Tag: government

This article looks at the current and past debt ceiling debacles and potential impacts to everyday Americans Basically if the debt ceiling (currently $31.4 trillion) is not raised, the government would not be able to borrow more money to pay its bills, which could lead to a default on its…

As I was writing this article I re-read my original pieces on the 2011 debt ceiling debate/deal and got a major sense of deja-vu. After 18 months we are back in the same place with a dysfunctional Congress, who barely passed legislation to avert the fiscal cliff, trying to reach a new deal to keep the…

The Washington Post had two graphics that neatly summarize the impacts from the fiscal cliff. This is the number one topic in the world of finance and almost all Americans will be impacted by the potential fallout in some fashion. My opinion is that Congressional Republicans and the Obama administration will reach some form…

[Updated for 2016] - The Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) has been extended to the end of 2016. Under this program home owners may be able to reduce their mortgage payments by as much as $3,500 each year. The program benefits those with little to no equity in their home homes (LTV>80%) and are struggling…

[Update as of July 23rd] It's time to pay for the American dream. In various discussions around how to cut the national debt, so that we don't have to keep raising the debt ceiling, one theme that is common in most plans is that Americans now and for generations to…

See this updated article for the latest GS Adjustments and Locality Pay Scale Tables. ______________________ [2013 Locality Pay Rates Update] The president has signed an executive order that freezes GS pay rises in 2013. Unfortunately the executive order and existing continuing resolution also stated that, "........ locality payments in 2013 for…

I have made a number of updates to popular topics on this site and in case you missed them, here is a quick recap with a link to the detailed information. 2011 Tax Rates and Brackets Following Bush-era Tax Cut Extensions With approval of a two-year extension to all the…

To tackle America’s growing national debt problem, President Obama put together a task force earlier this year to look at options on how to cut government spending, implement tax reform and improve the effectiveness of federal entitlement programs. The deficit reduction commission co-chairs (Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson) put forward…

Mortgage interest rates are at their lowest point in decades (about 4.5%) and the housing credit has been in effect for more than three years, yet the housing market is tepid at best, with foreclosures at record highs and government housing institutions having to put more distressed assets on their…

I've been reading a lot about the future tax implications given the large amounts of government spending and contracting corporate and consumer tax base. All this means is that tax considerations should play a much more central role in people's thinking as they're making critical financial decisions. At the end…