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By Ann Logue on May 6, 2013
Last week, Thomas Friedman wrote a breathy column for the New York Times about how it’s a 401(k) world. The idea being that just as we have responsibility for our own retirement funds – which is good for some people – we have responsibility for more of our careers – which is also good for [...]
Posted in Financial Advice, Political Discourse, Teaching Finance | Tagged 401(k) plans, pension reform, saving for retirement |
By Ann Logue on April 26, 2013
This semester, I’m teaching a class at UIC on business, finance, and American culture. It’s a lot of fun to teach, and (I think) the students get a lot out of it. The class has started making their final presentations, and the first batch was really good. Three of the books assigned are The Jungle, [...]
Posted in Chicago, Chicago on the Cheap, Political Discourse | Tagged books, careers, Chicago on the Cheap, college, Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, Money Smart Week, savings, The Jungle, Tis |
By Ann Logue on March 27, 2013
I spent a lot of time last week pulling up charts on income inequality in the U.S. to use in class.This chart is from the Congressional Budget Office and shows the difference in income distribution between 1979 and 2007. It doesn’t look good, and that was before the recession. The interesting thing is that there [...]
Posted in Political Discourse, Teaching Finance | Tagged income inequality |
By Ann Logue on February 28, 2013
Last week, I heard Chicago Reader columnist Ben Joravsky talked all about tax increment financing, the current complication in the City of Chicago’s budget. Originally designed to help improve blighted neighborhoods, the TIF program has turned into a slush fund with little transparency and a lot of potential for corruption. For example, the 53rd Street [...]
Posted in Chicago, Political Discourse | Tagged Ben Joravsky, public finance, tax increment financing, TIFs |
By Ann Logue on January 29, 2013
The lovely and talented John Warner writes that coach’s salaries should be part of the higher education discussion. At the same time, the Chicago Public Schools have suspended two coaches for bad behavior during a game that ended with a shooting in the parking lot afterward. I’m a believer in sports for kids and adults. [...]
Posted in College Admissions and Costs, Political Discourse | Tagged athletic scholarships, athletics, budget cuts, college education, college football, John Warner, paying for college |
By Ann Logue on January 17, 2013
The enormous holiday season is pretty much over; we went from Halloween to Elvismas with a whole bunch of fun and cookies packed in between. Another seasonal standby is the article about the value of presents, both in religious and in economic terms. Many cultures have different ways of compelling people to redistribute wealth and/or [...]
Posted in Financial Advice, Political Discourse, Teaching Finance | Tagged control premium, deadweight loss of Christmas, gifts, holidays, Joel Waldfogel, Megan McArdle, option premium, wealth transfers |
By Ann Logue on December 5, 2012
I recently had a Day Trading for Dummies reader ask me about the tax effects of an equity options strategy that he was using. His broker was not giving him a clear answer, and that’s not a surprise – derivatives are taxed differently than stocks and bonds, which is part of their appeal for day [...]
Posted in Day Trading, Financial Advice, Political Discourse | Tagged capital gains taxes, CBOE, Day Trading for Dummies, day trading taxes, income taxes, options taxes |
By Ann Logue on September 27, 2012
China has been spending enormous amounts of money on infrastructure. The US should be spending more money in infrastructure. Brazil is embarking on an infrastructure program in advance of the 2016 Olympics. Is this good, bad, or ugly? For the most part, infrastructure is good. We need roads to get around, railroads and shipyards to [...]
Posted in China, Emerging Markets, Political Discourse | Tagged Brazil, China, crowding in, crowding out, emerging markets, Emerging Markets for Dummies, infrastructure spending, stimulus |
By Ann Logue on August 20, 2012
Punk’s not dead in Russia, although it will be going to prison for a while. Three members of the band Pussy Riot have been sentenced to two years in prison for a protest against both Vladimir Putin and the Russian Orthodox Church. Whether or not you agree with them, their protest would be legitimate in [...]
Posted in Emerging Markets, Political Discourse, Socially Responsible Investing | Tagged Emerging Markets for Dummies, Pussy Riot, Russia, Socially Responsible Investing for Dummies |
By Ann Logue on August 8, 2012
Higher education is expensive. The cost is especially high for people who attend for a while, then drop out. They incur the costs but not the benefits, and it’s got to be demoralizing, too. Not everyone should go to college. Certainly, not everyone should go to college at age 18. I believe this. Still, it [...]
Posted in College Admissions and Costs, Political Discourse | Tagged college education, high school education, paying for college |
