LOVE YOUR MONEY: New Jersey Residents Making $1.9 Million Annually Taxed at 9.8 %

The Center Square

The top 1 percent of earners in New Jersey are taxed at an effective rate of 9.8 percent, compared to the state’s 10.1 percent tax rate on the middle 20 percent of income earners, according to

a new 24/7 Wall St. analysis

CNBNews graphic files

The study, which used data from a 2018 report by the Washington-based Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), did not include federal taxes paid. New Jersey ranked 46th on the study’s list of the most tax-friendly states for the rich.

On average, the top 1 percent of earners in the state take in $1.9 million annually, according to 24/7 Wall St.

Nationwide, the top-earning 1 percent of families pay 7.4 percent of what they make toward state and local levies, the ITEP study concluded. The middle 20 percent of U.S. earners, in contrast, paid more – 9.9 percent.

States with no income tax – or a very low income tax – tended to be the most friendly to wealthy individuals, 24/7 Wall St. reported. That’s because those states tend to rely more on more regressive taxes, placing more of a burden on poorer households, the study found.

republished by Gloucestercitynews.net with permission of

The Center Square

Lessons Learned by Cape Town’s Day Zero

(Gloucestercitynews.net)(February 18, 2020)–“Day Zero” is the now infamous term used to describe an emergency plan put forth by the leadership of the city of Cape Town, South Africa during the worst recorded drought in over a century. In mid-2017, several factors contributed to Cape Town’s water supply reaching dangerously low levels.

Day Zero, if it was ever implemented, would have meant barring the water supply from public use so that it could be rationed daily. Until the city’s dams naturally replenished, Day Zero could have destroyed Cape Town’s buzzing tourist industry and its inhabitants’ way of life.

Water queues and widespread shortages were a reality that many businesses and civilians in Cape Town were very close to facing.

Knowing the causes of

Cape Town’s Day Zero

and why it never happened can teach us about the resilience and resourcefulness of the leadership and people of Cape Town. Additionally, observing their conservation efforts can help us progress in our own.

What caused Day Zero?

By 2017, Cape Town had experienced a population growth rate of almost 50%, according to its

census data

. However, the water storage capacity for the city had only increased by 15% over that same amount of time.

The widening gap between how much water was being pulled from the reserves and how much was being replenished created a situation where Cape Town’s supply was vulnerable to environmental disasters. New dams could not be built fast enough to offset the rising water usage in the city and the dearth of rainfall.

This disaster came subtly, in the form of record low rainfall in 2015, coupled with increased water usage by the people of the city owing to the population. As the reserves continued to drop, by mid-2017 Day Zero became the name of the plan that the city would have had to initiate if the water levels in the main storage dams reached below 13.5%.

Preventing Day Zero

The worst water crisis in modern history would have entailed daily water queues and rations, strict conservation of all public utilities, and reconstruction of the major waterways. No city has ever undertaken the depth of control that Day Zero would have required of Cape Town’s civilian and tourist population.

Thankfully, Cape Town reversely proved its resilience in the face of disaster by pushing Day Zero back continuously until it was postponed indefinitely in early 2018.

Thanks to water usage education initiatives distributed by the Cape Town city departments, the population got immediately on board with the effort to conserve the dangerously low water stores. The diligence and conscientiousness of the people lowered water usage by 50% by rationing showers, limiting water-based hygiene, and eliminating water usage for recreation.

Today, according to the

Cape Town website

, the city’s dams are holding at 70.3% of their reserve capacity. This makes Day Zero well out of the realm of possibility for the time being.

Effects of the Water Crisis

The businesses, tourists, industry professionals, leadership, and population of Cape Town rallied together to save their water supply. Today, the result is a much more environmentally cognizant city infrastructure. Their waterways have been refined for efficiency and their drainage and water recreation facilities have been modernized.

Not every city could reform its habits so quickly. The Cape Water Strategy is the latest progressive initiative designed to restructure the city’s water usage systems and dam storage capacity to prepare for another future disaster.

With populations growing all over the world, the conservation efforts of Cape Town are a model for any city leadership or population on how to manage a crisis and avoid disaster.

The Takeaway

The possibility of Day Zero happening in Cape Town was a result of stressed resources in a region already environmentally unstable due to population growth, a naturally dry climate, and erratic rainfall patterns. A few issues like a dry spell and a population boom culminated in what could have been the worst water disaster in any developed city in the modern world.

