The National Hustle

This week, President Obama confronted the nay-sayers of his progressive budget:

The American people don’t have the luxury of just focusing on Wall Street. They don’t have the luxury of choosing to pay their mortgage or their medical bills. They don’t get to pick between paying their kids’ college tuition or saving enough money for retirement.

They have to do all these things. They have to confront all these problems. And as a consequence, so do we.

Obama states the obvious that only focusing on the economy (and AIG) is impossible for a successful president, and he’s clearly inherited a bevy of domestic and international issues to address.  He could try to handle them one-by-one, but since the World won’t wait, he should probably start fixing all of them…right…about…now:

• War in Iraq — As we spoon-feed responsibility to the Iraqis in accordance with the agreed-upon mandate, things are improving, right?
• War in Afghanistan — The new administration’s most seasoned veteran of U.S.-Afghan engagement (and I don’t mean just since 9/11), Defense Secretary Robert Gates, is telling everyone who will listen about the complicated difficulties of solidarity in Afghanistan.
• Military presence in Kosovo — Yes, we’re still there, with some criticism that we are using our bases as a European Guantanamo.
• Resurgent Taliban in Pakistan — The tribal regions and Swat Valley in northwest Pakistan are essentially under Taliban control. Continue reading

During my time spent in public accounting I had the opportunity to work daily on something most people don’t even like to see once a year: income tax returns.  While my day job no longer requires that I fill out clients’ 1040’s, 1120’s, and 990’s, I have managed to retain a few nuggets of tax knowledge.  And fortunately, I never had to worry about these types of tax issues.

With the individual filing deadline less than one month away, I’d like to share four of the most common income tax return misunderstandings that you’ve likely come across or will in the near future.

1. Getting “bumped up to the next tax bracket.” Years ago, a close friend of mine was complaining about his recent pay raise.  He told me, “Yeah, I got a ‘raise’, but I’m taking home less money now because I got bumped up to the next tax bracket!”  His thought process was not unusual, but I went on to explain how the federal graduated tax brackets work. Essentially, rather than his entire taxable income being taxed at a higher bracket, only the portion of income that exceeds the previous bracket ceiling is taxed at the new rate. More simply, if he was single and his taxable income (line 43 on 2009 Form 1040) was $60k in 2008, his tax would be calculated as follows:
   

   (a) First $8,025 of taxable income is taxed at 10%,
   (b) Next $25,425 is taxed at 15%,
   (c) Final $26,550 is taxed at 25%.

   The graduated brackets result in a tax of roughly $11k, not the $15k he was expecting.  His real “problem” had more to do with the next misunderstanding.

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Although Senator John McCain failed in his valiant attempt at removing the earmarks (9,000! — Okay, that’s excessive) from the omnibus spending bill (Note: Nine Republicans voted against his amendment), he did succeed in adding another porkiest projects list to Twitter.  If McCain keeps up this torrid pace, The National Hustle will be offering him a guest posting opportunity by Friday.

Here is the list from today, in reverse order to maintain the integrity of suspense:

10. $285,000 for the Discovery Center of Idaho in Boise, ID

9. $209,000 to improve blueberry production and efficiency in GA

8. $47,500 to remodel and expand a playground in Ottawa, IL

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I follow several public officials and political analysts on Twitter, perhaps none more entertaining than Senator John McCain.  While he has admitted he gets a little help from staffers, the fact that he has embraced such social media is both surprising and uplifting.

One of McCain’s most recent threads is his best Letterman impression, which offers Top 10 Lists of the “Porkiest Projects” in the 2009 omnibus spending bill.  Here is his list from 2/27 [Note: This list has not been edited by the NH in any fashion]:

1. $1.7 million for pig odor research in Iowa
2. $2 million “for the promotion of astronomy” in Hawaii – because nothing says new jobs for average Americans like investing in astronomy
3. $332,000 for the design and construction of a school sidewalk in Franklin, Texas – not enough $ for schools in the stimulus?
4. $2.1 million for the Center for Grape Genetics in New York – quick peel me a grape. Continue reading

One of my favorite New Deal programs (after you have taken a 400 level class named “America in the Great Depression, you are entitled to have a favorite) has always been the Civilian Conservation Corps or CCC. Something about serving this great nation while helping build trails in national parks, planting over 5 billion trees, or improving our national power grid made me want to strap on some hiking boots, don a flannel shirt, grab some heavy tools and help rebuild America from the ground up. Lack of hand sanitizer, fear of blisters, and uncertain exposure to new episodes of Lost inevitably lead to disavowing myself from such romantic inclinations, but for over 3 million hearty souls during the Great Depression, the CCC provided rewarding work, three square meals, and a stipend of $30 per month.

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