Reagan raised taxes 11 times, ran deficits to $3 Trillion
and borrowed to build
Some politicians have a short memory. Reagan did these
things to keep America
What did the Boehner’s House do? They give members a lot of free
time to get election checks from lobbyists—we pay for “no-work” jobs.
Tax Shelter for working people: http://www.amazon.com/Tax-Shelter-Young-Americans/dp/1500426520
Self-employed can deduct almost everything
Consider a singer or other artist. Artists can claim that it’s
crucial to network with other people in the business—producers and musicians
around the country. That can mean that hotel or airfare is deductible, but not
drinking in the back of the city’s priciest club. Anyway, it can be impossible to get entertainers to keep
track of their expenses. “Everybody’s doing everything in cash,” a CPA
said. “The record- keeping is not that great.” Stars’ income can be as fickle
as their fans, they claim, so they don’t know how much to pay the IRS in
advance of December 31. This can cause a penalty. You can avoid this penalty if
you either owe less than
$1,000 or if you paid at least 90% of the tax for the current year or 100%
of the tax shown on the return for the prior year, whichever is smaller.
Pay no tax in retirement: http://www.amazon.com/Tax-FREE-Retirement-code-lifetime-income/dp/1475206976
Turbo Tax blames customers for lack of security
Customer password
re-use was a major cause of a spike this tax season in fraudulent state tax
refund requests, Intuit said. The increase in phony state refund requests
prompted several state revenue departments to complain to their state attorneys
general. In response, TurboTax temporarily halted all state
filings while it investigated claims of a possible breach. The company
resumed state filing shortly after that pause, saying it could find no evidence
that customers’ TurboTax credentials had been stolen from its network. BEWARE: IRS
does NOT use email or telephone.
Use an IRS-approved efile program: http://apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile/jsp/index.jsp?ck
Average American income by age, gender
Since Reagan his white middle-class supporters have actually
lost income to the wealthy. The wealthy use compounding—their money doubles
every 6 years--$10 mil becomes $20 mil in 6 years. All the productivity gains
from computers since the ‘90s have gone up NOT down. Average
income adjusted for inflation is flat--$30,000.
Is portfolio rebalancing right for you?
Almost every broker/advisor tells you to sell when your stocks are soaring and buy when they are not in order to maintain your 60/40 or 80/20 asset allocation. However, Campbell Harvey, Duke, found in his research that “investors need to understand that rote rebalancing is an active investment decision that increases risk.” In an up market, you are selling soaring stocks, “all of a sudden your portfolio has done worse than if you had just let it run.”
Almost every broker/advisor tells you to sell when your stocks are soaring and buy when they are not in order to maintain your 60/40 or 80/20 asset allocation. However, Campbell Harvey, Duke, found in his research that “investors need to understand that rote rebalancing is an active investment decision that increases risk.” In an up market, you are selling soaring stocks, “all of a sudden your portfolio has done worse than if you had just let it run.”
You do better without Wall Street: http://www.amazon.com/Wealth-Without-Wall-Street-Commissions/dp/1442168137
Caring for a parent can be costly—deduct costs from taxes
Tax deductions are available for family members who provide
care for an aging parent. As a caregiver, you may be eligible for tax breaks for taking care of an
elderly person, if you and the elderly member meet certain requirements.
To make it easier to figure out which tax breaks are
available Tom Breedlove, Household Tax Expert, offered tips for family members
providing elder care: http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2015/02/19/tax-breaks-available-for-adults-caring-for-parents/
If you are 5 years from retirement, consider your options
for steady income:
There is no settled answer on how to be sure you will have enough in retirement. Each person will have needs at different times during the period of no work. A little planning can ease the anxiety and help beef up your financials for that day when you can’t or don’t work for money. Only you know the right answer to yourself: http://www.amazon.com/Will-You-Have-Enough-retirement/dp/1477594086
There is no settled answer on how to be sure you will have enough in retirement. Each person will have needs at different times during the period of no work. A little planning can ease the anxiety and help beef up your financials for that day when you can’t or don’t work for money. Only you know the right answer to yourself: http://www.amazon.com/Will-You-Have-Enough-retirement/dp/1477594086
Warren Buffett’s advice for the future
“The unconventional, but inescapable, conclusion to be drawn
from the past fifty years is that it has been far safer to invest
in a diversified collection of American businesses than to invest in
securities – Treasuries, for example – whose values have been tied to American
currency. … it is almost certain to be
repeated during the next century.” “Investors – large and small – should
read Jack Bogle’s The Little Book of
Common Sense Investing.”
