The results of this past election proved once again that the Democrats had a golden opportunity to capitalize on the failings of the Trump Presidency but, fell short of a nation wide mandate. A mandate to seize the gauntlet of the progressive movement that Senator Sanders through down a little over four years ago. The opportunities were there from the very beginning even before this pandemic struck. In their failing to educate the public of the consequences of continued Congressional gridlock, conservatism, and what National Economic Reform’s Ten Articles of Confederation would do led to the results that are playing out today.. More Congressional gridlock, more conservatism and more suffering of millions of Americans are the direct consequences of the Democrats failure to communicate and educate the public. Educate the public that a progressive agenda is necessary to pull the United States out of this Pandemic, and restore this nations health and vitality.

It was the DNC’s intent in this election to only focus on the Trump Administration. They failed to grasp the urgency of the times. They also failed to communicate with the public about the dire conditions millions have been and still are facing even before the Pandemic. The billions of dollars funneled into campaign coffers should have been used to educate the voting public that creating a unified coalition would bring sweeping reforms that are so desperately needed. The reality of what transpired in a year and a half of political campaigning those billions of dollars only created more animosity and division polarizing one extreme over another.

One can remember back in 1992 Ross Perot used his own funds to go on national TV to educate the public on the dire ramifications of not addressing our national debt. That same approach should have been used during this election cycle. By using the medium of television to communicate and educate the public is the most effective way in communicating and educating the public. Had the Biden campaign and the DNC used their resources in this way the results we ae seeing today would have not created the potential for more gridlock in our government. The opportunity was there to educate the public of safety protocols during the siege of this pandemic and how National Economic Reform’s Ten Articles of Confederation provides the necessary progressive reforms that will propel the United States out of the abyss of debt and restore our economy. Restoring our economy so that every American will have the means and the availability of financial and economic security.

The failure of the Democratic party since 2016 has been recruiting a Presidential Candidate who many felt was questionable and more conservative signals that the results of today has not met with the desired results the Democratic party wanted. Then again? By not fully communicating and not educating the public on the merits of a unified progressive platform has left the United States transfixed in our greatest divides since the Civil War. This writers support of Senator Bernie Sanders is well documented. Since 2015 he has laid the groundwork for progressive reforms. He also has the foundations on which these reforms can deliver the goods as they say. But, what did the DNC do, they purposely went out of their way to engineer a candidate who was more in tune with the status-quo of the DNC. They failed to communicate to the public in educating all of us on the ways our lives would be better served with a progressive agenda that was the benchmark of Senators Sanders Presidential campaign and his Our Revolution movement. And this is way there is still really no progress in creating a less toxic environment in Washington and around the country.

However the last few decades witnessed a complete change in the nature of functioning of the financial market. An array of new products was introduced by both financial institutes and banks that simply lured the many investors to invest in them because of the numerous advantages that each product offered. Be it life insurance policies, Exchange Traded Funds infrastructure bonds, fixed deposits, mutual funds etc each product or scheme is unique and meets the needs of either your long term or short term goals.Below is a list of the different investment options offered in India.Bank Fixed Deposits, [Term Deposit]Bank fixed deposits are one of the most popular investment options in India. This type of investment is one of the oldest and safest in the country. Usually in the case of a bank Fixed Deposit Scheme a certain amount of money is deposited in a particular bank for a specific duration on which the depositor receives a fixed rate of interest. Fixed deposits are ideal for long term investments. Mostly young people deposit in such schemes till the age of retirement so that they are eligible for a regular income when they need it most. The best thing about this investment option is that it is extremely safe, liquid and also yields high returns.Recurring Bank Deposit Saving SchemeRecurring Bank Deposit Schemes are also another good investment option in India. In order to invest in a Recurring Bank Deposit Saving Scheme you will have to invest a specific sum of money in a bank on a monthly basis. On this investment you will be receiving a fixed rate of interest from the bank every month. These types of investments have a fixed tenure and at the end of the tenure you receive the principle amount plus the interest earned.ETFs (Exchange Traded Fund)Among the latest investment options in the country Exchange Traded Fund or ETFs are known for their high returns yielding nature. Since the product is relatively new people are still a little apprehensive about investing in these types of funds however investing in Exchange Traded Funds are extremely beneficial in the long run.ELSS (Equity Linked Savings Scheme) Over the years Equity Linked Savings Schemes have gained immense popularity in the Indian financial market. Equity Linked Savings Scheme is a mutual fund investment option that invests in stocks and equity related stocks. Most Equity Linked Savings Schemes have a lock in period of three years which only benefits investors from yielding benefits and also getting tax exemptions.Life Insurance PlansInvesting in life insurance policies is one of the major investment options in India. LIC in India has almost synonymous with life insurance for its many life insurance policies. There are different types of life insurance plans like whole-life insurance, joint-life-insurance, pension-life-insurance etc that you can select from. It is believed that life insurance policies are best suited for people with families. The returns yielded from a life insurance policy depending on the type of plan can be used for numerous reasons like child’s education, business expansion or children’s’ marriage. Some of the companies offering life insurance plans include; Life Insurance Corporation of India, Kotak Life Insurance Reliance Life Insurance Company, Tata AIG Life Insurance etc.Post Office SavingsOne of the most important investment options in India is investing in the numerous products introduced by the post office. The many different post offices in India offer a gamut of investment products that meet the needs and requirements of one and all. Even the lower income groups can invest in the many post office schemes. Some of the popular post office savings options include;
Post Office Recurring Deposits
National Savings Scheme [NSS]
Public Provident Funds [PPF ]
Post Office Monthly Income Scheme [Post office MIS ]
National Savings Certificates [NSC ]
Post Office Time Deposits
Kisan Vikas Patra – [KVP ]
Investing in Gold Investing gold is nothing new to India. People in this part of the sub continent have been investing in gold since decades now. Gold is one of the safest investments options and can really prove beneficial in times of economic crisis. Gold can be considered to be a long term investment. Investing in gold can be used for several purposes like your child’s marriage etc. The price of gold from the last few years has been rising continuously even during recession the price seemed to have increased at a rate of 19.30 percent.Mutual FundsMutual Funds are another popular investment option that have gained immense foothold in the Indian financial market over the last few years. ‘You can invest on both short and long term mutual funds. The one thing that is really good about investing in mutual funds is that you can invest small sums at a time. Mutual funds do not necessarily require lump sum investments. Most of the financial companies and banks today offer a diversified portfolio of mutual fund investment products. Investing in mutual funds is also less risky as compared to investing in stocks. This kind of investment option also has the tendency of fetching extremely high returns. However the amount that the investor will get as returns is unpredictable and depends totally on the situation of the market.StocksInvesting in stocks is one of the most beneficial Investment options in India. According to market trends it is seen that investing in equity shares fetch as much as 26.5 percent higher returns in a period of 5 years when compared to fixed deposits of the same tenure. Even when the investment is made for the longer period it still reaps higher returns. Investing in stocks is also a better option as compared to investing in real estate or gold.The Indian financial market is flooded with a host of investment options that not only fetch returns but also save you from paying huge amounts as taxes.

