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Taxes

Five Problems and Five Good Things

August 11, 2010
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On this day in 1974, Richard Nixon resigned as President of the U.S., to be replaced by Gerald Ford, who had replaced Spiro Agnew as Vice President after Agnew resigned amid criminal charges of tax evasion and money laundering. Thus Ford became the only U.S. President who was elected neither President nor Vice President, while Nixon, who was (and remains) the only person to be elected twice to both offices, became (and remains) the only President to resign! But at least one of Nixon’s greatest achievements has born wonderful fruit.  When Sino-Soviet relations began to deteriorate, Nixon saw the...

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Calvin Coolidge on Taxes

April 15, 2010
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Calvin Coolidge on Taxes

Since today is Tax Day (ugh), I wanted to give you something to think about. Here’s a quote from a speech Calvin Coolidge (the 30th President of the United States) gave back on February 12, 1924 where he discussed his proposed bill to slash certain taxes that was pending before Congress. But this post isn’t about the politics of cutting tax rates–the speech really gave insight into the relationships of tax rates, the economy and Federal revenues. As a disclaimer, this is NOT a political talking point on my end; it’s a reasoned economic argument that rarely gets mentioned...

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Johnson & Johnson Follow-Up

January 20, 2010
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Johnson & Johnson Follow-Up

Last week, I wrote about Casey Johnson, the great-great granddaughter of the founder of Johnson & Johnson (JNJ).  Among your insightful responses was this one, from a reader who’s a Financial Advisor in the Northwestern Mutual Financial Network. “If Casey Johnson was single at the time of her death–and I think she was–and with no current federal estate tax in 2010, she may well be the first famous “name” to entirely escape federal death taxes. (Her estate would still be exposed to state of California inheritance or California estate taxes). “And while Congress will supposedly resurrect the federal estate...

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Health Care, Politics and Education

November 30, 2009
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Health Care, Politics and Education

Today’s post contains a lot of little ideas that I assembled last week; in fact, I nearly titled it potpourri, but I was put off by the association with aromatic plant material, not to mention the fact that in French, the term means “rotten pot.” Upon further reflection, I realized the common theme uniting these elements is the theme of personal responsibility.  So here we go. Last week, I received a notice informing me that Cabot’s medical insurance premiums would go up next year.  No surprise there.  It happens every year.  What shocked me, however, was the amount of...

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The Economics of Legal Marijuana

October 28, 2009
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The Economics of Legal Marijuana

On Saturday, Sunday and Monday, one week ago, here’s what happened. On Saturday, the New York Times ran a story on the drug wars in Mexico, describing how the power of the criminal gangs often outweighs the power of the law enforcers. It’s a big problem, and the violence has increased since President Felipe Calderon launched an army-led assault on the cartels soon after taking office in late 2006.  More than 14,000 people have died in drug-related violence in Mexico since. The Mexican gangs, of course, are just trying to make a living by serving the demands of a...

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