Money

Nearly 100 members of the 36th District gathered in the Phinney Ridge Community Association community hall March 14 for a town hall meeting with their state legislators.

Democrats Reuven Carlyle and Mary Lou Dickerson discussed their progress thus far in the legislative session and fielded questions from the audience. As expected, the main topic on both sides was how to continue to press progressive issues while working with an $8.5 million state deficit.

Many community members implored the legislators to not let the deficit affect funding for education and public health.

Carlyle said he understands the need to keep funding for public health and to reform the state’s healthcare system, but there is a need to see where the federal government is going before making large structural changes.

“If we fixed healthcare, we would have so much money freed up,” he said. “That’s what’s sucking us dry.”

Two women brought up the need for a graduated income tax, “so we are not dependent on the lowest income people to keep buying things they don’t need to keep the government running," which garnered hoots and applause.

Mayor Greg Nickels announced today that he has informed more than 100 senior city executives that they will have their salaries frozen at or rolled back to 2008 levels.

Also four executive offices have been directed to begin instituting furloughs for their employees.

“With the continued turmoil in the economy nationwide, we will face some difficult decisions to reduce our city budget and it is important that our executives lead by example,” said Nickels in a statement.

Department directors and executives, including the mayor, will forgo the 2009 cost-ofliving adjustment of 4.5 percent, and their salaries will be frozen at 2008 levels.

The mayor also announced that four executive offices will begin furloughs for employees whose salaries are not frozen. With the exception of clerical employees, workers in the mayor’s office, Finance Department, Office of Policy Management and Office of Intergovernmental Relations will take seven days without pay in 2009.

The furloughs and wage freezes are expected to save about $675,000 in 2009, helping to minimize the number of layoffs that may be required, according to the release.

During a long downturn in the financial markets, it’s hard for some people to be cheerful about their prospects for investment success. And that’s not surprising, because a daily diet of bad news can take its toll on investors’ outlooks. Yet if you look beyond the headlines, you can actually find some reasons to believe that brighter days lie ahead.

Here are five of these potential causes for optimism:

Recovery may be near.
The financial markets obviously are connected to the overall U.S. economy, so it makes sense to keep an eye on how the economy is doing. As you know, we’ve been in the grip of a long and painful recession — but that may change fairly soon. In fact, the recession is likely to end in the second half of 2009, according to a majority of the economists surveyed by the influential National Association for Business Economics. And since the stock market has historically anticipated an economic recovery by about six months — and begun responding favorably — now may not be the time to abandon your long-term investment strategy. Of course, past performance is not a guarantee of future results.

Market rallies can happen quickly.

Some things, like fine wines, get better with age. But a certificate of deposit (CD) is not one of them.

If you have a maturing CD, you need to decide what to do with it — and the earlier you make this decision, the better off you’ll be. So if you’ve got one or more CDs coming due in the next few months, start planning now.

Of course, if you had a specific goal for a maturing CD — such as a college tuition payment — your decision has already been made. But if you’ve purchased a CD for another reason, you’ll have to choose whether to renew it or invest the proceeds elsewhere.

If you bought the CD for the income it provides, you may want to renew it. If prevailing interest rates are the same, or higher, than the rate on your maturing CD, you can purchase a new CD without worrying about reducing your income stream. But if rates have fallen, you may have a dilemma: How can you reproduce the income you received from your now-matured CD?

Here are a few alternatives to consider:

Mayor Greg Nickels released the following statement on the transportation project funding proposed by state legislative leaders today:

“From his first day in office, President Obama has been clear:
federal stimulus funds must create jobs, and build new projects that
benefit the economy.

Along with mayors across the country, I met with the president about his economic recovery plan, and it was with his guidance that we proposed including the Spokane Street Viaduct and fixing the Mercer Mess. These projects will directly create more than 1,300 jobs. On Jan. 13, I signed an agreement with Gov. Christine Gregoire and King County Executive Ron Sims to allocate federal money to the Spokane and Mercer Street projects.

