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CHESAPEAKE, Va. (AP) — Dollar Tree embedded in its very name what it stands for: Behind these doors, everything can be had for just $1. The mantra to which the Chesapeake, Virginia, company has held true for decades will now be only mostly true. After expanding nationwide from only a handful of stores in Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia, Dollar Tree is breaking the mold and will sell items in some locations that exceed the tantalizing $1 grab-n-go price. The cost of clothes, cars, food and just about everything else has soared this year as the global economy emerges from a...

Another round of stimulus payments is on the way, the Internal Revenue Service announced. The payments are the ninth batch of Economic Impact Payments from President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan. In all, the plan - which includes stimulus payments of up to $1,400 per person - has distributed some 165 million stimulus payments with a value of about $388 billion. The payments began processing on May 7 with a processing date of May 12 with some people receiving direct payments in their accounts earlier as provisional or pending deposits. More than 500,000 of the latest batch of payments went...

Greetings all: Here are my ideas for tax reform: Two brackets: 15% and 28% (instead of 12% and 25%), with said 15% bracket covering an amount of income equal to that taxed for Social Security (2X that for married couples and 1.5X that for head of household). There would be no higher 3rd, 4th or 5th brackets. Standard deduction of $12,000 ($24,000 for married couples, $18,000 for head of household), but keeping the personal and dependent exemptions (currently $4,050 apiece), with dependents including all dependents, not just children. Get rid of ALL deductions and credits, except for charitable giving and...

No debating it; GOP event at CU-Boulder to have select audience 'It's an extremely limited, culled crowd' Abandon hope, all ye holding out for a seat at the next Republican presidential candidate debate. The Oct. 28 event in Boulder, titled "Your Money, Your Vote" and televised by CNBC, will be held in the 11,000-seat Coors Events Center on the University of Colorado campus, but the audience will be capped at about 1,000, and nearly all those chairs are already spoken for.

The healthy growth of mankind depends on continuously decreasing the cost of water and energy everywhere.Nice thought. Why mention it?Its a mission statement.For who?Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett — and through them America’s billionaires. Why Bill Gates? Why Warren Buffett?As to Bill Gates, his passion; According to a recent interview Understanding science and pushing the boundaries of science is what makes me immensely satisfied. What I’m doing now involves understanding maths, risk-taking. The first half of my life was good preparation for the second half.’ Now in the context of the interview he was...

Democrat Anthony Weiner's immediate future may be uncertain, but thanks to congressional rules and the salaciousness of his scandal, things are already looking up for the disgraced New York congressman. Upon his official resignation in the wake of a monthlong scandal involving Weiner's risque online communications with multiple women, Weiner will still be eligible for many congressional perks, including access to a sizable pension fund. (House staff have yet to announce they've actually received his resignation letter.) The conservative National Taxpayers Union (NTU) estimates the 46-year-old congressman's pension to be worth $1.28 million if he retires at age 62 or...

Dear Carrie: If I have more than $250,000 at any one bank, should I consider using multiple banks to make sure it's all insured to the full $250K? If so, what's the best strategy? -- A Reader Dear Reader: Even though the pace of bank failures has slowed down, it's always prudent to understand how your deposits are protected -- so thanks for a great question. Created back in 1933 in the wake of the Great Depression, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) protects the money you deposit in an insured bank, and it does it well: No one with...

Rules enhance retirement advice and transparency for workersWASHINGTON, Feb. 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, at a White House forum hosted by Vice President Joe Biden, the U.S. Department of Labor announced two new rules designed to enhance retirement security and transparency for the millions of workers covered by 401(k), pension and other retirement arrangements.  The announcement was part of the White House Middle Class Task Force's year-end report, which the vice president released at this morning's event. During the past year, the Middle Class Task Force has focused on solutions to the challenges facing America's middle class — including retirement security...

Well, it's not quite as bad as Paul Krugman critiquing the Fox Business Network, but a little troubling because tax dollars are being spent to undertake such an effort. A Nov. 27 post by incoming White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer on the The White House Blog attempted to fact check a Nov. 27 column by Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer, proving the left-wing noise machine isn't the only shop in Washington, D.C. criticizing conservative voices (h/t Amanda Carpenter of The Washington Times). "In today's Washington Post, Charles Krauthammer takes great pains to paint a bleak picture of health care...

