State Income Taxes Ranked From Highest to Lowest
http://www.businessinsider.com/state-income-tax-rate-rankings-by-state-2018-2

The Federal budget for 2017 ---
http://ritholtz.com/2018/04/federal-budget-2017/

Jensen Comment
Note that even before the 2018 corporate tax cuts the corporate income tax has been a shrinking part of the Federal budget of the most recent decades. I've long been an advocate of replacing it with a VAT tax but liberals and conservatives alike hate that idea.

Medicare and Medicaid are the least sustainable entitlements predicted for the future.

Interest on government debt is a huge worry since foreign interests (think China and the oil-rich nations of the Middle East) own so much of it with the threat that one day these large investors will stop rolling over their investments in USA debt.

To Whom Does the USA Federal Government Owe Money (the booked obligation of $20+ trillion) ---
http://finance.townhall.com/columnists/politicalcalculations/2016/05/25/spring-2016-to-whom-does-the-us-government-owe-money-n2168161?utm_source=thdaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl
The US Debt Clock in Real Time --- http://www.usdebtclock.org/ 
In 2018 Foreigners (think Asia and the Middle East) May Be Losing Interest in USA Treasuries ---
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-12/lackluster-u-s-bond-auctions-add-to-worries-of-foreign-pullback
Remember the Jane Fonda Movie called "Rollover" --- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rollover_(film)
One worry is that nations holding trillions of dollars invested in USA debt are dependent upon sales of oil and gas to sustain those investments.

To Whom Does the USA Federal Government Owe Money (the unbooked obligation of $100+ trillion and unknown more in contracted entitlements) ---
http://money.cnn.com/2013/01/15/news/economy/entitlement-benefits/
The biggest worry of the entitlements obligations is enormous obligation for the future under the Medicare and Medicaid programs that are now deemed totally unsustainable ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Entitlements.htm

How Americans Get Health Insurance ---
http://ritholtz.com/2017/08/americans-get-health-insurance/

To Whom Does the USA Federal Government Owe Money (the booked obligation of $20+ trillion) ---
http://finance.townhall.com/columnists/politicalcalculations/2016/05/25/spring-2016-to-whom-does-the-us-government-owe-money-n2168161?utm_source=thdaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl
The US Debt Clock in Real Time --- http://www.usdebtclock.org/ 
Remember the Jane Fonda Movie called "Rollover" --- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rollover_(film)
One worry is that nations holding trillions of dollars invested in USA debt are dependent upon sales of oil and gas to sustain those investments.

To Whom Does the USA Federal Government Owe Money (the unbooked obligation of $100+ trillion and unknown more in contracted entitlements) ---
http://money.cnn.com/2013/01/15/news/economy/entitlement-benefits/
The biggest worry of the entitlements obligations is enormous obligation for the future under the Medicare and Medicaid programs that are now deemed totally unsustainable ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Entitlements.htm

How Americans Get Health Insurance ---
http://ritholtz.com/2017/08/americans-get-health-insurance/

Also see the NYT article
Former F.B.I. Deputy Director Is Faulted in Scathing Inspector General Report
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/13/us/politics/former-fbi-deputy-director-is-faulted-in-scathing-inspector-general-report.html
 

New York Times:  A $76,000 Monthly Pension: Why States and Cities Are Short on Cash ---
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/14/business/pension-finance-oregon.html

With bankruptcy looming for some states (think Illinois) academic finance will be challenged to provide new models for financing social services and infrastructure
https://www.statedatalab.org/

The US's national debt spiked $1 trillion (to over $20 trillion) in less than 6 months of late 2017---
http://www.businessinsider.com/us-national-debt-spiked-1-trillion-in-less-than-6-months-2018-2
|USA Debt Clock --- http://www.usdebtclock.org/
USA unbooked entitlements commitments are now over $100 trillion

From the CFO Journal's Morning Ledger on April 10, 2018

CBO sees annual deficits exceed $1 trillion by 2020
The U.S. Congressional Budget Office said the federal budget deficit would total $804 billion this year, 43% higher than it had projected last summer, and exceed $1 trillion a year starting in 2020. The deficit was $665 billion in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30

Bob Jensen's threads on deficits and entitlements ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Entitlements.htm

How to Mislead With Statistics
Does Gun Control Reduce Murder? Let’s Run The Numbers Across The World ---
http://thefederalist.com/2018/04/03/gun-control-reduce-murder-lets-run-numbers-across-world/

Jensen Comment
There are just too many intervening and missing variables such as the varying degrees of gun control laws and their law enforcement in different nations. Having a law against gun ownership would do little in El Salvador or Honduras where the inmates are running the asylum (think helpless law enforcement).  Nations like Norway do much more to treat mental illness than developing nations with high poverty rates and poor health treatment in general.