What’s more, we have lined up $45 million in unprecedented private support for Mercer Street. This is exactly the kind of partnership that will put people to work and grow our economy. It is mystifying that the state Legislature would seek to
eliminate Spokane Street and Mercer Street from its list of stimulus projects.

When you’re working, you have a financial strategy that is largely based on one goal: saving money for a comfortable retirement. You’ll likely have to make many adjustments over several decades to ensure that you stay on track saving and investing.

But once you retire, a new goal arises — investing so you can remain retired. To help yourself achieve this goal, you will need to make a number of investment decisions.

Which of these decisions are most important? Here are five to consider:

How much will you spend each year? Before you can pursue an appropriate investment strategy, you’ll need to know about how much you'll spend each year. Estimate your costs for housing, food, travel, entertainment, insurance, gifts — everything. Keep in mind that your expenses will likely change annually, especially for items such as health care. Don't forget about inflation, which will likely cause your expenses to increase over the years.

Metropolitan King County Council Chair Dow Constantine praised the efforts of state lawmakers seeking to grant King County the flexibility it needs to address financial challenges while assisting in the reform of King County government.

“I appreciate the efforts of legislators in Olympia to address King County's funding crisis,” said Constantine. “With a tax base narrowed by years of statewide initiatives, and responsibilities broadened by decades of federal and state mandates, we need new approaches to protect major public health and safety programs for the nearly two million Washingtonians who call King County home.”

House Bill 2249 would allow existing County funds to be used for the highest priority needs, and add provisions to encourage the long-sought annexation of unincorporated urban areas into cities. It would also provide some temporary funding sources for King County services during the current economic downturn and require that future reforms be evaluated through a state performance audit of county government.

The bill was introduced by State Rep. Ross Hunter of Medina; a similar bill has been introduced in the state Senate by Sen. Debbie Regala.

Metropolitan King County Council member Larry Phillips recently joined representatives of Climate Communities in pressing the case to President Obama and Congress for local climate funds to be included in the federal stimulus package.

The result of that effort is $3.2 billion in energy grants nationwide that will make it possible for King County and other cities and counties to invest in local actions that create immediate jobs, improve energy efficiency, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 

Securing federal support for empowering local climate action has been the goal of a coalition of local officials who have joined together in an organization called Climate Communities, of which Phillips is a founding member and national co-chair.

“These hard economic times bring an opportunity to invest in a greener way of life that will bring new jobs to our economy and preserve our environment for future generations,” said Phillips. “With these grant funds, King County can show that we are a responsible and innovative partner with the federal government and can lead the way in finding climate solutions.”

Your car could break down. You might need a new furnace. You have to pay for one last term of college for your child. Whatever the reason, you may someday need a large sum of money in a hurry. And as you look around for a source of funds, your eyes might come to rest on your 401(k) plan. It’s there, it’s yours — why not tap into it?

Actually, there are some pretty good reasons for not dipping into your 401(k). But before we get to those, let’s see how you might access the money in your plan.

Some employers allow 401(k) loans only in cases of financial hardship, although the definition of “hardship” can be flexible. But many employers allow these loans for just about any purpose. To learn the borrowing requirements for your particular plan, you’ll need to contact your plan administrator.

Generally, you can borrow up to $50,000, or one-half of your vested plan benefits, whichever is less. You’ve got up to five years to repay your loan, although the repayment period can be longer if you use the funds to buy a primary residence.

I have the solution. Millions of other Americans have also thought of the same plan. It is simple! No Greed! Safe! and could be implemented overnight, thus immediately solving the problem with quick results for the country.

1. Implement a price freeze that will eliminate the greed that could follow. This freeze could eventually be changed as cost of living index is raised when the economy is revamped.

2. Divide the proposed bail out money of 840 billion dollars between the 150 million American taxpaying citizens only. This would stimulate each of the household a modest $5,600. The people would feel more comfortable. Businesses would pick up just enough to stop the depression that is lurking around the corner. People will buy new televisions, down payments on new automobiles, make mortgage payments, pay off credit cards, etc. This may be just enough to be a shot in the arm for the average citizen as well as for our country.

If you think the above plan has merit, please share the information with your friends and congressmen who are a part of the decision making body.