The Federal Tax Credits Blog

Posts Tagged ‘global’

Question: Some economists claim the US economic expansion from ‘02 to ‘07 was because of tax cuts and others claim …

it was because of the “housing bubble” (people taking advantage of lower interest rates and easy credit). Which theory is correct and is there anywhere on the web that could lead me to an informative debate on the dualing claims?
I should have said “mild economic expansion”

Answer: There is no evidence that it was due to the tax cuts and much evidence that it was due to the “housing bubble”

One way to see this is to look at the number of people who took advantage of the low interest rates (which caused the housing bubble) and the rising real estate values to refinance their mortgages and take some of the money for consumer spending.

The total sum spent this way was far larger than the amount people got in tax cuts.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/27/business/27loan.html

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23453269/

As for a debate on the matter, I doubt there was one. I don’t think any reputable economist would want to take the side of the tax cuts.

http://select.nytimes.com/2007/09/10/opinion/10krugman.html

(There are, however, many economists who have written articles on how the tax cuts were far less effective than they could have been if the goal was to stimulate the economy. There have been many proposals that would have given more stimulus for the buck.)

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/25/opinion/25krugman.html

How Severe Is Europe’s Intertwined Debt Crisis?

Listen to the Audio JUDY WOODRUFF: And now to worries about austerity measures in Europe. There was new fallout today from the continent’s debt crisis. In Ireland, the government announced elections are likely next month, after Prime Minister Brian Cowen resigned as leader of his political party. And, in Spain, officials said troubled banks there need $27 billion in fresh capital. NewsHour …

Understanding Economics US Economy: Consumers Lose Confidence “Where are the jobs”?

Question: How can I resolve negative items on my credit report that are a result of identity theft?

I used to live in state A, and someone in state B (a state I’ve never even visited) used my SSN to establish a telephone account then proceeded to run up a $1000 debt. It went unpaid and was sent of to at least 4 different collections agencies. Each credit reporting bureau is reporting some combination of this collections debt, but they all differ. I have filed an ID Theft affidavit, but am unable to file a police report in state A because the crime occurred in state B. I am unable to file a report in state B because police reports must be filed in person. I have included federal and state A tax forms from the time the ID theft occurred as proof that I was not living in state B at the time. I have disputed all occurrunces of the debt at all 3 credit agencies, some have removed one or more instances of the collections items, some have not. They have not all removed the same items. Is there any way to get all 3 bureaus to be consistent in their removal of items?

Answer: make the collections validate the debt

www.creditinfocenter.com

if they refuse, then take them to small claims court
and sue them back.

Carbon Taxes Run into Hot H2O

Not only is the U.S. Senate leery of passing a carbon tax, but apparently the idea is also running aground in both France and the state of Minnesota.

Realtors, help extend and expand the Homebuyer Tax Credit

Have you ever thought of actually getting off the grid and becoming completely independent of the greedy power companies of this country? Of actually being able to tell them to “kiss off”, I don’t need you anymore? Are you interested in knowing how to generate your own power and reduce your electricity bills? Then, this is the right place to be.

One of these days in the very near future, this will undoubtedly become the attitude of most of your friends and neighbors. In case you haven’t been paying attention to the workings off our government in the past year, this might get you a little upset.

The following is a direct quote from the Wall street Journal on

March 9, 2009. “Cap and trade is the tax that dare not speak its name, and Democrats are hoping in particular that no one notices who would pay for their climate ambitions. With President Obama depending on vast new carbon revenues in his budget and Congress promising a bill by May, perhaps Americans would like to know the deeply unequal ways that climate costs would be distributed across regions and income groups. Politicians love cap and trade because they can claim to be taxing “polluters,” not workers. Hardly. Once the government creates a scarce new commodity — in this case the right to emit carbon — and then mandates that businesses buy it, the costs would inevitably be passed on to all consumers in the form of higher prices.”

Peter Orszag — now Mr. Obama’s budget director — told Congress last year that “Those price increases are essential to the success of a cap-and-trade program.” What he doesn’t mention, is the fact that the hardest hit will be about 95% of working families. This “tax” is going to be regressive because poor and middle-income families spend a larger share of their paychecks on energy, such as gas to drive to work, heat for their homes, and groceries than the rest of the population.

Everyone in this country had better be prepared, or get themselves prepared for a huge increase in our bare cost of living thanks to the above. It is inevitable with the current crop of politicians in charge.

Since the congress of our country is trying to pass, and probably will pass, some form of the carbon trade bill usually called “cap and trade”, our energy costs are set to quadruple in about 12 months from time of passage. This mean the average electric bill for a residence will increase by 400%. This should be the time when we stop throwing money out the window and save some by starting to generate our own electricity.

Whether you want to simply cut your power bills in half or completely get rid of yours, the one stop solution is to learn how to build your own power plant.

Why pay a huge sum of money, like 1000’s of dollars in able to utilize solar or wind power when you have the opportunity to build your own home made system for either wind or solar power for less than $200. That’s right; there are guides that teach you everything you need to know about producing your own power by using wind and solar energy. By finding the complete step-by-step setup and fully illustrated manuals and easy to follow video instructions which are presently available to anyone who wants to look for them, you can easily create renewable energy at home.

Already built Solar and wind power systems for sale on the market cost a lot more, but with the guides that are available you can have the information that is required to get the same results at a fraction of the price.

Once you are ready to build and install your own personal alternative power supply, you will save hundreds of dollars on your electricity bill. You do not have to build a wind turbine that is 500 feet tall to save lots of money on energy; a much smaller unit can be built by following the instructions in any of the guides.

Just make sure that the guide you choose contains the entire necessary parts and supplies list of everything you will need for construction plus all of the instructions, both written and in video form that you will need to be able to build the turbine, or solar panel of your choice.

EDP Renovaveis Partners Again with JPM Capital Corporation on the Lost Lakes Wind Farm

EDP Renovaveis, S.A. , through its fully-owned subsidiary Horizon Wind Energy LLC , has signed an agreement to secure $90 million of institutional equity financing from JPM Capital Corporation in exchange for a partial interest in its 101 megawatt Lost Lakes Wind Farm installed in December 2009 in Dickinson County, Iowa.

RE-AMP RoundUp Dec. 28, 2009