Category Archives: Financial Independence

The U.S. Supreme Courts official decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade and take away abortion rights at the federal level is an outrage. Decades of progress for the health of pregnant people and financial independence of mothers has just been undone. Abortion will remain legal in California, but we are already seeing what a world without Roe looks like.

While we are fortunate that California lawmakers are committed to expanding abortion rights, at least 26 states, including Arizona, Idaho, Texas, Mississippi, Ohio and Oklahoma have now cruelly restricted or outright banned abortion. This will force millions of people to travel thousands of miles to states like California for abortion care. Millions more who cant afford travel, time off work or childcare will be forced to carry unwanted pregnancies to term.

At Planned Parenthood of Orange & San Bernardino Counties, we are here to provide the best care possible for patients who come to us from out of state but the situation on the ground is dire, and we need additional support.

Before September 2021, when Texas issued a barbaric near-total ban on abortion, I would see one patient per week from outside of California. That number quadrupled to four per week afterward. Now that Roe has been overturned, I estimate we will see more than 40 out-of-state patients every week 40 times the number we saw previously.

In the last several months, I have treated many out-of-state patients. This is who they are.

One is a 26-year-old mother of two, who drove 12 hours overnight from her home in El Paso, Texas, sleeping in a gas station parking lot along the way. She got her abortion and then immediately drove back another 12 hours to her family.

One is a 37-year-old mother of three who had never been on a plane in her life. We helped her get a hotel room overnight and a ride to her abortion appointment the next day. Because she had to fly home immediately after the procedure, she decided to forego sedation because she was worried about traveling alone after being sedated.

One is a 26-year-old person from North Carolina who knew they could not carry their pregnancy to term when a 20-week scan showed serious fetal anomalies. It was a heart-wrenching decision for them to terminate the pregnancy, made all the more difficult by the fact that they needed to fly across the country in order to obtain an abortion.

An abortion, on average, takes five to 10 minutes to complete or involves taking a few pills, and is far less medically risky for many than carrying a pregnancy to term. But now, the Supreme Court has forced millions of people like these patients to travel thousands of miles for this simple procedure, which is safer than getting a wisdom tooth pulled.

There are a number of ways you can step up and help us fight for every persons right to get an abortion.

One is to donate. Right now, we need our supporters help to ensure that we do not turn away any Californian or out-of-state patient because our health centers are overwhelmed. At this time, supporters are encouraged to donate directly to Planned Parenthood of Orange & San Bernardino Counties at http://www.pposbc.org/give to help us pay for plane tickets, accommodation, rides, gas and other travel expenses for patients that need travel assistance.

One is to vote. Pay attention to elections of every scale, from your local school board to your members of Congress. We need to keep pro-choice politicians in office so California remains a reproductive freedom state that can influence legislation at the federal level to protect abortion rights for everyone.

One is to show up when it matters. At our Bans Off Abortion rally in May at Santa Anas Centennial Park, more than 4,000 of our supporters showed up. Their presence demonstrated to lawmakers both here and nationwide that we support abortion rights. Make your voice heard. Learn more about other ways to show up and by visiting our Community Action Fund website.

When faced with bans, patients will do whatever it takes to get a safe, legal abortion. Planned Parenthood of Orange & San Bernardino Counties will do whatever it takes to care for them and protect their right to getting one.

Dr. Janet Jacobson is the medical director of Planned Parenthood of Orange & San Bernardino Counties. She resides in the city of Orange.

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Commentary: This is what the end of Roe looks like in Southern California - Los Angeles Times

Strategic partnerships, fiduciary model and team dynamics credited for independent wealth management firm's success.

"Every advisor is different. That's why every partnership we form is so unique," said Karoline O'Connor, Business Development at Puzzle. "Come as you are. We'll find your fit. We'll help you figure out how to put the pieces of your business together, even explore options you didn't even know you had. We remain custodian independent as we find the right fit for you. You might be just wanting to start your own practice, or maybe you are looking for ways to capitalize on your business as an asset. Either way we're here to help."

STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS GUIDE SUCCESS

Communities, teams, and puzzles all have one thing in common: when they come together, they are greater than the sum of their parts.

Gladstone, a financial services firm and SEC Registered Investment Advisor that supports financial advisors nationwide, announced the partnership in June of 2021 as their latest recruiting victory. Kristopher Bonocore, President of Gladstone, said, "Partnerships and independence are what the relationship has offered. Growing stronger together has allowed us to expand our support and services to other advisors."

Azella, a digital marketing platform and service solution for financial services firms and investment advisors, has been working with Puzzle and Gladstone to build out the Puzzle brand and establish a strong online presence.Gladstone and Azella have been working together on internal and external marketing initiatives since Azella's founding in 2020. "Azella helps independent financial advisors quickly and powerfully brand and market their firms with innovative, effective design and hyper-relevant content so that they can easily connect with clients who need professional financial planning and investment management services," said Azella CEO and Founder David Roberson.

