TOP DRAWER INK NEWSLETTER

 

Here's the latest issue of Top Drawer Ink, the newsletter written by author HL Carpenter that's chock full of humor and common sense information.

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November 5, 2011
Volume 9, Number 21
ISSN 1554-6330

In this issue:

1. Carpenter Country Essay

2. Top Drawer Article

3. Top Drawer Tips

4. Top Drawer Satire

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CARPENTER COUNTRY

What's Happening in Our Neck of the Human Experience

Do you remember your first computer? Mine was a TRS-80 from Radio Shack. The unit had very few bells and whistles, but it got the job done, and it never made me feel like I was dumb.

Soon PCs with the ability to cut, paste and check spelling became a part of Carpenter Country's office-ware. Words, sentences, even paragraphs could be shifted forth and back, revisions were done in minutes, editing became a breeze - and the TRS-80, which I'd named Tandy, was put on the shelf.

My latest computer, a laptop, is loaded with everything including lots of brain power. When I first got it, I thought, Hooray! Now I can zip through my work even faster.

Then I noticed the cursor had a tendency to pre-think what I was going to do next. Or an error message would appear out of nowhere announcing I'd clicked on the wrong key.

Yesterday, PC Doctor popped up to fix a problem without any help from me.

At that point, I decided I was tired of intelligent computers that made me feel not only dim-witted, but also completely unnecessary.

And that brought to mind the good old days.

Well, not the really-real good old days when writing involved putting a pencil to paper or pounding copy out on an electric typewriter -

Just the great TRS-80 days when my brand new, bare-bones Tandy followed my commands and made me believe I was smarter than smart.

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TOP DRAWER ARTICLE

IRAs in the Spotlight

by
HL Carpenter

Individual Retirement Accounts hit the stage in 1974. After edits by six government acts over the ensuing years, these troupers are still going strong today. Here's a look at the playbill.

Click here to read the rest of this article

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TOP DRAWER TIPS
Topics and Tidbits

Tip: The main benefit of an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) is tax-deferred growth. No matter what type of IRA you establish, the income within your account remains untaxed until you make a withdrawal. The trade-off is that all taxable withdrawals are subject to ordinary income tax rates. For example, say part of your withdrawal is income from stock sales within your IRA. You'll pay tax at your regular rate instead of the (currently) lower capital gain tax rate.

Glossary Term: Spousal IRA. An individual retirement account established so a spouse can take advantage of the maximum IRA contribution limit, even if the spouse has little or no earned income.

Financial Horoscope: What are you deferring to a later date? Whatever financial task you’re putting off, make sure your procrastination is worth what you expect to get in exchange. If not, why bother waiting?

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TOP DRAWER SATIRE

Taxing Foolish Statements

by
HL Carpenter

If a recommendation by a panel of tax experts gains traction, contentious arguments over tax reform will be a thing of the past. The proposal: A tax on foolish statements.

Click here to read the rest of this satire