Most Recent Posts
Conversion Of “Rental Property” To Personal Use Does Not Blow 1031 Like Kind Exchange
Originally published on forbes.com. If you want your exchange to qualify for deferral under 1031, it is not enough that the properties be of like kind. (With real...
Dell Not Subject To Damage Claim For Collecting Too Much Sales Tax
Sometimes, it is not nearly as much fun to be a major corporation as those Occupy Wall Street folks seem to think. Take sales tax for example. The states are all over...
Could Refinancing All Student Loans Be A Free Lunch For The Taxpayers?
As I noted, the consolidation program outlined above worries them a little. Well, here is what I am thinking. Maybe we the taxpayers need to encourage our President and his likely opponent to propose a program that would worry Sallie a lot. It is our guaranty that makes the debts of those kids (and many of them are not kids anymore) a valuable financial asset, that the capital markets can play with for the next 20 years. Why don’t we just offer to refinance the whole lot at a reasonable rate? That includes the loans that are not performing that well. We are already stuck with the downside on them because of the guaranty. If we want to be nice guys, we could do things like put in bankruptcy protection for the really desperate. But even, if we want to be hardnosed about, it is the taxpayers who are at risk that should be making the profits on the loans for the next twenty years.
Beating The Possible Estate Tax Increase Without Switching To Cat Food – The Midmill Dilemma
The Problem The current scheduled changes in the estate and gift tax rates and exemptions have me struggling to come up with some good ideas for a particular class of...
Sallie Mae Not Opposed To Bankruptcy Relief For Student Loans
I have this strong desire for everybody to get along. Somebody once told me it is because I am an Aquarian. So the image of the President of Sallie Mae and the student loan activist singing Kumbaya about bankruptcy protection is irresistible to me
Supreme Court Has Taken Ammunition From IRS In Son Of Boss Cases – Time To Fix Bayonets ?
Originally Published on forbes.com on April 27th, 2012 ______________________________________ Just so the lawyers do not think I am a moron, I suppose I should talk...
News Flash to Obama On Student Loans: It Is Not The Interest Rates…It Is The Sticker Price
Originally Published on forbes.com on April 26th, 2012 ______________________________________ I asked Alan Collinge for a follow-up to explain more thoroughly why he...
Supreme Court Takes Break From Obamacare To Bail 1% Out Of Abusive Shelters
Originally Published on forbes.com on April 25th, 2012 ______________________________________ The kids out occupying probably are not going to be that upset by the...
Student Loans – Beyond The Interest Rate Debate
The problems with this legislation really only underscore the need to restore bankruptcy and perhaps other fundamental consumer protections to student loans. The Department of Education would be far more likely to come up with a good workable set of forgiveness programs with fundamental protections in place. Conversely, history (decades of history) clearly demonstrates that the Department will not do anything to help students in their absence.
Time To Occupy Department Of Education?
People aren’t camping out by the thousands and protesting in public spaces across this country because of interest rates on student loans, government conferences, or Secret Servicemen schtooping around in foreign lands. They (we) are resorting to occupations across the land because of the big stuff, the very big stuff that Congress and the President seem all too happy to ignore, regardless of the damage it is doing to normal, decent citizens. This blatant disregard for the public interest is intolerable. And if you thought the occupations of last winter were something, you ain’t seen nothing yet as long as this big, bad governance continues on both sides of the aisle, by corrupted servants, both elected, and unelected.