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Joel’s Published Column
In December, I wrote about the ratcheting-up of our inflationary numbers. We had recently heard from our Federal Reserve Chairman, Jerome Powell, that we need not worry because the inflation created through our government’s money printing policies and its COVID restriction-induced supply chain debacle was going to be “transitory.” I assumed that “transitory” must be related to . . .
The wave of infections from the COVID Omicron variant that started just before the holiday break has been nothing short of breathtaking. I don’t know about you, but it seems like almost everyone I talk to lately has been infected and or re-infected. Vaccinated, unvaccinated – it seems like Omicron doesn’t play favorites and is out in full force to wreak havoc on our nation. The only good I can make of it is that (at this writing) it seems to be much less lethal than the previous strains.
I wish all My City Magazine readers a very prosperous and Happy New Year!
I also want to share some exciting news! The team at OLV Investment Group was recently joined by a new financial advisor who has worked diligently in the financial services industry for over 24 years. Tim St. Cin, formerly of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, is someone we consider to be well-known in the Flint area and we are honored that he has chosen to finish his career with OLV Investment Group.
Now, on to the business of 2022. After a life-altering 18 months and watching our stadiums go from socially distant attendance to 100,000 U of M fans packed like sardines in The Big House, I’m beginning to think that life may just start getting back to normal. I know – we’re not getting our hopes up, as it seems like this virus can do the impossible; but a research article has got me excited. This research comes from a little firm out of New York City called JP Morgan Chase (Fortune.com Dec 9, 2021.)
As we’ve just finished recovering from our Thanksgiving feasts and mustered the courage to step back onto the scales to assess the damage that’s been done, I encourage everyone to also assess their lives in terms of generosity.
We’ve all heard about possible tax increases to help pay for the government’s $11 trillion of money creation and borrowing that is supposed to help us recover from the economic devastation caused by Washington’s policy that forced healthy Americans to stay in their houses and 16 million to lose their jobs. Here is a fun fact: over the last 18 months, we’ve created 40% of the total amount of money that was created from 1776 until 2021! In fact, if you tried to count our national debt, which stands at roughly $29 trillion, and you were able to count one-digit per second, it would take you just over 900,000 years to do it. So, Jesus of Nazareth could have started counting when he was born and he would still have 898,000 years left of counting to do. Simply mind-boggling.
I’m at work, it’s 4pm and I can feel myself falling behind on the day’s tasks. I know that the family has dinner planned, kid’s evening events that need shuttling to. My family will be expecting me home by 6pm to get the evening rolling and I know I’ll be lucky to get there by 6:30. It is at this instant that I have to decide whether to make the phone call to tell them I’ll be home late, OR do my best to work faster than I ever have to make sure I arrive just slightly after 6pm, maybe 6:15-6:20?
The House of Representatives is putting forth a new tax plan that will likely increase taxes on both corporations as well as higher-income earners. An article on Rueters.com1 states the current proposal is to increase corporate tax rates from 21% to 26.5%, and to increase the highest personal tax bracket from 37% to 39.6%. It would also increase the Capital Gains Tax for single filers making above $400,000 and joint filers making above $450,000 from 20% to 25%. Luckily (for the time being), it looks like the step-up in cost basis to the owner’s date of death will remain in place. It also appears that the Estate Tax will likely stay intact at $11.7 million, which can be doubled through some moderately advanced estate planning.
According to USdebtclock.org, the United States currently has $28,521,118,904,217 being accounted for in our national debt. I have a tough time reading a number that is so fantastically large, but I believe that is 28.5 trillion dollars. As Donald Trump won his election in 2016, that number was just over $18 trillion. Being that August 8 just happens to be National Dollar Day, I wanted to address some concerns that I have been hearing a lot of recently regarding our pending doom, and the eventual decline of the dollar.
Click here to read more.
The iconic 1969 hit by Crosby, Stills & Nash could never be more applicable than it is today. The song’s lyrics can be especially applied when speaking of finances – passing on the lessons you’ve learned and teaching kids to make the right decisions that will allow them to achieve their dreams.
Click here to empower your kids with lessons you’ve learned.
There are certain points in my writing for MCM when I encourage readers to take a second look at the risk in their investment portfolio. By proactively managing equity and interest rate risk, investors may be able to decrease the level of volatility in their portfolio.
Click here for a quick lesson in financial risk terms and the value of the P/E ration.
The financial advising industry has changed dramatically over the past 20 years. When I worked for the country’s second largest brokerage firm back in 2005, we acted as our client’s broker. A broker is an investment professional who has passed their Series 7 licensing exam (as well as other state level exams) and charges a commission when transacting stock orders they recommend to their clients. Back in 2005, there was very limited access to the stock market via the internet.
Click here to learn more your advisor acting as your fiduciary.