questions, with the hope that by examining these issues, we can as a society, move in a direction our founding fathers had envisioned. Americans have lost site of the fact that excess without giving is not really what our founding fathers had in mind. Lets examine some examples which are symbolic of this immorality that currently exists within the American society.
Before presenting this first example, we need to have a clear definition of what morality is. From WordNet, a lexical database for the English language, developed at the Cognitive Science Library at Princeton University, morality is concern with the distinction between good and evil or right and wrong. This first example of immorality may be considered by many as one that does not have anything to do with morality, but if you give it more then cursory thought, you would most likely consider it a morality issue.
This first example has to do with Americans and their relationship with their automobiles. Yes, immorality can be seen at such a insignificant level. More importantly, this example shows the pervasiveness of immorality within the American society. Most Americans, if typical, need an automobile for basic functioning within most areas of the United States. The automobile has become a perfunctory status symbol. Many people within the United States can barely pay their rent or mortgage, but they will shovel out money per month on an automobile they really can not afford. They spend money per month in the form of a car payment or lease, just to have a “nice” car.
The American obsession with the sport utility vehicle is one I still do not understand. One basic argument of the SUV owner is that by driving a SUV, they feel safer. If your driving skill is so poor that you can not avoid poor drivers, try working on your driving skill. This to me makes more sense then driving a tank (SUV) which consumes large quantities of fuel and concomitantly contributes to an increase in fuel demand. This increase in fuel demand drives fuel prices upward. With Americans so reliant upon their automobiles, higher fuel prices mean less extra money in their pocket. Money that could be used to help feed those dying from starvation throughout the world.
The American car companies for many years pushed the SUV on the American public, and now these car companies are suffering the consequences. The thinking as to why these companies offered these vehicles to the American public was that they thought Americans would continue in their mind set that excess is better. The American car companies today are doing poorly as a business. They have continually laid off workers in order to maintain a level of viability. They have been very slow to innovate and the federal government has had to mandate fuel efficiency. Because of their sluggish response to the need for fuel efficient vehicles, American car companies are now suffering the consequences.
On the other hand, Toyota and Honda, companies which have put fuel efficient hybrids out into the market place, are now doing very well. Toyota is now the number one car seller in the world. Toyota and Honda have always placed fuel efficiency as a higher priority. A glimmer of hope lies in the fact that Americans are starting to create the mind set that excess is not good, and frugality is the way of the future. Simply put, driving SUVs is not intelligent.
Driving an SUV when it really is not necessary is an example of overindulgence in the United States. Granted, there are situations where an individual needs a SUV such as Alaska or any area of the country where road conditions are poor or winters are severe. Or, there are occasions where material needs to be transported in a SUV because of it’s increase carrying capacity. In these cases, there is a legitimate reason to own a SUV because of it’s utilitarian value. But the majority of SUV owners are not in these situations or extreme conditions frequently enough to warrant owning such a fuel wasting vehicle. Driving a hybrid is an example of intelligent frugality. In order to buy a Toyota or Honda hybrid, you will have to be put on a long waiting list. This is a good sign that Americans are starting to develop the mind set that having less is better and frugality is the way of the future.
Our society has been through a period of excess and over indulgence but changes, hopefully, are on the horizon. Morality in the form of giving needs to be reincorporated back into our society. It makes more sense to drive a more fuel efficient vehicle, and use some of the saved money to contribute to the world hunger problem. For most morally conscious individuals, this type of sustained and continual activity leads to greater long term happiness.
Giving does not have to be monetary, it can be in other forms, such as giving time or knowledge. This bring us to our next example of morality reduction that has been in existence in the United States. Many parents today are not giving enough time to their children. Children need to be nurtured. A parents wisdom, gained through a life time of experiences, needs to be imparted to their children. Parents need to impart to their children the value of giving and a feeling of concern for others . When I was a child growing up, school shootings where kids are killing teachers and fellow students, was virtually unheard of. Today, school shootings are occurring at an alarming frequency. To me, part of the problem is due to parents not spending enough time with their children. Again it comes down to giving. In this case, it comes down to giving time and knowledge. Parents not giving enough time to their children is another example of morality reduction within our society.