The pairing with Insight, an advisory firm that specializes in the fiduciary support services of employer sponsored retirement plans, happened during Q1 2022. Insight's Michael Smith, who leads the institutional consulting services for the wealth management firm, said, "Our relentless focus on the mitigation of fiduciary risk, combined with our uncompromising commitment to advise in the best interests of our plan participants and their beneficiaries are the cornerstones of what defines us as a partner," said Michael K. Smith, Managing Partner.

FINDING SOLUTIONS FOR CLIENTS AND ADVISORS

Puzzle prides itself on finding solutions for their clients and advisors alike. They work diligently to be thought of as more than investment advisors. Clients can discuss a broad array of financial needs such as estate planning, business sales, refinancing homes, alternative investments, multi-generational dynamics and more. Puzzle will work to find a solution as they serve their high-net-worth clients and care for their most valuable assets.

The advisors who partner with Puzzle are an important part of solving client issues. The Puzzle team thinks unconventionally to create new solutions and clients are educated on every level. Puzzle's philosophy is that each person's financial needs are unique, therefore the solutions should be too.

"Puzzle advisors help solve pressing issues for clients. If you come in the door as a client, you know that we're agnostic, we're going to strive to find the best solution for you," said Puzzle founder and CEO John Klaas Jr. "We see complex challenges as opportunities and it shows both in our name and in those we work with. From executive to practitioner, our expertise catering to those with specific and complex needs makes us particularly experienced to help you work toward reaching your goals. You hand us the puzzle and we'll hand you a solution."

Klaas and Puzzle President David Millington recently spoke with Mindy Diamond of Diamond Consultants. In this industry-specific podcast, Klaas stated, "Puzzle is not here to be small. Puzzle is here to grow and help the other financial advisors in our industry. Gladstone's doing the same thing. They're trying to allow people to become independent and pool together and create efficiencies with scale. We want to be a solutions group on top of the Gladstone network."

Millington ended the podcast by stating that Puzzle has its sights set on $5 billion. "We want Puzzle to someday have more of a national footprint," sharing that the company is exploring other states such as Florida, Texas, and Colorado.

Listen to the podcast in its entirety here: https://www.diamond-consultants.com/podcast-puzzle-wealth/

ABOUT PUZZLE WEALTH SOLUTIONS

Founded in 2021, Puzzle Wealth Solutions' financial professionals offer advisory services through Gladstone Institutional Advisory, a registered investment advisor. Puzzle is a well-seasoned independent wealth management team working with executives, business owners, and practitioners to solve complex puzzles and create honest, efficient financial solutions. Puzzle CEO John Klaas started in 1988 as a solo practitioner, and the firm has grown into a 12-person team. Now based in Schaumburg, Ill., the Puzzle team focuses on financial planning, estate planning and portfolio management, with an understanding that this important work makes a significant impact in their clients' lives. "We want our clients to trust us like their doctor, attorney or respected family member," Klaas said. "We value what's important to our clients and understand that money is just a tool so they can truly do what's meaningful in their lives." Learn more about Puzzle at http://www.PuzzleWealth.com.

ABOUT GLADSTONE WEALTH PARTNERS

Founded in 2013, Gladstone Wealth Partners was created by advisors, for advisors in order to help them reach their maximum potential when going independent. Gladstone provides the necessary tools for advisors to have a complete independent business to include transition assistance, full-time compliance support, marketing assistance, human resources support, administrative assistance to name a few. Based in Chester, NJ, Gladstone Wealth Partners is a rapidly growing Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) with advisors nationwide. Gladstone helps advisors transition from running a practice to building a business, and ultimately receiving enterprise valuations. Securities are offered through LPL Financial, Member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advice is offered through Gladstone Institutional Advisory, LLC, a registered investment advisor. Gladstone Institutional Advisory, LLC and Puzzle Wealth Partners are separate entities from LPL Financial. Learn more atwww.WhyWouldYouStay.com. Learn more about Gladstone at http://www.GladstoneWealth.com.

ABOUT INSIGHT FINANCIAL PARTNERS

Insight Financial Partners, an advisory firm specializing in the fiduciary support services of employer sponsored retirement plans, collaborates with employer plan sponsors in an independent and objective manner, and is passionately dedicated to serving working Americans who we fundamentally believe they deserve to achieve financial independence and retire with dignity on their own terms. Learn more about http://www.InsightFPllc.com.

ABOUT AZELLA ADVISORS

Founded in 2020, AZELLA Advisors (Azella) uses modern marketing communication strategies to empower established or transitioning independent advisors with the tools they need to succeed. Harnessing over 10 years of experience in marketing, branding, and development in the financial advisory industry, the Azella team has perfected a proven process for driving awareness and growth. The Azella Advisor Method enables advisors to quickly establish credibility and grow their businesses utilizing today's innovative technology solutions coupled with Azella's professional business development insights and marketing advice. Azella's full-service SaaS marketing platform includes automated branding, dynamic website building, AI marketing and matchmaking for financial advisors. Learn more about Azella at http://www.Azella.io.

