Healthcare Reform - US

PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY. 

1. Urge the government to outlaw the chargemaster, which is an arbitrary price list for all of the items a patient could use. These prices vary from hospital to hospital and are often ten times the cost of an item. 
2. Urge them to tax hospital profits at 75% and have a tax surcharge on all nondoctor hospital salaries that exceed $750,000. This would save the U.S. $80 billion a year. 
3. Tell them to  control the costs of healthcare items by tightening anti-trust laws related to hospitals so that insurance companies can negotiate prices closer to the actual costs. 

HERE IS THE CONTACT INFORMATION YOU NEED: 

Find your Congressperson/Senator:
http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/  --> Type in your Zip Code


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 


What is a the Chargemaster? Hospitals arbitrarily set prices based on a mysterious internal list known as the “chargemaster.” These prices vary from hospital to hospital and are often ten times the actual cost of an item. Insurance companies and Medicare pay discounted prices, but don’t have enough leverage to bring fees down anywhere close to actual costs. While other countries restrain drug prices, in the United States federal law actually restricts the single biggest buyer—Medicare—from even trying to negotiate the price of drugs.


Why tax hospitals 75%? Tax-exempt “nonprofit” hospitals are the most profitable businesses and largest employers in their regions, often presided over by the most richly compensated executives.

 Source: TIME article: Bitter Pill

 ** You can use Easy Advocacy (www.effensource.com) for this letter-writing campaign**

Climate Change Template Letter - US

PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY.

     Urge them to support bill S.332, which will: 

1. Remove fossil fuel subsidies
2. Put a Carbon Fee on fossil fuels

HERE IS THE CONTACT INFORMATION YOU NEED:

     Find your Congressperson/Senator:
          http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/  
    à Type in your Zip Code

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

How much are the fossil fuel subsidies? Every year, the U.S government gives billions in tax subsidies to oil, coal and gas companies.

What is a Carbon Fee?  It is a fee based on the amount of carbon in a fossil fuel. Fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal contain carbon. The Congressional Budget Office has projected that a fee of $20 per ton subjected to the same annual increase would raise roughly $90 billion in the first year, rising to $150 billion a year by 2022, for a total of $1.2 trillion in new revenue over the next decade. The fee is based on the tons of carbon dioxide the fuel would generate, and it would be collected at the point of entry -- wellhead, mine or port

How much will the Carbon Fee affect energy prices? The best example would be gasoline. A $1 per ton increase in the carbon fee would equal about 1 penny on the price of gas. So if the carbon fee started at $20/ton, gasoline would go up by 20 cents per gallon the first year and 20 cents each year afterward.

What is the Dividend? A dividend is defined as a quantity of revenue to be divided. In this case, 100 percent of the total carbon fees collected are divided up and given back to all citizens equally. This dividend helps citizens pay the increased costs associated with the carbon fee while our nation transitions to a clean energy economy.

** You can use Easy Advocacy (www.effensource.com) 

for this letter-writing campaign**

Climate Change Template Letter - Canada

PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY.

1. Urge the government to remove fossil fuel subsidies, as the Canadian government promised to do during the 2009 G20 Summit. Request the Canadian Government to set a firm timeline for phasing out fossil fuel subsidizes and adhere to the schedule.
2. Urge them to implement a carbon fee and dividend policy, which will put a fee on the amount of carbon dioxide in fossil fuels.
3. Stress the importance of creating a Renewable Strategy Plan.

HERE IS THE CONTACT INFORMATION YOU NEED:

Your Federal Member of Parliament:

Find your MP:

http://www.parl.gc.ca à Under ‘House of Commons’, type in your Postal Code

Mailing Address for MP:

House of Commons

Ottawa, Ontario

K1A 0A6

Salutation:    Dear Minister

*No Postage Required for the House of Commons

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

How much are the fossil fuel subsidies? Every year, the Canadian government gives more than $1.4 billion in tax subsidies to oil, coal and gas companies.

What is a Carbon Fee? It is a fee based on the amount of carbon in a fossil fuel. Fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal contain carbon. When burned, they release the potent green house gas, carbon dioxide (CO2), into the atmosphere. The fee is based on the tons of carbon dioxide the fuel would generate, and it would be collected at the point of entry -- wellhead, mine or port

How much will the Carbon Fee affect energy prices? The best example would be gasoline. A $1 per ton increase in the carbon fee would equal about 1 penny on the price of gas. So if the carbon fee started at $15/ton, gasoline would go up by 15 cents per gallon the first year and 10-15 cents each year afterward.

