Category Archives: Business & Financial News

section for data and information tailored around business, commerce and financial issues

How 529 college savings plans can help single parents

January 27, 2014 admin Leave a comment

How 529 college savings can help single parents

by: Dr. Samori Swygert

It’s important that we become more and more acquainted with finances. The lack of financial knowledge can and will keep us in financial bondage. Education, and application of knowledge is key to empowering our journey to financial independence.

Many readers may be aware of this simple financial option, but many are not. I had a discussion with a coworker about 529 college savings plans, and she had no idea about it, or what it was. She is a hardworking single mom, and as I began sharing this info with her about college savings plans for her son, I saw a light bulb go off in her head, and a smile grace her face. She had just been enlightened about a financial option that she can research and use. I then proceeded to ask several more of my young female coworkers that are single mothers, and the response was the same. I shared the information with them.

I’m not a financial advisor. However, I spend tremendous amounts of time reading different material, and I enjoy sharing information that can transform someone’s life.

So for all households, and single parents, I advise you to visit the United States Securities and Exchange website here: http://www.sec.gov/investor/pubs/intro529.htm

This link will give you a healthy resource, and wealth of knowledge on 529 College Savings plans. This is VERY IMPORTANT, because the cost of attending college has skyrocketed, and the cost of attending should not be a reason to not attend. Planning is key, and as parents, our children should not have to assume mounds of debt at an early age, and as a parent you don’t want this expense hanging over your head. We also must take into consideration the job market and its’ unpredictability.

Briefly, a 529 College Savings plan is a program provided to citizens to help save money for college. Every state has one! There are tax benefits to it. You can contribute to it regularly like a 401 k. The funds in the account must be specifically used for college expenses. Your child is referred to as the “beneficiary”. There are penalties if you use this for expenses unrelated to college expenses. There are also penalties if you withdraw money from the account before it’s time for college. For instance, if you withdraw money early to pay for a home improvement project, you will be hit with income tax and 10% federal tax. You can also roll savings to other state plans if you move to another state, but you just need to know your state specific policies.

There are 2 types of 529 plans. There is a COLLEGE SAVINGS PLAN , and a PREPAID TUITION PLAN. There are maximum limits for contribution, but that is in excess of $200,000. You also want to know that there are BROKER SOLD and DIRECT SOLD PLANS. Broker sold plans use a sales broker that charge you a broker fee for their service in managing your 529. Direct sold plans don’t use a broker and thus you are not paying a broker fee, and have more money to contribute. However, research is the key. Read, talk, ask around.

I won’t sit here and give you a fish, but I’m giving you the information you need to learn to fish for financial freedom. Research the information in the link I provided. Investigate and see what may be best for you, and take advantage of these financial options early. This plan is for individuals with kids, but I particularly feel that young single parents should definitely be aware of this, because it can help alleviate some of the stressors of pondering your child’s educational future.

Until next time…..Wash your hands, help someone, save your money, exercise daily, eat healthy, pray regularly, read something new, and tell someone you love them……Dr. Swygert signing off, God Bless.

Business & Financial News

How Corporate Christmas Celebrations are Hypocritical

January 25, 2014 admin Leave a comment

By : Samori Swygert

Corporate America could stand to sit down and watch, “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens. During this festive holiday, many Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus, embrace the blessings of family, and exchange gifts to show consideration of the wants and needs of family and friends.

Corporate America really milks and exploits this holiday season, as it proves to be the most lucrative in profit generation. Christmas themed music, decorations and motifs festoon galleries, atriums, hallways, and main entrances of buildings. Reindeers, stockings, cotton snow, Nutcracker arrangements, and shopping mall Santas pose with the children of mall patrons. All of the aforementioned accoutrements compliment a tradition, but many companies use them strictly as bait.

Many associate Christmas with the warmth of charity, good-will, love, and care. Well as much as this sounds spiritually enticing, there is a contradictory angle here.

Who is Ebenezer Scrooge

Those who are familiar with the movie, A Christmas Carol, remember how the main character, Ebenezer Scrooge was so obsessed with money that he had no regard for the spirit of humanity. He overworked and underpaid his employees. He penny-pinched to the point of insanity. His employee had a son, Tiny Tim that was forecasted to die from health ailments unless Scrooge relented his extra miser-like practices. Three spirits visited scrooge and revealed how his stingy, inhumane financial disregard for humanity resulted in the terrible demise of all he conducted business with. Does this sound familiar to you?? Hmmmm……

HUMBUG!!!

