Many Taxpayers Overlook AMT

Many taxpayers don’t ever consider checking to see if they fall into the AMT. In fact, many don’t even know what it is.

Those that attempt to figure it out, often get confused by the calculations and simply assume that they don’t owe it.

“Many taxpayers are unaware that the AMT applies to them until they receive a notice from the IRS, and some discover they have AMT liabilities that they did not anticipate and cannt pay,” said Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson in a report to a congressional subcommittee last year.

While the instructions for Form 1040’s line 45 (where you enter your AMT amount) require taxpayers to fill out fairly simple worksheet, the taxpayer ahs to read 16 exceptions to that worksheet that refer the taxpayer to go directly to Form 6251to figure potential AMT liability.

Many don’t know where to even go for the form, as they simply picked up a 1040 and started filling it out as usual.

One of the exceptions is “interest paid on a mortgage not used to buy, build or substantially improve your home.” Does this mean that home equity loan that consolidated the credit cards?

“There’s no one thing that one can say for sure ‘this is going to be an AMT problem,” said Mark Luscombe, a principal analyst with CCH.

Many are shocked to find that they are in the AMT. After all, it was originally intended to stop the wealthy from avoiding their income taxes.

“You don’t have to be making a lot of money to fall into the alt-min anymore,” said Barbara Steinmetz, a certified financial planner. “Property taxes help boost you there. State income taxes help boost you there.”

“If you are working through the 1040 and you go line by line, you shouldn’t miss it,” says the IRS.

The AMT currently traps high-income taxpayers with difficult tax situations. Most of these are aware of the issue, because they have their tax returns prepared professionally.

Without yearly patches on the AMT, millions of middle-income families could be subject to the parallel tax.

“It’s like watching a horror movie and there’s this slow moving creature that’s about to consume the middle class,” said Len Burman of the Urban Institute and the Tax Policy Center.

Martin Lukac represents http://www.RateEmpire.com and http://www.1AmericanFinancial.com, a finance web-company specializing in real estate and mortgage rates. We specialize in daily updates, mortgage news, rate predictions, mortgage rates and more. Find low home loan mortgage interest rates from hundreds of mortgage companies!

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For anyone who has ever been in a serious debt, getting the credit card company or any other creditors to reduce or even cancel your debt is like the best thing that could ever happen to you and your family. You record will be cleaned, and you no longer will have the burden of all that debt hanging on your shoulders. Often, people don’t realize that if they’re not careful, and do not prepare properly, then they are actually setting themselves up for a potential IRS trouble. The fact is, the IRS considers the reduced or cancelled debt as taxable income, thus, you will be required to pay taxes on this. So the next time you avail of this benefit, make certain that you understand that you will be partly indebted to the IRS for this. That is the general guideline concerning this matter.

A number of years ago, getting a loan or having credit card applications approved was relatively easy. Because of this, many people become impulsive buyers and irrational spenders. People forget to consider their financial capacity and just went on buying off things.

Banks are aware that they do not have the legal authority to send people to jail just because of a massive debt. Hence, in certain situations, they hire private agencies to collect from delinquent borrowers. The amount that shall be paid to these agencies will depend upon the collections. Let’s now go back to the topic on reduced debts. Take for example the case of someone whose debt of $20,000 was reduced to $10,000 as the other half was forgiven. In this case, you will be required to pay taxes on $10,000 as that will form part of your income.

You cannot evade paying taxes on a tax reduction as a copy of your Form 1099-C will be forwarded by your creditors to the IRS. The IRS considers this as “other income”, which gets reported on line 21 of tax Form 1040. The problem gets magnified because you’ll now be required to pay a huge percentage of the $10,000 to the IRS. This is aside from being required to pay for your regular and state taxes. This case is a good example of why first and foremost, there is a need to understand the effects of a reduced debt. Your debts to your creditors maybe eliminated, but these are transferred to the IRS. One thing remains: you’re the still the one who will pay for those debts.

