The enterprise viewpoint of settlement system fees

In the next few months, congressional legislation is set to reduce debit and credit card interchange fees to 12 cents per transaction. A few legislators have submitted new legislation that would remove this new requirement. The legislation cites these fee limits as a reason companies could be “less competitive”. For small business owners, this legislation would not improve competitiveness. Instead, these fee limits are what could keep smaller businesses competitive. Post resource – A small business perspective on payment systems by MoneyBlogNewz.

Charge card fees just to have it

Card interchange fees are, in short, fees paid for the privilege of allowing consumers to use a credit or debit card. These are called “swipe fees,” as well. They cost between 12 and 75 cents every time someone utilizes the card. This “interchange fee” is in addition to a certain percentage of the transaction amount that is charged for use of the card. All of the percentage fees and interchange fees are taken to pay for the process. The card processor, the banks and the card machine all are paid for this way. Last year, the fees added up to $50 billion. There are very high interchange fees in the United States though. They are twice as high as Europe's are. To be able to help U.S. businesses become less competitive, congress members are trying to push some legislation. This would make interchange fees go down.

Less people willing to pay an interchange fee

For a small business, the decision of whether to accept cards is tough. Accepting credit cards means paying a fee and a percentage on every charge card transaction, plus most charge card processors charge a monthly fee, so the costs are high. It is worse than that for smaller businesses that do not have a lot of additional money. Even with accessible alternatives that reduce cost, any small business could have to eventually pass on the cost to consumers through minimum purchases, higher prices or additional charges on card payments. There are benefits; accepting cards means customers are more likely to make bigger purchases, and more customers are willing and able to pay for your product or service.

I have a small business

My husband and I own a small business that offers a variety of products and services. Whether we should accept credit cards were never really a question — it was a necessity. It did not make sense to pay the $20 to $100 monthly credit card terminal fee when we didn't have a physical location and don't make too much money with it. We chose start-up Square to run our credit cards, which charges a flat percentage of every transaction and processes credit cards through smartphones. Our small business only has to pay about $8 in credit card fees since we only make about $300 a month. The profit goes down quite a bit after adding on $30 in small business taxes and $26 in sales tax. The suppliers have to be paid as well. The reduction in charge card interchange fees would allow us to cut back the amount we charge customers or be able to actually hire employees. Companies can go from "surviving" to "competitive" with a decrease in the small percentage points of! interchange fees.

Articles cited

Market Watch

marketwatch.com/story/visa-mastercard-rise-on-swipe-fee-regulation-pact-2010-06-21

Frivolous tax arguments are amusing, but the IRS penalty isn't

Each year the IRS hears new and different frivolous tax arguments. The most popular unsubstantiated claims made by working class individuals each year are compiled into a compendium by the IRS. Most working class individuals would laugh at some of the frivolous tax arguments people come up with, however the IRS is not amused. Source for this article – Frivolous tax arguments are amusing, but the IRS penalty is not by MoneyBlogNewz.

Cheating on taxes a poor choice

The Truth about Frivolous Tax Arguments is an annual report the IRS has just released for 2011. The document was 87 pages long. It described several tax evasion scenarios that have been popular. The individuals would often get penalties depending on the arguments which were integrated in the document. It also had the official legal policies used by the government to argue these cases. Most of the arguments are spread on the Internet by a growing number of scam artists posing as brave crusaders against an unjust government and contain refusal to pay federal income taxes for moral, religious, semantic or philosophical reasons.

Paying for an argument

An argument some have is that they aren't a "person." This is in accordance with the IRS definition. Others have argued that the federal income tax is unconstitutional or that paying taxes is voluntary. Military income is exempt for some taxpayers while foreign income is still taxable. It has been estimated that annually at least 10,000 individuals attempt to evade taxes with a frivolous argument, and the number is growing. There is a $5,000 IRS penalty to everyone that files a frivolous tax return argument. Taxpayers who go to court with their frivolous arguments can receive an IRS penalty up to $25,000. The Department of Justice has had over 455 businesses and individuals that it filed injunctions against since just 2000.

