Friday, October 20, 2017

Who do you think will pay for Trump's tax cuts?

Tax cuts:  Who will pay for all these cuts?
We will, of course. Wealthy people have lawyers/accountants/tax shelters/tax loopholes to make sure they are not going to pay. When the interest on our national debt gets more expensive and the world decides not to buy Trump bonds, what will happen? GOP adds $1.5 trillion to the deficit, cuts $4 trillion in spending including nearly $500 billion in cuts to Medicare and $1 trillion to Medicaid. We will have a tax increase as our SS and Medicare/Medicaid benefits “dry up.” We know the Congress NEVER cuts Pentagon waste and Trump wants 10 times the missiles. Don’t believe that a explosive economic growth, jobs and high wages will make up for it. KS tried tax cuts and nearly went bankrupt. Quality of life fell. Corporations already have the solution—send the profits to other countries so they are not taxed here. Corporations used to pay 33% of Federal revenue. Now it is 9%. Since 1979, the top 1% has grown income by 137% while wages of the bottom 90% have grown just 21%, mostly in the 90s. Bush cuts made deficit grow.


How much retirement income will you have?
Does your advisor calculate how much retirement income you will have? How do they calculate the amount? Are you comfortable with their assumptions? Your advisor may not be with you when you retire so you need to have them explain it in writing (you can understand). Given where you are in all your accounts and SS, how do they project your totals at age 66, 70, 75? If you do achieve those results, which egg do you crack first? How much inflation-proof income will you receive based on their current projected plan? Are they selling you an annuity? Which type and when purchased and annuitized? Make sure you understand how they achieve their projections. For instance, my projections show I have an 85% chance of receiving 6% for 20 years with 34% stock 66% bond portfolio like Vanguard Wellesley Income. I have a good chance of growing my nest egg depending on what the market does in 10-20 years. It is better that you and your spouse know the situation now so you can do something about it. Check the advisor’s work. Remember, they get paid whether you have enough or not. Costs matter.

Another corporate loophole for wealthy to avoid taxes
Investors in start up firms like Pandora, the subscription music player, may owe no tax when they sell their shares. For some investors, that means a $ million tax break. Congress gave the lobbyists another present: the PATH Act (the “Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015”) the 100% exclusion is permanent. Even if Pandora had not grown to $6 billion, investors can exchange the losing stock for another promising stock. No tax on the sale. When investors use a pass-through entity from a no income tax state like FL, they avoid state tax too. Of course there are hundreds of other money tricks lobbyists have created for their sponsors which help many firms avoid costs. Our ‘reps’ are participants and enablers of this process. Banks write bank bills, oilers write energy bills, agribusiness writes agriculture bills and so on. The GOP has not cut any subsidies or loopholes for big business in the new tax giveaway to the rich. Just health subsidies!

TrumpCare is hated by everyone except Rand Paul—“Free” Market Health
TrumpCare means you can buy whatever coverage you can afford. If junk insurance with no ObamaCare guarantees is what you need then you can save money. Paul says that insurers will compete for your coverage and lower the price, just like they do for 500-member corporate plans. Unfortunately, Paul and Trump are living in the past. They had ‘Free Market’ plans 40 years ago. People went bankrupt. Insurers don’t want the sick. Medicare was started because no insurer wanted sick/old. Every insurer wants the young healthy people so they pay out little and reap huge profits. They call it underwriting. Paul thinks all the poor and sick can form a group and obtain great coverage like Congress people have. Group coverage has limits and insurers are not going to want to accept everyone with “pre-existing conditions” without charging higher premiums. Higher premiums mean higher tax credits—less Federal revenue by $194 Billions. Since TrumpCare has eliminated $7 B subsidies, the groups will need to reduce coverage so the members can afford the plan. Insurers run group plans at an extra cost. Old group plans failed. For family coverage, the average policy totaled $17,545 a year with employers contributing 72% or $12,591. Employees paid the remaining 28 percent or $4,955 a year. The average after-subsidy premium paid by the millions of enrollees who got premium subsidies was $153 per month. Paul and Trump get their ObamaCare at reduced cost so they have not shopped lately. They don’t know a Junk policy since they have ObamaCare
You may still obtain a real policy with subsidies at https://www.healthcare.gov/.

Mortgage interest deduction gone?
In 2015, the federal government spent about $71 billion on this tax credit. It helped higher income households who itemized deductions. Almost 90 percent of the deduction’s benefits went to households earning more than $100,000. Currently, interest rates are low so the credit is not as important as it used to be when mortgages cost 8-18%
We refinanced 5 times since 1981. The points are deductible too. Deductible property tax can be $18,000 on an average property in some areas. If you own a multi-family, the mortgage and interest can be a huge deduction on your rental property. House GOP and The Don own real estate so that is not likely to be on their list of cuts. They own other assets that will be taxed at Trump’s lower business rate of 25%. Many wealthy people don’t take “wages” so they don’t pay the average 33% we pay. Like Buffett, Kerry and Romney, they pay 17, 15 and 13%, living on capital gains and tax-sheltered income.

