Unemployment benefits are back in the news: Senator Jim Bunning held up a $10 billion bill in the Senate because he felt it didn’t hold to the pay-as-you-go laws passed earlier this year (the law apparently doesn’t apply because of a technicality; the subjects of the bill were said to be ‘emergency provisions’). Unluckily for the senator, the provisions of the bill happened to concern the extension of unemployment benefits and the implementation of the so-called ‘Doctor Fix’ (preventing the pay cuts to doctors from Medicare). Even stranger to many politicians was the defense from Minority Whip Jon Kyl from Arizona stating that “… if anything, continuing to pay people unemployment compensation is a disincentive for them to seek new work.” Unemployment benefits preventing the unemployed from seeking work? Blasphemy!
Every once and a while I like to check in on the market’s inflation predictions. This is for my own personal curiosity, and possibly to entertain you, dear reader. You’ll be interested to know that inflation expectations have tempered somewhat over the last few weeks; it all goes to show that throughout all of the howling on raising debt ceilings and mudslinging in politics, the market still believes in the general stability of the United States dollar. My method is the classic “subtract real treasury yields from the yield curve rates”. All information is available at the U.S. Treasury’s web site.
For whatever reason, my articles recently keep coming back to charitable giving and volunteering. Here I am again with another post on the BLS’s recent release of volunteering statistics. Reader Patrick of Cash Money Life wondered if the reason that married parents volunteered in such high numbers was because many have children who open up volunteer activities. On the surface, this is a very good theory; younger kids play baseball, soccer and other sports, become Boy and Girl Scouts, and generally do things which occasionally ask people to volunteer to help (like go to school!). Let’s see if we can tease out the effect this has on overall volunteering rates!
One of the nice things about the Bureau of Labor Statistics site is the centralized location of employment and labor trends data which inspires interesting articles. Count today as one of those days; the BLS today released figures on the rates of volunteerism in the United States. In the midst of a recession, volunteer rates increased in the United States from September 2008 to September 2009. In fact, the percentage rate of volunteering by citizens in the United States is now .1% higher than it was in September 2006, after a falloff from that point in 2007.
A popular topic in the blogosphere, given new life after comments by Nobel prize winning economist Paul Krugman, is the relative success of the United States vs. the states that make up the European Union. The European Union is a loose confederation of 27 countries in Europe, ranging from Spain to Estonia. Krugman goes so far to suggest that “[y]ou should always bear in mind that when the question is which to believe — official economic statistics or your own lying eyes — the eyes have it.”
What would you say if someone offered you money to report your tax-evading friends? If you are staring at the screen incredulously, allow me to introduce you to Uncle Sam, who wants to make it worth your while to report on your loose-moraled tax cheat friends (and acquaintances!). If you know someone who is particularly dastardly, you could even make bank- the IRS will reward you 15% of the underpaid amount, up to a whopping $10 million!
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What should you make about the Mark Hulbert article claiming that top market timing newsletters are bullish heading into the new year? After a 27.76% increase in the value of the S&P 500 (not counting dividends) in 2009, how much further does the stock market yet have to run? And what does a bullish consensus among market timers mean, exactly?
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Merry Christmas Eve to all my Christian readers, I’ve got a gift for you a day early. What if you could take your credit card now, make it so you can’t run a balance, and add an annual fee? Sound like something you might be interested in? Me neither. However, that’s exactly how a charge card compares to a traditional credit card.
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Writing checks to charities, as covered in previous articles is one way to give to your top causes. However, it’s not the only way for you to make a difference to your non-profit of choice.
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Since I highlighted some fun facts and an overview of giving in the United States yesterday, today it seems appropriate to take a look at giving on an individual level. There are many worthy causes out there, from educational charities (and universities, which also happen to be non-profit), to health care charities. There is a charity out there that calls to you, too. How do you separate the wheat from the chaff, and donate to the charities where your dollar will go furthest?
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It goes with the season! With every ring of the Salvation Army bell outside of your favorite big box retailer or supermarket, we are reminded the true aim of the season (whether Christmas is your deal or not)- thinking of others. What better time than December to highlight some fast facts about charitable giving in the United States?
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When it comes to credit card rewards programs, either those run with points or those run with frequent flier miles, you have to spend money to make money. One way to game the system is to spend money on money. While this trick would work with gold (although you lose some- gold is sold above its spot price), it’s also an open secret that the U.S. Mint offers Direct Ship coins, payable by credit card. To sweeten the deal further, they will even pay for domestic shipping.
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“Don’t Quit Your Day Job” is a resource for people who wish to discuss personal finance, economics, and investing with other like minded individuals. It isn’t required that you work in the industry; just that you have an active interest in passing on your knowledge or learning from others. Disclaimer: Nothing on this site should be construed as investment advice. Do your own due diligence. None of the writers on this site is qualified to give you advice on your situation. Your situation is unique; see a financial adviser. Copyright 2009. InfoPortfolio, San Jose, CA.