Don't be an investing "muppet"

How to avoid becoming a Wall Street muppet

Excerpt:

With three layers of agents, everyone has their hand in your pocket. That’s what defines a muppet! Here are three ways to reduce agency risk:

1. RIA vs. broker: Do you know the difference between a registered investment adviser (RIA) and a broker? They are as distinct as chiropractors are to orthopedic surgeons. RIAs are regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission and are not allowed to earn fees from any source other than you. Conversely, brokers can be paid in many ways that you don’t see. Spend some time learning this critical difference. While you are at it, search the term “breakaway brokers” and learn why brokers are leaving their firms in droves to start up RIA firms so they can operate with less conflict.
2. Index funds vs. actively managed funds: Most investors don’t know the difference between an index fund and an actively managed fund. If you are one of them, do some homework. With an index fund or exchange-traded fund, you can save on fees and replace fund managers with computers that buy every stock in a particular market. Performance? The statistics are indisputable — owning active funds is an expensive loser’s game. That’s one reason why Vanguard Group, which created index funds, is now the largest money manager in the world with $1.75 trillion.
3. Clearing brokers: Where your money is located is a critical decision. Make sure that your money is held by what is called a “clearing broker,” like Charles Schwab or Fidelity Investments — not your local independent broker dealer. Clearing brokers are much more regulated and plugged into what is called the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTC). This dramatically lowers the risk of fraud and helps insure that no one but you can move money out of your account.

Enjoy watching the Muppets; don’t become one. Having your own account at well-known firms such as Schwab and Fidelity, with an independent adviser (not a broker) buying you a portfolio of index funds, means you’re investing with fewer strings attached.

Comments:

• This is hard to do (if you like the person) but fire the weath advisor. They can take between 1-2% off the top every year.
• If you can't invest in stocks (or bonds) ... use ETFs. I found this book to be very helpful: The ETF Book: All You Need to Know About Exchange-Traded Funds
• We have all of our investments at Wells Fargo. (our "clearing broker") (point 3 above)
• Read, read read about investing. Money magazine is very helpful. As is the Wall Street Journal and Yahoo Finance
• Diversify, diversify, diversify!
• Don't get emotionally attached to your investments (although we did buy MMM because our daughter works there!
• Regularly invest and save. We started way too late (20 years ago). Start early!

Hard to beat "Gas" engines

Leaf, Yaris, Cruze Compare

My dear Mother just gave up driving (she's almost 92) and sold her 2007 Toyoto Yaris.

What a deal the buyer got on her Yaris .... just 11,000 miles. We thought about buying it ourselves but it would have involved flying to Dallas and driving it back so we did not!

Her Yaris got me thinking about the Leaf. We've had a reservation in for a Leaf for several years. Well we got the call that we could buy one in Minneapolis. I declined and got a refund on my reservation fee.

Mom's Yaris was certainly nothing fancy but the Yaris is a well-built car that would be perfect for driving around town. I'm a big, tall, handicapped guy and I could get in and out of Mom's Yaris.

I used the Microsoft auto site (link above) to compare and contrast the Leaf, the Yaris and the Chevy Cruze.

As cool as electric will be someday ... it's hard to beat "gas".

Fat Lady tuning up

Illinois

Illinois - a Romney win?

In Illinois, Santorum’s Chance at Nomination Is Slipping Away

 Excerpt:

Illinois had appeared to offer Mr. Santorum a chance at a breakthrough. Instead, unless the polls are very wrong, it may represent a breakthrough of sorts for Mr. Romney – by far his biggest delegate grab and margin of victory in a Midwestern state so far. If Mr. Romney wins Illinois by that margin, it will take the political equivalent of the Bartman ball to cost him the nomination.

Comment: Santorum keeps calling Romney a weak candidate but if that's so he's weaker!

Ancient negative political ad: "he disgraced himself by going down to the market and buying a girl to be his sex slave."

Campaign tips

Excerpts:

1. Promise everything to everyone. .... tell them what they want to hear
2. Call in all favors. If you have helped friends or associates in the past, let them know that it's payback time
3. Know your opponent's weaknesses—and exploit them.
4. Flatter voters shamelessly. ... A candidate must make voters believe that he thinks they're important. Shake their hands, look them in the eye, listen to their problems.
5. Give people hope.

Comment: BC political advice. Some things never change. Post title:

Quintus practically invented opposition research: "Consider Antonius, who once had his property confiscated for debt…then after he was elected as praetor, he disgraced himself by going down to the market and buying a girl to be his sex slave." A winning candidate calmly assesses his opponent and then focuses relentlessly on his weaknesses, all the while trying to distract voters from his strengths.

More on Cicero

Battle of the Alma maters

No. 3 Florida State vs. No. 6 Cincinnati

Kathee: FSU '73
Jim: UC '71

I don't think Kathee really cares. But we will be watching

TREFIS analyzes MSFT

TREFIS analyzes MSFT

 Comment: With INTC one of my favorite stocks

JPM or WFC?

Bank Dividends are Rising, so Which is Better: JPMorgan or Wells Fargo?

