Simple Living Works! Blog
Posted on: March 17, 2022
3/15/22 — eNews #126
Lent and Taxes
Ironically, Easter and the tax deadline fall next to each other in 2022 — 4/15 and 17. Just like the four weeks of Advent prepare Christians for the Christmas season (which begins Dec. 25) and help us guard against the onslaught of hyperconsumerism, so the six weeks of Lenten introspection can help us to avoid overconsumption.
I have published several blogs and podcast episodes about Lent and Taxes which may be helpful. Hear colleague Susan Vogt’s tips on an alternative Lent on episodes *Episode 39: Susan Vogt + LENT // *Episode 90: Author, blogger, speaker, coach Susan Vogt on her Lenten disciple of ‘Love Your Enemy’
Since half of every federal tax dollar goes to the military, we must equip ourselves to give more money to humanitarian causes and legally pay fewer taxes. Two techniques that work for me are BUNCHING (for anyone) and QCD’s (for those over 70 who have traditional, non-ROTH IRA’s). Read more about these at Simpler Living Weekly Nudge 10/15/19–eNews #97: A New Way to Avoid the Military/War Tax. // Simpler Living Weekly Nudge 12/7/18: Year-end Giving under the New Tax Laws // Taxing Negatives @ http://simpleliving.startlogic.com/indexoth.php?place=archives/News/MemUpd2001Summer.php#TaxingNegatives // Waging Peace at Tax Time // Episode 67: redmoonsong, simple living war tax resister with NWTRCC
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Watch live online Mon., 4/11/22, 12noon EDT
Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions
Comparing the Palestinian BDS Movement and Global Sanctions on Russia
In 2005, Palestinian civil society organizations put out a call for Boycott of, Divestment from, and Sanction of Israel (BDS). Premised on “the simple principle that Palestinians are entitled to the same rights as the rest of humanity,” proponents of BDS took as a model the work of Black South African activists who mobilized economic sanctions against the apartheid regime.
Now, the United States is working with the European Union and other countries to impose broad, economy-wide sanctions on Russia in response to President Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Join movement leaders from Palestine, South Africa, and the United States, for an online discussion about sanctions as a tool of social movement.
How does the Palestinian-led demand for BDS differ from the sanctions imposed on Russia? What are the shared characteristics of these various sanctions? When are sanctions a tool for justice, and when are they an instrument of violence?
Taking as a shared principle solidarity with all who face injustice, from Ukraine to Yemen to Palestine, participants will clarify the tactic of BDS, and explore areas of consensus and non-consensus within the BDS movement.
Participants will include:
- Omar Barghouti, co-founder of the BDS movement
- Lara Kiswani, Executive Director of the Arab Resource and Organizing Center
- Olivia Katbi, North America coordinator for the BDS movement
- Ronnie Kasrils, former South African government minister and leading member of the African National Congress during the apartheid era
This event is co-sponsored by In These Times and Jewish Currents. You can read the Palestinian BDS National Committee’s statement about this topic here.
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TUES., 5/10/22, 9-10 AM PDT
Dirt Road Revival: A Discussion with Chloe Maxmin and Canyon Woodward
Dirt Road Revival: A Discussion with Chloe Maxmin and Canyon Woodward
How to Rebuild Rural Politics and Why Our Future Depends on It.
Event by Beacon Press and The Nation Magazine
Public · Anyone on or off Facebook
Join us for a virtual discussion of Chloe Maxmin and Canyon Woodward’s “Dirt Road Revival” with The Nation.
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Jerry, you may be interested to know that I’m running for Governor in Md. as a bread and roses socialist, with “the Simpler Living Option” at the heart of the campaign. see: SegalforGovernor.org also BreadandRoses.us
best,
Jerome Segal
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Thur., 3/17/22, 4-5pm PDT
Dollar for Dollar NOW: From Pay Equity to Paid Leave, The Push for Economic Justice
Online event
Event by National Organization for Women (NOW)
Public · Anyone on or off Facebook
In society, money is equated with financial freedom: a freedom currently denied to women in drastic ways. Women face gender discrimination in the workplace, imbalance of responsibilities in the home, lack access to care infrastructure like childcare and family leave benefits, plus many other barriers that put them at high-risk for financial insecurity.
Women are also more likely to face poverty than their male counterparts; in fact, women continue to have higher poverty rates than men in every age category as women still only make 82 cents on the dollar according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This disparity is even worse for women of color.
