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Obama: On the Economy

 
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    Barack Obama’s economic plan is focused on cutting income taxes on middle-class families and dealing with stagnant wages, according to his campaign Web site.

    The senator would impose a windfall profits tax on oil companies to pay for a $1,000 “emergency energy rebate” to American families to help the economy.

    This would also go toward “a $25 billion State Growth Fund to prevent state and local cuts in health, education, housing, and heating assistance or counterproductive increases in property taxes, tolls or fees… all to save more than 1 million jobs in danger of being cut,” says the Web site.

    Obama supports cutting income taxes by $1,000 for working families to offset payroll taxes and would put in place a “Making Work Pay” tax credit of up to $500 per person ($1,000 per family), which would eliminate all income taxes for 10 million Americans, according to the campaign site.

    Housing:

    Obama supports creating a fund to help people refinance their mortgages and give support to homeowners who were affected, according to the campaign Web site. He would also allow bankruptcy courts to modify mortgage agreements.

    The senator would like to see increased enforcement of mortgage fraud as well as tougher penalties, says the site.

    To help homeowners, Obama would also support the creation of a 10% mortgage credit for those who do not itemize tax relief.

    See Obama: On Rescue Plan, Bailouts for more information on the Rescue Package

    Social Security and Medicare:

    Obama’s campaign site says he does not support raising the retirement age for collecting Social Security benefits or cutting benefits. He is also against privatizing the program and proposes increasing social security taxes on those making more than $250,000 in order to keep it solvent.

    The candidate seeks to eliminate Medicare subsidies to the private insurance Medicare Advantage Program, according to the campaign site, and would close the “doughnut hole” in the prescription drug benefit (Part D), while also requiring more transparency to help seniors see how much they’re paying for drugs with their plan compared to the previous year.

    WATCH: Saving Social Security

    See Obama: On Health Care for more information on Obama's plans to deal with insurance

    Trade:

    Unlike his opponent, John McCain, Obama opposed free trade pacts with Columbia and South Korea. He would also renegotiate NAFTA to strengthen labor and environmental provisions, pulling out if Canada and Mexico refused, according to a Reuters report.

    During a news conference he said, "we didn't have enforceable labor and environmental agreements in that agreement. I think that was a mistake. And that, as a consequence, I didn't support it."

    However, Obama did support a free trade agreement with Peru and would be willing to normalize trade relations with Cuba if they gave evidence of democratic reform, said the report.

    At a campaign event the senator said we need to confront the issue of trade with China. "As I've said before, America and the world can benefit from trade with China, but trade with China will only be good for you if China itself plays by the rules and acts as a positive force for balanced world growth."

    Employment:

    Barack Obama supports indexing minimum wage to inflation as well as extending unemployment payments beyond 26 weeks and providing unemployment insurance to part-time workers and temps, says a report in the National Journal.

     

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    No-Load Funds

    Some mutual funds want you to pay for the privilege of them (or your investment adviser) taking your money to invest. It's called a load, and it works like a cover charge to get into a nightclub. Luckily, there are such things as no-load funds. As the name implies, shares of these funds are sold without a fee paid to a broker or investment advisor.

    The entire amount you invest in no-load funds goes to work for your returns. On the other hand, with load funds, right off the bat you're charged commission (not to mention other fees incurred over the life of the investment). Let's say, for example, you invest $25,000 into a load fund that charges a 5% commission. This costs you $1,250 off the top, bringing your actual investment down to only $23,750.

    The often-cited horse race analogy argues against investing in load funds. Here's the logic behind it: Would you place a bet on a horse that had to start a race 200 yards behind the others? Well, maybe you would if you got a tip from a sketchy, trench coat-clad man in a dark alley. However, under most circumstances, it's not smart to put your money on that handicapped horse.

    But some argue that at times that man in the trench coat (aka your broker) knows more about the horses than you do, and has a better shot at picking a winner. Also, sometimes these fees are unavoidable because some funds are available only through investment advisers.

    Cost-benefit analysis can help determine when a load fund is worth it (in other words, when it will score you a load) and when it is better to "do it yourself" and avoid the fees. Load-fund fees range depending on share class and can cover a variety of costs, such as paper work and fund management.