Friday, December 25, 2015

Did your “representatives” give YOU a tax break?

Did your “representatives” give you tax breaks like those for the wealthy?
GOP says that the package of tax breaks “will grow our economy and help American taxpayers keep more of their hard-earned dollars” while providing “certainty to American taxpayers.” This is the old “trickle down” strategy. Business got research and development tax credit and heavy machine deduction to $500,000. A business can deduct 50% of new equipment and vehicles in 2016. They got many other tax breaks.

Succeed in this angry American decade
Many Americans are angry with their situation just like during the 30’s Depression. Leaders are competing for support by driving wedges between us. We are unhappy that our labor intensive jobs have flown. We are unhappy that we are stuck with wages that don’t increase with our productivity. The wealthy now own 90% of assets. 20% of children live in poverty. Our middle-class is shrinking while new entrepreneurs make a fortune overnight. America has swung to its individualistic right. The trust of an earlier period of the American Dream for all is shrinking fast. Demagogues appear in times like these because they offer simple solutions—target one group and control the angry mob as leader. Leadership in one man (usually) allows power to corrupt absolutely. But in our short history, we have voted for a Teddy to breakup corporate power and FDR to fight right-wing extremists overseas. Most of us do not like giving all the power to one person like our ancestors did.
A new poll shows that the majority of us do NOT feel comfortable with a group hater as President. We prefer a positive hopeful future for all of us even if it isn’t possible.

27% student loans owed by seniors are in default—Solution?
The amount of education debt held by people 65 and older has risen from $2.8 billion in 2005 to $18.2 billion in 2013. Gov guarantees the loans and lenders can collect our Social Security benefits FOREVER. There is no time limit and no bankruptcy discharge. Bankruptcy judges have said that to get education loans wiped away, borrowers must show their entire lives would otherwise be characterized by a “certainty of hopelessness” or that repaying the debt “strips [the debtor] of all that makes life worth living.” Federal rules allowing education debt collectors to auto-dial borrowers’ cell phones. Parents become indentured servants for life. See discharge process: https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/forgiveness-cancellation


Why are women better investors than men?
New survey says men lost 1.8% while women only 1.4% in 2015. They become rich faster than men now. Over time, both would be better off NOT trading the study shows. Trading assumes we know or we think our broker/advisor knows what will happen in the future. Greed and fear are Wall Street’s tricks to separate us from our money like fortune tellers. Buffett says his holding period is forever. 257 hedge funds closed this quarter because they lost so much money. The record is clear: earn 3.79% with managed account or 11.06% with index funds. If we just held the whole market and didn’t try to time the ups and downs, we could earn 10-12% a year. This is the record you could have:
2014    13.80%
2013    32.43
2012    15.88
2011      2.07
2010    14.87

Why let your broker/advisor take 2/3rd of your returns?
You put up the money and take all the risks. You should earn the full amount of return the market provides. Your broker has no special information or technical tools to win or they would own their own management fund. As a sales person, their job is to sell you for a profit, just like all salesmen. Successful investing is about putting your money to work not playing poker or the slots. It takes a lifetime to build a successful business. Why would investing be any different? Let your money work and compound for you. Over time your $250 a month compounds to $1 million. Earn 11% not 3.69%:

Which vehicles last at least 10 years?
Sad but true that all 10 have foreign labels but are made by American workers. American management seems to have hard time managing the process of making reliable cars. Perhaps their top brass does not stay long enough in the job or wants more money or wants to build a corporate empire or run the company into bankruptcy or sale in order to cancel labor contracts or run up the stock price by cutting R&D so the options have more value or retire with a $1 million pension while cutting everyone else’s pension and health care benefits. It is amazing that the best cars are made by the management that takes the fewest rewards. Bottom of the reliability scores: Jeep, Dodge, Ford, Chrysler
Compare management of Chrysler now Fiat, GM now new GM, to Toyota and Honda.

Does our President need to be rational and truthful?

Cruz on budget: "It was Republican leadership playing Santa Claus to the lobbyists”
Trump: “while I hate some journalists, “I’d never kill them.”
            “There is no proof Vladimir Putin has killed enemies or journalists.”
            Putin is a “strong leader” Putin thinks Trump is “brilliant”
Clinton: “Trump is ISIS best recruiter” No comment on Trump vulgarity—IA take note.
            “I will shut below average schools
Christie: "does anybody really care if Hillary apologizes to Donald or vice versa”?
Carson: “I never saw a body with bullet holes more devastating than taking the right to             arm ourselves away.” Carson never lost a child in gun fire.
Jeb: “I am more comfortable ranking lower in the polls because it means less scrutiny.
Graham: I told them how to fight ISIL so now I’m done.
Sanders: “Sad reality is Wall Street regulates the Fed.” Fed ready to bail them out again.