Last September, as Wall Street turned to rubble and panic threatened to come unleashed, Ken Lewis, the CEO of Bank of America, agreed to swallow one of the country’s most toxic investment houses. The deal was not altogether voluntary; as details have slowly emerged, the coercive role of the Fed and Treasury has loomed larger. What exactly happened in the weeks leading up to the merger? Did the deal save us all from economic apocalypse? And what does the government’s unprecedented role in it portend for the future of our economy? It’s been almost a year since Bank of America...

Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2008, is a date that will live in fame (the opposite of infamy) forever. If the election of our first African-American president didn’t stir you, if it didn’t leave you teary-eyed and proud of your country, there’s something wrong with you. But will the election also mark a turning point in the actual substance of policy? Can Barack Obama really usher in a new era of progressive policies? Yes, he can. Right now, many commentators are urging Mr. Obama to think small. Some make the case on political grounds: America, they say, is still a conservative country,...

US government document reveals US to give Abbas USD 86 mil to fight Fatah-Hamas power struggle, money to assist PA in fulfilling road map commitments, establish law and order in West Bank, Gaza. Hamas legislator: US helping to create coup Reuters Latest Update: 01.05.07, 12:39 The Bush administration will provide USD 86.4 million to strengthen security forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, expanding US involvement in Abbas' power struggle with Hamas, according to documents revealed Friday. The US money will be used to "assist the Palestinian Authority presidency in fulfilling PA commitments under the Road Map (peace plan) to...

For Immediate ReleaseApril 1, 2006 President's Radio Address       Audio      THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. As tax day approaches later this month, many American families are now finishing their tax returns. And as you do, an important debate is taking place in Washington that will affect the amount you will pay in the years ahead. I believe our economy grows when you're allowed to keep more of your hard-earned money and make your own decisions about how to save, spend, and invest. So, working with Congress, we've provided tax relief for all Americans who pay income taxes. We lowered tax...

Indian employees of outsourcing company in India are fraudulently cheating Americans and American companies Staff Reporter Apr. 9, 2005 Many American and European companies have gone to India to save some money and utilize the work of talented Indians. But little did they know how they and their clients in America will be systematically ripped off by fraudulent cheats working for the outsourcing companies in India. Western companies are cheated in many different ways. For example a small Web Services company from America established a subsidiary in India with a local partner. They were being billed every month for the...

As more workers are jumping--or being pushed--off the corporate ladder, a slew of new tax and savings benefits are softening their landing. The Solo 401(k) is one of the fastest-growing cushions. It is a retirement savings plan aimed squarely at the growing number of free agents running one-person companies. In the three years ending in 2003, the ranks of the self-employed grew by 6 percent to 12.2 million people, according to the Small Business Administration. Entrepreneurs have poured about $2.8 billion into Solo 401(k) plans since their launch in 2002, and that's expected to jump to $5 billion by year's...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush is drawing a long gray line through the baby boom generation, hoping to keep the oldest at bay and the youngest at his side as he pursues drastic changes to Social Security. Gingerly touching the third rail of politics, Bush said in his State of the Union address, "I have a message for every American who is 55 years or older: Do not let anyone mislead you. For you, the Social Security system will not change." But it will change dramatically for people under 55, if the president gets his way: Benefit cuts, increasing the...

President Bush's aides are reviving his long-shelved plan to let workers divert some Social Security taxes into stocks as a reelection issue, gambling that market drops have not soured voters on the politically risky idea. Republicans on Capitol Hill have refused to touch his 2000 campaign proposal to overhaul the nation's largest domestic program, and some of his allies remain leery of pushing an issue that Democrats have long used to woo senior citizens by charging "privatization." Bush aides said he will make the longtime conservative goal more palatable by discussing changes to Social Security as part of a set...

$24 million retirement home for chimpanzees shows need for separation of science and state, Libertarians say WASHINGTON< DC -- A plan by the National Institutes of Health to spend $24 million on a retirement facility for chimpanzees shows why America needs a separation of science and state, Libertarians say. “This Club Med for monkeys illustrates how easy it is for government bureaucrats to go bananas with other people’s money,” said Libertarian Party Communications Director George Getz. “Amazingly, these chimps will get better treatment in their golden years than the chump taxpayer.” In an effort to house 800 chimpanzees that have...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Corporate lobbyists and members of Congress are lining up to oppose a plan by the Internal Revenue Service to collect payroll taxes on stock options. The benefit is used by high-tech companies and others to attract and motivate millions of employees. Rules proposed by the IRS would impose the 15.3 percent tax, which funds Social Security and Medicare, on incentive stock options and employee stock purchase plans. That would reverse a 31-year-old IRS position on the issue. The rules would take effect Jan. 1. Opponents say this amounts to a new tax burden, never authorized by Congress,...