One of my pet peeves is when people have the IRS take out more from there paychecks and get a "refund", Even with a good president (unlike now) I don't believe in giving the government a free loan. Take the extra out of your check and put it in a savings account if you can't save!
If congress did not exempt itself from nearly all laws, the federal deficit would be $5 trillion.
The typical American household would have paid nearly all of its income in taxes last year to balance the budget if the government used standard accounting rules to compute the deficit, a USA TODAY analysis finds. Under those accounting practices, the government ran red ink last year equal to $42,054 per household — nearly four times the official number reported under unique rules set by Congress. ....
The big difference between the official deficit and standard accounting: Congress exempts itself from including the cost of promised retirement benefits. Yet companies, states and local governments must include retirement commitments in financial statements, as required by federal law and private boards that set accounting rules. .... The deficit was $5 trillion last year under those rules. The official number was $1.3 trillion.
•Social Security had the biggest financial slide. The government would need $22.2 trillion today, set aside and earning interest, to cover benefits promised to current workers and retirees beyond what taxes will cover. That's $9.5 trillion more than was needed in 2004.
•Deficits from 2004 to 2011 would be six times the official total of $5.6 trillion reported.
•Federal debt and retiree commitments equal $561,254 per household. By contrast, an average household owes a combined $116,057 for mortgages, car loans and other debts. (
My generation is going to bankrupt my grandkids. In general, I believe is spending less than we make, if only our federal government believed in that, we might have some hope for our kids!
“The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money.”
― Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America
An interesting (for some reason I type intersting almost all the time instead of interesting) video (to me). Compares the amount of national debt/spending per the last few Presidents. Interesting to me is the good job that Clinton did. I think if you compare who was in the Congress at the time there is a correlation to the speed of spending. Under Clinton after the first 2 years he had a Republican congress, Bush I & Reagan had democrat congresses, Bush II had republican congress at the start & democratic his last few years. It looks like the most dangerous time is if there is the same party in both houses.
I am sorry that my grandkids will have to pay for our irresponsibility.
I am not a big advocate of debt. But the following is especially disturbing:
But as financial institutions recover from the losses on loans made to troubled borrowers, some of the largest lenders to the less than creditworthy, including Capital One and GM Financial, are trying to woo them back, while HSBC and JPMorgan Chase are among those tiptoeing again into subprime lending. Credit card lenders gave out 1.1 million new cards to borrowers with damaged credit in December, up 12.3 percent from the same month a year earlier, according to Equifax’s credit trends report released in March. These borrowers accounted for 23 percent of new auto loans in the fourth quarter of 2011, up from 17 percent in the same period of 2009, Experian, a credit scoring firm, said. Consumer advocates and lawyers worry that the financial institutions are again preying on the most vulnerable and least financially sophisticated borrowers, who are often willing to take out credit at any cost. “These people are addicted to credit, and banks are pushing it,” said Charles Juntikka, a bankruptcy lawyer in Manhattan. (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/11/business/lenders-returning-to-the-lucrative-subprime-market.html).
Didn't the banks and credit cards issuers learn from last time. Some people can not handle / repay debt. They have enough problems just feeding themselves and providing shelter. Subprime loans were pushed by the government so more people could "afford" to live in a home of their own. But subprime loans are not good business and it cost the taxpayers billions of dollars (with many more billions in the future [fanny mae and freddy mac]).
When we were first married, we applied for a credit card and were rejected. I wrote one of my bitter letters, explaining that we had no credit history because we paid cash for everything and had various investments, etc. so we were not bad risks. And they eventually gave us the credit card. Credit cards are useful for some things and if you can handle credit (i.e., pay off the bill every month) can give some benefits.
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We bought gas @ $4.18.9 the other day, on a trip yesterday we saw it at $4.08.9; so it looks like I am in control once again!
In WI our neighboring state, the governor and the LT Gov are having to run in a recall election. They ran on a platform to eliminate the deficit, balance the budget, and help increase employment. To do that they reduced the benefits of the state workers, since (they said) the workers should have to contribute to their pension and health care like the majority of the taxpayers. The WI public unions have bank rolled
the recall effort to the tune of millions of dollars. The above video is a short ad for the LT Gov. After years of overspending and rising taxes, a responsible Governor has tried to fix things, but for that he is facing a recall vote.
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As a commenter said the mortgage deduction is only on the interest of the loan. It is large at the beginning of the loan with the principal payment only 1-5% of the payment.
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April showers bring May flowers. On April 1 during the morning dog walk, we had lightning to the north of us and lightning to the south of us and lightning to the west of us. But we did not get much rain, maybe a 1/8 to 1/16 of an inch.
After that day, we have had no rain. Rain cuts down on our bicycling but since we have a well for water we need rain to keep drinking water. This winter/spring, we have had little rain/snow. How can we have May flowers without the rain?
Also after a warm winter, it is below normal temperatures for this spring.
My daughter wrote in her blog that she is debt free. This is a lifestyle that we have aways tried to live. The only things that we have bought with debt are our 2 houses. Both of which we paid off way early.
Many people think that a home mortgage is great since it gives you a tax deduction. If you have a mortgage you can deduct the amount of the mortgage from your income. However, there is a standard deduction for Married Filing Jointly of $11,600. So if you only have the mortgage plus some state/RE taxes, you only get a partial deduction or no real deduction.
Even if you can deduct the whole amount, the tax advantage is 10-35% of the amount, e.g., if your tax rate is 25% this means you are paying 3 times the amount of the taxes to save 25% of the amount. To me this is not good math.
One advantage that we had is that the amounts of our mortgages were much smaller than the amounts now-a-days. However, we made less than most people do today.
Having a mortgage also can lead to foreclosure if you lose your job.
We are lucky that we are able to live debt free. Dave Ramsey has a national radio show and other classes to teach the art of being debt free.
I am glad that my kids are able to manage money as well as they do; we must have done something right!
Some additions or other thoughts on recent blog entries:
Happy Valentine's Day: I also made my wife a salad for dinner consisting of red peppers, green peppers, celery, spinach, brown rice, onion, dill pickle half, dried cranberries, and cheese (mild cheddar I think).
Glass Half Full: For the next 5 days we had frost on the windshield and I tweaked my back taking off the dog's collar.
National Debt: (CNSNews.com) - Under President Barack Obama, the federal debt has been increasing at a rate of $1,148 per month per American household. Overall, according to the U.S. Treasury, the federal debt increased by $3,646,116,554,704.36 between Jan. 20, 2009, when Obama was inaugurated, and April 13, 2011, when he gave a major speech announcing a plan to deal with the debt. Given that the Census Bureau estimated in March that there are 117,538,000 households in the United States, the $3.6461 trillion increase in the debt under Obama works out to $31,020 per household.
New Car II: I smashed my head on the door top, I was either getting in or trying to lock the doors with the button inside the door. Our old car was much higher!
1 reason I hate IL: University of Illinois’ political science professor Dick Simpson, a former Chicago alderman, says that his in-depth study has found Chicago to be the most corrupt city in the country. While many may say they knew this all along, there is now data to back up this statement. Simpson has gathered data from the United States Department of Justice which not only proves that Chicago is the most corrupt city, but also gives facts to back up the contention that Illinois is the third most corrupt state in the nation. With ex-Governor George Ryan still behind bars and ex-Governor Rod Blagojevich soon to begin his 14-year sentence in prison for corruption in office which includes the attempted sale or benefit of President Barack Obama's senate seat, this contention would not be easily contested. According to Simpson, who is also labeled a corruption-fighter in Chicago, says corruption is costing $500,000,000. According to the analysis, the enormous amount of money is paid for or lost by the tax-payers of Chicago who end up losing the money when certain high-level crimes are committed. The crimes include ghost payrolls, bogus contracts, city official thefts, bribes, and the likely most publicized of bad behaviors in recent times – police brutality. The extreme costs, naturally, involve the high costs of prosecuting these cases committed by city personnel and city officials.
Our P.O. has proposed a deficit for the next fiscal year of $1,600,000,000,000. With a population of approx. 308,663,076 this means each person will owe an extra $5183 without considering the interest which will compound each year.