Unlike regular creditors, the government can send you to jail if you consistently don’t settle your taxes. It’s fortunate, however, that certain measures are available to help those who are in need. For example, if the creditor of your home forgave $100,000 from your total debt of $200,000, naturally, $100,000 will be reported to the IRS as part of your “other income.” With such an amount of money to pay taxes on, it is rather likely that you will be bumping into an IRS trouble. Fortunately in 2007, Congress has made a law specifying that tax reductions amounting to a maximum of $2 million and attached to your primary residence are to be excluded from your 2007, 2008 and 2009 tax returns. In our scenario above, you will be exempted from paying taxes on the tax reduction because of this new law. On another light, the IRS also provides a number of remedies for tax payments on reduced debt. Prior to availing any of these, make sure that you have asked assistance from a tax attorney or a CPA.

Darrin T. Mish is a Nationally recognized Attorney whose practice focuses on representing clients across the United States with IRS Problems. He is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbel and is a member of the American Society of IRS Problem Solvers and the Tax Freedom Institute. He has been honored by a listing in Martindale-Hubbel’s Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers. His passion is providing IRS help to taxpayers with both individual and payroll tax problems. He teaches attorneys, CPAs and Enrolled Agents in the finer aspects of IRS representation all around the United States. He can be reached at his website at http://www.getIRShelp.com

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As you start high school, plan activities and sports that will make you look your best to the college you eventually want to attend. If you have many talents and interests, be sure to keep your grades up, and achieve at high levels tax your activities.

Starting in the 9th grade and working through the 12th grade, some of the special classes and activities that show you have special talents and abilities include:

Writing

Join the staff of the yearbook or the school newspaper staff. Enter writing and essay contests. Compose speeches for contests and debate tournaments.

Art, photography and Drama

Enroll in special design, drawing, painting, ceramic, and pottery classes. Act in school plays, musicals, and in community theaters. Work on the photo staff of the yearbook or the school newspaper. Publish in city or local newspapers. Win awards at local art shows and county fairs.

Music

Participate in school orchestras, bands, choirs, madrigal groups, musicals, junior symphonies, summer music camps, music award competitions, and church choirs.

Science

Join the radio, science, math and engineering clubs. Participate in regional and national math tournaments and science competitions and fairs. You can win prizes and awards. Subscribe to science magazines or read them at the library.

Sports

Be an active team player in the events you like best. Follow a regular training program to develop above average skills.

Agriculture

Join Future Farmers of America, FFA, or 4-H Clubs. Enter state and county fairs to gain awards, prizes, and recognition.

Home Economics

Work hard and compete for awards and prizes at county, state and national fairs. Offer to help a local business in your area of interest.

Technical Arts

Volunteer for experience at auto and body shops, metal shops, manufacturers, and engineering or architectural firms. Schools offer job training through Regional partnership Programs, ROP, work experience, often for credit, or apprentice training programs.

Business

Participate in Future Business Leaders of America, FBLA, Distributive Education Clubs of America, DECA, Junior Achievement, and Regional Occupational Programs. Try working in the Work Experience program or as a summer intern to see if you will really like a particular career.

Leadership

Become an Eagle Scout, or join clubs such as Junior Statesman or Key Club. Apply to be a legislative page. Work for your senator, congressman, assemblyman, city councilman, or for local civic and charitable organizations.

Keep track of your high school courses and activities A scrap book for newspaper clippings and awards will give you a wonderful diary for your future life, and will help you fill out your resume your senior year.

Helen Heron is a dedicated educator, author and publisher. She graduated from Pomona College, received her teaching credentials from UC Berkeley and is a Reading Specialist. She taught high school in Livermore, CA for thirty-five years, and retired as “Teacher of the Millennium”! She partnership given presentations all over the world, including talks at the World Council on Gifted and Talented Children at The Hague and Hong Kong. Her most recent presentation was at the Mensa World Gathering in Orlando in August 2006. Ms Heron has just published the newly revised 5th edition of College Countdown, A Planning Guide for High School Students, Contact her at info@heronpub.com or through http://www.heronpub.com

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The Mileage Tax Deduction Can Save You a Lot of Money

How often are you driving for work, as a volunteer or perhaps even moving? Would you say that nearly all of your driving is done for one of these reasons? If not, consider, the times you leave the office for business reasons, or if you work from home, leave and return home for business reasons. What about those trips you take if you haul the kids’ baseball team somewhere – or help out at your church?

