I want to live forever

I met a fairy who said she would grant me one wish.

"I want to live forever," I said.
"Sorry" said the fairy, "I'm not allowed to grant wishes like that!""
Fine," I said, "then I want to die after the Democrats get their heads out of their asses!
""You crafty bastard," said the fairy.

I've resigned myself to the fact that the next 4 months will be all about politics.  Unfortunately, it won't be all about the people.  This week we'll talk (and talk and talk and talk...) about restoring the Bush tax cuts and to whom.  Some of these changes are particularly important to us (the baby boomers who are thinking and planning for retirement.) Here are a few of the changes that could literally make us or break us!

1.  Capital Gains...will jump from 15% to 20 %!  That 5% can be a pretty important number if you own a business and now will be giving the government another 20th of what you worked your whole life for.
2.  Tax on Dividends... Your portfolio may now be taxed from 15% to as high as 40% depending on your individual tax rate.  So, what you've earned over the last say 10 years, goes to another tax instead of your pocket.... shocker
3  Estate taxes... We all felt pretty comfortable about selling the farm and being safe from huge tax repercussions.  Not any more!  The level we would have had to hit used to be 5 million in value... As I said, we're all pretty safe....Now it will be 1 million.  It's pretty easy to attain an estate with that value when you consider a new SUV is over $40K and new homes are in the $250K range.  So, we've become vulnerable at the million dollar threshold and the rate will rise from 35% to 55%! Can you say, "let the gifting begin!"
4.  At the end of this year, even buying energy efficient appliances will no longer give you a tax break along with some perks such as using mass transit (not an issue for us country folks) and getting breaks for paying local sales taxes.

We must now remember that Bush was a Republican... Republicans want these taxes renewed for everyone....even the wealthy... (Last I knew they were included in everyone).  Mr Obama wants them renewed for the middle class... I sort of get his point but then we're into the class system.... I'm not sure we really want to go there....especially in an election year.  I think it's really quite simple.  You don't spend more than you make OR that you can afford to pay back over a minimal amount of time......that NOT being a generation.  Hmm that sounds a bit like the way to run a business...Now, who of the two gentlemen running for President has the skills necessary to run a successful business?