Good investment advice.
By Ric Edelman From CNBC 02/02/14 posted at entrepreneur.com
Article
If you're like most Americans, you probably didn't make a new year's resolution to get started with long-term financial planning.
A staggering 84 percent of respondents to a New Year's Resolution Survey from Allianz Life Insurance said that financial planning was not among their 2014 resolutions at all—the highest percentage ever to reveal that in the survey's history.
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Parents upset over game played at middle school
Below appears to be another example of questionable topics or instructional methods used in our schools. In an effort to prevent bullying, the school asks students as young as fifth grade some pretty personal questions. The parents did not know of the "game" and it appears from the article that parents do not like the game.
By Gabrielle Mays at Fox 11 in Green Bay, WI
Below is the article.
MARINETTE - Lori Saunier is one of nearly a dozen parents who have expressed their displeasure over a game played at Marinette Middle School.
“This kind of stuff, I mean, this can’t happen again. These are our little kids. We’re parents. We should’ve been protecting them. You should’ve gave us the benefit of the doubt of contacting us,” said Saunier, mother of 7th grade student.
On Wednesday, fifth through eighth grade students played the game called “Cross the Line”.
By Gabrielle Mays at Fox 11 in Green Bay, WI
Below is the article.
MARINETTE - Lori Saunier is one of nearly a dozen parents who have expressed their displeasure over a game played at Marinette Middle School.
“This kind of stuff, I mean, this can’t happen again. These are our little kids. We’re parents. We should’ve been protecting them. You should’ve gave us the benefit of the doubt of contacting us,” said Saunier, mother of 7th grade student.
On Wednesday, fifth through eighth grade students played the game called “Cross the Line”.
Scenes from a militarized America: Iowa family ‘terrorized’
The link is to an article and related video of a police raid in Des Moines. While I am not ready to condemn the actions of the police department, it is another example of the growing "militarization" of the police. We, as citizens, need to be aware and to continue to monitor the actions of our police.
In addition to the fact that the raid, related to credit card fraud, yielded none of the people or evidence the police were looking for, three actions are troubling.
First, there was no attempt at knocking or announcing their presence by the police. Second, the police ripped out a security camera. Third, the police do not comment when questioned, citing an ongoing investigation.
Article by Bradley Balko of the Washington Post
Watch this video, taken from a police raid in Des Moines, Iowa. Send it to some people. When critics (like me) warn about the dangers of police militarization, this is what we’re talking about. You’ll see the raid team, dressed in battle-dress uniforms, helmets and face-covering balaclava hoods take down the family’s door with a battering ram. You’ll see them storm the home with ballistics shields, guns at the ready. More troubling still, you’ll see not one but two officers attempt to prevent the family from having an independent record of the raid, one by destroying a surveillance camera, another by blocking another camera’s lens.
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Embattled IRS plans employee bonuses for 2013 work to ‘boost morale’
Our Federal government is completely out of control.
By Stepen Dinan Washington Times
Citing the need to boost employee morale, the Internal Revenue Service's new commissioner said Monday that he will pay out millions of dollars in bonuses to agency employees, reversing a decision his predecessor made to save money amid the sequester budget cuts and other belt-tightening last year.
The agency remains under fire for targeting tea party groups, but Commissioner John Koskinen said the bonuses are needed to retain and attract good employees in a time of cutbacks.
"This is money best spent on our existing employees," he said in an email to agency employees. "The performance award payouts are in recognition of that great work done in very trying circumstances. I firmly believe that this investment in our employees will directly benefit taxpayers and the tax system."
By Stepen Dinan Washington Times
Citing the need to boost employee morale, the Internal Revenue Service's new commissioner said Monday that he will pay out millions of dollars in bonuses to agency employees, reversing a decision his predecessor made to save money amid the sequester budget cuts and other belt-tightening last year.
The agency remains under fire for targeting tea party groups, but Commissioner John Koskinen said the bonuses are needed to retain and attract good employees in a time of cutbacks.
"This is money best spent on our existing employees," he said in an email to agency employees. "The performance award payouts are in recognition of that great work done in very trying circumstances. I firmly believe that this investment in our employees will directly benefit taxpayers and the tax system."
Friday, January 31, 2014
7 Habits of the Financially Successful
By Keith Whelan 01/17/14 at wisebread.com
If you think about it, achieving success in some of our most important life activities requires two key ingredients: knowledge and behavior. Knowledge by itself isn't enough; knowing what to do only gets you halfway there. You also need to follow through by taking action. (See also: Success Secrets You Should've Learned in High School)
Take a job, for example. On paper I might be an expert at my profession. Very knowledgeable. But if some aspects of my behavior are lacking — say, weak organization or communication skills — and they lead to poor or failed execution, then my chances for rapid career advancement are slim.