The COVID-19 pandemic has augmented the harsh economic experiences that countless women face in the United States, illustrating why lawmakers must address such inequities quickly and efficiently. December 2020 marked unprecedented rates of job losses and illustrated that the fallout from the pandemic is far from over. Women had been the group hardest hit with job losses since the start of the pandemic: with women making up 55% of net job losses, summing 12.2 million jobs lost in April 2020. On top of that women, especially women of color, took on the most essential jobs during the pandemic, working in healthcare, childcare, restaurant/service and the domestic worker industries, which were the hardest hit during the pandemic.
Even though we are seeing some gains in 2021, the job losses that took place in two years are not outliers in the American labor landscape. These losses are emblematic of the larger issue: women’s economic security continues to be precarious. We invite NOW members and ally activists to join us for this important conversation as we continue our efforts to ensure economic justice for women. Come learn from our expert panelists on next steps we can take to create meaningful change.
Equal pay is a life-or-death issue for women—we can no longer wait for economic justice.
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Recent Simpler OneEarth Living Podcast Episodes
Ep. 0122–Chuck Collins on the Industry That Protects Wealth and How It Hurts Everyone
Ep. 1221–Della Duncan, Renegade Economist, Tells about Doughnut Economics and Other Economic Models Being Put to Work
Ep. 1121–Lauren Van Ham: Radical Inter-religious Cooperation Is Working to Save Life on Our Planet
Ep. 1021–Encuentro–A U.S./Mexico Conversation on Living the Alternative Worldview We Call OneEarth Jubilee
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NEW in ’22–All of SLW! and OneEarth Jubilee Economics’ 250+ podcast episodes will be offered–one at a time in the Daily Nudge. If you do not already receive the weekly email that links to the Daily Nudges, subscribe for free by sending NUDGE to SimpleLivingWorks@yahoo.com.
Free Simpler Living Nudges Enhanced
Different Theme each month! Different Focus each week! No ads! Unsubscribe anytime!
You’re invited to receive FREE Daily Simpler Living Nudges. Simply reply “NUDGE” to this email or send “NUDGE” to SimpleLivingWorks@yahoo.com. You will receive a weekly email with a link to the week’s Nudges. Read one a day or once a week—at your own pace.
Each Nudge contains a brief idea for simplifying our lives + plus, in 2022, one or two links to other helpful free information, including a podcast episode from the Simpler Living OneEarth collection.
Your personal information will not be sold, loaned or traded. Simple Living Works! does not solicit nor accept donations. This new subscription will not affect your status with any other SLW! publication.
Please join us now for Simpler Living Nudges Enhanced!
NOTE: Our Simpler OneEarth Living Podcast is currently on pause. Lee Van Ham has begun a new BLOG — Let’s Think and Act Jubilee — which is included in the NUDGE.
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Page Turners Book Club
Saving Us: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World By Katharine Hayhoe
Date: Thur., 3/24
Time: 4pm ET/1pm PT
A Canadian climate scientist living in Texas, Hayhoe is teaching others how to do one of the most important things we can to address climate change—talk about it! Recently named Chief scientist for the Nature Conservancy, Hayhoe is familiar with all sides of the climate conversation but knows facts are only one side of the story.
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Voluntary Simplicity
- Tue., 2/22/22 – Tue., 3/29/22, 1-2:30 PM PST
- Pace e Bene Online Course
$80, scholarships available
From Gandhi to Thoreau to Thich Nhat Hanh to Wally and Juanita Nelson, voluntary simplicity runs through the heart of nonviolence. In this 6-week course, we will examine how—and why—simplifying our lives supports nonviolence as a way of life. Each week, we will look at a different aspect of simplicity, distinguishing it from involuntary poverty, and reconnecting it to respectful relationships with people and planet. We will explore our stuff and consumerism, transportation and fossil fuels, technology and mindfulness, busy-ness and overcommitment. We will also address how voluntary simplicity is an act of resistance to the many violences inherent in our economy, society and culture, and the war industry. To integrate voluntary simplicity into our lives, we will look at sharing practices, the role of community and connection, ways to unpack fears and attachments, and mindfulness and awareness skills. Along the journey, we will draw from examples of nonviolence practitioners from around the world and find inspiration from many spiritual traditions.