 Excerpt:

But sometimes, unassuming can mask an inner strength. Firstly, Wells Fargo plans to hike its dividend by 83% to 22 cents a share per quarter, compared with a mere 20% rise for JPMorgan to 30 cents a share.

Secondly, for investors looking to stocks for income, the steadiness of Wells Fargo’s business is more comforting than the sometimes-erratic nature of JPMorgan’s exposure to investment banking. Both suffered some wackiness during the recession, but remove that period from the chart below and Wells Fargo demonstrates a continuous, steady rise in net income. Kind of looks like a utility, say PPL Corp. (PPL).

Comment: The two best large banks. Good stocks for investors. Image

Optomap (retinal scan)

At the eye doctor today: I had the retinal scan (beats the "drops"): Optos

 In saying this I am not being critical of the eye doctor. This was more of an embarrassment than anything. They have a swivel chair by this machine. As I sat down, the chair rolled and swiveled and I landed on my keister. Kathee was called (from the lobby) and she helped me get back on my feet.

Healthy milestones

• DOW above 13,000
• NASDAQ above 3,000
• S&P 500 above 1,400

The Artist

The Artist

 Comment: Kathee and I saw this today. Excellent.

Fat Nat's

Fat Nat's

Comment: K and I have the day off (burning off carryover PTO that has to be used by tomorrow). We were at the Hennepin County Service Center (Ridgedale) at 8:15 (I thought it opened at 8! Nope ... 9!). Renewed the driver's licenses and then out to breakfast. Got to try Fat Nat's!

Bond ETFs

The Beta Investment Report: U.S. Bond ETFs

 Excerpt:

[On] the short list of investment-grade U.S. bond funds that cover the waterfront in this corner of the capital markets.

The first point to note is that the short list really is short. That’s partly because there’s only a handful of ETFs that cover the broad spectrum of investment-grade bonds in the U.S. in one fell swoop. We’re talking here of Treasuries, government agencies, corporates, and a small amount of international dollar-denominated bonds (inflation-protected Treasuries and munis are excluded, however). We’re also limiting the choices to market-cap weighted benchmarks exclusively in the ETF space. That leaves us with four choices, as shown in the table

Comment: The absolute easiest way to invest in bonds is through a Bond ETF. We have investments in both BND and AGG. Neither are exciting (like an IBM) but they are stable.

Inexorable Delegate Math

Romney won Tuesday delegate haul

 Excerpt:

After Tuesday votes in Mississippi, Alabama, Hawaii and American Samoa: DELEGATES WON

• 41 Romney
• 35 Santorum
• 24 Gingrich
• 1 Paul

Comment: The Romney train moves on. Paul stays in because of message. Gingrich stays in because his campaign pays him and because of his GIANT EGO.

Flaws in the Stadium Plan - II

Vikings stadium bill trips over projections of gaming revenue

 Excerpt:

Gov. Mark Dayton and supporters of a new Minnesota Vikings stadium scrambled on Monday to blunt doubts that electronic bingo and pulltabs could raise enough money to pay the state's share of the $975 million project without putting taxpayers at risk if gaming revenue falls short.

Over the weekend, Dayton and Revenue Commissioner Myron Frans reached out to charitable gambling officials to dull growing criticism of the state's $398 million financing proposal. Charities had fought for years to increase their take from pulltabs and bingo, only to see stadium supporters take much of the new revenue to pay for a Vikings stadium.

With a crucial legislative deadline fast approaching, King Wilson, the executive director of Allied Charities of Minnesota, said a "large gap" remained between the charities and the governor on the issue.

The impasse left key legislators unsure about pressing forward, particularly those on House and Senate panels where the stadium legislation would get its first votes. One DFL legislator said on Monday -- two days before the bill's first Senate hearing -- that the proposal was being held together with "duct tape."

"I do have some concerns ... about the funding -- absolutely -- whether or not it truly is a stable source of revenue," said Sen. Claire Robling, R-Jordan, a member of the Senate Local Government and Elections Committee.

Comment: And of course if the funding comes up short ... raise general revenue to pay for it!

When Curtis LeMay "bombed" Dayton

The 'Dayton' Lesson for America's Shrinking Military

 Excerpts:

It was simply called the "Dayton Exercise" and for obvious reasons it was kept secret for decades. It was also one of the clearest examples of the trouble the United States encounters when it decides to precipitously draw back its military in a troubled world.

.. On Aug. 19, 1949, the Soviets successfully tested their first atomic bomb, years before U.S. intelligence believed they would. Six weeks later, Mao Zedong's communist army took control of China. Eight months after that, the North Koreans crossed the border and quickly crushed U.S. and South Korean forces. Things have a way of changing when you least expect it.

One year after World War II, the U.S. had placed its strategic nuclear advantage in the hands of a new entity called the Strategic Air Command (SAC). It made sense to hand the country's nuclear punch over to this new branch of the Air Force, since only that service branch had the delivery system and prior experience. The B-29s of SAC were meant to so petrify any foe that they would never consider an attack on the U.S. The reality was that the new command was a shockingly disorganized, ill-equipped, nonfunctioning organization. Worse, no one seemed to care.

In 1948, the commander of SAC was replaced by Gen. Curtis LeMay, who had proven himself the ultimate problem solver in World War II, first in Europe and then in the Pacific. LeMay immediately understood the severity of the problem. He also comprehended the constantly changing geopolitical landscape.

