To encourage certain types of investing, the government distinguishes investments by prioritizing tax treatments. The government offers favorable tax treatments for some types of investment over other types of investments. One distinction in the tax code is the tax treatment of capital gains. This is based on type of investment, the duration of the investment, Read more
Mind Your Head: Debt Ceiling Crisis Looms Again
We are now in the early stages of the perennial political melodrama over raising the debt ceiling. If this debate goes as usual, it should look like this: demands will give way to threats and lead to a fiscal cliff and government shutdown and the specter of default and global catastrophe before – whew! – Read more
Midterm Elections Roundup: Political Theater
In the 2022 midterm elections, Republicans picked up nine seats to take a 222-212 majority in the House. (Due to the post-election death of a Democratic incumbent, there is a vacancy in a Virginia district that is considered safe for Democrats, pending a special election on Feb. 21.) In the Senate, Democrats picked up one Read more
Retirement Enhancement: How the SECURE Act 2.0 Changes May Affect You
The $1.7 trillion omnibus appropriations bill passed by the 117th Congress and signed into law before the end of 2022 included dozens of retirement-related provisions collectively known as the SECURE 2.0 Act. (The acronym stands for Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement.) The SECURE 2.0 legislation provides a slate of changes that could help Read more
Wait and See: Quarterly Economic Report
The year is coming to an end in an atmosphere of anticipation. Will inflation slow? Will the labor market decline further? Will there be a recession? What will the Fed do? High inflation, rising interest rates, and recession fears have made for a rough financial ride in 2022, with falling stock and bond prices pummeling portfolios Read more
Bubble or Balloon? A Housing Market Update
In January 2022, the housing market was at the hottest it had been in 15 years, with a run of new demand spurred by the loosening of pandemic restrictions. As remote work opportunities became more common, some buyers were looking for more space to work from home and found opportunities to move farther from their Read more