Puzzle Wealth Solutions, Gladstone, Insight Financial Partners, Azella Advisors and LPL Financial are separate entities.

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Marie Swift or Grace VogelzangImpact Communications, Inc.913-649-5009[emailprotected]

SOURCE Puzzle Wealth Solutions

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Puzzle Wealth Solutions Celebrates One Year Anniversary with Expected Growth to $2 Billion in Assets Under Management by Year End - PR Newswire

The driving curatorial framework is Virginia Woolfs 1929 book, A Room of Ones Own, which outlines how women need financial independence, with their own physical and metaphorical space, to create great work. The exhibition responds to that intersection of creativity, personal space, and agency, and is staged as a series of domestic-style rooms to explore, while acknowledging that womens contributions to architecture go far beyond the domestic.

With the increasing focus on gender and the #MeToo movement, it seems important to do an exhibition addressing women in architecture and their role, both then and now, explains DAC program director Tanya Lindkvist. If we look at Danish history, architects were usually men. We still have a long way to go. Women professors are still underrepresented at our architecture schools, and we still see fewer women leading architecture studios. We need to hold space for this conversation, to raise questions about equality and lack of equality in the field today.

Voices from Denmarks contemporary women architectsincluding Lene Tranberg and Dorte Mandrupare featured in the show, reflecting on their experiences in the profession. But the exhibition also investigates overlooked women in Danish architecture from 1925 to 1975, building on research undertaken by scholars from the University of Copenhagen.

Architect Ragna Grubb (1903-1961), for instance, was one of the first Danish women to open her own architecture studio and became known for her work on social housing. In the exhibition, Grubbs 1935 Womens Building in Copenhagen is celebrated, which brought together women involved in good causes through a hotel, offices, and meeting rooms. Though the show seeks to uncover stories and talents like Grubbs, this is not about individual icons, says Lindkvist. Its about a collective voice from the past that has finally found a place in the present.

The exhibitions three international architects were chosen, Lindkvist explains, to represent distinctively different studios in terms of geographical context and working approach. We asked them, what does a room of ones own look like in 2022?

A Room, You and Us, a series of circular brick structures by Mexican architect Tatiana Bilbao, explores peoples need for spaces with varying levels of privacy. Body & Mind Spa, a geometric wooden installation from Norwegian architect Siv Helene Stangelandco-founder of Helen & Hard Architectsis a meditative, Turkish spa-inspired space for artistic practice, developed in collaboration with Serbian artist Marina Abramovi. The Room, an experimental sculptural installation from Spanish architect Dbora Mesa and her practice Ensamble Studio, deconstructs the idea of a room using paper and cardboard materials to create a folded space reflecting creative and intellectual freedom.

Three individuals are a drop in the ocean of international female architectural talent, and its notable that practitioners from the Asian and African continents are absent. We know we were not able to present everything, Lindkvist acknowledges, noting the original ambition to showcase more international installations. There are very important women architects who are not represented. But this is an exhibition that asks more questions than it delivers answersits a process more than a final work.

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In Copenhagen, a Spotlight is Shone on Overlooked Women in Architecture - Metropolis - Metropolis Magazine

About the author: John J. Brennan is chairman emeritus of Vanguard. He is the former chair of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and trustee and chair of the Financial Accounting Foundation.

Back in the 1990s, I received a phone call from Arthur Levitt, chairman of the SEC. Jack, I need you to serve your country, Levitt said. He then asked if I would consider serving on the board of trustees for the Financial Accounting Foundation.

To be honest, I had never heard of the organization, which appoints and oversees the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the Governmental Accounting Standards Board. Of course, I had heard of the FASB, but even though at the time I led one of the largest investment firms in the world, I didnt fully understand who actually constructed the financial reporting building blocks upon which the capital markets, owners of companies, and providers of capital depend. I was actually embarrassed at that reality.

I quickly realized that what the Financial Accounting Foundation did mattered enormously to the millions of people50 Years of Upholding Capital Markets Integrity at the Financial Accounting Foundationand companiesdependent on capital markets in this country. In reality, we are all so fortunate that people had the foresight to set up the FAF and that its stewards have been so committed to its success since June 30, 1972exactly fifty years ago today.

As someone who has spent a career in the investment business serving millions of large and small investors alike, I know that the ability of firms like Vanguard to put money to work on behalf of individuals and institutions depends absolutely on the integrity of the financial-reporting regime in the United States. And that, in turn, begets immense trust in the integrity of our capital markets.

