Friday, May 1, 2015

Taxes just paid give Boeing greater profits

The taxes you just paid financed Boeing’s most profitable business
Boeing’s $2.72 billion revenue was made possible because our taxes were used to finance sales to wealthy desert dictators. We pay for the “The Bank of Boeing,” as it is called by those who think this “bastion of corporate welfare” must be shut down. Boeing pays about $2.7 million to our “representatives” to keep this “welfare queen” in business. Right-wing power groups ousted Eric Cantor in part for supporting this big business subsidy. Like the oil, gas and farm subsidies, the Ex-Im bank was set up to spur prosperity last century. In this new age, politicians are learning that many groups don’t like giving their tax dollars for corporate tax-FREE profits.

Your pension fund is still falling behind despite market surge
The funded status of the 100 largest corporate pensions dropped by $6 billion in March, increasing the deficit to $349 billion, according to the Milliman 100 Pension Funding Index. The stock market hit new highs recently yet pension funding is going south. What happens when markets reset? If you are 5-10 years from retirement, now is the time to act. Use your tax refund to build a tax-FREE Wealth Reserve so you have enough.

Many employers unaware of their retirement plan liability
Thirty-seven percent of plan sponsors are unaware they are fiduciaries to their workplace-sponsored retirement plans, according to research by AllianceBernstein, but 82% of those surveyed said fiduciary matters are important or very important to them. Employers that include target-date funds in their retirement plans are more likely to be aware of their fiduciary role. Nearly half of plan sponsors don’t take advantage of the safe-harbor protections that come with offering a qualified default investment alternative. Employers must provide options that are best for us not them—low-cost well diversified funds. Low-earning money funds are NOT safe options for retirement. Retirement account balances reached a record high $91,800 in the first quarter of 2015, and more than 1 million people increased their contributions. 

Investors moving away from broken Wall Street system—DIY winning
Affluent Americans are now not only diversifying their portfolios, they are also diversifying their brokers, with one-in-three households with greater than $100,000 in investable assets adding a new financial services firm relationship in 2014. The study, "Market Measures: Reach, Share & Other 'Store' Success Measures," surprised researchers when it showed that self-service brokerage firms are popular with the affluent set, reaching 70 percent of households with at least $500,000 in investable assets, compared with just over 40 percent for full-service firms. “It’s astonishing the self-service competitive set has deeper reach into investors with $500,000-plus, engaging more affluent investors than the full-service competitive set.

DEM crazies
Bernie Sanders, Senator, left-leaning and has no chance! Bernie has no money. He has a voting record that most working Americans would agree with but most politicians don’t. He favors a 30% tax rate on millionaires. Crazy! He did get Congress to clean up the VA. Bernie makes Hillary look centrist and gives her someone to talk to during the primary debates. He just introduced a bill to stop corporations from sheltering income overseas in the Cayman Islands and other tax havens to avoid paying U.S. taxes. The legislation also would end tax breaks for companies that ship jobs and factories overseas.
“At a time when we have a $18.2 trillion national debt and an unsustainable federal deficit; at a time when many of the largest corporations in America are paying no federal income taxes; and at a time when corporate profits are at an all-time high, it is past time for corporate America to pay their fair share in taxes so that we can create the millions of jobs this country needs,” Sanders said at a Capitol news conference.
Bernie, you know this bill will never pass the “millionaire Congress.”

GOP crazies
Will HALF of American voters vote to cancel $100 a month health care? Will they vote to extend age for Social Security and Medicare benefits? Will they really vote to send their kids back to Iraq and Iran to be killed in an oil war? Will they vote to allow states to sanction discrimination based on someone’s religious beliefs? Will they vote to delay fixing our bridges and roads and all other infrastructure until it falls down just so the rich can have more millions? Is Cruz crazy to blame the 2007-8 meltdown on Obama? 
Are these the ways we to make America great?

GOP backers want war?
All of the GOP candidates want to scrub the peace talks—some want war with Iran—and so do their backers. Some are meeting with deep pockets like Sheldon Adelson, who dropped over $92 million for the 2012 circus, and whose hawkish protection views are echoed by party members. Is it possible that our next military venture will be the reward for certain campaign contributions? Could we waste another $3 Trillion because of a new fake-WMD-type scare from the ideological right? President Cheney did it once.