All of these miles that you drive are deductible for tax purposes. As of July 1, 2008, the standard rate is also increased to $0.585 per mile ($0.19 for volunteer and moving miles). The IRS does require logs of miles to be kept for your records – and in case of an audit. You may find that by keeping logs up-to-date, at the end of the year you will have significantly more miles accounted for deduction purposes than if you are more lax in your record keeping.

The cost of driving a vehicle has skyrocketed in the past few years. Gasoline costs alone carve into business and household budgets in ways you could not have expected in the past. The driving you do to earn a living is a significant cost and Congress has recognized the importance of this deduction as a vital means for people to continue to pursue their incomes.

The tax code requires only that expenses are ordinary and necessary. It is not required that you show that the specific reasons for the expense are also ordinary and necessary – only that the expenses are both. So, for example, if you work from home and will be needing new paper for your printer in the near future, but decide to pick it up while you are out grocery shopping, both the expense for the paper itself, and driving to where you purchase it are deductible – wow!

Since the mileage expense to drive to the office supply store is ordinary and necessary, the mileage is deductible – in spite of the personal purchases you made while shopping. You have just converted an otherwise non-deductible trip to the store into a fully deductible business trip. There are many other opportunities available to you that you may not have thought about to take advantage of this deduction.

The mileage tax deduction, like many others deductions, can be calculated for free at TurboTax Online. The only time you are asked to pay for the service is if you decide to print or efile. Or, if you still have questions, visit Elusen Tax Advisors! Elusen has years of experience planning and advising clients on their tax needs, and helping fend off the IRS however necessary.

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This is the time of year when all Americans think about their tax situation and what they might do differently to reduce their heavy tax burden. There is a record of an ancient civilization that was required to pay 50% of their earnings to their captors. They considered themselves in bondage. And yet, many Americans who earn over $100,000 per year pay far more than that in federal and state income tax, sales tax, social security tax, property tax and excise taxes.

I’m not against paying taxes for necessary government services. To the contrary. What I am opposed to is paying a dime more than I have to. But MOST OF YOU are paying far more than you have to. Why? In most cases, it’s simply because you are getting poor tax advice.

The reality is that the Internal Revenue Code is full of opportunities to reduce your taxes. I have spent almost 30 years pouring through the Code and learning all of these opportunities. And I am continually learning new ways to reduce taxes. It’s all a matter of understanding the law and applying it the way Congress intended. That’s right, Congress intended to provide tax benefits to individuals and companies who behave a certain way. Why? Simply because Congress has long used the Internal Revenue Code as a way to promote social, energy and economic policies.

But how do you know if your tax advisor is giving you the best advice? Unless you are legally paying no taxes, you really don’t. The answer, quite frankly, is to have another, experienced tax advisor review your tax returns from prior years and your current tax situation. It may be that when you were a simple wage earner that there were few ways to reduce your taxes. But now you are in business or you are investing in real estate. What’s happened is that YOU HAVE OUTGROWN YOUR TAX ADVISOR!

Before you commit to another advisor, have them review your situation. Don’t expect that they will give you free advice. But find out if they think they can do something different. Just the other day while reviewing a tax return I found $60,000 of taxes that a prospective client was paying that we could easily eliminate. What would you do if I found $60,000 of ANNUAL tax savings for you? I hope you would jump on this opportunity immediately.

Whatever you do, remember that “if you always do what you have always done, you will always get what you have always got!”

Tom Wheelwright is not only the founder and CEO of Provision, but he is the creative force behind Provision Wealth Strategists. In addition to his management responsibilities, Tom likes to coach clients on wealth, business, and tax strategies. Along with his frequent seminars on such strategies, Tom is an adjunct professor in the Masters of Tax program at Arizona State University. For more information, please visit http://www.provisionwealth.com

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Contrary to popular belief, the IRS cannot seize everything you own. The IRS won’t leave you in a dark room with nothing but the clothes on your back. Although the IRS would love to do so- they cannot seize everything you own (Internal Revenue Code 6334). They have to leave you basic necessities because it’s the law. (And not because they have a heart.)

Basic Necessities: The IRS can not seize the following

Wearing Apparel

Basic Clothing. This does not include luxury clothing like name brands. That means no expensive Louis Vuitton purses or saber toothed tiger fur coats for the ladies.

