October 2011

Bank of America Withdrawing $5 Debit Card Fee – Power to the People as Free Checking Accounts Return!

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You can tell that the tide of corporate sentiment is shifting when one of the nation’s largest companies changes course following customer outrage and the growing anti-Wall street movement. Especially when this company is a bank that has historically acted with impunity around bank fees. A person familiar with the bank’s plans, said that Bank [...]

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Rick Perry’s Cut, Balance and Grow Plan – Tax and Spending Reform To Restore America’s Economic Future

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After covering Hermain Cain’s 999 tax plan, I thought I would look at Rick Perry’s recently released “Cut, Balance and Grow Plan” discussed in his recent WSJ op-ed piece. Here are highlights from his Cut, Balance and Grow (CBG) plan: – Personal Tax Reform: Americans will have a choice between a new, flat tax rate [...]

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Buying an American Visa For a $500,000 Home Purchase – A Solution to the Housing crisis?

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When someone mentioned this proposal to me, I thought it was nuts. Selling the right to live in America for $500,000? But then a quick search revealed that the Senate is indeed considering such an idea as part of a larger bipartisan provision of immigration measures (VISIT-USA Act), co-authored by Senators. Charles Schumer (D., N.Y.) [...]

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Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson – Reflections on the Life of a Pioneer in his Official Autobiography

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Steve Jobs’ self-titled autobiography by Walter Isaacson hits shelves on Monday and is already a best seller. I bought a copy of the book on preorder the day it was available and as expected the book has been receiving a lot of press lately. Here are some of the revelations that are emerging from the contents [...]

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Why the 3.6% 2012 COLA Increase Will Result in a Tax Hike For Over 10 Million American Workers

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With the announcement of a 3.6% COLA (cost-of-living-adjustment) increase, many social security recipients were cheering. After two years without a COLA increase for their benefits, this much needed boost was a ray of sunshine to over 60 million retirees. However, the picture is not so great for the 160 million workers in America who are [...]

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The 999 Tax Plan – How Hermain Cain’s Tax Reform Plan Would Affect Your Income Taxes

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There has been a lot of news lately on Republican presidential candidate Hermain Cain’s 999 plan. As the new darling and front runner for the parties presidential nomination, Cain’s tax plan has gone from a joke (e.g. the price of a pizza) to getting some serious, albeit critical, reviews. Here’s what some of the mainstream media [...]

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2012 to 2020 Projections for Unemployment, Home Prices, Inflation and Interest Rates

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The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), a non-partisan congressional budget review agency, recently came up with their latest multi-year actual versus forecast for some key economic indicators. While a number of the underlying assumptions can change, the good news is that things will start getting much better in 2012 and we should return to pre-recession growth [...]

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Existing and Proposed Government Housing Refinance Programs

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One of the most frequent questions I receive is around getting guidance on the various government refinance programs on offer. The table below, published in a recent report looking at the effectiveness of existing refinancing programs, provides a succinct summary of the key refinance programs on offer to Americans. It also contains a couple of [...]

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2012 COLA (Cost-of-Living Adjustment) 3.6% Increase for Social Security, SSI, Federal Retirees and Medicare Premiums

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[Updated October 19 - Official 2012 COLA Increase is 3.6%] The Social Security Administration (SSA) announced that the Monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for more than 60 million Americans will increase by 3.6 percent in 2012. The 2012 COLA increase would be the first in two years, reflecting a rise in [...]

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