The bedrock of that reporting regime is U.S. GAAP, or generally accepted accounting principles. While far from perfect, they are universally acknowledged as the gold standard of both inputs and outcomes with respect to financial reporting. Over the decades, the rest of the world has sought to emulate it and to create processes that reflect its best practices.

I can tell you that this broad recognition of the importance of integrity in financial reporting is a truly great thing. But none of us should ever take the integrity of the financial reports we see for granted. The integrity of our financial reporting system must be protected, preserved, and continuously evaluated.

When I had the privilege to chair the FAF, as part of the strategic planning process for our organization, the trustees who oversaw the FASB and the GASB took a step back and asked themselves a simple question: What matters in standard-setting and financial reporting if those processes are to serve their intended purpose in the capital markets and the various government agencies of the United States?

The good news is there was a simple answer: independence and improvement. Its a pretty straightforward articulation of the test that should be applied to what happens at the FAF.

Independence is absolutely critical. The standard-setters must be independent of corporate, political, or other outside pressures and interests. Thats not to say, of course, that they can live in an ivory tower.

Independence in the establishment of accounting and reporting standards was set as a base principle decades ago. The people who established the FASB 50 years ago and the GASB some 15 years later knew exactly what they were doing.

Independence is not a right but a privilege. Its a privilege thats earned through many parts of the process, but the most important, in my view, is by both listening to and hearing the concerns, challenges, opportunities stakeholders present to the FASB and the GASB. Listening and hearing may sound redundant. Trust me, its not. Listening is easy. Hearingand processing the information you hearis harder.

Hearing is also essential to the second fundamental element of financial accounting: continuous improvement. The FASB and GASB have certainly heard their share of criticism over the years, and thats not surprising. Stakeholders dont speak with one voice, and standard-setting decisions may please some while frustrating others. But I dont think that pleasing all stakeholders should be the measure of standard-setting success.

Early in my time as the FAF chair, I conducted a series of listening sessions with constituents. Near the end of each session, Id ask them two questions. First, Do you have confidence in, and value, the boards due process? The universal answer: Absolutely.

Second, Is financial reporting today better than it was five years ago and ten years ago? And the answer was universally: Yes, it is. Even stakeholders who vehemently disagreed with individual FASB or GASB decisions admitted that, overall, financial reporting was better than ever.

As I reflect on the profession in which Ive spent my careerinvesting on behalf of clients, large and small, to create better financial futures, its inarguable that deep, liquid, transparent, and low-cost capital markets are the engine that drives the economy, creates trust in those markets and, yes, allows better futures to be built for people and institutions. Better futures for entrepreneurs who want to take a company public, homeowners seeking affordable financing, citizens who want accountability in state and local government, and workers saving for retirement.

Thats what matters. Thats why it matters. Thats why we should all celebrate 50 years of impact, evolution, and success at the Financial Accounting Foundation.

Guest commentaries like this one are written by authors outside the Barrons and MarketWatch newsroom. They reflect the perspective and opinions of the authors. Submit commentary proposals and other feedback toideas@barrons.com.

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50 Years of Integrity at the Financial Accounting Foundation - Barron's

Joe Bidenmay have oncebragged about hiscooperative relationswith segregationists, but he still arguably owes more to African-American leadership and voters than any politician in recent history. After all, it was black voters who bequeathed him the two critical victories in South Carolina and Georgia that led to his nomination in 2020. Perhaps thats why he promised in his inaugural address to focus on the sting of systemic racism and fight encroaching white supremacy.

Adding action to rhetoric, Biden has embraced brazenly discriminatory policies that Barack Obama would likely have been too savvy to impose openly: special assistance to prospective black homeowners, race-based support for black farmers andblack businesses, and attempts to end inflation by promoting equity in the financial sector through intrusive regulation.

Yet while Biden has placed racialism making race a decisive factor in public decisions at the heart of his political programme, in reality minorities may not prove the Castroite fifth column dreamed up by either the far-Right or their leftist doppelgngers. Minorities are more than genetic constructs; they are people with ambitions, families, and budgets. And sadly, Bidens policies are not making their lives any better.

The inflation his administration deemed first temporary, and only a high class concern, is now destroying small minority-owned businesses and eroding their savings. Indeed, Americas embattled economy seems a crucial reason why minority support for Biden has been failing for months, including among black voters. By contrast, Republicans are building on Trumps surprisingly large share of minority voters in 2020; they command the highest support from Hispanics and African-Americans in recent history. The fall of Roe could impact this, particularly among women, although many Latinos are also devout Catholics and many of them, as well as many black voters, also attend evangelical churches.

Indeed, cultural issues are part reason for the flight of minorities, include racial indoctrination in schools,ineffective law enforcement and questionable gender policies in primary schools enough to spark a boom in home education among Latinos. A similar pattern is emerging among Asian voters, who played a critical role in San Franciscos recall of progressive DA Chesa Boudin this month, and the defeat of progressiveschool board members a few weeks earlier. Similarly, the recent wave of GOP victories inLatino-dominated south Texas has ridden on the embrace of conservative social values and, perhaps most critically, reaction to the chaos unfolding at the border. When the Democrats start losing the Rio Grande Valley, a place they dominated for a century, you know things are changing.