Another example of the immorality prevalent within our society is displayed by the films which come out of Hollywood today. I am sorry to say that most of these films really are to put it bluntly, garbage. Most of these films lack the cerebral quality of the earlier films. From a technical perspective i.e. special effects, they are excellent, but from a cerebral perspective, they are lacking. They are only produced in order to make money for those who are producing them, without any understanding to the implications they may have on society, especially younger people.
Creativity is basically gone from Hollywood and many of the movies coming out today are remakes of successful earlier films. Once and a while a good film will be presented to the American public, but generally speaking most are junk. Most of today’s actors are not really household names. They come and go fairly quickly and lack the staying power of a John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, or Humphrey Bogart. These actors displayed a level of integrity and they new about the personification they were displaying to the American public. They were not perfect, but they did display a higher level of morality.
Is our society spiraling downward into the oblivion of lost hope? I believe not. More and more we are seeing examples which display the positive value of giving. A case in point. Time Magazine finally got it right when they named rock star Bono, and Bill and Melinda Gates as the Persons of the Year for 2005. They were named persons of the year not because of anything that happened at Microsoft and not because Bono is a rock star, they were named persons of the year for their charitable work and activism aimed at reducing global poverty and improving world health. Finally a media organization is recognizing the value of giving.
Another sign of hope that Americans may be moving away from the mind set of excess and non-giving, can be seen in the enormous outpouring of giving monetarily in the wake of the worst hurricane season the United States has had on record. Americans have also given monetarily to the tsunami relief effort. Americans have not been giving readily to the current starving in Africa. In December 2005, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization issued a warning that nearly 12 million Africans face the immediate threat of famine. Americans have not been giving to the Pakistani earthquake relief efforts.
This lack of giving is not really due to Americans not willing to give, but rather due to the lack of media exposure. CNN would rather spend hours talking about whether President Bush broke the law by wire tapping potential terrorists in the United States, then talk about the important world issues such as the thousands that are dying in the wake of the Pakistan earthquake or the starving in Africa. It is very important that the media expose these type of stories. You can not give if you do not know about the need.
The point is this. Giving on a continuous basis, produces feelings of long term happiness. For this country to get back to it’s moral principles, giving to others in need is one way to move in that direction. Which brings me back to my original point. Americans need to fully get back to the mind set that giving and having less is of greater value then having more. We must move away from trying to produce short term happiness via artificial means.
Artificial symbols such as what type of car you drive, how fancy your clothing is, or how many vacation homes you can acquire should be of less importance to any one who has some substance to them. The next time you find yourself propagating one of these excesses, think of the 24,000 people per day that are dying of hunger. Think about the six million children under the age of five which will die of hunger each year. Think about the downtrodden, the abused, and the tortured. When you think about these things, giving makes more sense. Give what you can and when you can.
Albert Einstein once said “ the value of a man resides in what he gives and not in what he is capable of receiving.” What many people do not realize is that Albert Einstein was a deeply religious man. He knew that only a God could produce such a complex universe, and that such complexity could not have been produced by random chaotic events. He saw the order in the universe and the relation of the universe with God. He simply did not wear his religion on his sleeve. He also had insights beyond physics in that he realized what truly gives a man a sense of happiness and inner peace.
Einstein had it right in that happiness does not come from what you hold, but really from what you give. No matter what your religious belief, a life time of giving to those less fortunate then yourself, will result in long term happiness. Give it a try. You might be surprised at the feeling it produces. A glimmer of hope is on the horizon. The United States can move back to it’s Biblical principles. But we must all do our part.
Has the United States lost it’s basic principle of morality? Has the United States moved away from the guiding principles that this country was founded on? A single line from the Declaration of Independence describes these basic principles, and it is the meaning of these words which provided the foundation for the formation of the United States:
"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." - Thomas Jefferson
All Americans are created equal and that life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is a right granted to every citizen of the United States. Our founding fathers acquired these principles from their religious beliefs, and regardless of what people may think, the United States was founded on Biblical principles. Our founding fathers did not use certain aspects of the Bible just to satisfy what they wanted in a country. They used the Bible as a whole in order to create an understanding of what the basic rights are for an individual. They concluded that these rights are from God and are given to all individuals.