Never seeing courts rule in favor of tax arguers

There have been claims that paying taxes violates the fifth amendment, that it’s against ones religion or that it is against the 13th amendment, the IRS explained. The Supreme Court often rules that saying “paying taxes is against my religion” simply won’t fly. The Fifth Amendment states an individual shall not be "deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” However the law gives the government authority to collect taxes from U.S. citizens. Courts don't think the idea that paying taxes is servitude is really a valid argument when using the 13th Amendment.

Articles cited

Main Street

mainstreet.com/article/moneyinvesting/taxes/tax-excuses-irs-won-t-buy?page=2

Portfolio.com

portfolio.com/views/blogs/resources/2011/03/21/irs-warns-taxpayers-about-excuses-for-not-paying-that-won

Christian Science Monitor

csmonitor.com/Business/2010/0415/Tax-Day-101-42-excuses-you-can-t-use-to-avoid-filing-IRS-forms

Internet news paywalls and how to stay away from them

If you do not have much money however want to continue to satisfy your online news addiction, the move toward paywalls is disconcerting. Without information, you can end up choking in the digital dust. However don’t worry. A little misdirection and a handful of mobile apps can bring you the news for free or a very low price. Article resource – Money-saving ways to avoid online news subscription paywalls by MoneyBlogNewz.

Every person will love Google News

The best part of Google News is access. Lots of news sites are brought to one place. It is easier to get news. It is available each day. there are local news and top news categories. Anybody loves the clear and simple format it has.

Newspapers app: An iOS portal to publications across the US

Newspapers are an app at the Apple App Store that you pay $1.99 for to be able to get links to all internet newspaper sites. Read articles on your iPod, iPhone or iPad in Safari. You can download stories and read them later. Instapaper is an example of an app to do this with.

Cheap RSS Reeder for everyone

Reeder will take RSS feeds and make them neat for you. It has a newspaper-style interface, and the iOS app cuts the ads and reformats the page for optimal reading pleasure. Download the app for pretty cheap. You only have to pay $2.99.

There's Zite too

The free iPad app Zite acts as a kind of "personalized magazine," says Business Insider. It recommends news you might like, via connections to your Twitter and Google Reader accounts. there are also lots of articles in the app. You are able to pick them and read them instead.

CNN and Associated Press apps are free

For world, national and even local news on an iOS or Android system, it works really well to have Associated Press and CNN apps. The AP app allows users to pick a favored broadcaster. Then, the stories will be followed of that person. Users are able to submit photos of news in an iReport feature in the CNN app.

NYT and the Daily for free

The NYT Twitter feed could be put into a list by Twitter users. Clicking the links via Twitter or blog postings do not count toward the 20 articles per month limit the Times has imposed, so this amounts to free access. The Daily: Indexed, is a blog that the same thing happens with The Daily.

MediaMemo's Peter Kafka explained that there can be a limit of five referrals per day that are free from Google for NYT. This exact same limit might not apply to Bing or other search engines.

The Times just blocked Google. Why is that? Because users could simply Google an article headline and get into the article without going through the front door, so to speak.

Citations

AP

ap.org/mobile/

Business Insider

businessinsider.com/how-to-get-around-paywalls-2011-3

CNN

cnn.com/mobile/iphone/

The Daily Index

thedailyindexed.tumblr.com/

What to expect with the NYT paywall

youtube.com/watch?v=jOkvPOY3VKU

Increasing energy costs leading to airline fare hikes

In the sixth such move since the first of the year, most airlines have elevated their ticket prices. Fare increases are generally an industry-wide move, with a few holdouts. This increase is significant as the usual holdout, Southwest, has followed suit. The increase is being blamed on rising oil costs.

Flying costs are merely increasing

There was a $60 boost this year in the average airline ticket prices, in accordance with airline industry reports. A ticket that would have cost $200 on January 1, 2011, now costs $260. Not all of the airlines did this price adjustment though. The rise wasn't something they needed to do. The prices go down typically unless all airlines raise them. Even though normally Southwest Airlines doesn't raise its costs, it did this time. The most recent $10 increase occurred at Southwest too.

