Monthly Archives: September 2013

Germany’s government and media are bolstering bitcoin popularity

"Last month, BaFin (the German ministry of finance) announced it does not consider bitcoin to be e-money or a functional currency. Instead, it referred to it as 'private money' and a 'financial instrument'. Just last week, Bitcoin.de received confirmation from BaFin that it has no objections to the exchange’s partnership with Fidor Bank. The partnership means customers will soon be able to trade on bitcoin.de in near real-time using a free FidorPay giro account. Elsewhere in the world, bitcoin companies have been facing problems when it comes to finding banking partners. For example, US company Tradehill recently had to cease bitcoin trading due to 'operational and regulatory issues'." Continue reading →

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Why You Should Care About Bitcoin

"Bitcoin has massive implications for markets that the current financial services industry has ignored or struggled to penetrate. Online commerce all but requires preexisting access to a credit card or bank account, yet according to the GSMA 1.7 billion people have a mobile phone and no alternative to the cash economy. As digital cash, Bitcoin appeals directly to consumers as an accessible payment alternative without the risk and fees associated with existing credit and debit networks. Rapid growth of startup payment networks like M-PESA in Kenya (founded in 2007 and now processing 30%(!) of the country’s GDP) are a great early indicator for both market demand and adoption." Continue reading →

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Feds Steal $35K From Small Grocer’s Bank Account Despite ‘No Violations’

"Schott's Market, in Fraser, Michigan, was robbed in January of this year. Unfortunately for Terry Dehko and his daughter, Sandy, who own the place, the thieves are government agents in the emply of the Internal Revenue Service. The IRS doesn't even allege that the Dehkos committed a crime to justify cleaning out their bank account using civil asset forfeiture—they even sent the Dehknos a letter clarifying that 'no violations [of banking laws] were identified.' So, why the mugging? The feds just don't like the way the grocers have been depositing money in their bank account. Really." Continue reading →

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Dozens of NSA employees used surveillance system to spy on lovers

"In one case, a foreign national who worked for the U.S. government told a colleague she suspected that her boyfriend, who worked for the NSA, was eavesdropping on her phone calls. Investigators found the employee had been collected his girlfriend’s phone conversations with nine different women without valid purpose between 1998 and 2003, and he was suspended without pay and then resigned before he could be disciplined. In another case, a woman told the NSA that she’d recorded a conversation between her husband and a foreign telephone number because she suspected he’d been unfaithful. She also resigned before she could be punished, the inspector general said." Continue reading →

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Cops pepper-sprayed and arrested man as his teen daughter died

"A Missouri man insists he did nothing to deserve being pepper-sprayed and arrested the night his teenage daughter shot herself. Kevin Russell, of Joplin, said he won’t accept an offer to plead guilty to assault because he doesn’t want to admit he did anything wrong when he screamed at emergency crews tending to his 16-year-old daughter, Brooke. Russell and his son, 19-year-old Brant, found the girl unconscious from a single gunshot wound to the head in a park near their home, and they loaded her into their car and met an ambulance at the police department. " Continue reading →

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Gun gesture leads to suspension for Calvert sixth-grader

"A sixth-grader in Calvert County was suspended for forming his hand into a gun on his bus ride to school, an incident that adds to a string of recent high-profile cases involving punishments for children who gesture with imaginary weapons. Carin Read, mother of the 11-year-old student at Mill Creek Middle School in Lusby, filed an appeal of the suspension late last week, after a principal denied her request to remove the alleged infraction from her son’s school records. The boy had already served a day-long in-school suspension, and Read argued that he should not have a permanent record over the matter." Continue reading →

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Obamacare’s ‘Cool Calculator: Work Disincentives Like Never Before

"Look at what happens once a single person who is 50 or older hits annual earnings of $45,961. At that point, what remains of those wonderful “tax credits” goes up in smoke. For a 50 year-old single person, dollar number 45,961 causes their annual exchange premium (i.e., 'tax') to increase from $4,366 to $5,390. That’s because what Kaiser calls Obamacare’s 'government tax credit subsidy' (they’re also having a hard time with the language) goes from $1,024 to zero. For a 64 year old, a 'tax credit subsidy' of $4,688 gets zeroed out. The marginal tax rate on dollar number 45,961 for that person is a whopping 468,800%." Continue reading →

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Obamacare hides switch of subsidies from young to old, says study

"A new analysis of Obamacare prices says the much-touted taxpayer subsidies for young people are smaller than promised. The missing subsidies will jack up costs for young, healthy people who are single and childless, which may deter many from joining the government-run network. This, in turn, would likely boost Obamacare’s costs to all taxpayers. The new data also shows that officials are choosing to steer the promised subsidies to older people, despite their relatively fewer expenses for children, student loans, careers and housing." Continue reading →

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One man’s ObamaCare nightmare

"Andy and Amy Mangione of Louisville, Ky. and their two boys are just the kind of people who should be helped by ObamaCare. But they recently got a nasty surprise in the mail. Insurance for the Mangiones and their two boys,which they bought on the individual market, was going to almost triple in 2014 --- from $333 a month to $965. The insurance carrier made it clear the increase was in order to be compliant with the new health care law. The President's new law, the Affordable Care Act, for the Mangiones will be anything but affordable because the law adds a new tax on every insurance policy and requires a list of additional benefits the Mangiones didn’t want to pay for." Continue reading →

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ObamaCare’s Bad Surprises Begin on October 1.

"You must have a plan by January 1, or else pay a tax to the government: 1% of your 2013 income, or $95, whichever is more. This tax will rise every year. There is a calculator to show what coverage will cost you. It shows if you are eligible for tax credits. People with low incomes will not qualify for tax credits. But they will have to pay the extra premiums. This is called 'helping the poor.' I'm on Medicare. You pay my premiums ($12,000 a year). My wife has Christian Health Care Ministries. She pays $1,000 a year. What about you? What about your children? They lose your coverage at age 26. Young people lose the subsidies at lower income than had been originally promoted." Continue reading →

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