Instead, Cape Town rallied itself around conservation and survived the water shortage. Their concerted efforts to save themselves and their infrastructure are lessons that any city can learn from.

Now, a booming tourist destination and investment opportunity, the productive and resilient city of Cape Town is back to its former glory and then some. Before canceling a visit because of this near disaster, understand what preventing it means for the future of the city: progressively better infrastructure, cognizant people, and productive leadership.

The handling of the water crisis is proof of them all.

WALLET HUB: Some New Jersey Cities Rank at the Bottom of Credit Score Analysis

By Bethany Blankley |

The Center Square

To coincide with the approaching tax season and to help taxpayers evaluate their spending and debt habits, the personal-finance website WalletHub published a ranking of residents’ credit scores in more than 2,500 cities nationwide.

WalletHub compared the median credit scores of residents in 2,572 U.S. cities “to give credit where credit is literally and figuratively due,” Adam McCann, financial writer at Wallethub says.

Its 2020\’s

Cities with the Highest & Lowest Credit Scores

ranked all cities according to TransUnion data as of September 2019.

Four New Jersey cities ranked in the bottom: Newark, with a median credit score of 587, followed by New Brunswick’s 577, East Orange’s 577, and Camden City\’s 552.

With 99 being the best percentile ranking, Camden’s ranked in the 1 percentile and tied for last place with East St. Louis, Ill., and Chester, Penn.

Ranking 10th-worst was East Orange, followed by 11th-worst New Brunswick, and 18th-worst Newark, all falling in the 1 percentile.

Trenton fared slightly better, with its residents holding a median credit score of 601, but also fell in the 1 percentile.

By comparison eight New Jersey cities ranked in the 91st to 97th percentile with scores of 752 and above. The highest New Jersey ranking was Westfield, where residents landed in the 98th percentile with a median credit score of 768. Ridgewood followed in the 97th percentile with a score of 764; Princeton in the 96th percentile with a score of 761; Paramus in the 95th percentile with a score of 760; Fair Lawn in the 92nd percentile with a score of 754; Summit in the 91st percentile with a score of 752; and Hoboken and Flemington in the 91st percentile, each with scores of 752.

Wallethub only included the city proper in its analysis, excluding the suburbs in each city’s surrounding metro area. Each city was categorized by population size with large cities having more than 300,000 people, mid-sized between 100,000 and 300,000 people, and small cities with less than 100,000 people.

republished here by Gloucestercitynews.net with permission of

The Center Square

3 Tips for Preventing Common Tree Accidents in Gloucester City

Gloucestercitynews.net (February 17, 2020)–Homeowners in Gloucester City pay an average of $563 for tree planting services,

according to manta.com

. Trees add aesthetics to properties, keep yards fresh, and prevent flooding. However, as trees age and become large, they pose a danger to the surroundings, and if not mitigated, the accidents can be fatal. Tree hazards may result from storm-related or construction damages.

image courtesy of unsplash.com

While there are few reports where a

car crashes into a tree

in the area, when they occur, injuries are often difficult to remedy. If you have trees in your property, it is essential to know the potential risks and how to manage them.

Identify the Risks

Start by observing the trunk to find out if there is decay. You may notice multiple reproductive structures, which indicate that the decay has reached an advanced stage. Dead branch stubs, cracks, butt swell, and large-old wounds are signs the tree is rotting from the inside. Also, inspect the crown and roots.

If there is any damage to the root, the likelihood of failure is high. Understanding the

causes of tree failure

helps you take the necessary steps to prevent branches or the whole tree from falling on houses, vehicles, or people.

Hire Expert Tree Services

According to

Rich\’s Tree Service

, time is of the essence to ensure the safety of people and property when a tree begins to fall or decay. After identifying risks, contact a professional arborist immediately. An arborist will assess the tree’s health or level of damage caused by either disease, construction work, a car collision, or harsh weather. Depending on the extent of damage, tree service providers will recommend

various tree treatment methods

, including pruning and removal. However, you may require emergency services if the tree has fallen, landed on property, or lighting strikes cutting off branches.

Avoid Cutting or Trimming Trees

Cutting down trees involves many dangers, and without professional knowledge, you are likely to experience injuries and severe damages. Arborists are aware of the

risks involved in tree cutting and trimming

and follow strict safety measures to avoid falling and electrocution. They also use the right equipment and prepare before the hazards falling twigs and branches present.