Gas expenses for low-cost airlines

In the U.S., you will find several low-cost airline service providers including Southwest Airlines. Traditionally, Southwest Airlines has avoided many of the fees and rate hikes that larger airlines have undertaken, in an effort to keep customers. JetBlue and AirTran are also low-cost service providers that attempt to keep their prices low. These lower profit margins, however, open the carriers up to more price volatility. When a barrel of oil price raises $10; so will the cost of tickets. This is how the change typically works. Three times the income Southwest made in 2010 can be spent in 2011 with about $1.3 billion on fuel, which the Southwest CEO explained.

Traveling getting more costly

As airlines are raising their fares, travel in the United States in general is getting more costly. Sometimes, an individual has to travel a long distance. There are not many possibilities for that individual though. Certainly airlines are always an option. Driving is also a choice, though the increasing price of gasoline can often put the cost of a long-distance trip relatively close to that of an airfare ticket. The increasing oil prices are leaving even bus trips more costly. In some places, it is an option to do rail travel. Nevertheless, a ticket that was $50 in 2008 is now going to cost about $150. There is more theory put into high-speed rails than other things.

Articles cited

WSBTV

wsbtv.com/news/27110644/detail.html

USA Today

travel.usatoday.com/flights/post/2011/03/another-day-another-fare-hike/146578/1

News OK

newsok.com/fuel-costs-force-southwest-to-add-10-to-ticket-cost/article/3546778

U.S. consumers feel bite of growing Global food need

Will the rising price of food in the U.S. affect economic recovery? Greater competition globally for agricultural commodities is trickling down to U.S. customers in the form of more expensive groceries.

Problem with food costs

There was a year-over-year increase of food inflation in January of 1.8 percent. The U.S. Consumer Price Index came out to state this. The price of goods throughout the world are going up with the bad weather, need and fuel costs increasing. Meat costs seemed to be affected by this the most. In January, corn costs went to a 30 month high since supplies are going down. The livestock price is increasing a ton since corn is used in livestock feeding. More people in developing countries such as China and India want more meat too. In just the last 5 years, the export on beef in the U.S. has gone up 1.5 billion pounds.

Average U.S. food costs

Other countries are starting to bid against U.S. consumers. The supply of meat is limited. Pork costs are up 12 percent from a year ago, beef is up 6 percent and poultry 2 percent. The grocery store costs are going up in other products too since commodity prices are increasing. January CPI data shows that costs for bread, milk, eggs and other staples are increasing significantly. Since the coffee bean costs went up 77 percent last year, coffee has started becoming more expensive while cereal isn't as cheap with increasing wheat prices. At the grocery store this year, pork costs are expected to raise the most, more than 10 percent. Over a 7 percent climb in beef costs is expected. The cost of chicken should go up over 5 percent since Americans should be eating more chicken.

U.S. food cost perspective for 2011

The U.S. Department of Agriculture points out that a 3 to 4 percent increase in U.S. food costs is expected this year. U.S. lawmakers are trying to act like the food inflation doesn't affect Americans. Last week Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told the Senate Banking Committee that effect of food inflation on consumers will be “temporary and relatively modest.”. The Fed doesn’t factor in food and energy costs when it calculates inflation, but more than 12 percent of after-tax income in U.S. households is now spent on fuel and food. The customers that don't have jobs and aren't getting raises are worried about these increases. The average taxpayer made $33,000 a year in 2008.

Information from

CNN Money

money.cnn.com/2011/03/08/news/economy/food_prices/index.htm” target=”_blank

Seeking Alpha

seekingalpha.com/article/256992-rising-prices-are-hitting-consumers-harder-than-the-fed-will-admit” target=”_blank

Agrimoney.com

agrimoney.com/news/meat—and-oil—to-lead-climb-in-us-food-prices–2903.html” target=”_blank

Gasoline price goes up nationwide fueling speculation of power turmoil

Since the national average gas cost has been rising regularly for weeks, there is little reason to assume that it won’t reach $4 per gallon by this summer. Unrest in Libya and in Middle Eastern oil producing states has brought on the cost of petroleum to rise. Since gasoline is a petroleum product, the price of gas has been increasing at a faster rate than for crude oil. The federal government has said it is open to using its own oil reserves, should the market not be able to stabilize itself. Post resource – Gas price rises nationwide fueling speculation of energy crisis by MoneyBlogNewz.

