About Me 0093: Start Making Money

Income inequality is about to get worse, according to David Segal's article in Sunday's New York Times. Those of us not in the beneficiary column, the article suggests, had better start thinking of which "artisanal services" we can provide. In short, we need to identify what the rich need and start making those widgets tout de suite.

Paraphrasing Professor Caplin of NYU, Segal wrote:

"While it's noble to focus on how to spread wealth around, it might be wiser to think of ways the poor and middle class could cater to the economy's biggest winners."

The Republican Party has staked out a position where anything to the left of extreme selfishness is on the slippery slope to socialism. But it hasn't occurred to Democrats to counter with the more real scenario of creeping aristocracy.

And what do we hear from the White House? Talk about compromise, common ground and caution.

The administration keeps saying that the American people want a meeting of the minds -- they want the parties to work together. Do they really think that means at any cost?

Americans want Social Security to be there when they need it. They want their homes and their jobs back. They don't want their kids fighting on foreign soil so they can cater to the "biggest winners" when they get home. And, yes, they don't want more money going to fat cats in gigantic financial swindles while their own and their children's opportunities are taken away.

If we don't keep sending that message to Washington, then we will become a country of winners and losers, aristocrats and serfs.

Kathleen also blogs at comebacksatwork.com and bardscove and is on Twitter: @comebackskid.

As 2010 winds down, your April 2011 self will thank you for making some moves to lighten your tax bill and set your finances in order for the year ahead. Decisions you make in the next few weeks will have implications that last for months.

Yahoo Finance dishes up some savvy choices that will pay off as Father Time finally pulls the plug on the tortured year.

The article recommends maxing out charitable giving and contributions to retirement accounts in order to decrease your exposure to higher tax brackets, as well as maxing out tax-free retirement contributions and taking any vacation days that won't roll over into the next year.

Perhaps the most valuable piece of advice is to get organized. Culling together appropriate receipts and statements and setting them aside so they aren't mixed with stuff from next year will pay off when the tax crunch arrives.

What will you do the rest of the month to make sure you get off to a great start in 2011?

Smart money moves for the end of the year [Yahoo Finance]

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Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Start Making Money

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