Another call for changes to the GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) that have been used since 1921 in order to make the information provided to investors more practical. This debate, especially the focus on past data and lack of forward looking info, has been going on for decades. We discussed this 30 years ago in my college accounting classes. The conclusion then seemed to be that, until they can come up with the perfect answer to providing future information, such as a crystal ball or a time machine, it’s best to just stick with what we have, which is really a mish-mash (technical accounting term) of methods of reporting past financial performance. I’m not very optimistic that these current calls for reform will be any more productive than those same demands 30 years ago.

Cost of Life Insurance to Drop As Life-Span Estimates Expand – The old joke goes that actuaries, who study mortality rates for insurance companies, are just like CPAs, but without the personality. I guess another difference is that actuaries don’t have to be as on top of new developments as we CPAs do with the constantly changing tax and accounting rules. It seems that the official life expectancy tables in this country haven’t been updated since 1980. Those tables are just now being revised to reflect the longer average lifespan.

The good news about this, besides actually living longer, is that the insurance companies will be dropping their premium rates. Even if you already have life insurance, it would be a good idea to shop around for the new rates. I doubt if rates will be dropped for existing policies because insurance companies are like the phone companies, where the best rates are only given to new customers and existing clientele have to explicitly threaten to leave before receiving any of the benefits of lower market prices. That’s always bugged me about the phone companies and will most likely be the M.O. for insurance companies.

Hoary economic fallacies (Jack Kemp) – The left-wing propagandists so hate the idea of people having any control over their own money that they continue to distort the reality about tax rate cuts. Lower rates increase economic activity, increasing overall tax revenue. It’s a fact proven by real life and anyone who claims otherwise is nothing but a liar, not to be trusted.

State spending (Rich Lowry) – State Rulers such as in the PRC, who are looking at record budget deficits, are trying to make everyone feel sorry for them and reach the only logical (to them) conclusion for a solution – higher taxes. As many of us have been pointing out for years, these financial crises have nothing to do with too few taxes. They have everything to do with out of control spending.

They believed the Clinton hype of the late 1990s that he had eliminated all economic cycles and that the stock market would rise by 20%+ per year until the end of time, resulting in an endless stream of capital gains taxes. I know it sounds idiotic now, in hindsight, that anyone would believe such crap; but they did, and they ramped up big spending programs to utilize that neverending stream of cash.

It wasn’t just the States who fell for that garbage. It’s the same logic that the Clinton gang used to project record Federal budget surpluses that the Left wants us to believe have now been squandered by the Bush tax cuts.

Bush Cites the Cost Of Tax-Cut Repeal – The evil DemonRats are still trying to roll back the cuts that have already passed.

If deficit hawks were serious, they’d curb spending

Tax Amnesty — A Win-Win for Everybody – This idea comes up every ten years or so. It’s a tough sell to people who have been paying their taxes all along. Of course, it does seem to be a trend to reward lawbreakers who can go long enough without being caught, such as the millions of illegal immigrants that are most likely going to be awarded citizenship in the near future.

Finishing Off the Death Tax – The Marxist class warriors will do everything they can to prevent this from happening.

Australians pay too much in tax, report finds – Very similar to the situation we have here in the USA. Tax rules are so complicated that most people end up paying more than they should be.

Dotcom exiles turn up at new charities – Putting their experience to good use.