Overall, Bidens racialist focus also runs against a changing demographic reality. When Biden was growing up, African Americans were the primary racial minority. As late as 2005, black people and Latinos constituted 14% of the population. Today, however, the Hispanic population stands at 62 million, far outnumbering the 47 million African Americans. By 2050, according to Pew,the Hispanic population will swell to 30% of the population, more than twice the black share.Asians, meanwhile, will have grown from barely 12 million in 2000 to more than three timesthat number by mid-century. Taken together Asians and Latinos will account for 40%of Americans, and the vast majority of the racial minorities.

In modern America, then, political leaders need to transcend the old black-white paradigm embraced by Biden. Latinos and Asians (as well as a rising population of Africans from the continent or the islands) experienced very different histories than those descended from slaves or those who suffered under Jim Crow. Although many immigrants have also experienced discrimination; they also came here voluntarily to seek out a better life.

Simply put, the rhetoric around race needs to change. Rather than the language shapedby slavery, progressive Americans should instead embrace what those liberals who dominateour publications and airwaves dont realise: that most Americans dont learn about race in college grievanceclasses but by personal, daily experience. They live in a country where salsa outsells ketchup,Modelo is about to surpass Budweiser as the nations top beer brand, and Latin music is the fastest-growing in the country.

Perhaps nothing contradicts the racialist mantra more than the rise in intermarriage, which has soared from barely 5%i n 1980 to 17% today. The notion of America succumbing to encroaching white supremacy seems unlikely when 10% of babies have one white and one non-white parent and 12% of all African-Americans are immigrants from Africa, the Caribbean and elsewhere.

Critically, the geography of diversity is also changing, with potential political implications. As minorities move away from the inner cities, they enter a more integrated, less economically isolate milieu. In the 50 largest metropolitan areas, 44% of residents live in racially and ethnically diverse suburbs. Nationwide, in the 53 metropolitan areas with more than 1,000,000 residents, more than three-quarters of black and Hispanic residents now live in suburban or exurban areas.

Theres also a movement between regions, which is making red states evermore politically influential, as well as diverse. Minorities are leaving the enlightened centres of racialist religion New York, California, Illinois for the red states of the old Confederacy, Texas, Arizona, Utah and even Great Plains. Its not hard to see why: in recent report for the Urban Reform Institute, we found minorities have generally done much better in terms of income and homeownership in deep red areas than in the more loudly anti-racist blue regions. In Atlanta, African American-adjusted median incomes are more than $60,000, compared to $36,000 in San Francisco and $37,000 in Los Angeles. The median income for Latinos in Virginia Beach-Norfolk is $69,000, compared to $43,000 in Los Angeles, $47,000 in San Francisco and $40,000 in New York.

Some on the Right fear, and those on the Left hope, that this movement will drag red states into alignment with migrants from former blue homes. This may be true in terms of abortion or tolerance for Donald Trump, but progressives often forget what motivates people to move. Most minorities, like other people, have more important things to worry about than where they slot into some racialist agenda they want a chance to make a better life for themselves and their families.

So instead of confessional mea culpas about racism and embracing Critical Race Theory, Biden would do well to help these people by focusing on the working-class needs of most Americans. After all,minorities make up over 40% of the nations working class and will constitute the majority by 2032. Without them, our countrys labor shortage and issues with ageing would be far worse. For all that the Left fixate on intersectional theory, few seem to connect the dots between race and class.

Ultimately, racial problems can only be solved by addressing fundamental economic issues facing Americans of all races. Rather than obsess over the original sin of slavery, we need to focus on creating opportunity for all those lacking it. Subsidies and special dispensations can only cover a relative handful of people. But policies favouring entrepreneurship, family-friendly housing, and reshoring industry would create far more lasting positive results, particularly if growth can be steered to distressed parts of the South, the southside of Chicago or the barrios of East Los Angeles, the Bronx, San Antonio, or Fresno.

The key to ending racial antagonism, then, doesnt lie in equity programmes, but in economic growth and opportunity. Unity cant just be conjured out of thin air people need to feel it in their bank accounts first. This wont be achieved through a national campaign of penance, or through boxing the country into a racial zero-sum game. If Biden really cares about Americas minorities, the goal should be simple: to help them to find a road to prosperity and financial independence, along with the rest of the country.

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The cost of Biden's race war - UnHerd

The overturning of Roe v. Wade left an unsettled feeling even in many conservative corners of the country. Relief, completion, and yet, uncertainty. Like we might be at the beginning of something, not at the end.

And one of the reasons I think that it feels precarious, even for a pro-life woman like myself, is that a lot of the energy around overturning Roe has turned punitive for vulnerable women and their children.

