a blog dedicated to the discussion of MASTER LIMITED PARTNERSHIPS and the day to day news related to the group...along with perhaps a few other things...as long as the conversation is kept civil. Although i have no problem telling you what i am doing regarding my trades...PLEASE DON'T ASK ME WHAT YOU SHOULD DO REGARDING WHETHER TO BUY, SELL OR SHORT!!! i am not in the stock business.
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Okay kids..lets have some fun while markets implode. Read the following and then some thoughts!
My first inclination is that the author has been watching too much Glenn Beck. I do not believe any of what the author asserts is going to happen will happen; we all have too much invested in the federal gov't to simply revolt and destroy it. I do believe, however, that real (inflation adjusted) benefit reductions will occur over the rest of our lives; the demographics demand it. The current Obama admin budget deficit numbers simply do not add up; they assume too much positive growth and they do not take into account all of the currently unfunded commitments the gov't has made - social security, medicare, etc. All of those special bonds that have been issued as a result of spending the excess social security collected in recent years are essentially future tax increases that cannot occur; because you cannot tax wages, capital, etc. significantly more than they are currently taxed.
I fear that the special tax treatment that MLPs currently get is at risk.
"I fear that the special tax treatment that MLPs currently get is at risk."
The distribution cuts or eliminations altogether is effectively rendering mlps penny stocks anyway in some cases. Eliminating the special tax treatment on the survivors is a sure way for the messiah and the democrats to drive another group of stocks to zero.
"The current Obama admin budget deficit numbers simply do not add up"
--------------------------------- I think the immediate short term problem for the budget is collapsing tax revenues.
I think there will be a dramatic decline in corporate income tax as well as personal income tax collections.
Few of us will have capital gains tax worries for some time.
Not only is the spending side rising but the tax collection side is at risk of collapsing.
Obama and Congress will have to adjust to the reality that unless they adopt very pro business and pro investing policy they won't have an agenda that can be implemented.
-------------------------------- I too fear for for my son's future.
Here is a link to a 1 Mar 09 post from the A Dash of Insight blog:
http://tinyurl.com/a6g7p2
Take a look at the opinions about half way through the article (they are in blue). Scary! The opinions are from mid-Jan, and 1 has already come true (GE cutting its dividend).
Though it does not come through in this post or the 2 above, I really am an optimistic person by nature and hope Obama and the democrats in congress will stop waging war on success (may happen to some degree) and will stop rewarding failure (probably won't happen).
The only hope we as a country have at balancing our budget is through economic growth. Incentives such as reduced tax rates would help this happen.
Interestingly TV Cameras were banned at VP Biden's speech to the AFL-CIO today.
Th CS monitor kindly provided a transcript.
I think that the only thing that pro-business advocates can hope for in future policy, is that Biden and the Obama administration is simply talking the talk( to their union backers) ... but won't walk the walk ( because of market realities ) when actually implementing policy.
What are the possibilities that the administration will cut the capital gains tax to zero, thereby eliminating the writeoff for losses? They would have little to lose by doing so, since most of us have losses far in excess of what we could ever write off and virtually no gains for years to come.
Cutting the capital gains rate to 0 to me accomplishes nothing and in fact could temporarily unleash what few people who haven't sold. I can't imagine anyone who has a net cap gain out there.
My first inclination is that the author has been watching too much Glenn Beck. I do not believe any of what the author asserts is going to happen will happen; we all have too much invested in the federal gov't to simply revolt and destroy it. I do believe, however, that real (inflation adjusted) benefit reductions will occur over the rest of our lives; the demographics demand it. The current Obama admin budget deficit numbers simply do not add up; they assume too much positive growth and they do not take into account all of the currently unfunded commitments the gov't has made - social security, medicare, etc. All of those special bonds that have been issued as a result of spending the excess social security collected in recent years are essentially future tax increases that cannot occur; because you cannot tax wages, capital, etc. significantly more than they are currently taxed.
ReplyDeleteI fear that the special tax treatment that MLPs currently get is at risk.
JCarroll
A final thought, and this is sad. I believe that the next generation will have a standard of living that is below ours.
ReplyDeleteJCarroll
Do the two kids on the motorcycle make it?
ReplyDeleteHey kids, don't forget to set your TeVos for armagedeon. I have to admit, I was a little depressed until I read this.
ReplyDeleteI never thought I'd long for those agonizingly endless trading days of pre-Franklin Delano Obama 2008.
-Lee (a mere remnamt of his formerly effervescent self)
"I fear that the special tax treatment that MLPs currently get is at risk."
ReplyDeleteThe distribution cuts or eliminations altogether is effectively rendering mlps penny stocks anyway in some cases. Eliminating the special tax treatment on the survivors is a sure way for the messiah and the democrats to drive another group of stocks to zero.
and remember i voted for the light!
JCarroll1948 wrote:
ReplyDelete"The current Obama admin budget deficit numbers simply do not add up"
---------------------------------
I think the immediate short term problem for the budget is collapsing tax revenues.
I think there will be a dramatic decline in corporate income tax as well as personal income tax collections.
Few of us will have capital gains tax worries for some time.
Not only is the spending side rising but the tax collection side is at risk of collapsing.
Obama and Congress will have to adjust to the reality that unless they adopt very pro business and pro investing policy they won't have an agenda that can be implemented.
--------------------------------
I too fear for for my son's future.
What a load of drivel. Look, the feds can always print more money. Where did we get the money to fund WW II.
ReplyDeleteHere is a link to a 1 Mar 09 post from the A Dash of Insight blog:
ReplyDeletehttp://tinyurl.com/a6g7p2
Take a look at the opinions about half way through the article (they are in blue). Scary! The opinions are from mid-Jan, and 1 has already come true (GE cutting its dividend).
Though it does not come through in this post or the 2 above, I really am an optimistic person by nature and hope Obama and the democrats in congress will stop waging war on success (may happen to some degree) and will stop rewarding failure (probably won't happen).
The only hope we as a country have at balancing our budget is through economic growth. Incentives such as reduced tax rates would help this happen.
JCarroll
http://features.csmonitor.com/politics/2009/03/05/bidens-speech-to-afl-cio-who-banned-the-cameras-anyway/
ReplyDelete"Hiding Biden"?
Interestingly TV Cameras were banned
at VP Biden's speech to the AFL-CIO today.
Th CS monitor kindly provided a transcript.
I think that the only thing that pro-business advocates can hope for in future policy, is that Biden
and the Obama administration is simply talking the talk( to their union backers) ... but won't walk the walk ( because of market realities ) when actually implementing policy.
i still think the ingredients for a ripping vicious rally are there. Just waiting for something..anything to get it going. I'm not sure what it is.
ReplyDeleteWhat are the possibilities that the administration will cut the capital gains tax to zero, thereby eliminating the writeoff for losses? They would have little to lose by doing so, since most of us have losses far in excess of what we could ever write off and virtually no gains for years to come.
ReplyDeleteCutting the capital gains rate to 0 to me accomplishes nothing and in fact could temporarily unleash what few people who haven't sold. I can't imagine anyone who has a net cap gain out there.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=220252&title=cnbc-gives-financial-advice
ReplyDeleteThe Daily show, courtesy of the "Calculated Risk" blog