Tax Cuts, Unemployment Extended Round Up and Uncommon Money News

By: Roshawn Watson

Well, an agreement has been reached (Obama and GOP) for tax cuts for all income levels and the unemployment benefits to be extended. I assume regardless of where you political allegiance stand, you probably didn’t get exactly what you wanted out of the deal. A common question that I have been receiving is “what to do about unemployment?” For many, the biggest problem isn’t people abusing the system (staying on unemployment instead of working out of laziness) that’s the concern. The problem is once someone has been out of work for a very prolonged period of time, it may be even more difficult to get a job. I recall reading in absolute horror about how out of work applicants were being told by recruiters don’t even bother applying. We only have jobs for those who are presently employed. 
This could highlight a fundamental problem in how we are addressing this economic problem. Unemployment has increased again (see Economics subheading below), yet U.S. companies are sitting on nearly $1 trillion in reserves.  How do you get companies to feel more comfortable spending their reserves in this economy? One way could be to offer substantial tax incentives for companies hiring full-time employees. Talk about a stimulus! I  personally believe this measure would stir so much economic activity (hiring and subsequent spending) that we wouldn’t be in this same predicament a year from now. This plan would allow companies to grow their businesses without taking as much risk by bringing on new employees. Although I doubt this will be done mostly for political reasons that are well-beyond the scope of this blog, I hope someone quickly comes up with a workable plan that really solves the unemployment problem. After all, a band aid masking the problem until “better times” may not be enough, and a lot of affected families are tremendously and understandably frustrated in the interim.

Thought Questions: If you could make the executive and legislative branches agree, how would you fix the unemployment problem? What are your thoughts on the aforementioned strategy? (Note, it’s okay with me if you disagree or even go on a diatribe…just no rudeness; FYI I’m not married to my proposal)

Now, it’s time to do the weekly Uncommon Money News and Yakezie Round Up.

Uncommon Money News and Round Up
In preparing to write my posts, I often come across noteworthy and sometimes bizarre financial and business news. Below are links to some of these sites. Enjoy!

To my readers: I am so honored by your support. Together, we are telling thousands of the importance of financial literacy. I absolutely could not do it without you: you are vital! Thank you sincerely.

Personal Finance (Yakezie and other PF bloggers)
Getting Rich: Levels of Wealth at Money Reasons – Don explores one of the most interesting topics in the wealth community.


Living Debt-Free In a Modest Home or Having a Large Home and Large Mortgage at Everyday Tips and Things – Kris discusses some of the pitfalls of a couple Don introduced us too. On a scale of dumb, they could have done a lot worst.


How the Banks Are Fleecing You With A Smile at  Beating The Index – Mich feels sorry for all the hard working men and women out there who are paying those fees because they failed to spot this “error”.

3 Unconventional Investment Moves to Make in 2011 at Invest It Wisely – Kevin challenges assumptions by presenting these three interesting investment plays.

How to Guarantee Long-Term Investment Success at Biz of Life – The Grouch gives you the 4 steps to guarantee long-term investment success

Babci’s Rules of Personal Finance at First Generation American – Sandy outlines her dear Babci’s personal finance wisdom. For some reason, this type of post reminds me of Rich Dad, Poor Dad

Simon Says: Financial Wisdom From a 10 Year Old at Personal Finance By The Book – Do you remember playing Simon says as a child? Joe’s post blends the popular childhood game with personal finances… how fun!

Why Gold Might Remain Expensive at 101 Centavos –  Several articles about investing in gold compiled in one place.

Feds Warrantlessly Track Americans’ Credit Cards in Real Time

US cable TV bleeds subscribers as online grows

Business

Party like it’s 1999: Valuations like $5 billion for Zynga (FarmVille) and $6 billion for an online coupon website can only mean one thing – the dot-com bubble is back.

Survey dripping with obviousness: 80% of companies still throw holiday parties, but 93% of employees would ditch the brouhaha for more money

Economy
Why Did 8 Million Americans Quit Using Credit Cards?

Where are the jobs? Are America’s corporations the source of its economic troubles? How the enterprises trashed the economy

Unemployment rate climbs to 9.8% in November

Offbeat Money News
Top 10: Highest-Paying Jobs In The U.S.

Highest Paying Jobs Allowing You To Work From Home
Entertainment Money News

Hairy vs. Harry: ‘Tangled’ wins weekend box office (AP)

‘Dead’ Celebs Back on Facebook & Twitter After Raising $1 Million

Dane Cook’s Half Brother Ordered to Pay Him $12 Million
Carnivals that I’ve participated in:

Round ups that linked to posts from this site

Editor note. A previous version of this post said that the tax cuts had been extended when instead a deal has been reached between Obama and GOP. I apologize for any confusion.

