Showing posts with label Social Security benefits. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Social Security benefits. Show all posts

Friday, June 3, 2016

Don just shifted his tax bill to US

Don’s tax bill shifted to you and me
“Mr. Trump is proud to pay a lower tax rate, the lowest tax rate possible.” –that is 0%, NO TAXES. We will have to pay his portion since he has just signed a paper “moving” his 542 income sources to Delaware. This allows him to avoid tax on his income from US and foreign-registered trademarks. Royalties from the use of his name and properties will no longer be taxed. Since some are assigned to foreign firms, it is assumed this is substantial tax savings. Moving the trademarks to his new company, DTTM Operations LLC, will enable Don to avoid other states’ income taxes on royalties paid for their use. Don just moved trademarks to Mexico for bricklaying? air-conditioner repair? and street cleaning? Don valued all this activity at more than $3.3 billion. He reported income from royalties at up to $56.1 million. While avoiding taxes, he can use the trademarks as collateral for deductible loans. Don’s “heirs could then benefit from any appreciation in the trademarks without paying gift or estate taxes,” a lawyer said.
All this paper-shifting could leave you and I with a big tax bill. Avoid it: http://www.amazon.com/Build-Your-Tax-FREE-Wealth-Reserve/dp/1456505041


Why aren’t we getting rich? Attitude?
If the economy is getting better and employment is up, why are we NOT getting rich? The 1% club requires more income and worth to get in. Big business is getting bigger, and workers’ slice of the economic pie is getting smaller. Research shows a surprisingly tight link between the two phenomena: The share of the pie that goes to workers has been shrinking most in precisely those industries where ownership is becoming more concentrated. Capitalism doesn’t work when competition is reduced. JPMorganChase found that in many sectors the 50 largest companies sharply increased their share of industry revenue. The share that goes to workers got smaller in those industries. For instance in transport/warehousing, workers lost 7.6% share of the value added. Railroads are very profitable but there are fewer well paid workers. Health-care went the reverse since it is less concentrated. When competition is reduced, business can charge more and unions have less power. Invest like a business person—use the Buffett strategy!
Make the most of your wages with the right Investment Attitude: http://www.amazon.com/Investment-Attitude-biases-that-being/dp/1533424519


GOP-run states hit schools, infrastructure, education, gun control, regulation, virus
OK allows guns without reg or training. “It’s our God-given right.” 30 states now.
KS excludes thousands of voters from voting on technicality—Never asked for papers
AL Supremes head sues state in Fed court he denies has jurisdiction—GOP crazies!
KS tax cuts are ruining the state—lost $74 mill - no money for roads, schools,
MI gov helps Don by NOT endorsing him
GOP House does NOT help FL GOP fight Zika—FL begs Obama for Exec Order?
‘Trump effect’ inspires thousands of immigrants to join US before he cuts them off.

What would you do over again (if you could)?
The majority of people have few regrets in their life. Most of us make the most of the cards they are dealt. Here is where we would improve if we had the chance: No 1 on the list—invest early. We learn later that compounding our savings really works if we use stock mutual fund earnings from the start. If we invest just $166/mo for 8 years ($16,000) by age 26, we could have over $1 million for retirement.

Do you have enough in your virtual Social Security account?
Do you know what your Social Security benefits are worth? How big of a nest egg would you need to receive the benefits you will receive every month? We assume you and I will receive the average benefit for the average number of years in our lifespan. The average is $1,328/mo. the average benefit period is 20 years. The maximum is $2,663/mo. Some receive benefits to age 100 or more. Using our calculator, we can estimate how large our virtual SS account has to be. Vanguard retirement income calculator shows that you have at least $400,000 in your virtual account. https://retirementplans.vanguard.com/VGApp/pe/pubeducation/calculators/RetirementNestEggCalc.jsf
So if you did not have a SS benefit coming to you, it would take an investment account of about $800,000 (before taxes) to replace your benefits. Your SS account may have $1.2 million if you receive the max benefit and live to age 100.
Just in case you can’t live on $1,328 a month, invest $9 a day now: http://www.amazon.com/Get-What-You-Want-FINANCIAL/dp/1514751151

Tax-FREE IRS account gives you $25 extra for every $100 you spend
The Roth IRA allows you to keep all your earnings tax-FREE. While others are paying tax on their deferred 401k and IRA accounts in retirement, you will spend $30,000 for every $3,000 you invest with NO income tax. No Fed or state taxes. If you invest $250 a month, $3,000 (average tax refund) a year, you will have $1 million in retirement. Since you already paid tax on the $100,000 you contributed, the $900,000 is earnings and it’s all tax-FREE. If you spend $5,000 a month, $60,000 a year, you avoid $15,000 in Fed & state taxes. Since you have no taxable income, SS benefits may be tax-FREE too.


