Friday, March 27, 2015

Will GOP support tax breaks for those who don't vote GOP?

Will GOP support tax break for Dem’s middle class?
Most corporations pay ZERO tax. Obama wants to bring corporate cash home. Hoping to avoid taxes, the top 500 companies have stashed more than $2 trillion in earnings overseas and at least $690 billion outside the U.S. Wish we could! Since they DO NOT pay their fair share, the middle class must pay the bill for 1.2 million military force—Germany, Japan, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Veterans, subsidies to corporations—oil, gas, farms, and Congress people who hold “do nothing” jobs. Every year that Apple, Google, Facebook, etc don’t pay their fair share, the deficit rises. Average American tax rate is 32% while the rich pay only 15%.  It is Regressive. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cu5B-2LoC4s
Until GOP agrees, use the Tax Shelter for working people: http://www.amazon.com/Tax-Shelter-Young-Americans/dp/1500426520

Is your broker/advisor a fiduciary? Is it important?
Our government wants those who advise us to pledge that they are acting in OUR best interests, not those of their employer. Sales organizations want to make a profit so they offer us products/services with built-in commissions, fees, and many other charges. But are we getting the best deal for us? Do we buy groceries on sale—the house brand—or the most advertised or hyped no matter what it costs? That is the question. Example: are we better off buying mutual funds that cost 0.05% or 1.5%? According to many studies and Warren Buffett, we will have more by paying lessFiduciary rules keep sellers honest. 
We don’t pay the extra charges with Buffett’s strategy:

Why don’t bankers/executives go to jail when they do bad things?
It is curious that when corporations do bad things and have to pay a heavy fine, the people who committed fraud, deception and whatever, never go to jail and the stockholders pay the fine. The perp walks Free and gets the bonus. When will stockholders (our mutual funds) STOP this trend? Citibank holders will decide to end this in April. A similar proposal for all corporations says: It’s only fitting for executives to hold themselves accountable for costly misdeeds, Mr. Zipes argues, even if they were unaware of them. After all, top managers often take credit — and receive bonuses — for positive corporate activities in which they had little role or knew nothing about.  BankAmerica holders are still paying for Countrywide’s Mozilo sins. It is about accountability and we all ultimately pay for the lawlessness of the individuals that have an incentive to cheat big time.

Why America needs regulation and accountability—no GM exec went to jail either
GM recalled 2.6 million vehicles for that faulty switch in 2014. G.M. originally tied 13 deaths to the defect, a count that has since risen to at least 67. The tally of deaths and injuries is expected to grow further but GM kept silent. Fines don’t raise accountability or dead victims.

IRS can’t even collect its own workers’ taxes
IRS says federal workers owe more than $3.5 billion in unpaid taxes. Almost 305,000 federal workers and retirees owed back taxes as of Sept. 30. Congress has not acted. About 5 percent of House employees owed back taxes, compared to just 3.5 percent of Senate workers. We have our salaries garnished if we don't pay but not if you know someone in Washington. 


GOP crazies
Senate leader McConnell says ObamaCare hurts the middle class and GOP will end it. Reason 1: Taxes will be passed on (new tanning salon tax). 2. Coverage cancelled (inadequate plans eliminated). 3. ObamaCare is expensive ($100/mo?) 4. Meds will cost more (for-profit industry!). 5. Govt controls care (actually, insurers decide coverage). McConnell’s own Congressional Study says 12 million NOW have coverage and net costs will decline.
GOP budget would throw millions of Americans off health insurance, cut $4.3 trillion from programs like Medicare, food stamps and Medicaid. Education programs would be scaled back. Pell Grants for college students would be frozen. Wall Street regulations passed in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis would be scaled back. GOP leaves tax loopholes for the wealthy and corporations to avoid paying their fair share of taxes.
Death knells for middle-class Americans.

GOP lives by different rules
IL Rep Schock sought reimbursement for 172,520 miles on his car, despite the fact that he signed documents that certified the vehicle traveled less than half that distance. “In addition to staying at expensive hotels, Schock also has spent more than $90,000 in campaign dollars on private air charters, an unusually high sum for a rank-and-file member of the House.” He quit and hired TWO lawyers.
FL GOP Gov Scott has banned words to make “global warning” disappear
Florida Department of Environmental Protection workers have been banned from using terms like 'climate change' and 'global warming,' according to FL employees. "Sea-level rise was to be referred to as 'nuisance flooding.’ " FL Pres Jeb Bush is a global warming "skeptic." FL Sen. Rubio said last year that he doesn't "believe human activity is causing these dramatic changes to our climate." However, Scott put $106 million in budget to protect homes and infrastructure. Sea-level rise alone threatens 30 percent of the state’s beaches, according to FCIR. Scott says he is not a scientist but he decided “global warming” does not exist. 
 
GOP to vote Medicare increase March 2015
Congress is voting to raise our Part B and Part D premiums and increase deductible amounts that millions of seniors must pay. They're fixing the Medicare doctor payment system. They have failed 18 times in 12 years since lobbyists control funding decisions. Half of Medicare beneficiaries have incomes less than $23,500. Many are already struggling to afford health care, groceries, utility bills and more, and rely on Medicare to help afford essential treatment. But they don’t pay for elections. Medical lobbyists do. Follow the money.

