Category: News and Politics
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Stock market crash in a nutshell
Over the past 60 days investors around the world have pulled more than $6 billion in investments from worldwide emerging markets. This caused worldwide stock prices to drop by about 10%. Much of this money has been reinvested in U.S. Treasury bonds. U.S. stocks have dropped about 4% so far as a side effect. The…
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Now is the time to review financial plans
In the event of stock market panic, read this: Many of my recent articles and blog comments about financial planning surround the concept that a financial wake-up call and a reality check are very badly needed by individuals and small business owners today. Recent news about the unhealthy global stock market makes it clear that many others share these…
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Mourning the loss of my Republican party
Last night’s Republican debate very plainly shows why I conclude that my party is so out-of-touch with reality that they do not have any chance of assembling effective leadership. The top 10 presidential candidates talked on national television for a combined total of 64.5 minutes without any of them ever once mentioning even a single…
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Comment on “A Tale of Two Recoveries: Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy”
Researchers Susan L. Cutter and Christopher T. Emrich at the Hazards and Vulnerability Research Institute at the University of South Carolina published information about recovery from super storm Sandy as compared to Katrina. I think that I participated in submitting responses to their survey. I noticed that one area not mentioned in the article in Emergency Management “A Tale…
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NJ state workers need to revise their financial plans
(This post follows yesterday’s announcement that the state Supreme Court ruled that the state is not required to make negotiated pension plan contribution. More at NJ.com). “The future isn’t what it used to be.” New Jersey state workers and other participants in the state pension system (like teachers) who were promised solid pensions will receive less…
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Sales tax on interstate accounting services
The Democrat-led Finance Committee of the Connecticut General Assembly voted yesterday (4/29/2015) to expand its state sales tax to include accounting services. The Senate President Pro Tem said that he supports the changes but there appears to be opposition to the move beyond that. Three states currently tax professional services: New Mexico, Hawaii and South…
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Money Island NJ: ‘Ground Zero’ for regional climate change response
With the April 15 tax deadline past, today I turned my attention to local New Jersey politics in Money Island New Jersey. My friends and acquaintances know that for many years I’ve been working in support of a sustainable future for my time home community. Today I spent time speaking with our political consultant, our…
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Letter in support of agricultural tourism in New Jersey
This is the text (with hyperlinks added) of my letter to the Cape May County Agricultural Development Board regarding New Jersey’s attempt to draw visitors to South Jersey’s farms for recreation and tourism purposes. The matter is covered in this newspaper article. My larger concern is that if local government reacts to a small number of…
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10 good reasons why I might choose not to vote
The right to vote in a self-governing society also recognizes that electing not to vote is an option in appropriate circumstances. The election to abstain from voting is arguably the most valuable tool we have to preserve the integrity, value and meaning of the voting process. Here are ten good reasons that I may choose…
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How to fix your small business 401(k)
This week President Obama’s administration gave a strong endorsement of the Department of Labor’s plan to impose fiduciary obligations on investment brokers and advisors working with retirement plans. The controversial proposal is based on a belief that new rules are a needed consumer protection to prevent billions in costs due to bad advice. Most consumer advocates…