Millennials are better educated but not in financials
Millennial women have made up the educational gap that used to exist between women and men, but they still lag in income earnings potential and in the percentage of their personal income they’re saving for retirement, according to new research from T. Rowe Price. “Millennials are the biggest generation. They are the future, and women have made up the educational gap in the workforce,” says Anne Coveney, senior manager of retirement thought leadership for T. Rowe Price. “Millennials have invested in educational attainment but they are saving a lower percentage of their personal income than men,” she adds. But women live longer than men so need more retirement money.
Save just $9 a day for $6,666 a month later when you need it:  https://www.amazon.com/ Millennials-Investment-Strategy-BEST-journey/dp/1533079242

If you have over $3 million to invest, Bank America has an “advisor” for you
Otherwise, your advisor is probably hard to find. New rules have made it more difficult for your advisor to take high fees from your under-$1-million account. Fiduciary Rule issued by Obama’s DOL says advisors must offer you the BEST product for you and not the highest fee plan available. But most firms do not offer the Best product for you so they will switch you to an account the takes fees each year—making up high fees over time. So instead of 4.5% now, you will pay 1% plus 1.3% each YEAR: $4.4 billion 2016.
See how Fiduciary Rule can save you up to 63% of your lifelong costs: http://www.amazon.com/Fiduciary-Rule-BEST-dont-settle-anymore/dp/1530980275

How well do the 1% live?
The top 1 percent of American households now controls 42% of the nation’s wealth, up from less than 30% two decades ago. The top 0.1% accounts for 22%, nearly double the 1995 proportion. Inequality may be a powerful force in this year’s election but for our businessmen it represents something else entirely. From cruise ship operators and casinos to amusement parks and airlines, the rise of the 1% spells opportunity and profit. Private and separate banking, accommodations, rewards, housing, foundations, etc have created a new niche for profit and more wealth. Middle-class shrinkage means service providers ignore most customers and bend over for the booming wealthy. From 2010 to 2014, the number of American households with at least $1 million in financial assets jumped by nearly one-third, to just under seven million, according to a study by the Boston Consulting Group. For the $1 million-plus cohort, estimated wealth grew by 7.2 percent annually from 2010 to 2014, eight times the pace of gains for families with less than $1 million.
Business goes where the money is: Crystal Cruises will begin an airborne version of one of its luxury ships: a customized Boeing 777 that ferries passengers on 14- or 28-day trips around the world.
How well do they live: The Sky is no longer the limit—Bezos promises space by 2018.

Does our President need to be smart and truthful? Do they even care about truth?

            What does Trump’s National Socialism stand for?
Reinstate older white male value system: Make ‘WASP” America Great Again
Reinstate Christianity as the state religionbar all others from public office
Reinstate Christmas and Christian observance in schools, home, court, etc
Put up a wall, end trade, bring back repetitive “robotic” jobs back from low wage areas.
Cut regulation of all business activity, lower wages for women, pregnancy ‘inconvenient’
Cut federal spending on health especially when control women clinics
Don will cut Medicare and SS benefits “if tax cuts don’t make big surpluses”
Cancel immigration for all the rapists and terrorists from non-EU countries
Limit rights of non-Christians, Muslims, gays, Indians, Asians, protesters, press
Increase debt and devalue debt. Let Mexico pay for the Wall
Create tariffs on imports so we pay $6,000 more for stuff we buy. Middle class tax.
Trade pacts are no good for us and no good for our workers.
Abolish IRS, EPA, Education, Dodd-Frank financial protections
National right to buy and carry any firearms anywhere anytime by anyone age 2 and up.
Install state gov that cuts Medicaid, education, federal support payments, infrastructure.
Lust for executive power”—GOP House leader thinks Don wants to just snap fingers.
I could stand in Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose any voters.” 
David Riden Don’s delegate claims he will eliminate gov leaders not Constitutional

            Suit against my U. judged by a ‘Mexican Gonzalo Curiel who hates me.’ Paranoia
            World leaders endorse me: North Korea endorses 'wise' Donald – Dictator likes.
            “You make me look very bad. I have never received bad publicity for a good job.”
            TheU “preyed on the elderly and uneducated to separate them from their money.” 
            I never ‘settle’ lawsuits—just encourages more—Oh yeh, I did settle 100 plus.

Hill:  Voters don’t know my vision for America? The things I am “passionate” about.

Paul: ‘This is one of my big concerns:’ Don’s “lust for executive power.”


Regulators are the only protection we have since we can’t sue anymore
            “It is nearly impossible for one individual to take on a corporation with vast resources.” (GOP bill requires impossible: every person in class action suffer “same type and scope of injury”)
               Supremes stop us from suing—State courts no longer available to sue corporations!