So he walked into his office in Omaha, Neb., on one of his earliest days on the job and ordered every single bomber in SAC to take off immediately and electronically "bomb" Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio.

Compared with a real war, this should have been a cakewalk. Crews would not have to fly over an ocean, nor would they be flying into unfamiliar or unfriendly territory. Everyone knew Wright-Pat. It was a relatively short, peaceful distance away. The control tower in Dayton would be able to track the trajectory of each plane's "bombs" by radar.

But it turned out that many of the planes couldn't even take off. The best mechanics had left the service for higher-paying and easier civilian jobs after the war ended, leaving SAC's planes in woeful condition. Of the planes that could get to Dayton, not one was able to hit the target. Not one. For obvious reasons, the results were kept classified.

... The Dayton lesson serves as a cautionary tale. The next time some unforeseen event threatens the mainland as the U.S. is slashing its military budget, this country won't have the luxury of time to rebuild what it will no doubt need.

Comment: Image and article on the B-36. On 8/19/1949 ... this boy was born!

Republican Primaries - the Fat Lady is about to Sing!

Republican 2012 race 'mathematically' over: Graham

 Excerpt:

Mitt Romney has all but won the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, top senator Lindsey Graham said Sunday, agreeing with the candidate that "mathematically, this thing is about over."

Romney has won 14 of 25 state-by-state votes that decide which Republican candidate takes on President Barack Obama in November, compared to eight wins for Rick Santorum and just two for former House speaker Newt Gingrich.

These victories have given Romney almost 40 percent of the 1,144 delegates needed to secure the nomination. He has 446 delegates, Santorum 199 and Gingrich 117, according to authoritative poll aggregator RealClearPolitics.

"Mathematically, Rick would have to win 75 percent of what remains," Graham, a senior Republican who serves on various Senate committees, told ABC's "This Week" program.

"He's done an outstanding job, Rick has, of starting with almost nothing and being a real contender, and Newt's come back from the dead two or three times," Graham said. "But mathematically, this thing is about over, but emotionally it's not."

Graham was speaking ahead of two do-or-die contests for Gingrich on Tuesday in the conservative southern states of Mississippi and Alabama -- although the former House speaker has pledged to stay in the race until the bitter end.

Comment: Image Source.

Flaws in the Stadium plan

Stadium deal may test Minneapolis charter

 Excerpt:

[Bob Greenberg] wrote the city charter amendment that now poses the greatest hurdle to supporters of a Vikings stadium in Minneapolis -- mandating a citywide vote on stadium subsidies of $10 million or more. Seventy percent of city voters approved that language in 1997 during talks of a new Twins ballpark, but it now faces its first real test as the Legislature considers a bill to ignore it altogether.

"I did not write this charter amendment to prevent the building of a stadium," said Greenberg, a former Twin Cities activist who moved into a woodland tent two years ago and lives off the land, including roadkill. "But only to force the city to put it before the voters."

The activists who fought for the referendum requirement have long parted ways, but now find themselves revisiting the passionate case they made for a public say in sports subsidies. Some are offended at what's going on. Others have changed their minds.

The three sentences in the Minneapolis charter have prompted a majority of the City Council to speak out against the latest stadium plan, which would bypass the referendum. When the referendum idea was born around a table in St. Paul 15 years ago, then-Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton wanted to dedicate $50 million to a new home for the Twins.

"I knew, as I said at those meetings, that they were going to get around it," said then-mayoral candidate and City Council Member Barbara Carlson, who supported the referendum requirement. But times change. Carlson now believes it was "a bad decision" and "referendums are insanity."

Mayor R.T. Rybak's latest proposal to fund a Vikings stadium in downtown Minneapolis would pay for the city's share of the facility by redirecting a group of sales taxes that currently pay for the convention center. That money becomes available when the convention center debt is paid in 2020. Stadium backers argue the sales taxes are state-authorized and therefore not city resources, an argument reflected in the stadium bill introduced Friday.

Greenberg knew any loopholes would be exploited, which was why he included a laundry list of funding options to spur a vote, including "sales tax or other taxes."

"I pulled my brains out [imagining] what is every single way that they could finance this? How could they find a way around this?"

Rybak has argued that his deal, which he says will lower property taxes by paying debt on Target Center, is a much more complicated package than what the referendum is meant to address. But Council Member Gary Schiff, who developed the idea with Greenberg, says voters still want a voice in this deal.

Comment: The two flaws ... and they are major:

1. Bypassing the City charter and bypassing the declared will of the people.
2. Guessing at the amount of the funding source (the electronic pull tabs)

I could almost say I don't care because I don't live in Minneapolis. But the 2nd flaw will cost all Minnesotans when the revenue stream is inadequate.

Organ removal of BHC's [beating-heart cadaver's]

What You Lose When You Sign That Donor Card - Giving away your organs sounds noble, but have doctors blurred the line between life and death?

 Excerpt:

But in at least two studies before the 1981 Uniform Determination of Death Act, some "brain-dead" patients were found to be emitting brain waves. One, from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke in the 1970s, found that out of 503 patients who met the usual criteria of brain death, 17 showed activity in an EEG.

