The voters spoke. The number of people dependent on the federal government (our tax $$) to pay some or all of their way will continue to grow. Wage and investment income earners will be asked to pay thousands of dollars in additional taxes ($3,500+ average per family) annually to allow this to continue to happen and expand.
Report: Enough Spent on Welfare Programs in 2011 to Write Every Poor Household a $59,523 Check
Five Financial Issues:
- Fiscal Cliff - Tax rates (income, capital gain, dividend and estate) will skyrocket if new legislation isn’t passed. How Much Could the “Fiscal Cliff” Tax Increases Cost You?
- Low interest rates choke senior's fixed income and lifestyle – tough to live on CD interest paying 1%- Four years ago a 3-year CD paid 2.9%, in 2012 it pays half that rate.
- $16 trillion National Debt – This is on pace to be $20 million by the end of the next four-year term. This will hurt the nation’s credit rating and eventually cause our U.S. Treasury rates to go higher. Higher bond rates mean a decrease in the value of bonds and bond mutual funds.
- Inflation – As the federal reserve continues to print massive amounts of money (stimulus plans) our dollar weakens in value and everything (gas prices averaged $1.85 four years ago) gets more expensive.
- Healthcare –Obamacare was the largest tax increase ever passed. Insurance premiums are not called a tax, but the effect is the same: the average family’s annual medical premium rose $2,500 in just the past four years. Look for this pattern to continue. I also expect many employers to cut staff and reduce full-time people to fewer than 30 hours per week so that they are no longer are eligible for employer paid medical benefits.
We are working hard to create practical solutions to these issues.
