American Shareholders Association

Economy Loses 80,000 Jobs, 250k in First Quarter

But still up roughly 8 million since the cap gains and dividends tax cut, and unemployment is still a very low 5.1%, which is lower than the average of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.

Average hourly earnings up 0.3%, which is about in line with inflation.

This has already been priced into stocks, along with weakness in the housing and finance sectors.  The bottom has been hit.

Senate Bipartisan Tax Cut Announced

Late yesterday afternoon, Senate bipartisan leadership announced new tax cut plans as part of a housing package.  Specifically:

1. Businesses will be allowed a four-year NOL carryback for losses incurred in 2008 and 2009, but only if they waive 179 expensing and bonus depreciation
2. Homeowners who don't itemize their deductions will be allowed to deduct up to $500 in property taxes ($1000 MFJ).  Interestingly, this deduction won't be allowed for taxpayers living in jurisdictions that raise property taxes for the rest of this year
3. A new $7000 tax credit (spread over 2008 and 2009) for homes purchased in 2008 which were in foreclosure

22% of 401(k) Plans Have Roth Deferral Option

According to the Profit Sharing/401(k) Council of America, 22% of 401(k) plans now have a Roth deferral option.

This option gives the worker the choice between pre-tax deferrals and "Roth deferrrals."  These Roth deferrals are after-tax, and grow tax-free forever.  They can be rolled into a Roth IRA, and have no AGI limits.

Hillary Clinton to the Poor: Buy Health Care, or Pay Up

Many times, an "individual mandate" to purchase health insurance is advanced as one policy solution.  If people won't buy health insurance, make them do it under pain of the law.  The argument is often advanced that we do it for car insurance, so why not prevent people from "free-riding" the system?

The problem is that health care is not affordable.  If it were, people would already be purchasing insurance because it would be in their best interest to do so.  To force people (especially the poor) to purchase an unaffordable product is not only cruel--it's a form of central planning.

Yet that's exactly what Hillary Clinton, Newt Gingrich, and many people in between are advocating.  Jim Capretta picks it apart in today's NRO.

Senate GOP and Conservatives Lukewarm on Housing Plan

Here's the full article, with a comment I had this morning:

Ryan Ellis, tax policy director of Americans for Tax Reform, a conservative anti-tax group, said: “There are definitely more pro-growth tax cut measures that can be done. “Indexing the basis of capital gains to inflation, cutting the corporate income tax rate, or replacing depreciation with expensing would all do a lot more good than a new housing tax credit,” said Ellis.

Retirement Plan Assets Doubled in Last Decade

This according to a new report from Watson Wyatt Worldwide:

Assets in U.S. pension funds, 401(k)s, individual retirement accounts (IRAs), and other retirement savings vehicles have increased from $7.9 trillion in 1997 to $15 trillion in 2007...In the United States, most retirement plan assets (59%) are invested in equities, while less than a quarter (23%) are in bonds, and 17% in alternative assets, including hedge funds, private equity, real estate, commodities, and infrastructure. The amount of assets invested in equities has remained relatively stable over the last 10 years, but the portion in alternative investments has grown from 9% in 1997 and the share in bonds has declined from 33% in 1997.

Hillary Clinton REALLY Doesn't Believe In Private Sector Health Insurance

She's stopped paying health insurance for her campaign staff.  I guess she wants them to go on Medicaid or something.

And we thought Barack Obama was cheap.