A movement grounded in love and life has bedfellows with a more malevolent crew: wielding abortion access as yet another tool of polarization and division and hate, turning fellow citizens into bounty hunters for illegal abortions, chasing down the morning-after pill, calling out abortion tourism and woke corporations in the primetime lineup.

To be sure, the extremism is in the pro-choice movement too: burning down pregnancy clinics, refusing to limit even late term abortions, demonizing proposals such as Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkins 15 week limit (which is closer to Americans preference and the European average than Roes 24-week standard.)

But the philosophical and theological underpinnings of the pro-life cause, built on the innate dignity and value of all humans, requires a more compassionate and constructive approach in the days ahead, especially considering the state in which we find ourselves.

We live in a country thats an international outlier in not supporting new life. Changing this should be the new cause of the pro-life right.

Its often noted but its true: America is the only developed country without paid parental leave. Nearly half of workers dont have job protection following birth, according to an AEI-Brookings study, and three out of four workers dont have access to paid family leave through their employers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Many people refer to the first three months postpartum as the fourth trimester; the mother and baby as interdependent as during pregnancy. Yet here, the pro-life community historically has championed few if any protections. According to a study from Abt Associates, one in four women return to work within two weeks of giving birth. Before theres sufficient healing, bonding, security.

The most impoverished demographic in our country is kids age 5 and younger. We have a safety net for old age, but weve abandoned the young.

High-quality child care options are largely out of reach for many families, resulting in hard choices between work and financial independence or placing a young child in substandard care.

The norm where one parent can stay at home to raise the children is not reality for most. Nearly half of working parents report financial insecurity, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center.

Lack of a support system increasingly appears correlated to abortion itself. The top reasons women cite for an abortion are economic ones. In the most recent survey of abortion patients conducted by the Guttmacher Institute, nearly half of abortions are performed for women living below the poverty line as of 2014 (up from 30% in 1987), and 75% were for women considered poor or low-income.

Its for these reasons that I urge the pro-life movement to expand its vision to supporting women and children after birth in a whole-life ethic. Much of the pro-life community is aligned securely within the Republican Party which, until lately, has not engaged much on early childhood or womens health issues.

Indeed, red states on the front lines of rolling back abortion access tend to be those with the fewest protections for new mothers and their children things like paid parental leave. Changing this backward state of affairs should be where the pro-life cause turns its energy. We are seeing important movement on this front from some on the right, such as Senators Mitt Romney, Mike Lee, Marco Rubio, Joni Ernst, and Bill Cassidy. But we urgently need more.

At the center of Roe is women, not the people on Twitter, championing their respective side, or our mostly male political leadership. The women facing an unplanned pregnancy. Women who dont feel that they have a choice. Women lacking a community of people around them to love them and support them no matter what. Women facing painful options.

Ive had two dilation-and-curettage procedures for miscarriages, coded as abortion on the medical documents. Youre in a gown, trailing an IV pole, and walking into a cold, bright operating room, wearing sticky socks so you dont fall down on the floor. Even in pristine medical settings, its invasive. Its awful. We talk about abortion in the abstract too much, not about what actually happens.

The same with birth, by the way. The stork-carrying-the-baby detracts from the pain, danger, beauty, uncertainty and change in the months to follow. I have three kids. With each birth, I was scared, and thats with a husband, job, house, health insurance, church and family. Many moms dont have these things.

Theres a lot of change needed to be a country that values life and motherhood. Its not just a change in public policy. Pregnancy clinics and churches who no longer need to steer patients away from abortion may well adjust their programming and charity to more robust postpartum and child-based support. We need changes in the narratives we tell ourselves about the value of raising children and our obligations to each other.

The Supreme Courts ruling should serve as a clarion call for all of us to make America a better place to raise children and be a mother than its been for the last half a century.

Especially, for the pro-life movement.

Abby M. McCloskey is an economist and founder of McCloskey Policy LLC. She has advised multiple presidential campaigns. She wrote this column for The Dallas Morning News.

We welcome your thoughts in a letter to the editor. See the guidelines and submit your letter here.

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Pro-life movement must return to its roots - The Dallas Morning News

NEW YORK - Thousands of New Yorkers attended a first-of-its-kind Black Money Forum Sunday at the opulent Kings Theater in Flatbush. Organizers say the goal is to empower Black and Brown people to take control of their finances and build their wealth.

The event was organized, in-part, by the Brooklyn Bank, a nonprofit that aims to foster financial independence in communities of color. Jude Bernard, who founded the organization, says they do this on a much smaller scale all the time, but decided Juneteenth was their chance to expand.

"Just the same way the slave did not know that they were free, there's a lot of people in this country who do not know that they're financially free and they don't know that they have the opportunities to close the wealth gap," he tells CBS2's Hannah Kliger.

