I hope you caught the presidential debate last night. While I've been riveted by all the rhetoric about the Iraq war, what I couldn't wait to hear was how President Bush and Sen. John F. Kerry plan to fix the economy.
But I'm afraid I didn't get the reassurance that the economy will pick up, as I had hoped.
In fact, I agree with some workers quoted in a Post story this week who said there hasn't been enough debate about economic issues right here in the good old USA.
But in all matters political, it's best to be your own judge. So check out what each candidate had to say (with some refereeing by The Post) about job losses, trade and worker training, the quality of jobs in the U.S. and Pell grants.
By the way, I thought Kerry's best line was when he countered President Bush's claim that his administration had "expanded Pell Grants by a million students." Kerry said: "But you know why the Pell Grants have gone up in their numbers? Because more people qualify for them because they don't have money."
I Told You So
It just warms my heart when someone reads an item in my column and follows up on it. It makes this job even more worthwhile.
For example, I recently received a letter from Michelle Ule of Santa Rosa, Calif. Ule wrote that she saw a Color of Money column about the Military Family Tax Relief Act that was signed into law last year.
Ule was happy about a provision in the law aimed at assisting military personnel who move often. She wrote: "My husband is now retired from the Navy, but we sold a house in 1998 and had to pay $15,000 in capital gains taxes. According to the note in your article, Congress had passed a law closing a loophole, apparently for just one year, and we could apply to get some of that money back. My husband couldn't believe the good news in your article but went right to work and read through IRS regulations."
In the end, the couple refiled their 1998 tax return, and the check will soon be in the mail. "Oh, and while they were at it, [the IRS] found [a] 'rolled over' loss which we can apply to this year's tax return, saving us another sum of money," Ule said in an e-mail. "So thank you. We're just trying to decide, now, how much of our windfall to send to an orphanage in Haiti."
Aw shucks, it was my pleasure.
And what a wonderful couple, wouldn't you say. They're passing their blessings on to others.
The lesson here is really that we all should be reading the business pages of our local newspaper or reading other sources of personal finance news. It's important to keep up with all things financial just in case a change in tax law or another development applies to our personal situation.
Paragons of Parsimony
When does pinching pennies cross the line?
It does in this example sent to me by one reader: "My stepmother used to take the packets of sweeteners off of the table at restaurants for use at home. She claimed that she was paying for it in a service fee added into the bill."
I know I don't have to say this to all my readers, but for the frugal folks out there who take more than they need when eating out -- that's not saving. It's stealing.
Read Past Penny Pinching Tips
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