Browsed by
Month: January 2019

The Cost of the Shutdown or “If I Had Five Billion Dollars”

The Cost of the Shutdown or “If I Had Five Billion Dollars”

Comments 0 Comment

In a report about the economic effects of the government shutdown, Andrew Taylor makes several misleading statements, underestimating the losses at “just $3 billion” and dismissing them as “slight.”

In case you missed my letter to the editor letter to the editor in The Capital Gazette, here it is:

In his deceiving article, “Shutdown projected to cause $3B permanent hit to economy,” Associated Press reporter Andrew Taylor cherry-picks data from Monday’s Congressional Budget Office report in an apparent attempt to downplay the damage from the longest government shutdown in history (The Capital, Jan. 29).

The CBO estimates that the shutdown cost the U.S. economy $11 billion. While $8 billion may eventually be recovered through faster economic growth, the CBO states that the negative effects are “much more significant on individual businesses and workers” and that some “will never recoup that lost income.”

Adding these losses to the additional $2 billion in decreased tax revenues in fiscal year 2019 amounts to a total loss of $5 billion. $5 billion could probably pay for most of a border wall.

Or, according to the National Priorities Project, it could provide Medicaid for 1.4 million people, increase federal spending on energy efficiency and renewable energy by more than twofold, expand federal aid to public schools by 30 percent, double funding for substance use and mental health, fund the National Endowment for the Arts through 2051, double heating assistance for low-income households, resettle 11 times more refugees than we did in 2018, or increase funding for the Environmental Protection Agency by 60 percent.

Considering these lost opportunities, the economic losses caused by the government shutdown are not nearly as insignificant as Mr. Taylor would like us to believe.

SHELBY BELL

Millersville

Stop the Resolutions and Join the Revolution

Stop the Resolutions and Join the Revolution

Comments 0 Comment

Are all these advertisements for fad diets, commercials for gym memberships, and social media postings about New Year’s “Resolutions” stressing you out? Check out this great article by Andrew Walen (LCSW-C, LICSW, CEDS) and join the revolution!

I saw an old friend post on Instagram that he is working to lose a significant amount of weight despite being a healthy and typical-sized male in his 40s. A distant family member posted she is going on a New Year’s cleanse to rid herself of all the toxins from the holidays with hopes of “#cleaneating from now on.” It’s the resolution time of the year. It’s also the most shame- and guilt-filled time of the year. Want to know why?

Resolutions are typically unrealistic and unsustainable. They involve the diet- and exercise-mentality that drives so many to purchase new gym memberships and try recipes typically preferred by rabbits and cows more than humans. The gym routines may last a few weeks, but motivation and time dwindle. Recipes for vegan or ketogenic diets may be the fad among friends and family today but give way to cravings for pizza and beer binges soon enough. The result invariably is guilt and shame, followed by regret, repentance, and repetition of the cycle again.

Instead of resolutions, I ask you to consider joining a revolution focused on your actual wellbeing. There is nothing wrong with your weight. There is nothing wrong with your shape. If you want to work on increasing your energy – cool! You want to work on your emotional health – great! There are all kinds of goals related to physical and mental health that have real, meaningful, validated, and provable benefits. Want to know one that has no provable benefit? Weight loss.

Weight loss won’t make you happier. It won’t make you healthier. It won’t make you more lovable, intelligent, beneficial, or superior. Weight loss as a goal in and of itself has no provable benefits! It may be a modest by-product of lifestyle changes, true. But pushing your body to a weight you pre-determine as “ideal” or “healthy” usually means fighting your body’s own natural set point. The result is physical and emotional harm to yourself. It’s also the pre-cursor to most all eating disorders.

So instead of choosing to lose weight or push yourself to eat perfectly and exercise religiously, consider living in the body you have and not the one you wished you had. That’s a revolutionary idea whose time has come.

Getting the Best Deal Possible on your Gym Membership

Getting the Best Deal Possible on your Gym Membership

Comments 0 Comment

Whether you’re a new member, a seasoned veteran, or a staff member at a gym, January is always a busy month for everyone at the gym. The largest percentage of gym memberships is purchased in January, acc

Along with the New Year come throngs of new gym memberships.  Unfortunately, many of us will waste resources on well-intentioned mistakes.  Check out these six tips to get the best deal possible:

  1. Try before you buy. Contact gyms near your home or office and request a no-commitment trial.  Most fitness facilities will give you a one-week pass to try out the facility.  Be sure to visit during the times you are most likely to work out, so you can gauge the crowds and check out other qualifiers.  Try the classes that interest you, examine the cleanliness and condition of the facilities, including the weight machines, the locker room, and the swimming pool. Ask members what they like and don’t like about the club, and get a copy of the fee schedule so that you can plan your strategy for negotiating your membership dues.
  2. Join at the end of a month and time your purchase. “You can often get the biggest discount on a gym membership later in the month,” says Andrea Metcalf, a certified trainer and health coach in Chicago. That holds true in January or during any month of the year. Metcalf says that toward the end of a month, gyms trying to meet their monthly sales quotas will offer you lower rates to entice you to join.  If you are not in a rush, consider waiting until the summer to lock in an annual membership rate.  The summer is the slowest period for new gym memberships and maybe your best time to get the best deal.
  3. Do your homework. Get references, look for a report with the Better Business Bureau, and research your options on line, reviewing complaints and feedback.  Be aware that gym membership sales can be very aggressive and misleading.  The Better Businesses Bureau of the U.S. and Canada handles thousands of complaints annually from dissatisfied gym members.   This makes health clubs the 28th highest complaint category among hundreds of businesses.   Most of these complaints stem from discrepancies between what consumers say they were told by sales personnel and what the signed contract said.
  4. Consider pay as you go before you commit. If you have any reservations about the contract or the cancellation policies, pay as you go until you are completely comfortable.  It will cost you extra in the short-term, but will save you far more in the long-run.
  5. Know what you’re buying. If you decide to sign a contract, don’t rely on what the salesperson says. Read the contract carefully. Can you terminate it, and, if so, how? What happens if you move or become disabled? Is there a separate enrollment fee? What are the monthly charges? Is there a penalty if you pay late? Does the contract renew automatically? Beware of or low-cost lifetime memberships or “free” memberships, which may be a sign that the club is in financial trouble. Make sure any discrepancies are addressed and that the contract is adjusted accordingly before you sign.  Entering into a gym membership contract is a big commitment, so be assertive in your negotiations and proceed with caution.
How to Get the Best Deal on a Gym Membership

How to Get the Best Deal on a Gym Membership

Comments 0 Comment

Along with the New Year come throngs of new gym memberships. Unfortunately, many of us will waste resources on well-intentioned mistakes. Check out these six tips to get the best deal possible:

  1. Try before you buy. Contact gyms near your home or office and request a no-commitment trial. Most fitness facilities will give you a one-week pass to try out the facility. Be sure to visit during the times you are most likely to work out, so you can gauge the crowds, suggests Pam Kufahl, director of content at Club Industry, a website for fitness pros. Try the classes that interest you, examine the cleanliness and condition of the facilities, including the weight machines, the locker room, and the swimming pool. Ask members what they like and don’t like about the club, and get a copy of the fee schedule so that you can plan your strategy for negotiating your membership dues.
  2. Search for the best deals. Scour the web, including Groupon, Living Social, and Gilt City, to find the best deals and use these findings to negotiate the best rates as you narrow your search.
  3. Join at the end of a month and time your purchase. “You can often get the biggest discount on a gym membership later in the month,” says Andrea Metcalf, a certified trainer and health coach in Chicago. That holds true in January or during any month of the year. Metcalf says that toward the end of a month, gyms trying to meet their monthly sales quotas will offer you lower rates to entice you to join. If you are not in a rush, consider waiting until the summer to lock in an annual membership rate. The summer is the slowest period for new gym memberships and maybe your best time to get the best deal.
  4. Do your homework. Get references, look for a report at the BBB, and research your options on line, reviewing complaints and feedback. Be aware that gym membership sales can be very aggressive and misleading. The Better Businesses Bureau of the U.S. and Canada, handled 5,108 complaints about health clubs in 2013, the latest statistics available. This makes health clubs the 28th highest complaint category among hundreds of businesses. Most of these complaints stem from discrepancies between what consumers say they were told by sales personnel and what the signed contract said.
  5. Consider pay as you go before you commit. If you have any reservations about the contract or the cancellation policies, pay as you go until you are completely comfortable. It will cost you extra in the short-term, but will save you far more in the long-run.
  6. Know what you’re buying. If you decide to sign a contract, don’t rely on what the salesperson says. Read the contract carefully. Can you terminate it, and, if so, how? What happens if you move or become disabled? Is there a separate enrollment fee? What are the monthly charges? Is there a penalty if you pay late? Does the contract renew automatically? Beware of or low-cost lifetime memberships or “free” memberships, which could be a sign that the club is financial trouble. Make sure any discrepancies are addressed and that the contract is adjusted accordingly before you sign. Entering into a gym membership contract is a big commitment, so be assertive in your negotiations and proceed with caution.