“Give President Obama a Break”

Although extending the Bush tax cuts for all Americans would not be my first political choice, I assume that President Obama makes decisions for the good of America.  For those of you who voted for Obama, please acknowledge and remember that Washington is not the easiest place to move an agenda nowadays.  For those who did not vote for Obama, please give him four years to try and correct the problems created by the previous administration.  If Obama does not perform during the rest of his term, he will not receive my vote in the next election.  I did, however, during the previous election vote for the man and not the party, his intellect and not those who acquiesce to the mob mentality of the American public, and his ethics and not whatever suits my fancy on a particular day.  We would do well to remember that very few leaders have been applauded during their tenure, but winning the Nobel Peace Prize and passing legislation to overhaul a broken healthcare system may in hindsight receive high marks from historical scholars.  Finally, if you have not read The Audacity of Hope, do so and I guarantee that you will be impressed with his message, his sincerity and his moral makeup.

“A Thumbs Up for The Big Short”

I just finished reading The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine. You may recall that the author, Michael Short, also wrote The Blind Side, but his 1990 work Liar's Poker: Rising Through the Wreckage on Wall Street was his first glimpse at the corrupt world on Wall Street. Lewis, insightful as always, does an incredible job of factually depicting the recent mortgage meltdown in the United States. In both The Big Short and Liar’s Poker, Lewis exposes the ruthless greed and lack of morality that unfortunately have become the quintessential element on Wall Street. In The Big Short, Lewis skillfully weaves a story of the primary players who recognized the epidemic that manifested itself in the subprime mortgage meltdown and became very rich as a result.



Lewis explains in great detail what very few understood at the time and what most individuals still fail to understand about the crash of 2008. Essentially, banks allowed individuals to roll their large credit card debt into new interest only mortgages which began with low teaser rates that would balloon after two short years. The banks knew that these individuals would either default or be forced to refinance after two years. Not to be outdone, corrupt bond dealers wrapped these volatile loans into bonds and were able to get AAA ratings on many of these tranches. These garbage loans were then peddled throughout the world and eventually led to failure of some major banks in the U.S.


Unfortunately, the corrupt world described by Lewis in Liar’s Poker reared its ugly head again in the subprime mortgage meltdown. Not only did these fraudulent members on Wall Street evade prison, but they were bailed out by the same individuals who lost their homes as a result of these corrupt loans. Inexplicably, many of these exploited Americans, who will never financially recovery from losing their homes, want to extend the Bush tax cuts for this corrupt group of individuals on Wall Street. I highly recommend The Big Short and believe every American needs to become more educated with regard to what really occurred over the last five years and to reconsider some of their political views as well.

“How Much Does Tax Evasion Add to the Deficit?”

One of the primary arguments surrounding politics today is whether or not to extend the Bush tax cuts. Democrats certainly wasted some of the stimulus package dollars and even sent checks to people who are either dead or in prison. Republicans, however, have failed to give one single idea on how to cut the deficit after extending tax cuts and essentially looked the other way during the sub prime mortgage debacle. My question is “How Much Does Tax Evasion Add to the Deficit?” The American people could help reduce the deficit by paying what they legally owe. No one likes to be taxed, myself included, but everyone has a moral responsibility to pay for public education, for the body armor worn by those in the armed forces and for the roads which give us the freedom to travel.


Unfortunately, tax evasion is considered socially acceptable and beating the IRS is admired in certain circles. President Obama inexplicably appointed Timothy Geithner as the Treasury Secretary, and Geithner openly admits to his own tax evasion. Millions of dollars could go towards paying down the deficit if individuals reported money they earn under the table. Here is a novel idea: Quit stealing from America and live up to your legal and moral responsibility by paying your toll to live in the greatest country in the world.

Unemployment is Unfortunately Here to Stay

Unemployment is a terrible reality in the United States, and it is not going to improve in the near future.  My greatest criticism of President Obama is his resistance to telling the public that he cannot fix the unemployment problem.  American companies outsource work to make earnings.  In a capitalistic society, companies must get the best labor for the cheapest price.  Right now China and India have citizens that will work for $10 an hour without benefits.  They provide quality work around the clock.  In addition, technological advances have reduced the number of high paying blue collar jobs which cannot be outsourced.  My hope is that the President will honestly state the unpopular truth.  We must pursue education in technological fields and restore our position as the most productive country in the world.  America is without question the best place to live on earth, but we must stop blaming others, face reality and relentlessly pursue fields that will provide work for the next several decades.  Do you Agree?

