Jun 04 Which Taxes Offer an Opportunity to Be Progressive? Question: What other taxes offer an opportunity to be progressive besides income and inheritance taxes? Paul Solman: Great question. I hope school is still in session. One alternative tax would be a progressive… Continue reading
May 27 Do Mutual Funds Count as Savings? Question: You recently did a piece on savings, and it made me wonder. Every month, I shunt some money automatically into mutual funds (nothing to do with an official retirement account). The portion that is in a money market… Continue reading
May 05 Watch Finance Fallacy: Saving vs. Investing Understanding today's economy is hard enough without having to wrestle with popular misconceptions and misinformation. In a new series, Paul Solman and guests debunk the conventional wisdom to help make sense of our economic world. Continue watching
Apr 30 Reader Responses: The Paradox of Thrift You can watch one of Paul’s recent Making $ense pieces, The Paradox of Thrift, below. Here are a few reader reactions and Paul’s responses. Question: I have a question related to your recent segment, Paradox of Thrift: Aren’t the… Continue reading
Apr 16 In Case You Missed It: The Paradox of Thrift Editor’s Note: On last night’s NewsHour, Paul examined the paradox of thrift. Here’s MIT’s Simon Johnson explaining the phenomenon in the segment: SIMON… Continue reading
Apr 15 Can We Prepare for Inflation? Editor’s Note: The government reported Wednesday that consumer prices fell in March, indicating a weakened demand for goods and services. But while this price drop raises the specter of deflation, many economists contend that the real risk to… Continue reading
Mar 30 Will We Still Reject Materialism After the Downturn? Question: I enjoyed your recent interview with Robert McElvaine. (Editor’s note: Watch the interview below.) His thesis that the downturn will lead us away from consumption as a way of life to what really matters is interesting. Am I… Continue reading
Feb 23 Will the Next Generation Be Better Off? Question/Comment: Will the next generation be better off? Paul Solman: Who knows? But an interesting skeptic is Dallas Salisbury, head of the Employee Benefits Research Institute. I interviewed him recently for a story on what’s known as “the… Continue reading
Oct 03 Should I move now whatever money I can to federally insured savings accounts? Question/Comment: I am 62, hoping to retire at 67. I have no debt and my money is invested (following the advice of a pricey financial adviser) in both equities and guaranteed income. I’ve lost a big chunk of dough in… Continue reading
Sep 03 Has anyone ever done a study of household income? Question/Comment: Has anyone ever done a study of medium household income to compare what households think they can save to what economists think those households can save? Maybe even further broken down by age group, hopefully indicating wisdom/discipline? Can these… Continue reading