Category: News and Politics
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ERISA is still king per US Supreme Court
Comments on Vermont Green Mountain Care Board v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and what it means to small practitioners in the employee benefits field Yesterday the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on a case involving conflicting state and federal law surrounding operation of an employee benefit plan administrator. In a relatively easy 6-2 decision the Court sided with Liberty…
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The scary rise of fascism in 2016 politics
Could the dire issues facing our nation now be any more clear? Remember that it was only a short time ago that Americans feared the impact of having a socialist in its highest elected office. I reflected on this issue on December 12; only 77 days ago. (http://tonynovak.com/cpa/but-hes-a-socialist/). Yet that risk seems mild now compared to…
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NJ tax lien sale certificate class action settlement oddity
I am posting the content of this letter for whatever it may be worth. I have no further information on the matter but I simply suspect that others may be affected. February 24, 2016 NJ Tax Sales Certificates Antitrust Litigation c/o Gilardi & Co. LLC P.O. Box 808061 Petaluma CA 94975-8061 RE: In Re…
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The $100 bill is doomed
The U.S. Department of Treasury says that we have a Trillion dollars in circulation in paper $100 bills. We’ve known for a while that much of this is kept outside of the United States and that a large portion of the $100 bills actually in circulation are used for illicit activities including drug trade, human…
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The problem with Justice Scalia
I am surprised to learn this week that a large number of my peers have been blessed with the ability to avoid agonizing over the underlying mechanics of the major issues of law that have misguided our country for much of the last three decades. This explains why some may not be familiar with the…
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Devastating impact of education costs
I worked on two personal income tax returns yesterday that serve as examples to further underscore the need for education finance reform. As an adviser I see plenty of these examples in working class families, these two just happen to be the latest. I know that my peers in the tax preparation industry will see…
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Negative interest rates: what does it mean?
How current news affects financial planning Much of the world has entered into a period of negative interest rates with little economic growth. Here in the United States Federal Reserve Chair Yellen still says that interest rates will rise (and she knows better than anyone) but remain at historically low levels this year. Some doubt…
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Is the Health Insurance Marketplace working?
The number of people who enrolled for Obamacare through the individual Health Insurance Marketplace increased to 12.7 million in 2016 compared to 11.7 million in 2015 and 8 million in 2014. There is growth in the number covered but this growth is not impressive especially when we consider that the number without coverage is growing at a faster pace.…
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Preview of “The Road to Little Dribbling: Adventures of an American in Britain”
A friend asked if would recommend reading Bill Bryson’s new book The Road to Little Dribbling: Adventures of an American in Britain. Actually I’m just at the beginning of reading it so I answered the question from a different perspective. What is the book about? Getting old, travel in England and the devastating indirect effects of…
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Bankruptcy of an Uber driver
I just read a financial planning article about the bankruptcy of an Uber driver who was involved in an auto accident and his personal auto insurance denied coverage because he did not have a commercial auto insurance or ride-share type of policy. Apparently the carrier can do that and withstand the related legal challenges. It…