THE OPERATIVE WORD IS "TRANSPARENCY"

State governments contract for goods and services amounting to tens of billions of dollars, and offer subsidies to encourage economic development, grants and other spending issues.  To insure that the funds are well spent, accountability and public scrutiny are required.

Right now all 50 states provide state spending information on the internet, and for all except CA and VT the info is searchable.  “Transparency 20” refers to meeting the standards.

Take a look at TRANSPARENCY FLORIDA, and see how our state spends its money.  The U.S. Public Interest Research Group gave Florida an A- grade for the Transparency Florida website, and ranked it third in the US for state government transparency.  You may want to subscribe to Florida’s CFO Jeff Atwater’s weekly DOLLARS AND SENSE newsletter to keep apprised of what is happening in our state.

 

 

Watch and listen to how drones work....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdpcSpLHu-8

 

 

EVER WONDERED HOW THE INTERNET WORKS?

 

http://www.wimp.com/internetworks/

FINDING AN UNCLAIMED PENSION

You, or someone you know, may be owed a pension. Below are options for searching PBGC's list of pensions that have been earned, but are unclaimed.
PLEASE NOTE: The lists you can search here do not include all people for whom PBGC is holding pensions or information about their pensions. It includes only those people whom PBGC has not yet been able to contact directly.
Search here for unclaimed pensions by the participant's or beneficiary's last name, the name of the company that provided the pension, or the state of the company's location.

Search by Name - either exact match or contains, Company or State.

http://search.pbgc.gov/mp/mp.aspx

 

 

GOOD NEWS AND NOT SO GOOD NEWS!

A SELLERS MARKET
IS STARTING TO DEVELOP
IN SOUTHEAST FLORIDA...

good news for sellers, not so good news for buyers
as prices ARE starting to go UP !!

 

 

CATCH SOME HISTORY RIGHT HERE

FLAGLER MUSEUM’S WHITEHALL LECTURE SERIES – PRESIDENTS OF THE GILDED AGE

Presidents to be discussed include Grant, McKinley, Garfield, Cleveland and Hayes.  Here is an opportunity to listen to the lectures, watch the presentations and ask the lecturer questions.  Authors of books about these men will be present and a book signing with the author will follow each lecture. 

It can also be seen online. For first time users of the Flagler Museum's on-line room, you need to install a small, safe plug-in. When prompted please provide your first name and leave the password field blank. At the welcome page, click on the "Download Here" link. This will open a "File Download" dialogue box. Within that box, click on the "Run" button. Please be sure to configure your firewall to allow the Talking Communities software access to your computer and please disable your screen saver. No charge for online attendance.

Flagler Museum Members at Sustaining and higher levels can attend for free.  Individual, Family and Life Members cost $10/each.  Non-members costs $28 per lecture of $125 for a Series ticket and includes Museum Admission.  More information here.  The Museum is located at 1 Whitehall Way in Palm Beach.  Call 561-655-2833 for further information.

You just might hear some similarities to our times right now.  The more things change the more they remain the same?

EXCITING, INFORMATIVE, INSPIRATIONAL - A MUST WATCH!

Israeli Air Force documentary

Got to watch.

Password to view is iaf

https://vimeo.com/54400569

NEW APPRAISAL RULE FOR HIGH-PRICED MORTAGE LOANS

A new appraisal rule has been issued by The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the National Credit Union Administration, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Effective January 18, 2014, the final rule was issued on new appraisal requirements for Higher-priced mortgage loans (HPML).

A licensed appraiser must provide a written appraisal based n a physical visit to the property, creditors must disclose the purpose of the appraisal and applicants will be given a free copy.

If seller bought the property within six months and the current price exceeds a threshold written into the new rule, the creditor must also pay for a second appraisal.  This is intended to cut down on fraudulent property flipping by ensuring the property value has legitimately increased.  The types of exempt loans include qualified mortgages, temporary bridge and construction loans, loans for new manufactured homes and loans for mobile homes, trailers and houseboats.  Some rural areas and other transactions are exempt.

The complete rule can be downloaded from the Federal Reserve’s website.

Message from Jeff Atwater, CFO, State of Florida January 2013

After having stumbled in the wake of the recession, the U.S. Census Bureau affirmed that Florida has again become a top destination for Americans. 

Florida also is setting itself apart on a national scale by continuing to excel at education compared with other states and the country as a whole. While many challenges must be overcome, this past year has been a hopeful indication for the future.

Palm Beach among top 10 U.S. markets for home price growth

Palm Beach among top 10 U.S. markets for home price growth

Home prices in Palm Beach rose 22 percent in November compared to the same period in 2011, according to a report from Zip Realty. That put the area’s price growth at the sixth-highest in the country in that time frame, according to the report. The median home price in Palm Beach rose to $153,400 from $125,250.

“FISCAL CLIFF” NEGOTIATIONS: NEXT PAYCHECK TO BE REDUCED

Article Summary:

The White House and Congress have finalized the details and the President has signed off on the terms to avoid the "fiscal cliff". But what is coming up are fights over entitlements and the debt ceiling issue. We will cover these in the next few editions. On a summary basis, here is what may impact you now and throughout the year


First, what was NOT in the final outcome.

All wage-earners who have taxes withheld from their paycheck will see an impact in their first full check in 2013. Under the Social Security tax holiday granted two years ago, the 6.2 percent payroll tax was cut to 4.2 percent.  In 2013, the amount withheld will go back up to 6.2 percent.  If your annual salary is $50,000, expect to have about $1000 less in take home pay over the year or about $20 per week. If you earn $100,000 per year you will most likely see $40 to $45 less per week in your take home pay.

Now the major provisions that will be enacted:

• Tax rates will rise for income above $450,000 and individuals above $400,000. All income below these thresholds will be taxed at current rates.
• The tax on capital gains and dividends will be permanently set at 20 percent for those with income above the $450,000/$400,000 threshold. It will remain at 15 percent for everyone else.
• Also extended for five years: The 2009 tax breaks for low-income taxpayers including the Earned Income Tax Credit, the Child Tax Credit, and the American Opportunity Tax Credit
• The Alternative Minimum Tax will be "patched," so as to not impact  the middle class wage-earners.
• Federal unemployment insurance will be extended for one more year.