The budget is $3.6 trillion so 44% of it is not funded. The estimated median income for a family of 4 is $70,354 (10/08 to 9/09 with the unemployment it is probably much less now). So P.O. has spent $20,732 out of the $70K+ or 29.5% for that family. I really don't want my Grandkids to pay for this!
Of course, P.O. has a solution tax the rich! Tax the small business owners who create the majority of the jobs in the US. P.O. get a CLUE!
A $1.7 billion average increase in electricity costs is estimated to result in a $1.3 billion decrease in personal income and a loss of 13,000 more jobs in the region. Greg Walden
A broken heart is a very pleasant complaint for a man in London if he has a comfortable income. George Bernard Shaw
A large income is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard of. Jane Austen
All progress is based upon a universal innate desire on the part of every organism to live beyond its income. Samuel Butler
An income tax form is like a laundry list - either way you lose your shirt. Fred A. Allen
INCOME, n. The natural and rational gauge and measure of respectability, the commonly accepted standards being artificial, arbitrary and fallacious; for, as "Sir Sycophas Chrysolater" in the play has justly remarked, "the true use and function of property (in whatsoever it consisteth -- coins, or land, or houses, or merchant- stuff, or anything which may be named as holden of right to one's own subservience) as also of honors, titles, preferments and place, and all favor and acquaintance of persons of quality or ableness, are but to get money. Hence it followeth that all things are truly to be rated as of worth in measure of their serviceableness to that end; and their possessors should take rank in agreement thereto, neither the lord of an unproducing manor, howsoever broad and ancient, nor he who bears an unremunerate dignity, nor yet the pauper favorite of a king, being esteemed of level excellency with him whose riches are of daily accretion; and hardly should they whose wealth is barren claim and rightly take more honor than the poor and unworthy."(DD)
The budget (of course to me a budget is where the ins & outs equal; i.e., reducing spending to come out even when have less money than expenses or to plan for some savings) deficit is over $1,100,000,000,000 thru June this year. With 306,918,649 people (according to the population clock) this means that we are each (every adult & child in the US) $3584.01 in debt thru the first half of the year.
But the democrats have a plan to fix this: spend more money, tax energy, & take over health care. I wish Washington would get a clue!
“A man in debt is so far a slave.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Debts and lies are generally mixed together” Francois Rabelais
“Some debts are fun when you are acquiring them, but none are fun when you set about retiring them” Ogden Nash
budget (n) 1 an estimate of income and expenditure for a set period of time • an annual or other regular estimate of national revenue and expenditure put forward by the government, often including details of changes in taxation. • the amount of money needed or available for a purpose 2 archaic a quantity of material, typically that which is written or printed. ORIGIN late Middle English : from Old French bougette, diminutive of bouge ‘leather bag,’ from Latin bulga ‘leather bag, knapsack,’ of Gaulish origin. Compare with bulge . The word originally meant a pouch or wallet, and later its contents. In the mid 18th cent., the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the UK, in presenting his annual statement, was said “to open the budget.” In the late 19th cent. the use of the term was extended from governmental to private or commercial finances.
"It's not your fault that..." is an interesting fragment. I listen to a lot of radio & it seems almost every ad starts with "It's not your fault that...".
One of my favorites is "It's not your fault that..." you are over your head in credit card debt because the credit card companies will not let you get out of debt. I feel not spending more than you can afford is one way to "beat" the credit card companies or even paying off your credit card each month might work. But if you are lucky enough to have at least $10,000 in credit card debt these people can help you!
There are actual people that "It's not your fault that..." is correct. A major medical emergency can wipe you out (if you can't afford a major medical policy) or if you lose your job (not thru incompetence) due to the Obama economics. These people do actually need our help not the over-spenders or people who bought more house than they can afford (after all "It's not their fault that..." that the big bad banks forced them to buy more house than was prudent so the ones who pay their mortgages MUST pay theirs).
DEBT, (n) An ingenious substitute for the chain and whip of the slave- driver. As, pent in an aquarium, the troutlet Swims round and round his tank to find an outlet, Pressing his nose against the glass that holds him, Nor ever sees the prison that enfolds him; So the poor debtor, seeing naught around him, Yet feels the narrow limits that impound him, Grieves at his debt and studies to evade it, And finds at last he might as well have paid it. Barlow S. Vode