Government contemplating use of crisis reserves

Oil costs went up significantly contemplating the Libya problems caused oil exports to be stopped completely. By summer, fuel prices could reach $4 a gallon at this rate, reports CNN. On Monday, March 7, the typical fuel prices were at $3.51. The prices have been going up every single day for the last two weeks. There has been a 34 cent total boost per gallon. Keeping these prices down is a goal the Obama administration has, states Reuters. The government as considered tapping into the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve to stop the prices from continuing upward. Oil supply in the U.S. for the month is about 730 million barrels of crude oil. That is how much is found in the Reserve. Reserves will only be used if necessary, administration officials continue to say. The last release from the reserves was in 2005, after the Hurricane Katrina devastation, and it has only been used three times since it was established during the Nixon administration.

Prices increase

The Libya unrest caused many to be worried about the world oil market. The supply hasn't dropped at all though. Libya produces less than 2 million barrels per day, and exports little oil to the United States. Over 12 million a day is produced in Saudi Arabia. The Department of Energy made this comparison. The Saudi government has also increased oil production by 25 percent, which will cover any losses because of a drop in production in Libya. The rise of gas prices is not because of a shortage in supply; rather, markets are uneasy because political turmoil is spreading to other oil exporting nations. Saudi Arabia revolts would be a significant problem, although Libya revolts mean hardly anything.

Gasbuddy might help

The website Gasbuddy.com will help individuals discover the cheapest gasoline in their area. Fuel costs are reported in areas to Gasbuddy through many websites. Gasbuddy is everywhere. Hardly any U.S. or Canadian cities do not have information on there. The iPhone, Android and Windows smartphones can get a Gasbuddy app. Since Gasbuddy relies on people reporting the gasoline prices they see, the site is fast becoming a resource that is quoted by major news agencies also as a valuable tool for customers.

Information from

CNN

money.cnn.com/2011/03/07/news/economy/gas_prices/

Reuters

reuters.com/article/2011/03/07/us-usa-oil-idUSTRE7252X520110307?pageNumber=1

Department of Energy

eia.doe.gov/cabs/newint.html

Gasbuddy

gasbuddy.com/

Gross Domestic Product is not the best way of measuring financial health

The percentage of progress in GDP is used, at times, to measure health of the economy. The United States GDP estimate has been downgraded recently to just a couple percentage points. The health of the economy, as calculated by the Fed and others, is often measured using GDP. However, the Gross Domestic Product is an outdated and inaccurate way of measuring economic growth.

GDP facts

All that the GDP is, is one number. It represents that country's value of goods and services. GDP began as a measurement of the standard of living in various nations, but it’s used in several other ways. When adding private consumption, gross investment, government spending and exports and subtracting the gross amount imported, GDP could be found. Congress was given a report of GDP in 1934 for the first time. Simon Kuznets put it together. The Federal Reserve bases many of its monetary decisions, at least partially, on the Gross Domestic Product figure.

Inflation, customer price and the Gross Domestic Product measure

The limitations of the GDP have been clear for a long time. The Bureau of Economic Analysis releases a number referred to as “real” Gross Domestic Product that adjusts the number for inflation. Without that adjustment, the Gross Domestic Product would always appear to be growing with the rate of inflation. The inflation and deflation of household goods is measured by the Customer Price Index. This does not affect the Gross Domestic Product in any way. There could be a rise of Gross Domestic Product with a 400 percent increase in household items costs. This is despite the disposable income Americans have being decreased.

Charge card and GDP similarities

There is one huge limitation the GDP has. It cannot take negative numbers into account. The Gross Domestic Product can be compared to a household budget easily. It’s the way of measuring household finances depending on money, credit cards and money, spent. You will find many things left out. There is the possibility a mortgage payment will not be made, the spending budget could be damaged and eventually the cards have to be paid. It is too simple to really be correct to measure the economic progress in the U.S.

