Friday, April 25, 2014

Got refund?

Got refund?
You can find out where your refund is at http://www.irs.gov/Refunds
What do you do with your tax refund?
Let Uncle Sam help you reach your goals.
Michele invested her refund every year and now has more than enough for retirement.
“This is the no-pain way to save.” She is a Tax-Refund Millionaire:

IRS is giving bonuses—Take yours!
According to the Treasury Inspector General, more than 2,800 employees with recent substantiated conduct issues resulting in disciplinary action received more than $2.8 million in monetary awards and more than 27,000 hours in time-off awards between October 1, 2010 and December 31, 2012. Pay only your fair share:http://www.amazon.com/Tax-FREE-Wealth-How-laws-free/dp/1475089236


Car insurers raise premium if we don’t shop competition!
It's called price optimization. The Consumer Federation of America wants state regulators to stop insurers from using such techniques, which it calls illegal because they can result in drivers with the same risk profile being charged different premiums. Every state has laws that say prices must be based on risk and may not unfairly discriminate, but "insurance companies appear to be using these techniques without disclosing that fact to state regulators," a statement from the consumer group said. Sophisticated computer software helps car insurers illegally bump up bills on customers it tags as less likely to switch companies. Buy what you need:http://www.amazon.com/Vehicle-Insurance-Beware-Double-Coverage/dp/1480027634

Auto insurance cost varies widely—Buy only what you need
How much does it actually cost to insure your vehicle? The true cost varies widely across U.S. cities, and a major reason is that car insurance costs differ from city to city. For example, it costs nearly eight times more to insure a car in Detroit than it does in Boise.


Two Americas—one with health care and one without
Swan Lockett had high hopes that President Barack Obama's health overhaul would lead her family to an affordable insurance plan, but that hasn't happened. Instead, because Texas lawmakers in her state refused to expand Medicaid, the 46-year-old mother of four uses home remedies or pays $75 to see a doctor when she has an asthma attack.
"If I don't have the money, I just let it go on its own," Lockett said. She earns $1,225 per month and takes her children - a 5-year-old daughter, 18-year-old twin boys and a 19- year-old son - to the emergency room or a clinic when they need care.
Other GOP states have pulled funding for hospitals so, like Georgia, which closed 8 hospitals, GOP citizens will have to use home remedies or die. Back to the 30s.


Where is the balance in life?
In Georgia you can now carry a gun into bars, schools, churches—almost anywhere. Why?????  If you don’t like the service, send them to heaven?


SCAMS           Why are we still paying $700 Billion a year for WWII deployments?
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 just can’t afford to pay for everyone else’s defenses anymore.
DoD head Hagel proposes budget cut but still pay for Lockheed F35 plane failures.

GOP says climate change is hoax
Miami Beach became ground zero for climate change Tuesday when U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson convened a rare field hearing to draw national attention to the dangers posed by rising seas. "For those who deny sea level rise and climate change, here is the proof,"
"Sea-level rise is our reality in Miami Beach," he said. "On a beautiful sunny day, we can see our streets flooded."

Brokers still not coming clean
Brokers are burying fee disclosures in complicated customer documents and sometimes levying unreasonable charges, according to a report released Thursday by state securities regulators.
In a survey of 34 broker-dealers from across the country, the North American Securities Administrators Association Inc. found widely inconsistent disclosure methods and questionable practices regarding fee charges and markups.
For instance, fee disclosures ranged between one paragraph and seven pages and were sometimes embedded in a document that totaled anywhere from one page to 45 pages.