Week One: Voluntary Simplicity, An Expression of Nonviolence
Week Two: How Much Is Enough? Taking Stock With Honesty
Week Three: A Cup Of Sugar – Community Not Consumerism
Week Four: One Robe, One Bowl – Spiritual Traditions
Week Five: Simplicity As An Act of Resistance
Week Six: The Gifts & The Joys
Need a scholarship? Just email Erin: info(at)paceebene.org
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NEW for ’22 — More Streamlined. For previous blogs, visit the Archives Index
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Invitation to Read and Sign OneEarth Jubilee Covenant for the 2020’s
Latest OneEarth Jubilee monthly eNewsletter. Well worth a read.
NEW Jubilee Blog — Let’s Think & Act Jubilee
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Worthwhile Blogs, Webinars, Podcasts
What Could Possibly Go Right? with Vicki Robin // Patheos–Progressive Christian // Jesus for Everyone // Crazy Town // Imagine with Us (SpiritualProgressives.org, Tikkiun.org) // Hopecast with Jane Goodall
Peace Podcast from John Dear on Apple and Google. Author of ‘They Will Inherit the Earth: Peace and NonViolence in a Time of Climate Change’ — SLW! #114: Part 1 // TCGP #98: Part 2
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Simpler Living Daily Nudges
Month 3*: Global Justice—Week 1 Language || Week 2: Hunger & Homelessness || Week 3: Peace/Non-Violence || Week 4: Advocacy/Boycotts
Month 4*: Earth Care–Voluntary Simplicity Life Principle #5: Cherish the Natural Order–Week 1 Water || Week 2: Energy || Week 3: Chemicals & Waste || Week 4: Consumables
Send “Nudge” to SimpleLivingWorks@yahoo.com to receive a free, brief email each week. You can unsubscribe at any time by replying Unsubscribe Nudge.
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- SLW! Blog Index | SLW! Podcast Index
- SUBSCRIBE to SLW! Blog. Click “+Follow” at lower right of blog post, enter a name and email address. Welcome!
- Non-Conform-Freely Celebrations: Months 1-4
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DONATE to our partner organization: https://oneearthjubilee.com/support-oneearth-jubilee/
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Solving the Climate Crisis with No-Growth Economics
To get a worldview very different from the greed and profit-oriented politicians and corporatists, visit these solution-oriented resources:
- GrowthBusters
- Post-Carbon Institute / CrazyTown Podcast — SLW! Ep. 109: Richard Heinberg
- CASSE: Center for the Advancement of the Steady-State Economy / Steady-Stater Podcast — The Common Good Podcast Ep. 46–Brian Czech (use player)
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We protect ourselves from Climate Crisis deniers, through such series as:
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- Why We Podcast–We truly believe in the missions of SLW! and Jubilee OneEarth Economics! The mainstream corporate media — left, right or center — exist to sell us more stuff. Though we are only the tiniest whisper, we cannot stop offering an honest alternative to that MultiEarth message. There is no Planet B. Here’s a list of worthwhile media. And even more.
- Our Daily Simpler Living Nudge — What It Is / How It Works / How to GET It – Subscribe by sending NUDGE to SimpleLivingWorks@yahoo.com. / How to SHARE It
- Previews of Simple Living Blogs, Podcasts and Sites // Collaborators & Champions
- Publications–The complete SLW! Quarterly Digest on the SLW! site features the latest posts from colleague organizations and is updated weekly. Simpler Living Monthly eNews features offerings from SLW! It comes as your free subscription to SLW! Blog. Daily Nudges come by email (send NUDGE to SimpleLivingworks@yahoo.com) or by Twitter @GeraldIversen. Choose the options that work for you.
You can access all SLW! podcast audio and the show notes at SimpleLivingWorks.org (then click window #3). Complete Episode Index. Listen through your computer, iPod, iPad, iPhone (or equivalent). SUBSCRIBE as Simple Living Works! through iTunes, Stitcher.com or your favorite podcast service. To SUBSCRIBE to email notices, click Comments at the bottom of Show Notes, then check ‘Notify me of new posts by email.’ Please rate us in iTunes and leave a review. Send us your email address to receive the free monthly SLW! eNews. Remember to like us on Facebook. Urge your friends to do the same. Do your friends a favor. Share our blog and podcast. Like SLW! on Facebook. | Follow us on Twitter. | Follow us on Pinterest. Share your thoughts on our podcast and blogs. Email SimpleLivingWorks@yahoo.com, leave a message on our Facebook page or on the SLW! blog.
Peace, Gerald “Jerry” Iversen, Chief SLW! Activist
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