Although Walmart may have Salvation Army bell ringers on their premise, let’s not forget how they sought to deny increases in employee wages. Although McDonald’s may have Christmas themed ornaments on their establishment and food wrappers, remember that they also choose to deny increases in minimum wages. Despite the expected formalities in the greeting “Happy Holidays”, remember the furloughs that Grinch-like members of congress allowed to happen at the peril of the average tax paying citizen, as they received paychecks. Remember the companies that are raiding employee pensions in Michigan and across the nation. Think of Tiny Tim, by remembering the millions of children that remain uncovered by healthcare because employers choose to c*t healthcare benefits to curb expenses.

Remember to pray for the thousands across the nation that are being displaced to the dynamic of gentrification. Remember the poor and destitute as Wall Street Holiday parties flow with champagne, eggnog, mistletoe, and CEO’s receive million dollar year-end bonuses for downsizing.

The Gift Wrap-up

Allow me to keep this succinct and pithy, Corporate America, and members of the U.S. government are celebrating the holidays aesthetically, but internally, they are harboring the same gluttonous, greedy spirit of Ebenezer Scrooge. However, I would like to say Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all with no strings attached. Remember it’s not too late to donate to your local food bank, clothing drive, or give a few dollars to someone in need. As for Wall Street and the government, I hope you listen to the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future and develop a true spirit of humanity…….Fooey!!!!

Business & Financial News

Corporate greed will destroy America

January 24, 2014 admin Leave a comment

In what he called “a financial lynching of the 99%,” Dr. Samori Swygert explains how corporate greed and the failed economic policies of America are ultimately going to destroy this country. Check it out. It’s a great article:

by Dr. Samori Swygert

We’re witnessing the systematic dismantling of the middle class, and permanent crippling of the poor in real time. We’ll see the reincarnation of serfdom and feudalism if the greed of capitalism proceeds unchecked by the United States government.

How the United States government has failed the tax paying citizen

The government is complicit in the current financial crisis. Too many favors have been granted to corporate America. We’ve bailed out the banks, and can’t trace the “trickle down” effect of the bailout to the average citizen?

Nobody, and I mean NOBODY is publicly addressing the TRILLIONS of dollars in offshore tax havens that has circumvented the inspection of Uncle Sam. It’s as if politicians have a GAG ORDER to not mention this. The U.S. government should tax properly, that tax revenue could sustain America’s economic demands. However, the government chooses to overtax the average citizen to subsidize and finance governmental expenses.

Furthermore, we’ve allowed elected politicians to rendezvous and cozy up with corporate lobbyists. The laws and policies passed, are not representative of the constituents that put our officials in office. Many policies passed are derived from yielding to the monetary might of corporate America.

Our government has been effectively, but unofficially purchased by an oligarchy whose only concern is their coffers.

Let’s keep this real funky, and I mean FUNKY!!!

We’ve allowed jobs to go overseas to curb payroll expenses for these corporations. We’ve allowed the cuts to the SNAP (supplemental nutritional assistance program), we’re allowing pensions to be raided, and raises to minimum wage are fought against like terrorism, we’re cutting long term unemployment insurance to 1.3 million Americans, we are considering cutting pensions for U.S. veterans that fought for America, recently the IRS wants to tax the tips that waiters and waitresses earn. Social security is even volleyed around quietly and softly for cuts.

We’re eager to release funds to engage Syria, we spend billions on new drones and drone bases in West, North, and East Africa, we spend billions to construct thousands of square feet of the State of the Art NSA spy center in Utah, we have a private $52.6 Billion dollar Black budget for spy intelligence, then holler broke when we talk about the poor!!!!!!!??????

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/black-budget-summary-details-us-spy-networks-successes-failures-and-objectives/2013/08/29/7e57bb78-10ab-11e3-8cdd-bcdc09410972_story.html

Politicians discuss safety nets, yet our own tax dollars go to other countries. Whenever a natural disaster happens in another country, America has money and aide to donate. I respect our international benevolence. However, our very own citizens are suffering, and communities are decimated while foreign countries get food and money? We invested in this system of democracy through our taxes right? However, gentrification and elevation in property taxes has many citizens moving around like nomads seeking affordable housing, and food.

They are playing ECONOMIC MUSICAL CHAIRS, and the seats are disappearing daily! The current situation is choreographed to siphon off the last penny from the average tax payer. This is one of the reasons the American Revolution was fought right?

To add insult to injury, once individuals are unemployed and broke, they turn to predatory title loans with variable APRs that balloon in interest that keep them in debt-slavery. Ultimately, credit scores are shattered, and they can’t get a job because companies are rejecting employment off poor credit reports. This is psychotic cycle has been masterfully engineered.

What will unemployed individuals do to keep their babies fed, bills paid, and roof over their head? Yes, some commit crimes to finance their expenses. This cascading algorithm of events filters directly into the prison industry. This disregard for American citizens fosters increased anti-American sentiments and unpatriotic emotions. The American majority are not sharing in the benefits that arise from the marriage between Mr. America and Ms. Wallstreet.

MAKING SENSE OF IT ALL AND POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS

Plans work best when everybody or the majority get what they need and want. Everybody or the majority of America doesn’t want or need high tech surveillance of their email, phones, texts, online activity or the last bowel movement they had monitored by the NSA. We do need and want jobs to provide for ourselves and family. Since many Americans prefer gainful employment over surveillance, let’s redirect that $52.6 Billion dollar Black budget to the people.

I’ve done the math! 1.3 million Americans have the threat of long term unemployment benefits being permanently cut. $40,000 is a manageable amount of money to control a household. $52.6 billion dollars divided by 1.3 million people would give each long term unemployed person $40,000. That amounts to roughly $20.00/hour for an 8-hour work day salary.

Take all this surveillance money and create gainful employment. Currently that $52.6 billion dollar budget only employs around 150,000 people and covers the facilities, equipment, and miscellaneous. This increases if we cut drone expenditures. $14,400 (annual total) as paid unemployment insurance, versus a $40,000 job for 1.3 million Americans, is a good start!

I’m analyzing the surveillance expenditures because an overwhelming majority of citizens don’t want it. It’s smart to spend money on job creation that people need. Otherwise, we will be bragging that we have the safest poor people on earth, and the most secure and protected slaves on the globe! This is also like having a leaky roof, bad plumbing, a broken furnace, an empty fridge, and you blow your whole check on an ADT Security System! LOL, YOU HAVE NOTHING WORTH PROTECTING INSIDE STUPID!

These economic times require belt tightening and community investment. The government clearly can’t help. Many economic programs are practicing group economics. The Nation of Islam has Muhammad’s Economic Blue Print, Dr. Claud Anderson has the Harvest Institute, Warren Ballentine has Investinus2.com, and the Around the Way mobile app locates black businesses to patronize. Initiate your own investment groups among 4-5 family members/friends and contribute monthly to purchase land and finance your kids’ education to avoid student loans.

We can buy $220 Air Jordans, hundred dollar concert tickets, Gucci bags, bottles of Rose’, so we can uplift ourselves. Recognize the severity of our current times, prioritize, and execute. Selfishness will be our demise.

Business & Financial News

Rebuilding the Black CEO for Black Business

December 2, 2013 admin Leave a comment

By: Samori Swygert

This will be a 3 part series breaking down the new Black CEO. First, when I say CEO I’m not discussing the title of, Chief Executive Officer. When I refer to the Black CEO, the mnemonic stands for the 3 business components (Customer, Employee, Owner). The black community needs an economic revolution, and all business begins with the CEO trifecta.

Various symposiums within the black community are trying to zero in on rebuilding wealth, ownership, employment and business within our neighborhoods. Black America has been made aware of our $1.1 Trillion power base, but like Dr. Claud Anderson said ” this money is disaggregated”. If we are going to rebuild black economics, we must do it right. Today I will deal strictly with the Owner.

The Owner

The first component I would like to address is the Owner. Owners of black businesses should try to employ black labor, foster apprenticeships, training and development. The black unemployment is nearly %14 on a national level and higher on local city and state levels. Owners should eschew all forms of deliberate financial mismanagement, embezzlement, nepotism, cronyism and malfeasance. This behavior diminishes our brand, tarnishes reputations, ruins consumer trust, and earning potential. As a Black Owned Business (BOB) we cannot conduct business as scam artists, hustlers, con men, unconcerned merchants and community leaches.

