As you can see below, it’s good to be a quarterback in the NFL. Here are some of the top NFL salaries at quarterback position this year: It will be interesting to see what type of contract the 49ers offer former Patriots backup Jimmy Garoppollo. Keeping him on the Patriots' roster, in the end, was too expensive—to the tune of twenty some odd million dollars a year—to wear a headset. OverTheCap.com's Jason Fitzgerald (as pointed out by Ben Volin of the Boston Globe) believes that the 49ers will likely get Garoppolo for around $21 million next year which is what Brock Osweiler got … [Read more...]

So much for that tax cut we’ve all been hoping for—it looks like the swamp in Washington is alive and well. If this is a tax-cut for the rich, imagine what a tax increase would look like. Don’t get me started. And for all those saying this is a tax cut for the rich, well, the last time I checked you need “money” to get a tax cut—too many Americans have no skin in the game. Americans who I work with—the successful Americans like you—are either still working and saving for retirement, or are already retired and could use a break. Couples in their 50s saving for retirement? Ha! Finally, … [Read more...]

As more money piles into stocks, there’s never been a better time to get acquainted with Dick Young’s investment North Star, the Treasury bill. Backed by the full-faith credit pledge of the United States government, the T-bill is your risk-free rate of return. See the chart below, and roll your finger, left to right, from the mid-80s to today. Do you see a problem with today’s investment environment? It’s a lot different from when Dick Young began writing to you, as I explain when you click on the chart link above.  … [Read more...]

If the decision were up to me to choose between current Federal Reserve governor Jerome Powell or Stanford University economics professor John Taylor as the next Federal Reserve Chief, I would choose Taylor. At least, of the two, Taylor has a rule named after him. According to the “Taylor Rule,” the Federal Funds rate would be a much higher 3.5% today, not a measly 1%.  But the rule isn’t exactly cut and dried. “Its components include the gap between inflation and its target, between economic output and its target, and the ‘neutral’ real (inflation-adjusted) interest rate, which keeps the … [Read more...]

Over the weekend I received a post-card sized mailer from a local realtor. She was reaching out to residents in my general neighborhood. She has a retired couple interested in buying in the “neighborhood.” Her “clients” want off street parking, an easy to maintain yard, located within walking distance to the center of Newport. Whether this couple exists is neither here nor there. The real estate market, as she points out, is smoking hot and if you’re thinking about selling she wants to hear from you. Pretty clever approach for stressed out buyers or realtors. Which leads me to an article … [Read more...]

If you’re a small business owner, then you probably can’t relate to the full court press from what seems like all of New England—and the rest of America for that matter—hoping to lure Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to choose their city or state for its second headquarters. You might be saying to yourself “no one put on a press conference to have me move to start a business.” Which is why I like the approach New Hampshire is taking. Yes, it wants Bezos. But it doesn’t have to fund HQ2 with tax breaks residents end up paying. “Everyone else is still trying to play catchup to this tax incentive we … [Read more...]