Even some of the sharpest critics of the brain-death criteria argue that there is no possibility that donors will be in pain during the harvesting of their organs. One, Robert Truog, professor of medical ethics, anesthesia and pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, compared the topic of pain in an organ donor to an argument over "whether it is OK to kick a rock."

But BHCs [beating-heart cadaver]—who don't receive anesthetics during an organ harvest operation—react to the scalpel like inadequately anesthetized live patients, exhibiting high blood pressure and sometimes soaring heart rates. Doctors say these are simply reflexes.

What if there is sound evidence that you are alive after being declared brain dead? In a 1999 article in the peer-reviewed journal Anesthesiology, Gail A. Van Norman, a professor of anesthesiology at the University of Washington, reported a case in which a 30-year-old patient with severe head trauma began breathing spontaneously after being declared brain dead. The physicians said that, because there was no chance of recovery, he could still be considered dead. The harvest proceeded over the objections of the anesthesiologist, who saw the donor move, and then react to the scalpel with hypertension.

Organ transplantation—from procurement of organs to transplant to the first year of postoperative care—is a $20 billion per year business. Average recipients are charged $750,000 for a transplant, and at an average 3.3 organs, that is more than $2 million per body. Neither donors nor their families can be paid for organs.

It is possible that not being a donor on your license can give you more bargaining power. If you leave instructions with your next of kin, they can perhaps negotiate a better deal. Instead of just the usual icewater-in-the-ears, why not ask for a blood-flow study to make sure your cortex is truly out of commission?

And how about some anesthetic? Although he doesn't believe the brain dead feel pain, Dr. Truog has used two light anesthetics, high-dose fentanyl and sufentanil, which won't harm organs, to quell high blood pressure or heart rate during harvesting operations. "If it were my family," he said, "I'd request them."

Comment: Makes on wonder!

God answers

William Hamilton Dies at 87; Known for ‘Death of God’

 Excerpt:

In large red type against a black background, Time boiled those ideas down to three words: “Is God Dead?” It became one of the magazine’s most famous covers, and it upended Dr. Hamilton’s quiet life as an academic theologian.

The article, appearing in the season of Easter and Passover, gave a primer on the history of the war between religious and secular ideas in Western culture going back to Copernicus. It quoted Billy Graham and Simone de Beauvoir as exemplars of the two sides, and it introduced the world to Dr. Hamilton as the leader of a new school of religious thinking it called the “Death of God Movement.”

Comment: Original Time cover below:

Something I am really good at

When Buying a New Car, the More You Know, the Less You Pay

 Excerpt:

New car shoppers who look up a car’s invoice price, shop multiple dealerships and aren’t afraid to haggle can save as much as $800 on average on a vehicle purchase, according to a study that is one of the first to test economic bargaining theory against real world data from the $340 billion U.S. auto business.

Just coming to a dealership armed with the invoice price of a vehicle can save a shopper as much as $140, according to an analysis of data from 1,402 shoppers who purchased one of eight car models in California between April and May 2002. The analysis is the foundation of a paper by F. Scott Morton of Yale University, Jorge Silva-Risso of the University of California Riverside and Florian Zettelmeyer of Northwestern University.

... Shopping around, visiting at least one additional dealership to get a competing quote, can save more, the study found.

Comment: The first new car I "bought" was for a widow who needed a new car. She wanted a Pontiac. I was a senior in college. I shopped and shopped the details (it was much harder back before the Internet) and called and called. I used my deepest voice to sound as adult as I could sound (I was 21). Basically I negotiated the deal over the phone and went to the dealership with her. This was back when I lived in Cincinnati. The best deal was in Northern Kentucky .... I think in Covington. It was a 1971 Pontiac Ventura. New cars are easier to buy than used because there are less variables and there is more information available. The keys (just off the top of my head):

• Separate all of the elements: Financing from trade in from add ons, etc.. Arrange financing in advance. The dealer may be able to beat it but by separating it out it makes negotiation easier
• Either don't trade in a car (sell it yourself) or know the value of it.
• Don't buy any dealer add-ons: undercoating was a big deal years ago and a waste of money. Don't by the extended warrenty
• Back then I used the phone. Today check the internet. Know what cars are available. Be willing to drive to another state to buy a car. Our last car was purchased in Wisconsin
• Be willing to buy a different brand. There's little difference between a Ford and a Chevy
• Be flexible of colors
• Know that the salesman is powerless to make a deal. It's the guy above him
• Be willing to walk away.

CNN's delegate count

CNN's delegate count

Delegate Math

How math virtually guarantees Romney's nomination

 Excerpt:

The Associated Press' estimate puts Romney currently at 415 delegates, to Santorum's 176, with Gingrich and Paul controlling 105 and 47, respectively. A candidate needs a majority of all delegates in order to win the nomination, which this year comes to 1,144.

Two of the remaining winner-take-all states will be uncontested, Utah and Pennsylvania. Romney is all but guaranteed to win Utah's 40 delegates on June 26, and so if Santorum win his home state's 72 delegates on April 24, his net gain is 32 -- leaving him about 200 behind Romney, with about 1430 remaining. The remaining states are scattered geographically and demographically, distributed evenly between Romney's base (the Northeast), Santorum's (the heartland), as well as the Romney-leaning West and the Gingrich-Santorum South.

