So here is the good the bad and the ugly. The good news is the government is going to extend jobless claims for the unemployed through the holiday. Of course no benefit for me , but I would be sad to know little Sally did not get her easy bake oven or little Joey his Playstation 3.
The bad of course is that unemployment continues to climb, and Citigroup axing 53,00 of its employees globally is not helping. The Associated Press reports that jobless claims in 2008 stand at 1.2 million and the jobless rate of private sector government workers stands at a 14 year high of 6.5 percent.
Now for the ugly. It probably is not news since the media is wearing it like the latest thing out of fashion week. But the stock market continues its decent. It shed over 400 points Thursday to close at 7552. I continue to be an optimist, although I will say I am probably in sparse company these days. I continue to invest and know that no one knows when it will go up. So if I feel a stock is a good deal now, it is an even better deal when the market pulls the share price down further. And I feel very confident that when things do recover I will be happy with my choices. I am not suggesting you do the same , and always do your homework. Good luck!
- Matt
Please let us know who you think will file Chapter 11 first or if you think the senate will come through with some sort of bailout package or bridge loan type financing to keep them floating.
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  So the auto industry has their hand out for Uncle Sam , asking for some of the federal bailout. More specifically they would like 25 billion dollars to divvy up among themselves. General motors would get more than Ford and Chrysler.
  Now at first glance I was like , yeah we need to do this because so many people would lose their jobs. Then I thought about it more and I have to agree with the senators that have taken a firm stand against providing aid. These guys have run their businesses unprofitably for years. They have not kept up with trends, better fuel mileage and improved factory efficiencies through technology. They have also lacked in the style department when compared to their foreign peers.
  They became so complacent in the continued raping of their companies money that they may soon be without a company to run. So I agree that we should let them go out of business. It happened to the airline industry, why not automobiles. I am tired of my tax dollars being used to buy mansions for CEO’s that are already overpaid.
   I was watching part of the senate meeting and at one point the panel asked what the CEO’s made last year. Now the american auto industry has been faltering for years. And even as recent as last year Rick Wagnor, the head of GM made $9 million. And I am sure that does not include stock options. When asked what kind of pay cut he was willing to take, he answered, “half”. Half! Chryslers CEO cut his salary to a $1.00. A respectable thing considering the number of people getting fired. But Rick, how about 1 million or $500,000? Are you telling me you are going to go without food or shelter unless you make 4.5 million. And forget Ford’s CEO, he said that he made 7 million and there is nothing wrong with that number and he has no intention of lowering the amount.
  So I apologize to the auto workers as I feel for you as much as the next guy, but if something happens to my company no one is bailing them out. No government hand out or aid is in place to insure my job. This is why you are suppose to have emergency funds and frankly the fact there are job cuts should not come as a surprise.
    I am thankful to continue to have a job and I wish everyone the best, but I refuse to give away any more of my money through taxes to bail people out. No one is helping me keep a roof over my head or a job to pay the bills. This continues to be a major problem with this country and maybe through these hard time things will change. Too many people expect someone else to help them, to pay for their bad judgement, but they need to take responsibility for themselves. Maybe when we do that things will turn around.
-Matt
   Yes, soon it will be that time again. It is hard to believe but 2008 is almost over so you need to start thinking about taxes. There is less than two months left but it is still worth doing some work. It is worth figuring if you have been paying enough so you do not owe when Uncle Sam comes knocking. The reverse is true as well, if you have been overpaying , then you should make the necessary adjustments. You get more money in your paycheck, which might be nice considering the holidays are upon us.
  If you are not contributing to your 401(k) there is no time like the present. For most people, especially those who do not have their own business, this is probably the most effective way to reduce your taxes. If you do contribute, use the calculator found here, http://www.dinkytown.net/java/Tax1040.html , to estimate your taxes. If you it shows you owe you may want to increase your contribution if possible. This is my opinion , and is a strategy I employ myself to protect against owing taxes. If your estimate shows you getting a refund then hopefully you are all set.
  Assuming there are no last minute law changes the break down for your 2008 taxes goes like this;
The value of each personal and dependency exemption, available to most taxpayers, is $3,500, up $100 from 2007.
