Latest Money Blog Entries
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Palin Fan Can't Believe Sarah Supported Bank Bailout
November 20, 2009
Skip to about two minutes into this video, and enjoy the awkwardness.
She responds, "I don't think if you asked [Palin] today, she would support it."
Well, of course not. That's what you do when supporting small government suddenly becomes politically convenient--you switch positions.
Bruce Bartlett has a column today on a much bigger instance of Republican hypocrisy regarding small government. Most Republicans in Congress today argue that healthcare reform is unacceptable because it would cost $900 billion over ten years. But six years ago, when President Bush proposed a prescription drug benefit that would cost $1 trillion over ten years, many of those same Republicans were all for it.
Money - Capital Commerce
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Fidelity: Average 401(k) Balance Rebounds
November 20, 2009
The average 401(k) account balance rose to $60,700 as of September 30, up nearly 13 percent from the end of the second quarter, according to a new analysis of Fidelity-administered 401(k) plans. The gains reflect the recent stock market rally, new employee contributions, and enhanced employer 401(k) matches.
Money - Planning to Retire
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Ron Paul Fed Provision Passes House Financial Services Committee
November 20, 2009
Ron Paul has received the most attention he's got since his presidential campaign with his "audit the Fed" bill. Now, that legislation seems to have a shot at passing, as it has been attached to Barney Frank's financial regulation bill.
But the irony is that, for Paul and other Republicans, in order to limit what they see as overreaching federal government power in the form of the Federal Reserve, they would have to greatly expand federal government power in the form of other aspects of the Frank bill. Among other things, it would establish a Consumer Financial Protection Agency, an idea that has been maligned by free-market groups.
See my interview with Rep. Paul for more on his plan, which may become a reality.
Money - Capital Commerce
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7 Moves for Effective Meetings
November 20, 2009
Management writer Lin Bothwell once said that it takes a darned good meeting to beat no meeting at all. Those of us who’ve sat through mind-numbing meetings would agree. When people stagger to the door and announce that “it’s time to get back to work,” they are revealing how they regard the time just spent.
Here are a few approaches that can make meetings more productive:
Money - On Careers
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Why Foreclosures Rise Even as the Economy Expands
November 19, 2009
Even as the U.S. economy expanded in the third quarter, the nation's eroding labor market sent the mortgage delinquency rate to new heights and created fresh headaches for the Obama administration. About 1 in every 7 home loans in the country was either past due or in foreclosure at the end of the third quarter, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's most recent National Delinquency Survey. That's the highest delinquency rate in the survey's history (the data begin in 1972). "Despite the recession ending in midsummer, the decline in mortgage performance continues," said Jay Brinkmann, the MBA's chief economist. "Job losses continue to increase and drive up delinquencies and foreclosures because mortgages are paid with paychecks, not percentage point increases in GDP." Here are six things you need to know about the development:
1. Moving upstream: The MBA report provides an inside look into the evolution of the foreclosure crisis. Initial problems in the mortgage market were largely rooted in subprime loans and other exotic products. But with the national unemployment rate hitting 10.2 percent last month, the eroding labor market has emerged as the most fundamental factor behind the mortgage crisis. A job loss, after all, can prevent even borrowers with sound credit histories from paying the mortgage. "The infection is spreading out, and it is now prime borrowers that are in trouble," says Mark Zandi, the chief economist at Moody's Economy.com. From the third quarter of 2008 through the same period this year, the rate of foreclosure starts increased 0.53 percentage points for prime loans—made to borrowers with good credit—while it fell 0.47 percentage points for subprime loans, the MBA said in the survey.
Money - The Home Front
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Interchange Fees: GAO Recommends Caution on Regulation
November 19, 2009
The Government Accountability Office just issued a report on the issue of rising interchange fees for merchants who offer credit card services. As I wrote in a previous article, merchant groups have got the ears of certain members of Congress, and regulation is on the table that would theoretically lead to lower interchange fees for merchants and lower prices for consumers.