Not all BOBs conduct business as the aforementioned characteristics, but there are so called BOBs that are parasitic to the black community, and the only thing they have in common with the black community is their complexion.

Owners need to understand the African American market. Don’t seek to price gauge, and over price services and commodities that are outside our purchasing power or affordability. I would encourage owners to establish a relationship with the communities via philanthropy, scholarships, food and clothing drives. These activities create incentives that encourage blacks to spend at your establishment because there is a return on investment.

As BOBs and entrepreneurs we must ensure top quality products and services. We must take pride in the appearance of our establishment and products. The condition of the establishment and product is an indicator of your business practices. All BOBs should provide clean, undamaged, and functional goods, and maintain a clean and organized facility.

All services provided should be punctual, timely, prompt, and expedient. Time is money, and time is something nobody can afford to waste. Consumers should be given high priority and attention on a temporal scale. If store hours are from 9am- 10pm, then stores should be open, cleaned, and all registers manned by 8:50am. If BOBs are providing a service within communities then appointments should be timely, we shouldn’t foster the traditional stereotype of “CP time”. A simple but important mandate is to create transparent, understandable, and unwavering purchase and return policies.

Business and pleasure don’t mix! Countless businesses have failed because of s****l harassment, and/or mixing business functions between spouses and lovers. When the romantic relationships sour and disintegrate, the business will typically be destroyed because both parties try to extract ownership and capital from the business. This results in unemployment for employees, a loss of a service in the community where black consumers must now find a new merchant to patronize, and often times the sale of real estate. This opens the floodgates for other races or vulture corporations to infiltrate and occupy our community.

The current economic condition with in the black community is depressed, and this calls for black businesses to partner and unify. We hear that competition and rivalry is good for business, but at this particular time we need a united front. Black businesses need to coalesce. All black businesses need to see a common community goal and work in a concerted effort to help each other grow and expand the market. Developing these partnerships and interrelationships builds institutions like the famed BLACK WALLSTREET.

A common symbiotic goal between businesses will lift the community. When the community is lifted and strengthened economically, your business will see record breaking gain because you are attracting customers to spend with you. Share resources, ideas, strategies, suppliers, distributors, and networks. Corporate America does it all the time! Haven’t you seen Taco Bell, and KFC under the same roof, same power, and same water filtration source? Haven’t you seen a corporation endorse another group’s interest like Target promoting the Susan G Komen foundation? Haven’t you charged money on a credit card and earned rewards for a flight on an airline, or redeem a discount at a hotel? This is how we need to embrace and promote each other.

Black businesses should be more proactive and assertive about customer feedback. Find out how you are performing in the customer’s eyes. The most important thing to find out is how you can improve your product or service, and how do you compare to bigger named corporate entities. Conduct these on a routine basis.

The major emphasis is politics now. You have to almost be a hybrid of an owner and politician, because so many laws are coming down the political pipeline that can make or break your establishment like the Healthcare reform. New tax reform codes are being levied that the previous owners didn’t have to address. You also must keep up with immigration reform and its’ mandates on human resources during the employment process and all the legalities it entails.

Lastly, technology, technology, technology!. Technology can propel your business forward, or force you into irrelevance and obsolescence. However, it is important to stay abreast of the tech advancement but also balancing it with a mindful approach of maintaining a human workforce.

This is it for the first installment of my opinion of the NEW BLACK CEO (Customer, Employee, Owner). The next article will discuss my opinions on the black employee…..Be blessed. I don’t have all the answers but I love sharing my thoughts. What do you think?

You can also read this at: http://www.kulturekritic.com/2013/11/news/samori-swygert-rebuilding-black-ceo-black-business/

Business & Financial News

The reason companies are trying to buy up Detroit and Your Home Too

November 18, 2013 admin Leave a comment

By: Dr. Samori Swygert

This week, an article was posted on YOURBLACKWORLD.NET, about an African American homeowner that lost his home due to unpaid property taxes.⁹ Investors are buying tax liens and obtaining ownership of residential properties nationwide. This strategy is very disheartening to the unfortunate homeowners that may not be able to afford to pay their taxes for whatever reason. This is compounded when we factor in urban renewal, gentrification, and gerrymandering of political districts.