School books

It would be hard for the IRS to trade these in for much money anyway.

Fuel Provisions and Furniture

If you travel for your work (Ex. You’re a traveling salesman) the IRS can’t seize the extra money you’ll need for gas. The IRS also has to leave you with a chair to sit on.

Tools for work

The IRS wants you to keep working. How else will you pay your IRS Debt?

Unemployment Benefits & Workers Compensation Benefits

Get back on your feet. Then pay the IRS.

Railroad retirement act and congressional medal of honor benefits

All other pensions and retirement plans are fair game.

Most public assistance payments, such as Welfare and SSI

You’d better hope the IRS doesn’t find a loophole that lets them touch one of these payments.

They Can Seize just about everything you have that they don’t consider a “basic necessity”. Luxury items will be the first things that the IRS seizes. This includes cars, boats, motor homes, etc. As an IRS-Hitman my personal favorite was targeting safety deposit boxes. Even your family heirlooms aren’t safe from seizure.

Prove it! It boils down to this. If you can prove you need an item, the IRS will not seize it. But be realistic about this. You won’t be able to prove you need a yacht! But if you can prove you use your 2nd car for your construction business, it’s not likely to be seized. Fight back, and protect everything you can.

Now You Have the Smoking Gun…Use it!

Richard Close was an IRS-Hitman. He was a revenue officer who took out anyone that owed the IRS money. He left that behind and now helps thousands of Americans beat Uncle Sam and save thousands of dollars. The IRS-Hitman can help you with your tax debt problems. He has partnered with Tax Defense Network to offer free advice and tips on removing wage, bank, and tax levies; and arms you with the skills to slash your tax debt. Visit at: http://www.irs-tax-levy-hq.com Contact: http://www.taxdefensenetwork.com or call 1-888-248-9058

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No other nationality tolerates the negativity of historical information about itself more than the American-Italians.

There are about 25 million American Italians in the USA. The 25,000 Mafia members are obviously in the great minority. If any other nationality was depicted in the media the way American Italians are there would be congressional hearings, widely covered protests in the media, and lawsuits. Yet the Sopranos and HBO gained widespread popularity as Italians remained silent.

WHY?

Italians had to strive to become real Americans as did other groups. They are NOT the guys you normally see on TV. Someone once said: “Italian-Americans live their life like they were filming it.” We are all a little different so we should celebrate the talents we have, and face some facts too. The Baby Boomer generation consists of many second and third generation Americans from the roots of Ellis Island. These American-Italians preferred the “American” touch and influence on things rather than the Italian-American model. They simply wanted to blend. Other nationalities share this quality. You learned English in school or you got your ass in a sling. In that partnership to become American, the diverse regional Italian languages and culture were generally not passed down. It is partnership this approach to becoming “Americanized” that I always refer to us as American Italians rather than Italian Americans.

In general, it could be said that the American-Italians are simply easy pickings for the media. “The HBO network and its series “The Sopranos (2000- 2007)” are guilty of defaming and assassinating the cultural character of Italian Americans by using their religion, customs and values in a violent and immoral context that damages the image and reputations of an estimated 25 million Americans of Italian descent, the nation’s fifth largest ethnic minority.” (from the Italian American Web Site of New York) Not to mention: The Godfather (1972) ,Goodfellas (1990), The Godfather Part II (1974), Donnie Brasco (1997), Scarface (1983), A Bronx Tale (1993), and The Untouchables (1987).
The Japanese Yakuza, the Hong Kong Triads, and the Russian Mafia have never attracted the media attention in comparison to La Cosa Nostra.

There is no denying the Mafia is criminal and widespread. Here is an excerpt from the FBI Italian Organized Crime Page: “Since their appearance in the 1800s, the Italian criminal societies known as the Mafia have infiltrated the social and economic fabric of Italy and now impact the world. They are some of the most notorious and widespread of all criminal societies.”

There are several groups currently active in the U.S.: the Sicilian Mafia; the Camorra or Neapolitan Mafia; the ‘Ndrangheta or Calabrian Mafia; and the Sacra Corona Unita or United Sacred Crown. It is estimated the four groups have approximately 25,000 members total, with 250,000 affiliates worldwide. There are more than 3,000 members and affiliates in the U.S., scattered mostly throughout the major cities in the Northeast, the Midwest, California, and the South. partnership largest presence centers around New York, southern New Jersey, and Philadelphia.

