Queercents

The other day on Sirius satellite radio, Howard Stern was complaining about the fact that the merger between XM and Sirius has not yet been approved by US government regulators. The National Association of Broadcasters, which is made up of companies such as Clear Channel who compete against satellite radio, has been lobbying against the merger. Stern was indignant that his competitors would blatantly use the government to harm their competition. It’s hard for me to believe that this was a new revelation for a man over the age of 50, especially one who has been the focus of so much government scrutiny. Maybe he was feigning surprise for his show.

The US government has two things people want - money, which comes from taxes, and power, which comes from the ability to change the laws of the entire country. Both of these products are up for sale by members of the legislative and executive branches of government. The importance of getting a piece of this money and power has given rise to a career - the lobbyist. In fact, many former members of the government become high-paid lobbyists because of their relationships with those still in positions of power. Read the rest of this entry »

The US government has been moving fairly quickly to pass some form of stimulus package to try to head off a recession. The stimulus package would basically amount to mailing $150 billion out to everyone, with the point being for them to spend it to keep the economy going. Not everyone agrees that an actual recession (two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth) is in the cards, but I guess no one in Washington, D.C., wants to deal with a recession in the middle of a presidential election, so they’re trying to do something just in case. I have a rather negative view of the federal government’s ability to do anything useful with the money we send their way, and I am usually happy to keep more of my money, so how could I possibly object to the government sending me a few hundred dollars to spend?

Like just about any government program, there’s a hidden cost to the stimulus package. Free money sounds like a great idea, until you ask yourself - where did this money come from? As economist Don Boudreaux points out, there are essentially three ways to fund this package - taxes, borrowing, or creating new money. The first two options just move money from some people to others, and the third results in inflation. Of course, one other way to pay for it would be to cut other spending to offset the cost… yeah, right. The bottom line is that we’re all going to be on the hook for this $150 billion one way or another. Either our current dollars are devalued or we get to pay back the cost through future taxes. Read the rest of this entry »

I received my W-2 yesterday and sat down to do my taxes. Every year, I get frustrated with the US federal tax system all over again. It’s maddening to try to comprehend the thousands of different rules that exist so you’re taxed slightly differently for every little situation. Our federal tax system is so complex that several hundred thousand jobs exist solely because people need help navigating the federal tax rules. Personally, though, I’ve never felt very comfortable with letting someone else do my taxes.

Part of that may come from my job. At work, I spend all my time solving technical problems that other people couldn’t solve. Every day I see things that others overlooked, mistakes they made, and do my own research and investigation to properly identify and solve the problem. That isn’t exactly a recipe for confidence in others. It’s trained me to be very skeptical of the conclusions other people have reached, and the evidence on which they based those conclusions. If I hired a tax professional to do my taxes, I would be very tempted to double-check their work, but if I’m going to go that far then why not just do it myself to start with? Read the rest of this entry »

State lawmakers in Colorado are considering a bill to establish a do-not-mail list. The Denver Channel reports:

Rep. Sara Gagliardi (D-Arvada) said her measure would allow fines against companies that send mail to people on the list. She and other supporters said the list could help cut down on identity theft and help the environment.

“The statistics are just overwhleming. Ninety-million pounds of junk mail a year. It costs somewhere between $2 and $4 million to clean it up,” Gagliardi said.

Even without a state law, there are some things you can do to reduce the amount of junk mail you receive. However, nothing is so encompassing as a law that would actually fine companies. Of course, the Postal Service opposes the law: Read the rest of this entry »

I previously blogged about how I would eschew diamonds in my marriage proposal to my partner. At the time of that post, I was still trying to figure out exactly how I would go about proposing. Over the holidays I finally did propose, so here’s how it went.

Heterosexual couples have some well-established guidelines that describe all sorts of things surrounding engagements. The man is supposed to propose to the woman. The engagement ring is supposed to have a diamond and cost a certain amount. Immediately after the proposal you’re supposed to call your family. The bride’s parents are supposed to throw an engagement party. In deciding how to propose to my partner during the recent holiday season, none of those guidelines were much help, because they just don’t make sense when a man is proposing to another man. Read the rest of this entry »

While we’re taking a break during the holidays, follow along each day as our contributors provide a recap of their best posts from 2007. Thanks for reading and being a continued supporter of Queercents. Enjoy!

Most Commented:
Diamonds Are A Tradition That Gay Marriages Can Do Without

Ultimate Tip:
Getting the Best Return on Charitable Giving

Recurring Themes:
The Legislative Bias Against Saving

Personal Favorite:
How Investing Changes Your View Of The World

Read the rest of this entry »

While travelling for a business trip last week, I had the opportunity to read The Little Book That Makes You Rich, by Louis Navellier. It’s one of several books in the Little Books Big Profits series, in which various investment professionals cover different investing strategies. The book claims to contain “a proven market-beating formula for growth investing.” Since I personally lean towards the value side of the investing style scale, I was curious to see if Mr. Navellier’s growth strategy would sway me.

The book is relatively short, as the title implies, and it’s an easy read. Navellier’s writing style is fairly engaging, and novice investors should have no trouble following the investing advice he provides. Read the rest of this entry »

When investors buy shares of company stock, they expect that company to use their money to generate returns by using the money wisely. A good investor will do a lot of research, including looking at the company’s past financial statements, free cash flow, return on equity, and other factors, to be confident that their money will be put to good use and generate a suitable return. Giving money to charity is similar - the returns are just in a different form. Instead of using your money to make more money, you expect the charity to fund AIDS research, find missing children, feed the hungry, etc. Some charities are better at this than others, and just like buying company stock, it’s a good idea to do some research before handing over your money. There are some organizations out there that research and rate charities in order to help you get the biggest bang for your charity buck, but how helpful are these ratings really? Read the rest of this entry »

My partner and I went to Gay Days at Disney World in Orlando for the first time in June of this year. You may have read stories in the press about the economic impact of this yearly event, but it’s not news to the people who work there. We took cab rides on several occasions, and I think every single cab driver mentioned how they were working all weekend because it’s their best weekend of the year. Hotels all over the area host parties and events for the occasion. An event that used to draw criticism and controversy, including boycotts by religious groups and signs at park entrances warning patrons of large numbers of gays and lesbians, has given way to businesses tripping over each other to welcome and provide products and services to those same people. This is commercialism in action. Read the rest of this entry »

The Federal Reserve has been getting a lot of attention in the last few months. With the recent housing meltdown and market volatility, it’s hard to miss the articles in the financial press. Some have blamed the Fed for causing the housing bubble, and others have argued that the Fed should take action to provide some relief. Meanwhile, one of the 2008 presidential candidates, Dr. Ron Paul, has long argued for abolishing the Federal Reserve and returning to a gold standard of the kind used around the turn of the century (as opposed to the Bretton Woods system which was in place from 1946-1971). Would that really restore financial stability to the economy? Volumes have been written on this subject, but I will try to at least summarize my own views without reciting every monetary theory in existence. Read the rest of this entry »