. Jason Gill Javier Rios JSG Capital caught stealing $5.5 mil in Ponzi fake IPOs 
.Lynn Tilton Patriarch caught hiding poor performance & collecting $200 million fees.
. Steven McClatchey Barclays, Gary Pusey, his plumber caught insider trading $76,000.
. Toyota Fiat Chrysler Volkswagen Mitsubishi selling new vehicles with defective bags
.Nissan SUV 80,000 brake light stays on recalled
. Erik Dekker Netherlands caught using “caging service,” to steal $18 mill from seniors.
.Charles Liu Xin Wang, CA, caught offering visas and cancer center takes $27 mill
.Brain damage repair new stem cells give life to stroke victims. Went home same day!

We need regulation—GOP wrong—companies/cities wouldn’t fix bad products on own

SCAMS
Ignoramus Award: Fed with 50 cyber breaches 2011-15 shows FOIA report heavily             redacted so the public NOT thieves, cannot see “security procedures” ? What?  

How our government wastes our money
More planes we don’t need with money we don’t have—cut food stamps, etc          
Transgender teen (girl at birth) banned from boys room. Boys don’t bother Gavin. 
Air shows: A Blue Angels and Thunderbird crashed in two separate incidents yesterday, 1 killed

Who owns your account now?
 Saudi Arabia announced a $3.5 billion investment in Uber

IAN
41 Watchung Plaza, B242
MontclairNJ 07042
973.746.2014
Alerts 

Friday, January 22, 2016

Our Congressmen get rich using insider info illegal for us

Congressmen become the super rich using insider info that is illegal for us
Among the powerful politicians, the portfolios of Republicans outperform the market by 32.05% to 36.19% under a one-week holding period. “Our results imply that the performance of congressional portfolios is mostly driven by private information” that they have and we don’t “based on their power and party membership," Serkan Karadas, economist, Sewanee: The University of the South, writes in the study.
Worse, Congress passed a law that says they are above the law (Insider trading is illegal for us). The study, which looked at almost 62,000 trades made by members of Congress in 2004-2010, found outperformance of 22.13 to 24.16% under a one-week holding period on an annual basis. That short-term outperformance is significant, implying that the politicians were trading on time-sensitive information. Worse, Republicans with little financial experience are beating Wall Street’s “top traders.”
Why let Congress have all the benefits of the tax code: http://www.amazon.com/Win-Investment-War-Earn-11/dp/1522916369

GOP tax plan failure in KS & MI is warning for US
Econ “trickle down” does NOT work! GOP tried to make Kansas a Tea Party showcase, but it has created a budget gap of $190 million just like Bush2. KS has fewer services while small biz pays nothing. US was prosperous in ‘50s 60s with tax rates at 90%. Regulations are needed! GOP in MI tried to save money by poisoning Flint children with lead. It cost $14 to test water BEFORE changing sources.
Wealthy love these low tax schemes and take their money to Caymans. They don’t build more factories in US but in cheap labor countries.

Where is the new tax evasion (insider trading) money going?
This yacht firm’s growth estimate is about 20 percent growth in the client base between now and 2020. You can pick up a used Sunseeker for only $2.5 mil. Many KS lawyers are putting their former tax money in art. Since 2012, professional offices (dr, esq, cfa) have invested in yachts and art work. Congressmen with gains of 36% keep their money offshore like Mitt Romney. Job creating factories are a waste of capital with global markets with cheap labor. Like 26 of the most profitable US firms, they use their tax evasion money outside America—yachts, art, foreign subsidiaries, St Kitts estates.


GOP wins: Washington just cancelled your Social Security benefits!
Consider using the three benefits that Congress has decided to take away from us without discussion. You may apply before April if they help you maximize your Social Security benefits. They are technical so you may have to go to a SS office to make sure you qualify. You may double your benefits if you have to file early (age 62) because you have no job. You lose 25% for life if you don’t wait to age 67 but you could use spousal if file by April. If you are divorced, you may still collect from your EX’s account but you must meet the requirements. Check it out before April.

File your simple tax return for FREE
Many sites provide FREE federal e-file but charge $13 for state e-filing. The IRS approves these firms: https://www.irs.gov/uac/Free-File:-Do-Your-Federal-Taxes-for-Free. We are on our own: 51 million taxpayers called the IRS with questions in 2015.
"I've tried to call them," says Lisa Ross, "I gave up." After waiting on hold for hours, some taxpayers were forced to give up. Do what you think is right (Google it) and send. Check if your preparer is legit at https://www.irs.gov/Tax-Professionals/Choosing-a-Tax-Professional. Free fed and state is offered for simple returns at https://www.taxact.com/index.asp and at http://www.olt.com/main/oltfree/default.asp

Where is the best place to put your tax refund?
The average refund is about $3,000. It is really forced savings at 0% interest. We can spend the money or pay off debt or invest it and earn 8% instead. The market is down 8% so far this year. The market will eventually return that 8% and more. Guess what the smartest investor is doing with this market collapse—Buffett is buying! He is buying energy stocks. Why? Because we panic and sell energy at bottom—down 28%. Buffett is buying a bargain again just like he did with Coke and AMEX last century. He knows that $30 oil can’t last long. Make Warren Buffett your advisor now.

