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Savings Are a Starting Point on the Road to Riches
Written by Mario Ritter

I’m Barbara Klein with the VOA Special English Economics Report.

 
 
Saving money is a first step toward wealth.  Putting money away for the future also supports the banking system.  Banks need a supply of savings to provide money for loans. 

In the United States, people who want to start a savings have many choices.  Banks, savings-and-loans and credit unions are traditional places to open an account. 

Credit unions are cooperatives for people who are linked in some way.  For example, the members may work for a university or a government agency.  Most credit unions are non-profit organizations. 

Savings are protected up to a limit if a federally guaranteed bank, savings association or credit union ever fails.  Savers have their money guaranteed up to one hundred thousand dollars. 

Banks and other financial organizations pay interest on savings accounts.  But the interest rates are low.  Certificates of deposit are another way to save.  They pay higher interest rates. 

With a certificate of deposit, a person agrees not to withdraw an amount of money for a period of time.  The term could be three months, or it could be several years.  Longer terms, and larger amounts, pay higher interest.  People can withdraw their money early but at a cost.  

Another way to save is through a money market fund.  This is a kind of mutual fund.  Mutual funds invest money from many people.  Money market funds pay higher interest than savings accounts.  The money is usually placed in short-term government securities.  Money market funds, however, may not be federally guaranteed like other kinds of savings.

In a number of countries, including the United States, people have been saving less and less.  The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is a group of thirty industrial countries.  A report from the O.E.C.D. shows that in nineteen ninety Americans had a household savings rate of seven percent. 

This year, it is expected to be one-half of one percent.  That is below the other members except Australia, Denmark and New Zealand.  Next year, though, Americans are expected to save more than one percent of unspent earnings.  

In Japan, the second largest economy, the savings rate in nineteen ninety was fourteen percent.  The estimate for this year and next is five percent.

This VOA Special English Economics Report was written by Mario Ritter.  Our reports are online at voaspecialenglish.com.  I'm Barbara Klein.

Michelle Shocked: So Much to Sing, It Takes Three Records
Written by Dana Demange, Lawan Davis and Caty Weaver

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HOST: Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC, in VOA Special English.

I'm Doug Johnson.  On our show this week:

Music from Michele Shocked …

A question from a listener about the Reverend Billy Graham …

And a report about a new owner of a professional basketball team.

New Mystics Owner

 
 
HOST: The Women’s National Basketball Association is in its ninth season.  One team is excited about a new member of its organization.  Faith Lapidus tells us more.

FAITH LAPIDUS: Sheila Johnson recently became the first African-American woman to own a Women’s National Basketball Association team.  She shares in the ownership of the Washington Mystics.

Miz Johnson joined an ownership group that bought the team.  She also shares in the ownership of two other professional sports teams in Washington, D.C. -- the Washington Wizards men’s basketball team and the Washington Capitals hockey team.  Miz Johnson is believed to be the only black woman to have ownership of three professional sports teams.   Sheila Johnson will serve as the Mystics president and managing partner.  She also will represent the Mystics at board of governor meetings. 

The Washington Mystics joined the Women’s National Basketball Association in nineteen ninety-seven.  Abe and Irene Pollin founded the team.  Mister Pollin also is majority owner of the National Basketball Association’s Washington Wizards.  Mister Pollin has known Sheila Johnson for twenty years.  He chose her to share in ownership of the team.  Mister Pollin says she is the best person to guide the team.

Sheila Johnson is also a very successful businesswoman.  She and her former husband, Bob Johnson, started Black Entertainment Television in nineteen eighty.   It was the first cable television network aimed at African-American viewers.  They sold the company in nineteen ninety-seven.

Miz Johnson is also president of the Washington International Horse Show.  She has given millions of dollars to many aid organizations, including schools and programs to support children’s art education.

Sheila Johnson says she is excited to work with the women of the Washington Mystics.  She praised their abilities as athletes and as women.

Billy Graham

 
 
HOST: Our VOA listener question this week comes from Mannur, India.  C.V.S. Prasad wants to know about the Reverend Billy Graham.

Billy Graham is probably the most famous religious leader in America.  He is an Evangelistic Christian. He considers the Christian holy book, the Bible, as exact truth and the word of God. 

Billy Graham was born in nineteen eighteen.  He was raised on a farm in North Carolina.  Graham says he was sixteen when he decided that he would surrender his life to Jesus Christ. 

He studied to be a Christian church leader at Florida Bible Institute, graduating in nineteen forty. He began giving religious talks on the streets and in small churches before he even became a minister.

Graham also got a degree from Wheaton College in Illinois in nineteen forty-three.  That same year he married Ruth Bell, another Wheaton student. 

Billy Graham says his one purpose in life is to help people find a personal relationship with God.  He says he believes this comes through knowing Christ.

This was his purpose when he launched his first major Christian event in Los Angeles, California in nineteen forty-nine.  He called it an Evangelistic Crusade.  It brought fame to Mister Graham and to his Christian campaign.  Similar events followed the next year in London and New York City. Tens of thousands of people attended to hear Mister Graham speak.

Over the years, Billy Graham has spoken to an estimated two hundred million people around the world. He has gained many awards and honors. Presidents and other important officials have sought his advice.  He has appeared at national events, like presidential inaugurations, to lead prayers. Mister Graham also has used television and radio in his evangelical effort.  And, he has written books and made movies to spread his message.

Ruth and Billy Graham have five children.  One of them, Franklin, is following in his father’s steps as a national Christian leader. 

Billy Graham is now eighty-six.  He has Parkinson’s disease and prostate cancer.  In June, he held another three-day Evangelistic Crusade in a park in New York City. More than seventy thousand people attended each day.  He said it would be his last event in the United States.  He said he knew he was coming to the end of his ministry and his life.

Michelle Shocked

 
 
Not every musician releases three albums at the same time.  Singer Michelle Shocked has done just that with her new album set called “Threesome.” Barbara Klein tells us more about this special performer.

BARBARA KLEIN: Michelle Shocked is not your average musician. She plays many kinds of songs, from blues and rock to gospel and country music. She not only sings these songs, but also writes them and plays the guitar.  Shocked is also very politically active. She likes to express her beliefs about women’s rights and spirituality. She believes that the power of music can change the world.

Michelle Shocked often tells about herself in her music. In one of the three new albums, “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,” she sings about the pleasures and pains of love.  This song is called “How You Play the Game.”

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Another of the new albums is called “Mexican Standoff.” Here, Shocked mixes musical traditions. She combines the sounds of her native state of Texas with the sounds of Latino music.   She even sings in Spanish.  Here is one example, “La Cantina el Gato Negro.”

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The third album is called “Got No Strings.”  Shocked takes several well known songs from Walt Disney movies and performs them with a country music sound. We leave you now as Michelle Shocked performs “A Dream Is a Wish.”

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HOST: I'm Doug Johnson.  I hope you enjoyed our program.

This show was written by Dana Demange, Lawan Davis and Caty Weaver, who also was our producer. 

Join us again next week for AMERICAN MOSAIC, VOA’s radio magazine in Special English.

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