“Do You Believe in the Efficient Market Theory? I Think It’s Nonsense”

If you own any mutual funds, you essentially believe in the Efficient Market Theory. The Efficient Market Theory was thoroughly explained in Burton Malkiel’s A Random Walk Down Wall Street. The following is a definition of the Theory from InvestWords.com:

"The (now largely discredited) theory that all market participants receive and act on all of the relevant information as soon as it becomes available. If this were strictly true, no investment strategy would be better than a coin toss. Proponents of the efficient market theory believe that there is perfect information in the stock market. This means that whatever information is available about a stock to one investor is available to all investors (except, of course, insider information, but insider trading is illegal). Since everyone has the same information about a stock, the price of a stock should reflect the knowledge and expectations of all investors. The bottom line is that an investor should not be able to beat the market since there is no way for him/her to know something about a stock that isn't already reflected in the stock's price. Proponents of this theory do not try to pick stocks that are going to be winners; instead, they simply try to match the market's performance. However, there is ample evidence to dispute the basic claims of this theory, and most investors don't believe it."

When someone purchases a mutual fund, he/she is essentially agreeing with EMT. The thought process is as follows: it is impossible to beat the Market so I will buy a basket of stocks to spread the risk and hopefully achieve a 7% return after fees. My question for those who purchase mutual funds is simply this: Why don’t you either take the time to beat The Market, (large numbers of people exceed index averages annually), or just invest in a broad based ETF and hope for the best? I am amazed that people continue to pay the fees for mutual funds after the meltdown of 2008.

If you want to learn more about investing, go to my website, www.TheDeGeorgeAgency.com, and let’s get a conversation started about how I can help you. You can also become a subscriber to my blog (http://www.degeorgeagency.blogspot.com/). The DeGeorge Agency is a “Family Helping Families.”

“Long-Term Care Insurance Can Offer Unique Tax Advantages”

Long-term care Insurance can offer unique tax advantages. Business owners and/or their employees, particularly members of C-Corporations, can receive significant tax advantages. What follows, however, are the tax benefits of Tax-Qualified Long-Term Care Policies for individuals. The Internal Revenue Code (IRC) extends:


 Premiums are deductible depending on the type of taxpayer Treasury Regulation 1.461-1(a)(1), (a)(2)
 Benefits paid are generally tax free IRC 7702(a)(2), 7702B(d), 105(b)
 Premiums are not deductible from a Flexible Spending Account; Employees who purchase LTCi must pay for their policies with after-tax dollars. IRC 125(f)

The deductible amount for these taxpayers is called the eligible long-term care premium and is included among eligible medical expenses. IRC 213(d) (10)

Here are the limits in 2010
Age Eligible LTC Premium
40 or less $330
40 to 49 $620
50 to 59 $1,230
60-69 $3,290
70-79 $4,110

Finally, it is always sound advice to work with those who have made a commitment to their profession. In the field of long-term care planning, those who have achieved the CLTC designation have the skills necessary to work with your CPA to make the best use of the tax code. If these few minutes have caused you to look at long-term care differently, then it is time to take the next step. As a CLTC professional, I have the experience and expertise to work with you and your other advisors to create a plan that protects the emotional, physical, and financial wellbeing of your family.

I would like to thank Harley Gordon and his staff at http://www.ltc-cltc.com/ for providing a great deal of the information for this essay. If you want to learn more about extended care planning, go to my website, www.TheDeGeorgeAgency.com, and let’s get a conversation started about how I can help you. You can also become a subscriber to my blog (http://www.degeorgeagency.blogspot.com/). The DeGeorge Agency is a “Family Helping Families.”

“Long-Term Care Insurance Provides the Income for Your Care”

While it’s possible you may not need extended care, you must plan for the possibility of needing care. Your plan should have two components. The first component is to preserve your family members’ emotional and physical wellbeing by allowing them to hire professionals to provide your care. The second component is to preserve your retirement portfolio.

Long-term care insurance can be an effective solution to funding a plan. Implemented correctly, the proper insurance provides a stream of income that pays for professionals to help keep you at home. The income provided by long-term care allows your family to supervise rather than provide care, therefore helping to protect their emotional and physical wellbeing. Since care is now paid for, there is no need to reallocate your income, which means it remains in place to pay for the financial commitments you have taken into retirement. Perhaps just as important, your investment portfolio remains intact, which (A) allows your tax plan to execute properly, and (B) preserves the estate for the surviving spouse and/or children. The value of long-term care insurance is it its ability to protect the emotional, physical, and financial wellbeing of your family should you ever become frail and need care over a period of years.

I would like to thank Harley Gordon and his staff at http://www.ltc-cltc.com/ for providing a great deal of the information for this essay. If you want to learn more about extended care planning, go to my website, www.TheDeGeorgeAgency.com, and let’s get a conversation started about how I can help you. You can also become a subscriber to my blog (http://www.degeorgeagency.blogspot.com/). The DeGeorge Agency is a “Family Helping Families.”