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Compound Interest Is Devouring the Federal Budget

Albert Einstein is often quoted as saying that compound interest is “the most powerful force in the universe.” The quote is probably apocryphal, but it reflects a mathematical truth. Interest on earlier interest grows exponentially, outrunning the linear growth of revenue and eventually consuming everything. That is where the United States now stands. The government […]
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Trump’s Main Targets to be Cut

Trump’s Presidency thus far exhibits the most extreme example that I have ever found of a national leader who not only represents ONLY the extremely rich but who especially despises the poor — it’s a value-system that a person’s moral value is his/her net worth: a person’s value is his/her wealth, neither more nor less […]
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The Overlooked Truths of Retirement Accounts
Nearly half a century ago, on Labor Day 1974, President Gerald Ford signed the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. The bill created Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) and essentially paved the way for 401(k)s, 403(b)s, and a host of imitations. Retirement experts have been beating up on the accounts ever since. Two fresh examples aim specifically […]
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Americans Deserve Fairer Social Security Taxes
Social Security has been a financial rock for seniors ever since benefits first began flowing in 1940. For decades though, for those above an income threshold, pieces of that rock have been chiseled away: a 1983 law makes up to 50 percent of benefits subject to federal income taxes. Levying a tax on benefits was […]
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Fitch Downgrades US Debt Rating
On Tuesday, Fitch Ratings, one of the leading three US credit rating agencies, announced: US’ long-term foreign-currency issuer defaulting rating would be downgraded. Among other factors pushing this downgrading, Fitch cited issues with governance, rising deficits and a looming recession. Fitch, on an earlier occasion, put the US on watch for a potential downgrade. At […]
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Be a Capitol Hill Citizen on Your Congress
Spring, the season of renewal, is here. The ants are diligently building their little symmetrical ant hills. The robins are in their nests occupied with posterity. And the anointed members of Congress, after a long recess, aka vacation, return to work on April 17. The next day, April 18, is the deadline for filing taxes. […]