Category: Taxes
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We Can Raise Taxes
The Politics and Economy are Aligned A survey of tax history, arguments for and against raising taxes, and an exhortation to tax the rich. Why We Need Taxes Unless you’re a disciple of Grover Norquist and want to drown government in a bathtub, you might see taxes as necessary for certain community needs like law and order,…
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Productivity, Inequality, and a New Gilded Age
©2002 Ted Rall, Universal Press Syndicate This Ted Rall cartoon of business malfeasance was written after the Enron scandal and the Dot-com market crash, but there has also been quieter profiteering before and since from lagging wages in the entire economy. When I look at the productivity and pay chart below, I see my working…
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Savings & Withdrawals
A Savings Model Instead of using ballpark numbers like 25 times your annual expenses, or 8 times your annual salary, a better approach to estimate retirement savings needed is to use your personal history of income and expenses, adjusted for changes in retirement. You can do this with a program called FIRECalc. This chart shows my actual balance history, predicted…
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Taxes in Retirement ⚖
Goodbye Withholding, Hello Estimated Taxes Home Sales 🏠 The details are in IRS Publication 523, Selling Your Home. The summary is that there are exclusions from capital gains of up to $250,000 for single or $500,000 for joint returns for your primary residence. In general, there are three qualifying tests: There are other exceptions that may…
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Malefactors of Great Wealth
Collected Quotes The Genius Of Capitalism Andrew Jackson on the Rich and Powerful It is to be regretted that the rich and powerful too often bend the acts of government to their selfish purposes. Distinctions in society will always exist under every just government. Equality of talents, of education, or of wealth can not be…