Wealthy discover new way to avoid taxes: we pay the deficit
Rich are keeping the tax benefits of philanthropy while delaying for years actually giving to those in need. A small but growing number of wealthy Americans have discovered how to bypass rules designed more than a half-century ago to ensure philanthropists stay accountable for the billions of dollars in tax breaks they receive each year. The key is the donor-advised fund, or DAF, which is so flexible that charitable dollars can sit in one’s account indefinitely. And no one needs to know either way. In the past they set up private foundations to obtain tax benefits but they are required to pay out 5% of their assets annually and report each charitable gift; publicly. Donor-advised funds, which are considered charities, satisfy that mandate, so they’re an ideal way for foundations to postpone their giving. For example, Tesla’s Elon Musk, who built up $3 billion in a foundation, could report that he met the requirement for moving out money only because he transferred tens of millions of dollars to DAFs in recent years. We will never know if or who he gave the money to but he still gets the tax benefits. In more than 1,000 instances, foundations would have fallen short of their required payout for the year were it not for contributions to DAFs, according to Bloomberg’s analysis. We must make up the deficit or our children/grandchildren will.
You have options: https://www.amazon.com/Tax-FREE-Wealth-How-laws-free/dp/1475089236/
Portfolio for a recession
Most readers are about HALF & HALF: bonds and equities. Many have their retirement funds in Vanguard: specifically the Vanguard Wellesley Income Fund. They have some in the 500 Index, energy index and other indexes as well as Buffett's firm. They did not sell all securities for cash because they plan on living longer and need growth and income to pay their taxes. They will survive the economic train wreck because American capitalism is not dead. Some still have a mortgage. Many have a large emergency fund. Some use a HELOC since they have equity in their homes. Others have rental real estate. Most have a diversified portfolio since they do not know what is coming in the future.
https://www.amazon.com/Warren-Buffetts-Vanguard-Funds-Retirement/dp/1496148592
Careful shopping in a recession
Find the cheapest gas station since all gas comes in the same pipeline. Find the least expensive grocery house-brand. Yes, you can eat well on the same food with a new label. If you must travel try one night in the cheapest hotel/motel in the area. You can splurge at the eatery where the locals go. You are probably overpaying for car/home insurance and premiums are going up. Save by increasing deductibles and paying premium upfront. Cut out roadside and AAA if you have these credit card benefits. Cut comprehensive cover for older cars and medical if you have health coverage already. Using free streaming for entertainment or Amazon if you have Prime. Best deal: drop your advisor/broker save $3,000 a year. Invest in low-cost index funds or ETF for better results.
https://www.amazon.com/Insiders-Guides-Discount-Financial-Services/dp/143480593X/
Where can you get help dealing with your nest egg after working?
Most people want more help from their employers, according to an Invesco study, especially when it comes to how to cope with that big pile of money they’ve accumulated after decades of stashing cash. More than three-quarters of employers claim they give their workers info about how to transition from saving to spending a nest egg, but across all age groups, almost half of employees say they’ve received no advice. Employers typically expect the retirement plan administrator to answer questions about retirement. However both the administrator and the employer don’t want to take on the responsibility or liability for employees’ money matters. Most employees don’t have a clue as to how to manage their money. Some employers favor making an annuity product an option in their retirement plans. This thrills the insurers, but this may not be the best way to accomplish one’s goals. Without an unbiased advisor, most employees will not maximize their options. Financial planners don’t rely on products so they may be unbiased.
https://www.amazon.com/Buy-only-what-you-need/dp/1720321531
Trumpists take House: vow to cut the benefits we already paid for
Some active politicos have promised to cut our benefits as soon as they oust or kill Pelosi. They will use the debt limit as leverage to arrange retirees program downsizing and continue paying subsidies to big oil, agriculture and corporate largess. Since we have already voted, there is little we can do to change this trend. One thing we must do now is plan for reduced benefits in the future. How can we save for the future? Health and food costs are unlikely to come down any time soon so we will have to slow spending and stick with saving. The history of saving and investing illustrates how investing 10% of our pay can help us prepare for the lean times. Over most periods, stocks values rise about 11%. Our strategy of investing $250 a month (avoid new car purchase loan) for 10, 20, and 30 years, can provide $55,000, $218,000, and $708,000. This assumes you use a stock market index fund costing 0.04% not an industry salesperson costing 1-2%. That can rob you of up to “63 percent of what you would have had”.
Use the Buffett strategy: https://www.amazon.com/Warren-Buffetts-Vanguard-Funds-Retirement/dp/1496148592
?**********ACCOUNTABILITY**************?
Like 1776, this
period is a test
of democracy—We
rejected an "American
fascist" once
The
Path to Dictatorship: 2010-2030
Parallels of this era in the past
may hint at our future: democracy breaks apart legally
Billionaires
paid $881 million for votes in 2022
midterm elections
Nov 2020 Wealthy
discredit election process
Jan
6 2021 Direct
assault failed: guns
& bombs ready
Trump
engaged in a "criminal
conspiracy" to stop Biden
“I
don’t f—ing care that they have weapons”
Trump was “detached
from reality”
Trump
used mafia-style intimidation on the defenseless
Parscale: “a
sitting president asking for civil war.”