The same holds true for financial success. There's certainly no shortage of information and advice on managing our finances. But what are the behaviors that contribute most to turning that knowledge into successful results? A good place to look is among people who are financially successful. (See also: Investment Lessons From Self-Made Billionaires)
To help identify these behaviors, I've drawn from "The Millionaire Next Door" by Tom Stanley and William Danko, from Daniel Goleman's "Emotional Intelligence," and also from my own experiences and observations. What did I find? The financially successful tend to have seven behaviors in common.
If you think about it, achieving success in some of our most important life activities requires two key ingredients: knowledge and behavior. Knowledge by itself isn't enough; knowing what to do only gets you halfway there. You also need to follow through by taking action. (See also: Success Secrets You Should've Learned in High School)
Take a job, for example. On paper I might be an expert at my profession. Very knowledgeable. But if some aspects of my behavior are lacking — say, weak organization or communication skills — and they lead to poor or failed execution, then my chances for rapid career advancement are slim.
The same holds true for financial success. There's certainly no shortage of information and advice on managing our finances. But what are the behaviors that contribute most to turning that knowledge into successful results? A good place to look is among people who are financially successful. (See also: Investment Lessons From Self-Made Billionaires)
To help identify these behaviors, I've drawn from "The Millionaire Next Door" by Tom Stanley and William Danko, from Daniel Goleman's "Emotional Intelligence," and also from my own experiences and observations. What did I find? The financially successful tend to have seven behaviors in common.
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Meet myRA: Obama offers IRA plan details
By Matthew Heimer at Encore 01/29/14
The “myRA” retirement plans proposed by President Obama in his State of the Union address this week will be structured like Roth IRAs; they’ll rely on a new kind of Treasury savings bond that guarantees them against losses; and they’ll have a $15,000 maximum account balance, according to details disclosed by the administration today. The president won’t need Congress’s approval to get the myRA off the ground, though he will need some logistical help from employers to set up the accounts.
- Shutterstock
- The myRA: A new incubator for small nest eggs.
As the president said on Tuesday night, the myRA is designed to serve people whose employers don’t provide access to a retirement plan—a category that experts have estimated includes about half of all workers. Lack of access a particularly big issue at small businesses, since small employers often can’t afford to offer their own plan. The administration is being careful to label these as “starter” accounts; the emerging details make it clear that the myRA won’t have much value to an investor who’s had time to amass a respectable nest egg.
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Look At Little Sister
By Terry Noel at Common Sense Liberty 01/27/14
As President Obama gears up to tell us all to shut up and do what his Administration says tomorrow night, one mighty foe will dog his every word–The Little Sisters of the Poor.
In the tangled mess that is Obamacare there are upwards of, oh, a billion rules for how one is to buy, sell, and administer health care. The Little Sisters have accomplished what few groups of any kind for any reason have: They earned an emergency junction from the Supreme Court. It is unusual in two ways. First, such permanent stays pending appeal are rare. Second, there was no recorded dissent among the Justices.
As President Obama gears up to tell us all to shut up and do what his Administration says tomorrow night, one mighty foe will dog his every word–The Little Sisters of the Poor.
In the tangled mess that is Obamacare there are upwards of, oh, a billion rules for how one is to buy, sell, and administer health care. The Little Sisters have accomplished what few groups of any kind for any reason have: They earned an emergency junction from the Supreme Court. It is unusual in two ways. First, such permanent stays pending appeal are rare. Second, there was no recorded dissent among the Justices.
Saturday, January 25, 2014
Homeland security chief: Illegal immigrants 'earned' right to be citizens
By Joe Newby
Below is an article reporting on a speech by Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson.
Two important things he said.
1. “It is also, frankly, in my judgment, a matter of who we are as Americans,” he added, “to offer the opportunity to those who want to be citizens, who’ve earned the right to be citizens, who are present in this country--many of whom came here as children--to have the opportunity that we all have to try to become American citizens.” Dixon comment: There are millions of people who want to be citizens of the United States. I'm not sure how you earn the right to become citizens - other than to go through the process.
Below is an article reporting on a speech by Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson.
Two important things he said.
1. “It is also, frankly, in my judgment, a matter of who we are as Americans,” he added, “to offer the opportunity to those who want to be citizens, who’ve earned the right to be citizens, who are present in this country--many of whom came here as children--to have the opportunity that we all have to try to become American citizens.” Dixon comment: There are millions of people who want to be citizens of the United States. I'm not sure how you earn the right to become citizens - other than to go through the process.
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Winning at investing made simple
This article talks about how difficult it is for manager to beat the market, and how you can deliver market returns at little cost. It poses and answers the following questions.
Question No. 1: Buy and hold what exactly?
Question No. 3: Can I ever do better?
By Pat Regner 01/16/14 CNNMoney.com
Question No. 1: Buy and hold what exactly?
Question No. 2: What if high stock and bond returns are really over?
Question No. 3: Can I ever do better?
By Pat Regner 01/16/14 CNNMoney.com
Sunday, January 19, 2014
Financial Basics
Articles I recently read that are about basic financial and
investing issues
Sites I suggest to sign up for their email news
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)