Think Only the Rich Will Pay More Taxes? You're Wrong

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Think Only the Rich Will Pay More Taxes? You're Wrong
 
Because neither the Democrats nor the Republicans wanted to defend it, the temporary payroll tax cut enacted under Obama died at the end of 2012, which means that everyone in the country will see a bigger tax bite out of their paychecks this year.




You followed all of the debate over the fiscal cliff and were relieved to hear that taxes were only going up for the rich this year.
Well, you were wrong.
Because neither party wanted to defend it, the temporary payroll tax cut enacted under Obama died at the end of 2012, which means that everyone in the country will see a bigger tax bite out of their paychecks this year. So when you get your first check of the year, look at the amount charged under "FICA" – you're going to be paying more than you did in December.
How big a bite is it? For many middle class workers, it will work out to a trip to the grocery store or a tank of gas less every two weeks this year.
Here are the numbers.
For a single person making $60,000 per year who's paid bi-weekly, gross income in a paycheck is $2,307.69.
In December, you would have had to subtract from that federal withholding taxes of $403. 56. FICA taxes were $96.93. Medicare was $33.46. State withholding for a person living in Maryland was $177.35.
That gives the taxpayer net pay in one check in December of $1,596.39.
So what happens this month?
Gross pay is the same, as are the Medicare and state taxes. But FICA taxes go up sharply – to $143.08. That's a $46.15 bite from the political decision to allow the payroll tax cut to expire.
But here's the good news – federal withholding from this paycheck are down by about 4 bucks, to $399.18, due to the way the federal government calculates inflation.
That gives our taxpayer net pay of $1,554.62, or $41.77 less than he or she made for each paycheck in December. And that's money that could have gone to that bag of groceries or tank of gas.
 Read More: http://www.cnbc.com/id/100372837/

CNBC.com Article: Boomers Stand to Benefit Most from Health-Care Act

Boomers Stand to Benefit Most from Health-Care Act
Hit hardest by unemployment, shrinking nest eggs and rising health care costs, the Baby Boom generation will be the main beneficiaries of the Affordable Care Act, according to experts.



With the presidential election and Supreme Court decision behind us, the federal government is moving forward with the Affordable Care Act. Baby Boomers stand to gain the most.
Since the recession, Boomers have been hard hit by unemployment, shrinking nest eggs and rising health care costs. During those years, about 8.6 million Boomers were without health insurance, according to a special 2009 report by Commonwealth Fund.
As the Boomer generation approaches retirement, many hope that the health care law will fill the void. "It is a game changer," says Ron Fontanetta, a health care group practice leader at Towers Watson. "It will provide health care access to pre-65 retirees in a very significant way."
Retirees who have not reached age 65 are more at risk -- they don't qualify for Medicaid, and if their former employers don't offer retiree health benefits, they will not have a group discount.
Also, it doesn't take much for a health insurance company to say that they have a pre-existing condition and deny them coverage, says Paul Fronstin, head of health benefits research at EBRI. Even if Boomer retirees can get a private health insurance plan, it will be very costly.
Based on their age alone, Boomers have to pay prices that are five to seven times higher than younger Americans, according to AARP. But if early retirees can wait until the ACA takes effect, it will change the playing field, says Fronstin.
-- Beginning in 2014, the law is supposed to prevent insurers from denying coverage to those who have a pre-existing condition. On Nov. 20, the Obama administration said that it was moving forward to implement provisions to ban discrimination and protect consumers from possible insurance abuses.
--The ACA also will do away with lifetime and annual dollar limits on benefits, and it will limit the age rating so that a Boomer can only pay three times as much as younger person.
--Health insurance will not necessarily be less costly. It will be operated by state health insurance exchanges, which will offer a competitive private health insurance market that should provide one-stop shopping.

Read More About This... 


http://www.cnbc.com/id/100343188/

Bye Bye Dollar Bill?

The following article was from Yahoo News...

 

What do you think?  Would you use it?

 

 

WASHINGTON (AP) — American consumers have shown about as much appetite for the $1 coin as kids do their spinach. They may not know what's best for them either. Congressional auditors say doing away with dollar bills entirely and replacing them with dollar coins could save taxpayers some $4.4 billion over the next 30 years.

