Passing the Week. . . .

Posted by Bruce Mc on Nov 9, 2008 in Opinions, Week in review | 3 comments

            Well this is hit, as with the election much has come to pass and I am sure much is being missed. So here I will try and direct a path to some things (mostly other articles) that are most assuredly interesting reads. What you walk away with having read all my suggestions is going to depend on your own open mindedness.

            I have tried very hard not to seem one-sided in this election. I have been asked a lot of my opinion of who to vote for, based solely on tax issues. It is my opinion that basing my vote on just tax issues is an error and should be by you too.

            However you or I voted, we have our next president. Like a new tax preparer you have just hired after using the same person for years, give him a chance before you say he was the wrong choice. Let us see what he does.

            The Wall Street Journal has an opinion article written by Jeffrey Scott Shapiro that I found interesting titled The Treatment of Bush Has Been a Disgrace What must our enemies be thinking?  He brings up a few interesting points about our current President.

            “Mr. Obama won it the old-fashioned way: he earned it. He confounded history to get it. And because he replaces a president whose unpopularity has impeded his ability to govern, he is, in a way, president from day one.”  A Quote from Peggy Noonan in her article The Children Are Watching America makes history, but the mandate is for moderation.

            And many have said Sara Palin is great. I have even heard people say that they were voting for her. (Yes even though she was the VP nominee.) So what about her now? Again I direct you to the Wall Street Journal and their article Palin and the GOP.

            President elect, now has a new site, www.change.gov. if you wanna now what is going on then this is an interesting site. As for his tax “agenda”, go to

http://www.change.gov/agenda/taxes/.

            With tax season coming up a great reminder to everyone who files a return is to keep a copy of your return. This is perfectly discussed in this post from TWTP in his post KEEP A COPY

            Getting on with the tax and finance world I have a new blog that I have been trying to follow amongst everything else I have going on now. Please venture over to check out A Personal Finance Guide.

            There have been some talks about a new stimulus coming our way. I have even heard that “our leaders” are hoping to get it worked out before the reins are handed over to the new administration. Something I have noticed in this is the first one was a cost of 180 billion dollars, the one being discussed now is only 50 billion dollars. Keep that in mind please as you try and figure your next check from our government. For more on this please head over to Don’t mess with Taxes in her post New stimulus plan: tax cuts, not rebates.

            Also see The Next Economic Stimulus Payment a great post with great links on this subject. Do read the links as well.

How President Elect Obama’s Administration Will Affect Your Finances » is a great piece by Patrick from Cash Money Life. If you haven’t been keeping up with things Patrick is doing some great posting.

            A note from Joe Kristen gives a look at a scary thought in his post You don’t think House Democrats are serious about getting rid of 401(k) plans? Which is preceded with The campaign to ‘protect’ you from your 401(k) plan. Be sure to click the links within those post.

            taxgirl endorses Obama, is a post that is a great read, I also urge you to read the comments for this post.

            Peter from The Tax Lawyers blog gives a great and to the point look at Taxes 101: What Filing Status Should you Use? Also from Peter and a must read for everyone (my opinion) is his post 5 Most Earth Shattering Tax Opinions Ever Written. Go there, now.

            The Wondering Tax Pro gives us a look at WHAT THE IRS WILL BE UP TO NEXT YEAR. Robert also answers a very common Question in his post ASK THE TAX PRO – MARRIAGE AND FORM W-4.

            I also want to thank TWTP for introducing me to The Baglady and would like to point out that he has a guest post there that is a must read by all. Please check out Gift Tax 101.

            Looking for a book to read?  Living Almost Large has a book review of what sounds to be a very interesting discussion of how wealth was created in the modern world.  Looking at the historical aspects of wealth and what contributed to our current economic societies and norms. For the review go to Book Review: Birth of Plenty.

            From Wide Open Wallet comes a few post I think most should read. In her post Stuck in the middle she discusses something I am willing to bet is very common in households today, spending less than last year. More consideration now on lower cost of necessities. And two other post for those of you with children. How do you teach value? I am a big advocate of teaching children the value of things, money being a top 10 item. Kids and the economic crisis. In my efforts you can’t help but bring up the current economic situation.