If Romney were to stumble and win only a third of the delegates in the remaining states, Santorum would have to win more than half of all the delegates in order to pull ahead, meaning that Gingrich and Paul together would have to be held below 16 percent. To date, not even counting Romney's blowout in Massachusetts, Romney has won nearly half of the delegates while Santorum has won about one-fourth. That means the only path to Romney losing is Santorum doubling his past haul, while Romney dropping by about 70 percent. That's not likely.

Comment: Image from Romney campaign email. Remember delegate math is imprecise. On why Gingrich continues (basically his campaign is paying him):

Gingrich, meanwhile, directly benefits from continuing to run. His campaign has paid him, personally, more than $100,000 in "unspecified expenses in what amounted to petty cash," as the Washington Times' Luke Roziak puts it. The Gingrich campaign has also paid or otherwise subsidized Gingrich's for-profit enterprises, in the process raising his profile and, presumably, his speaking fees. Gingrich's top aides are rewarding themselves with plenty of Sheldon Adelson money, too -- one super-PAC aide paid herself $220,000 for about 10 weeks of work.

Electronic pull-tabs: Revenue Reality Check

Can electronic pull-tabs pull in enough stadium revenue?

Excerpt:

A major pillar of the Vikings stadium proposal unveiled last week is tax revenue from an expansion in charitable gambling. But such a financing plan has lots of unknowns — and one key question: Will the introduction of electronic gambling gizmos generate enough income to repay the bonds?

The financing proposal depends on electronic pull-tabs supplying funds to repay $398 million in bonds the state plans to float to build the facility. (Minneapolis will back another $150 million in bonds with sales taxes, pending City Council endorsement to the financial arrangement.

The entire public financing plan, Gov. Mark Dayton said last week, wouldn't use "a single dollar of general fund tax revenues.")

Minnesota already allows paper pull-tabs. To win cash prizes, players match pictures on the front of the cards they purchase, usually for $2 each, under tabs that they tear off. Bars and restaurants sell them on behalf of nonprofits, and the proceeds -- minus the prize money, expenses and taxes -- go to charity. Among those who benefit in Minnesota: American Legion posts, VFW groups and others who use the money to support local sports leagues, scholarships and the like.

Comment: I'm not particularly naive but until pull tabs were recently explained to me, I didn't even know what they were. Sounds like a giant waste of time and money! The linked article examines the dubious propects of the electronic pull tab revenue source. A must read because if this stream fails, all Minnesotans will be holdlng the bag for the Vikings stadium

The MSM and Repubican "Bloodletting"

Romney Scores Big Win; Press Fails to Notice

Excerpts:

Romney is being widely panned by the press for an “inability to close the deal,” and yet the description seems far more apt for Santorum, who now has blown huge leads in the most critical contests of recent weeks, Ohio and Michigan. If anything, the more voters look at Santorum, the more concerned they become and less likely they are to sign on the dotted line.

...

All reporting is now sports reporting. Reporters love a battle and they love to go on TV and rave about how exciting everything is. And editors seek a bracing and never-ending storyline because it draws readers and ultimately pleases their corporate bosses, who want to sell papers and generate pageviews.

 The headline “Romney Scores Six Wins and Continues Methodical Drive Toward Nomination” is just not going to drive eyeballs to your story.

 And reporters also tend to be moderate to liberal. Bloodletting among Republicans at some level is agreeable to many of them. I have to believe that if this was Obama instead of Romney, the stories would be about the growing inevitability of Obama’s nomination.

That Romney is in all likelihood on the march toward nomination will probably soon become too apparent for any serious journalist to deny. At that point, for the reasons listed above, we will begin to hear feverish talk about the prospects for a third party candidacy.

Comments: Source of images: 1. bloodletting; 2. Screen capture.

Hot air

Click for larger image.

Can't decide which stock to buy? Buy 'em all!

Pick an index: Wilshire 5000 is easier to track

 Excerpts:

The DJ Wilshire 5000 and MSCI U.S. Broad Market index both try to measure the entire stock market. Unlike the Standard & Poor's 500, which tracks 500 of the stock market's most valuable companies, the DJ Wilshire 5000 and MSCI U.S. Broad Market indexes try to own the big, the small and everything in between.

... It's also easy to track the DJ Wilshire 5000 because investors can buy shares in an ETF that tracks it, the SPDR DJ Wilshire Total Market ETF (TMW). You can track the index by entering TMW into any stock quote service.

Comment: Chart above (from Yahoo finance) shows it beating the DOW over 2 years.

Broad diversification. Chart below. Source

Arrived the same day as my tax refund

Comment: Murphy's law!

LEGO ISS

  Article

Mexico: Better places to travel

Dying to Go to Acapulco—Literally

Excerpts:

... the State Department does urge Americans to avoid nonessential travel to Ciudad Juárez, where more than 3,100 people got killed in 2010. (On a positive note, the number did plummet to a paltry 1,933 in 2011.) Government officials also advise steering clear (if possible) of Coahuila, Durango, San Luis Potosí and most of Sinaloa, and to confine excursions in Mazatlán to well-traveled tourist areas like the Zona Dorada. Elsewhere, travelers to the cities of Acapulco, Ixtapa and Zihuatanejo are advised to exercise caution, stick to the principal tourist areas and avoid driving after sundown on some main highways. But other than that, the cheerleaders proclaim, Mexico seems to be A-OK.

