Invest-Safely.com turns 2 years old today.
I can’t believe two years have passed since the site first went live (almost 3 years since the initial framework was laid out!). Progress has come in fits and starts, and I feel like we haven’t even scratched the surface in terms of potential content.
But it is great to look back and see how much the site has grown.
Happy Birthday to Invest-Safely.com
Thanks for your support! Here’s looking forward to a great 2011.
Zero tax payment. I’m sure that most small business owners and individual investors would love to here those words from their accountants come tax time.
Recently, GE made headlines for their 2010 tax payment (or lack thereof – click here for the details – G.E.’s Strategies Let It Avoid Taxes Altogether).
Let me start by stating that tax law is ridiculously complex, and I do not claim to know all the in’s and out’s.
What I do know, is that GE received part of the government bailout, so it seems totally unfair that they can earn almost $6 Billion from US operations without paying federal taxes.
THE NEW YORK TIMES – Source: General Electric’s financial statements
Click on the image for a full size version
But as we all know, life isn’t fair. And let’s be honest; if there were ways for you and I to do it, we would also use the tax code to our advantage.
In fact, we all could have purchased GE stock, in which case few people would complain about fairness as long as they made a profit.
Rather than harp on GE specifically, take a look at the “how”; how corporations are able to pay zero federal income taxes.
Click on the picture to see the full size image.
Via: OnlineMBA.com
Hat Tip to Business Pundit, and The Big Picture.
To me, blaming GE is akin to shooting the messenger. GE is the messenger; they told us that the rules of the game allow them to operate a certain way. They did not break any laws, and gamed the system while staying competitive (but that doesn’t mean I like it).
If we don’t like the results, then we must change the rules. And if we want to change the rules, the graphic above suggests that the first step is to resist the efforts of lobbyists.
Maybe giving American corporations a significantly lowered corporate tax rate would work…if it came with the price tag of no more lobbying!
Yesterday, I posed the question: “Ever wonder why health care is not affordable?”
Today, I’ll link you to the second infographic from Medical Billing and Coding; entitled “Why Your Stitches Cost $1,500 – Part II”.
Whether or not you agree with all of the conclusions, the data is still interesting.
Via: Medical Billing And Coding
Ever wonder why health care is not affordable? With so much conflicting data and information floating around, it is hard to put it all into perspective.
Enter the infographic; a great way to visualize complex topics.
At first glance, health care does not seem to fit with an investing website. But there is a logical chain of events.
Health care is one of the largest expenses (pre and post tax) for a family or personal budget. Expenses directly affect personal financial statements, as well as personal financial goals, not to mention the amount of money available for investing.
The following chart comes from Medical Billing and Coding; entitled “Why Your Stitches Cost $1,500”. Fascinating stuff.
Via: Medical Billing And Coding
“If you don’t know what a financial statement is, make it a priority to find out without further delay.
It’s very important to know exactly where you are financially, without kidding yourself. Only when you know where your are can you possibly have a good plan for going forward to where you want to be.”
Where are you?
If you need a roadmap, click here for a page explaining corporate and personal financial statements.
Already know where you want to go, but need some help?
Invest-Safely.com offers FREE templates to help you get started on your personal income statement and personal balance sheet.
When your talking about the US budget/deficit, numbers like trillions and billions tend to lose there meaning.
How many people have hands-on experience with that much money?
I like to think in percentages…those I can relate to. Unfortunately, this makes the recent congressional “debates” over the budget seem absurd.
Lets bring this down to our level. Assume you have an annual salary of $50,000 in 2011. That would be your projected revenue for the year.
Crunch a few numbers, and we end up with the following: For the level of proposed cuts, you would be reducing your spending by $1396- $755 in 2011 ($116-$62 per month). This seems perfectly reasonable and doable.
But according to the chart, your total budget for 2011 would be $87,800. This means that you would spend your entire salary, and still owe another $37,800. At which point, cutting $1396 out of your spending plan seems like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic…
Sources:
2011 Spending
Michael Ramirez – IBD
http://www.investors.com/EditorialCartoons/Cartoon.aspx?id=567991&Ntt=
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