AMERICAN PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE IN GRAPHS

The second presidential debate in graphs

Both President Obama and Mitt Romney tossed out plenty of statements and figures in the second presidential debate on Tuesday. Many of them were ripe for charting. So we’ve compiled some graphs that help add context for some of our favorite moments in the debate.
Romney: College grads are hurting. “With half of college kids graduating this year without a college — excuse me, without a job. And without a college level job, that’s just unacceptable.” It’s worth noting that college grads are still doing better than those at other educational levels.

Obama: Auto rescue. “I said we’re going to bet on American workers and the American auto industry, and it’s come surging back.” Auto sales have been one of the bright spots of the recovery (thanks in part to a boom in subprime lending), though U.S. light vehicle sales are still below their levels in 2006 and 2007:

Obama: Fuel efficiency. “That’s why we doubled fuel efficiency standards on cars. That means that in the middle of the next decade, any car you buy, you’re going to end up going twice as far on a gallon of gas.” This is true, although the United States is still somewhat lagging by international standards:

Source: International Council on Clean Transportation

Obama: Oil production. “So here’s what I’ve done since I’ve been president. We have increased oil production to the highest levels in 16 years. Natural gas production is the highest it’s been in decades.” Here’s a graph from the Energy Information Administration showing that domestic petroleum and fuel production is at its highest level since 1994:

Romney: But Obama can’t take credit for the oil boom. “As a matter of fact, oil production is down 14 percent this year on federal land, and gas production was down 9 percent. Why? Because the president cut in half the number of licenses and permits for drilling on federal lands, and in federal waters.” The chart is below, using EIA data, and here’s a fuller look at Romney’s contention:

Source: Energy Information Administration 

Romney: Capping tax deductions to pay for his tax cuts. “In terms of bringing down deductions, one way of doing that would be say everybody gets — I’ll pick a number — $25,000 of deductions and credits, and you can decide which ones to use.” Here’s how far that would go to make Romney’s tax plan revenue-neutral:

(Source: Third Way)

Romney: Cut capital gains taxes on the middle class. “Every middle-income taxpayer no longer will pay any tax on interest, dividends or capital gains.” As this graph from the Tax Policy Center shows, few people in the middle-income brackets actually pay capital gains taxes to begin with — most of the burden falls on the wealthy:

(Source: Data from the Tax Policy Center)

Romney: The deficit will lead to higher taxes for Americans. “A recent study has shown the people in the middle class will see $4,000 per year in higher taxes as a result of the spending and borrowing of this administration.” It’s worth noting that this is an average. The burden is expected to fall heaviest on the richest Americans, according to the American Enterprise Institute:

Obama: Laying out his tax plan. “So what I’ve said is, your first $250,000 worth of income, no change. And that means 98 percent of American families, 97 percent of small businesses, they will not see a tax increase.” That’s not quite right. A little less than 4 percent of Americans have more than $250,000 in taxable individual income. Here’s the breakdown:

(Source: Tax Policy Center)

Romney: Deficits under Obama. “And then we have his own record, which is we have four consecutive years where he said when he was running for office, he would cut the deficit in half. Instead he’s doubled it. We’ve gone from $10 trillion of national debt, to $16 trillion of national debt.” Here’s how the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities breaks down the causes of the debt increase:

Obama: The gender wage gap. “The first bill I signed was something called the Lily Ledbetter bill. And it’s named after this amazing woman who had been doing the same job as a man for years, found out that she was getting paid less.” Here’s a graph showing the gender earnings gap for full-time workers in the United States — it’s improving, but women still make just 77 percent of what men do, on average:

(Source: Institute for Women’s Policy Research)

Obama: What Planned Parenthood does. “When Governor Romney says that we should eliminate funding for Planned Parenthood, there are millions of women all across the country, who rely on Planned Parenthood for, not just contraceptive care, they rely on it for mammograms, for cervical cancer screenings.” Here’s the graph on what Planned Parenthood does (and here’s a critique of the chart):

Obama: Jobs record. “We were losing 800,000 jobs a month when I started. …
Now, we’ve seen 30 consecutive — 31 consecutive months of job growth; 5.2 million new jobs created.” Here’s a graph showing job gains and losses from slightly before Obama took office in January 2009 to the present:

Romney: Obama jobs record isn’t good enough. “He said that by now we’d have unemployment at 5.4 percent. The difference between where it is and 5.4 percent is 9 million Americans without work.” This is true. One could argue that the White House underestimated the depth of the recession, but back in 2009 they did forecast that unemployment would be down to around 5 percent by now. (Note that this graph is a year old, the unemployment rate is now down to 7.8 percent.)

