The mission of the Arthritis Foundation is to provide leadership in the prevention control and cure of arthritis and related diseases.The Arthritis Foundation has three major functions; discovering answers thru research, change behaviors by helping patients in finding the right care and reduce pain, and influence government thru public policy. 

If you want to help the Foundation and those who fight arthritis everyday, then walk with us this spring.

The Arthritis Walk^® is the Arthritis Foundation’s annual nationwide event that raises awareness and funds to fight arthritis, the nation’s leading cause of disability. It is a tremendous opportunity to help improve the lives of the 46 million men, women and children doctor-diagnosed with arthritis. Get your company involved or recruit friends and family members to form a team. Best of all, walk in honor of a loved one with arthritis and know you’re making a difference by raising funds to support Arthritis Foundation research, public health and public policy efforts to improve the lives of people with arthritis.

At the Event…

• Choose from a three-mile or one-mile walk route
• Write an inspirational message on the Wall of Heroes
• Wear a blue “hero” hat if you have arthritis
• Enjoy the fun, festivities and free health information

Register Today

Register online today! 

The Loudoun County Walk is going to be on May 31, 2008. 

Here is an article that falls a little short on health care. It briefly states the obvious and then opens up to comments (hmm…kind of like this site). The most entertaining part is reading some of the comments after the article. They range from the ridiculous to the pitiful, but neither the article NOR the comments specifically address the real problems:

1) Most health insurance (companies and plans) is not chosen or negotiated by the end user.
2) The average deductible in the U.S. is $500.

That’s it. End of story. You solve that, you solve about half the problem. And until you solve that it’s IMPOSSIBLE to solve the other half of the problem. Is this an easy problem to solve? It is for the consumer if you live in the right state (about 45 out of the 50). It’s not if you don’t.

My personal advise until the “Gubment” decides to solve all of our problems:

Take control of your health, and take control of your health insurance. Get underwritten while you’re healthy, and stay healthy.

The newest issue of the Financial Times is out. Here is a summary of some key issues:

Bill Gates got lucky (How you can get lucky too.): For the past decade, Bill Gates has been the richest person in the world. Believe it or not, one of the reasons Bill Gates achieved such financial success is because of luck. A commentary on random chance affects your chances for prosperity, and what you can do to increase the odds.

What’s at the end of your housing curve?: Should you ever want to pay off your mortgage, and own your home free and clear? What about as you approach retirement? Several perspectives on the financial and psychological benefits of life without a mortgage.

Beware of the bear in retirement: When using financial vehicles that deliver fluctuating returns, buy-and-hold may be a suitable long-term approach. But a simple mathematical discussion highlights the difference between accumulation and distribution strategies.

Social Security crisis no longer in the distance: When the first baby boomers start drawing Social Security benefits this January, the dire warnings about the demographic problems plaguing the governmental “security net” are coming closer to reality. How will this crisis be resolved? Besides the political response, what can you do as an individual?

For the full issue on PDF, click here.

Worried that your son or daughter may not get into the college you want?

What parents are saying about College Vision……

“We’re extremely happy with the work College Vision has done in raising awareness of the importance of a good head-start and early planning for college. Our son’s grades have already jumped up, he has a plan to fill in the gaps, and he’s showing a lot of interest in the overall process of qualifying for a quality school.”
A parent of a High School Junior

(Purcellville, Virginia) A new company has just opened its doors, to help area parents and their high school-age children get more organized in planning & preparing to get into their targeted colleges & universities.

After a year of fine-tuning their offerings, building an advanced, interactive website, and identifying & training a stable of experienced College Admissions ‘Coaches,’ College Vision, LLC, is ready to start working with local area students and their parents. (more…)

This is a great illustration, and I would even argue the BEST illustration–brought to my attention by my good friend, JohnnyB–of what’s wrong with the current Health Care System, how it got there, and who’s actually (shockingly enough) coming up with the most radical (and arguably the most logical) approaches to solving said system. My favorite excerpt:

…[E]verything people dislike about our system results from the tax break for employer coverage. It makes costs rise, since people are less careful when they’re not paying out of pocket. It means people often lose their insurance when they switch jobs. And it keeps a lot of people–those who don’t have employers who provide coverage–from having much access to health insurance.

