Business of Agriculture: Programs and politics in the promotion of agricultural products
It’s an axiom of agriculture as old as the hills: 50 percent of farming is producing the commodity, the other 50 percent is marketing the product at a price that makes enough money to sustain the farm enterprise. While the issues of contemporary production agriculture tend to get most of the media and political attention — think water-quality regulations, animal welfare, pesticide hazards — there’s a vast parallel universe of...
Money Talk: Gift to Son Not a Charitable Donation
Question: Our son bought a house and lost his job two months after the purchase. We have helped him stay afloat. Thankfully he has a new job. We don’t expect to get the money back — he is still trying to get out from under — but we have given him close to $10,000. Can we claim this as a “gift” to him on our income taxes? Answer: The IRS doesn’t view money given to family members as a charitable donation. In other words, there’s no tax...
Money Talk: Mind the GAP Coverage Limitations
Question: In 2012, I financed a 2008 Honda at my credit union. The car was priced at $16,500. With a trade-in, the loan came to $22,000. Guaranteed Auto Protection coverage, or GAP, was factored into the loan payments, which were $464 a month. Last year, the car was wrecked and deemed a total loss by the insurance company. They paid the “book value” of $8,860 to the credit union. However, $6,000 remained on the loan. The GAP coverage...
Money Talk: Pay in Full on Time for Best Results
Question: I have little to no information — good or bad — in my credit reports. I am considering obtaining a secured loan from my credit union to establish better credit. Does it make any difference to my credit score if the credit union reports the loan as “secured”? Answer: Credit scores don’t treat installment loans differently based on whether they’re unsecured, with just your promise to repay, or secured, which means backed by an...
Older Workers Feeling Spooked By Stock Swoon
As the economy struggled to take off in the years after the financial crisis, Americans had at least one shining source of optimism: a booming stock market that not only helped rebuild shattered 401(k) plans but suggested better times to come. But now, with the economy still mired in a sluggish recovery, that silver lining is being threatened. The stock market is lurching downward after a flat 2015 and large banks are casting...
