Being Poor Isn't What It Used To Be

Free food, free healthcare and now free cell phones, nobody needs to work anymore. If you do work the government will take half of what you make and give it to someone who doesn't. I hate to think about where this country is going-Lou

Poor in Colorado may get free phones

Denver Post- Thousands of low-income Coloradans reliant on public assistance could get a free cellphone under a plan before the state Public Utilities Commission.

If approved, the plan by TracFone Wireless in Miami would make Colorado the 17th state it has settled into with free cell service for the indigent, a form of wireless welfare that proponents say taps into one of the last untapped markets for the telecom technology.

"Our hope is to have it up and running by September," said Jose Fuentes, TracFone's director of government relations. "Historically, it's a very underutilized service, and we'd like that to change."

The program is a twist on Lifeline, a long-standing federal subsidy that provides low-income families with a break on their land-line telephone bill in order to ensure emergency 911 service.

In Colorado, it's called LITAP — the Low Income Telephone Assistance Program — and is available to anyone receiving aid from any of six welfare funds: Colorado Works Assistance (TANF), Supplemental Security Income, LEAP, Aid to Needy Disabled, the Old Age Pension Fund and Aid to the Blind.

Statewide, about 65 percent of those eligible participated in Lifeline last year.

The money — more than $800 million in subsidies were paid last year for low-income phone service across the country — comes from the Universal Service Fund, a tax on all telephone lines. Of that amount, Coloradans received nearly $3.2 million in low-income subsidies.

TracFone's subsidized program, called Safelink Wireless, gives users at least 68 minutes of free cell service each month — in Colorado, it would be 83 minutes — and unlimited access to 911 service even if the minutes are used up.

Users also get a free Motorola phone worth $50, according to the company's PUC filing. As long as subscribers are on the welfare rolls, they get the phone subsidy.

TracFone is best known as one of the country's biggest pay-as-you-go phone services, and Safelink subscribers can purchase additional minutes on the government-paid cellphone, Fuentes said.

"Historically, we've attracted those who don't have the means to afford a monthly billing for a land phone or don't want to be tied to a long-term cell contract," Fuentes said.

The idea is to convert Safelink users to regular cell customers as they are weaned from the public dole.

Critics question the cellphone idea, mostly pointing to malfunctions or user error that could create a problem in an emergency.

Inflation On The rise

The dollar continued to fall today despite the nice rise in the equity markets. The CPI was up .7% for June, mostly due to rising energy prices. If the economy is indeed ready to rise (jury still out on that one) then inflation will be the big risk going forward. Expansion of the money supply coupled with economic growth will surely result in a rising inflationary environment.-Lou

Costly Gas Pushes Up Consumer Prices

Consumer prices rose in June at their quickest pace since last summer, as expensive gasoline claimed a larger chunk of household budgets.

The Labor Department said Wednesday that its Consumer Price Index climbed 0.7 percent last month from May, slightly more than the 0.6 percent increase expected by economists. The index’s core rate, which excludes energy and food prices, also accelerated quicker than expected, to 0.2 percent.

But fears of broad-based inflation are not likely to be set off now, after economists anticipated that a month of roller-coaster trading in the oil markets might ultimately skew the June index.

“The C.P.I. is not much of a story this month,” said Mickey Levy, Bank of America’s chief economist. “The core is just moving sideways and then you have the upward pressure on energy and gas prices.”

But the data also soothed fears that the economy might be slipping into a deflationary trap, where unemployment, falling wages, lower aggregate demand and shelf prices spiral downward. Mr. Levy noted that prices had held up surprisingly well despite the severity and length of the recession. “I expect core C.P.I. to drift lower but not outright decline,” he said.

More

Congress Will Tax the Rich For Healthcare Reform

I don't think the government understands the ramifications that redistribution of wealth will have on the economy. High earners will adjust by deferring income and eliminating employees. This is a radical change in the American way. Socialism has always resulted in a diminished economy and standard of living for all.-Lou

House bill to hit millionaires with 5.4 pct surtax

WASHINGTON, July 14 (Reuters) - A sweeping overhaul of the U.S. healthcare system to be announced on Tuesday in the U.S. House of Representatives will include a surtax on millionaires of 5.4 percent, congressional sources said.

The tax rate is higher than the 3 percent surtax lawmakers had been discussing earlier and would be imposed on those making more than $1 million a year, the sources said.

This week's Radio Show is Finally Available

Listen to this week's "The Financial Physician" radio show.

Listen Here

Off To Barcelona

After spending 16 intense weeks writing my book it is finally finished. Time for a much needed vacation in Europe with my wife Susan (poor girl has been a widow last few months). Off to Barcelona tonight for a couple of days then a 12 day European cruise. I will be updated the blog as much as possible (depending on internet availability) and will also be posting pictures of my European Adventure so come by daily and see what I'm up to.-Lou

Take A Look At What May Be The New World Currency

Here it is, a coin representing the new world currency. The dollar is destined to decline to levels unimanagable, and it may happen very soon. Gold is your only protection if the dollar crashes.-Lou

Medvedev Shows Off Sample Coin of New ‘World Currency’ at G-8

July 10 (Bloomberg) -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev illustrated his call for a supranational currency to replace the dollar by pulling from his pocket a sample coin of a “united future world currency.”

“Here it is,” Medvedev told reporters today in L’Aquila, Italy, after a summit of the Group of Eight nations. “You can see it and touch it.”

The coin, which bears the words “unity in diversity,” was minted in Belgium and presented to the heads of G-8 delegations, Medvedev said.

The question of a supranational currency “concerns everyone now, even the mints,” Medvedev said. The test coin “means they’re getting ready. I think it’s a good sign that we understand how interdependent we are.”

Medvedev has repeatedly called for creating a mix of regional reserve currencies as part of the drive to address the global financial crisis, while questioning the U.S. dollar’s future as a global reserve currency. Russia’s proposals for the G-20 meeting in London in April included the creation of a supranational currency.

Max Keiser: Goldman Sachs Robs Money From US Citizens

Pretty daming video regarding the Goldman Sachs and how they have stolen billions from American Taxpayers. It has been said and I beleive it that Goldman Sachs is the biggest criminal enterprise on the planet.-Lou

Bank Failure Friday

Another Friday, another bank closure, but hey it was only one this week.-Lou

Wyoming bank is 53rd failure of 2009, 1st in state since 1991

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Thermopolis, Wyo.-based Bank of Wyoming was closed by regulators Friday, the 53rd U.S. bank failure of 2009 as the credit crisis continues to claim victims.

Lander, Wyo.-based Central Bank & Trust has agreed to assume the failed bank's deposits, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

Bank of Wyoming, the first FDIC-insured bank in that state to fail since 1991, had $70 million in assets and $67 million in deposits as of June 30, the FDIC said.

The FDIC estimated that the cost of the bank's failure to its deposit insurance fund will be $27 million.

House Democrats Plan to Tax the Wealthy to Pay for Health Care Reform

Ok, so they pushed up the income limits for the 4%bsurcharge to $350,000 for married couples. Still this tax the rich till they are broke strategy is bad for the country. The rich are small business owners who are the nation's biggest employers, anything that hurts them hurts jobs. Everyone knows that you do not raise taxes in a recession. This 4% surcharge is in addition to the tax rate increases on higher earners in Obama's 2010 budget proposal. Share the wealth was the one campaign promise Obama has kept.-Lou

House Democrats Plan to Tax the Wealthy to Pay for Health Care Reform

NYT-To pay for a sweeping overhaul of the health care system, House Democrats will propose a surtax on individuals earning $280,000 and up and couples earning more than $350,000, the chairman of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee said on Friday.

Read David M. Herszenhorn’s complete report.

In all, the proposal is projected to generate roughly $550 billion over 10 years, which would cover about half of the estimated cost of the $1-trillion-plus health care legislation. The balance of the cost is expected to be covered by lower government spending on Medicare and other savings in the health care system.

But it remains unclear if the Senate would approve such an across-the-board income tax on the wealthy. Although some Democrats said they would gladly vote to tax the rich to pay for an improved health care system, most if not all Republicans and some centrist Democrats seem to be opposed.

The Ways and Means chairman, Representative Charles B. Rangel of New York, said the surcharge would begin at 1 percent and would step up for individuals earning more than $400,000 and couples earning more than $500,000, and step up yet again for individuals earning $800,000 and up, and couples earning more than $1 million.

Lawmakers were also planning to insert language that would increase the surtax in 2013 if expected cost-savings in the health care system do not materialize.

Financial Physician Radio Show to Go National

I'm happy to announce that this week I signed a contract with XM/Sirius satellite radio to bring "The Financial Physician" radio show to a nationwide audience starting mid-late August. The show will air Sundays at 6-7pm ET following Glenn Beck on Channel 165 Talk Radio.

The show will be separate from my Sunday morning show in New Jersey and will be a financial advise call in show with my usual straight forward, no nonsense financial advise and commentary. I'm very excited to have the opportunity to be a national talk show host after 9 years on WOBM-AM in New Jersey.

I will let you know the exact date when it is finalized.

The new publication date for my book "The Financial Physician: How to Cure Your Money Problems and Boost Your Financial Health" is December 15th 2009. I just finished the book yesterday. The book will be out just in time for Christmas, and will make a great gift for everyone you care about. The book can be pre-ordered for only at $10.19 (a steal!!) at  Amazon.com check it out HERE

Don't Cheat On Your Taxes!

The IRS is going to get very aggressive during the Obama Administration. Make sure you accurately prepare your taxes in the future.-Lou

IRS "Turning Over Every Rock" to Raise Revenue: Obama Targeting Overseas Assets

Faced with massive deficits and dwindling tax revenues, the U.S. government is "turning every rock it can over to find as much revenue as it can," says Ken Rubinstein, senior partner at Rubinstein & Rubinstein.

In addition to potential tax hikes, Rubinstein sees a wholesale change in how America treats foreign holdings of U.S. individuals and corporations, citing:

• Repatriation: The Obama administration has discussed raising taxes on profits earned overseas by U.S.-based corporations. "This will increase revenues but some companies may leave the country," Rubinstein says.
• Flexing Muscles: The U.S. government will ask all nations to sign a "tax information exchange agreement," says Rubinstein, citing unnamed foreign government officials. He declined to specify but the attorney has advised Caribbean banking centers in the past. Smaller nations will have no choice but to acquiesce, Rubinstein says.
• Crackdown on Havens: Beyond the government's ongoing case against UBS, pending legislation declares "anybody who sends money to a ‘tax haven country' will be presumed to be committing tax fraud," Rubinstein says. "The burden will be on the taxpayer to prove he didn't commit tax fraud. The judge, jury and prosecutor will be the IRS." This will make it increasingly difficult for U.S. citizens to shelter assets abroad - even for legitimate reasons.

The government is "doing as much possible to increase amount of taxes it receives," he says. "It will increase revenues, but the question is whether the government looks at things in the long-term or only in the short-term."

I think we all know the answer to that question.

VIDEO LINK

Barrons: This Is a Depression

On Fox Business Channel a Barrons writer states that the country is in a Depression, watch this eye-opening video.-Lou

Watch Here

Obama Repealing Medicare?

Since details began to leak about the healthcare overhaul bill I have been warning my senior radio show listeners that the only way this plan works is to get rid of old people who have so much money spent on their life-end healthcare. For many,the health care costs the last six months of their lives exceeds the entire cost of their health care before. This plan will ration medical coverage based on "cost effectiveness" meaning the older you are the less care will be approved for you. AARP has not stepped up because they stand to benefit by healthcare reform, they are big business and care not for the retirees they say they represent-Lou

OBAMA WILL REPEAL MEDICARE

Obama's health care proposal is, in effect, the repeal of the Medicare program as we know it.  The elderly will go from being the group with the most access to free medical care to the one with the least access.    Indeed, the principal impact of the Obama health care program will be to reduce sharply the medical services the elderly can use.  No longer will their every medical need be met, their every medication prescribed, their every need to improve their quality of life answered.

It is so ironic that the elderly - who were so vigilant when Bush proposed to change Social Security - are so relaxed about the Obama health care proposals.  Bush's Social Security plan, which did not cut their benefits at all, aroused the strongest opposition among the elderly.  But Obama's plan, which will totally gut Medicare and replace it with government-managed care and rationing, has elicited little more than a yawn from most senior citizens.

It's time for the elderly to wake up before it is too late!

In our new book, Catastrophe, we explain - in detail and in depth - the consequences the elderly of Canada are feeling from just this kind of program.  Limited colonoscopies have led to a 25% higher rate of colon cancer and a ban on the use of the two best chemotherapies are part of the reason why 42% of Canadians with colon cancer die while 31% of Americans, who have access to these two medications, survive the disease.

Overall, the death rate from cancer in Canada is 16% higher than in the United States and the heart disease mortality rate is 6% above ours'.

Under Obama's program, there will be a government health insurance company that gets huge subsidies of tax money.  It will compete with private insurance plans.  But the subsidies will let it undercut the private plans and drive them out of business, leaving only the government plan - a single payer - in effect.

Today, 800,000 doctors struggle to treat adequately the 250 million Americans who have insurance.  Obama will add 50 million more to their caseload with no expansion in the number of doctors or nurses.  Indeed, his plan will likely reduce their number by lowering reimbursement rates and imposing bureaucrats above them who will force medical decisions down their throats.   Fewer doctors will have to treat more patients.  The inevitable result will be rationing.

And it is the elderly who rationing will most effect.  Who should get a knee replacement a 40 year old or a 70 year old?  Who should get a new hip, a young person or an old person?  Who should have priority in the operating room a seventy year old diabetic who needs bypass surgery or a younger person?  Obviously, it is the elderly who will get short shrift under his proposal.

But the interest groups that usually speak up for the elderly, particularly AARP, are in Obama's pocket, hoping to profit from his program by becoming one of its vendors.  Just as they backed Bush's prescription drug plan because they anticipating profiting from it, so they are now helping Obama gut the medical care of their constituents.

It is high time that the elderly of America realized what the stakes are in this vital fight to preserve Medicare as we know it and keep medical care open, accessible, and free to those over 65.  It is truly a battle for their very lives.

7 Ways Credit Cards Rob You Blind

The credit card companies are doing everything they can maximize fees and interest rates before real restrictions kick in in February. Here is 7 ways the rip you off. From Minyanville website.-Lou

Here are 7 things you need to know to avoid getting bitten by your credit card:

1. Read the disclosure statement: This sounds totally obvious, but many cardholders don’t take the time to read the legalese in fine print. All terms and conditions are there in black and white. The challenge: slogging through legal verbiage as thick as molasses. The reward: keeping more of your money.

2. Use a calculator: Do the math before transferring your balance to a new card offering a low introductory rate. Some banks have raised the balance transfer fee, and this eliminates any savings. JPMorgan Chase (JPM) plans to increase its maximum balance transfer fee on selected cards from 3% to 5%. That may sound innocent enough, but it’s a 66.67% increase -- and it comes out of your pocket.

3. The simple solution: Pay your balance in full each month. This allows you to use the bank’s money interest free for a month and helps you build a solid credit rating. It also means that the bank will want your business and be likely to give you better rates in the future.

4. Don’t be bashful: If you’ve been a good customer and your bank slaps you with a higher interest rate, try to negotiate a better deal. The bank won’t want to lose you. If it doesn't lower your rate, shop around for a better deal at another bank. Then be sure to tell your original bank why you’re taking your business elsewhere.

5. Track your expenditures: Many banks tack on a hefty fee, some as high as $40, when you exceed your credit limit. Avoid this by saving your receipts and reviewing your statement each month. Beginning in February, banks will be required to inform customers when a purchase exceeds their credit limit, which should eliminate this fee for the vast majority of customers.

6. Stay in the bank’s good graces: Review the grace period -- how much time you’ve got to pay your bill before incurring a finance charge -- and get your bill in on time. Call the card issuer and change your bill's due date to match your pay cycle. For example, if you pay your rent or mortgage with your paycheck issued at the end of the month, consider paying your credit card bill with the paycheck you receive on the fifteenth. Spreading out major payments helps you avoid a financial crunch.

7. Keep a wary eye on the mailbox: Any changes to your credit agreement are likely to be sent to your home via snail mail. It’s easy to overlook such notices in the usual crush of junk mail. Open all mail from your bank, since it may include the only notice you’ll get of pending changes to your credit agreement. Telling your beloved bank “I didn’t know” probably won’t stop it from penalizing you for changes to your agreement you didn't bother to read.

LINK