What should you do if your broker has you in junk?
He told you bonds were safer than stocks. She had you buy high income bonds or their funds because you were tired of earning 2% on your money. Now with losses of 20% brokers can’t answer the phone fast enough. But who would buy these losses now? What should you do? If you sell, you lock in a loss so hold on for oil and commodities to rebound. If you have more than 10% of your portfolio in junk, especially “level 3” bonds, you may want to rebalance. You may be better off (more stable income) using a balanced fund like Vanguard’s Wellesley Income Fund which has provided almost 10% annually since 1970. It is one of Vanguard’s Top Ten of all time. http://www.amazon.com/Vanguards-Top-Ten-mutual-funds/dp/150073909X

Why are investors moving from expensive advisors to Vanguard?
Vanguard, which offers passively managed funds, had $236 billion new money in 2015 – the largest in the industry. Investors are quitting active money managers. Reason: costs and wild swings in value. Investors realize it is VERY difficult to find a manager who is right when the market falls and rises quickly. They see hedge funds being trimmed savagely. They understand that if markets earned 1.3% in 2015 and their advisor cost 1.3% they end up with nothing. Average returns (11%) don’t look as bad as broker’s say they do. Investors realize that Wall Street can take up to 63% of their accumulations over time. AND Vanguard has licensed reps you can reach for help when needed:  http://www.amazon.com/Wall-Street-Cleans-Up-Advisors/dp/1517043255

Even wealthy families are cutting out the middlemen to save fees
More wealthy families are using their own expertise to do their own private equity deals, especially for the $500,000 to $5 million direct or co-investment deals, according to Family Office Club data. Over time, a 2% cost (1.3% plus trading costs plus taxes from trading plus BD charges) can take up to 63% of your potential accumulation.
Pay less; keep more:

Does our President need to be smart and truthful? Do they even care about truth?

Trump: See how America will be run by Prez Trump – it’s only a deal for him!
            Demagogues even attract the Bible thumpers despite lifestyle: “he’s honest”??
            Are there Two Corinthians?      Palin endorsement=Market collapse?
            Palin attracts followers for Trump despite unseemly family values dysfunctions
Fiorina: "Donald Trump’s a moron.” “…he doesn’t support human rights” for all.
Sanders: If elected, Bill O'Reilly promised to move to Ireland and Ire is not happy.
            Banks will be split up and stock trading taxed 0.5% to reduce speculation.
            MI gov Snyder should resign after poisoning Flint residents with lead esp. kids.
            Dick Cheney had experience but lacked judgment. Clinton blew it.
Cruz: Yesterday he said Iran should have been bombed (“full force”) for holding sailors.
            He is not Prez and so we got back 4 hostages. Bombs were not answer.
            “NY Values” denigration drew the line for GOP religionists
            1790 law says citizenship passes to foreign-born child by father NOT mother.
Rubio: my gun is “the last line of defense against ISIS.” “My boots from WI” No India
            My form of Christianity (was Catholic, then Mormon, back to Catholic) will             “influence me in everything that I do.” Gov pays for priests’ therapy?
Christie: Even his own conservative supporters say “he lied” – compulsive or fungus
Clinton: “We can go after these tax evasion” schemes [like mine] “in the Caymans.”

Can a Trump/Palin/Christie America survive a crisis without killing us all?
Maybe Bernie’s socialism isn’t so bad—and a new Progressive Era could help us.

Regulators are the only protection we have since we can’t sue anymore
            “It is nearly impossible for one individual to take on a corporation with vast resources.” (GOP bill requires impossible: every person in class action suffer “same type and scope of injury”)
               Supremes stop us from suing—State courts no longer available to sue corporations!

Finance 500, CA caught selling penny stocks without authority—pump and dump ops
Fiat Chrysler recalls 389,000 Jeep and Dodge SUVs again for wiring; 1st failed
Renault recall to fix emissions scandal too – Do all auto makers lie?
AL Justice Roy Moore says GOP religion trumps Supreme’s decision.
Goldman, Sachs Merrill Lynch caught violating securities lending practices.
A lead-poisoning test kit for Flint water costs $14 and would have saved 1,000 kids IQ.
FL gov making same mistake in de-regulating water QUALITY. GOP cuts regs for $$         
Herbies Auto Sales caught misleading consumers fined – No Jail Time
2,653 guns seized at 236 airports, 20% more than 2014. 80% were loaded. Crazy!

We need regulation—GOP is wrong—companies/cities wouldnt fix bad products on own


How our gov wastes money
DefenseDep says MORE troops to Iraq – “Retrain” those in army that ran away before.
AirForce drones have bugs. 20 broke already. No warranty but cost $64 million each.