What is the Dividend? A dividend is defined as a quantity of revenue to be divided. In this case, 100 percent of the total carbon fees collected are divided up and given back to all citizens equally. This dividend helps citizens pay the increased costs associated with the carbon fee while our nation transitions to a clean energy economy.

** You can use Easy Advocacy (www.effensource.com) 

for this letter-writing campaign**

Gun Safety Template Letter - US

PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY. 

1. Urge the government to require criminal checks on all gun sales, including at gun shows. Ask them to close all loop holes, including all sales by unlicensed sellers. 
2. Urge them to give ATF more power to impose harsher penalties to corrupt gun dealers who are selling guns into the illegal gun market. Ask them to reject the “Reform and Firearms Modernization Act”, which would undermine law enforcement’s power to prevent the sales of illegal guns. 
3. Tell them to ban semi-automatic assault weapons along with high-capacity ammunition magazines. Mention to them that banning these weapons will not violate the second amendment. 

HERE IS THE CONTACT INFORMATION YOU NEED: 

Find your Congressperson/Senator:
http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/  --> Type in your Zip Code


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 

Why are these loopholes a problem? Due to these loopholes, in most states, convicted felons, domestic violence abusers, and those who are dangerously mentally ill can walk into a gun show, flea market or even log into the internet and buy weapons from unlicensed sellers.

Who are the ATF? The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives protects the U.S. from violent criminals, criminal organizations, the illegal use and trafficking of firearms, the illegal use and storage of explosives, acts of arson and bombings, acts of terrorism, and the illegal diversion of alcohol and tobacco products.

 Source: Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence

 ** You can use Easy Advocacy (www.effensource.com) for this letter-writing campaign**

Too many Ideas, not enough Action: Breaking the cycle of Procrastination

Have you ever planned a super long list of things to do around your house and don’t end up doing any of them? On the other hand, have you planned just one or two things and got them done? The same applies when it comes to starting a business.
Have you ever felt excited about several different business ideas? How far did you get with any of them? It’s funny how we work. The more things we plan for, the less likely we are to do them. So, it helps to narrow down our goals to just the top one or two ideas so that we can get started on them right away.
So, how do we find the best one or two businesses for us? Here are a few steps that you can take to narrow down the search:

1) List your passions

Start by writing out all potential business ideas on a piece of paper. Don’t think about it. Even if you think something is not feasible or you don’t know where to start, keep writing them. Ignore any grammatical errors and duplicated ideas. Try to write at least 20 ideas. The most important thing in this step is to NOT THINK as you write them. Just write.

2) Rate your passion

Now, go back to your list and for each item, rate how passionate are you about it. Is it sort of interesting or is so exciting that it’s hard to sleep at night? Rate it between 1 and 10. 1 being it’s boring and 10 being you want to do cartwheels when you think about it. Rate your passion with your heart, not your head. It’s not about how feasible the idea is. That step comes later. Right now, it’s about fun.

3) Rate your skill set

Do you currently have the knowledge and skills to execute this idea, Or is there much more to learn? There is always more to learn, the question is how much more.

Rate how the skill sets you currently have match what’s required to pull off this business idea. How much of your experiences and natural talent (or someone else’s talent that you can leverage) do you have to make this idea a reality? It helps to write out all of the knowledge and experience necessary to attain your goal.

Think about other factors involved with each business idea. This should include costs, timelines, emotional and physical challenges involved and the estimated length of time it will take to see a profit, etc. List off as many things as you can think of.

Rate this. 1 being that you have decades of research to do to execute this idea. 10 being that you could hit the ground running tomorrow.


At first, it might feel challenging cutting out business ideas that excite you. Just remember that this step is necessary to turn your idea from something you talk about into something that’s apart of your career.

Amar Kumar is a Business Consultant for Effensource Global Services. He who runs Networking Events and 1-on-1 Consultations to help people get over the intimidation of starting and running their own business.

Looking over the cliff: Uncertainty about starting your own business

Are you standing on the edge of the cliff, waiting to start your business, waiting to take that first leap? Are you making up excuses why not to jump, trying to avoid the first few steps? Are you worried about what lies below the water?

The uncertainty alone can drive anyone nuts, so you wait until you’re confident enough to dive in. What if the only time to dive in, whether certain or uncertain, is right now? Right this second, as you read these words?

Did you feel discomfort as you read this? It’s perfectly human to feel uneasy about going after your entrepreneurial dreams in full force. We all go through it. The great thing is that you don’t have to let that discomfort affect what you do. You can feel scared and still jump!