Romney: Obamacare will raise premiums. “[Obama has] said that by now middle-income families would have a reduction in their health insurance premiums by $2,500 a year. It’s gone up by $2,500 a year.” True, though note that these increases are part of a long-standing trend:

Source: Kaiser Family Foundation

Romney: Food stamps are up. ”How about food stamps? When [Obama] took office, 32 million people were on food stamps. Today, 47 million people are on food stamps.” Here’s the chart:

Obama: Illegal immigration. “We do have to deal with our border so we put more border patrol on the — any time in history and the flow of undocumented works across the border is actually lower than it’s been in 40 years.” Obama is correct, and border apprehensions have been dropping steadily in recent years, as the stats from the U.S. Border Patrol show below. But it’s a trend that began well before Obama took office and is the result of the faltering U.S. economy as well as increased border enforcement:

(Source: US Border Patrol)

Obama: Exports. ”The way we’re going to create jobs here is not just to change our tax code, but also to double our exports. And we are on pace to double our exports, one of the commitments I made when I was president.” Exports have risen, but so have imports, which have continued to outpace exports and have kept the trade deficit high:

(Source: Cleveland Fed)

Romney: Chinese currency manipulation. “One of the reasons — or one of the ways [the Chinese] don’t play by the rules is artificially holding down the value of their currency. Because if they put their currency down low, that means their prices on their goods are low.” Worth noting that in the past three years, Chinese’s currency has been steadily rising against the dollar:

inShare2 Preventing Financial Stress December 23, 2010 By Gary Kohler 1 Comment One of the leading causes of stress for most people is money problems. Severe financial stress can be psychologically, emotionally, physically and (obviously) financially debilitating. Having massive debts or not having enough money to afford the things you need is usually the cause of financial stress. Living life with a massive debt hanging over your head is unpleasant to say the least, especially when people start coming to demand their money. Here is some advice on how to prevent financial stress before it reaches a critical stage when it can no longer be resolved easily and people start throwing around words like “bankruptcy” and “collection agencies.” Don’t be a Debt Beat Debt in itself is actually not a bad thing. In fact, without credit and debt, you wouldn’t be able to make major purchases like buying homes and cars without cash in hand. Taking on small or reasonable amounts of debt that you are confident you can pay back is okay – although you should still avoid it whenever possible. Debt becomes a problem when it’s overwhelming and you have no way of keeping up with your payments. In order to prevent financial stress caused by debt, you’ll need to know if you have too much debt. Some warning signs that indicate you may have too much debt include not having any savings, only paying the minimum amount due each month on your credit cards, making purchases on your credit card while still owing money from previous months, lying about your finances, bouncing checks, paying bills late and not knowing how much debt you have. Budget Time If you find yourself meeting several of the above criteria, you need to take action now! The first thing you should do is make yourself a budget. A budget is a guide that will help you structure your spending appropriately. Instead of casually spending money on things you may not need, a budget will help you prioritize and cut down on overspending. Budgets are also really useful as they allow you to set aside money for unexpected expenses that would ordinarily cause you to go into debt because you had no other way to pay for it. When you do your budget each month you will have to make sure you set aside money for all your most important recurring bills first; things like car insurance, life insurance, rent or mortgage, food, cable, and telephone etc. Where To Go From Here If you find it hard to restrain yourself from overusing your credit card, either cut it up or leave it at home when you shop. Many people find that only using cash helps cut down on how much they spend since they can actually see the money they’re spending instead of just getting impersonal bills at the end of each month. If possible, pay your credit card balances in full each month and on time in order to avoid additional fees. If you owe money on a credit card with a high interest rate, you can try calling the company and asking them to reduce the rate. This probably won’t work, however, unless up until this point you’ve been relatively good about paying your bills on time. In addition, in the future, make sure not to get a credit card with such a high interest rate. 

inShare2

Preventing Financial Stress

One of the leading causes of stress for most people is money problems. Severe financial stress can be psychologically, emotionally, physically and (obviously) financially debilitating. Having massive debts or not having enough money to afford the things you need is usually the cause of financial stress. Living life with a massive debt hanging over your head is unpleasant to say the least, especially when people start coming to demand their money. Here is some advice on how to prevent financial stress before it reaches a critical stage when it can no longer be resolved easily and people start throwing around words like “bankruptcy” and “collection agencies.”