Trump:
“Just
say the election was corrupt and leave the rest to me”
GOP fascism: “RINO
hunt armed; no bagging limit” J6
comm threat
Trump’s Supremes END
personal rights & state
laws except for weapons
WMDs
Fascism: GOP
to stop women leaving state for abortion
It’s
not a court. It’s a junta: Two Americas
Trump: President
Biden is 'enemy of the state'
Christian
Nationalist Party (CNP) replaces
GOP
Jan 2025 Dictator
pardons himself: his Supremes Agree
How Govt wastes our money:
Fed product safety slow to take deadly
products off the market: needs court order so slow
Will
election deniers be counting votes and accessing vote machines? Long
recounts?
Instead of excess
profits’ tax, gov
raises rates to 5% so we lose jobs and stop spending
SCAMS/SPINS:
Only
1 GOP said he’ll “absolutely” accept the results in Tuesday’s vote
Voters
rejected effort ‘to bring Trumpism to Mass.’
PA
Supremes invalidated thousands of mail-in ballots: a Republican trick, not
American
SPIN: GOP
promises cut Medicare & Social Security benefits: 300
mil Americans lose
Manchin
wants to help GOP ‘fix’ SS and Medicare funds: fewer workers, fewer benefits
Boomers
fear cuts in earned benefits more than anything in retirement challenges
What Christian
Nationalists (new GOP) want: power to have it all their way!
Trump: “J.D.
is kissing my ass; he wants my support so much,”
CA, VT, MI, KY voters on abortion: “You
got to have a little choice there”
5
states still to decide on slavery:
Woke: term to denigrate anyone who believes in further
advancement of equality and human rights
American Airlines caught
overcharging for bag fees: co-brand credit card “free” denied
Dollar General caught
overcharging at cashier: baiting at shelves: fine
Vonage caught
charging fees & not canceling: refunds from FTC more paperwork
Powerball
delayed “technical
reasons”: Pity
the winner-overdose, divorce, theft, bankrupt
8
former French bishops accused of sexual abuse: sex abuse of 14 yr old girl:
no arrests
Listeria killed
1; six East states illness; deli is source
WellsFargo caught
customer mistreatment in lending & consumer deposit accounts: fine
Crypto
complaints and scam records: how they do it to us: why US can’t stop it
Jobs
700 IRS clerk & customer service jobs: good pay; good benefits
Who owns your account now?
Some banks pay 3.5% but inflation is 8.2%: Vanguard Energy Index Fund ETF: up 60%
Bitcoin has fallen: $47,750 to $17,400 year-to-date, lost two-thirds of its value.
Funeral
homes could soon have to post prices online: a big party costs under $7,000
Car bargains at half original price
“Extra” benefits are offered by individual Medicare Advantage plans for 2023
Spending over $50 a month for streaming services is now the norm
Many veterans are unaware of a range of other benefits
Miracles:
GOP pays for God to
do a DeSantis commercial: leverage Christian Nationalism https://twitter.com/CaseyDeSantis/status/1588539069243473924
Dems
win PA, OH,
CA,
NH,
VA,
CO,
NJ, MI, WI, NY, MD
GOP
win NC, GA,
OH,
FL
Fiber
alters the microbiome. It may boost cancer treatment
Warming: EU
trees are producing new growth even before shedding their autumn
leaves.
Arctic
“megafires: thaw, then greater vegetation growth and increases fuel
availability
Doctors Treat a
Fatal Genetic Disease Before
Birth
Our Universe is Mind-Blowing
Light is both
a particle and a wave depending on how we look at the light.
I
don’t think that there is any such thing as a position or a velocity of a
particle.
Everything (galaxies
to stones) in universe made of subatomic
energy ‘vibrations’
A subatomic ‘particle’
is the smallest possible vibration (quantum) of a quantum field.
Mass–energy
equivalence: E=mc^2. At the smallest
level; Everything is moving a little
Physics Nobel Prize:
“entanglement” 2
particles share info instantly at a distance
“It may be that gravity and quantum mechanics are
exactly the same thing,” Leonard Susskind
Gravity
might induce the collapse of quantum vibrations into 1 quantum state—our
world
There is no TIME at this
level because of force fields come and go in all directions.
Universe expanding: events
may not come together like they did before.
Inside protons,
neutrons, it
is the fields of the virtual particles that creates its mass.
“Empty space is a
boiling, bubbling brew of virtual
particles that pop in and out of existence in a time scale so short that you
can’t even measure them.” Space expanding.
The electricity we use comes
from the field around the wire not from election itself.
@
We can apply for
Medicare online: https://blog.ssa.gov/apply-for-medicare-online
We can apply for Social
Security online: https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/
We can apply for
health care online: https://www.healthcare.gov/
IAN
973.746.2014
www.InsuranceAdvisorsNetwork.com
Alerts available
at http://dankeppel.blogspot.com/