GOP President Ted Cruz–the “Wacko bird” or New McCarthyism?
Cruz led a shutdown of the federal government in October 2013. Will he close the WH and run America from his Texas ranch? Will he continue to pay farmers to grow ethanol? Cruz's wife, Heidi, a managing director at Goldman Sachs in Houston, will campaign for privatizing EVERYTHING. But sheneeds the ObamaCare insurance that Ted wants to kill. Cruz target: half of the voters in the Iowa caucus are expected to be evangelical Christians. Cruz version of Christianity is like Sharia Law. Cruz put the ‘graven image’ of the Ten Commandments at the Texas Capitol. Sen John McCain called him a "wacko bird." Cruz reads "Green Eggs and Ham" on the Senate floor. Cruz was born in oil field in CANADA to Cuban/American parents. Cruz will have new book: "A Time for Truth." God save US.
Opposes tax increases on any income bracket
• Supports audit of the Federal Reserve by own wife’s firm-GS-costing taxpayers $100 million
• Supports single-rate tax system which means rich pay less and we pay more
• Strong opponent of Affordable Care Act (known as "Obamacare")
• Supports raising the eligibility age for Medicare
• Supports raising the retirement age
Supports private retirement account option for Social Security

Countries that tried privatizing Social Security
11 countries have gone back on private plans. Money managers were taking high fees. Governments instituted private accounts and then after citizens saved, took the balances. Poland started in 1999 and in 2014 “seized more than HALF the assets.” Hungary and Argentina cancelled plans and used the money to pay current bills. Vote NO to privatizing in 2016.

Will your 401k be enough to pay for retirement?
The median balance for savers at Vanguard aged 55 to 64 in 2013 was $76,381. Assuming they reach $100,000 by the time they claim full SS benefits at 67, the average income will be $4,000 per year plus SS income of about $16,000. Most people would find it difficult to live on $20,000 even if they owned their own home. Either folks will be moving to AR, IA or Argentina or investing $3,000 a year for 15 years to add $100,000 of Tax-Free income.
Invest in low-cost stock funds for the long-term: http://www.amazon.com/Tax-FREE-Income-100000-tax-free/dp/1477472584

Cars to avoid according to CR
Consumer Reports tested these vehicles with the lowest test scores.


More cuts to employer-paid retiree’s health care
California's struggling to pay for health care for retired state employees, with an estimated $72 billion in medical costs coming in the next 30 years. Gov. Jerry Brown's solution: Make workers start contributing money to pay for the health care they'll need after retiring. Loss of pay raises will squeeze middle class more!

IRS reduced audits and tax assistance—more volunteers actually do IRS’s work
The 2014 Data Book contains charts that show trends, such as the decline in the number of audits and the decline in telephone and in-person tax assistance and increases in the use of online resources and volunteer tax assistance. Thanks to AARP volunteers who do 5 returns a day FREE. 

Is this what America has become?
A 13-year-old boy in Florida fatally shot his 6-year-old brother, wounded his 16-year-old brother and then killed himself on Wednesday during an argument over food, authorities said. Mom and 18-year old sib are not home in Tampa FL.
An “adult” with 4 kids leaves a loaded gun laying around for the kids to play with?

Who owns your account now?
LearnVest to Northwestern Mutual
Kraft food to Buffett’s Heinz : Kraft Heinz Company

SCAMS           Why are we still paying $700 Billion a year for WWII deployments? That is 27 cents of each dollar in taxes—the largest part of our money—and we aren’t even at war. We could pay off our debts and fix our schools, roads and bridges!
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 have wasted $398.6 billion so far on the F-35 program—they can’t fly safely.
We just can’t afford to pay for everyone else’s defenses anymore.
Japan, Germany and S. Korea can pay for their own defenses.
The War on Terror requires SEALS’ attacks on top terrorists at their homes. Iraq proved converting a nation to Western-style republic doesn’t work. Our trained troops ran away.
We are wasting $4 billion a year on Afgan tribal rivalries paying ransom to Al Qaeda.

Former IRS employees and hackers take our data
The GAO report says the IRS uses old outdated software without proper security functions. IRS passwords can easily be compromised, the report notes. Even worse, the report says the IRS does not always delete employee access when workers quit or are fired.

Congress people daily routine for “do nothing” job
Lobbyists breakfast meeting, gym workout, committee meeting BS, lobbyists lunch meeting, review lobbyist-written legislation, “dialing for dollars” separate lobbyists office (it's illegal to solicit campaign cash from the official congressional office), gym workout, lobbyists dinner meeting, lobbyists fundraising event—drinks all around, free flight home on Thursdays, return Tuesday, do again. It is considered poor form in Congress -- borderline self-indulgent -- for a freshman to sit at length in congressional hearings when the time could instead be spent raising money. “Call time”—dialing for dollars to wealthy and businesses takes 4 hours a day! Of course they never read the laws.

Lessons of war
Jim Clapper, Dir National Intelligence, admits we did not foresee that overnight, almost 5 divisions of US-trained Iraq’s army would literally melt away. We can’t “instill in any force, the will to fight.” It must come from “a cause of their own and we can’t impose it.”

New place to complain about financials.

Miracles do happen
Boy comes back to life after 30 minutes.

Who said women are underpaid?
Google's new CFO, Ruth Porat, gets $70 million pay package. It sure beats that old top-pay Morgan Stanley job.

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