SCAMS
Bundy’s terrorists seize Fed property and get to walk away—no consequences to terror?
            Feds asked to give property to terrorists – what about original owners: Indians?
Fear not reality is the motivator for terrorism and gun politics: We spend $billions on             terrorism, which killed 229 Americans. In the same 10 years, 310,000             Americans died from guns.
Texas barbecue joint will give you a discount for carrying a gun!?
LA pays $24.3 million to two men wrongly convicted—prosecutor made up evidence
Low-Value List: Cars/trucks that break most often without warranty-quality/price low
High-Value List: Cars that last a long time—250K miles—quality/price ratio high
            Now policeman apologizes for word choice: "My poor choice of words…” He detailed what drivers could do to avoid being charged with a crime if their vehicles struck someone during the unpermitted march. 

IAN
41 Watchung Plaza, B242
MontclairNJ 07042
973.746.2014
Alerts 

Friday, December 11, 2015

Our "representatives" promote Socialism for the rich!

GOP gives away the farm!
New farm subsidies (socialism) will cost US more than old formula
Would you like to sell a product and have a guaranteed profit whether the price you sell is high or low? If you don’t get the high price you asked for, taxpayers will pay you what you want. You can make the price go up by holding your product until there is more demand and prices go up. You and other producers can work together to make the price go up and if it does not, you get paid anyway. This is not the capitalism GOP raves about.
This is the new farm bill that will cost us more because conservative GOP voted more money. Most farms are large agribusiness firms that pay our ‘reps’ election costs and give them perks via their lobbyists. It’s Socialism for the rich, pure and simple. GOP in charge of Congress now?

Tax evaders may lose passport
State Department can revoke, deny or limit passports for anyone the IRS certifies as having a seriously delinquent tax debt in an amount in excess of $50,000. It could mean no new passport and no renewal. It could even mean the State Department will rescind existing passports.

IRS code used to avoid paying taxes
These suggestions may work for you even though they were written for the wealthy people who pay for the elections of our “representatives:”
Real estate investments can add cash using depreciation as expense. Oil and gas partnerships reduce tax. Passive income tax credits from §42, §47, or §48 partnerships. Charitable remainder trusts shift income to family. ‘Defective’ non-grantor trusts avoid state taxes. Use trust and estate distributions to shift income to lower tax brackets. These and other tricks lower your tax bracket from 39%. No one pays the bracket set for their income. You can now use your IRS account to avoid taxes like the wealthy:

GOP budget cuts Social Security benefits for our future to pay for wealthy perks above
GOP cut strategy called “file and suspend.” This meant one member of a couple files for benefits but then suspends them. This allows the other spouse to begin collecting spousal benefits on the other person’s earnings record. The suspended benefits of the first spouse then continue to increase by about 8 percent a year until age 70. You can still do this by April 30. GOP also cut the “restricted application.” Under that rule, a person files a restricted application and collects spousal benefits while his or her own benefits continue to grow until age 70. Applicants will have to turn 62 before the end of this year in order to take advantage of this strategy. For anyone younger, it is being eliminated. Do it now!


GOP religion—carry gun for Christ—get them before they get you!
The Liberty University president told students that with more concealed-carry permits, “we could end those Muslims.”  “Let’s teach them a lesson if they ever show up here.”
U of Texas, Austin OKs guns in classrooms. 
This is NOT the Jesus in the Bible!
Sounds more like the Crusades in the Middle Ages.

GOP says terrorists CANT fly but CAN use guns.
NYC will spend $20 million a year on unarmed security guards at non-public (religious) schools.
Synagogues and Mosques buy protection too, just like in Iraq. ISIS winning?



Get a loan with your phone habits and Facepage network
How you manage your social media is now the new credit scoring factor in granting new loans for some new age lenders. Some companies think they can predict your ability to handle loan payments by how often you charge your smartphone and how your friends repay their loans. “People are more likely to be better borrowers if they have friends who pay back their loans on time.” Crazy!
So if you can’t handle balancing a checkbook, you still have hope for that new car loan!

The top reality TV Show in America! New show on Dec 15!

Does our President need to be rational and truthful?

            NO, the new GOP is entertainment like Apprentice—fake calamity for money!

Trump: I’ll “go after the wives” of terrorists and do things to them you can imagine.
            Ban all Muslims until our ‘reps’ figure out what is going on"? They can’t!
            Will send 10,000 to ISIS-- "I'd knock out the capital" -- ISIS has no capital!  
            Random acts of violence against people who look Muslim break out in America.
            Opens new hotels for Muslims in Azerbaijan and Indonesia. Dubai takes down pic!
Carson: new health care -- raising the Medicare eligibility age to 70. Fewer to cover!
Christie: Signed gun control on terrorists in 2013; flopped over for the NRA support.
Jeb: Tax plan adds $7 T to debt and wealthy add 12% to their $ Billions.

Sanders: Western Illinois has correctly picked each president since 1975. He wins!
Hillary: Back on top with endorsements and GOP infighting.

