Category: Politics, Religion & Money

A habit I have developed from watching old movies is taking inflation into account whenever somebody mentions money. In The Harder They Fall, when Humphrey Bogart’s wife doesn’t sound enthusiastic about the job he’s taken, Bogey says, “don’t knock it, it pays a thousand a month, and expenses.” In 1956, $1000 was equivalent to $11,000 today. Good money for the unemployed boxing columnist Bogart played in his final film role.

One thing I’ve come to appreciate about the Federal Reserve, from reading Bernanke’s book 21st Century Monetary Policy, is that relying upon precedents to make decisions doesn’t work in unprecedented times.

https://www.mass.gov/service-details/craft-breweries

The official list of craft breweries in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. No longer in operation is John Harvard’s, one of the early craft beer establishments in greater Boston.

I’m some years away from having to take required minimum distributions from my IRA’s. Until then, they’re collecting non-compound interest, tax-free.

I was curious how the popular 4% rule for withdrawing money in retirement compares to the RMD amount. Pretending I’m already 72, the SEC’s calculator came up with a number that is very close to 4%.

https://www.investor.gov/financial-tools-calculators/calculators/required-minimum-distribution-calculator

An issue with RMD is it’s based on the previous year’s account balances. That’s going to be a problem for a lot of retirees, between inflation and the stock market decline triggered by the Fed’s interest rate hikes, intended to slow inflation. So far without success.

Florida governor Ron DeSantis thinks outside the box to offer fellow Republican governor Charlie Baker a solution to the labor shortage on his state’s coastal vacation spot, Cape Cod.