Monthly Archives: November 2008

A few weeks ago I talked about laws that made it illegal to wear baggy pants in public.  It made me shake my head a lot but I quickly forgot about it until a couple of days ago.  Some relatives are visiting from out of town and I got to hear that where they’re from it’s illegal to buy anything but food in some stores before a certain time of day.  Apparently, you can shop at their 24-hour Wal-mart at …

As the dust of election week settles it occurs to me that it’s great to live in America.  Seriously.  I don’t think there’s probably a person out there who’s 100% happy with how every race and every measure on the ballot turned out.  Regardless, though, you have to admire the system.  A lot of people have talked about the wonders of the peaceful transfer of power and that can’t be overemphasized.  It is a great thing that leadership changes by …

Last time we discussed some of the benefits of the bailout plan for homeowners, stockholders, and bank patrons.  The bailout has a great many other things to offer the consumer. Your Taxes There are several other tax advantages that are built into the bailout.  For instance, the AMT tax system has increased the exemptions for couples and singles.  The new exemption for couples is $69,950, and for singles it is $44,350.  These are increases of $3,700 and $1,850, respectively. Tax …

So the bailout finally arrived and, if you’re like most people, you haven’t a clue what that means for the consumer.  You’ve likely heard that the bailout will help banks stabilize and encourage banks to really start lending again, which is great if you want to buy a car or a house.  But, what if you’re not in the market to buy?  What are you getting out of this?  If things go according to plan, the answer is: plenty. Your …