Smith, Conley, and Associates Newsletter

Here's what one US Senator thinks of your ability to invest wisely.

The major problem with both Republicans and Democrats is they believe that the taxpayers (who pay their salaries) are just too stupid to wisely invest.
Do you doubt this statement? Then consider the following comments by a very well-known US Senator about your thinking and investment abilities.

He says this about you (the taxpayers of America):

I've supported many tax cuts over the years, and there are tax cuts in this proposal. But a tax cut is non-targeted.

If you put a tax cut into the hands of a business or family, there's no guarantee that they're going to invest that or invest it in America.

They're free to go invest anywhere that they want if they choose to invest.

[Editor's note: In context, the above freedom is presented as a very bad idea.]

Horror of horrors! You may actually have the freedom to put your own hard-earned, after-tax money into something you choose instead of what he wants !!!!

Just so you don't think we're misquoting the Honorable Senator - You can click the question mark below to hear the mystery man for yourself.
Warning: If you love freedom - you will be offended.

We've experienced a number of disappointments and broken promises in the fiscal budget area during the Bush administration. The newly enacted stimulus bill seems to set the stage for more dishonesty from the White House and Congress. By their own admission, not one member of the House (due to lack of time) had completely read the bill. I decided to revisit a web site that promised we taxpayers would have a lot more than 12-14 hours to look over any major legislation.

From the website: - www.barackobama.com

Hmm... 5 days on the Whitehouse website? We taxpayers didn't even get 5 minutes.  Is this how you keep your fiscal promises, Mr. President?

In a weak equity market, mutual fund managers are often forced to sell shares to raise cash. Thus even when the fund has a significant drop in its share price, large gains can be triggered and passed on to the owners.

The above often results in picking up income (without a cash distribution) even though your share value has declined.

Money magazine has an excellent article  on how to cope with this problem that we highly recommend.

As always, check with us before any major tax move.

Here's where your 800 billion is going 

For those who want to see exactly where your money is going - good luck. The bill is deliberately written in general terms giving broad spending powers which make the dollars difficult to track. Here's a general overview of how the money is allocated .