Vending machine operators have long championed the use of $1 coins because they don't jam the machines, cutting down on repair costs and lost sales. But most people don't seem to like carrying them. In the past five years, the U.S. Mint has produced 2.4 billion Presidential $1 coins. Most are stored by the Federal Reserve, and production was suspended about a year ago.

The latest projection from the Government Accountability Office on the potential savings from switching to dollar coins entirely comes as lawmakers begin exploring new ways for the government to save money by changing the money itself.

The Mint is preparing a report for Congress showing how changes in the metal content of coins could save money.

The last time the government made major metallurgical changes in U.S. coins was nearly 50 years ago when Congress directed the Mint to remove silver from dimes and quarters and to reduce its content in half dollar coins. Now, Congress is looking at new changes in response to rising prices for copper and nickel.

Read rest of article here:

http://news.yahoo.com/congress-looks-doing-away-1-bill-083418974--politics.html

Social Security Overhaul: An Obama Legacy?

CNBC.com Article: Social Security Overhaul: An Obama Legacy?

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Among the fires that President Barack Obama must beat back immediately in his second term, Social Security reform isn’t in the mix. But if the president studies past administrations — and aims to enhance his legacy, as presidents do — Social Security may well rise to the top.

The question for a president is, “how willing you are to be a leader and make a name for yourself,” said Christian Weller, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and an associate professor of public policy at the University of Massachusetts Boston. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Obama gives it [Social Security revamping] a try.”

 

Read rest of this CNBC Article Here

Is Social Security a Good Deal or Not?

Is Social Security a good deal? Many Americans worry that they will put more money into the system via payroll taxes during their working years than they will ever get back in benefits — and their concerns help fuel the ongoing push by Republicans to transform Social Security into a privatized system of personal accounts.

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Mitt Romney has supported privatization in the past (see his book, "No Apology"), and running mate Paul Ryan argued for it as recently as last week's vice presidential debate: "Let younger Americans have a voluntary choice of making their money work faster for them within the Social Security system."

Could workers make their money grow more quickly with personal accounts? The actuaries at the Social Security Administration (SSA) ran an analysis recently that simulated real (after inflation) annual rates of return on payroll tax contributions for beneficiaries who were born between 1920 and 2004.

It showed that some workers might beat Social Security's returns in some years if they took risks in the stock market. But over a lifetime, Social Security's consistent, risk-free and inflation-adjusted returns would be very tough to beat.

 

Read the rest of the CNBC article here.

CNBC.com Article: Marc Faber: Market Setting Up for ‘Serious Setback’

Global markets have been weakening technically and are poised to head sharply downward, “Gloom, Boom & Doom Report” editor Marc Faber said Tuesday on CNBC.

On “Fast Money,” he stood by his call that stocks would fall 20 percent.

“Basically, I think QE3, which I think is unlimited, and bond purchases by the ECB bailout of countries have been largely discounted by the market, and the markets have been weaking technically, so I believe that we may have here quite a serious setback,” he said.

Faber discounted the role of government intervention as a way to improve economic conditions.

(Read More: Marc Faber: Stocks Will Fall; Jim Rogers: China to Rise)

“We need less policies, not more policies,” he said.

“I would love to see everywhere in the world, certainly in the Western world, government expenditures and government bureaucrats cut by minimum 50 percent,” he added. “That would turn me very bullish.”

Pressed for a place to put his money, Faber looked to Asia.

 

Read more of this story here.

 

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Spiking the Monetary Punch Bowl

October 5, 2012

How Helicopter Ben Helps Jobs and, Inadvertently, Gold

By Frank Holmes
CEO and Chief Investment Officer
U.S. Global Investors

The world’s central bank leaders continue to spike the monetary punch bowl, with investors imbibing on gold once again. This flurry of gold buying prompts many curious investors and doubting media to ask me two questions: 1) How can demand for gold and gold stocks continue; and 2) How high can the precious metal go?
To answer these questions, we need to look at the intentions behind the economic and political decision-making across several developed countries, analyze the causes, the effects, and the possible ramifications.
For example, one of the most debated topics today is America’s ongoing unemployment situation. Job loss has affected the lives and pocketbooks of millions of Americans and our friends and families, culminating to a center-stage position in the election this year. All eyes turn to President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney to explain how each intends to create jobs.

Read More of this U.S. Global Investors Article.

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