Apart from knowledge and using advanced equipment, professional arborists offer many services. When you hire reliable tree service providers, you don’t have to worry about green waste. Experts know how to dispose of debris from large-scale tree cutting. Plus, they will remove stumps without causing damage to the environment.

FBI Authorities Investigating Case of 9-Year-Old Who Disappeared 20 Years Ago

Asha Degree was 9 years old when she disappeared on February 14, 2000. An age-progressed photo shows what she might look today.

Charlotte, North Carolina–It was 20 years ago today that Asha Degree, a shy 9-year-old North Carolina girl, went missing in the middle of the night. The spirited fourth-grader’s disappearance in 2000 shook her rural community of Shelby and remains an enduring mystery, even as police, the FBI, and her family continue to actively search for clues.

“After 20 years, I still believe my daughter is alive,” said Iquilla Degree, who, with her husband Harold, still harbors hope that Asha (pronounced Ay-shuh) might find her way home. “I do not believe she is dead. And I know someone knows something. I’m not crazy enough to think that a 9-year-old can disappear into thin air without somebody knowing something.”

The case remains an open investigation, with a local detective reviewing leads—old and new—and FBI investigators from the Charlotte Field Office consolidating and combing through case files for unexplored patterns or clues. Like Asha’s mother, investigators believe someone in area may hold the key that could unlock the case.

“We strongly believe that there is someone out there that may have a piece of information that will help her,” said Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office Detective Tim Adams, who came out of retirement in 2014 to lead the department’s probe. In 2015, the sheriff’s office teamed up with the FBI and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation in a top-to-bottom re-examination of the case, which has since generated more than 350 leads, including 45 in the past year.

“The fact that it was a small child that left on Valentine’s Day really caught everybody’s heart in this community,” Det. Adams said. “She’s been called Shelby’s Sweetheart, because she’s a child that’s one of our own that has gone missing, and we want to find out what happened to her.”

What is known from the earliest hours of the investigation is that Asha disappeared from her bedroom sometime between about 2:30 a.m. on February 14, 2000, when Harold checked on Asha and her older brother, and 6:30 a.m., when Iquilla went in to wake the kids for school. There was no sign of forced entry and no promising scent trail for search dogs to follow. That afternoon, investigators received at least two separate reports from individuals who said they saw a young female walking along Highway 18, in the opposite direction of the Degrees’ home, around 4 a.m. One person said they went back to check on the girl but she had left the roadway and disappeared into the woods.

“That was the last time anyone had a sighting of Asha that had actually been confirmed,” Det. Adams said.

On August 3, 2001, some 30 miles north of the last sighting, construction workers digging an access road for a new home in neighboring Burke County found a book bag that belonged to Asha. Inside was a concert T-shirt featuring boy band New Kids On The Block and a children’s book,

McElligot’s Pool

, by Dr. Seuss. Neither belonged to Asha, though the book was from the library at Asha’s school, Fallston Elementary. Investigators released images of the shirt and book in 2018, hoping to jog the memories of people who may have helpful information.

The 2015 re-investigation also turned up another possible lead: Asha may have been seen getting into a dark green 1970s-model Lincoln Continental Mark IV or Ford Thunderbird with rust around the wheel wells. The FBI publicly announced the potential lead in 2016 and released images of the vehicle models.

“We encourage anybody out there that if they have any information—no matter how small or minor it may seem—it might be extremely crucial to further us getting one step closer to Asha,” said FBI Special Agent Michael Gregory, who is leading the case now for the Bureau. “We will continue to pursue all avenues to find out what circumstances led to her disappearance, and we will continue to pursue this case at all costs.”

Working with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, the FBI has released multiple age-progressed photos of Asha, including a new version this month showing what Asha may look like now as a 29-year-old. The FBI is offering a $25,000 reward on top of $20,000 set aside by the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office and the community. Three years ago, the FBI deployed its Child Abduction Rapid Deployment Team, which spent more than a week on location and generated still more leads and interview prospects.

“Although Asha left her house 20 years ago, we treat it as if it happened yesterday,” said Jeanine Merritt, an FBI intelligence analyst who has worked the case since 2014, bringing reams of 20-year-old paperwork from disparate offices and investigations into a single searchable database. “We’re constantly accepting new leads. We’re constantly sifting through new data.”

