Don't Use Your Mortgage To Play the Stock Market - This is almost too obvious a warning to need stating; but there are plenty of people who do foolishly play the risky stock market with their home equities and their retirement accounts.  However, using the equity in one property to purchase additional real estate is a standard long running technique to use leverage to accumulate considerably more wealth over time than tossing the dice in the stock market.

The U.S. has dropped out of the top 10 freest economies in the world because of its high tax rates. - As I've always said, when you take away someone's money, you are reducing that person's freedom.  The full list of freedom rankings does have some very odd components. I'm not sure how Hong Kong can be anywhere near Number One now that it is controlled by the murdering rulers of Red China.

Social Security: All Trust and No Fund - Any private market or employer sponsored retirement plan with the same kind of financial commingling as used by Social Security would be shut down and its officers tossed into prison.  Why our rulers in DC are allowed to continue to perpetuate such a scam has always been a testament to the ignorance of the American people and the cover-up by those on the Left who insist on having the government control every aspect of our lives.  

Social Security pickle fuels expert discord - I'd say that anyone under 50 who counts on Social Security being a safe investment will be in a very sour pickle indeed.

What Social Security reform would mean for blacks - The lower a person's life expectancy, the worse the return on the "investment" in SS.  Those who have little chance of living long enough to recover all or any of their contributions get screwed the worst since the SS accounts aren't actual assets that can be left to survivors, as privately owned retirement accounts can be. 

Social Security Formula Weighed - The left's "scare the old folks" strategy is underway.

Graham Crackers on Social Security - RINO Senator wants to raise Social Security taxes.

Finance Leaders Propose to Extend 2004 Deduction Window for Tsunami Relief Donations - We may be able to claim disaster relief donations made in January 2005 on our 2004 1040s rather than having to wait to claim them on the 2005 1040.  If this passes, we'll  need to be careful to not overlook these donations when assembling info for 2004 tax returns. I usually run QuickBooks reports based on the client's calendar year, so I'll need to extend the report into January for the Donations expense account. 

Tax Pros Doubt U.S. Code Will Get Any Simpler - It never gets simpler. The more our rulers try to simplify things, the more they mess them up even more.  All we ever get is more work for us tax pros.

Slow Start Expected for Tax Reform Panel

- posted by Kerry M. Kerstetter, MBA~CPA~ATP~ATA @ 1/04/2005 09:02:00 PM Send this post: