Are you over 18 and want to see adult content?
More Annotations
Thai Dating and Singles at ThaiCupid.com™
Are you over 18 and want to see adult content?
A complete backup of houstoncountytax.com
Are you over 18 and want to see adult content?
L.A. Music - Canada's Favourite Music Store! | Buy Musical Instruments Online with Confidence - L.A. Music Canada
Are you over 18 and want to see adult content?
A complete backup of awakeninghelp.com
Are you over 18 and want to see adult content?
Courtier immobilier, courtier pret immobilier | Empruntis
Are you over 18 and want to see adult content?
Get the Best Home Exercise Equipment / Marcy Pro
Are you over 18 and want to see adult content?
Favourite Annotations
A complete backup of bakersfieldtacos.com
Are you over 18 and want to see adult content?
A complete backup of siamparagon.co.th
Are you over 18 and want to see adult content?
A complete backup of wall-papers.info
Are you over 18 and want to see adult content?
Text
of the last
THE INSTITUTION OF FUTURES TRADING: THE FUTURES EXCHANGE The 1 st futures exchanges were organized in Chicago, because futures were 1 st based on agricultural commodities, and the Midwest was a major producer of agricultural products, and, thus, Chicago was a major center for trading agricultural products, and many processing plants for agricultural products were located there.. The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was the 1 st organized exchange for MONEY SUPPLY AND THE CENTRAL BANK'S BALANCE SHEET Because changes in the supply of money are revealed in the central bank's balance sheet, the balance sheet is the most important item that the central bank discloses. The Federal Reserve and most other central banks publish their balance sheets weekly as a way to maintain transparency. When a central bank fails to publish its balance sheet,it
CENTRAL BANK DESIGN
AMERICAN DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS: LEVEL I, LEVEL II, LEVEL III A Level 2 ADR requires partial compliance with GAAP, while a Level 3 ADR requires complete compliance. A Level 3 sponsorship is required, if the ADR is a primary offering and is used to raise capital for the company. Only Level 2 and Level 3 sponsored ADRs can be listed on the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange, or NASDAQ. SUSPENDED LOSSES FROM THE DISPOSITION OF AN INTEREST IN A Money › Taxes › Business Taxes Suspended Losses from the Disposition of an Interest in a Pass-Through Entity. 2021-01-09 Owners of pass-through entities — partnerships, limited liability companies, and S corporations — may be allocated business losses that they cannot deduct because of an insufficient tax basis in the entity, because the loss exceeds the taxpayer's at-risk amount, or TAX CONSEQUENCES FOR THE LENDER OF ABANDONMENTS A purchase money mortgage is a mortgage used to buy the underlying real estate. A nonpurchase money mortgage is a mortgage secured by real estate but was not used to purchase it.. If the lender of a nonpurchase money mortgage bids on the foreclosed property, and the property is either sold to the secured lender or to a 3rd party, then the foreclosure sale may have 2 tax consequences: LAPSED GIFTS AND ANTI-LAPSE STATUTES Lapsed Gifts and Anti-Lapse Statutes. To receive a gift under a will, the beneficiary must survive the donor; otherwise, if the there is no gift-over clause, then the gift lapses and it may go to someone other than whom the testator would have preferred. Common law required that the beneficiary survive the donor by at least 1 millisecond by RULE AGAINST PERPETUITIES: POWERS OF APPOINTMENT, SAVING Example: Saving Clause from the will of Elvis A. Presley "Item XIV. Law Against Perpetuities (a) Having in mind the rule against perpetuities, I direct that (notwithstanding anything contained to the contrary in this last will and testament) each trust created under this will (except such trusts as have heretofore vested in compliance with such rule or law) shall end, unless sooner terminated NEW SAFE HARBOR FOR CLAIMING THE HOME OFFICE DEDUCTION Money › Taxes › Business Taxes New Safe Harbor for Claiming the Home Office Deduction. 2021-01-08 Since 2013, taxpayers are able to use a simplified method for claiming the home office deduction where the IRS will simply allow the business owner to claim a safe harbor amount, equal to $5 multiplied by the number of square feet — up to 300 — used exclusively for business — so DECEASED SPOUSAL UNUSED EXCLUSION (DSUE) PORTABILITY Deceased Spousal Unused Exclusion (DSUE) Portability. 2021-01-07 Estates of decedents dying after December 31, 2010 may elect to transfer any unused exemption for gift or estate taxes to the surviving spouse. The surviving spouse can apply this deceased spousal unused exclusion ( DSUE) – often called the portability option —of the last
THE INSTITUTION OF FUTURES TRADING: THE FUTURES EXCHANGE The 1 st futures exchanges were organized in Chicago, because futures were 1 st based on agricultural commodities, and the Midwest was a major producer of agricultural products, and, thus, Chicago was a major center for trading agricultural products, and many processing plants for agricultural products were located there.. The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was the 1 st organized exchange for MONEY SUPPLY AND THE CENTRAL BANK'S BALANCE SHEET Because changes in the supply of money are revealed in the central bank's balance sheet, the balance sheet is the most important item that the central bank discloses. The Federal Reserve and most other central banks publish their balance sheets weekly as a way to maintain transparency. When a central bank fails to publish its balance sheet,it
CENTRAL BANK DESIGN
AMERICAN DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS: LEVEL I, LEVEL II, LEVEL III A Level 2 ADR requires partial compliance with GAAP, while a Level 3 ADR requires complete compliance. A Level 3 sponsorship is required, if the ADR is a primary offering and is used to raise capital for the company. Only Level 2 and Level 3 sponsored ADRs can be listed on the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange, or NASDAQ. SUSPENDED LOSSES FROM THE DISPOSITION OF AN INTEREST IN A Money › Taxes › Business Taxes Suspended Losses from the Disposition of an Interest in a Pass-Through Entity. 2021-01-09 Owners of pass-through entities — partnerships, limited liability companies, and S corporations — may be allocated business losses that they cannot deduct because of an insufficient tax basis in the entity, because the loss exceeds the taxpayer's at-risk amount, or TAX CONSEQUENCES FOR THE LENDER OF ABANDONMENTS A purchase money mortgage is a mortgage used to buy the underlying real estate. A nonpurchase money mortgage is a mortgage secured by real estate but was not used to purchase it.. If the lender of a nonpurchase money mortgage bids on the foreclosed property, and the property is either sold to the secured lender or to a 3rd party, then the foreclosure sale may have 2 tax consequences: LAPSED GIFTS AND ANTI-LAPSE STATUTES Lapsed Gifts and Anti-Lapse Statutes. To receive a gift under a will, the beneficiary must survive the donor; otherwise, if the there is no gift-over clause, then the gift lapses and it may go to someone other than whom the testator would have preferred. Common law required that the beneficiary survive the donor by at least 1 millisecond by RULE AGAINST PERPETUITIES: POWERS OF APPOINTMENT, SAVING Example: Saving Clause from the will of Elvis A. Presley "Item XIV. Law Against Perpetuities (a) Having in mind the rule against perpetuities, I direct that (notwithstanding anything contained to the contrary in this last will and testament) each trust created under this will (except such trusts as have heretofore vested in compliance with such rule or law) shall end, unless sooner terminatedGOVERNMENT HANDOUTS
The Biggest Government Handout Ever! But the biggest government handout ever goes, not to the poor, but to the wealthy. That is the unified tax credit, which in 2019, was — exactly — $4,505,800, allowing a wealthy person to transfer $11,400,000 of their wealth to others, completely tax-free. AMERICAN DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS: LEVEL I, LEVEL II, LEVEL III A Level 2 ADR requires partial compliance with GAAP, while a Level 3 ADR requires complete compliance. A Level 3 sponsorship is required, if the ADR is a primary offering and is used to raise capital for the company. Only Level 2 and Level 3 sponsored ADRs can be listed on the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange, or NASDAQ. ESTATES IN LAND: THE FEE SIMPLE ESTATE AND THE LIFE ESTATE In some states, a legal life estate is created by law rather than by the owner of the land.Dower and curtesy are marital life estates in that the partial interest, usually ½ or 1/3 interest, which a spouse has in the real estate of the deceased spouse when the deceased spouse wills the property to someone else. Dower refers to the life estate created for a wife, while curtesy refers to thePRODUCER SURPLUS
Economics Producer Surplus. In Consumer Surplus, it was explained how most consumers enjoy a surplus of benefits that exceeds the purchase price, which is called consumer surplus, equal to the price that they are willing to pay minus the price paid.Producers, likewise, also enjoy a surplus. In a market of sellers, each will have their own costof production.
PARTNERSHIP DISTRIBUTIONS, INSIDE AND OUTSIDE BASIS However, your outside basis in the partnership declines to $4000 (= $14,000 – $8000 – $2000 ). Subsequently, you receive a distribution of land with an adjusted inside basis of $10,000. Since your outside basis in the partnership is only $4000, your adjusted basis in the land is also $4000, and you must report a gain of $6000(= $10,000
EVALUATING AND BUYING A LIMITED PARTNERSHIP INTEREST Evaluating and Buying a Limited Partnership Interest. 2020-01-08 Limited partnerships that satisfy certain tax requirements offer many benefits to investors. The limited partners receive income, tax benefits, and capital gains over a specified duration, and their liability is limited to their investment. They also have a lowcorrelation with
TYPES OF NONQUALIFIED DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLANS NQDC Plan Types. There are two general types of NQDC plans: top-hat plans and deferred savings plans. Top-hat plans are generally paid by employers, while deferred savings plans are based on the amount of compensation deferred by each employee. Under these general categories are several subtypes: salary reduction arrangements, bonus deferral INFLATION AND THE MONEY SUPPLY; MONETARY AGGREGATES M1 AND M2 The monetary aggregates have been classified into different components over the years, including M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, and L and MZM. Currently only M1 and M2 are considered useful by the Federal Reserve; just recently they have stopped reporting M3 since they thought that it didn't convey useful information about the economy. S CORPORATION DISTRIBUTIONS A shareholder's basis in the stock of the S corporation initially depends on the amount of capital contributed by the shareholder. However, because the S corporation is a pass-through entity, the shareholder's basis changes every year, depending on income, losses, and other separately stated items. RULE AGAINST PERPETUITIES: POWERS OF APPOINTMENT, SAVING Example: Saving Clause from the will of Elvis A. Presley "Item XIV. Law Against Perpetuities (a) Having in mind the rule against perpetuities, I direct that (notwithstanding anything contained to the contrary in this last will and testament) each trust created under this will (except such trusts as have heretofore vested in compliance with such rule or law) shall end, unless sooner terminated MONEY TUTORIALS: PERSONAL FINANCE, INVESTMENTS, AND ECONOMICSDEBT COLLECTIONCHAPTER 7TYPES OF INSURANCEINCOME TAXESPERSONAL TAX DEDUCTIONSTAX CREDITS More than 850 in-depth, continually updated tutorials on the fundamentals of personal finance, investments and economics — supplemented with illustrations, charts, and color-coded examples, and formatted for quick comprehension. Articles are written and continually updated by William C. Spaulding. PRICE CONTROLS: PRICE FLOORS AND CEILINGS, ILLUSTRATED Economics Price Controls. National and local governments sometimes implement price controls, legal minimum or maximum prices for specific goods or services, to attempt managing the economy by direct intervention.Price controls can be price ceilings or price floors. A price ceiling is the legal maximum price for a good or service, while a price floor is the legal minimum price. BOND PRICING AND ACCRUED INTEREST, ILLUSTRATED WITH EXAMPLES A bond pays interest either periodically or, in the case of zero coupon bonds, at maturity. Therefore, the value of the bond is equal to the sum of the present value of all future payments — hence, it is the present value of an annuity, which is a series of periodic payments.The present value is calculated using the prevailing market interest rate for the term and risk profile of the bond THE INSTITUTION OF FUTURES TRADING: THE FUTURES EXCHANGE The 1 st futures exchanges were organized in Chicago, because futures were 1 st based on agricultural commodities, and the Midwest was a major producer of agricultural products, and, thus, Chicago was a major center for trading agricultural products, and many processing plants for agricultural products were located there.. The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was the 1 st organized exchange for DECEASED SPOUSAL UNUSED EXCLUSION (DSUE) PORTABILITY Money › Taxes › Gratuitous Transfer Taxes Deceased Spousal Unused Exclusion (DSUE) Portability. 2021-01-07 Estates of decedents dying after December 31, 2010 may elect to transfer any unused exemption for gift or estate taxes to the surviving spouse.The surviving spouse can apply this deceased spousal unused exclusion (DSUE) – often called the portability option — of the last deceased LAPSED GIFTS AND ANTI-LAPSE STATUTES Lapsed Gifts and Anti-Lapse Statutes. To receive a gift under a will, the beneficiary must survive the donor; otherwise, if the there is no gift-over clause, then the gift lapses and it may go to someone other than whom the testator would have preferred. Common law required that the beneficiary survive the donor by at least 1 millisecond byPRODUCER SURPLUS
Producer Surplus. In Consumer Surplus, it was explained how most consumers enjoy a surplus of benefits that exceeds the purchase price, which is called consumer surplus, equal to the price that they are willing to pay minus the price paid. Producers, likewise, also enjoy a surplus. In a market of sellers, each will have their own cost ofCENTRAL BANK DESIGN
RETIREMENT SAVINGS CONTRIBUTION CREDIT (SAVER'S CREDIT) The saver's credit was enacted as a temporary provision in 2002, then became a permanent part of the tax code in 2006. The credit may be up to $1,000 for a contribution of $2,000, although because the credit is nonrefundable, the maximum amount will be limited by the taxpayer's ordinary income tax liability. The credit may be 10%, 20%, or even WHAT HAPPENS TO YOUR HOME WHEN YOU FILE FOR CHAPTER 7 An illustrated tutorial about whether you can use the wildcard or homestead exemption to protect your home in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, what state residency requirements you must satisfy to use a state's exemption, and links to all state exemptions on the official statewebsites.
MONEY TUTORIALS: PERSONAL FINANCE, INVESTMENTS, AND ECONOMICSDEBT COLLECTIONCHAPTER 7TYPES OF INSURANCEINCOME TAXESPERSONAL TAX DEDUCTIONSTAX CREDITS More than 850 in-depth, continually updated tutorials on the fundamentals of personal finance, investments and economics — supplemented with illustrations, charts, and color-coded examples, and formatted for quick comprehension. Articles are written and continually updated by William C. Spaulding. PRICE CONTROLS: PRICE FLOORS AND CEILINGS, ILLUSTRATED Economics Price Controls. National and local governments sometimes implement price controls, legal minimum or maximum prices for specific goods or services, to attempt managing the economy by direct intervention.Price controls can be price ceilings or price floors. A price ceiling is the legal maximum price for a good or service, while a price floor is the legal minimum price. BOND PRICING AND ACCRUED INTEREST, ILLUSTRATED WITH EXAMPLES A bond pays interest either periodically or, in the case of zero coupon bonds, at maturity. Therefore, the value of the bond is equal to the sum of the present value of all future payments — hence, it is the present value of an annuity, which is a series of periodic payments.The present value is calculated using the prevailing market interest rate for the term and risk profile of the bond THE INSTITUTION OF FUTURES TRADING: THE FUTURES EXCHANGE The 1 st futures exchanges were organized in Chicago, because futures were 1 st based on agricultural commodities, and the Midwest was a major producer of agricultural products, and, thus, Chicago was a major center for trading agricultural products, and many processing plants for agricultural products were located there.. The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was the 1 st organized exchange for DECEASED SPOUSAL UNUSED EXCLUSION (DSUE) PORTABILITY Money › Taxes › Gratuitous Transfer Taxes Deceased Spousal Unused Exclusion (DSUE) Portability. 2021-01-07 Estates of decedents dying after December 31, 2010 may elect to transfer any unused exemption for gift or estate taxes to the surviving spouse.The surviving spouse can apply this deceased spousal unused exclusion (DSUE) – often called the portability option — of the last deceased LAPSED GIFTS AND ANTI-LAPSE STATUTES Lapsed Gifts and Anti-Lapse Statutes. To receive a gift under a will, the beneficiary must survive the donor; otherwise, if the there is no gift-over clause, then the gift lapses and it may go to someone other than whom the testator would have preferred. Common law required that the beneficiary survive the donor by at least 1 millisecond byPRODUCER SURPLUS
Producer Surplus. In Consumer Surplus, it was explained how most consumers enjoy a surplus of benefits that exceeds the purchase price, which is called consumer surplus, equal to the price that they are willing to pay minus the price paid. Producers, likewise, also enjoy a surplus. In a market of sellers, each will have their own cost ofCENTRAL BANK DESIGN
RETIREMENT SAVINGS CONTRIBUTION CREDIT (SAVER'S CREDIT) The saver's credit was enacted as a temporary provision in 2002, then became a permanent part of the tax code in 2006. The credit may be up to $1,000 for a contribution of $2,000, although because the credit is nonrefundable, the maximum amount will be limited by the taxpayer's ordinary income tax liability. The credit may be 10%, 20%, or even WHAT HAPPENS TO YOUR HOME WHEN YOU FILE FOR CHAPTER 7 An illustrated tutorial about whether you can use the wildcard or homestead exemption to protect your home in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, what state residency requirements you must satisfy to use a state's exemption, and links to all state exemptions on the official statewebsites.
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT: EXPECTED RATE OF RETURN AND COST A firm assesses the benefit of a R&D project by determining its expected rate of return, the amount expected to be earned over and above the amount invested divided by the amount invested.. Expected Rate of Return = Expected Return / Amount Invested. So, for instance, if a firm invests $1 million in a project and expects to earn $1.3 million, then the expected rate of return is 30% (= 300,000 BOND PRICING AND ACCRUED INTEREST, ILLUSTRATED WITH EXAMPLES A bond pays interest either periodically or, in the case of zero coupon bonds, at maturity. Therefore, the value of the bond is equal to the sum of the present value of all future payments — hence, it is the present value of an annuity, which is a series of periodic payments.The present value is calculated using the prevailing market interest rate for the term and risk profile of the bond DURATION AND CONVEXITY, WITH ILLUSTRATIONS AND FORMULAS Money › Bonds Duration and Convexity. Bond prices change inversely with interest rates, and, hence, there is interest rate risk with bonds. One method of measuring interest rate risk due to changes in market interest rates is by the full valuation approach, which simply calculates what bond prices will be if the interest rate changed byspecific amounts.
ENTERPRISE VALUE; ENTERPRISE VALUE/REVENUE AND ENTERPRISE Money › Stocks › Stock Valuation and Financial Ratios Enterprise Value. Investors often use the P/E ratio — stock price divided by net earnings — to compare the different stocks to find the best value. A stock with a lower P/E is often considered a better value, because its price is lower compared to its earnings. MARKET MODELS: PURE COMPETITION, MONOPOLISTIC COMPETITION There are 4 basic market models: pure competition, monopolistic competition, oligopoly, and pure monopoly. Because market competition among the last 3 categories is limited, these market models imply imperfect competition. In a purely competitive market, there are large numbers of firms producing a standardized product. AMERICAN DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS: LEVEL I, LEVEL II, LEVEL III A Level 2 ADR requires partial compliance with GAAP, while a Level 3 ADR requires complete compliance. A Level 3 sponsorship is required, if the ADR is a primary offering and is used to raise capital for the company. Only Level 2 and Level 3 sponsored ADRs can be listed on the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange, or NASDAQ. TAXATION OF TRUSTS AND THEIR BENEFICIARIES Taxation of Trusts and their Beneficiaries. 2021-01-04. Starting in 2018, under the new tax package passed by the Republicans at the end of 2017, known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the tax brackets for 2018 and afterwards have changed slightly. The new brackets are listed at the bottom of this article. Trusts, like estates, are a taxableentity.
TAX CONSEQUENCES FOR THE LENDER OF ABANDONMENTS A purchase money mortgage is a mortgage used to buy the underlying real estate. A nonpurchase money mortgage is a mortgage secured by real estate but was not used to purchase it.. If the lender of a nonpurchase money mortgage bids on the foreclosed property, and the property is either sold to the secured lender or to a 3rd party, then the foreclosure sale may have 2 tax consequences: WHAT HAPPENS TO YOUR HOME WHEN YOU FILE FOR CHAPTER 7 An illustrated tutorial about whether you can use the wildcard or homestead exemption to protect your home in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, what state residency requirements you must satisfy to use a state's exemption, and links to all state exemptions on the official statewebsites.
SUBJECTIVE AND OBJECTIVE RISKS Subjective probability is a person's perception of the likelihood of an event. Subjective probability differs from objective probability, either because the person cannot calculate the actual probability or because the person feels lucky or unlucky, or because they think theycan rig the game.
MONEY TUTORIALS AT THISMATTER.COM: FUNDAMENTAL TUTORIALS ON PERSONAL FINANCE, INVESTMENTS, AND ECONOMICS by William C. Spaulding More than 850 in-depth, continually updated tutorials on the fundamentals of personal finance, investments and economics — supplemented with full-color illustrations and charts, and color-coded examples, and formatted for quick comprehension. > At first, people said that money is the root of all evil. Later, > people decided to be more specific, and said that it is the _love_ > of money that is the root of all evil. But wait a minute! If money > didn't exist, then the love for money wouldn't exist, so I guess > money is the root of all evil, after all! — wcs Find more specific information fast by using the search engine at the top-left of every page (or near the bottom when viewing on a mobile, tablet, or other small-screen device). This page links to the table of contents to individual subjects that have many more topics than arelisted here.
CONSUMER FINANCE
> The lack of money is the root of all evil — Mark TwainCredit and Debt
* Debt Collection
Bankruptcy
* Chapter 7
* Chapter 11
* Chapter 13
Insurance
* Types of Insurance * Homeowners Insurance* Health Insurance
* Life Insurance
Real Estate
Taxes
* Income Taxes
* Personal Tax Deductions* Tax Credits
* Educational Tax Benefits* Retirement Plans
* Taxation of Investments* Business Taxes
* Gratuitous Transfer Taxes Wills, Estates, and Trusts* Wills and Estates
* Trusts
-------------------------INVESTMENTS
> If you can count your money, you don't have a billion dollars. —> J. Paul Getty
> I can confirm this! I counted my money, and it wasn't a billion > dollars! — wcs Investment FundamentalsBanking
* Banking History
Bonds
* Bond Types
* Corporate
* Government
* Money Market Instruments * Asset Backed SecuritiesDerivatives
Investment Funds
* Mutual Funds
* Limited PartnershipsStocks
* Stock Indexes
* Stock Valuation and Financial RatiosOptions
* Option Strategies
Futures
Forex
Technical Analysis
-------------------------ECONOMICS
Economics
> Money can't buy happiness, but it can buy you the kind of misery you > prefer. — Unknown AuthorMISCELLANEOUS
* Privacy Policy
* About William C. Spaulding and thismatter.com * Sitemap for thismatter.comMY BOOKS
Trickle-Up Economics describes the best tax policy for any economy, based on simple economic principles that anyone can understand. I think this book is particularly pertinent for the upcoming 2020 elections, since it not only describes the best tax policy, but it also explains why the current tax policy is both inadequate for generating sufficient revenue for the government, and how it increases inequality. This book also shows the problems with the several tax proposals being presented by the Democratic candidates. So, if you want to argue intelligently about tax policy at your next party or family gathering, this is thebook to get. :-)
An introductory textbook on Economics , lavishly illustrated with full-color illustrations and diagrams, and concisely written for fastest comprehension. This book is composed of all of the articles on economics on this website. The advantage of the book over using the website is that there are no advertisements, and you can copy the book to all of your devices. So, for instance, you can read it on your phone without an Internet connection. PEDAGOGICAL FEATURES AND SAMPLE CONTENT OF THISMATTER.COM My name is William C. Spaulding, and I write all of the articles, and do most of the illustrations for this site. The only illustrations that I have not done are graphs and photos downloaded from government websites. I present this section to illustrate the major features of the site, including types of content and other features, such as navigational aids. It also gives you a good sample of my content and my writing. _But do keep in mind that these excerpts do not have the context here that they would in their original pages._ The purpose of this site is to teach the fundamental concepts of economics, personal finance, and investments. These topics were chosen because they are highly interrelated, so the concepts learned in economics, for instance, can be applied to personal finance and investments. Indeed, economics makes it much easier to learn about why things are the way they are and how they behave over time. Learning these subjects also helps to improve your life. To facilitate learning these concepts, I use numerous pedagogical features that will enhance learning, which are listed below this section. There are over 850 articles on this site, grouped under the appropriate categories, which, on a desktop, you can see in the sidebar on the left, or, on a smaller screen, such as a phone, at the bottom of any article. Clicking on these links will display the list of topics in that category. I have included many of the pedagogical features on this page. Although some of them are lengthy, it does give you a good preview of what my site has to offer. GRAPHS AND ILLUSTRATIONS As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, so where images make concepts clearer, I use them. Most of the images also have extensive captions to clarify and expand the information conveyed by the image. Here are 2 examples: From the Deadweight Loss of Taxation:
To see why this deadweight loss occurs, look at the supply and demand curves in the graph below. When a market transaction is taxed, the buyer pays a higher price and the seller receives a lower price. This lowers demand, which shifts the buyer's equilibrium from the market price (PM) to a higher price (PB) at lower quantities; likewise, because the seller receives a lower price (PS) for his product, less of it is supplied, which moves the seller's equilibrium down the supply curve, to a lower price and quantity. The amount the government receives equals the tax, which equals the buyer's price minus the seller's price, times the quantity of the transaction, whether forgoods or services.
Tax Revenue = Tax × Quantity The area of the light purple rectangle in the graph is equal to the tax revenue collected by the government. The area of the dark purple triangle is equal to the economic welfare lost to taxation. * Pb = Price buyers pay. Demand is reduced because buyers must pay a higher price because of the tax. * Pm = Market price without taxes. * Ps = Price sellers receive. * Qe = The quantity supplied without the tax. * Qt = The reduced quantity supplied because of the tax. From Duration and Convexity, with Illustrations and Formulas Note that the price-yield curve is convex, and that the modified duration is the slope of the tangent line to a particular market yield, and that the discrepancy between the price-yield curve and the modified duration increases with greater changes in the interest rate. It can easily be seen that modified duration changes as the yield changes because it is obvious that the slope of the line changes with different yields. The gap between the modified duration and the convex price-yield curve is the convexity adjustment, which — as can be easily seen — is greater on the upside than on the downside.SVG IMAGES
Many of the images use a format called scalable vector graphics , or SVG, which are defined mathematically, so they are usually much smaller than raster graphics such as PNG, GIF, or JPEG images. Since they are constructed mathematically, they can be adjusted to any size without losing any resolution, from phones to high resolution monitors. Moreover, they look a lot better than the rasterized equivalent. The 2 images above are both SVG images. However, SVG is only suitable for simple graphics and illustrations, such as diagrams. More complex images, such as photographs, uses the JPEG format. COLOR-CODED EXAMPLES For more complex examples, I use color coding to show the interrelationship of different parts, making it easier to follow and faster to comprehend. From Child Tax Credit : EXAMPLE: CALCULATING THE CHILD TAX CREDIT FOR INCOMES ABOVE THEPHASEOUT AMOUNT
Ava is a single parent with 2 dependent children and she earned $90,020 for the tax year. Because her income is $15,050 more than the phaseout amount of $75,000 for a head of household, she must reduce the $2,000 child tax credit that she would otherwise be entitled toby:
$90,020 – $75,000 = $15,020, which is rounded up to $16,000, since the $20 portion is a fraction of $1,000.$16,000/$1,000 = 16
16 × $50 = $800
CHILD TAX CREDIT = 2 × $1,000 – $800 = $1,200. Note that although she only earned $20 more than $90,000, she must round her income up to $91,000, which is why the $50 is multiplied by16 rather than 15.
Here's another example from Bond Pricing and Accrued Interest, Illustrated with Examples , where color coding facilitates following the example and also illustrates how to use certain tools, such as Microsoft Excel, in doing some of theexamples:
EXAMPLES—USING MICROSOFT OFFICE EXCEL FOR CALCULATING BOND PRICESAND DISCOUNTS
The following listed variables — where they apply — will be used for each of the example calculations that follow, for a 10-year bond originally issued in 1/1/2008 with a par value of $1,000: * Settlement date = 3/31/2008 * Maturity date = 12/31/2017 * Issue date = 1/1/2008* Coupon rate = 6%
* Yield to maturity = 8% * Price (per $100 of face value) = 21.99* Redemption = 100
* Frequency = 2 for most coupon bonds. * Basis = 1 (actual/actual) Price of a bond with a yield to maturity of 8%: BOND PRICE =PRICE("3/31/2008","12/31/2017",0.06,0.08,100,2,1) =86.62092 = $866.21
The discount price of a zero coupon bond with a $1,000 par valueyielding 8%:
PRICE DISCOUNT =PRICEDISC("3/31/2008","12/31/2017",0.06,0.08,100,1) =21.99288 = $219.93
The interest rate of a discounted zero coupon bond paying $1,000 at maturity, but that is now selling for $219.90: INTEREST RATE OF BOND DISCOUNT = DISC("3/31/2008","12/31/2017",21.99,100,1) = 0.080003 = 8% * Note that the PRICEDISC function value has been rounded, with the results used in the DISC function to verify the results. (21.99 = $219.90 for a bond with a $1,000 par value). PRICEMAT calculates the prices of securities that only pay interest atmaturity:
What is the price of a negotiable, 90-day CD originally issued for $100,000 on 3/1/2008 with a nominal yield of 8%, a current yield of 6% and a settlement date of 4/1/2008? Using the Microsoft Excel Date function, with format DATE(year,month,day), to calculate the maturity date by adding 90 days to the issue date, and choosing the banker's year of 360 days by omitting its value from the formula, yields thefollowing results:
* MARKET PRICE OF CD * = PRICEMAT("4/1/2008",DATE(2008,3,1) + 90,"3/1/2008",0.08,0.06) * = 100.3181 (per $100 of face value) × 1,000 = $100,318.10 OTHER SPECIAL TYPES OF CONTENT I use real-world examples to illustrate how the concepts are applied to the real world, to increase understanding both of the material and of the real world, such as this example from Will Execution: The Common Law Elements of the Wills Act Formalities REAL WORD EXAMPLES: TESTAMENTARY INTENT CLAUSES OF FAMOUS WILLS * Last Will and Testament of Elvis A. Presley * "I, Elvis A. Presley, a resident and citizen of Shelby County, Tennessee, being of sound mind and disposing memory, do hereby make, publish and declare this instrument to be my last will and testament, hereby revoking any and all wills and codicils by me at any timeheretofore made."
* Last Will and Testament of Leona M. Helmsley * "I, LEONA M. HELMSLEY, a resident of the State, City and County of New York, declare this to be my Last Will and Testament." I also include alerts about special situations that readers should be particurally aware, such as this one about credit ratings on bonds from credit rating agencies, from the Complete Introduction to Bonds:
INVESTOR ALERT! Note that credit ratings are not foolproof. ENRON had an investment-grade rating right up until it declared bankruptcy, and WORLDCOM up to 3 months before filing for bankruptcy! It's also a good idea to check all the credit-rating agencies about a particular issuer, because different agencies have different criteria, and different strengths and weaknesses in rating bond issuers. Many articles also have Notes and History, to point out certain facts or to illustrate how things were or came to be, such as these 2 examples from Credit Scores: Sometimes payments are not made because they are disputed. If the dispute is not resolved, then you have a right to add a statement in your credit report, limited to 100 words, explaining why you refuse to pay. Note, however, that your statement will not protect your credit score, since explanations cannot be quantified, so the credit-scoring algorithm cannot take your statement into account. It will, however, take in account that you have missed a payment. FANNIE MAE STARTS TO USE TRENDED CREDIT DATA TO UNDERWRITE CONSUMERS In mid-2016, Fannie Mae started using TRENDED CREDIT DATA from all 3 credit reporting agencies — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — for all mortgage applications. The trended credit data focuses on credit data from the past 30 months, showing not only if payments were made on time, but whether the borrowers carried balances from month-to-month, paid off the balances in full, or at least paid more than the minimum. Studies by TransUnion have shown that consumers who carry balances or who only pay the minimum balance are a greater risk than those who pay in full. TransUnion estimates that trended credit data will put more consumers, from 12% to more than 21%, in the so-called SUPER PRIME RISK TIER, who are offered the best creditterms.
Source: A Focus on Credit History for Mortgage Approvals - The NewYork Times
Or this one from United States Treasury Securities: Bills, Notes, Bonds, Treasury-Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS), and STRIPS:
QUICK FACTS ON THE NATIONAL DEBT The US debt is financed mostly by selling U.S. Treasury securities. The United States has carried debt since the American Revolution. Only during the presidency of Andrew Jackson has the United States been truly debt-free. As of the end of March 2016, the US debt slightly exceeded $13.4 trillion. You often see in publications that the debt exceeded $19 trillion, but more than $5 trillion of that debt is what the government owes to other government agencies, such as the Social Security trust fund. * The ANNUAL DEFICIT is the amount the government takes in taxes minus the amount it spends during the year. * A BUDGET SURPLUS occurs when tax collections exceed expenditures for the year. The only budget surplus that has occurred in recent times was during the presidency of Bill Clinton, when the government started to tax the rich more. Since then, beginning with the Bush presidency, taxes on the wealthy have been greatly reduced, resulting in annual deficits that have greatly increased, exacerbated by the Iraqi and Afghanistan wars and by the credit crisis of 2007 to 2009. * The DEBT LIMIT is the amount that the Treasury could borrow without asking Congress. Before 1917, the Treasury had to ask Congress every time it wanted to increase the debt. Since then, the Treasury must ask Congress to authorize more debt only if the debt is expected to exceed the debt ceiling. * An annual deficit increases the national debt while a budget surplus decreases it. * To see the absolute latest statistics, and to see how quickly the US debt is growing, check out U.S. National Debt Clock : Real Time . In March, 2018, the US passed the $21 trillion mark, and will continue to grow even more rapidly because of the tax cuts passed by Donald Trump and the Republican Congress at theend of 2017.
Source: National Debt While this site focuses on how things work, it also has many tips for using the information in real life, such as the following, from CreditScores:
ADDITIONAL TIPS AND RESOURCES FOR IMPROVING YOUR CREDIT SCORE * Get a free credit report at AnnualCreditReport.com every 4 months by requesting a report from only 1 credit reporting agency at a time—a good, free way to monitor your credit report. * Some credit cards offer free credit scores that are updated at least monthly. For instance, Discover Card provides a free FICO score based on your credit information held by TransUnion. Even if the credit card does not provide a FICO score, any score can be used to monitor changes in your credit information by checking for monthly changes in your score. Credit scores often change by 10 to 20 points during the month, but if you notice larger changes in your score during a time when there was no significant credit event, you may want to check the credit report from the agency on which the score is based for errors or for possible identity theft. * As of November, 2015, you can upload supporting documents, such as paid bills or canceled checks, to support your credit dispute. Source: Fixing Credit Report Errors Online Gets Added Heft - The New YorkTimes
* File a credit reporting complaint with the Consumer FinancialProtection Bureau .
* Sample Letter for Disputing Errors on Your Credit Report with Information Providers.
See also Disputing Errors on Credit Reportsby the FTC.
* If you want to send a letter to the CRAs that may lead to legal action, then send it as certified mail with return receipt. I also provide a little bit of humor, such as: > I'm living so far beyond my income that we may almost be said to be > living apart. — e.e. cummings And I include news items: March 9, 2015 update: The credit bureaus use automated dispute resolution processes to correct errors reported by consumers, which is why mistakes in their credit reports frequently go uncorrected. In their settlement with the New York Attorney General's office, with changes being phased in over the next 3 years, the 3 credit bureaus will provide specially trained employees to resolve disputes. Additionally, the credit bureaus will establish a 6-month waiting period before listing medical debt, and any such debt that was reported, but subsequently paid by insurance, will be removed. - TransUnion, Equifax and Experian Agree to Overhaul Credit Reporting Practices - NYTimes.com Believe it or not, I also have opinions, such as this one from PaymentSystems :
BITCOINS AND CRYPTOCURRENCIES WILL NEVER BE MAJOR CURRENCIES Another form of payment receiving media attention recently is through the use of bitcoins or other cryptocurrencies. Some of the main advantages advanced for bitcoin are that: * the supply is strictly limited and not controlled by thegovernment
* bitcoins can be subdivided into smaller payments, allowing formicro-payments, and
* the cost of transactions is extremely low However, some of these advantages touted for bitcoin result because it is an entirely electronic form of money. If the United States dollar or the euro was made entirely electronic, then those currencies can be subdivided indefinitely to allow for micro-payments. Most fiat currencies have a lower limit for value because they are represented by coins and paper currency, which cost money to produce. Indeed, the US penny and nickel cost more to produce than their represented value. On the other hand, the value of electronic money can be reduced, virtually without limit, to formsmaller payments.
That transaction costs for bitcoins are usually lower than using other electronic payment systems, such as credit cards or debit cards, is also artificial, since transaction costs are generally set by banks and other payment service providers, such as MasterCard and Visa, who are reluctant to lower prices that constitute a major source of profit. The transaction costs for current methods of payment could be much lower, but the lack of competition and government control has kept these transaction costs higher. When money becomes entirely electronic and the government institutes reforms to take advantage of electronic payments — which I believe is inevitable — then all the advantages of electronic payment, such as enabling micro-payments and lowering the cost of transactions, will become available to thatcurrency.
That the supply of bitcoin is limited is actually a major disadvantage, since the value of bitcoin varies widely over short spans of time because supply cannot be increased or decreased to meet changing demand. The problem with bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, or for that matter, any other means of payment, such as gold, where the supply cannot be controlled, is that it cannot satisfy the primary functions of money, as a unit of exchange, as a unit of account and asa store of value.
Although cryptocurrencies can be used as a unit of exchange, it is very risky to do so. Imagine if Walmart or Amazon.com accepted Bitcoin for payment. What would happen to these companies — or any other company — if the value of Bitcoin suddenly dropped to half its value or more, as it has already done? In December, 2017, the price of 1 Bitcoin reached almost $20,000. Shortly afterwards, near the start of 2018, the price of Bitcoin was less than $9,000 (USD)! The pay rate for employees would have to change every single week and prices paid to suppliers, likewise. This would be a managerial nightmare! It cannot serve as a unit of account, because the variation in its value, even within a short time, makes its exchange value for goods and services unpredictable; price comparisons would be impossible because these cryptocurrencies vary in value by the minute, so any prices that you would see may be stale prices, reflecting the value that Bitcoin had at an earlier time. Likewise, it cannot serve as a store of value, since it can lose value very quickly, as has already occurred several times with bitcoin and many times with gold. Additionally, using methods common in business and investments, such as calculating present value or future value of projects orinvestments
or even
calculating many forms of financial risk, becomes almost impossible. Calculating present value or future value is only meaningful if the value of the currency is stable. Even though most currencies decrease in value because of inflation, inflation is usually low and predictable, so it is easier to account for inflation. Hence, in my opinion, bitcoin or any other types of money where the supply cannot be controlled will never serve as a major currency, or even as a co-currency. Instead, bitcoin will remain as it is, a novelty currency that can be used as a medium of exchange for those businesses or individuals who are willing to assume the risk of a widely fluctuating currency, or to profit from speculation, where profits are contingent on the GREATER FOOL THEORY. Because the intrinsic value of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is 0, that is the price that I believe it will fall to, eventually, although it may take many years, possibly until 2025 and beyond. (I think another factor propping up the prices of cryptocurrencies far beyond their intrinsic value is micro-demand. Because cryptocurrencies can be subdivided into ever smaller amounts, I believe many people are getting these small amounts to experiment with these novel currencies. When the demand for these micro-amounts are totaled over the entire global population, the result is significant demand. Eventually, people will realize that cryptocurrencies really offer no added value over traditional forms of electronic payments, nor are they spendable at most places, so, it is still my prediction that the value of all cryptocurrencies will drop to their intrinsic value of 0. Blockchain, of course, has great promise, but this is used only to record transactions. Although Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies depend on blockchain, blockchain does not depend on the cryptocurrencies.) From Employment Taxes : HOW TO SAVE SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE There has been much press lately about the trust funds for Social Security and Medicare running out of funding, that they soon will both be broke. Of course, the Republicans want to decrease payments as a solution, but that would deprive much of the poor and middle-class of funds that they sorely would need in their old age. And employment taxes are already high enough to hurt the poor significantly and to lower the standard of living for the middle class. Here's a solution that can greatly increase funding without raising the employment taxrate.
For the self-employed, employment taxes are referred to as self-employment taxes , which constitutes about 14.13% of income earned from work for those who earn less than the Social Security wage cap. For employees, the employer pays ½ of employment taxes for their employees, and the employees pay the other half. Economists generally agree that employees pay a larger share of the tax through lower wages, what economists refer to as the tax incidence . In other words, employees get paid less because the employer must pay their share of the employment taxes, so the employees pay additional employment tax through lower wages. So how can the Social Security and Medicare trust funds be saved? By increasing the minimum wage, by taxing all earned income, such as the compensation earned by high income employees through stock options, and as a clawback from people who receive more in Social Security and Medicare payments than what they paid in, by subtracting it from their estates before the unified tax credit is applied. Adjusting the minimum wage for inflation would also help to increase tax revenue to cover Social Security and Medicare payments, since both payments are adjusted for inflation annually. The federal minimum wage in 2018 is $7.25 per hour. The last time it was raised was July 2009. Inflation since then has eroded the purchasing power of that minimum wage, but even back then, it was inadequate to earn a decent living. Increasing the minimum wage to $15 or $20 per hour would greatly increase employment tax revenue, and it will have other desirable effects as well. Increasing the minimum wage will stimulate the economy, because giving more income to low-income employees will stimulate their spending, which, in turn, stimulates the economy. Moreover, the increased cost to employers will become less and less of a factor in the final price of the product or service, as automation makes each worker more productive. Although the microeconomic effect of a higher minimum wage would reduce the demand for labor, the stimulatory effect of allowing poor people to earn more money will more than compensate, with the macroeconomic effect of greater spending exceeding the negative effect of higher prices of labor on employment. Not only would this increase employment tax revenue for the government, but it would also increase tax revenue in general, since working income, what the tax code refers to as _earned income_, is also subject to marginaltaxes.
Some highly compensated employees are paid through stock options, and if the employer follows the tax rules, the compensation earned through the employee stock options, even though such
income is earned from work, is not subject to employment tax, and is only subject to the lower marginal tax rate applied to investment income. Another way highly compensated employees can avoid Social Security and Medicare taxes is by forming an S corporation and declaring part of their income as dividends , which are not subject to self-employment tax. Likewise, for CARRIED INTEREST, which is income earned by some fund managers, some of whom make hundreds of millions of dollars annually. These fund managers earn carried interest by working for it, since they are not investing their own money, but, nonetheless, the tax code has a special provision, allowing them to designate a substantial portion of the compensation as carried interest. Carried interest is subject only to long-term capital gains rate and is not subject to employment taxes. So why allow highly compensated employees to pay less tax on their earned income than low-income employees? Another possibility is that employment taxes can be applied to all income rather than just employment income. After all, why should employment taxes only be applied to employment income? That they do is why they are called employment taxes, but there is no reason why these taxes cannot be applied to all income, including gratuitous transfers . Applying employment taxes only to work just increases the taxes on people who earn most of their money from work, because the tax revenue must be earned from a smaller base. If the tax rate was applied to all income, then the tax rate could be lower, since it would apply to a much larger tax base. Additionally, more people would qualify for Medicare and SocialSecurity.
Or how about this, from Quantitative Easing:
THE BEST MONETARY POLICY TO STIMULATE THE ECONOMY IS A FISCAL POLICY: LOWER OR ELIMINATE TAXES ON THE POOR To stimulate the economy, money must have velocity: people must spend it repeatedly. If money is just hoarded, then it will have no impact on the economy, regardless of its quantity. The best way to increase the velocity of money is to use it to offset taxes on the poor, who are hurt most by recessions and depressions, and who will quickly spend the money. As it is done now, QE merely makes the rich richer, who are far less apt to spend it. Lowering interest rates, even if it worked, would merely serve to increase the debt load of the public, which would eventually result in less spending, since the debt must be repaid. This is why QE is not effective either in the United States or in Europe.
On the other hand, lowering taxes on the poor will increase their spending, which will increase business, which will increase money flowing to the middle class, who, in turn, will increase their own spending, and eventually, even the wealthy will benefit. Lowering taxes on the poor will benefit everyone! That is the way the economy works! Additional benefits to lowering or eliminating taxes on thepoor include:
* import prices remain steady * currency wars are avoided Of course, central banks use quantitative easing because that is a monetary policy tool that they can implement. Because lowering taxes on the poor is a fiscal policy , only Congress can change it, and since Congress is beholden to special interests, especially the rich, that is unlikely to happen soon. Working income, what the tax code refers to as _earned income_, has always been the most highly taxed form of income — at least in recent decades — and is an effective means of keeping a higher tax burden on working people rather than on the wealthy, who receive much of their income from investments and inheritance . Nonetheless, as already argued, lower taxes on the poor and the middle class will benefit everyone, including the wealthy, and is the best method of stimulating theeconomy.
HELICOPTER MONEY FOR THE POOR HELICOPTER MONEY, a term coined by Milton Friedman in his 1969 book, _The Optimal Quantity of Money_, is a distribution of money by throwing it out of a helicopter, where the people below will grab it and spend it. Friedman envisioned that helicopter money would increase inflation, but would not increase real economic output. Ben Bernanke, a former Federal Reserve Chairman, argued that helicopter money might be a better solution than lowering interest rates to stimulate the economy in a deflationary environment, especially when there is a large economic output gap . The resulting increased spending will simply narrow or close the output gap rather than causing inflation. In my opinion, helicopter money would be much more effective as an economic stimulus in a deflationary environment if it were distributed only over slums, because as I have argued above, giving more money to the poor would directly stimulate the economy. Indeed, there is no need to print any more money: taxing the rich more and the poor less would stimulate the economy, without causing hyperinflation. The rich would still benefit, because the money would eventually return to them, through their businesses and investments, and the government would collect more tax revenue from the growing economy and the higher velocity of money. Hence, everyone benefits! I should even call this the _Utilitarian Tax Policy_, since it is the best tax policy that I think will maximize the happiness of everyone, the primary goal ofUtilitarianism
.
And since the Republicans have recently enacted a generous tax package for the wealthy, I thought I would illustrate 1 of my opinion pieces with this item from my article on the Child Tax Credit:
A TALE OF 2 GOVERNMENT HANDOUTS Some people consider the child tax credit to be a government handout, as evinced by the fact that the Additional Child Tax Credit has an explicit work requirement. I do not know if the Republicans have a unified view of the child tax credit, but since they oppose abortion, they should, at least, help people to afford those children. However, governments — federal, state, and local — put most of the tax burden on working people. Indeed, the Republicans do not want to tax investment income or gratuitous transfers at all! So that leaves taxing only work. They want working people to pay all the income taxes, so it is natural that they should espouse hard work, since somebody must pay for government. The Republicans just don't want it to be the rich. The tax burden on work is one reason why inequality is increasing, and why it is so difficult to move up in society by simplyworking for it.
In this light, it is interesting to compare the child tax credit with another very generous tax credit that benefits the wealthy: the unified tax credit , used to eliminate the estate tax on more than $5 million of gratuitous transfers, i.e.,gifts and bequests.
The child tax credit: * is not adjusted for inflation; * has an income limit; * has a work requirement; and * the maximum credit is $1000 per child, although the full credit may only be claimed if there is sufficient earnings from work. By contrast, the unified tax credit: * is adjusted for inflation; * has no income limit; * has no work requirement; and * the maximum credit in 2016 is worth $2,125,800 that can be used to offset $5,450,000 of gratuitous transfers from each individual, so parents can give $10,900,000 of their wealth to their children tax-free, and that's not even considering the many tax loopholes that allow even more wealth to be transferred tax-free. The unified tax credit is very generous, indeed. For instance, the 2016 unified tax credit is worth more than most people will ever earn (adjusting for inflation) in their entire lives. A person who works for 40 years, averaging $50,000 a year, will only earn $2 million over his working lifetime, and would pay an enormous amount of taxes on that income over those years. On the other hand, a child receiving $10.9 million from his parents does not have to pay any federal tax at all on that income — and no! — he doesn't have to work for it. Remember, too, that it seems that the tax code for the child tax credit has been carefully crafted to minimize any actual refund to low income taxpayers, by only allowing the credit to offset payroll taxes, so that the government's net credit to the taxpayer does not exceed what it has collected through payroll taxes. The Additional Child Tax Credit increases by 15% for each dollar over the $3000 minimum, which closely tracks the total payroll liability for an individual taxpayer. Of course, if the taxpayer also qualifies for the earned income credit or the premium tax credit or even the American Opportunity Credit, then the taxpayer's refund from these truly refundable credits will be increased by the child tax credit. Although this is a rather complicated explanation, it does explain why the calculation for the child tax credit is so complicated, and why the child tax credit is not simply a $1000 refundable credit per child. Moreover, not everyone can work! And if they had children? Too bad, I guess! This is just 1 illustration showing how the tax code strives to limit payments to the poor, while being very generous to the wealthy, as demonstrated by the inflation-adjusted unified tax credit of over $2 million! If the government truly wants to promote work, it would be more successful by taxing it less, instead of taxing it the most, as it is now, especially considering the fact that the deadweight loss of taxation on employment is greatest while the deadweight loss on taxing gratuitous transfers is 0. States and municipalities also tax work more than other forms ofincome.
Under the tax code, as in other things in life, the rich really dohave it better!
NOTE: As noted in the news item above, the new tax package doubled the maximum child tax credit to $2000, with $1400 of it being refundable. However, the only reason why this was added to a tax package immensely beneficial to the wealthy is because Marco Rubio insisted on it, and without his vote, the rich would not have gotten their big tax breaks. As for the wealthy, among the many other goodies that they have received, the unified tax credit has been doubled, so now the wealthy can pass $22 million to their heirs without any tax liability. But since the government costs so much money, if the wealthy don't pay their fair share in taxes, then they must increase taxes on everybody else! While the new tax package did lower taxes for many lower income Americans, it achieved this by greatly increasing the deficit, exactly at the time when taxes should be raised rather than lowered, since the economy is peaking right now. After all, what will the government do when the next recession arrives, as it always does, since the economy continually moves in cycles. Without government spending, the economy will sink lower than it would otherwise. Eventually, these taxes must be paid back. For years, the Republicans have been screaming about the deficit, and now that they are in complete control of the government, they have greatly increased the deficit to benefit their political donors. What this means is that the Republicans were not really concerned about the deficit, only that not enough wealth was being transferred from the lower classes to the wealthy! Eventually, the Republicans will argue that taxes must be raised on everybody, mostly the poor and middle-class, and that so-called "entitlements" — Social Security and Medicare — needs to be reduced or even eliminated. Of course, working people have been paying heavy taxes for these entitlements all of their working lives, but the Republicans still call them entitlements. On the other hand, the unified tax credit is a free gift to the wealthy, and unlike the child tax credit, has no onerous requirements! A few of my articles also have summaries, although most of my articles are already concise. From Money Growth, Money Velocity, and Inflation:
MONEY GROWTH, MONEY VELOCITY, AND INFLATION * Low, stable inflation optimizes economic growth. * Inflation results when aggregate demand exceeds aggregate supply. * Aggregate demand is influenced both by the supply of money and thevelocity of money.
* The CLASSICAL THEORY OF INFLATION states that money growth causesinflation.
* Inflation depends on money growth and the velocity of money. * The VELOCITY OF MONEY equals the average number of times an average dollar is used to buy goods and services per unit of time. * Nominal GDP is the price of all final goods and services provided by an economy. Therefore: * Nominal GDP = Quantity of Money × Velocity of Money * Nominal GDP = Real GDP × Prices * which leads to the EQUATION OF EXCHANGE: * Quantity of Money (M) × Velocity of Money (V) = Real GDP (Y) ×Prices (P)
* or
* Prices = Quantity of Money × Velocity of Money / Real GDP * So, prices increase when the product of the money supply and its velocity grows faster than real GDP. * Likewise, for changes in these economic variables: * ΔM + ΔV = ΔP + ΔY * To simplify their models for the short run, economists treat the velocity of money and real GDP as constant. Therefore: * Inflation = Money Growth* or
* ΔP = ΔM
I also provide resources and links to additional information, such asthe following:
RESOURCES
* An Overview of Consumer Data and Credit Reporting-
Contains extensive information about credit reporting agencies. According to this study be the Federal Reserve, more than ½ of accounts in collection involve unpaid medical bills. * Research looks at how mortgage delinquencies affect scores (Note: the link that I had provided for this entry is no longer available.) - Banking Analytics Blog - This blog entry, posted on FICO's website, shows the impact of late payments on mortgages for 3 typical borrowers with initial credit score of 680, 720, and 780. It also points out that a short sale, deed in lieu of foreclosure or other settlement, or a foreclosure will have the same impact on one's credit score, lowering the credit score to around 605 to 675. However, if there was a deficiency balance, then the credit score can drop as low as 570. The post also lists the amount of time it will take to recover to the previous score, where an initial 680 score will take 9 months to recover after being either 30 days or 90 days late on a mortgage payment, whereas someone with an initial score of 780 will take 3 years to recover after a 30-day late payment and 7 years to recover after a 90-day late payment, which is the length of time that the credit event can be listed in the credit reports on which the score is based. Bankruptcy lowers the credit score to about 525 to 560 for all borrowers. However, a 680 score can recover in about 5 years, while the 720 and 780 scores will take 7 years to recover, while a chapter 7 bankrupt will take 10 years to recover, which is the amount of time that the bankruptcy can be listed on the credit report. The time it takes to recover from a short sale, deed in lieu of foreclosure, or a foreclosure is the same as it is for a bankruptcy. * Consumer Data Industry Association - The industry association for credit reporting agencies. This website also includes some statistics regarding credit reports and the amount of information that goes into them. * LexisNexis Risk Solutions Full File Disclosure - Check out what information LexisNexis has on you. Basic is free — includes a public records search.EXTERNAL LINKS
* With Credit Bureaus, It Pays to Be on the V.I.P. List -NYTimes.com
- Explains how the credit bureaus maintain a two-tier system for correcting credit errors on credit reports — one for the rich and one for everybody else. * Fallout From a Poor Credit Score - Mortgages - According to this article, a single mortgage payment that is 30 days late will have a significant impact on the borrower's credit score. Short sales and foreclosures are also very destructive, but a loan modification on a mortgage will be much less damaging, possibly causing only a 10 or 15 point drop. Another tip pointed out by this article is that a homeowner does not have to become delinquent to apply for a loan modification. * Unpaid Medical Bills Can Ruin a Credit Score * How Mortgage Modifications Affect Credit Scores Most pages do not have all of these features, since many articles do not benefit from them, but they are used when they improve the article. (And, of course, when I think of it!).RESPONSIVE WEBSITE
This website is designed to respond to different screen sizes, so that the articles remain readable from phones to oversized high resolution monitors. Many of the articles contain equations, which I write using tables rather than using images, because tables are designed to be responsive for different screen sizes. Using SVG images also improves responsiveness to screen sizes and orientation. My website has style sheet sections for printing and for viewing on mobile devices. If a page is printed, it will not include any advertising, navigational links, or any other content not useful on the printed page. On screens wider than 1,400 pixels, there is a fixed sidebar with a search box at the top followed by navigational links to major sections of the site. At the bottom of the sidebar of each page are sharing tools, such as for Facebook, Google+, or Twitter. On smaller screens, the pages have no sidebar so that all the screen space can be devoted to the article. In this case, the search box is located below the footer near the bottom of each page.UPDATE POLICY
I continually update my articles with new information or to improve readability or comprehension. In some cases, the information that I use is dated, but I continue to use it because they provide the same pedagogical value. Because many of my examples take a lot of work, I will not update the examples themselves as long as they reflect current understanding and procedure. For instance, in my article on Butterfly and Condor Option Spreads, I use real bid
and ask prices for specific stocks, such as Microsoft and Facebook, to illustrate how these option strategies work. This takes time to do, but there is no advantage for using more recent prices, since the principle of option spreads remains the same. But it does allow me to construct many graphs and show actual results of using different options strategies based on real bid and ask prices for a specific time period. Here is an example of a long-put butterfly for Facebook, using prices from 2014: Example: Long Put Butterfly for Facebook Established on July 31, 2014Stock Price
$73.06
LONG PUT BUTTERFLY
OCTOBER, 2014 PUTS
STRIKE
PRICE
1 Long K1
70
-$3.10
2 Short K2
72.5
$8.30
1 Long K3
75
-$5.60
-------------------------Debit
$0.40
Maximum Loss
$0.40
Maximum Profit
$2.10
Line chart showing the potential profit/loss of a long put butterfly option spread for Facebook at options expiration for underlying stock prices ranging from $69.50 to $76. As of May 11, 2018, the price of Facebook stock now exceeds $185. I could update the above example and the numerous other examples in the article with higher prices, but it would make no difference in illustrating how option spreads work. On the other hand, continually updating these tables and graphs would take a lot of work, but without adding pedagogical value. A valuable resource for me is my own readers. I have been writing articles for this website for 12 years, as of May 2018, so I often receive emails about mistakes in my articles or other problems with the article or website. This allows me to make corrections and improvements continually. It always helps to have a diversity of opinion. When I write, I am often going over different parts of the document, editing here and there, striving for perfection. But in doing so, I often become blind even to obvious mistakes, so it helps to have fresh eyes looking at the articles. You can find my email address in the sidebar or at the bottom, in the footer section of every page, or right here: Contact Me! So, if you see any mistakes, or if you have suggestions, please emailme.
A NOTE TO THE GRAMMARIAN POLICE Originally, grammar was the study of how a language was constructed, how the individual words are put together to form meaning. Then, in time, some people have dubbed themselves to be the grammarian police — GRAMMANDOS! — and have asserted that writing must follow the rules of grammar rigorously, and, nowadays, we even have grammar software to ensure that our writing is so constructed. I disagree with maintaining a rigid grammatical structure. I believe that the main purpose of language is to communicate. If there is a better way to communicate, then it should be done, even if it breaks the rules of grammar. Case in point: writing numbers as actual numbers rather than as words, because numbers can be read much faster when they are written as numbers rather than as words, including the numbers 1 through 10. (The only problem with _1_ is that it looks like _I_, depending on the font family of the letters, and my voice recognition software seems to prefer "one" over 1.) However, I only use the number 1 when referring to the number, not when it is being used to refer to a person or thing, such as "any one of you". I also know that grammandos are not gonna like "gonna" nor the fact that I put the period after the apostrophe. (Okay, I only used "gonna" here to make the grammandos cringe a little.) I also often write first as 1st and second as 2nd, and so on. I don't always write ordinal numbers this way, since I have to consider how people will search for certain topics. So in those cases where the ordinal number may be part of popular search terms, I will continue to write it out as a word. I think language can be improved in many ways to speed comprehension. For instance, using mathematical symbols for some words, such as = for equals. I don't do this on my site because I believe that too many people would probably have a negative opinion of what would probably look awkward to them. However, I believe the awkwardness is only because people are not accustomed to seeing things written that way, but if they were, they would become accustomed to it. But I do believe that people would be able to comprehend written words faster if documents were so written. It might be worthwhile to have some scientists measure the differences in comprehension speed between a document that used all words and a document that used other commonsymbols.
In fact, I believe that a committee should be formed that should seek ways to improve language in much the same way as the W3.org works to improve HTML and CSS. I would like to make 1 suggestion right now. In the English language, no word refers to either male or female in the 3rd person singular. Hence, writers are reduced to saying _he_ or _she_, _his_ or _her_, or _him_ or _her_, or they are forced to alternate between the references to avoid being labeled sexist. Sometimes this is useful when using 2 people in examples, since this removes any ambiguity in pronoun referents, but in most cases, it results in superfluous language. Therefore, I propose the following: _e_ to refer to the 3rd person singular for either sex and _er_ to refer to the objective case, as _her_ does for the pronoun _she_, and _ers_ for the possessive case. Maybe this new 3rd person singular should be capitalized as the pronoun _I_ is, to distinguish it from the natural logarithm base _e_, although, in most cases, context should clarify the meaning. In any case, this is just a suggestion. I will also probably use SINGULAR_THEY_
more, if the meaning is clear. This is not to say that there are not unintended grammatical errors on this site that do impede comprehension. Although I do run the documents through a grammar checker for a 2nd opinion, even if I don't always follow that opinion, I am sure that errors slip through anyway. Nonetheless, if you want to comment on this, please e-mail me. I would be interested in your opinion. Maybe I should set up a Facebook page for this topic, but, alas, I do not have the time. Since there are over 800 articles on this site written over more than 12 years, my thoughts on grammar and my propensities have changed through the years, yielding some inconsistencies in the rules that I have used, something that grammandos the world over are definitely not gonna like, but considering that what is acceptable and not acceptable in grammar has changed throughout the years, as evidenced by the changing results of Usage Panel surveys, and as evidenced by literature itself, my main objectives are clarity and conciseness. You can at least be consoled that there is no _Beowulf_ here.PRIVACY POLICY
This website does not use any cookies, but I do use Google Analytics and Google AdSense. Google does use cookies. On my privacy page, Privacy Policy , I provide full information about how you can manage the information collected by Google and any other third-party provider used on the site. Some information is also provided in the footer at the bottom of every page.NAVIGATION
To facilitate navigation, my website provides the following keyboardshortcuts:
* Control + /: Scroll to full site menu * Alt + ` (backtick): Sets focus in the Google search box to searchthis site.
* Alt + 0: Show detailed article outline * Alt + .: Show only headings in the outline * Alt + 1: Show article links * Control + Right Arrow: Next Article * Control + Left Arrow: Previous Article I originally added the outline feature to facilitate article editing, but it is also a good way to navigate within the document, especially a long document. You can click any element in the outline to go to that element in the document. The outline will close when any part of the outline is clicked. With the full site menu, you can quickly see all the articles on my site by clicking the various headings and subheadings. Clicking on a link will take you immediately to thatarticle.
MY CREDENTIALS
I am a financial writer who has been writing about financial topics since at least 2005. I have a degree in philosophy and business from Millersville University, located in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, but most of my knowledge comes from constantly reading, writing, and thinking, and doing examples. I continually read textbooks, magazine articles, and other news sources about economics, personal finance, and investments. Unlike most other sites, I continually edit my articles to provide more or updated information and to make it clearer, especially when my readers alert me to mistakes or ambiguities. I also provide worked out examples for many of the articles. In my opinion, writing is the best education, because it forces you to think deeply about the topic, to research it thoroughly, and to ensure that it coheres with other principles and facts. I do sometimes disagree with the consensus and I will point out why I believe it is so, allowing you to decide if my argument has merit. I also get feedback from readers like yourself, pointing out mistakes, which I correct immediately — one of the many benefits of reading from a website rather than a book, even an ebook. I also provide many references to my topics, including to individual facts, such as points of law, where you can review that information instantly by clicking on the link, which will open in a new window. For instance, in my tax articles , I provide direct links to all the referenced IRS forms and provide a direct link to many of the individual provisions of the tax code and to the numerous instructions and other publications provided by the IRS. Another source of my knowledge, of course, is from personal experience, although it is, by necessity, much more limited than the many topics that I cover. Nonetheless, writing about many topics gives me a greater perspective and better insight into each individual topic, since they are interrelated. An introductory textbook on Economics , lavishly illustrated with full-color illustrations and diagrams, and concisely written for fastest comprehension. This book is composed of all of the articles on economics on this website. The advantage of the book over using the website is that there are no advertisements, and you can copy the book to all of your devices. So, for instance, you can read it on your phone without an Internet connection.SEARCH THIS SITE
×
search
* PRIVACY POLICY for thismatter.com * COOKIES are not used by this website, except for people in the European Economic Area, where a cookie is stored to indicate that they have seen the GDPR message, but Google uses cookies to personalize ads and to analyze traffic. Information is shared about your use of this site with Google. Details, including OPT-OUT OPTIONS, are provided in the Privacy Policy . Note that opt-out choices are also stored in cookies. * Privacy Policy – Privacy & Terms – Google : You can control and delete any information collected by Google on this page, including any information obtained from users of this website. * How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services – Privacy & Terms – Google * WebChoices: Digital Advertising Alliance's Consumer Choice Tool for Web US : This tool gives you information and options to opt-out of certain ads and/or their collection of data using the browser that you are now using. These choices must be made for each browser that you use. * YourOnlineChoices.eu - Your ad choices: For Europeans,
use this site to control your online behavioral advertising preferences and to get more information about online options forads.
* Send email to thismatter.com for suggestions and comments! Be sure to include the words _no spam_ in the subject. If you do not include the words, the email will be deleted automatically. * Information is provided 'as is' and solely for education, not for trading purposes or professional advice. * All articles on this site were written by William C. Spaulding * Copyright © 1982 - 2020 by William C. Spaulding * Author Website: WilliamSpaulding.com * Books by William Spaulding: * Trickle-Up Economics : Describes the best tax policy to maximize happiness and economic wealth, based on simple economic principles. * Economics: An Illustrated Introduction to Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, International Economics, and Behavioral Economics * An introductory textbook on Economics, lavishly illustrated with full-color illustrations and diagrams, and concisely written for fastest comprehension.Personal Finance
* Bankruptcy
* Chapter 7
* Chapter 13
* Chapter 11
* Credit and Debt
* Debt Collection
* Insurance
* Types of Insurance* Auto
* Homeowner
* Health
* Life
* Real Estate
* Taxes
* Income Taxes
* Personal Deductions and Tax Credits* Retirement Plans
* Gratuitous Transfer Taxes * Educational Tax Benefits * Taxation of Investments* Business Taxes
* Wills, Estates, and Trusts* Wills and Estates
* Trusts
Investments
* Investment Fundamentals* Investment Funds
* Mutual Funds
* Limited Partnerships* Banking
* Bonds
* Types Of Bonds
* Government Securities * Money Market Instruments* Corporate Bonds
* Asset Backed Securities* Forex
* Futures
* Options
* Stocks
* Stock Indexes
* Stock Valuation and Financial Ratios * Technical Analysis* Economics
-------------------------Contact Me!
* Press Alt + ` (backtick) to Google search this site. * Press Alt + 0 to display an outline of the above article. * Press Alt + 1 to show only links in the above article. * Press Ctrl + / to scroll to this detailed site menu. * Click on any category link in the left column to display the Table of Contents for that category in the right column. * Click on a heading in the right column to expand or hide thatsection.
Credit, Debt, BankruptcyInsuranceReal EstateTaxWills, Estates, and TrustsInvestment FundamentalsInvestment FundsBankingBondsDerivativesForexFuturesOptionsStocksTechnicalAnalysisEconomics
CREDIT AND DEBT - TABLE OF CONTENTS▼ CREDIT
Credit Scores
Credit Score
Types and Versions: FICO Scores, VantageScores, and OthersNew
Developments in Credit, Debt, and Credit ScoringCredit-based
Insurance Scores
New
Credit Card Rules - A Summary of the Credit CARD Act of 2009Alternative
Credit Bureaus and Alternative Credit ScoresTenant
Screening
Credit and
Debt Blog
► DEBT
Taxation of Canceled DebtForeclosure
Real
Estate Short Sale
► DEBT COLLECTION
Prejudgment Remedies: General Principles, AttachmentPrejudgment
Garnishment, Replevin, Lis Pendens, Receivership, Court InjunctionsExecution
and Levy
Judgment
Liens
Garnishment
Fraudulent
Transfers
Statutory
Proceedings in Aid of ExecutionState
Insolvency Proceedings: Compositions and Extensions (Workouts), Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors (ABC)► BANKRUPTCY
Benefit of Bankruptcy to SocietyA
Quick Overview of Bankruptcy for ConsumersCredit
Counseling and Debtor Education (Personal Financial Management Course)Credit
Availability and Credit Scores After BankruptcyBankruptcy
Law Public Policies
Bankruptcy
Law Sources
Bankruptcy
Research
► BANKRUPTCY FUNDAMENTALS Bankruptcy Requires Good FaithBankruptcy
Participants
Bankruptcy
Trustee
Debt
Relief Agencies
Bankruptcy
Petition Preparers
Bankruptcy
Lawyers
Bankruptcy
Petition - the Start of BankruptcyBankruptcy
Estate
Joint
Petitions; Joint Administration and Consolidation of Bankruptcy Cases of Closely Related DebtorsAutomatic
Stay
Relief
from Automatic Stay
Creditors
Meeting
Filing
and Responding to MotionsSecured
Debts in Bankruptcy
Cramdowns
- Paying for Secured Debt in Chapter 13, 12, and 11Proof
and Allowance of ClaimsPriority
Rules
Domestic
Support Obligations
Taxes
in Bankruptcy: Their Priorities and DischargeabilityExecutory
Contracts and Unexpired LeasesExecutory
Contracts: RejectionExecutory
Contracts: Assumption and AssignmentBankruptcy
Dismissal
Bankruptcy
Discharge
Nondischargeable
Debts
► PRE-BANKRUPTCY PERIOD Avoiding Preferences in BankruptcyPreference
Safe Harbors
Setoffs
and Recoupments
► SPECIAL TOPICS IN BANKRUPTCY Can Bankruptcy Prevent an Eviction for a Renter?Foreclosure
and Bankruptcy
Chapter
20 Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Chapter Conversion
Chapter
12 Bankruptcy OverviewChapter
15 Bankruptcy Overview - Ancillary and Other Cross-Border CasesChapter
9 - Municipality BankruptcyA
Comparison of Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 - Advantages and DisadvantagesA
Comparison of Chapter 13, 12, and 11 - Advantages and Disadvantages ► CHAPTER 7 BANKRUPTCY Who Qualifies for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy?An
Overview of Chapter 7 and the Creditors MeetingPlanning
for a Chapter 7 BankruptcyMeans
Test in Bankruptcy - is There a Presumption of Abuse?Chapter
7 Bankruptcy Estate
State
and Federal ExemptionsResidency
Requirements for ExemptionsClaiming
Exemptions Using Schedule C - Property Claimed as ExemptWill
the Trustee Sell Your Home in a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy?Can
You Save Your Home with the Homestead Exemption or Wildcard Exemption in a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy?Lien
Avoidance - Reducing or Eliminating LiensSecured
Debts - Surrendering, Redemption, and ReaffirmationDenial
or Revocation of a Chapter 7 Discharge ► CHAPTER 13 BANKRUPTCYChapter 13 Overview
Chapter
13 Timeline
Role
of Debtor and Standing TrusteeChapter
13 Bankruptcy Estate and Postpetition ClaimsChapter
13 Payment Plan: Requirements for ConfirmationConfirmation
and Amending the Repayment PlanChapter
13 Repayment Plan: Content and Format ► CHAPTER 11 BANKRUPTCY Chapter 11 Bankruptcy OverviewDebtor
in Possession (DIP)
Creditors'
Committees and Equity CommitteesReorganization
Plan
Chapter
11 Discharge, Postconfirmation Administration, and Final DecreeDetails
Copyright © 2024 ArchiveBay.com. All rights reserved. Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | DMCA | 2021 | Feedback | Advertising | RSS 2.0