Showing posts with label drug costs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label drug costs. Show all posts

Friday, July 10, 2015

How much do you subsidize American business?

How much do we pay to subsidize American businesses?
We give money to the oil and gas industry, farm conglomerates, and exporters. We pay more for medicine than the world. We pay banks and most corporations' tax and penalty bills. Overall, American families are paying an annual $6,000 subsidy to corporations that have doubled their profits and cut their taxes in half in ten years while cutting 2.9 million jobs in the U.S. and adding almost as many jobs overseas.

Do you know how much to contribute to your pension so you have enough?
Use the Buffett strategy to reach your goal. My first video: Maximize your pension. The 2nd video shows you how much you will have in the future given the amount you add monthly, the number of years, and the average return on your investments. You estimate your Social Security benefits and add your current accumulation at work or IRA. The answer is translated into the inflation-adjusted amount you can receive in retirement. Interactive so you can change your future income now!

Get What You Want: Your SIMPLE FINANCIAL PLAN in 5 steps
I've been rich and I've been poor, rich is better--Sophie Tucker.
The 21st century has brought us a new way to become financially independent. The digital age has changed the way we buy everything—financial products and services too. You no longer need to overpay an agent, broker, advisor or banker to get the best financials. Save on financials and create wealth.


GOP crazies
Trump: I didn't expect business backlash to be "quite this severe." Reality is Donald is not really in touch with America—he is spoiled billionaire who only relates to deals! America is NOT a deal. America is people. For example, he got NYC to pay $127 million for the  Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point, the Bronx but has not kept his promise to build a playground for (Hispanic) residents. He has strange supporter groups! His PAC, Make America Great Again, says in its filings that it “intends to raise funds in unlimited amounts.” Many see Trump renaming WH, Trump House.
Foreign countries/corporations may be Donald Donors—we will never know.

Palin, former Gov, former Veep, former FoxTV, giving her TV channel FREE
Now you can watch her for FREE. “I just want to make sure that your voices and mine are heard by the widest possible audience across this great land of ours. I really look forward to continuing to hear your ideas and your dreams and your solutions for America.”

Koch brothers PERC call for no more national parks.
Koch-backed Property and Environment Research Center (PERC) call for no more national parks, citing the backlog in maintenance for existing parks. PERC has a long history of advocating for the privatization of America’s national parks and other public lands, and has significant ties to the Koch brothers and fossil fuel industries. PERC and its oil and gas allies have also ramped up involvement in an extreme right wing campaign to give control of America’s public lands to the states and sell them off to the highest bidder.

Jeb’s econ policy for America: “people should work longer hours” -- a comment that the Bush campaign argues was a reference to underemployed part-time workers. Jeb is out of touch with reality—part-time work is what is available for many people. Jeb has no policy to fix American infrastructure.

GOP wants to fly the treason flag in our national parks
Yes, it is hard to believe but Boehner’s flock got Calvert to insert page to a funding bill. Dems complained and he withdrew. SC put treason flag in museum as Robert E Lee asked in 1865. New South needs new symbol!

DEM crazies
Sanders will raise taxes on wealthy: Wall Street speculators, off-shore corporate earnings and major financial institutions would all be on the target list, Sanders said.

Will you live to be 116?
World’s oldest person is 116 but she has no pension. Make your money last as long as you do. Use Buffett’s secret so your investments keep on giving income that keeps pace with inflation. Inflation makes everything cost twice as much in about 25 years. http://www.amazon.com/Warren-Buffetts-Investment-Secret-Steeple/dp/1484189809

How insurers know about your situation (more than you know)
Did you lie on your insurance application? First, when you apply for any insurance, you are making statements that an insurer can use to cancel your coverage if they want to. Second, insurers may use all your statements and hidden electronic information (Internet, buying habits, credit, housing, crime, social records, etc) to verify your profile. E.G.: If you don’t mention your dog on app for homeowners, satellite/drone or grocery loyalty gives you away. Chronic headaches not mentioned on app for life cover is compared to your pharmacy/loyalty records. Third, interviews with people who know you may be done. Once the insurer marks your profile as liar, they hire investigators for “truth.”

Ford sending another 4,000 jobs to Mexico
Ford has reportedly decided to move production of the C-Max and Focus from Michigan to Mexico. The company promises to not close the facility, which employs approximately 4,000 workers, however the Focus and C-Max are currently the only vehicles that roll off its assembly lines.
 

