MA loves universal coverage despite what Romney says
Universal coverage, including an individual mandate, has evidently not hurt the Massachusetts
The Tea party hates the mandate until they go to the
hospital. Most Tea people are for Medicare—the single payer mandate.
This is the GOP plan. “Live free and pay through the nose”
AFTER you get sick?
FSA may become “use-it and use-it” not "use-it-or-lose
it"
Flexible spending account owners forfeit any unused
balances. The "use-it-or-lose it" rule was initially put in place to
keep highly-paid workers from abusing the program by deferring taxes on large
amounts of salary, essentially using the program as a tax shelter. In 2013,
however, the maximum FSA contribution will be limited to $2,500, which
invalidates the original purpose of the rule. While the fate of the House
legislation is uncertain, the IRS is also looking at the possibility of lifting
the FSA "use-it-or-lose-it" rule. This account is used to pay any
out-of-pocket medical expenses not covered.
RomneyCare is what we already have—millions without
insurance
At a rally, he said he would prevent people with pre-existing
medical conditions with a history of health coverage from losing their
insurance. Doesn’t say how. Romney
said he would also press for more private insurance options for senior citizens
from Medicare and help states address the needs of an estimated 50 million
uninsured Americans by freeing up federal funds from the national Medicaid
program for the poor. "It's important for us, in my view, to make sure
that every American has access to good healthcare," he said while offering
few details on his proposals.
We have access now, we
just can’t afford it. Romney can’t understand the situation because he can
fire his insurer and get another one. Actually he is self-insured with $200
million in offshore banks he can afford to pay $2 mil out of pocket.
Do you really need life insurance later in life?
Sellers claim that you need to buy life insurance for three
reasons. 1. Protect your family from loss of income if you die prematurely. 2.
Estate taxes must be paid and you would have to sell something to pay the tax
in 9 months. 3. Funerals are expensive. Only one of these is a legit reason and
you don’t need to pay for the expensive permanent life insurance to take care
of your family. Term coverage is cheap and takes care of reason #1.
Estate taxes begin after you have $5.12 million in assets.
If you and your spouse title assets equally, you have no worries for $10
million. If you have that kind of money, there are many solutions that cost
less than insurance. #3 can be taken care of with many of the same solutions.
Few people need to buy expensive insurance for funerals. The premium is more
than you can accumulate in any low-cost mutual fund. Besides you can specify
how you want your funeral handled and plan for the costs. You might even give
your body to science so someone else might be helped instead of having family
cry over your body and then ‘store’ it under ground.
Members use our Insiders Guide: http://www.amazon.com/Insiders-Guides-Discount-Financial-Services/dp/143480593X/
How much are you paying your 401k or regular mutual fund’s
directors?
These wealthy people meet 4 times a year and some take home
$260,000 a year each! That is all they do for you. They are usually picked by
the management company so they don’t really get to live up to their
job—Stewardship. They are supposed to be on your side when it comes to keeping
fees down and keep the manager honest. They get paid for being a rubber stamp,
let’s face it. If they really did what you paid them for, they would not allow
managers to do the things they have done—pay for bad performance and give
special deals to big investors. The directors get to stay as long as the
manager wants their votes. Even the Supreme Court has seen that directors
“cannot, as a practical matter, sever its relationship with the advisor.” http://www.mpiweb.com/content/view/71/
Stop paying for expensive managers and their friends’
$260,000 club. The costs are not shown on your statement. If your money earns
5%, you only get 3.5%. And they get raises every year so you end up paying
about 40% of your total nest egg for nothing. Member avoid the high-cost funds:
http://www.amazon.com/Wealth-Without-Wall-Street-Commissions/dp/1442168137
Is talking to your car really worth all the problems?
Ford thinks it is. Ford hit the [near] bottom of the list of
J.D. Power & Associates annual Initial Quality Survey of new-vehicle
owners. You have to reboot your Ford
now. Jaguar (India’s Tata) finally got
it together and improved from 20th to 2nd. Lexus is 1st
with Honda family 5th. So if you can do without the distraction of a
computer screen in your face, you might find a value—quality at right price—in
a regular ride. Yes, people actually yell at their car when it doesn’t
understand English. Duh. That’s what people are for.
http://autos.yahoo.com/blogs/motoramic/key-car-quality-study-ranks-software-bugs-most-170243393.html
Will Social Security benefits grow in future?