Information from

The Money Alert

themoneyalert.com/GDP.html

Blogging Stocks

bloggingstocks.com/2010/09/10/economists-lower-2011-u-s-gdp-growth-forecasts-to-2-5/

Investopedia

investopedia.com/study-guide/cfa-exam/level-1/macroeconomics/cfa3.asp

Reid believes Nevada brothels should be prohibited

Reid is a Democratic United States Senator from NV. Harry Reid, however, has been asking the Nevada legislature to take expansive steps towards changing laws. Specifically, Harry Reid wants to ban prostitution in the state. In the Nevada Legislature, this suggestion was not very well-received. Resource for this article – US Senator Harry Reid trying to ban brothels in Nevada by MoneyBlogNewz.

Suggestions from Reid consist of stopping Nevada brothels

Harry Reid is a Democratic NV Senator. He spoke with Congress on Tuesday in a joint session. While talking, he covered lots of topics. These involved home foreclosures, renewable energy, education reform, and job creation. At one point during the speech, however, Reid suggested that Nevada should prohibit brothels. Reid said that when thinking about Nevada, “it should think about the world’s newest ideas and newest careers – not about its oldest profession.”

Details about Nevada brothels

NV is the only state in the United States that has areas where prostitution is legal. Counties in NV allow brothels. This is only some of the NV counties though. Reno and Las Vegas do not allow brothels though. These are the largest NV cities. Tax income is brought in with legal sex trade. Smaller cities benefit from this in Nevada. Nye County alone received $150,000 from brothel taxes to pay for veterans’ care and ambulance services. Last year, a bill was proposed to create more taxes on the service, although it failed. It was supported by both brothel owners and legal prostitutes.

Harry Reid does not have power to prohibit brothels in Nevada

Reid can only ask for the change in Nevada legislature to get prostitution to become illegal. The federal government has stayed out of prostitution. It has been a state decision for a while. As a United States Senator, Reid doesn't have very much control in Nevada. He has no control on laws. Prostitution most likely won't be banned. Nobody in Nevada legislature will most likely be willing to cut off something that brings in so much revenue from taxes.

Citations

CBS News

cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20035310-504083.html

Pentagon examining if psyops were utilized on Congressmen

The Pentagon is investigating the alleged use of "psyops," or psychological operations, on United States Congressmen while they were visiting Afghanistan. Psychological procedures are techniques of psychological and emotional manipulation used by the U.S. army. They contain disinformation and propaganda. These techniques were allegedly used to persuade members of Congress in order to get more military funding.

Army ordered it, says Rolling Stone

MSNBC reports that a Rolling Stone article explained that a "psyops" or psychological operation was ordered by members of the army to get Congress members visiting Afghanistan to give more financing and personnel to the military. In 2009, Lieutenant General William Caldwell supposedly had a psyops team study Congressmen visiting in order to find out how more financing and troops for military operations there could possibly be received somehow. The head of the psyops unit, Lieutenant Colonel Michael Holmes, refused the order and was reprimanded for it.

Leading study is Petraeus

General David Petraeus, commander of Afghan procedures, has launched an investigation to the allegations. Lt. Gen. Caldwell “categorically denies” the accusations, according to the Washington Post. The use of “psyops” or propaganda of any sort on United States citizens is illegal, and Intelligence Procedures personnel are well aware of that. There were specific Congressmen targeted for this. It included Senators Al Franken, Carl Levin, Joe Lieberman, Jack Reed and John McCain. There were more targets too. These integrated Representative Steve Israel and Admiral Mike Mullen.

General McChrystal article written by press reporter

Michael Hastings wrote the Rolling Stone article. He said the job was to “get the enemy to behave the way we want,” and Holmes said “when you ask me to use these skills on senators and congressmen you are crossing a line," for Lt. Col. Holmes. He added that people in the Information Procedures field know from day one that propaganda and psychological manipulation are to be used only on the enemy. Hastings also wrote the article on General Stanley McChrystal that led to McChrystal resigning from the Military last year.

Articles cited

MSNBC

msnbc.msn.com/id/41753749/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia

Washington Post

voices.washingtonpost.com/blog-post/2011/02/psychological_operations_manip.html

Rolling Stone

rollingstone.com/politics/news/another-runaway-general-army-deploys-psy-ops-on-u-s-senators-20110223?page=1

The unusual affliction of Parry-Romberg syndrome

Eleven-year-old Christine Honeycutt never envisioned a lifetime of disability and neurological damage. Diagnosed with an unusual autoimmune disorder called Parry-Romberg syndrome, the left side of Honeycutt’s face stopped developing when she was five years old. CNN reports that through plastic surgery and immunosuppressant drugs, Christine Honeycutt may be able to live with her Parry-Romberg. Article resource – Surgery saves girl’s face from Parry-Romberg syndrome by MoneyBlogNewz.

