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Tax Day 2013 From National Priorities Project
On April 15, 2013, your federal income tax return is due to the IRS. Ever wondered where all that money goes? Here's how the federal government spent each one of your income tax dollars in 2012: Tax dollars are collected by the federal government and apportioned by Congress in the federal budget to fund various governmental programs. Any portion of the budget that exceeds tax revenue is funded by government borrowing. A large part of the budget goes towards the same governmental programs every year, making the approximate percentage of the budget used on those programs easy to predict. DefenseApproximately 20 percent of the federal budget is spent on defense and security. Most of that 20 percent is for the Department of Defense, which covers the cost of military operations, troop training, equipment, and weapons research. Defense and security spending also includes funding for the Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration. Social SecuritySocial Security accounts for roughly 20 percent of the budget. It provides benefits to workers who have paid into the system and have reached an established retirement age. Additionally, Social Security pays benefits to disabled workers who can no longer work or have limited income and resources. It also pays survivor benefits to the spouses and children of workers who have died. Health careMedicare, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and Medicaid account for another 20 percent of the federal budget. Almost two-thirds of the 20 percent is spent on Medicare. Medicare provides health coverage to people older than 64, and to those with disabilities that leave them unable to work. The CHIP and Medicaid programs pay health care costs for those who meet low-income guidelines. Public assistance and interest paymentsRoughly 14 percent of the budget provides assistance to families and individuals in need. This includes refundable tax credits, Supplemental Security Income, food stamps, low-income housing and free school meals. Additionally, some of the tax money pays down interest payments on the national debt, the money borrowed by the federal government to pay its expenses. In recent history, interest on the national debt has taken almost 10 percent of the annual budget. The rest of the moneyThe remaining part of the budget provides for a variety of programs, such as benefits for retired veterans and federal employees, investments in scientific and medical research, international aid, and infrastructure such as federal roads and airports.
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List Your Military Reunion on the RAUS Website for Free
The USS Philippine Sea Association
The veterans of the USS PHILIPPINE SEA - "the most-decorated" aircraft carrier of the Korean war will meet:
Where:
| CROWN PLAZA Hotel in Jacksonville, Florida | When: | October 24th thru October 29th, 2013 | Eligibility: | Anyone, including U.S. Marine Corps, Air Groups and Squadrons, who ever served in any capacity onboard PHIL SEA from 1946 - her commissioning date until 1958 when she was decommissioned. | Contact: |
USS PHILIPPINE SEA ASSOCIATION P.O. Box 496412 Port Charlotte, FL 33949-6412 (941) 743-5460
philsea@embarqmail.com www.philsea.org |
Contact us to send reunion information. Include dates of reunion, website link (if any), location of reunion, who is invited, additional information about the reunion, and contact information. Just go to our website at www.raushome.com and click on the Communications button
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Renew Memberships Online
At the request of our members, RAUS is pleased to provide the ability to renew their membership online and pay by credit or debit card. Just go to our website at www.raushome.com and click on the Online Dues Renewal button. If you are considering converting to a Lifetime Membership, click on the Membership button and select Life Membership.
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RAUS Member Benefits
RAUS members enjoy discounts and perks, self-help and financial calculators, time-savings and educational resources, along with TRICARE Supplement, CHAMPVA Supplement and other insurance products. Here are just a few of the available benefits. DiscountsRAUS offers members-only insurance products plus substantial discounts on technology products, travel & other discounts. NewsletterRetired Times has produced a newsletter since 1970. The newsletter is provided to RAUS association members without charge. Non-members may subscribe to the newsletter for $25 per year. InsuranceRAUS offers three different supplement plans to meet the health insurance needs of our members. Since our members needs vary, one plan is not enough to meet the need. Member CommunicationsRAUS provides members diverse sources of communications to improve information dissemination. Some examples include Reunion Announcements, Photo Exchange and the newsletter, Retired Times. EducationResources are provided to aid RAUS members in obtaining education, financial aid and self-help. Read more RAUS Member Benefits
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What Is Tax Freedom Day 2013?
From Nerdwallet.com
Last year Tax Freedom Day fell on April 17, 2012 but we don't yet know when it will fall in 2013. The Tax Foundation officially defines this day as "the day when the nation as a whole has earned enough money to pay off its total tax bill for the year."
We don't know the exact date for this year, but many people are predicting that this year's Tax Freedom Day will occur later in the year - perhaps even in May - due to the impending expiration of tax cuts and the 2% jump in social security taxes. The Tax Foundation will make its prediction at the end of March, so we'll just have to wait and see.
What does Tax Freedom Day mean for working Americans, and why does it matter? Have you ever wondered how many workdays it takes you to pay off all of your taxes (state, federal, sales, etc.) for the year? Or rather, how many days - theoretically - you need to work in order to start earning money that is entirely your own? The answer might surprise you. On average, you typically spend three to four months working to pay off all of your tax burdens. And if placed concurrently in the calendar year, the day your taxes are paid off and you start working burden-free would most likely arrive somewhere in the month of April. Though unfortunately not a work holiday, this precise day is calculated each year and is appropriately named Tax Freedom Day.