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    Copyright 2012, Roshawn Watson, Pharm.D., Ph.D. All Rights Reserved.

    13 comments

    1. I work at a company that is in a market that is a leading indicator of what's going on in the economy. I think that although some companies are having record profits again, people are still afraid of hiring back because they don't the line of sight to what's going to happen 6 months from now.

      We used to have pretty good visibility to orders at least 2 quarters out and now people are being much more conservative with their forecasting and are much more short term focused.

      I really don't know how you fix that problem with policy. The best way to remedy it is with consumer confidence. So the next post should be about how does one improve consumer confidence?
      My recent post Christmas without Presents

    3. Kris, I'm so happy your comment didn't go to spam. I think you are officially unbanned now…just like Kevin.

      You raise another point. These are definitely more long-tern solutions, but the differences can be profound when you have a long-term horizon versus a short-term. Organizations that focus on the short-term have a very tough challenge ahead of them because it often neglects key logical issues. Think of the financial firms who could foresee the crisis versus those who didn't. It is sometimes the difference between thriving and failure.
      My recent post Tax Cuts- Unemployment Extended Round Up and Uncommon Money News

    4. Thanks for the mention.

      My first point would be that unemployment went up this month because more people moved from the too discouraged to look for work category to the looking for work category. The real unemployment rate (those looking and those too discouraged to look) is around 17%.

      The second point would be government can't create jobs, but they can destroy jobs through over-taxation and over-regulation. The legislation passed in the last two years and the recession have caused big businesses to cut their payrolls and small business to stop expanding. Some of the provisions of Obamacare, like the 1099's, are absolutely insane and anti-business. The best things that could happen now are real cuts in federal spending, a repeal of the anti-business legislation recently enacted, and a reduction in corporate tax rates from the second highest in the world to somewhere in the bottom 20%. This is a global economy and capital goes where it is treated the best.
      My recent post Chitlins Con Carne

    6. I have definitely heard those unemployment numbers before. It's downright frightening to think about.

      Also, I didn't think my proposal was about government trying to create jobs as much as it as about the government removing a big financial impediment (taxes) to hiring, so that businesses would feel more comfortable expanding.

      I agree that decreased spending appears to be the only way to get the budget balanced. The tax rate you quote would be remarkable.
      My recent post Tax Cuts- Unemployment Extended Round Up and Uncommon Money News

    8. Shawn, one of the factors affecting unemployment is uncertainty about what the federal government is going to do. I personally know of several business that would be willing to invest in capital equipment and expand their business (and thus hire more people), but pending cap and trade and other considerations are staying their hand. The future is murky and government actions unpredictable.
      My recent post Centavos Model Portfolio Update

    9. Hmm, interesting! I didn't hear about the right brain skills that haven't translated well. I'll have to google that!.

      I do know that at one time manufacturing went over seas, and everybody said we have the service sector, but not with the advances in technology, many service jobs are going overseas too.

      I really don't see how employment can stay afloat when the overseas labor market has unplugged the drain (lol).

      My recent post Dividend Stocks- Free Lunch Experiment 6

    12. This is a good point. I make this one frequently in another post. There's a belief, justified or not, that the policies are anti-business. Consequently, businesses are quite scared to part with their retained earnings because the current economic and political climate does not seem conducive to growth. In short, I agree with you!!!
      My recent post 7 Reasons for and Against Tracking Net Worth

    13. Thanks for the mentions Roshawn, they are much appreciated! To reduce unemployment, many of the anti-business regulations on the books now need to be eliminated. Regulations that impede the freedom of contract between employer and employee need to be looked at. The public sector needs to be cut down to size so that it is not significantly more attractive than the private sector. Spending by government needs to be trimmed down, and ultimately, regime uncertainty needs to be done away with. Nobody knows which company will be targeted by the FTC next or what insane new law or regulation will be passed. With all of that uncertainty, I would also sit on my cash.

      Most of the commentators above me have it right, though jobs going overseas isn't something to fear. When costs are reduced for the same output, everyone is better off. The question is if we have the right incentives to encourage innovation and progress forward, or if we are nipping creativity and growth in the bud?

      My recent post Post at Yakezie- Improve Your Alexa Ranking and Have Fun at the Same Time

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