Archives 2017

The average real estate investor makes far more than the average American, with one-third making more than $75,000 per year. One former mogul, however, stands out as one of the richest in the world. President Donald Trump has taken a massive pay cut to become the leader of the free world and has proposed a willingness to lift middle America out of poverty by boosting industry and providing the biggest corporate tax breaks since the Reagan administration.

Since Americans are preparing to file their taxes for the 2016 calendar year, this is becoming more and more pressing. Under ordinary income tax brackets, the more taxable income you earn, the more money you owe the IRS. Under the current tax bracket system, the majority of Americans fall within the 15% range — or the second lowest — and make between $13,351 and $50,800 per year.

President Trump has proposed reducing federal income tax rates from seven brackets to just three: 12%, 25%, and 33%. Under this system, the poorest Americans would pay more in income tax, while the top two income brackets would get a significant cut.

“For many middle-income taxpayers, the new standard deduction [under Trump’s proposal] may exceed their itemized deductions,” said Timothy Speiss, chairman of personal wealth advisors at accounting firm EisnerAmper. This, in turn, would allow them to have a higher tax deduction.

But this isn’t all cut-and-dry, of course. And not all middle-income taxpayers would benefit.

The plan also calls for the repeal of personal exemptions for taxpayers and their dependents, while also proposing to repeal the head of household filing status. Because of this, single parents with children will have to pay more in income taxes, as will married households with more than three dependents.

Some basic income advocates are optimistic about where these tax reforms will lead.

“People feel uncertain and anxious about the future,” Jim Pugh, CEO of Share Progress and co-founder of the Universal Income Project. Because Americans are hungry for change, Pugh believes that Trump may be able to use the uncertainty to project nationwide income reform and help kickstart the otherwise grassroots movement toward universal income.

But many others are far more skeptical. Trump has said time and time again that he wants to bring industry and manufacturing back to the U.S. but has failed to mention the threat of automation.

“Enacting basic income would help to revitalize parts of the country hit hardest by outsourcing and automation by spurring entrepreneurship in those areas,” Pugh also says. In theory, universal income would help improve the business sector and help lift people out of poverty.

Being just a couple weeks into Trump’s administration, it’s hard to tell which direction he may lean toward. Under the proposed tax bracket, it appears that the majority of middle-income Americans may be spared, but the poor will continue to suffer as they have before, maybe even more so.

For the average car driver, the biggest risks on the road are other drivers acting erratically and the occasional storm. But, Swedish carmaker Volvo believes there is a not-so-hidden risk out there for drivers in the northern part of the globe: the moose.

The automaker has recently developed technology that is meant to protect drivers from wildlife getting in the way of their Sunday drive. Their Large Animal Detection System has been created to spot and identify large carbon-based “hazards” and stop the car immediately. While created with moose in mind, this detection software can stop any car from colliding with large animals such as kangaroos, deer, or bears.

While some may laugh envisioning moose as an ample threat against drivers, this technology has the ability to save lives. It was developed to reduce the number of fatalities — both human and moose — due to distracted driving. In fact, moose-related car crashes are a growing problem not only in the United States but in other northern countries such as Canada and Sweden. According to How Stuff Works, between 1996 and 2006, 17 people died from moose-related car crashes, but the moose seem to have it worse that we do, as about 138 moose die every year from cars in Anchorage, Alaska alone.

So how does it work? Volvo’s system utilizes radar to pinpoint objects around the car, then identifies them with a camera. The camera will see a series of shapes and movements and then match what it sees to the already established database of thousands of different animals. It will then slowly start the car’s automatic braking system.

In order to make the system successful, Volvo engineers dedicated a lot of time to researching how animals move in the wild.

“We put a lot of effort in seeing how animals moved and teaching the computer to look for that movement,” Volvo lead safety engineer Malin Ekholm explains to Wired. You can’t just tell a moose to run across the road, so we created initial captures of real animals and then simulated variations of their movement for the computer.”

Volvo is so serious about the risk of moose that they have a test moose in their crash laboratory, and design their cars with structural defenses in case someone does come in contact with these gentle giants.

This system debuted in Volvo’s S90 Sedan and XC90 SUV, and can now be found in their off-roading V90 Cross Country Wagon.

To the moose of the world, this is for you.

The Environmental Protection Agency became a political lightning rod under President Barack Obama. Now, the same organization that spent the last decade collecting plastic bag statistics showing that only 2% of plastic bags are actually recycled in the U.S., will soon be headed in a completely different direction.

