Social Security numbers are 9 digit numbers issued to workers in the United States tying their holders to unique Social Security accounts. They were first issued in 1936 as part of the Social Security entitlement program. SSNs also are also used officially by the IRS and by states and political subdivisions. The number’s status as a unique identifier has also led to the usage of SSNs in the private sector for products like loans and credit cards.
Read the rest of this entry »Use Irrationality Against Yourself!
On July - 23 - 2009
Behavioral finance and economics have recently exploded onto the national scene. These two behavioral topics deal with the idea of ‘rationality’; they are concerned with the rationality of the decisions of members of a population and the limits to an individual’s rationality. Studies show that humans have many irrational tendencies which can be shown experimentally.
Read the rest of this entry »Are California IOUs Constitutional?
On July - 3 - 2009
Yesterday, California started to issue IOUs (technically, registered warrants) to creditors since it is ensnared in a major budget impasse. California has taken this step before, most notably in 1992, but they also issued IOUs during the Great Depression.
Since the warrants are unavoidable at this point, I’ll shift my focus to another issue- constitutionality. Is what California is doing legal under the terms of our Constitution? And what is a ‘bill of credit’?
Read the rest of this entry »If You Don’t Have One… Get One
On June - 24 - 2009
If you saw $1,377.71 lying on the ground, would you pick it up?
I hope you would. That’s the sort of savings you could find from opening a Roth IRA. Any increase in your future tax rates means you made money simply from choosing the right account to invest in. Sound good? Read the article.
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