IAN
41 Watchung Plaza, B242
MontclairNJ 07042
973.746.2014
Alert

Friday, April 18, 2014

Tax-Refund Millionaires

Refunds are larger this year—$3,229
You can find out where your refund is at http://www.irs.gov/Refunds
What do you do with your tax refund?
Let Uncle Sam help you reach your goals.
Michele invested her refund every year and now has more than enough for retirement.
“This is the no-pain way to save.” She is a Tax-Refund Millionaire:

We pay extra $1,259 so that rich can pay less
The average American would have to fork over an extra $1,259 in state and federal income taxes this year to make up for the revenue lost because of offshore tax havens used by corporations and wealthy individuals, according to a new report. U.S. companies will use offshore tax havens to avoid paying an estimated $110 billion in taxes this year, according to the analysis by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group. Wealthy people will circumvent about $74 billion in taxes. Warren Buffett pays 17%, Mitt Romney 15%, John Kerry 13%, GE pays 0% tax. Pay your fair share with this tax-FREE account: http://www.amazon.com/Tax-FREE-Wealth-How-laws-free/dp/1475089236/


Avoid tax penalty and interest
File your tax return and pay what you can even if you are late. This reduces the penalty and interest you will be assessed. When you get a bill, don’t ignore it. Set up a payment plan with IRS approval now. Efile even if you can’t pay. File for a payment plan: http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Online-Payment-Agreement-Application


If you rent, your landlord will not cover damage/loss to your stuff
To help renters calculate how much coverage they need, the institute offers a home inventory tool at www.knowyourstuff.org. A room-by-room inventory may determine that you need more than the $50,000 or so that the basic policy offers. And while you’re at it, take photos of expensive items; they may be useful if you ever have to file a claim. A basic policy costs about $300 but has some limits so shop your auto insurers’ quote:

Are you missing a life insurance benefit?
Insurers use a central registry of people who purchased life insurance. You can use it to find a lost policy. Perhaps a relative has passed and you suspect they had a policy. MIB today announced a new online order form, which makes it easier for consumers to search its Policy Locator Service, the insurance industry's most comprehensive resource for finding lost life insurance policies. Look for cancelled checks with the name of the company before you pay the search charge. http://www.mib.com/lost_life_insurance.html

Vanguard expanding service
Vanguard's decision to expand its web-savvy retail advice service is sending shivers throughout the financial planning community. The service provides investors a financial plan, asset allocation plot, ongoing monitoring and re-balancing, performance forecasting and periodic contact with an adviser for 0.3% of portfolio assets annually. The service “typically recommends” Vanguard funds as investments to clients, according to a company brochure. It has more than 200 Vanguard-trained certified financial planners and investment adviser representatives working with the firm, with nearly 150,000 clients. Compare their advice service to yours:  https://personal.vanguard.com/us/whatweoffer/advice/personaladvisor3

Study finds excess fees steal workers’ retirement futures
The study found that the higher the cost of the plans, the more likely costs will discourage investor participation. High-cost plans “are not inducing more employees to participate more or to contribute more,” the two authors write. The study used data from more than 3,000 401(k) plans with more than $120 billion in assets. In 16 percent of the analyzed plans, “the fees charged in excess of an index fund entirely consume the tax benefit of investing in a 401(k) plan,” the authors found. Tune up your 401k Earn more:http://www.amazon.com/Tune-your-401k-EARN-Tax-FREE/dp/1490591028



ObamaCare may lower your car insurance costs
Every year U.S. insurance companies have to pay out billions of dollars for medical care because of injuries in the workplace, car crashes and similar claims. According to the report, in 2007 medical costs from auto accidents forced insurers to pay out $35 billion, about 2 percent of all health care costs that year. As more of the previously uninsured get coverage through Obamacare, insurers won't have to put aside as much money to pay for their care -- and that could mean lower premiums. Also, some patients now use automobile liability insurance to get treatment for medical problems unrelated to an accident. With the ACA, they'll be able to use their regular medical insurance to pay for that. Who knew?

U.S. budget deficit has plunged by nearly $1 trillion since its peak in 2009?
Obama is not given credit by those who ran up the deficit with 2 wars and 2 tax cuts for the rich. The top 1% take over 23% of income. Household income fell to under $50,000. http://inequality.org/income-inequality/More corporations have stashed record $2 TRILLION in tax shelters. Others have “moved” outside US to avoid taxes.  


