Weekend Round-Up: Tax Cheats in Government Edition

Periodically in recent months Mr. ToughMoneyLove has expressed doubt (actually almost certainty) that a new administration would make changes but not those we could believe in.  Government continues to throw money at problems without properly acknowledging that it is one of the problems. Read more

Time to Apply Financial History Lessons

On my drive in this morning, I heard a quote attributed to Harvard financial historian Niall Ferguson.  In essence, he was commenting that current U.S. government efforts to stimulate our economy with enormous amounts of new spending and borrowing was simply passing debt-driven consumption from one set of trouble-makers (us) to a bigger troublemaker (the federal government).

I have to confess I had not heard of Niall Ferguson before this and was frankly surprised to hear such things being attributed to a professor at Harvard, a bastion of left wing academia.  (Full disclosure:  I am a Cornell grad and hockey fan and therefore a long-time hater of all things Crimson.)  So I did some research on this very interesting fellow. Read more

Vocational Training Can Beat the Old College Try

I read several things this week that raised my blood pressure again about the student loan debt scam that so many colleges are running on many students. 

First, I read an column by John Stossel (of 20/20 fame) published at the Town Hall called the “College Scam.”  Stossel’s piece contains information that reinforces my belief that too many people go to college to begin with.  For them, going after the B.S. degree is not a good educational or money strategy.   Indeed, Stossel quotes one educational consultant who says the B.S. degree is “America’s most overrated product.”  Read more

Income Re-Distribution Features of the 2009 Stimulus Plan

The AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT TAX ACT OF 2009 (a/k/a Obama stimulus plan) includes some new features by which income earned by some taxpayers will be re-distributed in the form of tax credits.  The income being re-distributed will go to other taxpayers and, in many cases, to individuals who are not taxpayers at all but merely tax return filers.

Here is a list of some of these credits, as identified in reports prepared by the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation: Read more

Charting a Path to Renewed Frugality

You are probably thinking:   “Enough with the facts and figures already, Mr. ToughMoneyLove.  We want to read how we can save and invest in this awful economy.”  

Hey – I feel your pain.  I’m asking those same questions.  I don’t have confidence that the government can provide the answers.  Instead, I’m looking for answers in the data that are available.   At least the government can provide data.
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Real Therapy for Your Financial Health

I learned today that a psychologist in our community has acquired somewhat of a reputation as a pioneer in the field of “financial therapy.”  In addition to providing therapy to adults with bad money behaviors, he’s written some books, appeared on television, and trained other therapists in this area.  Although I am not surprised to know that there are thousands or maybe millions of Americans who need real financial therapy, I wasn’t aware that this is an emerging specialty in the mental health counseling profession.
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Is Our Economy on an Unstoppable Demographic Slide?

Economic prognosticator Harry Dent was a guest of Neil Cavuto last night on the Fox Business Network.  Dent is one of those “experts” who sells his opinions to investors and financial advisers in the form of subscription newsletters and the like.  I generally listen to what the hired guns have to say more as a matter of curiosity than to be educated.   Dent, however, said some things that seemed to make some real sense.  He clearly is no dummy, having been well educated in economics and finance, with a couple of best selling books to his credit. Read more

Finding the Hard Truth on Your Federal Tax Burdens

If you are a taxpayer (and barely a majority of working adults are), we are in the midst of a “perfect tax storm.”  First, we have entered the traditional “tax season” where accountants (such as my sister) put in lots of extra hours preparing returns while trying to keep their clients honest.  

We are also in what Mr. ToughMoneyLove would call “stimulus season” where politicians and government economists are falling over each other trying to figure out (and explain to each other) how to use fiscal, monetary, and tax policies to stimulate the economy.

Thus, tax season + stimulus season = perfect tax storm. Read more

Hard Truth and Money Fatigue?

Periodically I have to remind myself that speaking or hearing “hard truth” about the world of personal finance can wear on you.  Sometimes a reader does it for me by unsubscribing to my blog.  (I receive a notice when an email subscription is cancelled.)  I guess you could say that is the “hard truth” about always trying to speak the hard truth.

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Hope Can Be Bad for Your Financial Health

Is our new President making you hopeful for a better financial future?  Good for you.  But I recommend that you not make any financial decisions until that hope subsides.

I have a small sticker on my office door that welcomes visitors with the phrase “I found the cure for hope.”  It’s one of those cute sayings that’s supposed to be funny and painfully true at the same time. Read more

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