Having said this there is something to be said about knowing crime rates (including murder and kidnapping rates) and taking precautions when visiting some nations or parts of those nations. The USA State Department, for example, issues warnings about travel dangers. These can be misleading, however, when there is lack of detail. For example, some nations like Sweden, Belgium, and Germany have relatively low crime rates but there are some parts of these nations where even the police fear to tread.

There are also varying definitions of gun control. For example, introducing controls of gun "purchases" in the USA does little to change crime rates in nations like the USA where there are already high rates of gun ownership and huge underground markets for illegal gun trading. Controls on gun "possession" may be more effective such as controls in NYC versus Manchester, NH but here once again there are too many intervening variables such as crime rates in NYC versus Manchester, NH.

Also having localized strict gun controls may be highly ineffective if surrounding areas have loose gun controls. For instance, if it does little good for Chicago to control handgun purchases if handguns and ammunition can be easily purchased in surrounding suburbs.

Having strict laws on gun dealers does little good in gun shows are not subjected to the same controls. For example, while living in San Antonio I purchased a 38 Special without even leaving my name at a gun show. I could not have done this if I purchased the same handgun from a San Antonio gun dealer.

Alan Lightman on the Longing for Absolutes in a Relative World and What Gives Lasting Meaning to Our Lives ---
https://www.brainpickings.org/2018/03/27/alan-lightman-searching-for-stars-on-an-island-in-maine/?utm_source=Brain+Pickings&utm_campaign=6373655c3d-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_03_30&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_179ffa2629-6373655c3d-234390133&mc_cid=6373655c3d&mc_eid=4d2bd13843

China, holding Treasuries, keeps 'nuclear option' in U.S. trade war ---
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-china-treasuries/china-holding-treasuries-keeps-nuclear-option-in-u-s-trade-war-idUSKCN1HB34M

NEW YORK (Reuters) - It took China just 11 hours to retaliate against the United States for proposing tariffs on some 1,300 Chinese products, but Chinese officials are holding back on taking aim at their largest American import: government debt.

In a tit-for-tat response to the Trump administration’s plan for 25 percent duties on $50 billion of Chinese imports, China hit back with its own list of similar duties on key American imports including soybeans, planes, cars, beef and chemicals. But officials signaled no interest for now in bringing their vast holdings of U.S. Treasuries to the fight.

China held around $1.17 trillion of Treasuries as of the end of January, making it the largest of America's foreign creditors and the No. 2 overall owner of U.S. government bonds after the Federal Reserve. Any move by China to chop its Treasury portfolio could inflict significant harm on U.S. finances and global investors, driving bond yields higher and making it more costly to finance the federal government.(Graphic: Top U.S. trade partners & foreign holders of Treasuries . . .

Hi Bob

You wrote: The biggest fraud is for heirs to confiscate the estate of a parent before death (e.g., by selling the home and confiscating savings) so that the parent can stay free in a nursing home. It's worse than that. You use the term fraud which implies an illegal action for which the perpetrator may be subject to civil and/or criminal penalties.

In that context, it's not fraud since it is legal to perform the behavior you bring up. See this article for example.
https://ask.superlawyers.com/new-york/elder-law/will-new-york-state-take-my-home-and-my-other-assets-before-i-can-qualify-for-medicaid-to-pay-for-a-nursing-home-or-home-care/6375a357-79d9-48e8-b8d4-104f8868afe7.html

The greatest concern expressed by my clients is whether or not they will outlive their money, particularly when it comes to paying for nursing home care. Many times they are under the misconception that their regular coverage, such as Medicare, will pay for long-term care at home or in a facility. Although Medicare and other health insurance will often pay for limited stays at a facility for skilled needs or rehabilitation, they will not pay for permanent long-term care.