One of the unalienable rights given by our creator is the right to live our lives. Our creator placed each individual on this earth for a reason. Is it not true that other people in the world have that same unalienable right to live and fulfill God's purpose? So, if this is a founding principle for our country, does it not follow that we as a country should help others less fortunate then us? Should not others, who were born in underdeveloped countries, have the same right to life? In this article, I will address some of these questions, with the hope that by examining these issues, we can as a society, move in a direction our founding fathers had envisioned. Americans have lost site of the fact that excess without giving is not really what our founding fathers had in mind. Lets examine some examples which are symbolic of this immorality that currently exists within the American society.
Before presenting this first example, we need to have a clear definition of what morality is. From WordNet, a lexical database for the English language, developed at the Cognitive Science Library at Princeton University, morality is concern with the distinction between good and evil or right and wrong. This first example of immorality may be considered by many as one that does not have anything to do with morality, but if you give it more then cursory thought, you would most likely consider it a morality issue.
This first example has to do with Americans and their relationship with their automobiles. Yes, immorality can be seen at such a insignificant level. More importantly, this example shows the pervasiveness of immorality within the American society. Most Americans, if typical, need an automobile for basic functioning within most areas of the United States. The automobile has become a perfunctory status symbol. Many people within the United States can barely pay their rent or mortgage, but they will shovel out money per month on an automobile they really can not afford. They spend money per month in the form of a car payment or lease, just to have a “nice” car.
The American obsession with the sport utility vehicle is one I still do not understand. One basic argument of the SUV owner is that by driving a SUV, they feel safer. If your driving skill is so poor that you can not avoid poor drivers, try working on your driving skill. This to me makes more sense then driving a tank (SUV) which consumes large quantities of fuel and concomitantly contributes to an increase in fuel demand. This increase in fuel demand drives fuel prices upward. With Americans so reliant upon their automobiles, higher fuel prices mean less extra money in their pocket. Money that could be used to help feed those dying from starvation throughout the world.
The American car companies for many years pushed the SUV on the American public, and now these car companies are suffering the consequences. The thinking as to why these companies offered these vehicles to the American public was that they thought Americans would continue in their mind set that excess is better. The American car companies today are doing poorly as a business. They have continually laid off workers in order to maintain a level of viability. They have been very slow to innovate and the federal government has had to mandate fuel efficiency. Because of their sluggish response to the need for fuel efficient vehicles, American car companies are now suffering the consequences.
On the other hand, Toyota and Honda, companies which have put fuel efficient hybrids out into the market place, are now doing very well. Toyota is now the number one car seller in the world. Toyota and Honda have always placed fuel efficiency as a higher priority. A glimmer of hope lies in the fact that Americans are starting to create the mind set that excess is not good, and frugality is the way of the future. Simply put, driving SUVs is not intelligent.
Driving an SUV when it really is not necessary is an example of overindulgence in the United States. Granted, there are situations where an individual needs a SUV such as Alaska or any area of the country where road conditions are poor or winters are severe. Or, there are occasions where material needs to be transported in a SUV because of it’s increase carrying capacity. In these cases, there is a legitimate reason to own a SUV because of it’s utilitarian value. But the majority of SUV owners are not in these situations or extreme conditions frequently enough to warrant owning such a fuel wasting vehicle. Driving a hybrid is an example of intelligent frugality. In order to buy a Toyota or Honda hybrid, you will have to be put on a long waiting list. This is a good sign that Americans are starting to develop the mind set that having less is better and frugality is the way of the future.
Our society has been through a period of excess and over indulgence but changes, hopefully, are on the horizon. Morality in the form of giving needs to be reincorporated back into our society. It makes more sense to drive a more fuel efficient vehicle, and use some of the saved money to contribute to the world hunger problem. For most morally conscious individuals, this type of sustained and continual activity leads to greater long term happiness.