GOP runner Christie hates pot but state needs revenue
Atlantic City gambling has been replaced by online gambling to raise taxes. However, Christie could use the extra pot taxes to replace the $9 billion he gave back to EXXON. Poor management and Wall Street tricks won’t fix the state’s pension shortfall. Property taxes are the highest in the nation. Even the low gas tax should be revised. Christie could sell his helicopter and stop traveling to raise money for the GOP. His sidekick, Weinstein has made a deal so now we may find out about Christie’s BridgeGate.

ObamaCare plans may help more patients get better care
Health insurance plans purchased through public health care exchanges often generate levels of member satisfaction higher than plans obtained through employers, according to a J.D. Power study. One main reason people shopping through the marketplaces are more satisfied is the choice and clear features of plans available. That compares with an employer plan, where choices are often made by the employer and are usually few and more expensive. Agents earn commission on the costs of plans.


Your small homeowners’ insurance claims can mean cancellation
Small claims on your policy means a money loser to insurers and they will cancel. Since the average big claim is 1 in 38 years, you may lose coverage if you file for amounts less than a full disaster. When you file a claim and it is denied, your claim is still counted against you. Fix small claims on your own and DON’T even call your agent/insurer—they enter it in your cancel file. This is not intuitive (“we paid premiums for 20 years and haven’t asked for a dime”) but insurers see you as an accident waiting to happen.
Buy a HIGH-deductible policy only; save premiums for repairs: http://www.amazon.com/Homeowners-Insurance-Beware-Coverage-Policy/dp/1480100870

Is a simple target-date mutual fund right for you?
According to the TIAA-CREF Investment Options Survey, nearly 40% of Americans say they are not familiar with the investment options in their retirement plan. A target-date fund simplifies your decision. The mutual fund manager picks the right balance of stocks and bonds depending on how long you have until you need the money. At not-for-profit firms like TIAA and Vanguard, you pay low fees and thus earn more over time. You may end up with twice as much for retirement since you paid less for great diversification.

How much is your broker/advisor worth paying? Do they give refunds?
Most professionals must provide their costs and contingencies up front. If you are not satisfied, you insist they make it right. You know if the job is done right because you give them a guideline or goal or deadline. My house exterior gets painted with good paint by June 30. I check the work as they go. I hold back final payment until the paint is dry and it has rained. I have a guarantee for 4 years.
What if my broker/advisor does not even match market growth and/or protect the downside? Do you realize what it is like to get your money back using the required arbitration method? By law, I can’t even pick the arbitrators—they work for the broker. We would be better off with a professional fortune teller according to much research.

Workers say they want guaranteed retirement income but few buy it
Eighty-nine percent of employees surveyed by BlackRock in 2012 said they would like their plan sponsor to provide them with income generating options in their retirement plan. Yet research from Towers Watson finds when such an option is offered to retiring participants, the lifetime income distribution is chosen by less than 5%. Workers fear high cost, hidden rules and no escape.



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 and 50,000 in 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 to defend themselves.
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. The troops we trained ran away. We are wasting $4 billion a year on Afgan tribal rivalries; paying ransom to Al Qaeda; supporting corruption with our money.

US govt destroys our justice system credibility
Of 28 examiners with the FBI Laboratory’s microscopic hair comparison unit, 26 overstated forensic matches in ways that favored prosecutors in more than 95 percent of the 268 trials reviewed so far.  … and justice for all?
Can America avoid repeating Rome's mistakes of the 4th-5th C?

IRS won’t help finding which ID thieves stole from you—protecting ID thieves’ privacy?
You find out your tax return refund was already claimed by a thief. You ask the IRS for help in securing your ID. IRS says NO. IRS rules encourage its workers to keep a tight grip on the bad returns. Employees face felony charges for giving out private details -- including, possibly, those of the identity thieves -- to those who aren’t authorized. The old “privacy law” excuse to protect the criminals.
It is your tax money at work, or not!

Regions bank owes you money for overcharging you
Today the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) took action against Regions Bank for charging overdraft fees to consumers who had not opted-in for overdraft coverage. The bank also charged overdraft and non-sufficient funds fees on its deposit advance product despite claims that it would not. Regions has already refunded hundreds of thousands of consumers approximately $49 million in fees, and the consent order requires the bank to fully refund all remaining consumers. The Bureau also fined the company $7.5 million for its illegal actions. 


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