Step 1: Dig hole in sand. Step 2: Bend over and insert head. As the fight over raising the debt ceiling rages on the rhetoric becomes more inflexible - and stupid! Recently Congressional leadership on the Democratic side of the aisle proclaimed entitlement programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid have nothing to do [...]
It may not be Roe v. Wade or Brown v. Board of Education but Roth v. Roth is bound to make history. Hyperbole you say? Of course it is. You try making finance interesting! By now we're familiar with how our 401(k) plans operate and much has been written about the pros/cons of Traditional v. Roth IRAs but the [...]
Here's what's making the rounds on Capitol Hill: Taxes: Representative Jan Schakowsky (Democrat - Illinois) introduced HR 1124 - a measure that, if enacted, would institute new and higher income tax brackets for Americans earning more than $1 million. Those earning between $1 million and $10 million would pay a confiscatory 45% while those making $1 billion [...]
This is how the world of finance sees us - at least some of the folks who provide "solutions" for us. Their view is that most of us are so woefully ignorant of financial issues that we are too ill-prepared to make decisions affecting our retirement. What's more we're apparently not just unwilling to become [...]
A wonderful opinion piece appeared on Bloomberg a couple of days ago with an interesting perspective on entitlements and how to pay for them. It's a quick read worthy of a couple of minutes out of the day. Click here to read the op-ed.
"You know, I didn't just heed what I was taught, men and women should be together, it's the natural way, that kind of thing. I'm not with you because of what family, society, life tried to instill in me from day one. The way the world is - how seldom it is that you meet [...]
"Have you ever heard a joke so many times you've forgotten why it's funny? And then you hear it again and suddenly it's new. You remember why you loved it in the first place." These are the words of William Bloom - a character in the 2003 film Big Fish directed by Tim Burton and adapted from [...]
No Income Tax: In a bill that has a snowball's chance in hell of becoming law the Fair Tax Act of 2011 introduced by Rep. Rob Woodall (R-Georgia) seeks to abolish the IRS and the Federal income tax. The proposed replacement is a national sales tax that would be administered by the states. The bill [...]
TAX CREDIT FOR CHARITABLE DONATIONS: A bill that would provide tax credits for charitable contributions has been stalled in the House since its introduction earlier this year. HR 4702 would let taxpayers take a credit of up to $1,000 for charitable contributions or opt for an itemized deduction. The bill has remained idle in the [...]
Receiving Social Security benefits? Expecting a Cost of Living Adjustment? Don't hold your breath. For the second straight year the Social Security Administration determined inflation has been too low warrant an increase. Read more here. (Link has been removed from Yahoo! News)