Supremes on affirmative action—“I don’t see discrimination in segregation”
Scalia questioned the benefit of trying to include more minority students at the nation’s selective [white] universities. ‘Really competent blacks’ would win admission without special considerations, he said.” Lawyer Garre: “I don’t think the solution to the problems with student body diversity can be to set up a system in which not only are minorities going to separate schools, they’re going to inferior schools.” Scalia is saying that he does not see discrimination in segregating blacks in 2nd class schools.  Born in Trenton, he went to Harvard, which used to keep Catholics out until 1893. Harvard claimed that Catholics had inferior educations at Jesuit schools.
Scalia is a racist and should be impeached. It has never been done!

Millions of voters living life watching video games
Millions spend a couple of hours a day watching others online playing video like League of Legends, World of Warcraft, FIFA soccer, Mario Kart, Minecraft, Guitar Hero, Grand Theft Auto, Farming Simulator (which is exactly what it sounds like), Poker, Destiny, Halo—and on and on. Young men are leaving TV for Twitch and YouTube.
Is this like our ancestors watching the public hangings in the town square?

Middle-class shrinks from 61% to 49%
America is income polarized—the top and bottom are growing. The share of Americans living in middle-class households has declined from 61 percent in 1971 to 49 percent.  “Nearly Half of All 25-Year-Olds Are Living at Home with Their Parents,” are topics of regular appearance. Back to the 1900 when families had to live together in smaller spaces on slave wages with no unions and no health care. “How the other half liveshttp://www.loyalbooks.com/image/detail/How-the-Other-Half-Lives.jpg


We need regulation—GOP is wrong—companies would not fix bad products on own
Regulators: Madoff’s victims got $1.2 billion back; checks averaging $1.1 million each.
Tax evaders get break: GOP cuts IRS criminal division 21% since 2011.
Fiduciary rule: stops bank from selling you bad mutual funds
EOS CCA caught providing inaccurate information about debt to credit agencies. 
Fiat Chrysler caught not reporting crashes and deaths its cars caused for over a decade.

Do you owe more than average debt?
Our debt is about $50,000 per adult person including mortgage, cars, education, cards, etc. More boomers are still paying for their mortgage than in the past. The average means there are many with low debt to offset those with huge debts. For instance, in NJ, an average mortgage of $40,000 means a lot of people don’t have one in order to offset the large number with a $300-600,000 debt.

Is your money frozen now?
Third Avenue Management took the rare step of freezing withdrawals from a $788 million credit mutual fund on Dec. 9. The firm’s assessment that meeting redemptions would be impossible without resorting to fire sales.  Investor withdrawals "are driving the high-yield market now more than anything. Institutions -- hedge funds and mutual funds -- are being forced to get out and unfortunately that’s pressuring the entire market."
Chasing yield has never been a good strategy.


HOW CONGRESS WASTES OUR TAX DOLLARS
Special Inspector General John F. Sopko has spent years documenting waste, fraud and abuse in the U.S. military’s efforts to rebuild war-torn Afghanistan. We have spent $110 billion on reconstruction projects in Afghanistan. When adjusted for inflation, that total exceeds the value of the entire Marshall Plan effort to rebuild Western Europe, WWII.
=More than $8 billion in spending on counter-narcotics efforts in Afghanistan that have “failed by every conceivable metric. Afgans grow poppies like we grow corn.
=The purchase of nearly $500 million worth of airplanes that never could fly and had to be turned into scrap.
=Construction of a building that literally began to melt when it rained.
A $500,000 health clinic that lacked water and electricity. Newborn babies had to be washed in a nearby dirty river.

Our ‘reps’ give big business a boost—HALF budget spent on killing machines!
“Major defense contractors Raytheon, Oshkosh, and Lockheed Martin assured investors at a Credit Suisse conference in West Palm Beach (last) week that they stand to gain from the escalating conflicts in the Middle East. The good news for the contractors is the latest budget deal authorizes $607 billion in defense spending. The budget deal in the making requires serious thought but the deficit will still rise because Bush tax cuts are not paid for and more companies are avoiding taxes.

Congress spent weeks trying to cancel ObamaCare AGAIN
Instead of solving America’s problems, the House voted again (50 and counting) to repeal the plan that millions use for coverage. Since it is not perfect, the Senate joined them to vote for a repeal Obama is sure to veto. All this BS costs US about $500,000 in wasted time and fixed costs. All 400 plus reps earn $174,000 a year to raise money for their next election. Their staff costs over $100,000 plus too.
They all have great health care so they can afford to TAKE ours AWAY. 

Who owns your account now?
Deutsche Bank AG’s U.S. private-client to Raymond James.

SCAM
JP Morgan fakes customer complaint to fire broker who refused to sell Morgan’s bad funds. Fiduciary rule would protect us since broker is required to offer products that are best for us not firm.

Conspiracy to commit fraud?
Volkswagen began developing the software that let it cheat on 11 million U.S. emissions tests as early as 2005.