Don’t be a Debt Beat

Debt in itself is actually not a bad thing. In fact, without credit and debt, you wouldn’t be able to make major purchases like buying homes and cars without cash in hand. Taking on small or reasonable amounts of debt that you are confident you can pay back is okay – although you should still avoid it whenever possible. Debt becomes a problem when it’s overwhelming and you have no way of keeping up with your payments. In order to prevent financial stress caused by debt, you’ll need to know if you have too much debt. Some warning signs that indicate you may have too much debt include not having any savings, only paying the minimum amount due each month on your credit cards, making purchases on your credit card while still owing money from previous months, lying about your finances, bouncing checks, paying bills late and not knowing how much debt you have.

Budget Time

If you find yourself meeting several of the above criteria, you need to take action now! The first thing you should do is make yourself a budget. A budget is a guide that will help you structure your spending appropriately. Instead of casually spending money on things you may not need, a budget will help you prioritize and cut down on overspending. Budgets are also really useful as they allow you to set aside money for unexpected expenses that would ordinarily cause you to go into debt because you had no other way to pay for it. When you do your budget each month you will have to make sure you set aside money for all your most important recurring bills first; things like car insurance, life insurance, rent or mortgage, food, cable, and telephone etc.

Where To Go From Here

If you find it hard to restrain yourself from overusing your credit card, either cut it up or leave it at home when you shop. Many people find that only using cash helps cut down on how much they spend since they can actually see the money they’re spending instead of just getting impersonal bills at the end of each month. If possible, pay your credit card balances in full each month and on time in order to avoid additional fees. If you owe money on a credit card with a high interest rate, you can try calling the company and asking them to reduce the rate. This probably won’t work, however, unless up until this point you’ve been relatively good about paying your bills on time. In addition, in the future, make sure not to get a credit card with such a high interest rate. 

inShare10

5 Simple Tips to Manage Your Stress!

There are a number of stress relief activities that an individual can try out, although doing it on a regular basis may not be easy to do. Everyone prefers to get rid of stress activities without the need of any special gadget or without having to do a complicated procedure. Those alone can definitely cause stress. Thus, if you are looking for a great way to attain a state of relaxation, here are 5 stress relief activities that aren’t only simple but also fun to do. Enjoy!

1. Stress Relief Activities – Breathing Exercises

Breathing exercises is a good stress relief that can be performed anywhere at any time. Such technique is popularly used by a lot of people. It depends on the person how long it is done. First, assume a comfortable position. One can be standing or sitting. Inhale slowly for five seconds through the nose. Feel the movement of the air into the lungs. After 5 seconds, slowly exhale through the mouth for eight seconds. It can be repeated a small number of times or maybe for a few minutes. Focus on the breathing to clear your mind out and get rid of the stress.

2. Stress Relief Activities – Self Hypnosis

Hypnosis is one of the relaxation techniques that a lot of people don’t really understand. They think that hypnosis involves making a person do ridiculous things such as clucking like a chicken. On the contrary, self-hypnosis allows a person to achieve different tasks and eliminate anything they consider non-beneficial, such as stress. There are certain people who obtain stress relief through the help of a hypnotherapist, but it can also be done by oneself. Self hypnosis allows are a person to have more control of their relaxation. It involves veering one’s focus on something they find relaxing and encouraging oneself with some positive remarks.

3. Stress Relief Activities – Exercise

There are a number of people who exercise to be in a better shape, to manage their weight or to appear more attractive. Not a lot of people know that exercise is included among effective anti stress activities. Exercise helps a person become distracted from the source of stress. It also releases feel-good hormones called endorphins. If a person is frustrated about something, they can let loose their angst through exercise. Research studies have revealed that a person who exercises regularly is less likely to be stressed. The immune response against stress is also strengthened. Aside from managing present stress, it can help a person handle stressful situations in the future.

4. Stress Relief Activities – Meditation

Simple anti stress activities include meditation. Not only does it alleviate stress, it can also improve overall health. Immunity against ailments is enhanced. Physical manifestations of stress such as headaches or stomachaches are managed effectively. Meditation begins with breathing exercises and then goes in deeper. A person meditating experiences a situation wherein he/she is like sleeping. In contrary with sleeping, meditation improves the well-being of an individual by releasing specific hormones. Clearing one’s mind also helps an individual distracts his/her focus on stressful situations.

