Taxes - How does the government spend money?

The governments spends there money on multiple areas such as:

Military 51% - They spend this money for veteran benefits, interest in the national debt, military personel housing construction and the development of new arms.

Medicare 17% - The national health insurance program for people 65 or older and under 65 with disabilities and people with permenant kidney failure.

Medicaid 16% - This program pays for medical assistance to families and individuals who meet certain eligibility based on income. This is the largest source of medical and health resource in United States.

Misc. 13% - Payments for people receiving health care at the time services are used, and other government projects.

Savings and Debt

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U.S. Trade Deficit: Getting Better?

This article is about how the exports are reflecting the the US dollar and how the trad deficit is getting larger. The US currently has a negative negative balance of trade which is known as the trade deficit or trade gap. This is created because the US is imports, more then they export. Although things are currently changing because however our dollar decreased in value we are now highly sought because with the exchange rate foreign countries are really getting a more for there money. Since our products are more sought after, we are exporting more. This increases our GDP as well as increasing domestic jobs, but most of all our trade deficit will go down. Vehicles, diesel, earth moving equipment, shovels, factory machinery and digital components to build a modern telecommunications back bone are just some of the American made products being exported to nations abroad.

Taxes - How does the government get money?

The three main taxes in United States we pay are Federal Taxes, State Taxes, and City/Local Taxes. We also pay miscellaneous taxes such as the pollution tax. The Federal Tax covers the payroll and income tax which is taken out from your wage, the estate tax which is collected from a deceased person's estate, and the excise tax which is taken from the sale of tobacco, gasoline and alcoholic beverages. The State Taxes are mostly the same as the Federal Taxes but also have a General Tax which includes the sale of most general purchases. The City/Local taxes are basically the same as the Federal and State Taxes.

Compound Interest and the rule of 72

The rule of 72 is a quick and accurate tool to predict how fast your will double in a given amount of time with a select interest. By dividing 72 by the annual interest rate you will get your answer. For example if you have $1,000 in the bank and you have 6% interest. 72 divided by 6 is 12. That means it will take 12 years for your money to double. Albert Einstein was originator behind this method. It is very valuable when you are managing money.

Compound interest is interest which is calculated not initial but during the a accumulated period of times. Money you earn yearly through interest. Is accumulated when the interest is added yearly.

Insider Trading Scandal - What Happened?

On March 1, a group of current and former employees of U.S. top banks were charged for insider trading. They are accused of using leaked information and even blackmailing to make millions of dollars on the stock market. The case involved 13 people from four major Wall Street investment banks (UBS, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America and Bear Stearns). All the men were arrested and four pleaded guilty. They are estimated to have gained $8 million through insider trading. Insider trading is illegal because it give a unfair advantage to those who have money in the stock market. Insider trading allows you know if stock is going to drop or rise before the public does.

Dow down 416 pts! - Why?

The Dow Jones drop was devasting to the whole stock market. Everyone was selling due to thoughts of overinflation and the lost of value of stocks left and right. But it did not start with Dow Jones, it started millions of miles away in China. The market initially fell in China when rumors stirred of the Chinese governments intentions of raising interest rates and reducing more of the money available for lending. This caused a stir and led to a 9% percent drop in the Chinese stock market. This caused chaos in America and led to 416 points drop at Dow Jones. This is the worst day of trading in the states since after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

This left me highly frustrated with all the stocks I owned. My stocks were already in decline so this added insult to injury. Disheartened, I sold all my stocks I originally owned. I invested in cheaper stocks and small companies hoping to start with a clean slate.