October 20
Social Security benefits will rise 3.6 percent, a panel advises Pap tests every three years, Facebook changes prompt grumbling and other consumer-focused news from The New York Times.
A Long Island credit union, seeking to capitalize on growing antibank sentiment, is offering new customers guaranteed “fee free” checking accounts — for life.
Bethpage Federal Credit Union says that effective immediately, new customers opening a Bethpage Bonus checking account can be assured of a lifetime of no debit card fees, no monthly maintenance fees, no transaction fees, no minimum balance fees and no fees charged by Bethpage for use of other banks’ A.T.M.’s. Plus, there are no fees for online, mobile or telephone banking.
Really? Absolutely no fees? For life? Guaranteed? “There are no caveats,” Kirk Kordeleski, the credit union’s president and chief executive, said in a telephone interview.
Well, almost none. The fine print on the credit union’s Web site notes in part, “Fees associated with insufficient funds will apply as necessary.” So, yes, there can be at least one fee — if you sign up for overdraft protection and overdraw your account by more than $20 when making a debit card purchase. (That fee, though, is $10 — roughly a third of the typical overdraft fee charged by big banks.)
Making the offer isn’t that big of a leap for Bethpage, Mr. Kordeleski said, because it already wasn’t charging most of those fees anyway.
The move is a savvy marketing ploy by the credit union, which has already seen an influx of new accounts. Since Bank of America announced its monthly debit card fee, the credit union has opened 1,500 new checking accounts — double the typical amount for a three-week period. A special Web site urges consumers to give their banks a “pink slip,” and offers a $25 incentive for turning in checks or debit cards from their old banks.
The checking account offers a 1 percent annual percentage interest rate, as long as customers use direct deposit, use online banking and make at least 15 debit-card purchases a month. Bethpage also offers better-than-average rates on its certificates of deposit. It is currently offering 0.90 percent on a one-year certificate of deposit, and 0.70 percent on a six-month C.D. Bankrate.com says the national averages for those C.D.’s are 0.36 percent and 0.23 percent, respectively.
Membership in the credit union, according to its Web site, is open to anyone who “lives, works, worships, attends school, regularly conducts business in Nassau or Suffolk County, or is an immediate family member of a current member.”
Are credit unions like Bethpage looking more attractive to you?
October 20
Social Security benefits will rise 3.6 percent, a panel advises Pap tests every three years, Facebook changes prompt grumbling and other consumer-focused news from The New York Times.
Justin Lane / EPA
People representing Occupy Wall Street and other groups hold a march on the Upper East Side of Manhattan to protest policies that they say favor the very rich.
The Occupy Wall Street movement has prompted a lot of talk lately about the 99 percent, the 53 percent and, of course, the wealthiest 1 percent of the population.
It may have gotten you wondering, when it comes to income, what percent am I?
A cool new tool from The Wall Street Journal asks you to enter your household income and then spits out your rank by wealth.
The tool defines household income as adjusted gross income plus other sources of money, such as Social Security benefits.
If you’re curious and feeling a little wonky, the IRS has tons more data on adjusted gross income, based on tax return filings. You can find it all here.
October 20
Social Security benefits will rise 3.6 percent, a panel advises Pap tests every three years, Facebook changes prompt grumbling and other consumer-focused news from The New York Times.
By Kara Reinhardt
Cheapism.com
When the expression “feel the burn” applies as much to your wind-whipped cheeks as it does to your quadriceps, it may be time to put away your bike for the winter.
A stationary bike lets you keep riding even as the streets and bike paths succumb to snow and ice. If you plan to ride more than five miles a day, it may be worth it to spring for an expensive exercise bike. But more moderate users can find high-quality models for less than $400.
Try to test out the different types of stationary bikes and select one that’s comfortable for you.
An upright exercise bike mirrors a regular bicycle, with pedals beneath the seat. A recumbent bike is designed with pedals out in front of a wider seat with a back to let the user recline. This makes recumbent models suitable even for older and heavier users, as well as those who are rehabilitating after an injury. But don’t think the added comfort of a recumbent bike translates to an easier workout; a study shows it’s possible to burn as many calories as you would on an upright model. Upright bikes tend to be lighter and take up less space, although many recumbent models have wheels to make them easier to move.
