"For the past 30 or so years, I’ve done my own taxes by hand. I thought this was a good approach because it would help me better understand the practical challenges of the tax code. But it’s time to confess that I broke down and used Turbotax for yesterday’s tax return. To help me deal with yesterday’s traumatic experience, I’m sharing some very good cartoons." Continue reading →
"First it was the families of dead people and state employees. Now, authorities say Internal Revenue Service employees in Tennessee were stealing unemployment and other benefits while fully employed. On Thursday, 13 of those employees were indicted on federal charges that they lied to get unemployment, food stamps, welfare and housing vouchers. An additional 11 have been indicted on state charges of theft greater than $1,000. In all, authorities say the workers improperly received more than $250,000 in government benefits." Continue reading →
"These days it seems like everyone is running from gold as fast as they can. Bank of America just removed—perhaps a little late— its $2,000 price target. 'Gold capitulation: No current technical or fundamental support for gold prices,' Bank of America's headline blared. 'Even the most fierce gold bulls must be feeling sheepish after bullion tumbled its most in 30 years, raising questions about gold's value as part of an investor portfolio,' Reuters notes. You can almost smell the fear and loathing of the shiny metal. To some investors, however, the sound of the stampede is not a signal to run with the herd. It's a signal to start jogging the other way." Continue reading →
"Went to Hang Seng bullion counter yesterday. The line was out the door. It took an hour wait to see a teller. When I asked if people were buying in the dip or selling in panic, she told me that they haven't had once ounce of gold sold back to them all day. She told me they have sold more gold in 24 hrs than they normally do in 3 months. Yes, there was a lot of extra security. The guy in front of me bought over $1 million USD in gold. He paid in cash and walked out of the door with the bullion in a Nike bag. Amazing. [..] Here, the man would be arrested and jailed just for having his own money in cash. Oh, and the cash would be stolen." Continue reading →
"Another way to keep an eye on inflation is with MIT’s Billion Prices Project (previous post) which tracks prices in real-time by grabbing them from websites. By checking on 50,000+ different prices daily covering everything from prescription drugs to clothing to real estate, this alternative inflation measurement has the potential to keep governments “honest” with their numbers. Over the past five years, the two indexes have actually tracked relatively closely. Just recently, the two are diverging a bit; BPP is showing a little over 2% inflation as opposed to 1.5% from CPI." Continue reading →
"As the government restricts access to foreign currencies, Argentines seeking hard-to-get dollars have been pushed into cuevas, or caves—clandestine operations where customers pay dearly to exchange pesos for greenbacks. Buying dollars for savings is banned, and authorities make only small amounts of foreign currency available for travel abroad. Travelers must submit an online request to the national tax authority just days before leaving. Businesses need government approval to import equipment and materials at the cheap official exchange rate. Dollar-sniffing dogs are posted at border crossings to catch those traveling with undeclared currency." Continue reading →
"It is always a pleasure to visit Argentina. It is a country where economic disaster stories are daily life....where economists' daffy theories are government policy...and where everyday citizens have to figure out how to deal with a monetary system that is half-mad...and half merely incompetent. When we are here, we need to spend pesos...especially out in the country, where people's math skills are not as well developed as they are in Buenos Aires. But any serious purchase - say, if you're buying an apartment - requires dollars...either on top of the table or underneath it. So, you have to be prepared." Continue reading →
"For the first time since leaving office, Ron Paul returned to the spotlight this week. The recently retired congressman launched a new foreign-policy educational effort from Washington on Wednesday called the Institute for Peace and Prosperity. Some fellow lawmakers past and present - including Walter Jones, Dennis Kucinich, John Duncan, and Thomas Massie are on the Institute's board, and they are aiming to change more than policy as RT's Meghan Lopez explains." Continue reading →
"For the first time since leaving office, Ron Paul returned to the spotlight this week. The recently retired congressman launched a new foreign-policy educational effort from Washington on Wednesday called the Institute for Peace and Prosperity. Some fellow lawmakers past and present - including Walter Jones, Dennis Kucinich, John Duncan, and Thomas Massie are on the Institute's board, and they are aiming to change more than policy as RT's Meghan Lopez explains." Continue reading →
"For the first time since leaving office, Ron Paul returned to the spotlight this week. The recently retired congressman launched a new foreign-policy educational effort from Washington on Wednesday called the Institute for Peace and Prosperity. Some fellow lawmakers past and present - including Walter Jones, Dennis Kucinich, John Duncan, and Thomas Massie are on the Institute's board, and they are aiming to change more than policy as RT's Meghan Lopez explains." Continue reading →