IAN
41 Watchung Plaza, B242
MontclairNJ 07042
973.746.2014
Alerts

Friday, June 19, 2015

Wal-Mart evades $3.5 Billion in taxes

Wal-Mart is costing us over $3.5 BILLION in taxes
A new study has found Wal-Mart has at least 78 offshore subsidiaries, more than 30 created since 2009 and none mentioned in U.S. securities filings. Overseas operations have helped the company cut more than $3.5 billion off its income tax bills in the past six years, its annual reports show. It owns more than $76 billion of assets through its various tax havens around the world. Americans for Tax Fairness, found 90 percent of Wal-Mart’s overseas assets are owned by subsidiaries in Luxembourg and the Netherlands, where Walmart has no stores just tax havens. It uses the Luxembourg “hybrid loan” trick, which permits companies’ offshore units to take tax deductions for interest paid to their parents in the U.S. The parent, however, doesn’t include that interest as taxable income. Wal-Mart ran into trouble over strategies to avoid U.S. state income taxes. It used a real estate investment trust to effectively pay rent to itself, generating big tax deductions, even though the rent payments never left the company.

Our retirement fund managers are stealing us blind—will Congress act?
We are trying to pay our bills AND invest for retirement yet our fund balance doesn’t seem to grow as fast as the market indexes do. Our employer or manager of the funds has put our money into a secret investment that does not tell us what all our costs are. We are the owners of the money but we don’t know how much we pay. So-called private equity funds receive discounts on legal, accounting and other outside work while pension fund investors, like retired bus drivers, librarians and teachers, pay full freight or, in some cases, a premium. These funds may be stealing up to HALF of our potential gains and we don’t even know it. Some pension funds like CALPERS has dropped expensive managers. NJ state union funds were used to pay off Christie’s political sponsors.
Your pension should be earning the average market rate of 11% not 3%: http://www.amazon.com/Tune-your-401k-EARN-Tax-FREE/dp/1490591028

Vanguard, which in 40 years became the biggest mutual fund company by selling low-priced, market-matching funds, is eating the lunch of brokers and advisers. Vanguard cut the price of its personalized investment service to 0.30 percent of assets annually or less, compared with the 1 to 3 percent common on Wall Street. Some advisers said they can't compete with Vanguard's prices for investors starting with only $50,000. Vanguard said it expanded its advisory service because most of its customers seek retirement advice but aren't willing to pay the usual fees. Investors may give up 63% of their portfolios to advisors over time with various hidden charges.

Would you add more money to your Social Security benefits?
We know that inflation adjusted SS benefits are the largest part of income for many retirees since there are fewer paid pensions anymore. Since many working people have trouble making an individual retirement plan on their own AND an advisor can take up to 63% of our hard-earned contributions (Bogle on PBS), it makes sense to have the employer take out more than the 6.2% and treat the amount the same as wages for the benefit calculation later. We could increase the average benefit of $1300/month to $1500 in today’s money.
Another solution could be let workers use the Fed’s Thrift Plan with a low-cost stock fund. I don’t think there is a better mass market option for most working people. https://www.tsp.gov/investmentfunds/fundsheets/fundPerformance_C_Perf.shtml
Performance is great and the fund is run by pros at cost. This could be a future option for working Americans since the average person has less than $100,000 saved for retirement. What do you think of these options? Let me know at IANBooksEditor@yahoo.com

Top quality vehicles are Korean brands now
Hyundai and its Kia affiliate led the industry by the widest margin ever, according to the J.D. Power initial vehicle quality study. Kia led all non-premium brands in initial quality for the first time in the study's history. Korean brands had 90 problems per 100 vehicles, Europeans at 113, and the Japanese and Americans each at 114. Lexus scored the highest for the fourth straight year. Porsche's top score was 80 problems per 100 vehicles, followed by Kia (86), Jaguar (93), Hyundai (95) and Infiniti (97). Finishing at the bottom was Fiat Chrysler’s Fiat brand with 161 problems per 100 vehicles. Entertainment and troublesome electronics remain the most problem prone area for the third straight year, with voice recognition and Bluetooth pairing topping the problem list, J.D. Power said. English is hard to learn for cars!

Do you need a new bag? https://vinrcl.safercar.gov/vin/

Gun license law reduced killings by 40%--NRA is wrong—guns kill people
Connecticut’s “permit-to-purchase” law was actually a huge success for public safety.
In a study released Thursday in the American Journal of Public Health, they estimate that the law reduced gun homicides by 40 percent between 1996 and 2005. That’s 296 lives saved in 10 years.

Is ID theft “insurance” right for you?
ID theft policies are more like "expense reimbursement programs" than insurance. ID insurance may cover expenses such as phone bills, lost wages, notary and certified mailing costs, and even attorney fees, but it doesn’t protect your data from theft. It does NOT fix your credit or financial account history. It won't reduce the time and hassle required to rectify the situation. Proving your ID theft claim will be just another task. Plus you must pay the deductible first. Will you really spend over $500 of “covered” expenses? You may already be protected from unauthorized card charges if they steal your credit (NOT debit) cards. Avoid theft by eliminating all but essential data on your person and smart phone. Carry driver’s license and credit cards only. Check your credit reports and financial statements immediately. Understand your coverage before signing.