There are hedge-funds, and private equity firms that are buying these properties by the bulk! Their goal is to purchase as many homes possible, and turn them into single family rental homes. These companies are not looking to sell the homes. These firms are maintaining ownership and keeping them as rental assets.¹

What does this mean? This means there will be fewer residential properties available for you to purchase. Land and homes are tools that generate wealth, because you can rent them as they are, also the monies you pay in mortgage go to actually owning property. Renters can pay monthly rent and when the lease is up, you own zero. Houses, land, and estates can be transferred to generations to manage, expand, use as collateral for investments, and convert into home businesses.

You can grow trees and plants, but you can’t grow earth, and this is the dilemma of the haves and the have nots.

Who are the players?

The largest private equity firm, The Blackstone Group (owners of the Hilton Hotel chain), Colony Capital LLC, Cerebrus Capital Management, Oaktree Capital Group LLC, KKR &Co, GTIS partners, Och-Ziff Capital Management LLC, and Waypoint Real Estate Group LLC are the main players in this game of real life Monopoly.^1,3,4,5,8 However, there are small investment groups and individual investors that are participating in this “LAND GRAB”. The head of The Blackstone Group, Stephen Schwarzman, is a heavy donor to Republican Superpacs.

What are they doing?

During the housing crisis, so many single family homes went into default, foreclosures, and homeowners went into bankruptcy. Communities across America were decimated when the housing market crashed. Many homeowners had to perform short-sales to try and salvage any piece of investment and dignity of homeownership. Many just walked away from their homes. Now private equity firms such as Blackstone are buying all these foreclosed homes and tax delinquent residences by the bulk.³ The aims of these firms are to own the property, and strictly rent them to single families. The Blackstone Group has been purchasing through foreclosure auctions, short sales and cash in hand buyouts from smaller local real estate companies.^1,2,7

What are the facts and figures?

According to an article in Bloomberg News, Blackstone has spent more than $2.5 billion on 16,000 homes to manage as rentals from $13.3 billion it raised last year. Blackstone already owns $1 billion worth of homes in October 2012, and Blackstone chairman Stephen Schwarzman said that the company is spending $100 million a week on houses.¹ The conversion of private property to single family rental homes is projected to be approximately a $3 Trillion market.⁷ Blackstone is currently the largest investor of single family homes for rent in the following 9 markets: Chicago, Northern and Southern California, Detroit, Miami, Tampa, Phoenix, Atlanta, and Las Vegas.^1,3 Blackstone is also leveraging their strategy by getting a $600 million dollar line of credit from the Deutsche Bank.^1,3To understand how strong Blackstone’s money is, they acquired Sam Zell’s Equity Office Properties Trust for $39 billion including assumed debt.¹A report by Keefe Bruyette & Woods, says that $ 6 to 8 Billion dollars can buy 40,000 to 80,000 properties.³

DETROIT, MICHIGAN is the bulls-eye, and ground zero for these investors, and the individual investor. The following case studies were published in a Bloomberg News article.² A 32 year old man, Peter Grosso purchased 29 Detroit homes for $90,000. Nate Heaps, a 32 year old investor purchased 290 Detroit properties for $189,600. Sameer Beydoun, 33 years old, purchased 1,000 Detroit properties for approximately $5 Million with his investment group. Jasmine Mc Morris purchased 332 Detroit homes and paid an average $2,500 per property and sells them to larger real estate investors. There are even investors from England, Cambodia, China, and Australia that are buying into the market.²

I would like to inform our audience that there is a formal blueprint for Detroit that these investors are acting off of. The name of the blueprint is Detroit Future City; this is a 50 year plan to bring Detroit back to recovery.^2,6 The plan is to have green space and farms, and is assuming the Detroit population will drop to 615,000.²

Take Home Message

All individuals that own property need to keep their property. We as African Americans need to practice group economics and purchase this land like Dr. Claud Anderson says.¹⁰ We need to talk with our parents and grandparents and make sure all taxes are paid. Parents don’t buy your son or daughter a car for graduation; purchase them some of these properties to own. Lastly, we need to B.M.F., and not drug deal, but, B.M.F. (Buy. More. Foreclosures). By owning these properties we can actually help struggling families regain wealth buy selling them at a fair market price, as opposed to just a system of rental Feudalism.

References