The forum was co-sponsored by Stash, a New York-based personal finance company. Erick Smith, the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Senior Manager, says their goal was to get this community to start investing.

"Growing up, right, you never really had this education in schools, and just having that here, in the heart of Brooklyn and during a day like today, it warms my heart," he said.

According to a recent survey of more than 2,000 people, conducted by Stash, Black Americans were struggling more than other groups to manage and grow their wealth. Organizers say Sunday's forum aims to tackle that very disparity.

"Change your relationship with money. Instead of working hard for money, make sure you learn that the right relationship is that money works hard for you," said Ash Cash, host of a financial podcast called "Inside the Vault."

He was among the event's speakers, which also included real estate investors, business owners, career coaches, stock traders, and more.

Audience members say they also came for the networking opportunities.

"Coming to events like this helps you open your mindset, helps you see what's possible, you see what's out there, what's better, what's more," said Brandon Jackson from Ozone Park.

"It's just a beautiful setting," added Tevin Facey. "The amount of people that are here, and especially people of color, trying to learn the information."

The Brooklyn Bank also hosts additional networking events, tax clinics, and giveaways.

Have a story idea or tip in Brooklyn? Email Hannah byCLICKING HERE.

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The Black Money Forum hosts first-ever event on Juneteenth - CBS New York

What You Need to Know

On June 19, the US rightly celebrates the end of slavery on its soil specifically, the day in 1865 when a Union general informed enslaved people in Galveston, Texas of their freedom.

Yet on the federal Juneteenth holiday, Americans must also recognize that the nations movement toward racial equity has been far from smooth or consistent, and that it is yet again under threat.

Time and again, progress has elicited intense backlash that has left Black people even farther behind.

In major league baseball, for example, Black athletes played an important role long before April 15, 1947 now celebrated as Jackie Robinson Day to commemorate the sports integration.

Moses Fleetwood Fleet Walker, for example,playedcatcher for the Toledo Blue Stockings in 1884, more than 60 years before Robinson took the field for the Dodgers.

Yet the hostility of many White fans, players and team owners led the league to ban Black players in 1887. American football has a similarhistory: Black players were stars in the 1920s, banned in 1933 and reintegrated in 1946.

The economy offers numerous examples of such retrograde motion. After emancipation, Black farmers significantly increased their land ownership.

But amid government policies that denied them credit and even deliberately separated them from their land, their holdings declined by more than 70%, from 16 million acres a century ago to less than 5 million acres today a lossvaluedat about $326 billion.

Or consider the Freedmans Savings Bank, chartered by Congress in 1865 to give newly-free Black Americans financial independence. The bank attracted as much as $100 million in deposits with national advertisements touting (nonexistent) federal guarantees, then collapsed after making high-risk loans to politically connected businesses and to friends of its White directors.

It left depositors with only a smallfractionof the compensation that other failed banks provided.

To this day, Black Americans are targeted for wealth destruction, as their greater-than-50%declinein net worth during the 2008 recession demonstrates. They lackaccessto basic financial services, pay morefees, suffer various forms ofpredationand, quite reasonably, have littletrustin financial institutions.

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Juneteenth, a Day for Celebration and Frustration - ThinkAdvisor

The Financial Independence Retire Early (FIRE) movement has been gaining momentum since the 1990s, but increasing numbers of Britons are buying into the idea - and taking steps to make it happen. This was the case for Alan Donegan, 43, and his wife Katie, 38, who made the leap to retire when Katie was 35, having amassed enough money to do so.

Express.co.uk spoke to the couple who split their time between the UK and travelling abroad, as they shared their story from Argentina.

Alan explained his retirement journey started after his father went bankrupt for over 3million, with the family home the only possession secured against it.

Determined not to destroy his finances in the same way, Alan became averse to debt and managed his money extremely carefully.

After a wide range of jobs, Alan started his own business at 28 years old. He met Katie, who worked as an actuary after her degree, and the pair combined their resources and aims to reach financial independence.

Katie explained: We were doing the right habits when we discovered FIRE, and then we discovered the movement and knew it was possible.

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We lived way within our means and saved money where we could. It became a game to us to save money and earn more.

We kept our base costs low, minimal even. We stayed in our small two bedroom flat. Our car was dreadful and maybe we went too far there - when you pulled out at a roundabout there was a moment you feared for your life!

But were of the opinion that you shouldnt spend money on things you dont need or value. But prioritise what does bring you value - for example, we always went on holidays abroad because that was important to us.

The cost of living crisis is hitting Britons hard in the pocket, but for the Donegans, this does not mean the goal of financial independence cannot be worked towards.

Alan said: Its really difficult to save as much at the moment. But its a cycle, and it wont last forever.

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Many people think theyll be good all the time, and then when they hit recession realise they didnt save. Dont do that.

The couple said it is key for Britons to be ready for the bad times, as well as doing what they can to save while times are less tough.