Here we go again—certain people have to “register” and pay extra tax on property
Jews in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk where pro-Russian militants have taken over government buildings were told they have to "register" with the Ukrainians who are trying to make the city become part ofRussia, according to Israeli media.
Isn’t this how Hitler started? He had Jews register and later took Poland to “protect” ethnic Germans living inPoland.

Wal-Mart wires money for less—much less
“Walmart-2-Walmart” allows a money transfer to be made between any Wal-Mart locations throughout theUnited States--4,000 different locations on U.S. soil. Transfers under $50 will be subject to a $4.50 fee, while larger transactions will bill on a blanket fee basis of $9.50. Walmart-2-Walmart will only support transactions of up to $900, meaning that those wishing to send $1,000 or more will still opt for MoneyGram. (Walmart-2-Walmart is also limited in that it only supports transfers within the United States.) Still, since MoneyGram can often bill $70 or more in fees for a $900 transfer, there is no doubt that Wal-Mart’s service will be a competitive option for most people. Some banks use email and apps for transfers at no charge.


SCAMS           Why are we still paying $700 Billion a year for WWII deployments?
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 just can’t afford to pay for everyone else’s defenses anymore.
DoD head Hagel proposes budget cut but still pay for Lockheed F35 plane failures.

You are NOT responsible for parents’ debts
The Social Security Administration is suspending a program in which thousands of people were having their tax refunds seized to recoup overpayments that happened more than a decade ago. "While this policy of seizing tax refunds to repay decades-old Social Security overpayments might be allowed under the law, it is entirely unjust," Democratic Sens. Senators Barbara Boxer of California and Barbara Mikulski of Maryland said in a letter to Colvin. SS spokesman said, “we do not use tax refund offset to collect the debt of a person's relative — we only use it to collect the overpaid benefits the person received for himself or herself."

Who owns your account Now?
Nuveen Investments to TIAA-CREF, the manager of retirement accounts for teachers

IAN
41 Watchung Plaza, B242
MontclairNJ 07042
973.746.2014
Alerts available at http://dankeppel.blogspot.com/

Friday, April 11, 2014

Lower your taxes with these tricks

Can you use these tricks to lower your taxes to $0?
While you are trying to figure out why you are paying income, SS, Medicare, UC, DI, etc taxes, you might find some of the techniques that companies use to pay NOTHING: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/10/23/big-companies-pay-no-taxes/2480281/ If you can’t, perhaps you should send your Congress persons $123,000 so you can get access to discuss how they can help you avoid paying taxes like the big guys. It worked for these companies, why not you?
And the nice thing is that now you don’t have to worry about breaking the law for bribing an official. The Supremes have just decided that when fat cats give legislators money, they don’t expect anything in return. WOW! Roberts, the chief justice, said:
“Spending large sums of money in connection with elections, but not in connection with an effort to control the exercise of an officeholder’s official duties, does not give rise to quid pro quo corruption. Nor does the possibility that an individual who spends large sums may garner “influence over or access to” elected officials or political parties.”
http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/13pdf/12-536_e1pf.pdf   RIGHT and what does Roberts smoke??

South FL insurer cuts homeowners as soon as the check clears
People’s Trust is canceling thousands of policies, abruptly cutting ties with many customers in Palm Beach County and other parts of South Florida less than 90 days after they signed up. People's Trust Insurance Co. is calling it "prudent exposure management," though it is infuriating customers who are losing coverage so close to hurricane season. One Palm Beach Gardens customer said," I smell a rat." Fewer than 5 percent of its more than 115,000 policies are affected, said a spokeswoman. Use your discounts: http://www.amazon.com/Homeowners-Insurance-Beware-Coverage-Policy/dp/1480100870/



Insurers raise prices on non shoppers
Consumer groups called upon regulators to stop insurance companies from using so-called “price optimization” techniques when setting rates and premiums. Price optimization is a data mining tool used by insurers to charge higher premiums to those consumers least likely to shop for a new policy in the face of a rate increase. The groups noted, in a letter sent to commissioners on March 28, 2014, that insurance companies appear to be using these techniques without disclosing that fact to state regulators.
“Price optimization is a new strategy to overcharge Americans who have to buy auto and home insurance policies,” said Bob Hunter, CFA’s Director of Insurance and former Texas Insurance Commissioner. Smart shoppers use discounts every two years: http://www.amazon.com/Vehicle-Insurance-Beware-Double-Coverage/dp/1480027634/