GOP crazies
Christie to get tough with world leaders IF elected. The editorial board of New Jersey's most important and largest newspaper, The Star Ledger, is questioning whether Christie will cause World War III if he's elected president. Can't you just hear him telling Vladimir Putin to "sit down and shut up"? Calling the Ayatollah "numb nuts"?
Christie is NOT the new Reagan (“Tear down this …”?).

Trump/Christie is the trump card for war?
Trump will trump all 15 GOPs. Hey, just ask him and he will tell you how he has trumped countries and will take out ISIL in one decisive blow (ultimate solution?). His is rich and rubs your nose in it. “I have a store worth more than Romney.” He says Oprah is his “friend” so he could win. He may have to pay actors $50 to attend his campaign and vote. He will make America great again because he makes deals he says: http://time.com/3923128/donald-trump-announcement-speech/

GOP to cut corporate taxes even more—we lose all deductions; pay more
Rand Paul’s plan to overhaul the U.S. tax system calls for a 14.5 percent federal flat tax for consumers and companies, the elimination of almost all deductions and levies. Wealthy pay capital gains of 20% so get more to keep. Most of us will still pay 33% including sales, gas, state, local, DI, UC, FL, health, pension, etc. With spending cuts and economic growth, the federal budget would be balanced, Paul said.

GOP controls NV gov but can’t pass voter suppression law
Many states are trying to reduce DEM voters before election next year. There is no proof of voter fraud and even PA legislator admits real reason to suppress.  

Fox News goes after Pope
Fox News personality Greg Gutfeld accused Pope Francis of being “the most dangerous person on the planet” because he is seeking “strange new respect” from adversaries on climate change. Francis must be smiling!

GOP health plan called “flawed” by actuaries—GOP with blood on their hands!
32 GOP reps propose keeping federal premium subsidies for Healthcare.gov enrollees through August 2017 if the Supreme Court rules them unconstitutional in King v. Burwell. It would simply bandage a festering wound, according to the American Academy of Actuaries.

DEMs crazies
Bernie draws crowds but has no money and no foundation and no home server. Sanders and Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) introduced legislation to overturn GOP law that cuts certain pensions. He can’t win so why do people support him? Is it the message? http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/bernie-sanders-believe-candidate-stands-10-issues/

Auto jobs moving south with or without treaty
In 2004, 74% of the 15.8 million cars built in US. Canada built 17% and Mexico contributed 9%. In 2014, Mexico's production was 19% of the total. It came at the expense of the U.S., which dipped to 11.4 million units, or 67%; and Canada, which was down to 2.4 million, or 14%.

Medical debt killing your credit score?
Feds are stopping the practices of some collectors of medical debt hitting our credit scores. We may have recourse from fines of $5.4 million.  http://www.consumerfinance.gov/newsroom/cfpb-study-finds-medical-debt-overly-penalizes-consumer-credit-scores/

Is a credit union right for you?
If you are eligible and you like personal banking (face-to-face), the positives far outweigh negatives. CU pays higher rates, charges less, and offers most benefits you want. Find your local: http://www.culookup.com/

Morgan Stanley admits it is hard to beat an S&P 500 market index.
The index adds businesses that outperform and drops the losers. MS sees investors moving money to the index which charge less and give more. Will Wall Street cut fees?


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.

We are building another military base for Japan at Henoko. Air Force Gen. Ronald Fogelman admitted that the Marines “serve no military function there. They don’t need to be in Okinawa to meet any time line in any war plan.”
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 to defend themselves.

Our gov is spending $8 million per HOUR on our wars in Iraq/Afgan
The War on Terror requires special forces attacks on top terrorists at their homes like Obama’s al-Amr May14 Abu killIraq proved converting a nation to Western-style republic doesn’t work. The troops we trained ran away, left our stuff. Training and more stuff for what? Former Saddam army now ISIS. We are wasting $4 billion a year on Afgan tribal rivalries; paying ransom to Al Qaeda; supporting corruption with our money.

Chase account owners—now you know where your fees go!
Jamie Dimon, who helped assemble Citigroup Inc. and then improved on the experiment with JPMorgan Chase & Co., is responsible for two of the biggest banks the world has ever seen. His life’s work also made him a billionaire! First of class of bank managers.  Backed by our tax dollars so too big to jail or fail.

GM murdered 114 people but not even indicted
The official death toll from faulty ignition switches in General Motors small cars has risen to 114. GM has made “compensation” offers to 245 other victims’ families. NO ONE is going to jail despite the cover up!

IAN
41 Watchung Plaza, B242
MontclairNJ 07042
973.746.2014
Alerts