When seeing a slim line, Parry-Romberg syndrome was unexpected

When Honeycutt was five, a line appeared down the middle of her forehead. Friends told her it was ink while her parents assumed it was a bruise. When the mark was still there after a few weeks, Christine’s mother took her to see a doctor, who prescribed a cream to treat the "discoloration.".

After five months, the line became more pronounced. The Honeycutt’s moved from Charlotte, N.C., to southern California so Christine could see a specialist. The Honeycutt’s were given the advice to keep Christine out of the sun though which they had heard before. Before first grade even began, Honeycutt was having violent seizures. These were accompanied by weight gain and fevers. The right side of her face appeared normal, however the left side was swollen. Her face has a symmetry start to develop. A few years later, Parry-Romberg syndrome would be what she is diagnosed with, in 2008.

One in a million are afflicted by Parry-Romberg syndrome

The extremely uncommon autoimmune condition Parry-Romberg syndrome (aka progressive facial hemiatrophy) is found in only one in 1 million individuals, most commonly in females. Some believe Lincoln may have had the disorder. The left side of Christine Honeycutt was hurt with her immune system. Her face was where this was seen most clearly. The "coup de sabre" or "cut of saber" was the line down Christine's forehead making it look like a sword cut her there. When looking at Parry-Romberg syndrome photos on the Internet, it looked alike.

"There were horrifying pictures,” said Vicki Honeycutt, Christine’s mother. "One side [of a patient's face] was a skeleton and the other side wasn’t."

Cure will not happen, but remedies and surgical procedure can help out

There is no cure for Parry-Romberg syndrome. Honeycutt has had to have facial rebuilding surgical procedure and immune suppressant drugs to help. She has gotten closer to normal with the Extensive plastic surgery done taking seven hours to complete. Christine has been able to go to school even though there is a little bit of swelling still.

“I like my nose better now,” she said.

Citations

CNN

cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/02/25/surgery.parry.romberg.disorder/

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

ninds.nih.gov/disorders/parry_romberg/parry_romberg.htm

PRS Resource

prsresource.com/

New Small Business Administration financing program to start Feb. 28 with large limitations

The SBA has released the rules for a New lending program. The program was intended, by Congress, to help businesses who have buildings facing foreclosure. The limitations on the loans, however, are cutting out most companies that could benefit.

Rules declared for New SBA lending

Several companies have been waiting for the lending program rules from the Small business administration since January of this year. The rules have been something the SBA has worked on since 2010 when the program passed in Congress. On Thurs, February 24, the rules were officially announced. Underwater mortgages can be covered by the loans that companies with mortgages can get. These could be due in the next 24 months. About 10 percent of the loan amount is going to be something the business has to have in money or equity to be able to put down.

Small Business Administration program limitations

Help from the Small Business Administration lending program is meant to give businesses a helping hand. Really, this ought to stop foreclosures in the business. Business watchers, however, are concerned the limitations of the financing program could cut out so many companies that it will be practically ineffective. Any companies that don't have the down payment money accessible, that cannot pay the additional 1 percent fee or that already have short-term Small Business Administration mortgage loans are not allowed to get the loans. The purpose of the rules, according to the Small Business Administration, is to narrow down whom really needs help. The companies that are viable, however, about to shut down will get the first help.

Opening up small company loans

Getting small businesses the help they have to stay open is a tricky challenge, especially because payday loans are generally too small to help businesses. Whether or not the economy is doing well, companies might just fail. The chance of success in a business is the first thing to determine. Ensuring that the government does not loan $15 billion to businesses that can’t repay it is also tough. The Small Business Administration program is there to help companies that really need it. These are only the companies that will work though.

Information from

LA Times

articles.latimes.com/2011/feb/18/business/la-fi-sba-loans-20110218