CA regulators fighting health policy increases
Leading companies have poured $13.4 million into defeating a ballot initiative that would give California regulators the power to reject increases in health policy premiums. Health insurers stand to lose control over raising rates in the most populous state at a time of dramatic growth in the customer base. More than 1.2 million people have enrolled in private health insurance plans under Obamacare through the end of March, according to Covered California, the state’s health- insurance exchange. Buy only what you need:  http://www.amazon.com/Health-Insurance-ONLY-right-policy/dp/1480125083/

Koch brothers take ObamaCare subsidies while paying for repeal!?/
Several big corporations have reaped millions of dollars from "Obamacare" even as they support GOP candidates who vow to repeal the law. Among the corporations is a familiar Democratic nemesis, Koch Industries, the giant conglomerate headed by the billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch. They and some conservative allies are spending millions of dollars to hammer Democratic senators in North Carolina, AlaskaColoradoIowa and elsewhere, chiefly for backing President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. Records show that Koch Industries received $1.4 million in early retiree subsidies. United Parcel Service received $37 million Union Pacific Railroad received $9.7 million in subsidies. Altria (Marlboro) received nearly $11 million in the early retiree subsidies. One of the biggest subsidy recipients was AT&T, at $213 million. They spent $54 million of it supporting opposition to ObamaCare. Hypocrites or what?

IRA contributions stop at age 70.5—Roth IRA contributions can become legacy
You must be under age 70½ at the end of the tax year to contribute to a traditional IRA. You, and/or your spouse if you file a joint return, must have taxable compensation, such as wages, salaries, commissions, tips, bonuses, or net income from self-employment. Taxable alimony and separate maintenance payments received by an individual are treated as compensation for IRA purposes.
You do not have to be under age 70½ to contribute to a Roth IRA however. This means that you may continue to build a tax-FREE legacy for your family when you no longer need your IRA income for expenses. Just pay the tax due on the IRA and move it to your Roth. Heirs will receive the accumulations with no income taxes due—just like life insurance.

Question your broker about ‘disclosure events’ in their record
Meyers Associates, a small New York broker-dealer with five times the industry average of registered reps with marks, or 'disclosure events' on their record. These are red flags of lack of candor. Check NOW: http://brokercheck.finra.org/Search/Search.aspx
Believe it or not, Bernie Madoff’s phony monthly trading reports listed trades on days the market was closed, or at prices that were far off the market, or in volumes that simply never existed. Yet Madoff’s scam continued for 36 years, from 1972 until 2008, as the SEC was incapable of discovering the truth, and Madoff’s clients never read their phoney monthly statements, since through bull and bear markets Madoff always turned in profits that were not real: http://www.amazon.com/Nothing-Way-Seems-Wall-Street/dp/1492752916

Employers still shifting health benefit costs to workers
The number of health plans with out-of-pocket limits of more than $5,000 increased to 32% last year, up from 20% in 2012, as more employers continued to shift costs to employees, according to a report by Zywave. Buy only what you need: http://www.amazon.com/Health-Insurance-ONLY-right-policy/dp/1480125083/