But, as I explained, the issue isn't that simple. There are several myths that both sides (merchants on one side, credit card issuers on the other) are bandying about to make their individual stance look like the unalloyed good.
The GAO report serves to show how complicated interchange regulation is. But it does provide some notes of caution that Congress should heed before it acts.
Money - Capital Commerce
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How to Tell If You're Saving Enough
November 19, 2009
Save or spend? That will be the question that bedevils consumers over the next several years as they replenish their rainy-day funds, rebalance their debt, and limp toward retirement.
It's no secret that Americans spent too much and saved too little over the last decade. For 40 years after World War II, Americans typically saved somewhere between 6 and 10 percent of their after-tax income. The savings rate began to drift down in 1985, and for most of the last five years it's been less than 3 percent. It even dipped below zero in 2005. With frightened consumers now starting to hoard cash (if they have any), the savings rate has inched back up to about 4 percent. But many economists feel that's not high enough.
Money - Rick Newman
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Why the Marginally Attached are Misunderstood
November 19, 2009
As the under-employment rate is increasingly reported--often as the "real" unemployment rate--some of the data behind the figure has become obscured. The under-employment rate--now at 17.5 percent--is made up of the unemployed, the "marginally attached," and part-time workers who want full-time jobs.
References to marginally attached workers routinely indicate that this group is made up of recent job seekers who have dropped out of the workforce because they don't believe they'll find anything. With 2.4 million marginally attached workers in the U.S. last month, the message seems to be that millions of Americans are giving up hope.
[See why productivity won't kill a jobs rebound.]
But marginally attached workers are somewhat misunderstood. For the most part, this group is made up of people who had not looked for work recently not because they had lost hope, but because they were otherwise occupied with such things as family responsibilities or attending school.
Money - The Inside Job
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Attractive and Functional Design Solutions for Aging Homeowners
November 19, 2009
Making a home suitable for older occupants is becoming a mainstream part of the home remodeling business. Growing numbers of seniors want to remain in their homes as they age, and attractive design solutions for aging in place projects have evolved. Making such modifications not only helps current occupants but may broaden the market for future buyers when the home is placed on the market.
[Slide Show: Design Solutions for Aging Homeowners.]
Illustrating this trend, about 3,000 home remodeling and repair contractors have taken a three-day training course to become Certified Aging-in-Place Specialists. The CAPS program was begun by the National Association. of Home Builders and AARP. Therese Ford Crahan, executive director of NAHB's Remodelers Council, describes the sensitivity training that contractors must take as part of the program. "The remodelers are required to put a tennis ball in their nonwriting hand, put that hand in a sock, and then try and write a check," she says, simulating challenges that many people with arthritis face. "Next, we put them in a wheelchair" and they have to maneuver around. Then, "we put sunglasses on them and cover the lenses with Vaseline and then make them try to get around. . . . It's just an eye-opener for remodelers," she says. "They just don't understand . . . until they've been there."
Money - The Best Life
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7 More Ways to Save Money and Go Green This Thanksgiving
November 19, 2009
It's time, once again, for Americans to give thanks and enjoy a bountiful meal. It's also a day to watch what you eat—and not just in regards to your waistline. The year 2009 was notable for an emphasis on greener, more sustainable eating, from the White House garden to the movie Food, Inc. Last Thanksgiving, I wrote about saving money, starting traditions, decoding turkey labels and defending your vegetarianism. Here are seven more money-saving tips for a green Thanksgiving.
[Slide Show: 10 Money-Saving Green Thanksgiving Tips.]
1. Use a slow-cooker. Fall is the season for slow-simmered soups, so there's no better time to bust out the Crock Pot. As an added bonus, the slow-cooker is one of the most energy-efficient devices in the kitchen. According to Planet Green: "When compared to a conventional oven which uses 2.7 pounds of CO2 for one hour of use, a slow cooker uses .9 pounds of CO2 for seven hours of use." The Daily Green offers some slow-cooker Thanksgiving recipes here.
Money - Fresh Greens
