Would you pass the malaise please?

By Tom Quiner [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWAdt07XPgY] You’ve got $5000 in your pocket. Who is going to spend that money better:  you or a stranger? Answer quickly, please. Do you really think a stranger is going to take your five grand and spend/invest it better? It’s an interesting question, because Warren Buffet says rich (productive) Americans need to…

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The debt limit issue at a glance

By Tom Quiner The chart above quickly tells the story. If Congress fails to raise the debt limit, will we have enough money to make interest payments on the national debt? Yes. If Congress fails to raise the debt limit, will we have enough money to cover social security? Yes. Medicare? Yes. Essential defense? Yes.…

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A breakthrough idea from “the gang of 6”

By Tom Quiner Six Senators have presented a framework to tackle our deficits and the debt ceiling in a bipartisan way. The plan is lacking in detail at this point and should be approached warily. There are things I don’t like about it. Having said that, they have put a dynamic idea on the table…

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The rationale behind “tax cuts for the rich”

By Tom Quiner [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5Lnk1BHzJ8] The President and his party are fixated on increasing taxes on America’s most-productive citizens, aka “the rich.” That seems to be their solution to our debt-ceiling problems: tax the rich more. So let me pose a question to you. Who is going to create the most jobs for America with extra…

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Would you trust the President with your political career?

By Tom Quiner The President said: “This is part of the problem with a political process where folks are rewarded for saying irresponsible things to win elections or obtain short-term political gain, when we actually are in a position to try to do something hard we haven’t always laid the groundwork for.” So the President…

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Is Obamanomics a better strategy than Reaganomics?

By Tom Quiner The economy was in shambles when Ronald Reagan took office, much worse off even than when Barack Obama took office. The misery index, which adds the inflation rate to the unemployment rate, stood at one of its all time highs at 19.33 when Mr. Reagan took office. By contrast, it stood  at…

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Why America’s debt must be addressed now

By Tom Quiner I spent a couple of hours with my financial planner yesterday. Something struck me: baby boomers like me can really be hurt if America’s indebtedness isn’t addressed quickly. And if Baby Boomers run out of money, our kids could be wiped out because there are so many of us Baby Boomers they’re…

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Former CBO Director slams the President’s budget

By Tom Quiner I have a love-hate affair with the Congressional Budget Office. I appreciate their independence.  They beat up on Republicans and Democrats alike. I think they sometime miss the mark in their projections, though, because they utilize static, rather than dynamic, economic projections.  In other words, they don’t acknowledge that tax increases (or…

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What’s the solution: higher taxes or spending restraint?

By Tom Quiner The Tea Party movement deserves credit for changing the entire national debate on fiscal accountability. More than ever, our two political parties are debating paths to deficit reduction. Republican Congressman, Paul Ryan, has outlined a detailed plan to fiscal sanity by calling for spending restraint. President Obama, after escalating spending to unprecedented…

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Who owns your productivity?

By Tom Quiner The debate has been furious. Democrats insist that taxes need to be raised on America’s most-productive Americans by letting the Bush tax cuts expire. A flawed compromise plan was reached that extends the Bush rates for two more years. At issue: should the top income tax rates for super-producers earning more than…

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