States Challenging Wealthy Taxpayers Who Claim FL Residency
In many cases, these states are going after residents they think should still be paying their taxes. And the states are winning. One snow bird kept travel logs but they showed that he was not in Florida for the requisite six months and a day, his home state court found. The fact that he held on to a 10,600-square-foot home he'd built in Afton, Minn., used a Minnesota bank account, and kept three out of his four cars in the state, were among the signs the court pointed to when it said he didn't prove he really became a Florida resident.
This snow bird said it has cost him thousands in back taxes, interest and legal fees. "It's been horrible for my wife and me," he said. "I wouldn't wish this on anyone." Florida ranks first in the nation for individual income tax; sixth for unemployment insurance tax, 13th for corporate tax; 16th for property tax and 18th for sales tax. Overall, it ranks fifth as the best state to live and do business from a tax standpoint, the foundation found, after WyomingSouth DakotaNevada and Alaska. The heaviest tax burdens are generally in northern states, including New YorkNew JerseyRhode Island, Vermont and Connecticut, and Maryland, as well as some Midwestern ones like Minnesota and Wisconsin. A better alternative is the Roth IRA—Tax-FREE of fed and state income tax. This can lower your overall tax burden since SS benefits are also taxed for higher income couples. Use the tax code benefits to live tax-FREE:  http://www.amazon.com/Tax-FREE-Retirement-code-lifetime-income/dp/1475206976/

You only get one IRA rollover a year—not one per account
Tax court decided a taxpayer can perform only one tax-free "rollover" of an individual retirement account each year — regardless of how many IRAs they may have. This differs greatly from the widespread perception that a taxpayer can roll over as many IRAs as they want, and that the one-year cooling-off period applied to each individual fund. You may be better asking Vanguard licensed staff to help you keep track of your pensions, brokerage, ETFs, regular IRAs and Roth IRAs. Buffett suggested Vanguard for his trustee: http://www.amazon.com/Warren-Buffetts-Vanguard-Funds-Retirement/dp/1496148592


More market manipulations
Joseph Dondero, a co-owner of Visionary Trading LLC, repeatedly used a fake order strategy to induce other market participants to trade in a stock, the SEC says. Lightspeed Trading LLC is charged with aiding and abetting the registration violations and its former chief operating officer, Andrew Actman, is charged with failing to supervise one of the Visionary owners. Fake orders create illusion of demand for a stock. Trading only helps the sellers. Invest without commissions: http://www.amazon.com/your-Wall-Street-Stock-traders/dp/1490533273/

GM SUVs got the highest rating in crash tests
The Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain, both made by General Motors, received the highest "good" rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The Toyota Highlander got the second-best "acceptable" rating in tests of 2014 models.
But the Jeep Grand Cherokee, Toyota 4Runner and Ford Explorer got "marginal" ratings, while the Kia Sorento, Mazda CX-9 and Honda Pilot all were rated "poor."


SCAMS           Why are we still paying $700 Billion a year for WWII deployments?
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 just can’t afford to pay for everyone else’s defenses anymore.
DoD head Hagel proposes budget cut but still pay for Lockheed F35 plane failures.

Lobbyists using Washington trick to deceive us
Obama ex-staff hired to lobby for Canada pipeline are claiming they are not lobbyists but “policy advisors.” “The influence industry is moving underground,” says Sarah Bryner, research director of the Center for Responsive Politics. The group counts 46 former Obama officials who have registered with the federal government as lobbyists. An additional 86 are what it calls “unlobbyists,” who use their connections in Congress and the White House to press for changes in laws and federal policy but who aren’t registered. “We still have many people leaving government and taking jobs that in the past would have resulted in them registering,” Bryner says. Now they are “skirting the disclosure requirements.”

We (Medicare) paid one eye doctor $21 million in 2012
Medicare paid a tiny group of doctors $3 million or more apiece in 2012. One got nearly $21 million. Topping Medicare's list was Florida ophthalmologist Salomon Melgen, whose relationship with Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., made headlines last year after news broke that the lawmaker used the doctor's personal jet for trips to the Dominican Republic. Medicare paid Melgen $20.8 million. About 1 in 4 of the top-paid doctors — 87 of them — practice in Florida, a state known both for high Medicare spending and widespread fraud. Menendez has received more than $700,000 in direct and indirect campaign help from Melgen. Agents from the FBI and federal Department of Health and Human Services raided his West Palm Beach office in 2013 and hauled away dozens of boxes of materials.