5. Stress Relief Activities – Music Therapy

Music therapy aids in getting rid of stress activities and also promotes emotional and physiologic well-being. A lot of people use music therapy as stress relief every day. With the emergence of mp3 players and iPods, people can have access with music at any place in any given time. An individual can choose to write songs, listen to music, perform and others connected to music. As a form of stress management, it is performed with exercise. People with medical conditions also benefits from activity.
Stress relief activities allow an individual to attain a state of relaxation. Breathing exercises, self-hypnosis, exercise, meditation and music therapy are among the easiest ways of achieving just that. Integrate these in your lifestyle to enjoy life without stress.  If these tips don’t work, you can also consider trying herbal supplements that relieve anxiety.

inShare

Ways to Keep Your Anxiety and Everyday Worry at Bay

Health is a commodity that can make life wonderful, and the lack of it – very difficult.   Staying healthy as an adult can mean the difference between a good quality of life, verses a problematic life, infringing on your enjoyment, pocketbook and even your rates for life insurance.
Life insurance is much less expensive for healthy people, as well as the enjoyment and ability to partake in everyday activities.  When you are healthy, things are easier, work is a better environment, exercise becomes a pleasure and family activities can be thoroughly appreciated.
Stress, worry and anxiety can create health and emotional problems, even in the healthiest people.  So getting a handle on reducing and staving off stress and anxiety is a must.

Recognise the symptoms of anxiety

These common symptoms, which include either have a physical effect or emotional, indicate stress, and/or anxiety is taking its toll:

• Headaches
• Eating disorders
• Lack of energy
• Lack of focus
• Short temper
• Sleep problems
• Stomach problems
• Back pain
• General aches and pains
• Depression

When you are stressed, or experiencing high anxiety, the body releases hormones that over an extended period of time can cause health issues.  When you’re trying to balance work, home, kids and everything else, stress is inevitable.  We live busy lives!

One suggestion is to learn to identify what is causing stress in your life. Starting a journal helps you identify the times in the day, or week that you seem most stressed out. Once you identify what it is that is causing you anxiety and stress, it is time to take control and start some activities that will help you relax.

Simple ways to keep your anxiety and worries away

There are many ways on how you keep your anxiety away, and these need not to be complicated, such as:
Breathe
Deep breathing has been known to calm us.  Close your eyes, focus on your breathing, and picture the stress leaving your body.  Do this for a couple of minutes, until you feel relaxed and calm.
Music
If you have something close that you can listen to, put on your favorite music and relax.  It helps you escape and gets you away from the stresses you’re experiencing.  Even getting up and ‘dancing’ to something upbeat can wipe stress away immediately.
Exercise
Get outside, walk, run or hike, but get out into the fresh air.  Walking helps you melt stress away, and so does cardio exercise.  It is one of the most effective ways to relieve anxiety and provide a release.  Riding a bicycle can also have the same effect, so get moving!
Massage
Treat yourself to a massage, it will not only relax you, it promotes healthy circulation, and well-being.  If your mate can give you one, all the better!
Aromatherapy
Believe it or not, some scents can promote healing relaxation, so lighting incense or buying a favorite potpourri, or even a scented candle can help uplift and soothe your nerves. Sit and relax while the beautiful fragrance calms you.
Hot bath
There isn’t much more soothing than a hot bubble bath, or a bath filled with your favorite scented oil, such as lavender. Make sure you spend time in that tub, and absorb the healing and relaxing quality of hot water.
Journal
When you release those pent-up anxieties and stresses, it helps – write those thoughts down is a form of release.  Writing it down simply gets it out of your system and allows you to relax and think clearly.
Avoid Caffeine
Most people don’t realize how amped up you can get from caffeine.  It can intensify stress and anxiety and since it’s a stimulant, the crash can even be worse.  Wean yourself off caffeine during times of stress.
Stretch exercises
During high stress times, stop and touch your toes.  When you’re stressed and anxiety ridden your muscles get tight. Releasing the tension in your muscles can actually help you relax.  It helps circulation, and helps you feel better.