Alan continued: If you start early enough saving little and often, the compounding power is incredible. I truly believe this is possible for anyone. Dont think youll never get there, because youll never try.

There is a piece that if you are trapped in a career that earns nothing, maybe you need to move, maybe you need to consider something which is going to create a bigger gap between income and expenditure.

There is always a way to achieve financial independence. There are so many advantages to getting your finances straight.

The pair were keen to explain the benefits of retiring early, as they can spend more time together and with the people important to them, have new experiences, and travel freely.

However, they both agreed early retirees need a purpose, hence starting the Rebel Finance Schoolto help others with their finances.

Katie said: If you just lie around all day, it can get boring. We work on projects, but we dont have to worry about the monetary aspect of things - of looking for our next pay.

We can just do what is important to us, what lights us up, and what helps the most people. That freedom is very amazing.

We have 1,000 people on our course and we can do that for free because it is the right thing to do. But you cant do that if you have a mortgage to pay, or food to buy.

The couple said normal problems have not disappeared since retiring, but the flexibility to tackle these is a major benefit of having retired early.

But how can people achieve financial independence, and retire early?

Katie commented: You have to increase the gap between your income and expenditure at the most basic level - move jobs, get a promotion, find a raise. It is easier said than done, but if you can do it, thats great.

Most people will spend everything they earn, if they earn more they spend more, but we need to break that link.

Alan stated that once this gap is established, it will be vital for Britons to build an emergency fund for when things go wrong in life.

He continued: Many things can happen in your life that you really need to prepare for. So start with an emergency fund of 1,000 that you can build up over time.

Then pay off expensive debt, which for us is anything over five percent interest. This may take months or even years, but it is worth doing.

At this point, you can then move on to expanding your emergency fund to maybe three months worth of expenses.

Finally, after youve done that, your emergency fund can help you when you start a key step which is to invest. Investing is an incredibly complex world, but really it can be simplified. Look for low cost investments, dont let funds eat up your money for no reason.

Sometimes you may slip back a step, but at least you have a goal.

Read more:

Retirement and me: Possible for anyone! Couple explain how they retired at 35 and 40 - Express

That said, more than half (55%) in Malaysia are planning to retire early, but are unsure if they can the highest figure across Southeast Asia. Such a sentiment was found to be the lowest in Thailand (40%).

Southeast Asians surveyed want to achieve financial independence and retire early (known as 'FIRE'), with more than six in 10 (62%) respondents expecting to retire in their 50s or 60s.

Further, six in 10 (60%) believe retiring early (before their 50s) is "a possibility", but only close to two in 10 (14%) think they are "on track" for early retirement.

These were some findings discovered by data & analytics companyMilieu Insight through its Financial Independent, Retire Early study, which analysed how 1,500 Southeast Asians, aged 18 to 49, across Singapore, Malaysia,Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines, are "aggressively tightening belts, and finding multiple sources of income in order to achieve early financial freedom".

Looking at Malaysia's figures, more than one in 10 (12%) say that they are "on track" for early retirement the same sentiment expressed by respondents in Indonesia (12%). Respondents in Singapore are the least "on track" for early retirement, at 9%, while those in the Philippines are the most "on track" (18%). That said, more than half (55%) in Malaysia are planning to retire early, but are unsure if they can the highest figure across Southeast Asia. Such a sentiment was found to be the lowest in Thailand (40%).

With regard to other metrics, such as "not planning to retire early", Malaysia ranks fifth behind Indonesia at 46%, Thailand at 43%, the Philippines at 40%, and Singapore at 38%.

What then are Southeast Asians doing to reach the early retirement stage? According to report findings, the "most common" strategy deployed is saving regularly (71%). This is followed by financial discipline (63%), and investment (63%), strategies that are also the top five for those in Malaysia trying to reach early retirement.

Finding additional employment is, on the other hand, one of the "much less common" strategies, used by 37% of respondents. That said, this is a strategy that resonates more with those in Thailand (54%). Investment, it was discovered, is also more common among more than half of those in Singapore (56%), and in the Philippines (53%).

"Perhaps due to vast amounts of resources on the Internet, most people are hands-on for retirement planning, with only 31% of those who plan to retire early saying that they have a financial consultant to help plan for retirement," the analysts shared.

At the moment, more than half (57%) of the respondents across Southeast Asia feel "very or somewhat" positive about their journey towards achieving early retirement. It was also revealed that betweenthose who are "on track" for early retirement, and those who are"planning to retire early, but unsure if they can", those in the former group (83%) tend to feel "more positive" about achieving early retirement, while less than half in the latter group (49%)feel "very or somewhat" positive.

ALSO READ:Reminder: Retirement age in Singapore to increase to 63 starting from 1 July 2022

Images / Milieu Insights

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Southeast Asians want to achieve early retirement, with 12% in Malaysia saying they are "on track" - Human Resources Online