A new five-year study conducted by the Italic Studies Institute maintains that this has been the predominant image of Italian Americans in films for more than 70 years. The Institute, based in Floral Park, N.Y., found that 40% of the 1220 films produced in the United States since 1928 that featured Italian American themes depicted Italian Americans as gangsters.

The report found that other film portrayals of Italian Americans are often negative, even when they’re not being depicted as gangsters.

“Results of the research reveal a consistently negative attitude toward Italian Americans and Italian culture in general (69%),” the report said. “Images of Italians as violent criminals predominate (40%), followed by portrayals of boors, buffoons, bigots and bimbos (29%), as compared to images of Italians as positive, heroic or complex roles (31%).”
According to the report, “The figures clearly indicate an entrenched, institutionalized bias against Americans of Italian descent in the entertainment industry. The diversity of the Italian American experience has been obscured through an obsession with negative, one-dimensional stereotypes, equating Italian culture with criminality.”

An American Italian from Buffalo, NY just started “The Mob Tours” in Niagara Falls, NY. where you can learn the history of Stefano “The Undertaker” Magaddino and take a 90 minute tour for “crime lovers”. I think I am going to be sick. This news prompted me the write this article. Enough is enough.

How is it that out of 25 million American Italians such a small number of “Mafioso” gain so much attention? It is because the groups that protest this widespread defamation of character has been relatively ineffective. Many American Italian actors and businessmen participate in the movies and portrayals.

If they would take a stand maybe some attention would be drawn to this. I am sure we are all well aware of the many American Italian Doctors, Lawyers, Policemen, Fireman, Teachers, Musicians, and those in Business and the Arts feel a little sad when the media turns out more and more slaps at their heritage. Certainly, we are good for more than crime and Pizza. It’s time we let America know that we are not going to take it anymore.

Charles Priore
Italian American Baby Boomers Club
IABBC.com

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There are certain rules regarding Roth IRA investing, but there are tax variety of investment types that are allowed. Many people are unaware of investing IRA money in taxes estate, because typically a brokerage or a bank is handling their account.

Anyone will tell you that diversification is a must. But, then they will turn around and limit your investment choices. It is not uncommon for a person to believe that they are limited by tax laws or IRA regulations.

The truth is that it is usually the company that is handling your account that makes a lot of the limitations. There are some laws that apply to Roth IRA investing, but they are relatively simple. Let’s look first at the allowable investment types.

Instead of listing what is allowed when investing IRA money. Congress decided to list those investment types that are “not” allowed. They include antiques, artworks, rugs, metals, gems, stamps, coins, alcoholic beverages and certain other “tangible” personal property. That “tangible” personal property means personal items like fur coats, rare books, etc.

So for regular or Roth IRA investing, you can consider commercial or residential real estate, raw or undeveloped land, real estate notes, promissory notes, tax liens, foreign currencies, oil and gas, private stock offerings, judgments, taxes bullion and other less traditional investment vehicles.

Limiting yourself by investing IRA money strictly in stocks, bonds and certificates of deposit could be a mistake. This is especially true today, since the market is so unstable.

Real estate has always been considered a good investment, but the market has been largely untapped by retirement account holders. Even many well-educated accountants are not aware that with a 401k, traditional or Roth IRA investing in real estate “is” allowed.

Now, this is a good time to mention that there are some “prohibited” transactions, under the law, that relate “self-dealing” or indirectly benefitting from your Roth IRA investing choices. Let’s look at them.
You cannot borrow money from the account or loan money to it. Your account cannot hold the deed to the house that you live in or one that you plan to reside in at a future date. You cannot even take a vacation in a property owned by the account.

The basic idea is that any investing IRA or any approved retirement account funds should benefit your future financial wealth, not provide benefit to you or you descendants today. So, your account cannot hold deed to the houses that your sons and daughters live in. Nor can you or they rent office space in a building held within the account.

There are other “disqualified persons” when it comes to traditional or Roth IRA investing. They include your parents, grandparents and great grandparents, as well as grand children and great grand children, and all of their spouses. They are not allowed to receive an indirect benefit from an investment vehicle.