Giving does not have to be monetary, it can be in other forms, such as giving time or knowledge. This bring us to our next example of morality reduction that has been in existence in the United States. Many parents today are not giving enough time to their children. Children need to be nurtured. A parents wisdom, gained through a life time of experiences, needs to be imparted to their children. Parents need to impart to their children the value of giving and a feeling of concern for others . When I was a child growing up, school shootings where kids are killing teachers and fellow students, was virtually unheard of. Today, school shootings are occurring at an alarming frequency. To me, part of the problem is due to parents not spending enough time with their children. Again it comes down to giving. In this case, it comes down to giving time and knowledge. Parents not giving enough time to their children is another example of morality reduction within our society.
Another example of the immorality prevalent within our society is displayed by the films which come out of Hollywood today. I am sorry to say that most of these films really are to put it bluntly, garbage. Most of these films lack the cerebral quality of the earlier films. From a technical perspective i.e. special effects, they are excellent, but from a cerebral perspective, they are lacking. They are only produced in order to make money for those who are producing them, without any understanding to the implications they may have on society, especially younger people.
Creativity is basically gone from Hollywood and many of the movies coming out today are remakes of successful earlier films. Once and a while a good film will be presented to the American public, but generally speaking most are junk. Most of today’s actors are not really household names. They come and go fairly quickly and lack the staying power of a John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, or Humphrey Bogart. These actors displayed a level of integrity and they new about the personification they were displaying to the American public. They were not perfect, but they did display a higher level of morality.
Is our society spiraling downward into the oblivion of lost hope? I believe not. More and more we are seeing examples which display the positive value of giving. A case in point. Time Magazine finally got it right when they named rock star Bono, and Bill and Melinda Gates as the Persons of the Year for 2005. They were named persons of the year not because of anything that happened at Microsoft and not because Bono is a rock star, they were named persons of the year for their charitable work and activism aimed at reducing global poverty and improving world health. Finally a media organization is recognizing the value of giving.
Another sign of hope that Americans may be moving away from the mind set of excess and non-giving, can be seen in the enormous outpouring of giving monetarily in the wake of the worst hurricane season the United States has had on record. Americans have also given monetarily to the tsunami relief effort. Americans have not been giving readily to the current starving in Africa. In December 2005, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization issued a warning that nearly 12 million Africans face the immediate threat of famine. Americans have not been giving to the Pakistani earthquake relief efforts.
This lack of giving is not really due to Americans not willing to give, but rather due to the lack of media exposure. CNN would rather spend hours talking about whether President Bush broke the law by wire tapping potential terrorists in the United States, then talk about the important world issues such as the thousands that are dying in the wake of the Pakistan earthquake or the starving in Africa. It is very important that the media expose these type of stories. You can not give if you do not know about the need.
The point is this. Giving on a continuous basis, produces feelings of long term happiness. For this country to get back to it’s moral principles, giving to others in need is one way to move in that direction. Which brings me back to my original point. Americans need to fully get back to the mind set that giving and having less is of greater value then having more. We must move away from trying to produce short term happiness via artificial means.
Artificial symbols such as what type of car you drive, how fancy your clothing is, or how many vacation homes you can acquire should be of less importance to any one who has some substance to them. The next time you find yourself propagating one of these excesses, think of the 24,000 people per day that are dying of hunger. Think about the six million children under the age of five which will die of hunger each year. Think about the downtrodden, the abused, and the tortured. When you think about these things, giving makes more sense. Give what you can and when you can.
Albert Einstein once said “ the value of a man resides in what he gives and not in what he is capable of receiving.” What many people do not realize is that Albert Einstein was a deeply religious man. He knew that only a God could produce such a complex universe, and that such complexity could not have been produced by random chaotic events. He saw the order in the universe and the relation of the universe with God. He simply did not wear his religion on his sleeve. He also had insights beyond physics in that he realized what truly gives a man a sense of happiness and inner peace.
Einstein had it right in that happiness does not come from what you hold, but really from what you give. No matter what your religious belief, a life time of giving to those less fortunate then yourself, will result in long term happiness. Give it a try. You might be surprised at the feeling it produces. A glimmer of hope is on the horizon. The United States can move back to it’s Biblical principles. But we must all do our part.
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