Friday, April 17, 2009

Taxes & Points of View

First, Rollins & Associates, P.C. and Rollins Financial Counseling, Inc. are closed today for our annual after tax day holiday. It is just one day though, so do not worry, we will back in the office Monday morning.

There have been numerous articles this week on taxes and the various "Tea Parties" that were thrown around the nation. Sean Hannity even made it down to Atlanta for a Fox News Tea Party event. There were also several articles about President Obama's and Vice President Biden's tax returns which include a PDF of the President's tax return (view the article and tax return here).

I am taxed out though, so we will just focus on various editorials that have been written lately. Hope you enjoy them!

Europe Is No Model for Our Banks - By David Smick - The Wall Street Journal - "Barack Obama is facing a policy civil war within his party. One side is led by New York Times columnist Paul Krugman. The other is led by the president's top economic adviser, Larry Summers. The battle is over the future of Wall Street banks."

Alternative Fuel Folly - By Kim Strassel - The Wall Street Journal - "In 2007, Congress expanded the types of alternative fuels that counted for the credit, while also allowing 'non-mobile' entities to apply. This meant that Alaskan fish-processing facilities, for instance, which run their boilers off fish oil, might now also claim the credit."

Stuttgart Is Driving Old Europe Past Detroit - By Norman Pearlstine - Bloomberg - "Spring has come to Stuttgart. Cafes are full and young people walk arm in arm through the city’s crowded pedestrian malls. The central train station is spotless as are the city’s parks. Germany’s Motown is clearly no Detroit."

Small Cars Are Dangerous Cars - By Sam Kazman - The Wall Street Journal - "In the words of IIHS president Adrian Lund, 'though much safer than they were a few years ago, minicars as a group do a comparatively poor job of protecting people in crashes, simply because they're smaller and lighter.'"

Goldman Sachs Falls Behind JPMorgan in Debt Race- By David Reilly - Bloomberg - "Forget tough talk about repaying government funds issued through the Troubled Asset Relief Program. To really prove they are fighting fit, banks and brokers need to show they can consistently tap debt markets without government backing."

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