SCAMS           Can we afford to keep 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 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 kill. Iraq 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.

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.
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!

Brokers overcharged you for a long time
Wells Fargo, LPL, Raymond James must collectively reimburse customers more than $30 million for failing to waive mutual fund sales charges for thousands of accounts.

Even “professional” financial managers fall for con--“Trust but verify” Pres Reagan
Hedge fund manager, Thomas Meston, Fortelus Chief Financial Officer fell for “this is your bank calling and we need you to give us your codes to fix account.” Never respond to bank or IRS call or email without confirmation.

Daniel Fernandes Rojo Filho, DFRF Enterprises, claimed to operate more than 50 gold mines in Brazil and Africa, and stole $6 million in a Ponzi scheme to swindle members of the Spanish and Portuguese communities in Massachusetts and Florida. Promoters promise their money would be fully insured.

Neal Goyal as Caldera Advisors and Blue Horizon Asset Management jailed for 6 yeas for stealing $11 million in a Ponzi scheme promising high returns with fake accounts.  

Who owns your account now?
Humana to Aetna

IAN
41 Watchung Plaza, B242
Montclair, NJ 07042
973.746.2014
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Friday, December 6, 2013

Use Buffett's winning strategy

Warren Buffett’s strategy has outperformed all others
New study finds Oracle of Omaha has outperformed every long-lived U.S. stock and mutual fund. Looking at all U.S. stocks from 1926 to 2011 that have been traded for more than 30 years, a paper published this week by the National Bureau of Economic Research calculated that Mr. Buffett's so-called Sharpe ratio is 0.76 since 1976. That was about twice the stock market's 0.39. Invest like Buffett: http://www.amazon.com/Warren-Buffetts-Investment-Secret-Steeple/dp/1484189809

Tax credits this year
Energy credits for improvements such as insulated hot water heaters, insulation, double-paned windows. Install them before year end. The items that qualify for this special tax treatment will be marked by the manufacturer. Keep this documentation in your tax file in the event of an audit. http://www.irs.gov/Credits-&-Deductions
Tax-free charitable distributions directly from an IRA to a qualified nonprofit organization by persons age 70 ½ or older. Without itemizing, you can have your charity give you a deduction for part of your IRA distribution.
Filing joint rather than as two single individuals now legal for LGBTs.
Education credits continue but the tuition deduction expires after 2013.
Student loan interest deduction and employer-provided education assistance benefits.
Dependent care and Earned Income Tax credit remain.
Child Tax and Saver’s credits.
Estate tax exemption is $5,250,000 with a top tax rate of 40%. Couples $10,500,000. 
Free tax prep by IRS-trained volunteers at AARP: http://www.aarp.org/money/taxes/info-2004/about_aarp_taxaide.html

Pensions for state workers underfunded
Illinois is the state with the worst funded public employee pension system in the nation. Estimates are that they are underfunded by a hundred billion dollars. The situation’s so serious that, according to one recent report, about twenty cents of every taxpayer dollar inIllinois is now used to pay for pensions.  These public workers and these retirees spent their careers paying into retirement systems, holding up their end of the bargain while the state did not, and that it’s unfair for them to cut their benefits to the degree that they’re being cut. Many other states have already dealt with these problems and are fighting them out in the courts right now. Illinois’s constitutional protection is a particularly rock-solid one, compared to how the language is written into some other states. Don’t rely on your employer for future income. They may go bankrupt. Make your own: http://www.amazon.com/New-American-Retirement-System-Tax-FREE/dp/1461030072

CA goes ahead with employer ObamaCare
California has opened an online insurance exchange for small business. The program that's part of the national health overhaul was launched formally Monday, two months behind the state-run exchange for individuals and families, known as Covered California.
It's voluntary — companies with up to 50 full-time workers are not required to provide insurance for workers. Officials say the site will offer affordable choices to small businesses that want to offer attractive compensation packages, including health care. Some owners could qualify for tax credits. https://www.coveredca.com/small-business/

Investors BEWARE! Sales people can still sell bad-for-you products
The Investor Advisory Committee, a SEC advisory panel, has called on the SEC to move forward with a rule that "would require brokers to act in the best interests of their clients when providing retail investment advice"...the same standard that investment advisers meet.  While the SEC has included investment-advise standards for brokers on its 2014 regulatory agenda, it is slated for "long-term action" without a specific timetable. Trust but verify your broker/advisor’s advice: http://www.amazon.com/Nothing-Way-Seems-Wall-Street/dp/1492752916/

Internet advisors growing
Cerulli Associates say Internet-based financial advisers are winning over investors and are serious competition for conventional advisers.  More than 100 startups for personal finance and investment are aggressively pursuing younger investors. The number of retail investors using direct-to-investors online platforms run by discount brokerages has nearly doubled since 2008.  Shop and save on insurance/investments: http://www.amazon.com/Internet-Money-Smarts-More-Less/dp/1493643223/


401k statements to include monthly income projections
Labor Dept will require your plan provider to include income projections on your statement so that you have a more realistic expectation of your future retirement situation. Studies show that those who receive quarterly projections increased their saving by 29%. The information worked best for those already motivated to save. It also helps those that are considering retirement versus those that are less informed. Workers were most successful when their employer installed automatic enrollment and increases in small amounts. Workers still prefer a fixed pension managed by the employer’s plan provider. However, most employers are phasing out such plans. Tune up your 401k and have more for retirement: http://www.amazon.com/Tune-your-401k-EARN-Tax-FREE/dp/1490591028

GOP leader calls Pope a Marxist
“This is just pure Marxism coming out of the mouth of the pope.”

Are you ready for a Second Job “Retirement”?
Working retirees’ trend: the proportion of partially retired workers has risen from virtually zero to 15 percent for 60 to 62 year olds, and is over 20 percent for 65 to 67 year olds, up from 5 to 10 percent in 1960, according to the University of Michigan study. Multitudes of workers in their 50s and early 60s have been laid off or forced into early retirement. Workers now have the flexibility to take retirement benefits anywhere between 62 and 70 from SS and old employers. Higher-paid workers work more years. Many workers keep their part-time jobs until age 70 or beyond to make up for lost wages earlier in their career instead of taking full retirement at 65 or 66. A study found that a high inflation rate results in a slightly higher retirement rate, because wages lag inflation and therefore lower the rewards of working. Make Tax-FREE income:  http://www.amazon.com/How-Retire-Tax-FREE-Income-increases/dp/1484156951/

Your scripts can cost half what you pay
Shopping for your drugs can be shocking. I checked the price of my scripts on 10 different sites. They were all different.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16172438 The most useful sites were http://www.consumerreports.org/health/best-buy-drugs/index.htm and http://www.goodrx.com/. Savings over years can be significant. Some buy from Canadian pharmacies and save even with shipping. Check the pharmacy reviews first. Buy only what you need: http://www.amazon.com/Health-Insurance-ONLY-right-policy/dp/1480125083


SCAMS           “Deficits don’t matter” Republican Godfather, Dick Cheney, 2002
Bush wars increased the debt by $4-6 trillion to $16 trillion. 1985 debt $3 T, same as 1945.

Madoff 30-year scam never questioned by SEC or regulators
Bernard L. Madoff’s former finance chief, who pleaded guilty to aiding the con man’s $17 billion Ponzi scheme, said the company was using fake trades to trick investors in the 1970s when he started working there after graduating high school.
The fraudulent trading went on “for as long as I could remember,” Frank DiPascali, 57, told a jury in Manhattan federal court today at the trial of five ex-colleagues. “It was virtually impossible not to know what was happening.”

MetroNorth train kills 4 – No “Dead Man’s Brake”
"I zoned out"
Last year’s near accident on MetroNorth—engineer ignores “alerts” and reads paper.
All trains are supposed to have this safety device:
The “Alerter” is an alarm designed to stop the train if the engineer doesn’t respond within a few seconds—a “dead man’s brake.” As we spoke, Tony, the engineer today, smacked a large red button to silence the racket. After a few moments of blissful quiet, the blasted honking started again. Tony would whack the big button once more. Honk, HONK, HONK, WHACK. Honk, HONK, HONK, WHACK.  http://www.rsbpress.com/resume/montrealer.htm

On April 27, 2010, a motorman on a NY subway ‘G’ train apparently suffered a fatal heart attack at the controls, activating the so-called dead-man feature, which stops the train when the motorman takes his hand off the controller.
Unfortunately, MetroNorth did not have either feature on its lead-car train.

John Thomas scams customers
The SEC charged the former CEO of John Thomas Financial with negligent activity, alleging the firm steered customers into proprietary hedge funds and influenced a fund adviser and manager to breach fiduciary duty.

IAN
41 Watchung Plaza, B242
Montclair, NJ 07042
973.746.2014