NC Lawyer Assistance Program’s Post

NEW Blog Post! How to Avoid Money Arguments with Your Partner During the Holidays Click the link below or in bio to read it! https://lnkd.in/gS_ZCR97 #HolidayRelationshipTips #ConflictFreeHolidays #HealthyCommunication #RelationshipGoals #HolidayStressRelief

The holidays are a time for joy and giving, but they can also strain your budget. This week's blog provides tips that can help you recover from holiday overspending: https://lnkd.in/gMbk-qgx #financialadvisor #lincolnne #wealthmanagement

Our latest blog post shares tips that may help you get back on your feet after overspending during the holidays. https://lnkd.in/ezd6GM-V #HolidaySpending#FinancialAdvisor #FinancialPlanning #ManchesterNJ #ManahawkinNJ

With the legislative landscape shifting and the lame-duck session now underway, this time is crucial for introducing and advancing key bills that can help reduce the severe impact of the Earned Sick Time Act changes. Get involved at: https://lnkd.in/gfh-Dm2c

You are welcome to click through to our weekly update with the focus on “The Unintended Consequences of Independent Dependent Children" Please feel free to share your plans, thoughts & photos with us…….. https://lnkd.in/dm6XMU4W #2023TaxReturnsonExtension #Easter2024 #IndependentDependentChildren #strategictaxplanning #sunriseonRockawayBeach #taxplanning #UnintendedConsequences #WeeklyTakeAway

🔥”AND TODAY’S COVERAGE OF YESTERDAY’S AUTUMN BUDET IS SPONSORED BY K-Y JELLY”💦 Ahhh yes, it’s that time of year: toffee apples, fireworks, children dressed like the nightmares they are, and the government squeezing us all for every last penny they possibly can without provoking a (well-deserved) revolution. Key points of this years armed robbery… I mean “budget” are: CGT up by 8% from 10% to 18% on the base rate and up by 4% from 20% to 24% on the higher rate… why not just raid my biscuit tin while you’re at it? 🍪 Employer’s National Insurance Contributions up from 12% to 15% and raising of the minimum wage to £12.21 per hour… something tells me that the electorate might see right through what the government did here… promised to not raise NIC but then used a loop hole to f*%k it from the other side. Anyhow I’m not an economist… if I wanted to look at figures all day I’d be an accountant. If you want an in depth review there are plenty of newspapers that will do the job. Are these the actions of a poorly thought out fiscal strategy to quickly plug a £40bn blackhole or are these a well thought out fiscal strategy to future spike inflation and help to inflate a deficit away… The question is… is Rachel Reeves? A) a flaming lunatic B) a modern day Blackbeard C) a financial genius Something tells me the next few months maybe uncomfortable for quite a few businesses but it will be interesting to see. As always my call to action to tout for meaningless engagement on my posts… please answer the following questions: Which condiment best compliments a mixed leaf salad? Where is my precision screwdriver set? Or Complete the sentence: I go to the gym at 6am because [blank]. #autumnbudget #humour #legaltips

History tells us that change happens collectively, and one success story from 2018 demonstrates how different stakeholders can come together to advocate for higher wages and healthier work. Who might you add to your coalition? Learn more at https://bit.ly/4f7ns7X

Political party conferences help us to connect with policymakers and share best practices from the frontline. Following the recent Liberal Democrats, The Labour Party and The Conservative Party party political conferences Deven Ghelani wrote about why it's important for Policy in Practice to attend. 👉 Read here (and take a leaf through the selfies Deven took along the way) https://lnkd.in/eJ7xCgsH

