“A note on republican bullshit on the deficit” elicited some negative responses from my republican friends. After reading the responses, it became clear to me that one needs to call out the Republican bullshit on capitalism as well. These guys are so enamored with this catchword that they fail to look at the implementation.
Now that I think back, the biggest piece of crap to go unchallenged prior to the last election is this perceived ‘opposition to capitalism’ from democrats.… [Read more]
Now that the dust has settled on the Presidential election (I’m still smiling) things will slowly but surely get back to normal in Washington. Despite recent assurances from House Speaker John Boehner regarding ‘working together’ we can expect more Republican bickering and attempts to derail and stall anything and everything that might just be beneficial to America as a whole.… [Read more]
Back in July, CNBC.com reported that former Citigroup chairman and CEO Sanford ‘Sandy’ Weill was calling for additional Wall Stret reforms that would break up the major Wall Street banks. At a time when the regulation of the financial industry is playing a major role in the presidential campaign debate, Weill’s comments aren’t likely to be viewed in a positive light by the GOP candidate, Mitt Romney, who has repeatedly called for the Dodd-Frank financial reforms to be repealed.… [Read more]
The claim that Tea Party mentality exported American jobs does appear to be counter-intuitive. However, if you care to keep on reading then you will see the proof behind this claim.
To recap:
In the first post of this series we looked at what happened with American “corporations” during the 20 odd years leading to 1970.… [Read more]
We have looked at what happened in the field of corporate strategy untll 1970 in my last post. Now let us take a quick look (in overly simplistic terms) at what happened in the field of Corporate Finance during the same period.
It could be argued that ‘modern finance’ started with a 1952 paper from 25-year old student named Harry Markowitz.… [Read more]
Our economy is still not doing as well as expected. Growth forecasts have been revised downwards and interest rates are less than 1% for fixed deposits in most banks. Even the savings accounts have a really dismissal interest rate of 0.05% here in Singapore. You may be better off keeping your money under your mattress like during olden times instead of letting it be subjected to the various account-keeping fees incurred by leaving it in the bank.… [Read more]
Before tackling how and why the EuroZone’s well being is linked to Spain, some quick background is necessary. The EuroZone became such when the nation states decided after World War II that adopting a single currency for the region would be best. This was legislated in 1992 with the parameters that each nation had to adopt the Euro and drop its respective currency.… [Read more]
With just over 8% of the American work force currently unemployed, with no projected change in the next year and a half, I thought it might be a good time to review the tax implications of unemployment.
So, you’ve set an intention to get yourself out of debt. Noble, my friend. Studies have shown that the average American has over $10,000 in debt, most of which is credit-card debt. Yikes. But then you’re staring at your pile of bills, or your Mint.com account, and wondering — where do I start? Which debt do I tackle first?… [Read more]
We are at the midpoint of 2012. If you believe in the ancient Mayan prophecy, this means we really only have 5 1/2 months to live, so feel free to go ahead and spend up! But, if you’re skeptical about the Mayans, or perhaps believe that you CAN take it with you, let me ask you a few questions.… [Read more]
I assume you get all your personal finance news and nuggets from me, and need no other information ever… ha! But if you WERE to want more than what you see here each weekend, I present to you nine of my favorite resources for managing your money, your career, and your life.… [Read more]
I remember going to work with my mom when I was a little girl. Her boss would often reach into his pocket, hand me whatever change he had floating around in there, and hand it to me, calling it “pig food” (as in, food for my piggy bank). I was obsessed with coins. (Guess they should have known I would end up sitting for the CPA exam many years later.) I remember holding them in my hands until they warmed up, separating them into stacks of pennies, nickels, dimes,… [Read more]
For all the talk about defending marriage as a sacred institution between one man and one woman in the news these days, no one seems to be talking about the third party involved in every marriage in this country… the Internal Revenue Service. Yes, the marriage penalty is alive and well in the United States of America, and it seems ironic that some are so focused on preserving the sanctity of marriage, only to tax the holy hell out of you when you do it.… [Read more]
I get questions fairly frequently about quarterly taxes. Who is required to file them? And why? Since the second quarter filing is coming up and I’m busy helping my clients get these done, I’ll make this short and sweet.
In general, if you either owed more than $1,000 last year in taxes, or expect to owe more than $1,000 this year, you are required to file quarterlies.… [Read more]
Okay, so it’s not quite mid-year yet, but with the second quarter coming to a close, it’s time to start thinking about taxes (if you ever stopped). Here are some tips to ensure that your tax bill is right where you want it to be next April.… [Read more]
Fifty years ago, there was one type of retirement plan: a pension. And once you retired from your company with 25 years of service and a gold watch, you received a steady paycheck for the rest of your life. Today, there is a dizzying array of choices, and let’s be honest — very few of us are retiring with 25 years of service from anywhere.… [Read more]
If you’re one of President Obama’s fifteen million Twitter followers, you may have seen his #dontdoublemyrates tweets lately. The controversy stems from the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007, which, among other things, reduced the fixed interest rates on newly originated subsidized Stafford loans for undergraduate students only, from 6.8% in 2007 down a sliding scale until they hit 3.4% in the 2011-2012 school year.… [Read more]
This is part four of a four-part series on aligning your personal finances with your values. Find parts one, two, and three here.
The final step in aligning your personal finances with your life values? Follow through, and follow up.
Follow through. Last week you set some very specific goals. Make them happen. Then set more goals.… [Read more]
With all the actions taken against Bank of America last week to expose their funding of mountaintop removal mining and foreclosures, and Occupy Wall Street and other organizations such as MoveOn.org and the Huffington Post encouraging people to move their money out of big banks and into credit unions, I thought that I would share some information about what credit unions are, what they do, and some of my experiences as a member of one. … [Read more]
This is part three of a four-part series on aligning your personal finances with your values. Find parts one and two here.
Okay, now we get to the fun stuff. And by “fun”, I mean “the part where you actually have to face your realities and how that may or may not be in line with what you think.” Don’t be afraid; I’m here to hold your hand, and I promise I’ve heard it all before.… [Read more]