If you don’t follow the rules for investing IRA funds, your account could lose its tax-free status. So, get as much education as you can, especially if you are considering self-managed Roth IRA investing. And, if you want to “dabble” in the real estate market, consult some experienced real estate investors, before you begin.

Mark Nenneman is an advocate of IRA investing in Real Estate as a means of taking control of portfolio management. He has invested his own IRA money in Real Estate and has seen fantastic returns on his investments. You can read more about the benefits of IRA investing by going to http://www.ira-private-money-investing.com

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“It is a cruel thought, that, when we feel ourselves standing on the firmest ground in every respect, the cursed arts of our secret enemies, combining with other causes, should effect, by depreciating our money, what the open arms of a powerful enemy could not.” –Thomas Jefferson to Richard Henry Lee, 1779. ME 4:298, Papers 2:298

“Historically, the United States has been a hard money country. Only [since 1913] has the United States operated on a fiat money system. During this period, paper money has depreciated over 87%. During the preceding 140 year period, the hard currency of the United States had actually maintained its value. Wholesale prices in 1913 … were the same as in 1787.” — Kenneth Gerbino, former chairman of the American Economic Council
“We make money the old fashioned way. We print it.” — Art Rolnick, former Chief Economist, Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank

“Paper money has had the effect in your state that it will ever have, to ruin commerce, oppress the honest, and open the door to every species of fraud and injustice.” — George Washington, in a letter to J. Bowen, Rhode Island, Jan. 9, 1787
“Of all contrivances for cheating the laboring classes of mankind, none has been more effective than that which deludes them with paper money.” — Daniel Webster”
“I see in the near future a crisis approaching. It unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country … the Money Power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people, until the wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed.” — Abraham Lincoln, just after the passage of the National Banking Act of 1863

“All the perplexities, confusion and distress in America rise, not from defects in their Constitution or Confederation, not from want of honor or virtue, so much as from downright ignorance of the nature of coin, credit and circulation.” — John Adams, in a letter to Thomas Jefferson in 1787
“Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value – zero.” — Voltaire (1694-1778)
“If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.” — Thomas Jefferson in 1802 in a letter to then Secretary of the Treasury, Albert Gallatin

The value of paper money is precisely the value of a politician’s promise, as high or low as you put that; the value of gold is protected by the inability of politicians to manufacture it. — Sir William Rees-Mogg

The monetary managers are fond of telling us that they have substituted ‘responsible money management’ for the gold standard. But there is no historic record of responsible paper money management … The record taken as a whole is one of hyperinflation, devaluation and monetary chaos. — Henry Hazlitt

“The creation of money exclusively as debt is the critical, destabilizing flaw in the American Economy”. — author Theodore R. Thoren explains The Truth In Money Book.
“The decrease in purchasing power incurred by holders of money due to inflation imparts gains to the issuers of money … .” — St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank in “Review”, Nov. 1975
“You have to choose [as a voter] between trusting to the natural stability of gold and the natural stability of the honesty and intelligence of the members of the Government. And, with due respect for these gentlemen, I advise you, as long as the Capitalist system lasts, to vote for gold.” — George Bernard Shaw

“Without the confidence factor, many believe a paper money system is liable to collapse eventually.” — Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia in “Gold”
“Whoever controls the volume of money in any country is absolute master of all industry and commerce.” — President James A. Garfield
“Those who create and issue money and credit direct the policies of government and hold in the hollow of their hands the destiny of the people.” — Rt. Hon. Reginald McKenna, former Chancellor of Exchequer, England

“If Congress has the right under the Constitution to issue paper money, it was given to be used by themselves, not to be delegated to individuals or corporations.” — Andrew Jackson

QUOTES ON FISCAL AND MONETARY POLICY:

“The budget should be balanced, the treasury should be refilled and the pubic debt should be reduced. The arrogance of public officialdom should be tempered and controlled. And the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed, lest we become bankrupt.” — Cicero, 63 B.C.
“Inflation has now been institutionalized at a fairly constant 5% per year. This has been scientifically determined to be the optimum level for generating the most revenue without causing public alarm. A 5% devaluation applies, not only to the money earned this year, but to all that is left over from previous years. At the end of the first year, a dollar is worth 95 cents. At the end of the second year, the 95 cents is reduced again by 5%, leaving its worth at 90 cents, and so on. By the time a person has worked 20 years, the government will have confiscated 64% of every dollar he saved over those years. By the time he has worked 45 years, the hidden tax will be 90%. The government will take virtually everything a person saves over a lifetime.” — G. Edward Griffin, historian and author of “The Creature From Jekyll Island”

“By a continuing process of inflation, governments can confiscate, secretly and unobserved, an important part of the wealth of their citizens. There is no subtler, no surer means of overturning the existing basis of society than to debauch the currency. The process engages all the hidden forces of economic law on the side of destruction, and does it in a manner which not one man in a million is able to diagnose … If, however, a government refrains from regulations and allows matters to take their course, essential commodities soon attain a level of price out of the reach of all but the rich, the worthlessness of the money becomes apparent, and the fraud upon the public can be concealed no longer.” — John Maynard Keynes, economist and author of “The Economic
Consequences Of The Peace” (1920)

“About all a Federal Reserve note can legally do is wipe out one debt and replace it with itself, another debt, a note that promises nothing. If anything’s been paid, the payment occurs only in the minds of the parties ….” — Tupper Saucy, author of “The Miracle On Main Street”
“… the gold standard is incompatible with chronic deficit spending (the hallmark of the welfare state).” — Greenspan, Alan; “Gold and Economic Freedom”, Rand, Ayn; Capitalism: the Unknown Ideal; Signet Books, 1967; pp96-101. See full text in FAME’s FedWatch section http://www.fame.org/.

QUOTES ON BANKING:

“I sincerely believe … that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies, and that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity under the name of funding is but swindling futurity on a large scale.” — Thomas Jefferson to John Taylor, 1816.
“Banks lend by creating credit. They create the means of payment out of nothing.” — Ralph M. Hawtrey, former Secretary of Treasury, England
“Money is the most important subject intellectual persons can investigate and reflect upon. It is so important that our present civilization may collapse unless it is widely understood and its defects remedied very soon.” — Robert H. Hemphill, former credit manager, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

“Bankers own the earth. Take it away from them, but leave them the power to create money and control credit, and with a flick of a pen they will create enough to buy it back.” — Sir Josiah Stamp, former President, Bank of England
“The Founding Fathers of this great land had no difficulty whatsoever understanding the agenda of bankers, and they frequently referred to them and their kind as, quote, “friends of paper money. They hated the Bank of England, in particular, and felt that even were we successful in winning our independence from England and King George, we could never truly be a nation of freemen, unless we had an honest money system. Through ignorance, but moreover, because of apathy, a small, but wealthy, clique of power brokers have robbed us of our Rights and Liberties, and we are being raped of our wealth. We are paying the price for the near-comatose levels of complacency by our parents, and only God knows what might become of our children, should we not work diligently to shake this country from its slumber! Many a nation has lost its freedom at the end of a gun barrel, but here in America, we just decided to hand it over voluntarily. Worse yet, we paid for the tyranny and usurpation out of our own pockets with “voluntary” tax contributions and the use of a debt-laden fiat currency!.” — Peter Kershaw, author of the 1994 booklet “Economic Solutions”

“The real truth of the matter is, and you and I know, that a financial element in the large centers has owned the government of the U.S. since the days of Andrew Jackson. History depicts Andrew Jackson as the last truly honorable and incorruptible American president.” — President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, November 23, 1933 in a letter to Colonel Edward Mandell House
“The truly unique power of a central bank, after all, is the power to create money, and ultimately the power to create is the power to destroy.” — Pringle, Robert; and Deane, Marjorie: The Central Banks; Viking, 1994, page viii.