Cholesterol

Manganiello: Do your research on Do your research on cholesterol pills

Health and Well-Being Dr. Jim Manganiello Newburyport 

It’s a minefield of con, misinformation and propaganda out there today.
You should know that politicians and corporations, among others, use powerful psychological knowledge to persuade and manipulate you. Why? Because they want to get into your head and persuade you to embrace their views, mistake their opinions for truth and buy their useless, and often dangerous, products.
Many have argued that the pharmaceutical industry is better at persuading people to buy false ideas and useless and dangerous products than anyone else. According to research reported in Science Daily, the drug industry spends almost twice as much on “promotion and marketing” than on developing new and effective drugs.
According to the British Medical Journal Report, prescription drug companies chase profits, not by creating groundbreaking medication, but by creating “minor variations on existing drugs” and then marketing them shamelessly to get around patent laws.
Heavily marketed prescription drugs can be dangerous to your health. Consider an early drug industry cash cow, “Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT),” which came into disfavor around 2002. A Woman’s Health Initiative Study found that HRT not only did not protect women’s health, but it also put women at risk for cancer, stroke and heart disease.
Most physicians are overworked, and so they get their prescription drug information from drug company reps, not from science research. This is why the former president of the leading HRT drug said: “Pills are to sell, not to take. If we put horse manure in a capsule, we could sell it to 95 percent of these doctors.”
Many drugs can be a godsend and the drug companies deserve credit for saving lives. But they can’t be allowed to seek profit through deception and misinformation. Menopause is a life cycle issue, it is not a medical condition requiring “hormone replacement.” Women deserve to be led and directed into safe and effective strategies for relief. Far Eastern women have few, if any, problems with menopause because their adrenal glands are not depleted from stress and stress hormones. And so their adrenals do their job effectively to maintain hormone balance.
One of today’s pharmaceutical industry cash cows are statins. Statins are the most prescribed prescription drugs in the world — 25 percent of people over the age of 45 take them. Drug companies market and promote statins as dietary cholesterol-lowering drugs. Companies depict dietary cholesterol as a cause of stroke and heart disease.
Statins do probably help people with family hypercholesterolemia, a genetic defect that causes cholesterol levels above 325-350. But there is considerable controversy surrounding the position that dietary cholesterol causes heart disease and that statins are of any real use. Referring to the dietary cholesterol-heart disease-statin linkage, a respected science researcher, Dr. George Mann called it “the worst fraud ever perpetrated on the American public.”
Uffe Ravnskov, a science researcher and winner of the prestigious Leo Prize and the Integrity in Science Award, sharply criticized drug industry spin linking cholesterol, heart disease and statin drugs. And a 26-year follow up on the Framingham Heart Study showed that more than half of the subjects who died from heart disease had below average cholesterol levels.
Studies are now appearing that some researchers feel will call into question the use of statins. In 2012, a 6,700-subject study published in the journal Atheroscleros, showed that statin drugs actually increased coronary risk factors by increasing the prevalence and extent of coronary plaque.
This is not good news, since coronary plaque buildup is a signature of cardiovascular disease that increases risk for illness and death. Another 2012 study published in the journal Diabetes Care cause similar concerns. Frequent statin user type 2 diabetics with advanced atherosclerosis were shown to have higher amounts of calcification in their coronary arteries than did less frequent statin users.
Unfortunately, many pro statin studies have been funded by drug companies, studies that showed positive results. But these results could not be repeated by independent researchers. And 900 studies show adverse side-effects for statin drugs, including muscle problems, sexual dysfunction, cognitive impairment and cataracts.
If you’re taking statins, talk to your doctor about your concerns. Respectfully ask her or him why they think you should be taking statins. Ask if they can refer you to any studies that show positive results for people like you.
Most importantly, open your eyes wide and take responsibility for learning how to maintain a healthy heart. A few suggestions: 1) Learn how to lower your stress levels and flush out stress hormones from your blood and tissues; 2) Exercise your heart muscle 4-5 times a week by walking or working out at the gym; 3) improve your heart rate function by breathing deeply when you feel stressed; 4) Eat mindfully and stay away from too much sugar and refined carbohydrates and 5) read reliable Internet research on heart health.
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Dr. Jim Manganiello is a clinical psychologist and diplomate-level medical psychotherapist based in Groveland and West Boxford. He is also an author and teacher focusing on stress, personal growth, meditation and “inner fitness.” His book “Unshakable Certainty” is available on Amazon. Email him at drmanganiello@comcast.net or visit www.drjimmanganiello.com.