How about the most awarded cars of 2017?
High ratings from new owners for these 10 according to KelleyBB. Why? Design, reliable, features, fads. For instance, Fiat Chrysler TV ad says the Pacifica is “imported from Detroit” when it is actually made in Ontario. Fake news. Honda tops the list. But what will happen after 3 years? Perhaps you can get the 3 year old model for 30-40% off. New car kinks need time to become better: especially Impreza https://www.yahoo.com/ news/car-reliability-u-automakers-vs-world-164336411.html. You still need to consider which cars have the best records not just awards. Jeep is on this list but has disappointed owners in the past. JD Power http://www.jdpower.com/cars/study/2017-Vehicle-Dependability-Study/1882ENG/Compact-SUV/1131. JD Power lists the most problematic car brands with Jeep, Audi, Subaru, Jags and Fiats: https://www.cheatsheet.com/money-career/most-trouble-prone-car-brands-jd-power-associates.html

FREE education online
Did you ever want to know more about what the universe is made of, or how to calculate the time value of money, or the history of disease? Whatever your interest, there are courses to help you understand at your own PACE. Some even let you ask questions. Where are the courses? Universities, blogs, sites, tech sites, and others.
Actually, you can shop for exactly what you want by just entering “free [subject]” at Google. World Science U has renowned scientists. Probably the most comprehensive site is https://www.coursera.org/ with links to many offerings. Most courses are video presentations by outstanding people in their fields. I liked the one on Einstein’s relativity. Did not understand it all but got the concepts. https://www.coursera.org/learn/einstein-relativity I have taken many math and financial ones at KhanAcademy. I have also done the financial planning one at UC Irvine: https://ce.uci.edu/about/releases/pr.aspx?id=78
I have also learned to fix and make things with YouTube vids. I fixed my window so it moved easily: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=no7BjntkFsk. I changed the headlight in my Camry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1JHnW8Ruek. A bookcase is easy even with a portable circular saw: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AX_PIkKEjyc.

GOP religionists follow new messiah
Bannon has become the new messiah: Bannon promises that they can be “the folks who saved the Judeo-Christian West.” All that is required is to abandon the best of the Judeo-Christian tradition: a belief in the inherent value and dignity of every life.  The religious right is an interest group seeking preference and advancement from a [white] strongman — and rewarding him with loyal acceptance of his priorities. Idolatry is defined as “extreme admiration, love, or reverence for something or someone.” Christianity used to mean love of thy fellow man—all human beings—no matter what they looked like or believed. God asks us to help fulfill the promise of every person. This is the meaning of humans “created in the image of God.” Jesus: "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid.
Religionists want America to be the light of the world only for their group.

Is your 401k option stealing your retirement money?
GE employees are suing GE for using their retirement money to make GE profits look better. 56% of all the money invested in 401k pensions was used to pay higher management fees in GE’s own mutual fund firm. For example, employees in the GE Strategic Fund, which invested in a balanced mix of stock, bonds and cash, returned a cumulative 36.29% gain from 2011 through mid-2016, while Vanguard’s Wellington Fund returned 57.71%. Despite that, the GE fund’s fees were twice those of the Wellington Fund. “A prudent fiduciary … would not have offered the plan’s participants the GE Strategic Fund,” the lawsuits says. “But GE did just that.” Fees and charges can rob employees of up to 63% of their overall potential earnings. Employees are often offered the company’s own stock which can bring disaster for retirees also.






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TrumpWorld


Trump is still just a mafia contractor from Queens—Dad taught him to be The Don.


Smoking gun: “Our boy can become president of the USA and we can engineer it,” Sater wrote in an email to lawyer Cohen. “I will get all of Putins team to buy in on this.” Manafort tells Russian mob he will keep them informed about “our boy.”

Trump’s group places mob ties above country; it’s about money POWER not US service.
Undisclosed $26 million loan from Russian to Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort.


Putin using Twitter now with fake followers for Trump mob—how great impact?
Putin hired activists to stage demonstrations and promote divisive content. 


Ministry of Truth1984 novel: Government propaganda is ‘truth’ when they say it!
Fake news=Trump brand Trump calls lies truth and truth fake. Why hate Obama?

My Theory:
No one expected him to win so no harm getting Putin help. Don owes Vlad’s mob money so they sent mob gofer Manafort to run the campaign. ‘Colluding’ Putin style.


TrumpWorld – using presidency to make money the old fashioned way: theft


Dictator talk time:
“When the president does it, that means it is not illegal,” Richard Nixon

The Don is moving us to a dictatorship where the only people who go to jail are his enemies and non whites he does not like. Racists and nationalists get pardons. If Flynn Page and Manafort get indicted by Mueller, The Don will just give them a “get out of jail free” card so they don’t rat him out.

Gingrich: Trump compared to Andrew Jackson who also hated people of color.


Ending ObamaCare subsidies for the poor and Medicaid hits people of color.

The president can’t have a conflict of interest.” The Don is above the law? Pardons?


Quid pro quo: "something for something."

           


Trump’s executive orders are all he has to show at the adult day care center!
Before we have an ‘accidental’ nuclear war, Congress could use impeachment.


Regulation is necessary: We need protection. Saves $12 billion of our money!

GOP House committee passes law to OK broker predatory sales: best for broker rule
WellsFargo caught selling ETF with misleading promises: not a hedge for investments


If payment to health insurers is unconstitutional, so are those to oil, agribiz, coal, 965
Trump’s ‘research’ finds factory decline causes  “higher abortion rate,” “lower fertility rate,” “increased spousal abuse,” “lower marriage rate,” “higher divorce rate,” “higher crime,” “rising mortality rate” and “increased drug/opioid use.” End NAFTA.

How Govt wastes our money:

SCAMS:
‘Commission-free’ ETF offered by ‘discount’ brokers have high (1%) annual charges.
28% of 2017 vehicles don't have spares; 36% in 2015—Detroit helps local garage.

Jobs:

Who owns your account now?
T-moble and Sprint together? Better service?

Miracle:
Pence told Bachmann: Trump is now a “committed believer” of Jesus Christ and a “man of faith” who has “asked God for help and wisdom.” Really! “you shall know by deeds.”


IAN
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