Budget stationary bikes may not boast customizable workouts or high-resolution displays, but they often come with electronic consoles to monitor stats such as speed, distance, time and calories, and sometimes additional data such as pulse rate. Many do offer preset workout programs and resistance levels. Make sure the resistance can be set high enough to challenge you as your fitness level improves. Conversely, the lowest resistance should make pedaling easy enough that it doesn’t discourage you from working out. Finally, look for a seat that can be adjusted to fit your height.
Below are Cheapism’s top picks for affordable exercise bikes.
More from Cheapism:
Cheap Exercise Bikes
Cheap PCs
Cheap Champagne
Cheap Mattress Sets
The proposal by Mr. Perry, the Texas governor, does not yet have details, but it is expected to resemble a version previously advocated by the former presidential candidate Steve Forbes, who has advised Mr. Perry on his plan. Mr. Forbes’s proposal in the late 1990s featured a 17 percent tax rate.
Mr. Romney has previously been critical of a flat-tax system, including in newspaper advertisements he took out in 1996 as a “concerned citizen” in which he argued that the Forbes tax plan was a “tax cut for fat cats.”
Lately Mr. Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, has been more nuanced, arguing at a town hall meeting that he was concerned that too flat a tax structure would hurt middle class taxpayers and emphasizing that while there are some good attributes to a flat-tax system, he prefers tax breaks for the middle class.
Other candidates have also taken up the mantle for simplifying the tax system and broadening the tax base.
Herman Cain, a businessman from Atlanta, had entered the race as a relative unknown but has vaulted to prominence partly because of his plan resembling a flat tax (plus a national sales tax). Mr. Perry appears to be trying to harness the popular tax frustration that Mr. Cain has tapped into, and simultaneously differentiate himself from Mr. Romney.
A major result of adopting a flat tax would generally make the tax system more regressive, thereby reducing the percentage for high-income earners but increasing burden on lower-income groups.
“It’s just simple basic math,” said Chuck Marr, director of federal tax policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a liberal research group. “To the extent that it is revenue neutral, a flat tax implies large tax increases on middle-class people and, mirroring that, a major tax cut on wealthy people.”
For some conservatives, however, the regressive nature is actually a positive result of the flat tax system. Under current policy, the wealthiest earners are paying a higher tax rate than the poorest, with some Americans paying very little or no taxes.
That fact has angered many Americans who think they are shouldering too much of the country’s tax burden. The “99 Percent” slogan of Occupy Wall Street protests, for example, has been countered with a “53 Percent” movement, referring to the fact that 53 percent of Americans pay federal income taxes (although many more pay payroll taxes).
The effects of these various proposals aside, replacing today’s labyrinthine tax system with a flat tax does have the virtue of simplicity. Americans would spend less time, and endure fewer headaches, figuring out how much they owe the government.
“Simplicity is good, but that’s not all you want,” said Roberton Williams, a senior fellow at the Tax Policy Center. “If all you want is simplicity, you could just tax everybody $10,000. That would be easy and simple. But most people wouldn’t think that’s fair.”
A flat tax would be a major ideological victory for many economic conservatives, akin to how some social conservatives feel about overturning Roe v. Wade. Besides Mr. Forbes’s plan, several other Republican leaders like Phil Gramm (also now advising Mr. Perry, according to Mr. Forbes) and Dick Armey have proposed their own versions over the years but with little traction.
Grover Norquist, the founder of Americans for Tax Reform, an influential conservative group, said all the candidates were moving toward a flatter tax structure. “Now it’s a consensus position in the center-right,” he said, compared with 15 years ago, when Mr. Forbes’s plan was attacked by other Republican candidates.
The presidential candidates advocating some version of a flat tax, however, denied that their proposals were regressive.
Adam Nagourney contributed reporting.