Buffett’s retirement income portfolio has just 2 Vanguard
funds: http://www.amazon.com/Warren-Buffetts-Vanguard-Funds-Retirement/dp/1496148592
Vanguard funds at top of top 401k fund choices
31
Vanguard funds are the overwhelming choice for low-cost high-earning
nest-egg builders. Saving for retirement could not be easier than the
Target-date funds which controls the stock/bond mix throughout your whole
working life. One fund investing with automatic contributions from your
paycheck. Nothing easier and you don’t have to pay commission. Vanguard is
user-owned—no expensive CEOs and management airplanes. Warren Buffett
recommends this strategy:
Banks are gambling with our money again
Our banking system has increased the use of interest rate
gambling to $223
trillion. When rates change, will banks lose capital again? Credit Unions
may be safer. Large credit unions do not require special memberships but offer
great rates (2.27% 5yrCD). The CEO does not
take all the profits so you earn more. Most have the same FDIC backing and may
not have trouble in another Wall Street near-collapse—no derivatives. Find one
near you: http://www.culookup.com/
Buy direct and save: http://www.amazon.com/Insiders-Guides-Discount-Financial-Services/dp/143480593X
Banks act immorally!
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen lashed out at the culture
in the nation's biggest banks on Tuesday saying "there may be pervasive shortcomings in the values of large
financial firms that might undermine their safety and soundness." In a
speech in New York City , Yellen,
who as head of the Federal Reserve is the nation's leading bank supervisor,
said that the Fed expects banks to follow the law and act ethically. "Too
often in recent years, bankers at large institutions have not done so,
sometimes brazenly," she said.
Premiums double for long-term care insurance
“I was mad as hell,” says Arthur Mueller, an 83-year-old
former real estate executive who lives in Dallas .
Over the past 15 years, his annual Genworth premium has roughly doubled to
$6,879. There’s no quick or easy fix for Genworth after disclosing an accounting
weakness this week.
Consider the alternatives: http://www.amazon.com/Long-term-Care-Insurance-Updated-Edition/dp/148274001X
GOP crazies
SHELLHAMMER: “But maybe he's [Santa] only a little crazy
like painters or composers or some of those men in Washington
House ruled by Teas as anti-government. Aren’t they
anarchists? Anarchism holds the government to be undesirable,
unnecessary, or harmful.
Trump is running again
“Well, it’s not fun. I’m not doing this for enjoyment. I’m
doing this because the
country is in serious trouble.” [And my show’s ratings are down.]
With Giuliani or Cruz as VP, they can’t lose.
Wasn’t Trump born in Queens
land Canada
and Giuliani in Italy .
Giuliani
and Palin
revere Russian Stalinist Putin but now quiet after Putin
kills his critic Nemtsov. Nemtsov had proof of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine .
Oops.
Is it smart for GOP to get foreign leader to try to
influence our foreign policy as Boehner just did? Did DEMs have Ho Chi Minh Vietnam ’s
leader speak to Congress while Nixon was negotiating in Paris
in 1973?
DEM crazies
Bernie Sanders says with 99 percent of new income going to
the top 1 percent, he has laid out plans to reduce income inequality in America .
He told The Wall Street Journal he’s fighting for a fair tax system that asks
the wealthy and large corporations to pay their fair share. He would raise the
minimum wage and end wage discrimination against women. To create millions
of good-paying jobs, he proposed a $1 trillion investment in rebuilding our
nation’s crumbling infrastructure. We spend $700 billion to fight the world
each year.