The new standard deduction is $10,900 for married couples filing a joint return (up $200), $5,450 for singles and married individuals filing separately (up $100) and $8,000 for heads of household (up $150). Nearly two out of three taxpayers take the standard deduction, rather than itemizing deductions, such as mortgage interest, charitable contributions and state and local taxes.
Tax-bracket thresholds increase for each filing status. For a married couple filing a joint return, for example, the taxable-income threshold separating the 15-percent bracket from the 25-percent bracket is $65,100, up from $63,700 in 2007.
The maximum earned income tax credit for low and moderate income workers and working families with two or more children is $4,824, up from $4,716. The income limit for the credit for joint return filers with two or more children is $41,646, up from $39,783.
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The maximum Hope credit, available for the first two years of post-secondary education, is $1,800, up from $1,650 in 2007.
The income limit for the savers credit is $53,000 for joint filers (up $1,000), $39,750 for heads of household (up $750) and $26,500 for singles and married persons filing separately (up$500). Low-and moderate income workers who contribute to a retirement plan, such as an IRA or 401(k), may qualify for the credit, which is available in addition to any other tax savings that apply.
The contribution amount allowed for Roth IRAs begins to phase out for joint filers with incomes exceeding $159,000 (up from $156,000) and $101,000 (up from $99,000) for singles and heads of household.
For contributions to a traditional IRA, the deduction phase-out range for an individual covered by a retirement plan at work begins at income of $85,000 for joint filers (up from $83,000) and $53,000 for a single person or head of household (up from $52,000).
Participants in most employer-sponsored 401(k) plans and 403(b) plans for employees of public schools and certain tax-exempt organizations can contribute up to $15,500, unchanged from 2007. Individuals, age 50 or over, can make an additional contribution of up to $5,000, also unchanged from 2007.
Individuals participating in SIMPLE retirement plans can contribute $10,500, unchanged from 2007. Those, age 50 or over, can make an additional contribution of up to $2,500, also unchanged from 2007.
The annual contribution limit for most defined contribution plans rises to $46,000, up from $45,000 in 2007.
| Filing Status and Income Tax Rates 2008
|
| Tax rate |
Married filing jointly
or Qualified Widow(er) |
Single |
Head of household |
Married filing separately |
| 10% |
$0 - 16,050 |
$0 - 8,025 |
$0 - $11,450 |
$0 - 8,025 |
| 15% |
$16,051- 65,100 |
$8,026- 32,550 |
$11,451- 43,650 |
$8,026- 32,550 |
| 25% |
$65,101- 131,450 |
$32,551- 78,850 |
$43,651- 112,650 |
$32,551- 65,725 |
| 28% |
$131,451- 200,300 |
$78,851- 164,550 |
$112,651- 182,400 |
$65,726- 100,150 |
| 33% |
$200,301- 357,700 |
$164,551- 357,700 |
$182,401- 357,700 |
$100,151- 178,850 |
| 35% |
over $357,700 |
over $357,700 |
over $357,700 |
over $178,850 |
~Matt
   The projections by the major networks has Barack Obama winning the electoral vote and thus the Presidential race. I have to be honest , I am not surprised. I think it was apparent early on that Barack Obama was going to be the victor. Especially since there was an unprecedented amount of peope who came to the polls to vote.
  What are my feelings? I feel that it is unfortunate that the people who came out tonight were not at the polls 4 years ago. Yet they would blame who was elected. At the same time I am proud to have lived to see such a landmark in our Nations history. And I hope that going forward these same people continue to vote, and not just for Barack Obama but for any political station.
  Concerning the economy and our financial future, I think whomever is elected we are in for a difficult run. The fact is our free market system is in a state it has not seen for some time. So my hopes our that our new President and Congress fix it and allow it to continue to function. The opportunities found in the United States are like no other and Barack Obama will hopefully continue to grow that greatness.
  So in short and in conclusion, good luck to everyone. Keep shoring up your spending and try to save what you can. I am farely confident that taxes are going to increase next year so prepare yourself. We can only hope that oil remains at its current lower prices, and that the credit markets begin to open.  Remeber ignorance may be bliss, but preparedness leads to success.