OK, call me a fussbudget, an old stick-in-the-mud, but when I go on vacation I like to visit countries where the exchange rate is good, the food is reasonably priced and my chances of being brutally murdered are fairly minimal. France and England fit the bill nicely, not only because of the low homicide rates but because of all the cathedrals and museums. I also enjoy the Netherlands and Australia, where machete massacres are a rarity.

But not everybody can afford to go abroad. So, if money is an issue, Canada is another viable option. It's close at hand, the people are incredibly friendly, and it's been years since 3,100 people got killed in a single year in any of its major cities. Sure, Calgary can get a little rough after sundown, but nothing like Ciudad Juárez.

Comment: We used to love going to Mexico. A friend has 3 time share weeks there.

IRS: New date (2/29)

The "Bennett Effect" and why College Education costs have tripled

Why College Aid Makes College More Expensive Excerpt:

Recipients of federal Pell Grants have, by definition, limited means to pay for college, so they are likely to qualify for grants and price breaks given out by schools, too. But schools view a student's sources of federal aid before deciding how much to give on their own, rather than the other way around. The result is a crowding out effect, where some schools give less as the government gives more.

Lesley Turner, a PhD candidate at Columbia University, looked at data on aid from 1996 to 2008 and calculated that, on average, schools increased Pell Grant recipients' prices by $17 in response to every $100 of Pell Grant aid. More selective nonprofit schools' response was largest and these schools raised prices by $66 for every $100 of Pell Grant aid.

Aid from schools over the past decade has increased about half as fast as federal aid, according to the College Board.

Perhaps worse for students than a crowding out effect is the Bennett Effect, named for William Bennett, who 25 years ago as Secretary of Education wrote for the New York Times, "Increases in financial aid in recent years have enabled colleges and universities blithely to raise their tuitions."

If subsidies puff up buying power and shift prices higher, as economics courses teach, could federal aid for college help create an affordability problem? After all, the federal government began spending more on college aid with the Higher Education Act of 1965 and the full funding of Pell Grants in 1975. Since 1979, tuition and fees have tripled after adjusting for inflation. That's much faster than the increase for real estate and teacher pay.

Comment: Image source: Unintended Consequences of Health Reform

Triple Ouch!

I suffered two injuries playing pool today:

• The tip of my thumb was at the edge of the corner pocket. Brother drilled one home and it bounced off my nail. Ouch! Still stinging 2 hours later. A bruise under the nail is developing
• I bounced the cue ball off the table and it landed on the top of my foot. I was in my stocking feet. Double ouch!
• Plus I lost to Brother at 9 ball! Triple ouch!

IRS: Tax Refund Delays

IRS still experiencing delays in sending tax refunds

 Excerpt:

Tax preparers said Thursday that the Internal Revenue Service is continuing to have delays in sending federal tax refunds this year, with hundreds of South Floridians complaining they still haven't gotten their check.

"Our phone is ringing off the hook with people saying they should have their refund by now," said Mark Daly, franchise owner of several Jackson-Hewitt Tax Service outlets in South Florida.

"There's no rhyme or reason why some returns are being quickly processed and others not," Daly added. "We've had hundreds and hundreds of complaints."

"The IRS is experiencing delays this year in sending refunds," said H&R spokesman Gene King in a statement sent Thursday to the Sun Sentinel. "Based on current IRS guidance, most refunds are now issued from the IRS in 10 to 21 days."

Comment: IRS website still reports that my refund will be deposited on 2/21 ....

Win a Trip to New York City

Sweepstakes

Vikings Stadium: Make Wimpy Pay!

Republicans: Vikings should only get loan for new stadium

Republicans: Vikings should only get loan for new stadium

Excerpt:

Saying that they had the only Minnesota Vikings stadium plan that could pass the Legislature, three Republican senators offered a plan Thursday that would limit any direct public subsidy to the team to a $300 million loan.

The proposal -- which the Vikings and Gov. Mark Dayton quickly dismissed -- took the stadium debate at the state Capitol in an entirely different direction: Arguing that the team should only be offered minimal assistance and nothing beyond what other businesses could expect.

The three senators, led by Sen. Roger Chamberlain, R-Lino Lakes, said that the state should not be involved in whether the stadium had “gold-plated tile” and needed to cost $1 billion.

The Legislature “shouldn’t have an interest in whether they build a stadium with a roof or astro-turf, or how many suites they have, or whether it’s in Ramsey County,” said Sen. David Hann, R-Eden Prairie, a co-author of the proposal. “Those are things that the business itself ought to work out with local communities who have interest in hosting that site.”

Comments: My view. Make Zygi Wilf (Wimpy!) pay for it! Color image from No More Wimpy Government. Info on the sponger Wimpy here!

'Sock it to Me' - slamming all Dividend investors!

