Welcome to the end of the week and another edition of Happy Hour! Just sit back, relax, and enjoy your end of the week roundup of all things interesting in the land of money.
Stagnation
The Tax Foundation released its summary of federal income tax data. It’s a jumble of tables, numbers and percentages that show a major issue – income stagnation. Even though income and taxes increased for the year in question.
Over the past decade, income has been relatively stagnant. Meaning it just kept up with inflation, nothing more. Which you can speculate as a contributing factor to the excessive debt taken out during that same period. Which isn’t a good thing. Our economy requires two things to grow – lower unemployment and higher wages. The former is slowly improving, the latter needs some help.
Getting Better
Charlie Rose interviewed Warren Buffett and Carol Loomis this past Monday. The first few minutes Warren pushes his higher taxes agenda. But it gets better after, covering past and present topics. As usual, it’s a 54 minute lesson filled with a wealth of insight for anyone looking to invest. One thing to note, after the dismal topic above, even Warren believes the economy is getting better.
Last Call
- Mutual Fund Expenses – Where Real Holiday Savings Can be Found – your current bargain hunting mentality should be extended toward investments too. High costs still hurt returns.
- Value Trap or Real Value Stock? What is the Difference? – value traps hurt returns too. It helps to know what to watch for during the research process.
- Racing to Beat the Clock on the Dividend Cliff – it’s a good generalization of the dividend cliff. Yes, some companies will cut dividends should tax rates rise. But those companies that have a historical track record for raising the dividend despite the tax rate, will continue to do so.
