Friday, March 29, 2019

More American ‘Socialism’—Our taxes go to make rich, richer


More American ‘Socialism’—Our taxes go to make rich, richer
Amazon’s Bezos, the man with more wealth than half the nations of the world, takes government money to locate in VA. (America’s form of Socialism is called subsidies)
If Bezos needed another place to work, he could have built anywhere and people would work for him and pay taxes. It will take years for government to earn back this Socialist handout. Many taxpayers across the country are putting their hard-earned money in the pockets of the already wealthy business owners. Governments give money to the elites: Russia helps Putin’s oligarchs just as China subsidizes its businesses. In many studies, subsidies are ineffective for taxpayers since the payback never happens. Once we give money to one, everyone wants the same deal. Of course most businesses that receive tax money don’t really need it like a small business starting out would. An estimated $18 Trillion was transferred from taxpayers to private hands between 2000 and 2015. 99% of it went to large companies, even foreign banks. Yet when those same taxpayers could not pay their mortgages from temporary layoffs, they were ignored. Many lost the home they had put their savings into. People had to give up a lifestyle to survive on less.

Do you need a lawyer to start a small business?
In some states, you do not need the state’s permission to start a business. Some states require you to get a specific name approved for a new legal entity like a Limited Liability Company (LLC). You may be able to do this yourself. For instance, in New Jersey you complete and file a Public Records Filing for a New Business Entity. You pay $125 to New Jersey Division of Revenue in the Department of Treasury. The filing takes 2-3 weeks. The document becomes the original Certificate of Formation, which states that your LLC has been formed. After that, you need to obtain an employer identification number (EIN) from the IRS, open a business banking account, and finalize an operating agreement. However, since you are starting out, you are better off just using your name as your business. Don’t waste your money on a lawyer or an official entity. Just follow the tax requirements: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/self-employed-individuals-tax-center. Don’t cheat. My experience led me to Dummies book and Nolo.com. Prove your sales work. Many libraries have these books.

Be prepared: we will all live longer
25% of men and women will live into their 90’s. The life insurers keep track of this for profit’s sake. That is 30 years! To get ready, we must either save more, save smart or work longer. Depending on your situation, saving more and working longer may NOT be viable options. Many of us should be saving smarter. Some may find a less stressful job. As an AARP tax-Aide volunteer, I see every combination of these folks. Most in their 90’s can’t work. They are scraping by on SS benefits of less than $20,000 a year. Some are lucky to have an old-style pension but it does NOT increase each year. Some have annuities but they don’t increase either: $1,000 a month was good 25 years ago but no longer. One couple in their early 70’s have two great state pensions after working 25 years. Most teachers are famous for saving money. Some retirees have great dividends and interest. Very few have Medicare supplemental health plans. Very few used a Roth IRA for tax-FREE income. Very few retirees I see have a smart portfolio of stock and bond mutual funds. Some have brokerage accounts with trades they never understood. They have some gains but the fees almost wipe them out: $720 gains but $588 fees. I cannot advise them to use smart savings funds: stock/bond funds at low cost in retirement. But I know they will need them for 30 or MORE years.

Are you ruining your kids and your own retirement?
Nearly 80% of parents give some financial support to their adult children—to the tune of $500 billion a year. That’s twice what parents put into retirement accounts. Almost three-quarters of respondents acknowledged putting their children’s interests ahead of their own retirement needs. Half of Americans approaching retirement have nothing saved in a 401(k) or other individual account. But where does that leave us? Will they be able to take care of themselves once the money is gone? And what about us? We end up living on meager SS benefits and they can’t manage their own income shortfall. We might feel we must share our wealth because the longest bull market has kept us safe. But our good luck may not rub off on our kids. They will choose the easy way instead of working their way up from the bottom. College is not the only answer—certainly NOT for everyone. They may be a better technician than a manager under extreme pressure. Student debt is strangling us. Perhaps a better way is to offer them a business proposition—instead of living with you and all the comforts of home—write them a business loan to get them on their feet. Like immigrants to this country, they can find their own way of making a living. You have helped them but you haven’t crippled them for life and your own future!


Where is FREE tax preparation?
The free AARP tax-aide sites are filling up quickly: aarp.org/money/taxes/aarp_taxaide/. Before spending $200-400 for a paid preparer, try filling in the screens using the IRS partners at irs.gov https://apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile/. The instructions are easy to follow especially if you have last year’s return to compare what forms you need. I have found https://www.freetaxusa.com very easy to negotiate and respond to email questions. This one charges only $15 for your state return: Fed is free. It is still $15 when as complicated like mine. Basically, you must pay tax on all your taxable income—wages, pensions, etc. This year you have less to deduct because the standard deduction was doubled. Beware some software glitches. However, you lost the personal exemption of $4,050 for yourself, your spouse and each of your dependents. For each child under age 17 you receive $2,000. In high property tax states—NY, NJ, CA, CT, etc you will probably owe this year. The deduction cap is now $10,000 and the average homeowners in these states pay about $20,000 property tax. The law was written by a Rep from a Red state.
Try software at irs.gov https://apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile/ before you go to paid preparers.


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Make America, “The Don”, Great Again
Truth isn’t truth, his lawyer says

Two Americas: A Banana Republic? Do we really want an infant king? Daddy Putin!

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How Govt wastes our money: Congress spends $1.3 Trillion we don’t have! 
ICE keeps young workers in jail for 6 weeks despite real job. Not indigent; paying taxes!

Trump budget cuts $800 billion from Medicare. Poor’s health covered by each state alone


SCAMS/SPINS:
WH’s Sanders claims Mueller, a GOP and Dems tried to “overthrow” the government. Really
GOP stays in power by changing NC voting districts to 11 GOP vs 2 Dems. ‘I decide’

Boeing lobbyists took over FAA safety responsibilities: Congress complied 2018!

Robo call scammers avoid paying fines and going to jail: Trump & Congress do nothing!

Vatican squashing women defenders of abused nuns: Women Church World silenced.

‘Roundup’ causes lymphoma but Bayer keeps selling it at stores. Reserves high for suits.


Trump just made it easier for employers to dump retirees’ pensions: Senior Scam
Trump in his glory: President comfortable with ‘explicatives’ at ‘lock them up’ rally.

Trump’s FDA hides medical device failures: Surgery staplers allowed to injure US!

Brendan Ross, Direct Lending Investments, CA caught $11 million fee over-charges
Fidelity sued by 401k employees for extra fee as kickback to plan record keeper.
Richard Diver caught stealing $6 million overcharging clients to inflate his pay.
Successful fund managers last only 3 years: stars shine then fade fast—index win 10 yr

College entry scandal leader Singer paid almost 800 bribes to coaches.

Mob Boss gives in to N. Korea: lifts sanctions for NOT scrapping missiles: “I like Un”
Individual 1” could be a Russian “asset”: Why FBI opened a file on The Mob Boss.

1. “Russia, find Hill’s emails” 2. Don’s Mob made Russian deals 3. Russia intel tricked voters 4. Secret meetings 5. Special Russia deals 6. Fire FBI 7. Refuse give testimony

The Mob Boss can never go to jail: Trump has Kava as Supreme so no indictment.
‘No man is above the law’ … well up till now. Dictators nullify courts first, then votes.
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Jobs:
Wall Street going through layoffs again in 2019. Cycle allows paying less for new grads.

Who owns your account now?
Investors lost 9.42% in 2018 compared with a 4.38% by the S&P 500: Double loss!


Miracle:

Notre Dame giving $1 million: why male priests abuse kids & nuns. Everyone knows!!


IAN
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