The only private insurance that pays for such care is long-term care insurance, which very few people have acquired, either because of its expense, or because they were denied the coverage due to their health histories. The only insurance that pays for such long-term care is Medicaid. In NY, an applicant for Medicaid cannot own more than $14,400.00 in assets (bank accounts, annuities, cash value of life insurance policies, etc.), and, if being cared for at home, keep approximately $800.00 of monthly income. If the Medicaid recipient is at home, the home is not counted. If the Medicaid recipient is in a nursing home, all of his or her income, except for a $50.00 per month allowance, is required to be contributed to his or her care. Often, the conclusion that nursing home care, or 24-hour home care is necessary, is presented suddenly to the patient and/or family, before a hospital discharge. If the patient is in a hospital, discharge planning to a facility or home is done within a 48-hour period, giving the family very little time to explore options, or even knowledge as to the quality of nursing homes or care agencies.

Continued in article

AAUP Annual Faculty Compensation Data for 2017-18 ---
https://www.chronicle.com/article/how-much-did-professors-earn/243085?cid=db&elq=e723fbc6b5444b05a5336833608d3969&elqCampaignId=8341&elqTrackId=0e0a84a9c6ce4879b9d54b79a8764ff4&elqaid=18566&elqat=1

In 2017–18, average salaries for full-time continuing faculty members increased by 3.0 percent over the previous academic year, or by 1.1 percent after adjusting for inflation. Presidents of institutions participating in the AAUP’s Faculty Compensation Survey are paid 4.78 times more than fulltime faculty members, on average.

Accompanying this year’s report are two data snapshots that serve to situate the report’s results within the larger national discussion about retirement benefits, state funding of higher education, and early-career faculty. Drastic cuts in state appropriations have often affected faculty at public colleges and universities more than other public employees as legislators have targeted higher education budgets. And states with catastrophic decreases in support for higher education have typically faced a corresponding financial crisis caused by the underfunding of public pensions. The coming retirement crisis for employees under forty is worsened for early-career faculty because of their late entry into the workforce relative to other employees.

This year’s report explores some of the benefits full-time faculty receive. Many of the broader societal trends affecting retirement and health benefits hit faculty especially hard. What appear to be very generous retirement benefits for some faculty become much less generous when the mobility required for early-career faculty is considered. Some public institutions seem to offer better retirement benefits than private institutions but are not paying into Social Security for their employees. The continually increasing costs of health care have also affected faculty—while premiums for employer-covered health-care plans rose by 3 percent nationally in 2017, the average increase in employer contributions at reporting institutions was below that (and was negative at private religiously affiliated institutions). The data gathered by the AAUP can help explore such nuances in a complicated compensation landscape.

Download the report as a pdf.

Continued in article

Sears to close last store in Chicago, the city that helped launch its growth into a major retail presence ---
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-sears-closing-last-chicago-store-20180412-story.html

Jensen Comment
Gangland Chicago is no longer a safe place for anchor stores in shopping malls, although Sears troubles extend well beyond Chicago crime (think Amazon). What is really sad about the demise of Sears is having to rely on retail stores( or Amazon) that do not repair what they sell in the boondocks.

I don't need a new lawn tractor, but this made me think about warranty support for something really heavy to ship like a lawn tractor. For what I think is a reasonable priced at-home-warranty Sears will send a repair technician to my home to fix heavy items like lawn tractors, refrigerators, microwaves, washing machines, etc.  Here's what one customer writes about a lawn tractor purchased from Amazon ---
https://www.amazon.com/Husqvarna-YTA24V48-Continuously-Variable-Transmission/dp/B019ZN119G/ref=sr_1_9?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1523737302&sr=1-9&keywords=lawn+tractor

Customer Quotation
I love most things about this machine (the lawn tractor purchased from Amazon) but I have a problem I think others should note. First let's make clear that I live in a very rural area. That means there is only one approved service location in my area (and far away). That said, I had problems with the transmission from the day I first drove it (purchased March 17, 2017). Reverse was almost impossible to hit and then it was impossible. I called to find my nearest service location as it is still under warranty. The treatment I got was awful! This man claims Husqvarna does not back up its warranty, that he has many customers ahead of me and can't guarantee my repair would be under warranty, and chided me for not buying locally (he is a dealer, of course). So I still have a tractor that will not go into reverse, have no local options for service under warranty, will have to pay for repairs myself I guess. This is something to consider before purchase. Had I known I might have elected another option.
Unhappy Customer

