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Bernard Madoff, convicted of running an $65 billion Ponzi scheme, was sentenced to 150 years in jail. What’s your take on his punishment?

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By Knight Kiplinger
The Kiplinger Washington Editors
July 2, 2009
 

Overhauling
Financial Regs

By year-end or so, Congress will give the nod to a major rewriting of the nation's financial regulatory system. This week’s Kiplinger Letter explores whether the package will do more harm than good and what lawmakers are likely to include.
 
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: The Economy, Business Costs, Taxes, Supreme Court, Energy, Workplace Regulations, Climate Change, Health Care Legislation and Foreign Policy

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OPEN FORUM: Share your insights and analysis with other visitors.
 
I just attended a franchise seminar. The speaker represents a few hundred franchises that (he says) are hand picked. He has the prospect (aka victim?) answer some questions about themselves then he makes recomendations - based on your personality, capital situation, etc.. If you pick a franchise, then he does some due dilligence for you. If you both decide it's a good idea, he helps you get started. He says he offers this service free of charge, which means he gets a commission if he's able to sell you a franchise. Has anyone done this? Successfully? Unsuccessfully?
-- fender
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Tough Sledding Awaits Budget Cuts Proposed by Bush

Congress will rein in spending—but not as much as the president wants—as it considers next year's budget.
 
By Richard Sammon, Senior Associate Editor, The Kiplinger Letter
 

February 8, 2005

Congress won't reject out of hand President Bush's call to restrain domestic spending programs unrelated to national defense and homeland security, but it won't come close to making the deep cuts in dozens of popular programs on his target list, either.

Lawmakers, for instance, will agree to trim housing and urban development programs, but not by $3.7 billion, as the president proposed. Doing so would gut programs that are popular on both sides of the political aisle, including community development block grants used for urban renewal. Similarly, Congress will agree to pare agriculture programs, including shaving price supports for several commodities, but it won't decrease the entire agriculture budget by the nearly 10% Bush proposed.

Congress will also keep operating subsidies for Amtrak, which received $1.2 billion for the current fiscal year. While the train service has many critics because it has never been profitable, it also has strong supporters in both parties, especially from states in the Northeast with heavy commuter traffic. Those advocates will ensure that operating subsidies continue.

At the same time, there will be reluctance, including among some conservatives, to go along with Bush's proposal to significantly boost foreign aid while reducing the budget for nondefense needs at home. And many Democrats will decry the cost of the Bush tax cuts, saying that reductions in domestic programs, especially for low-income families, would not be considered were it not for the tax cuts and their effect on the deficit.

The inability of Congress to make all the decreases the president wants will affect his ability to keep a pledge to slice the deficit in half, from last year's $521-billion level, by the time he leaves office. For too many members of Congress, saving programs they want will prove to be more important than trimming the deficit.

Researcher-Reporter: Kathy Rowings

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