It can be challenging to fight your mind and body when it’s trying to stop you from doing something that you’re afraid of, so there are many things that you can do to deal with this fear and move ahead.

1) Join a networking group of new, positive entrepreneurs

You’re not the only one going through this. There are millions of others who want to start their business and are scared of making the first leap. You don’t have to suffer alone. By joining a group of emerging entrepreneurs, you can support and motivate each other as you follow through with your own business. Talking with other people will remind you why you are doing this business in the first place, which leads to the next item.

2) Remind yourself why you want to start your business

With all of the anxiety of starting your own business, it helps to remind yourself of the reasons why you want to start your own business. Is it for the financial freedom, to help your community, or across the world? Is it to express yourself creatively, to do something that you feel passionate about?

Whatever the reasons are, keep reminding yourself of them. Write out a list of all the reasons. Don’t over-analyze. Let your instincts guide your writing.
Read the list to yourself at least once a day. Read it every time you feel discouraged at work or unfulfilled in what you do

3) BE with the feeling

These fears of uncertainty and anxiety are not apart of who you are. You can be afraid and not let the fear paralyze you. You can let yourself be afraid without having to push your fears down or beat yourself up.

Instead, at this moment, you can feel whatever feeling comes up, fear or strength, good or bad, and just be with the feeling. Recognize that these feelings are not you, be aware of them, recognize them and continue.


There are a million ways to handle the fear and different techniques work for different people. The important thing is to continue looking for new ways to keep you excited and motivated.

None of these techniques are a cure all. None of them can be done once to eliminate fear all together. Whatever technique works for you needs to be repeated and renewed over and over again. Soon enough, these positive coping methods will help enable you to have control over your fears and anxieties and successfully start your own business.

Amar Kumar is a Business Consultant for Effensource Global Services. He who runs Networking Events and 1-on-1 Consultations to help people get over the intimidation of starting and running their own business.

Are you Clear on your Business Idea?

We all want so much in our careers. For those of us who have a business idea that we want to dive into it, we have to ask ourselves “Do I have clarity with my business?” Can we explain fully our business idea and its execution so that anyone can completely understand it? Can we explain fully our business idea so that your target audience can see the value of it for them?

It’s extremely common for most new entrepreneurs to struggle with this. This is partly because it’s scary to think about what we want out of fear that it won’t happen.

Have you felt that before? Fear that by announcing your desires to the world, you’ll feel worthless if it doesn’t play out as we hoped it would.

It sounds crazy, but that’s how most of us operate. And it’s a shame. How will we go after our dreams if we can’t envision it? With a clear vision in mind, all of our business decisions will align with actions that will bring us closer to the business that we want to create.

So, the question is how do we get over our fear of failure and get a clear vision of our business goals? Here are some steps that might help:

1) Ask yourself

This seems like an obvious point, but you need to ask yourself “What do I want from my business?” How many times have you stopped everything you’re doing in life and asked yourself what you want in life? Have you ever sat quietly and asked yourself?

When you ask yourself, free yourself from any judgments. Free yourself from judging whether a goal is “wrong” or “right”. If a goal comes into your mind, it’s worth noting, even if it seems impossible or contrary to another one of your goals. At a later phase, you can choose which goals to move ahead with.

2) Write down each goal

As they come to you, write them down. No need to analyze the risk involved, regardless of whether the idea is vague or sounds foolish. Once it’s out in the open, out in the light of day, your goals will become much clearer as you continue to develop them. Just be patient. An idea might seem stupid today and suddenly brilliant tomorrow.

3) Review each goal

Now is the time when you can question your goals. Ensure that for any goal you do eliminate, you base this decision on what you want for your business, and not for example based on someone else’s approval. Listen to YOUR desire and the answer will become clear.


You might find that each goal will explode into a series of new exciting goals that come out so quickly that you can barely write them down fast enough. When this happens, it’s a truly amazing thing. You’re excited about the possibilities of life.

After this exercise, you might feel intimidated as you think about putting your business goals into action. It’s okay! We’re all intimidated, this is a natural part of the process. Just make sure that you remember to be persistent, while also being patient. By starting this process, you’ve already achieved one of the hardest parts of starting your own business!


Amar Kumar is a Business Consultant for Effensource Global Services. He who runs Networking Events and 1-on-1 Consultations to help motivate and inspire business owners as well as helping soon-to-be business owners get over the intimidation of starting their own business.