Last month, Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) introduced a health-reform-bill amendment that would have prevented the federal government from requiring insurers to offer any particular medical benefits. "I don't need maternity care," he said. "And so requiring that to be in my insurance policy is something that I don't need and will make the policy more expensive."
Michigan Democrat Debbie Stabenow zinged back: "I think your Mom probably did."
The left side of MORE
Pat Regnier - Oct 30, 2009 4:21 PM ET
The Federal Reserve released on Thursday the latest details of its burgeoning balance sheet. In short, the assets on the Fed's books now amount to $2.2 trillion. That's more than double where it was a little over a year ago (when it stood at a mere $900 billion) -- before the central bank bought tons of Treasury debt and mortgage-backed securities from the nation's banks in the midst of MORE
Joe Light - Oct 30, 2009 12:32 PM ET
There's a lot of speculation about what will happen to the federal estate tax (or the "death tax," if you oppose it) next year. A handful of bills have been introduced in Congress recently, many of which would raise the current exemption from $3.5 million to $5 million and keep the tax rate at 45%. (Under current law, the estate tax disappears in 2010 but is reinstated in 2011 at MORE
Carolyn Bigda - Oct 28, 2009 11:34 AM ET
Q: My parents were always careful with money. But since Mom died, Dad has taken up with a much wealthier widow and is blowing through his savings entertaining her. Isn't she wrong to let him undermine his financial security like that?
A: Maybe. The key question: Is your dad's lady friend in the dark as to his resources or is she just uncaring? If your father has been pretending to MORE
Jeanne Fleming, Ph.D., and Leonard Schwarz - Oct 28, 2009 10:34 AM ET
A year ago, if my channel surfing habits had led me to a documentary about the Great Depression, I probably would have kept my finger on the clicker. At that point it seemed no one knew for sure if our country was heading into another depression. I'm not sure I could have forced myself to watch what could have been a glimpse into how miserable life may be over the MORE
Amanda Gengler - Oct 26, 2009 3:18 PM ET
With the November 30 expiration of the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit fast approaching, the wrangling in Washington over whether to extend the program is getting mighty interesting.
In early September, Senator Johnny Isakson, the patron saint of the National Association of Realtors (and a guy who made his fortune selling real estate) teamed up with Senator Christopher Dodd to back a plan that would increase the current $8,000 credit to MORE
Carla Fried - Oct 26, 2009 11:36 AM ET
Adjustable-rate mortgages have gotten a pretty bad rap since the housing market tanked a few years ago. After all, the over-availability of ARMs undeniably contributed to the housing bubble and following foreclosure wave. So readers of my recent piece in MONEY's November issue, "Is it Time to Dump Your ARM?," might have been surprised to see a recommendation that some homeowners refinancing out of one ARM should refinance into another MORE
Beth Braverman - Oct 23, 2009 12:28 PM ET
Here's part two of my extended interview with renegade supply-side economist Bruce Bartlett, including some thoughts on Medicare that might just scare the pants off you. See here for part one, and here for the less-wonky version that's running in Money's November issue.
David Futrelle: As one of the original supply-siders, you worry that supply side economics had been reduced to little more than a religion of tax cuts, tax cuts, MORE
David Futrelle - Oct 22, 2009 10:55 AM ET
Bruce Bartlett is a man of strong opinions. A supply-side economist even before the Reagan Revolution, he served in two Republican administrations and then as a policy wonk and gadfly at conservative think tanks. But in recent years he's gotten fed up with Republicans who've turned supply-side economics into a crude and sometimes cynical faith in tax cuts as the solution to whatever ails us. Meanwhile, many conservatives have gotten MORE
David Futrelle - Oct 20, 2009 8:55 PM ET
Reverse mortgages are increasingly the go-to solution for retirees confronting insufficient nest eggs and paltry income payouts in today's low-rate environment. Last year, the number of new Home Equity Conversion Mortgages insured by the federal government amounted to 112,000 -- more than 14 times the HECMs that were originated in 2001. The 2009 tally is expected to be even higher.
Last week's news that 2010 Social Security benefits will MORE
Carla Fried - Oct 19, 2009 11:51 AM ET
My daughter recently reached a dubious milestone in her life: She received her first credit-card solicitations in the mail. "A great rate is just the beginning …" read one of the offers, which were targeted at college students. Problem: My daughter is not a college student. She's 12 years old.
My first reaction was to be angry at the mean, incompetent credit card companies trying to lure my tween into a MORE
Lisa Gibbs - Oct 15, 2009 4:29 PM ET
When Congress passed the Credit Card reform bill this past Spring it bowed to industry pressure and delayed enactment of the new regs for nine months. Signed into law in May by President Obama the bulk of the reforms mandated by the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility & Disclosure Act of 2009 won't take effect until February 22nd, 2010.
Card issuers insisted they needed that time to get their systems set to MORE
Carla Fried - Oct 14, 2009 9:58 AM ET
Why they're a buy: With luxury apparel sales in a slump, many high-end shirtmakers are cutting prices. The best shirts are made of two-ply Egyptian or Sea Island cotton with 100-plus thread count; they have a collar that's sewn, not glued, and buttons that are mother-of-pearl, not plastic. The ready- to-wear shirts normally retail for about $150 to $250, but right now you can find one for as little MORE
Carolyn Bigda - Oct 12, 2009 4:31 PM ETIf you're trying to figure out how much risk you can stomach in your investment portfolio, there's a key question you have to answer first: What exactly is your investment portfolio, anyway?
The answer to that question isn't as simple as you might think -- and it could have a significant impact on how you invest your money. Unfortunately, when I wrote a story about investment risk tolerance for the MORE George Mannes - Oct 11, 2009 8:00 AM ET
The White House says President Obama will donate the $1.4 million in cash that comes with his Nobel Peace prize. Which made us wonder: What are the tax implications of this?
Over at Politico, Josh Gerstein reports on some of the possible legal complications of accepting the monetary award, even if the President immediately gives it away. His source suggests that Obama could, among other things, end up owing some tax.
Maybe MORE
Pat Regnier - Oct 9, 2009 4:16 PM ET
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