New poll: Americans oppose Donald Trump’s plan to ban all Muslims from coming to the country by a more than 2:1 margin (66 percent to 27 percent). The partisan divide on the issue, however, is sharp. Democrats would accept Syrian refugees (74-22) while Republicans (82-13) and independents (51-42) would ban them. All three groups oppose barring all Muslims: Dems (79-18); Republicans (51-41) and independents (67-22). A majority (55 percent) of Americans believe domestic extremists are a bigger threat than foreign radicals, while 55 percent think Islam is a peaceful religion. Americans also support (50-42) sending ground troops to fight ISIS.

Regulators are the only protection we have since we can’t sue anymore
            “It is nearly impossible for one individual to take on a corporation with vast resources.”
               Supremes stop us from suing—State courts no longer available to sue corporations!
Lisa Lewis, former Fidelity broker, caught check-kiting from client accounts.
Olympus Corp’s duodenoscopes found to kill 21 patients but not disclosed to anyone.
LifeLock caught (AGAIN) promising what nobody can deliver—ID security
VA revokes 25 state’s gun permits to fugitives, stalkers and drug dealers, etc.
Wall Street could lose $19 billions if Fiduciary Rule to protect us becomes law. Currently             savers are losing $ billions with high fees and bad sales practices.
Honda air bags kill 9: why do we leave testing to the companies themselves?



We need regulation—GOP is wrong—companies would not fix bad products on own

Is a SBLOC right for you?
Securities-Backed Lines of Credit are being marketed by your broker/advisor but regulators are concerned that when your portfolio loses value, you may have problems with repayments. Your loan may be called at any time so the extra capital may not be worth the risk especially if you are using assets you expect to grow long term. On the other hand, if you have a sure thing—an investment you know will perform (?) and you pledge a small part of your portfolio, the low fixed interest rate on these loans may be perfect. Compare a 15 month 0% balance transfer loan from your credit card. A variable rate SBLOC may add another level of risk not worth taking.

Future of computers, internet and work?
Many are already doing everything online on their smartphones, so why pay for home broadband or landlines? Cable firms have a problem. Where will we do work if we are already on call from employers via phone. If all major computing is done in cloud, why keep data on separate drives? We won’t need a wallet or purse for creds/info. Work will be running machines that actually do the physical stuff except personal services like plumbers, electricians and movers. Most of us find answers online now—diagnose illness, home and car repairs/problems/purchase, work issues. We buy almost everything online from Amazon, et al so retail stores become rare treat. What change is next?
Already, some create their own financial system to produce tax-FREE income: http://www.amazon.com/Create-Your-Tax-FREE-Financial-System/dp/1466367466


HOW CONGRESS WASTES OUR TAX DOLLARS
Special Inspector General John F. Sopko has spent years documenting waste, fraud and abuse in the U.S. military’s efforts to rebuild war-torn Afghanistan. We have spent $110 billion on reconstruction projects in Afghanistan. When adjusted for inflation, that total exceeds the value of the entire Marshall Plan effort to rebuild Western Europe, WWII.
=More than $8 billion in spending on counter-narcotics efforts in Afghanistan that have “failed by every conceivable metric. Afgans grow poppies like we grow corn.
=The purchase of nearly $500 million worth of airplanes that never could fly and had to be turned into scrap.
=Construction of a building that literally began to melt when it rained.
A $500,000 health clinic that lacked water and electricity. Newborn babies had to be washed in a nearby dirty river.
= Biden promised an additional $190 million to fight corruption in Ukraine's law-enforcement and reform the justice sector. 
=Navy's new $362 million ship broke down and had to be towed--lasted three weeks.
=VA keeps paying managers found guilty of retaliation on workers who complained.
=federal workers, who will get a 1.3 percent raise in 2016 but NOT for SS recipients???
=$400 million for new FBI HQ in VA or MD.
=IRS stopped from limiting political gifts from non-profits so rich can buy more votes.
= Military-industrial got biggest bump. For the first time since Cold War, contractors are sending tanks, fighting vehicles and heavy weapons to several Baltic and eastern European countries. Europe can’t defend itself? Putin responds with more nuclear weapons. We have 50,000 ‘active’ military that can’t deploy but are being paid. More =Nat. Guards needed to fill in. Civilians hired to steer drones from Las Vegas and get bonuses.  
=US just killed ten Iraqi soldiers by mistakenly bombing own lines near Falluja
=FL postal worker landed his gyrocopter at Capitol proves $3 billions wasted

SCAMS
David J. Homan, Wells Fargo Advisors, Saginaw stole $513,000 from elderly by fraud.
Over 3,000 prisoners were mistakenly set free early in Washington state computer bug.
Lottery fixed in IA, CO, OK, WI by guy in charge of security—Nice job.
Wall Street claims average investors will be harmed by new “do the right thing” Rule.

Indiana will allow alcohol sales on Christmas for the first time – IN turning Left?
KY GOP cancels voting rights of more than 100,000 nonviolent felons.

Who owns your account now?
Deutsche Bank private-clients to Raymond James, 
Nomura Holdings, Japan, agreed to pay CIBC about $1 billion for its 41 percent stake in money manager American Century.


IAN
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