Buyout firms cheating investors
More than half of about 400 private-equity firms that SEC staff has examined have charged unjustified fees and expenses without notifying investors, according to a person with knowledge of the SEC’s findings who asked not to be named because the results aren’t public. While some of the problems appear to have resulted from error, some may have been deliberate, the person said. Find out how they do it: http://people.hofstra.edu/daniel_j_greenwood/pdf/Looting.pdf


IAN
41 Watchung Plaza, B242
Montclair, NJ 07042
973.746.2014
Alerts 

Friday, April 4, 2014

Best Annuity Strategy: Income and Growth

The Best Annuity Strategy
^Create a stream of income at low cost
^Keep your nest egg growing to beat inflation
^Build assets for medical emergencies and a legacy
^Use the Warren Buffett retirement strategy
We need a strategy to succeed in retirement too
We want to have enough money to do whatever pleases us and yet we don't know how long we will be able to do those things we love. We can create an inflation-proof income for the rest of our lives without giving up control of our assets.


Is your employer costing you HALF your retirement money?
Employers like ABB are warned—cut 401k fees or pay $13 million to reimburse employee participants. ABB, Inc did not “monitor its plan’s internal costs and paid excessive fees by not negotiating for rebates from investment companies whose funds were offered in the plan.” According to Vanguard’s John Bogle, you can give up 63% of your nest egg when your 401k mutual fund fees are high. Don’t let your employer gamble with your future: http://www.amazon.com/Tune-your-401k-EARN-Tax-FREE/dp/1490591028

Your fees give brokers big raises
Major firms boosted payout for their top managers last year as they place more emphasis on advice division. Gregory Fleming, the president of Morgan Stanley's wealth and investment management units, saw his bonus jump to $4 million, up 62%, according to filings. “And if you're charging fees on average assets over each year, it can provide predictable fee streams over multiple years.” When your account grows, your advisor’s grows even more. Keep what you have earned: http://www.amazon.com/Wealth-Without-Wall-Street-Commissions/dp/1442168137

WARNING Variable annuities can hurt you
Variable annuities could spell double trouble for brokers who eye fat commissions but ignore the rules in place for protecting investors.
Brokers can earn 7 percent or more in commissions on these insurance products, but when they sell them to consumers who aren't a good fit for them, they can face the wrath of regulators as well as investors who try to reclaim their money by filing securities arbitration cases.
At the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Wall Street's industry-funded watchdog, variable annuities follow stocks and mutual funds as the third most common source of complaints. They include one from an elderly investor who will be 102 before he can access the money he locked into his annuity. This warning was sent to your broker:

MetLife brokers caught pushing annuity scheme
Two former brokers for MetLife Securities allegedly engaged in a seven-year scheme to inflate commissions by having customers switch $21 million in annuities, says regulator Finra in a complaint. Use the annuity without a 7% commission:   http://www.amazon.com/Your-FREE-Annuity-Stream-Lifestyle/dp/1497438616

GOP Presidential slate being decided this weekend!
Potential 2016 GOP candidates court mega donor Adelson ($38 Billion) during Vegas weekend. If Adelson likes what he hears at his Republican Jewish Coalition, he might give winner $100 million like last election. Always follow the money.

Supremes decided to let the rich decide election results from now on
If you're rich and want to give money to a lot of political campaigns, the Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that you can. Just like their Citizens United decision, those with money can now have unlimited influence on who becomes President and Congress so they can provide subsidies to their friends. If you are rich, you can pay the candidates for access on your issues. If you have a company, you can let your lobbyist pay the candidates indirectly. Either way, your taxes will go to what they want not what we need. Two Americas.

Koch brothers can now pay for any and all elections—President and Congress
Total spending in the 2012 federal election - for the White House and every open seat in Congress - was $6.3 billion. Each of the Koch Brothers is now worth about $40 billion. They each gained about $6 billion (15%) last year.
How much does our vote count?

