A recent Wall Street Journal article, Cash-Strapped States Turn to Millionaire’s Tax, caught my attention.  I’m not a millionaire or even close.  But, I’m not sure I exactly agree with the plans’ of many cash strapped states:

States hungry for revenue are turning to taxpayers to make up the shortfall as they deplete rainy-day and economic-stimulus funds. To avert a popular revolt, many are resorting to a so-called millionaire’s tax, which puts the burden on a smaller group of the very well-heeled.

A flurry of rate increases occurred this year, and tax analysts say the trend will accelerate in 2010.

The money has to come from somewhere I guess, but does increasing tax rates on the very wealthy really fix the problem?  The extra tax income might fund the temporary deficit, but higher rates are causing an exodus of the rich from these states to those with lower or zero state income tax.  And more often than not, the rich are successful entrepreneurs who provide jobs for others:

Through the early 1990s, several states maintained double-digit income-tax rates, but eventually brought them down partly because legislators realized they were driving out entrepreneurs. To keep good talent, create jobs and drive economic growth, state tax systems had to be competitive with their neighbors.

I don’t know what your situation is, but I consider myself lucky to to reside in a state with no state income tax.  I owe much of what I have to the opportunities provided to me from successful business leaders.  These entrepreneurs have been rewarded for the risks they began taking over a decade ago.  I have to ask myself if I would be doing a job I love if these men had been subjected to a double digit state income tax.  I’ll never know for sure, but I am a firm believer in the government allowing business to serve the public and provide jobs for those who need them, without unnecessarily penalizing them for their risks.

If you have noticed my Twitter updates, then you are aware that I am home for Christmas. This is also my first married Christmas, so it's nice to have the wife home with my family this year!

We are fortunate enough to be able and enjoy over two weeks of vacation together. My parents are public school teachers and are also enjoying some time off as well. We are looking forward to enjoying our time together and as a result, my normal schedule consisting of weekday posts will slow or even come to a temporarly halt for the next week and a half or so.  I look forward to resuming my normal schedule the second week of 2009!  At this time next year, I will have plenty of posts written and waiting to be posted before the Christmas break so that there is no interruption.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

I just finished one of my all-time favorite Christmas movies, "It's A Wonderful Life."  My wife had never seen the whole movie, so we made a point to do it right.  Popcorn, cokes, and cuddling.  This made for a great evening, but I found my strongly growing sentiments about debt, loans, and money creeping into my thoughts.  Oh to be an adult!  It appears that I've lost my innocence and ability to enjoy this movie for what it is supposed to be.  Here are a couple of thoughts that kept running through my head, no matter how hard I tried to stop them:

All Rich People Aren't Evil
Mean ol' Mr. Potter sure was cruel.  How could he steal $8,000 from the Bailey's, call the cops, suggest that George (Jimmy Stewart) had squandered away his B&L shareholders' money on gambling and women, and still get a good night's sleep?  Now I know that greedy rich people exist in the real world, but if you've read my previous post about becoming wealthy, then you know I find it frustrating that our society is so quick to vilify the wealthy.  The wealthy often have the most to give, and although I have no statistics to throw your way, I have little doubt they do so.  Take Dave Ramsey's plan for example.  His final "baby step" is to build wealth and give.

Don't Spend Money You Don't Have
Mr. Potter made the statement that people should wait and save their money before buying a home, to which George Bailey responded, "how long should they wait and what should they wait for?"  George asked, (rather sarcastically) "if people should wait until their children grow old and leave home?"  So unlike Mr. Potter's bank, George's Building and Loan provided money to people who probably shouldn't have been buying homes in the first place. Who knew that George Bailey/Jimmy Stewart was a subprime lender!?  Of course, everything works out in the end for George Bailey.  If only real life were like the movies.

It's impossible and probably sacrilegious to like Mr. Potter in this movie, but once again, I have to agree with him.  After all, we can blame a significant portion of today's poor economy on those who took out loans for bigger homes than they could afford, with little or no money down.  We can blame another significant portion of today's poor economy on the lenders who lent money to people who couldn't pay it back.  If only people had listened to mean ol' Mr. Potter's advice and saved for a down payment on a home they could afford…

Yesterday my wife and I packed the car and headed down the road so that we could enjoy Thanksgiving with our family.  It’s was a long 9 – 10 drive but it was nice to hang out and visit without the normal daily distractions.    We were able to catch up on life’s smaller yet more important details throughout the car ride.  In no specific order we:

• Started our “to-give” Christmas list for friends and family

• Brainstormed about potential thebrokemba.com blog topics

• Jammed out to Elton John, Ian Moore, and Whitney Houston (not exactly my choice)

• Listened to quite a bit of Dave Ramsey

• Just enjoyed each other’s company

We have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.  We have now been married 10 months and 22 days.  While our first year isn’t quite yet complete, we have a list of events and things to be thankful for:

• Our honeymoon in Mexico

• The fact that each of our families accepted us and made us feel apart of theirs

• Received a raise at work

• As a part-time musician, I have had several paying gigs fall into my lap

• Received a $10,000 scholarship (which will put a HUGE dent in my outstanding student loans)

• My wife was hired as a Psychology professor at the local community college.  (Besides friends and family, this is without a doubt the thing I am most thankful for.  After receiving her master’s degree in Psychology, she moved to Lubbock to marry me instead of seeking out a full-time teaching position on her own. So 7 months after wondering how she was going to get back into her field, it happened.)

This is my first Thanksgiving spent away from my family so I wanted to say hi to all of them!

Happy Thanksgiving!