There are few clues about why Asha left her house on Valentine’s Day, which is also her parents’ wedding anniversary. If she was upset about her poor performance at a basketball game the Saturday before her disappearance (she fouled out and her team lost by one point), it seemed to have dissipated by the next morning, when the family went together to church and Sunday school. Still, it was a crushing loss for Asha, her mom said, leading Iquilla, Harold, and investigators to wonder if it may have spurred the competitive, intelligent 9-year-old to hatch some unknown plan.

“Apparently, she packed her bag prior to leaving, but the contents—from what we can tell—looked like something a child would pack rather than her parents preparing her for an overnight stay,” Det. Adams said.

For Asha’s family, prayers and hope have sustained them for the last 20 years, but they need answers. Iquilla appealed directly to anyone who may have been involved in her daughter’s fate to come forward and unburden themselves.

“That’s my prayer every night, that God will get into their heart and let them come forward, because it’s got to be a weight on them,” she said.

Iquilla was seated beside Harold, clutching a photo album full of pictures of Asha.

“We’re hoping and we’re praying that she’s had a halfway decent life even though we didn\’t get to raise her,” she said. “She was 9 years old, and she’ll be 30 this year. So we’ve missed everything. But I don’t care. If she walked in the door right now, I wouldn’t care what I missed. All I want to do is see her.”

Resources

ASHA JAQUILLA DEGREE

Investigators Seek Public Assistance in 20-Year Missing Girl Investigation

CNB Medical News: The Winter Blues

(NAPSI)—You may have heard the terms—winter blues, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), Depressive Disorder with a Seasonal Pattern. No matter what you call it, with approximately 17.3 million adults in the U.S. experiencing seasonal depression, according to the National Institute of Mental Health, feeling gloomy this time of year isn’t uncommon—but it can be overcome.

The Problem

Depressive Disorder with a Seasonal Pattern (formerly called SAD) can affect anyone of any age. Whether you’re a student returning to class, a busy working professional who’s always playing catchup, or even newly retired with found time on your hands, the excitement of the holidays is long over and wintry dark days are here. While January and February are the typical peak months for the disorder, symptoms can persist through April, according to Mental Health America.

Doctor’s Advice

When that feeling of sadness persists for several weeks, it’s time to take action, according to Dr. Desreen Dudley, a licensed Clinical Psychologist and Behavioral Health Provider of Therapeutic Services for Teladoc Health. But, she points out, often the toughest thing for many is how to discern whether what they feel is temporary or something more serious.

“If someone has a few days of feeling low, that’s normal and typically nothing to worry about. It’s when the feeling lingers for weeks and people lose interest in daily activities and suffer persistent negative thoughts, that lend a stronger basis for Depressive Disorder with a Seasonal Affective Pattern diagnosis,” she says.

What To Watch For

Other symptoms she warns about are:

•Change in appetite

•Change in sleep pattern

•Decreased energy

•Decreased concentration

•Feelings of worthlessness or guilt

•An inability to think, concentrate, or finish tasks at work or school

•Thinking about suicide, self-harm, or death

Dr. Dudley contends individuals already struggling with depressive disorders are susceptible to SAD patterns. For older Americans, a Vitamin D deficiency can exacerbate low moods. On the other end of the spectrum, she has worked with newly independent college students who find SAD a heavy burden and say their new responsibilities of classes, exams and jobs can compound their depression. For some, not rising as early for classes as they did in high school means sleeping in more and further limiting their exposure to sunlight.

What To Do

In addition to considering therapy, such as virtual care, which is available on your terms and from any location you choose, Dr. Dudley recommends:

•Avoiding or cutting back on alcohol and other addictive substances

•Eating healthfully—more lean proteins, fruits and vegetables, and eliminating sugar

•Daily exercise at least 30 minute a day (walking counts)

•Yoga or meditation

•Learning about and trying light therapy

•Regularly surrounding yourself with those you enjoy being around.

When To Seek Help

According to a recent global study conducted by Ipsos MORI for Teladoc Health, individuals often recognize when they’re struggling, but even so, over a third of the respondents who have had one mental health episode admitted to not seeking professional help. The reason? For many, it’s often the difficulty in finding mental health care.

“Thankfully, virtual care is becoming increasingly available as a source of convenient mental health care,” Dr. Dudley says. “It eliminates the traditional obstacles of in-person visits and has opened up access for anyone with a busy schedule, individuals who may have difficulty getting out of the house and students who may fear the stigma of walking into the campus mental health clinic.”