What are the greatest changes in shopping in your lifetime? So asked my 9 year old grandson.

As I thought of the question the local Green Grocer came to mind. Because that is what the greatest change in shopping in my lifetime is.

That was the first place to start with the question of what are the greatest changes in shopping in your lifetime.

Our local green grocer was the most important change in shopping in my lifetime. Beside him was our butcher, a hairdresser and a chemist.

Looking back, we were well catered for as we had quite a few in our suburb. And yes, the greatest changes in shopping in my lifetime were with the small family owned businesses.

Entertainment While Shopping Has Changed
Buying butter was an entertainment in itself.
My sister and I often had to go to a favourite family grocer close by. We were always polite as we asked for a pound or two of butter and other small items.

Out came a big block of wet butter wrapped in grease-proof paper. Brought from the back of the shop, placed on a huge counter top and included two grooved pates.

That was a big change in our shopping in my lifetime… you don’t come across butter bashing nowadays.

Our old friendly Mr. Mahon with the moustache, would cut a square of butter. Lift it to another piece of greaseproof paper with his pates. On it went to the weighing scales, a bit sliced off or added here and there.

Our old grocer would then bash it with gusto, turning it over and over. Upside down and sideways it went, so that it had grooves from the pates, splashes going everywhere, including our faces.

My sister and I thought this was great fun and it always cracked us up. We loved it, as we loved Mahon’s, on the corner, our very favourite grocery shop.

Grocery Shopping
Further afield, we often had to go to another of my mother’s favourite, not so local, green grocer’s. Mr. McKessie, ( spelt phonetically) would take our list, gather the groceries and put them all in a big cardboard box.

And because we were good customers he always delivered them to our house free of charge. But he wasn’t nearly as much fun as old Mr. Mahon. Even so, he was a nice man.

All Things Fresh
So there were very many common services such as home deliveries like:

• Farm eggs

• Fresh vegetables

• Cow’s milk

• Freshly baked bread

• Coal for our open fires

Delivery Services
A man used to come to our house a couple of times a week with farm fresh eggs.

Another used to come every day with fresh vegetables, although my father loved growing his own.

Our milk, topped with beautiful cream, was delivered to our doorstep every single morning.

Unbelievably, come think of it now, our bread came to us in a huge van driven by our “bread-man” named Jerry who became a family friend.

My parents always invited Jerry and his wife to their parties, and there were many during the summer months. Kids and adults all thoroughly enjoyed these times. Alcohol was never included, my parents were teetotallers. Lemonade was a treat, with home made sandwiches and cakes.

The coal-man was another who delivered bags of coal for our open fires. I can still see his sooty face under his tweed cap but I can’t remember his name. We knew them all by name but most of them escape me now.

Mr. Higgins, a service man from the Hoover Company always came to our house to replace our old vacuum cleaner with an updated model.

Our insurance company even sent a man to collect the weekly premium.

People then only paid for their shopping with cash. This in itself has been a huge change in shopping in my lifetime.

In some department stores there was a system whereby the money from the cash registers was transported in a small cylinder on a moving wire track to the central office.

Some Of The Bigger Changes
Some of the bigger changes in shopping were the opening of supermarkets.

• Supermarkets replaced many individual smaller grocery shops. Cash and bank cheques have given way to credit and key cards.

• Internet shopping… the latest trend, but in many minds, doing more harm, to book shops.

• Not many written shopping lists, because mobile phones have taken over.

On a more optimistic note, I hear that book shops are popular again after a decline.

Personal Service Has Most Definitely Changed
So, no one really has to leave home, to purchase almost anything, technology makes it so easy to do online.
And we have a much bigger range of products now, to choose from, and credit cards have given us the greatest ease of payment.

We have longer shopping hours, and weekend shopping. But we have lost the personal service that we oldies had taken for granted and also appreciated.

Because of their frenetic lifestyles, I have heard people say they find shopping very stressful, that is grocery shopping. I’m sure it is when you have to dash home and cook dinner after a days work. I often think there has to be a better, less stressful way.

My mother had the best of both worlds, in the services she had at her disposal. With a full time job looking after 9 people, 7 children plus her and my dad, she was very lucky. Lucky too that she did not have 2 jobs.