ObamaCare saves money for young insured too
Young people with expensive health insurance (employer does not offer coverage) may be saving hundreds a month due to the ObamaCare subsidy for low wages. Subsidies can be over $200 a month, paying almost the total cost of a silver comprehensive plan. Don’t let Exxon take all the subsidies. Use your share to get what you need: http://www.amazon.com/Health-Insurance-ONLY-right-policy/dp/1480125083

Ted Cruz asks his Facebook ‘friends’ about Obamacare, gets an earful
It's probably fair to say that he didn't expect the tsunami of "YES" votes that have shown up on the page among the 47,000 that Facebook says have been posted. Respondents have listed, among other things, their newfound ability to obtain coverage despite preexisting medical conditions, the right of young adults to stay on their parents' policies to age 26, lower premiums and the end of lifetime benefit limits. 

Tax overhaul domed before it even gets a hearing—lobbyists kill it
The twist reflects how lobbying in Washington — and the millions of dollars in fees that lobbyists collect — are often about stopping action and preserving the status quo. Whenever Congress considers major changes to the tax code, lobbyists buy “insurance” on both sides of the fight. It also reflects a pivot by lobbyists who had spent months cheering Mr. Camp’s three-year effort to draft this giant package, given that its stated purpose was to lower corporate tax rates and simplify the tax code, and who are now working to make sure that the tax package never becomes law.


Cellphone use causes accidents
The National Safety Council's annual injury and fatality report, "Injury Facts," found that the use of cellphones causes 26% of the nation's car accidents, a modest increase from the previous year. The 2014 edition of the report compares data from 2013 and earlier. Only 5% of cellphone-related crashes occur because the driver is texting. The majority of the accidents involve drivers distracted while talking on handheld or hands-free cellphones. It is the distraction of communication that kills. IL bans hand-held cell use.

Why let people build in unsafe areas?
After Sandy, the Oso landslide in Washington State brings this question again. But things are rarely simple when government power meets property rights. The government has broad authority to regulate safety in decisions about where and how to build, but it can count on trouble when it tries to restrict the right to build. “Often, it ends up in court,” observers say. Perhaps as more expensive cleanups raise all our insurance costs, it may occur to Congress to ask those who live in dangerous areas to pay more for the “right” to live dangerously. Our “Reps” in Washington just did the opposite. They reduced the cost of flood insurance for homeowners living in the new flood zones. This means we will all pay more. Many clients in NJ saw rates soar even though they had no claims from Sandy. So, danger lovers, enjoy the shore and mountains while you can!

“Deficits don’t matter” Dick Cheney told the Treasury Secretary in 2002
As of March 2014, American consumers owed $11.52 trillion in debt, an increase of 1.6% from last year. The average household owes $7,115 on their credit cards and the average indebted household owes $15,252. A 2013 study by the Employee Benefit Research Institute found that nearly half of workers had less than $10,000 saved. http://www.amazon.com/The-Simple-Financial-Life-paycheck/dp/1441499326

Torture helped us find terrorists, Cheney said—also a lie
Torture does not produce good answers according to FBI and actual CIA officers. Americans need good analysis of actions to made good decisions. We aren’t like military regimes that make up the “truth” to do what we want … or are we?

Killing people OK in FL and at auto makers
Apparently, it is OK to kill people in FL if you SAY you FELT threatened or if you are a big company making cars that you know can fail from preventable cause and people are killed. GM is the latest auto maker to hide behind legal BS to avoid responsibility, just like some people in FL. Romney was wrong: Corporations are NOT people. They don’t go to jail, they just go bankrupt, get bailed out and pay a fine.  


SCAMS           Why are we still paying $700 Billion a year for WWII deployments?
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 just can’t afford to pay for everyone else’s defenses anymore.
DoD head Hagel proposes budget cut but still pay for Lockheed F35 plane failures.

Transamerica Financial Advisors overcharged thousands of clients by failing to uniformly offer breakpoint discounts across the firm, even after regulators pointed out the problem at one branch office, the Securities and Exchange Commission said.
The St. Petersburg, FL firm agreed to refund or credit 2,304 current and former client accounts a total of $553,624 and to pay a fine of the same amount to settle the commission's allegations, which were announced in Washington on Thursday.

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