AOL.com reports that President Donald Trump’s nominee to run the EPA, Scott Pruitt, is regarded by some environmentalists as “the worst nominee ever tapped to lead the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,” according to Rhea Suh, the president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, which recently denounced Pruitt in a scathing statement.

Yet, at the same time, Republicans are celebrating Trump’s pick, who has promised to roll back regulations that many conservatives believe harm businesses.

“The EPA has not acted within the framework provided by Congress,” Pruitt said. “it’s Congress that gives those instruction to the EPA. EPA is an agency, not a legislative body.”

Pruitt has supporters in coal country politicians like West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, another government official who strongly supports Trump’s nomination for EPA administrator.

“I’ve been in the trenches with Scott,” Morrisey said. “I’ve witnessed his passion for the rule of law. I know that he is highly qualified for the position. He will also reinforce the EPA’s core mission and be a friend to the Mountain State.”

Pruitt, who has sued the EPA more than a dozen times as the Oklahoma attorney general, has clearly been one of the strongest critics of the agency over the years, along with Trump himself.

Although Pruitt disagrees with President Trump’s comments about global warming being a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese, he still has strong reservations about climate change, despite the international scientific consensus behind man-made climate change.

“This is not a man that you want in charge of the Environmental Protection Agency,” said Suh. “Forget the language of the acronyms and crazy politics of Washington D.C., let’s [talk] about what it means to go to your tap, drink a glass of water, and know that it won’t position you. Because that’s what’s at stake.”

Pruitt still awaits confirmation to run the Agency.

Winter is in full force, and Americans nationwide are choosing to spend more time cuddling up in their homes. To fulfill their homes’ warm and toasty potential this winter, many Americans are looking to the Danish for some design inspiration.

Many aspects of Danish culture are based around the idea of hygge, which is the feeling associated with making living areas cozy and warm. Here are some interior designer-approved, up-and-coming hygge trends to implement for a snug home this wintertime.

Pay attention to the fireplace

The fireplace gets a lot of use in the wintertime, so it should not be forgotten when it comes to interior decorating. Use the mantle space to your advantage and spruce it up with some candles, garlands, and pieces of art for a supremely hygge-vibe.

Create a relaxation station

This trend is quite easy because it doesn’t require the homeowner to completely revamp their entire interior design. Setting up a relaxation station — think a cozy chaise lounge, plenty of blankets and pillows, and a bookshelf — will help anyone decompress and relax after a particularly stressful day.

Invest in a focal point

If your home does not have a large fireplace to gather around, then it is a good idea to invest in a piece of furniture that can be a focal point for the entire room. It can be anything from a sofa, an ornate coffee table, a stone accent wall, or a decked out television stand. Not only does this make sure the living room is welcoming, it will make you want to relax there more often and use your furniture pieces to their full potential. Plus, since furniture is usually the third most expensive thing a person will ever buy after their home and vehicle, it only makes sense to show it off with a functional focal point!

Invite the outdoors inside

Hygge was originally developed in order to recreate the snowy log cabins of the Danish countryside. To bring some elements of the outdoors into the living space, consider purchasing furniture items made of reclaimed wood, using earth-toned colors such as browns, olive greens, and grays, and incorporating wood paneled walls or ceilings.

In an attempt to lower high interest rates, the Federal Housing Administration announced it will be decreasing the monthly insurance premiums homeowners pay on FHA mortgages.

The premiums will decrease 25 basis points, which is determined based on the value of one’s home. Currently, every homeowner with a FHA mortgage pays 0.85% premiums off the home’s worth, but this percentage will now drop down to 0.60%. This change is set to go into effect for those who purchase new FHA homes or refinance their mortgage on or after January 27, 2017.

For those with a standard, 30-year fixed rate mortgage of $200,000, this decrease will save about $500 a year. In total, the FHA predicts this reduction will target around one million buyers, and save current homeowners about half a billion dollars within 2017 alone.

The FHA sells insurance to those who conventionally wouldn’t get approved by traditional banks or credit unions. Since their rules only require a 3.5% down payment — compared to a standard 20% — more Millennials and first-time home buyers are able to manage the finances that come with owning a home. Plus, FHA also allows mortgages to be available to those with credit scores under 580.

This is the second time the FHA has reduced costs on their insurance plans, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro explains that these cuts have only been made available because their Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund recovered from the housing crash in the late 2000s.

For first-time homeowners, this price cut is great news. Any amount of money they can save now is helpful, considering they will have to save up to spend on home repairs in the future. ON average, a homeowner can expect to spend between 1-4% of a home’s value annually on maintenance and repairs.

“It’s time the FHA passed along some modest savings to working families,” Castro explains to Bloomberg.