“When you or I write a check there must be sufficient funds in our account to cover that check, but when the Federal Reserve writes a check, it is creating money.” — Boston Federal Reserve Bank in a publication titled “Putting It Simply”

“Some people think the Federal Reserve Banks are U.S. government institutions. They are not … they are private credit monopolies which prey upon the people of the U.S. for the benefit of themselves and their foreign and domestic swindlers, and rich and predatory money lenders. The sack of the United States by the Fed is the greatest crime in history. Every effort has been made by the Fed to conceal its powers, but the truth is the Fed has usurped the government. It controls everything here and it controls all our foreign relations. It makes and breaks governments at will.” — Congressman Charles McFadden, Chairman, House Banking and Currency Committee,

June 10, 1932
“.. we conclude that the [Federal] Reserve Banks are not federal … but are independent, privately owned and locally controlled corporations … without day to day direction from the federal government..” — 9th Circuit Court in Lewis vs. United States, June 24, 1982
“… You are a den of vipers and thieves. I intend to rout you out, and by the grace of the Eternal God, I will rout you out.” — President Andrew Jackson, upon evicting a delegation of international bankers from the Oval Office
“Give me control over a nation’s currency and I care not who makes its laws.” — Baron M.A. Rothschild (1744 – 1812)

Submitted by: Regis Sauger (Submitter does not make any claims as to having any input or credits for above quotes which are considered available to the public under the Freedom of Information Act.)

Regis Sauger is a licensed Mortgage Broker in Florida, an author, lecturer on credit awareness. He has conducted seminars for underwriters, attorneys, mortgage lenders, realtors and the general public. http://www.yurcredit.com

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Everybody who even perfunctory follows the news must have heard about the string of terrible financial developments in the United States. More and more investment and banking companies are going bankrupt or are being threatened by spreading credit crisis. This is a spillover effect from excessive lending practices during a prolonged housing bull market, which came to an end as a “bursting bubble” over a year ago.

Now more and more companies find themselves in possession of securities tied directly to mortgages issued during that time. With more and more houses going into foreclosures and loosing value, an increasing number financial instruments are rapidly becoming non performing, or outright worthless. Companies holding them are experiencing losses going into billions of dollars. Some of them are becoming insolvent.

Such was the case with Washington Mutual, which was seized by federal authorities and sold at a bargain price to JP Morgan Chase. Washington Mutual set a sad record, becoming the biggest bank to ever fail in USA. But not the only one lately. So far the crisis has claimed 12 banks, investment banks and even insurance companies, like the industry giant American Insurance Group.

To date US Treasury managed to avoid real disaster by stepping and taking over failing institutions or facilitating financing to keep them alive, by lending money to other companies for purchase of weakened rivals. Intervention has cost Treasury hundreds of billions of dollars, including $25 billion to bailout Bear Sterns, $100 billions each for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, $85 billion for AIG. This list goes on and on.

Now FED is asking congress for additional $700 billions in order to bail out entire financial industry, by establishing a market for mortgage backed securities. Federal authorities would purchase instrument from most at risk firms. That would set some kind of pricing guidelines for all other such securities, making it possible for all holders of such notes to start trading in them again, potentially lowering risk of owning them.

Nobody really knows if this is going to be enough, but the price of such action will be staggering. With the money already spent and the funds requested, the total bill will surely top $1 trillion dollar by a wide margin. This would signal new wave of borrowing by Treasury, which would last for years and push the total debt level into record and uncharted level.

Dollar lost value while all this was unfolding, and is likely to continue slide until congress works out details of this massive funds infusion. After that it will take some time to see if the steps FED is taking are having desired effect. US dollar will probably stay under pressure during this time. One might expect this to continue through the reminder of 2008.

In order to finance rising level of debt, we can expect to see interest rates rise on USD, which would make Treasury paper more attractive. Combined with economic slow down in the rest of the world, this might prove very bullish for dollar going into 2009. This will only be the case if the interest increases are done in a slow, measured pace and not due to some market panic. This particular scenario is compatible with very long term dollar charts.

We should be watching with interest what comes out of the chambers of congress. Once the funding is granted, it will be up to the financial authorities to prove it is money well spent. If it works even half as well as promised, we should see steady appreciation of Dollar in 2009 and perhaps a little longer.

Mike P. Kulej is a Chief Forex Strategist for Spectrum Forex LLC. He specializes in mechanical trading systems as explained on http://www.spectrumforex.com. Spectrum Forex LLC offers numerous services to individual traders. He also publishes trading blog http://www.fxmadness.com. With questions and comments e-mail him at kulej@spectrumforex.com

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