Become a Patron! One of the most interesting things about the US banking system is just how decentralized it is. While most developed nations have just a handful of major banks, the United States pairs those nationwide behemoths with thousands of smaller banks and credit unions that may serve an area as small as a single city or county. Of course, in the 21st century … [Read more...] about Oregon first-time home buyer savings accounts: is the juice worth the squeeze?
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Personal finance during the pandemic
Become a Patron! As you may have heard, the world is in the throes of a new, as-yet-untreatable, easily-communicable, fairly-deadly virus. I'm not going to tell you to wash your hands, stay home, maintain physical distance, etc. You already know that, unless you're a dedicated OANN viewer. Instead, I want to share a few suggestions about how I'm thinking about the pandemic … [Read more...] about Personal finance during the pandemic
The more unrealistic your goals are, the more of them you need
I got to thinking the other day, as I so often do, after seeing somebody toss off a joke on Twitter. The gag is an asset manager being told by a prospective client, "I need real, net of fee returns of 8%, so I don’t think you are a fit." The asset manager drily replies in .gif form, "Correct." My immediate response was not to the "realistic" or "unrealistic" element of an 8% … [Read more...] about The more unrealistic your goals are, the more of them you need
Five questions about immigration
Immigration has emerged somewhat abruptly and I gather somewhat unexpectedly as a major political issue in 2018 due to the president's decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which offered work permits and reprieve from deportation to immigrants who entered the United States without authorization as children (this group of immigrants is sometimes … [Read more...] about Five questions about immigration
How Ron Johnson’s weird idea for corporate tax reform might work
Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin announced last week that he couldn’t support the Senate tax reform bill because it failed to align the treatment of corporate income (which is taxed once when it’s recorded as profit and again when distributed to shareholders) with “passthrough” income, which is taxed only when it is reported on an individual taxpayer’s return. Rather than … [Read more...] about How Ron Johnson’s weird idea for corporate tax reform might work