Obama's Dividend Assault - A plan to triple the tax rate would hurt all shareholders

Excerpts:

Mr. Obama is proposing to raise the dividend tax rate to the higher personal income tax rate of 39.6% that will kick in next year. Add in the planned phase-out of deductions and exemptions, and the rate hits 41%. Then add the 3.8% investment tax surcharge in ObamaCare, and the new dividend tax rate in 2013 would be 44.8%—nearly three times today's 15% rate.

Keep in mind that dividends are paid to shareholders only after the corporation pays taxes on its profits. So assuming a maximum 35% corporate tax rate and a 44.8% dividend tax, the total tax on corporate earnings passed through as dividends would be 64.1%.

... shareholders of all incomes will share the pain. Here's why. Historical experience indicates that corporate dividend payouts are highly sensitive to the dividend tax. 

... Who would get hurt? IRS data show that retirees and near-retirees who depend on dividend income would be hit especially hard. Almost three of four dividend payments go to those over the age of 55, and more than half go to those older than 65, according to IRS data.

But all American shareholders would lose. Higher dividend and capital gains taxes make stocks less valuable. A share of stock is worth the discounted present value of the future earnings stream after taxes. Stock prices would fall over time to adjust to the new after-tax rate of return. And if investors become convinced later this year that dividend and capital gains taxes are going way up on January 1, some investors are likely to sell shares ahead of paying these higher rates.

The question is how this helps anyone. According to the Investment Company Institute, about 51% of adults own stock directly or through mutual funds, which is more than 100 million shareholders. Tens of millions more own stocks through pension funds. Why would the White House endorse a policy that will make these households poorer? Seldom has there been a clearer example of a policy that is supposed to soak the rich but will drench almost all American families.

Comment: To continue with Laugh In theme ... if Obama is re-elected ... "you bet your bippy"

IRS Refund: Missed that date!

Click for larger image. Message is:

"You should receive your refund by February 21, 2012"

Comment: IRS Where's My Refund site. Calling the IRS is like (well ... dealing with Comcast!). Finally got ahold of a very kind woman who said they had not begun to process my return yet. I wanted to ask ... why does the website say that my refund would be here yesterday ... but I knew she wouldn't have the answer!

Match Heads

Iran: Pre-emptive strike against enemies possible

Excerpt:

A senior Iranian military commander signaled the Islamic Republic might launch a pre-emptive strike against its "enemies" if the nation's leaders felt an attack on Iran was imminent, providing another example of ever-escalating tensions between Tehran and the West over its nuclear program.

In a clear shot across the bow, the deputy head of Iran's armed forces, Mohammad Hejazi, told state media on Tuesday: "Our strategy now is that if we feel our enemies want to endanger Iran's national interests, and want to decide to do that, we will act without waiting for their actions," according to the Reuters news agency.

Hejazi's comments come as another Iranian official said that a U.N. team visiting Iran has no plans to inspect the country's nuclear facilities and will only hold talks with officials in Tehran.

Israel Needs A Preemptive Nuclear Strike Against Iran

Excerpt:

One of the best ways to ensure the world doesn’t get wobbly over Iran, is to make it understand that although Israel prefers to regard the rogue Islamic regime as an international problem, we will, if necessary, do whatever it takes to ensure our survival, including a preemptive nuclear strike.

Comment: Images from Wiki: Matches. When you have two sides each suggesting a pre-emptive strike ... .well "match heads"

Adventures with Comcast

Saturday afternoon I was working on my MacBook (paying a bill) and adding the XFinity IPAD app to my IPAD. This was about 5:20 pm

I downloaded the App and it asked me to authenticate my account. I entered my Comcast user ID and password and did the submit.

NOTHING happened .... or did it

Kathee was at the dining room table working on a review on her company HP laptop (Windows 7). She was uploading a saved file. My MacBook lost Interet connectivity as well. And the IPAD basically froze up! Fun stuff.

My son had just arrived for dinner so we took a dinner break. I ate quickly and left the table before the others. I called Comcast tech support.

Comcast denies that there is a link between their IPAD app and the resulting problem but this is my hypothesis and I believe that the evidence is strong.

I turned out working with Comcast tech support from 6 until 9 and then from 10:30 until 11 when I gave up from exhaustion. During that time:

• I talked to (I lost track but I estimate 5-8) different reps. James, Grechen, Vernon and Chuck come to mind.
• All were kind and generally helpful except for Chuck who blamed the problem on my NetGear Router
• Finally after multiple resets of the Motorola Comcast provided cable modem; system reboots (2 MacBooks, 1 Linux), and the NetGear we were at the point that I had internet connectivity directly connected to the Motorola cable modem.
• Comcast had sent two cookies (we could see this as we examined the cookies on Kathees' MacBook) that forced the browser homepage to go to an Xfinity authentication page. I don't have a screen shot of this as we were busy doing other things. Entering an account # and phone # and then a submit lead to a page that said that connectivity could not be established
• If we deleted the cookie ... and rebooted the MacBook and opened the brower ... the cookie was again implanted! And we could not access the Internet again. Back to the Xfinity authentication page
• Interestingly I could on-line chat with a Comcast tech person.
• I gave up at 11:00 ... my mind and body were exhausted. A Saturday night of family time was wasted and I was ready for bed.
• In the night I talked in my sleep about the Comcast router. Kathee did not record it or transcribe it but obvously it was on my mind
• On "joke" in this was Chuck's contention that it was my wireless router's problem and that the issue was mine and not there's. Also a denial of the obvious link between the IPAD authentication step and the cookie being passed down to our systems.