C’ mon
Bernie! Congress will not even fund our homeland security let alone borrow at
current low interest to rebuild America
and create construction/manufacturing jobs like we did after WWII. It is not
possible now even though Reagan
raised taxes to rebuild US.
ObamaCare tax statement wrong but Obama doesn’t care
If you filed your tax return with the ACA form you received
and a new corrected one shows you owe more payback for your insurance advance, skip
it. If the IRS owes you more, you can file an amended return. http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040x.pdf
Tax code needs to be efficient, fair and simple—Ron Reagan
Can Congress, paid for by lobbyists, actually live by
Reagan’s rules? “During his effort, Reagan
emphasized three principles for tax reform: efficiency, fairness and
simplicity.” Sen Hatch (R-UT) said, “I’ve
made no secret that I believe these same principles – along with a handful of
others – should guide our current reform efforts.” Last week his Finance
Committee had a hearing on efficiency and growth. And Hatch said a hearing on
simplicity will be coming in the future.
If everyone including businesses with income over $100,000
paid 15%, the US could pay down debt and have enough to rebuild American
schools, roads, bridges, etc, etc. We have one form and no exceptions no matter
where you call headquarters.
If Costco can afford to pay $20/hour, why not Walmart, Kohl,
Target, etc?
Management and CEO
pay may influence worker pay but ideology seems to be the main reason. All
these firms could pay a living wage but they don’t want to. They all say that “Our
employees are our most valuable asset,” yet they don’t act it. A report
from As You Sow analyzing the pay packages of 100 corporate CEOs found that
compensation has grown
nearly 1000 percent over the past four decades and that there is no
correlation between CEO pay and corporate performance.
If the minimum wage had kept up with productivity and the
income gains of the top 1% since 1968, it would be $18 - $31. Our economy
depends on worker spending.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Working-Millionaire-Self-insure-Self-fund/dp/1460945484
Sandy victims still waiting for coverage they paid for
A growing number of New York
and New Jersey homeowners have
accused insurers of rejecting or underpaying flood-insurance claims based on
falsified engineering reports. Insurers were caught doing the same thing to Katrina
victims. Amica Mutual ranked highest in overall satisfaction for a fourth
consecutive year, in J.D. Power's “2015 Property Claims Satisfaction
Study.”
Buy quality for less: http://www.amazon.com/Homeowners-Insurance-Beware-Coverage-Policy/dp/1480100870
First picture of light as wave AND particle taken
For the first time, Einstein’s theory
of light is overturned by proof of quantum theory—light is both wave and
particle—at the same time. Einstein
thought light was a particle –photon—and ACTED as a wave. It is both.
SCAMS Why are
we still
paying $700 Billion a year for WWII
deployments? That is 27
cents of each dollar in taxes—the largest part of our money—and we aren’t
even at war. We could pay off our debts and fix our schools, roads and
bridges!
We are paying for 164,253 of our active-duty armed personnel
to be in 150 countries around the world. We have about 50,000 in Japan Germany
Are we preparing for WWII again? There are 1,208,083[1] armed
personnel in the United States .
Our taxes pay for about HALF of the WORLD’s military expenditures
every year. We have wasted $398.6 billion
so far on the F-35 program—they can’t
fly safely.
We just can’t afford to pay for everyone else’s defenses
anymore.
Japan, Germany and S.
Korea can pay for their own defenses.
The War
on Terror requires SEALS’ attacks on top terrorists at their homes. Iraq
proved converting a nation to Western-style republic doesn’t work. Our trained
troops ran away.
SEC warns of scam
All “prime bank” investment programs are fraudulent.
Promoters of prime bank programs often claim that investors’ funds will be
used to buy and trade supposed prime bank instruments, and that investors will
receive guaranteed, high investment returns with little or no risk. http://investor.gov/news-alerts/investor-alerts/investor-alert-prime-bank-investments-are-scams#.VNtxFzZOlD8
Most popular senior scams: http://www.bankrate.com/finance/retirement/fraud-5-scams-aimed-at-the-elderly-1.aspx
IAN
41 Watchung Plaza, B242
973.746.2014
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