Learn More

For further information, visit

www.Teladoc.com/therapy

(Video)Why kids who know how to lose get way ahead

Po Bronson

Bestselling author Po Bronson explains why kids who are afraid of losing are at risk of never really succeeding. Po Bronson is the coauthor of the 2009 book

NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children

. The book discusses theories and scientific aspects of parenting.

Hear Bronson’s thoughts on

competition

boy and girl differences

motivation

, and

roughhousing

by:

GreatSchools Staff

Gloucester High School

Gloucester Catholic High School

Brooklawn School District

Tips for keeping your car insurance low

Gloucestercitynews.net (February 17, 2020)–Auto insurance is a tailor-made product, and your policy is very much your own based on factors that are exclusive to you. It is not a fixed cost and could cost you some good money. Still, you can lower it through better bargaining with the insurance company to get better

insurance quotes

only when asked for. Having adequate coverage does a lot of good when you face adverse situations that damage the car or injure others and damage property. The insurance policy protects you financially as the insurance company pays out for the damage when you lodge a claim.

It does not require that you cut down driving, which can help to lower the premium because there are many other

ways to obtain other discounts

which, when added together, considerably lower the premium.

Focus on safe driving

Since insurance rates depend upon the risk assessed by the insurance company, the more you prove that you are a safer driver, the lower would be the insurance rate. On the other hand, if you are accident prone and used to frequent traffic violations, be ready to pay higher insurance. To ensure safe driving, drive at moderate speed, and stay alert and agile so that you have better control over the vehicle and avoid accidents. Maintaining the smallest list of traffic violations is the way to keep insurance costs low.

Buy an insurance friendly car

The car is a major factor that determines the insurance rate, and when you buy a car, check if there are better models from the insurance perspective. The cost of the car and its fancy features are reasons for a higher premium, and it is better to choose a car that is more need-oriented than an object of vanity. The value of the vehicle has a direct relation to the collision coverage, and it is inherent in some car models to attract higher insurance. If you buy a sports car or something that one can interpret to be a sports car, then you must be ready to pay higher insurance as you must for other luxury cars.

Avail behavior-based discounts

Insurance companies reward well-behaved and disciplined drivers with favorable insurance rates by offering discounts. Having a clean driving history underlines the safe driving habits and lowers the risk which the insurance company acknowledges by charging a lower premium. The more control you have on your driving behavior, the better it is because you can claim better rates from insurance companies.

Focus on care safety features

Choose a car that matches your budget and has adequate safety features. Avoid buying a car that might cost less because of fewer safety features because insurance companies rely on better safety features that can minimize vehicle damage after accidents and lower the claim amount. Striking a balance between the cost of the car and its safety features, which must be something more than the minimum, will lead to a lower premium.

If you can reduce the average driven distance in a year, the insurance will be lower.

Philly Baptist Church Minister Says Trump\’s Opportunity Zone Program is Working (video)

Rev. Todd Johnson, \”Trump changed Philadelphia for the better, people are waking up to pandering Dems.\”

PHILADELPHIA, PA (February 15, 2020)–Appearing on

\”Fox & Friends: Weekend\”

, Reverend Todd Johnson, of the

First Immanuel Baptist

Church

said Saturday the Opportunity Zone in the city of brotherly love — created by the 2017

Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

— is working.

According to the

Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

, Opportunity Zones are designed to spur

economic

development and

job creation

in distressed communities throughout the United States by providing tax benefits to investors who invest eligible capital gains by making an appropriate investment and meet other requirements.

(CONTINUE TO READ)

Watch the latest video at

foxnews.com

Philly Baptist Church Minister Says Trump\’s Opportunity Zone Program is Working (video)

Rev. Todd Johnson, \”Trump changed Philadelphia for the better, people are waking up to pandering Dems.\”

PHILADELPHIA, PA (February 15, 2020)–Appearing on

\”Fox & Friends: Weekend\”

, Reverend Todd Johnson, of the

First Immanuel Baptist

Church

said Saturday the Opportunity Zone in the city of brotherly love — created by the 2017

Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

— is working.

According to the

Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

, Opportunity Zones are designed to spur

economic

development and

job creation

in distressed communities throughout the United States by providing tax benefits to investors who invest eligible capital gains by making an appropriate investment and meet other requirements.

(CONTINUE TO READ)

Watch the latest video at

foxnews.com