Retreat! by Alecandra Petri The House Majority Retreat turned out to be excruciatingly on-brand for the Republican majority. Republicans could not assemble a majority of the majority and so the thing they were hoping to do together wound up not happening. Some refused to attend on the grounds that “retreat” was something they vowed to their constituents never to do, and that they would not look at a dictionary about it on the grounds that the dictionary was “the largest of books and thus the most deadly.” When told that “retreat” was actually a gathering to figure out how to work together, they said that this was even worse. But that is a shame, because I think that a second day of retreat activities would have solved all their problems. I got a look at the proposed agenda and it seemed very promising. 8 a.m.: Wake up. Gentle stretches. Enjoy hearty breakfast of bacon (no eggs, after the IVF controversy, just in case the bar moves any further). 9 a.m.: Brief opening prayer from Speaker Mike Johnson and his most cherished colleague, God. 10 a.m.: Prayer concludes. 10:15 a.m.: Agree on bagel order. If agreement can be reached on bagel order, break into panels. Panel on Counting: Panelists will offer lessons learned from sheep, blessings and other countables and see how these can be applied to votes. Frustratingly, Congress is still a place where having a majority of the votes cast is a prerequisite for putting your ideas into practice and you cannot just announce that you have won if you fall short. Panel will brainstorm solutions to this problem. Panel on Outback Steakhouse: Panel studies the other place besides Congress whose motto has been “No rules, just right” (Yes, I have made this joke before. No, I won’t stop making it.), to see whether there are any lessons to be gleaned from it. Why couldn’t Outback Steakhouse pass a rule? What was its holdup? Blooming Onion? Panel on The Republican Majority Is Too Slim — Is Ozempic to Blame? The person assembling this panel didn’t understand the assignment but it might be fun anyway just to learn what they have to say. Panel on Fun Group Activities: It’s not true that House Republicans don’t enjoy doing things together! Holding repeated votes for speaker was a thrilling bonding experience. Can we build on this? Maybe hold repeated votes for some other subject? Panel on Minority Rule: Have we considered not being in the majority? Pros of this approach include that if we pass nothing, people will feel that we are striking an important blow against Big Government. Cons of this approach include that to lose the majority, one of us will have to go. Pros of this approach also include that it sounds like the title of a Tom Cruise movie. Panel on Grumpy Sitting: The State of the Union involved a good amount of grumpy sitting, but there is always room for improvement. A body language expert will highlight and critique examples and offer suggestions for next steps. ©️Washington Post 2023

What does the resignation of Sue Gray and the appointment of Morgan McSweeney in her place mean for Keir Starmer’s government? My conclusion is that it will bring new energy to the government after a difficult few weeks, and set the course for the remainder of this Parliament. The appointment of Sue Gray had a brilliant logic to it. Here was a senior civil servant who knew how government could be made to work, and who would be able to drive through the public service reform which lies at the heart of this new government’s programme. The logic followed that it would be Morgan McSweeney who would help Labour win the election; and then Sue Gray would be the person who took over and would deliver Labour its second term by delivering the government’s agenda. But we now can see that the logic had a flaw - by making Sue Gray the Downing Street Chief of Staff she had to become more of a political animal than she had previously been. Modern politics is relentless; judgement and decisions are constantly required. And the political implications of those judgements and decisions need to be carefully considered. It’s a near impossible task - but it feels that some of the political consequences of decisions were not foreseen in the 3 months since July 4th. And of course Sue Gray had become the story. I am confident from conversations which I have had that there was no Sue v Morgan battle taking place in Downing Street. But clearly someone was sufficiently disillusioned to brief against her repeatedly. So this has been an appointment which hasn’t worked. It’s a shame, but the PM and those around him have recognised that fact with sufficient speed so that the government can set a new course and put aside the distracting stories of Downing Street disquiet. In 2008 Boris Johnson appointed a businessman Tim Parker as his de-facto Chief of Staff. It didn’t work and within months he had replaced him with Simon Milton. Johnson’s mayoralty was able to move on from this apparent disaster and he won reelection in 2012. With Morgan McSweeney now the PM’s Chief of Staff, the government has a key architect of Labour’s victory in charge. Morgan passionately believes in the reforms which government and public services need - and he has proved himself to have the finest political judgement. Having known him for 20 years I know he will be relentless and work every minute to deliver meaningful change. I am sure that today’s events make a Labour victory at the next election even more likely.