Image above. My very nice NetGear wireless router.

• Kathee had to work the final Wachovia / Wells Fargo conversion event this weekend and so was downtown until 12:30 on Sunday
• I had a lot of time to think the whole issue over:
  • I had one wired working Internet connection directly connected to the Comcast modem.
  • But wireless did not work and even connecting the NetGear up did not work. The cookie was again being passed and we were in that authentication loop again.
  • Where was that cookie coming from?
  • I seriously thought (my son suggested this) dumping Comcast and going with Century Link.
  • I also thought that perhaps this mess fried my NetGear.
  • Then I had an idea that is simple and proved to be the solution
• Kathee straightened out a paper clip and used the end to reset the NetGreat router. (It had been powered off for hours ... but the reset returns it to factory settings)
• My hypothesis is that there is a PROM in the Router that was retaining the cookies
• Well when we did the hard-reset everything cleared up and we were back in business!

Below is an image of the back of the NetGear wireless router with the reset button circled.

Kathee suggested that I call Comcast tech support to inform them of this but frankly I was on the phone enough with them. But my advice ... avoid the XFinity IPAD app .... like the plague! Alien chest burster comes to mind! (Image below)

Convention Center white elephants

Have We Got a Convention Center to Sell You! From Boston to Austin, politicians spend money on fancy white elephants.

Excerpt:

For two decades, America's convention center business has been declining, resulting in a nationwide surplus of empty meeting facilities, struggling convention halls and vacant hotel rooms. How have governments responded to this glut? By building more convention centers, of course, financed by debt backed by new taxes and fees on already struggling taxpayers.

Back in 2007, before the recession began, a report from Destination Marketing Association International described America's convention industry as a "buyer's market" suffering excess capacity. It's only gotten worse, attracting just 86 million attendees in 2010, compared to 126 million in 2000. Meanwhile, the amount of convention space angling for business has increased to 70 million square feet, up from 53 million in 2000 and 40 million two decades ago.

That's largely because governments refuse to stop making convention centers bigger and hotels even more dazzling, arguing that whatever business remains will flow to the places with the fanciest amenities. To finance these risky projects—which the private sector won't build by itself—cities float debt backed by new taxes and fees on already struggling taxpayers. As Charles Chieppo, a former board member of Massachusetts Convention Center Authority, lamented last year, "Logic rarely has a place in the convention business."

Rybak: Eliminating city convention taxes would 'wreck everything'

Excerpt:

The mayor also disputed reports that a city agreement to help pay for a nearly $1 billion Vikings stadium was complete. Mondale, said the mayor, “doesn’t speak for the city of Minneapolis.”

David’s proposal, which was debated but not voted on Thursday, would eliminate the citywide half-cent sales tax in Minneapolis, a 2.625 percent lodging tax in the city, a 3 percent downtown liquor and beer tax and a 3 percent food and beverage tax in downtown Minneapolis.

“This would wreck everything,” Rybak said of the convention center’s reliance on the taxes.

But some legislators, especially Republicans, argued that Minneapolis was funding its convention center with a series of taxes that convention centers in outstate Minnesota did not impose. “I’m just curious why you should get that extra, special attention,” said Rep. Sarah Anderson, R-Plymouth.

“You know who pays for this? The citizens in my district, my constituents that decide to go to Minneapolis – maybe go out to a restaurant for the night,” she said. “They don’t get to see the benefit on a day-to-day” basis.

Added Davids: “Why should Minneapolis be treated differently than other convention centers around the state?”

But Minneapolis officials said that the convention business that comes to Minneapolis produces millions in tax dollars for the state, and that eliminating the special taxes would force city residents to pay for the convention center through property taxes.

“There’s not a [major] convention center like this across the country that is self supporting, that I know of,” said Rybak.

Comment: MSP Convention Center

In praise of Dave's Barber Shop

Taxpayers fleeced in bailout of Senate barbershop ‘institution’

Excerpt:

America’s most distinguished leaders get their hair cut at the Senate barbershop, but taxpayers are the ones really getting clipped.

The barbershop ran almost $300,000 in the red last year but received an infusion from Senate coffers that is keeping it in business, the Senate sergeant at arms, Terrance Gainer, told The Daily.

A federal bailout isn’t that unusual since the economic downturn, but some senators didn’t even know their salon was in hot water — and don’t think it should be, considering what they pay for a little off the ears.

A shampoo, cut and blow dry is $27 and highlights are $105, according to the barbershop’s website.

Comment: My regular barber is my wife and a 10 year old Wahl clipper. Kathee does a super job: shaves around the ears and uses the razer on my neck. Plus she trims my eyebrows. Every now and then she is too busy to cut my hair and I find myself at Dave's Barbershop. They manage to give me a decent haircut for $ 12. (cash only ... no credit cards!). AND they manage to do this without taking a government subsidy!