I Said I Wouldn’t But I Did: I Bought A House
I bought a house today. Yes, after I said I hoped never to buy a house again. Here’s why I did it and why my advice about homebuying and taxes, as well as renting, still hasn’t changed.
-
-
Budget Faces Challenge From Senators Wary Of Spending, User Fees To Taxpayers
The House has passed a budget deal – and convincingly so. But it will pass muster in the Senate? There are challenges, including concerns about increased spending and those pesky user fees. Are we in for another filibuster?
-
House Will Vote To Push Off Debt Ceiling Talks. Again.
House Republican leaders announced over the weekend that they will vote this week on a plan to extend the debt ceiling for three more months so that they don’t have to do anything just yet. And to make us feel better, they swear that if Congress can’t pass a budget by then, they won’t get…
-
House Considers Vote On Budget Tonight (Psst: Don't Get Your Hopes Up)
Lots going on in D.C. today so let me catch you up to speed. The Democratic Senate reached a compromise on the budget deal in the wee hours of the morning. The deal extended tax cuts for all except those at the very top – but didn’t touch spending. That, the Senate claims, they’ll tackle…
-
Boehner Claims House Victory, Mandate To Not Raise Taxes
Election, schmelection. With many news outlets showing the economy as the #1 election issue (like this report from Orlando, which circulated on Drudge today), Representatives in the House dug in their heels with House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) saying that no matter the result, raising taxes won’t happen. Pretty confident, right? Of course, he is….
-
Congress Takes A Holiday, Passes Payroll Tax Cut Extension Anyway
Congress may be on holiday but they still managed to get something done. And by something, I mean nothing. But they want to pretend that they did something so we’ll let them have their moment. The House and the Senate passed a bill that would extend the payroll tax cuts for a lousy two months….
-
Congress To Taxpayers: We Give Up
For the second time in so many months (remember the debt ceiling deadline debacle?), Congress has thrown up its hands and walked away. After failing to reach a workable compromise on the payroll tax cut extension, members of the House left town for the holidays. The payroll tax cuts are set to expire before the…
-
Monday Night Vote Lessens Chances Of Payroll Tax Cut Approval
The payroll tax cut extensions are going nowhere fast… A vote last night by Republicans on the House rules committee will prevent a direct vote today on the Senate plan to extend the cuts by a ridiculous two months. So if you were looking for an update, go about your business today, there’s nothing to…
-
Tax Deal Passes House
You know how when you were a kid, you’d think about something coming up that you were really looking forward to – like Christmas or your birthday or vacation – and then it would come and you were all, “This is it?” The tax deal passed last night in the House. It was kind of…
-
Tax Issues and Elections
According to most post election polls, voters cited the economy as the #1 factor in influencing votes – more than health care, more than abortion, more than homeland security, more than immigration, more than education. This makes me wonder: what influenced your vote this year? If it was the economy, were taxes a factor? Or…