How is Tax Freedom Day Calculated? In the United States, Tax Freedom Day is calculated by the D.C.-based research organization, the Tax Foundation. Their approximation takes into consideration the tax burdens of the country as a whole, calculating every dollar on both the state and federal level that can be counted as a tax (reported by the Bureau of Economic Analysis), including Medicare and excise taxes. These tax collection totals are divided by every dollar considered income in the United States, and the remaining percentage is applied to the calendar. Assuming the average workday is eight hours long, a date can be determined in which the total tax debts are paid off.
Read full article.
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Keep Us Accurate
To be sure your benefits are properly recorded, please advise the association when you change your name or address. If you receive inaccurate membership cards or other correspondence, we want to know. We do not mind reissuing membership cards. |
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Four Things You Should Know about Getting HealthierFrom Taking Charge of Your Health
1. Exercising can add five years to your life...
Most research now agrees that active people live longer than their sedentary counterparts. The reasons for this are fairly straightforward: exercise boosts your immune system, makes you happier, and reduces your risk for a plethora of health conditions, such as cancer, heart disease, hypertension, and stroke. Despite this encouraging evidence, less than half of Americans meet the national physical activity guidelines of 150 minutes a week. But new research indicating that regular exercise may increase your life span up to five years could be the boost that most people need to start moving. Scientists examined data from several national health surveys and found an interesting link between regular physical activity and mortality. For each hour of vigorous physical activity during adulthood some people gain an extra 6.4 hours of life! So the more you move, the longer you live-let that be your mantra on the treadmill.
2. ...and yes, short bursts of exercise count.
A recent cross-sectional survey of over 6,300 individuals suggests that people who engage in smaller bursts of physical activity (less than 10 minutes) several times a day may be just as healthy as people who hit the gym for 30 minutes after work. According to the study, those who had an active lifestyle but not a formal "workout" practice had the same blood pressure, triglyceride levels, and other health-related measures as those who worked out for half an hour at a time. This is great news for people who want to be healthier but struggle to find time to go to the gym every day. Try parking your car ten minutes away from work and walking the difference, climbing the stairs instead of riding the elevator, or taking a moonlit stroll with your family in lieu of watching television. These little changes in your day can help ensure that even when you can't get to the gym, you're giving your body what it needs to stay healthy.
3. Sleep is crucial.
Sleep is considered by many to be one of the most important aspects of health-"more important than food," argued a recent article in the Harvard Business Review! This is because our quality of sleep directly affects so many other parts of our well being: our mood, energy levels, appetite, and even our risk for diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and colon cancer. So it's crucial to develop good "sleep hygiene" and ensure that adequate sleep (researchers say 7-9 hours a night for most adults) becomes a part of your daily routine. Another interesting factor to consider is how our relationships affect sleep. A survey of over 3,000 people found associations between strained familial relationships or low social/emotional support and insufficient sleep. So nurture your relationships, and practice forgiveness and tolerance with the people you spend most of your time with-the benefits will reach far beyond your interactions with others and begin to affect the way you feel every day.
4. Self-compassion can make healthy habits stick.
When trying to implement healthier habits, like participating in more physical activity or kicking a sugary-soda addiction, most people take a tough-love approach-an uncompromising attitude that results in guilt and self-flagellation at the first slip-up. Sound effective? Definitely not, says professor and researcher Kristin Neff, who proposes a gentler alternative: treating yourself with the kindness you would show others. Self-compassion is far more successful in implementing healthy behavior change because it provides stable motivation and support: "The reason you don't let your children eat five big tubs of ice cream is because you care about them," says Dr. Neff. "With self-compassion...you do what's healthy for you rather than what's harmful to you." So turn your attention to the reason you want to improve your health-because you want to feel better and because, ultimately, you care about yourself-rather than admonishing yourself for not reaching your goals in time. By accepting even your mistakes and imperfections along the way, you have a better chance of creating the lifestyle you've always wanted
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Membership Dues
AGE RANGE | LIFE DUES | 40 or less | $325 | 41 to 45 | $300 | 46 to 50 | $275 | 51 to 55 | $250 | 56 to 60 | $225 | 61 to 65 | $200 | 66 to 70 | $175 | 70 and up | $100 |
Annual dues are $10 per year. Discounts apply for multiple year memberships: 3 years for $25 and 5 years for $40. Like memberships are available based on the age of the member at the time of the Life conversion. A Life Membership is exempt of dues increase and covers both the member and the spouse. |
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About RAUS
We are a non-political military association organized in 1970 to secure quality benefits for our members at rates only available to groups. Qualified retired and active members of the United States armed forces and related departments may join.
Membership benefits include discounts and perks, self-help and financial calculators, time-savings and educational resources, along with TRICARE Supplement, CHAMPVA Supplement and other insurance products.
RAUS is partnering with other organizations to establish a long term win-win relationship based on mutual benefits and information available to military families.
For more information, visit our website at www.raushome.com.
RAUS Eligible Defense Departments
* AIR FORCE * ARMY * MARINES * NAVY * NATIONAL GUARD *
* COAST GUARD * NOAA * CIVIL AIR PATROL *
* PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE * COASTAL & GEODETIC SURVEY *
* ACTIVE & RETIRED * OFFICERS & ENLISTED *
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Sincerely,
DONALD T. RUCK, President Retired Association for the Uniformed Services, Inc. Back To Top |
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