Posted May 28, 2009 - 07:10 by Philip Brewer
Personal Finance
Having a prosperous country (as opposed to having merely a prosperous elite) depends fundamentally on the rule of law. The system can work adequately well with various sets of rules, as long as they're known in advance and fairly applied. During hard times, though, there's a strong temptation to ignore the rules in a search for a less-bad result. Both borrowers and lenders need to watch out.
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Posted April 15, 2009 - 13:18 by Xin Lu
Personal Finance, Taxes, Credit Cards
Today is April 15th, also known as the dreaded Tax Day in America. Due to the recession many people may find that they do not have enough money in the bank to pay what they owe. Instead of marching in the various "tea parties" happening today, this is what you can do if you find that you do not have enough money to pay Uncle Sam.
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Posted March 31, 2009 - 21:37 by Xin Lu
Personal Finance, Taxes, Consumer Affairs, Cars and Transportation
This week President Obama rolled out an initiative for the failing American automakers to restructure. The plan proposes several consumer incentives to jumpstart auto sales. Here are some details on the financial incentives you can expect if you buy a new car this year.
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Posted March 9, 2009 - 23:46 by Nora Dunn
Lifestyle, Green Living, Consumer Affairs
Do you know the difference between planned and perceived obsolescence?
Do you know why high heels are fashionable with chunky heels one year, and thin heels the next year?
Why is breast milk the “food” highest in toxic contaminants?
And do you know why in the wake of September 11th, George Bush told us all to go shopping?
These questions and many, many others are answered in The Story of Stuff, a 20-minute documentary about the life cycle of products and services, explaining everything about…well…stuff.
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Posted January 22, 2009 - 14:10 by Xin Lu
Personal Finance, Making Extra Cash
The Census Bureau produces an important set of demographics data about the United States every ten years. The 2010 Census is coming up soon and the Bureau is hiring thousands of temporary workers to help with data gathering. The recruitment starts now.
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Posted November 25, 2008 - 15:17 by Xin Lu
Personal Finance, Credit Cards, Consumer Affairs
Today a new rescue program called the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF) was announced by the Treasury and Federal Reserve to support owners of securities backed by credit card debt, student loans, auto loans, and loans approved by the Small Business Administration. Supposedly this initiative will free up consumer credit, but the question is, are we really in need of more debt right now?
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Posted October 20, 2008 - 13:48 by Xin Lu
Taxes, Consumer Affairs
2008 will probably go down in history as the year of bailouts, crashes, and meltdowns. Here is a quick run down of all the laws and bills congress pushed through with lightning speed in this election year. With two months left in the year, we may see some more bailouts and stimulus packages to come.
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Posted October 1, 2008 - 11:08 by Paul Michael
Personal Finance, Credit Cards, Consumer Affairs
Well folks, I hope you have plenty of time on your hands. The initial 3-page document that Bush and Paulson put forward has grown somewhat. It's hardly surprising, considering how much of a broad sweep the initial bailout plan was. However, you have to wonder how many people out there have the time, patience and understanding to read a 451-page economic document. But, if you want, you can download it right here.
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Posted September 23, 2008 - 10:21 by Philip Brewer
Real Estate and Housing
Several times recently, Treasury Secretary Paulson (and many others) have claimed that the "root cause" of the current financial crisis is "the housing correction." This is completely wrong--and unless policy makers realize that it's completely wrong, they're not likely to make the right policy decisions.
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Posted September 22, 2008 - 18:36 by Xin Lu
Personal Finance, Consumer Affairs
About a year ago I wrote an article about the Consumer Price Index that made some friends say that I am a conspiracy theorist, but apparently I am not alone in believing that the government reports statistics that are far from reality. John Williams is an Oakland based economist who has been running the website Shadow Government Statistics for more than five years, and he reports an alternate set of statistics based on his research. He believes that the government has been painting a rosy picture of the economy for many years, and his set of numbers are quite alarming if you believe it.
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