Falling housing prices, diminished 401(k) accounts, and the
growing number of adult children returning home are among the factors leading
two thirds (65%) of Americans aged 48-60 to believe that they will have to work
beyond the age of 65. If we work after age 65, we will add to the credits of
our SS benefits. We also can make sure we can afford health care. We can build
our own “lifestyle” security and not have to worry about government benefits.
We have enough time to do it: http://www.amazon.com/Forget-Social-Security-Medicare-Lifestyle/dp/1466394285
CA wants to give workers, without 401k, a pension run by
private managers
Supporters say employers just don’t want to deal with
pensions. There are 7 million workers who don’t have access to a plan at work. Under the bill passed by the Senate,
employees would defer 3% of their salary into the plan unless they opted out.
Employers could make matching contributions. The plan would guarantee a minimum
return tied to the 30-year Treasury bond rate. (Vanguard’s VUSTX= 9%) Industry
groups are fighting the bill even though they would be the recipients of $
millions in fees.
Is a reverse mortgage right for you?
This expensive way to get cash out of your house may be your
only alternative. It assumes you have equity and few other assets. However,
before you make this decision, study your alternatives. RM is expensive—just
like a regular mortgage. RM is an investment for the bank so they are NOT
likely to give you a break on fees or rate. RM is usually irreversible. Yes,
your family can buy your house back from the bank when you pass, but again, it
is on the bank’s terms. The alternatives include home equity line of credit. In
these low interest times, you can pay 3.24% on $200,000 with no fees. Some
allow interest only payments. $200K in a balanced fund might earn 7% and you
don’t even touch the principal. Or, you could sell your house to the kids for
monthly income or to pay off debts. Some people have rented out a room to gain
income. Others have moved to a smaller place and lived on the rental income
from the old. RM does not allow this flexibility. An outright sale provides
cash to rent or downsize. RM makes little sense with cheaper alternatives.
Socialism for the rich—Hungry will have to rely on charity
A New York
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., will offer an amendment to
the new farm bill that the Senate could vote on as early as Tuesday. The farm
bill, which is of particular importance in Minnesota and other Farm Belt
states, contains an expansion of the
crop insurance program designed to make up for the elimination of direct
payments to farmers.
Gillibrand said on Monday that the Congressional Budget
Office has estimated that food stamp
cuts currently in the farm bill would take away an average of $90 per month in payments to nearly half a million households.
Will lobbyists or the poor win? Lobbyists won—Agribusiness got more!
Did you ever wonder how Mr Romney paid less than 15% tax on
his $21 million income last year? Warren Buffett says he doesn’t hide his
wealth in offshore accounts like Romney and pays only 17%. You can reduce your
state and federal taxes too. Law Steeple, one of our Insiders, shows you how.
Tax-FREE Retirement: Use the tax code for lifetime income free of tax
SCAMS “Only
the little people pay taxes.” Leona Helmsley
“nonprofit” Insurers sit on $1 billion while sick go without
insurance
WA Premera Blue Cross and Regence BlueShield each now have
surpluses of more than $1 billion, according to their most recent filings for
the three months that ended in March, The Associated Press reported. The annual
double-digit increases in premiums over the past several years have forced
employers to pass on more of the costs to employees or stop offering insurance
as a benefit. The cost of individual health policies in Washington
CA insured to get
refunds—Travelers charged wrong rates?
Insurer Travelers
Companies will pay $10.5 million in refunds and penalties for violations.
Travelers will refund $9 million to customers and pay a $1.5 million fine for
violations in the first six months of 2006, the state said. Examiners looked at nearly 1,300 policies and found
about 220 errors, mostly related to improper underwriting or the improper
application of rates.
BoA Merrill caught overcharging customers since 2003
Merrill will pay fine and reimburse $32 million to 95,000
customers. Time to move your account?
Oracle's Larry Ellison just bought a Hawaiian island. He
paid $600 million; no tax. He has $36 Billion
left.
IAN
41 Watchung Plaza, B242
973.746.2014
Alerts available at http://dankeppel.blogspot.com/
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