Jensen Comment
If he bought the lawn tractor from a nearby Sears store the Sears repair technician would come to his house and either fix a warranty-repair problem or Sears would deliver a new lawn tractor (or refrigerator or washing machine, etc.). I really, really hope our nearby Sears store stays in business for those huge and heavy items that I now have under 14 extended Sears warranties. By the way, last summer Sears delivered to my home warranty replacements for a dehumidifier and a lawn edging machine that Sears technicians decided could not be repaired. I paid no added cost for the new replacements. Plus our washing machine had free repairs for a new transmission and some other parts.

What is not clear is whether Amazon would have sent the customer quoted above a shipping label if he tried to return the Husqvarna lawn tractor to Amazon within 30 days. On most items Amazon will take back items within 30 days and pay the return shipping costs (no matter what you don't like about the product). This may not apply to really heavy items like lawn tractors that can't be returned via UPS. Maybe Amazon makes you deal with the manufacturer for such heavy items like lawn tractors under the manufacturer's (often lousy) warranty. Give me a Sears at-home warranty any day.

Bob Jensen's health care messaging --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Health.htm

Bob Jensen's threads on health coverage are at
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Health.htm

The HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) has found that, by exploiting Obamacare’s expansion of the program, California has enrolled hundreds of thousands of ineligible adults in Medicaid. Consequently, the state has bilked the federal government out of more than $1 billion in funding to which the state was not entitled.
https://spectator.org/california-commits-massive-medicaid-fraud/
Jensen Comment
Nearly half of the Medicaid recipients in Illinois were found to be not elgible for Medicaid due to their income levels.

Bob Jensen's Tidbits Archives ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/tidbitsdirectory.htm 

Bob Jensen's Pictures and Stories
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Pictures.htm

Summary of Major Accounting Scandals --- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accounting_scandals

Bob Jensen's threads on such scandals:

Bob Jensen's threads on audit firm litigation and negligence ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Fraud001.htm

Current and past editions of my newsletter called Fraud Updates ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/FraudUpdates.htm

Enron --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/FraudEnron.htm

Rotten to the Core --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/FraudRotten.htm

American History of Fraud --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/FraudAmericanHistory.htm

Bob Jensen's fraud conclusions ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/FraudConclusion.htm

Bob Jensen's threads on auditor professionalism and independence are at
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Fraud001c.htm

Bob Jensen's threads on corporate governance are at
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Fraud001.htm#Governance 

Shielding Against Validity Challenges in Plato's Cave ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/TheoryTAR.htm

·     With a Rejoinder from the 2010 Senior Editor of The Accounting Review (TAR), Steven J. Kachelmeier

·     With Replies in Appendix 4 to Professor Kachemeier by Professors Jagdish Gangolly and Paul Williams

·     With Added Conjectures in Appendix 1 as to Why the Profession of Accountancy Ignores TAR

·     With Suggestions in Appendix 2 for Incorporating Accounting Research into Undergraduate Accounting Courses

Shielding Against Validity Challenges in Plato's Cave  --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/TheoryTAR.htm
By Bob Jensen

What went wrong in accounting/accountics research?  ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/theory01.htm#WhatWentWrong

The Sad State of Accountancy Doctoral Programs That Do Not Appeal to Most Accountants ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/theory01.htm#DoctoralPrograms

AN ANALYSIS OF THE EVOLUTION OF RESEARCH CONTRIBUTIONS BY THE ACCOUNTING REVIEW: 1926-2005 ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/395wpTAR/Web/TAR395wp.htm#_msocom_1

Bob Jensen's threads on accounting theory ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/theory01.htm

Systemic problems of accountancy (especially the vegetable nutrition paradox) that probably will never be solved ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/FraudConclusion.htm#BadNews

Bob Jensen's economic crisis messaging http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/2008Bailout.htm

Bob Jensen's threads --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/threads.htm

Bob Jensen's Home Page --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/