It’s always amazing to me how so many want us to learn from our past and figure out the “how did we get here” when discussing public policy…except for Health Care for some reason. In the case of a flawed public (tax) policy towards Health Care, many instead want to look outward and say: “Hey everyone else is doing it this other way.”

It’s really very simple: We do not have a true market-driven system if the end-user, the consumer, is not involved in the decision-making process. As soon as we give that a try, we’ll see if an ACTUAL market-driven system works.

The lesson to take from this? Everyone needs to figure out a way to write off their individual Health Insurance. Start a business, somehow, sell Amway if you have to, start a non-profit, whatever it takes, but don’t depend on your employer for your Health Insurance, and don’t let 60-year-old tragically flawed tax policies keep you from managing your own health costs and risks.

AND DO THIS WHILE YOU’RE HEALTHY, so that you NEVER have to make a job decision based on benefits.

If you have questions about taxes, call Earl, if it’s the Health Insurance you’re looking for, well you know by now who to call.

Zero capital gains rate coming in 2008

You already know the federal tax rate on capital gains varies, depending on your tax bracket, the kind of property you sell, and how long you owned it.

But are you aware that starting next year some capital gains won’t be taxed at all?

From 2008 through 2010, if your taxable income falls within the 10% or 15% tax brackets, the rate you’ll pay on your federal return for certain dividends and long-term capital gains will be zero.

The zero rate generally applies to gains on sales of assets such as stocks, bonds, and mutual funds that you owned longer than a year. Qualified dividends, which include dividends on most US stocks, are also eligible.

Note: Gains on sales of assets you owned for twelve months or less are still taxed at your ordinary income rate. Depreciation recapture and sales of collectibles remain subject to higher rates as well.

Though the zero percent break becomes effective January 1, you can start planning now. For instance, it may be beneficial to wait until 2008 to sell appreciated stocks in taxable investment accounts.

In addition, since expanded kiddie tax rules go into effect in January, it’s a good idea to review gifting plans before year end. Why? The new rules mean the investment income of your age 19 and younger dependent children (under age 24 for students) might be taxed at your rate in 2008. Preparing in advance can save tax dollars.

Other planning opportunities exist. Please contact us for more information.

contact: info@accountingassociatesva.com

Just got through watching a video clip of the candidate’s forum a couple of weeks ago through the chamber.  One of the panelists asked a question about how local Supervisors could help with small businesses offering health insurance.   A few of the candidates (half) suggested the chamber (or someone) should sponsor forming a group for offering health insurance to  small businesses as a part of their membership.

I’m sorry, but “pooling” is not the answer…it’s actually more accurate to say that it’s the problem.  It’s a short-term fix at best and dangerous at worst.  Actually any sort of group coverage is only advantageous for those who have fairly serious health problems, and can sometimes be disastrous for someone who’s healthy when they sign up, but not-so-healthy when they leave their job.

Many of the panelists (candidates) were business owners themselves and stressed how health insurance was their biggest line item.  But only ONE…ONE (Mark Allbright) pointed out the obvious:  that the real secret was not to find a big pool, for more “bargaining power” (which doesn’t really exist-by the way), but to stay educated on new options, and keep your employees educated on how to best use their coverage so as not to make the rates go through the roof year after year.

Mr. Clem mentioned he was paying $2500/mo for TWO families’ health insurance.  Having no idea how healthy these families are, there is a good chance that not only is this exorbitant cost a waste of his money, but a waste of his employees’ money as well.

The real solution?  Call your agent (that’s me) and get on a plan that:

• Takes real advantage of current tax laws.
• Puts the reins of cost controls in the hands of the insured (not the insurance company OR employer).
• Has benefit structures that most insulate premiums from substantial increases.

And (using the service providers in the GCF Network–of course) educate yourselves and your employees on how to live healthy, stay healthy, and keep costs low by being healthy.