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The best way to have a good idea is to have a lot of ideas.
Linus Pauling Categories
Author Archives: Jim Kuhnhenn
Secret donations and gift tax: a new conundrum
Donors to nonprofit groups that are spending millions on political ads this election have escaped public scrutiny because their donations don’t have to be disclosed. But can they escape a hefty tax . . . read more Read More
Regulators, once deemed lax, get big say on rules
Banking regulators shared the blame for the financial crisis that buckled Wall Street. Now they’re the ones lawmakers are counting on to give final shape to the new overhaul of financial rules.
In section after section of the massive 1,560-page Senate bill, lawmakers leave much of the details for the regulators to figure out. These are the bank and market overseers — the Federal Reserve, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Securities and Exchange Commission — who took a beating for not overseeing Wall Street more strictly and for failing to see the danger before it struck in 2008.
When it comes to key decisions about how to rein in complex, previously unregulated securities, how to liquidate large, interconnected failing financial firms . . . read more Read More
House boosts college aid for students in need
Riding the coattails of a historic health care vote, the House on Sunday also passed a broad reorganization of college aid that affects millions of students and moves President Barack Obama closer to winning yet another of his top domestic policies.
The bill rewrites a four-decades-old student loan program, eliminating its reliance on private lenders and uses the savings to direct $36 billion in new spending to Pell Grants for students in financial need.
In the biggest piece of education legislation since No Child Left Behind nine years ago, the bill would also . . . read more Read More
Poll: Financially pinched, young adults lose faith
Young adults are financially anxious, worried that they can’t meet their educational, housing and health care needs, according to a new poll that exposes a growing pessimism about achieving the American Dream.
The poll by Harvard’s Institute of Politics found that six out of 10 of those surveyed worry they may not meet their current bills and obligations. Nearly half of those attending college wonder whether they will be able to afford to stay in school. And more than eight out of 10 said they expect difficulty finding a job after graduation.
Fewer than half said they believe they will be better off than their parents when they reach their parents’ age.
With the country in the midst of a slow economic recovery with nearly 10 percent unemployment, the data finds a deep sense of gloom among 18-29 year olds. . . . read more Read More
