Americans have heard quite a bit about inflation lately and probably noticed how the price of goods and services have risen. This is commonly referred to as inflation, but it is a little like putting the cart before the horse. In fact, the rising cost of goods and services are merely the symptoms of a debasement in the reserve currency. In other words, inflation is a word used to describe the symptoms of a weakening of the dollar relative to assets and goods and services. Understanding its implication requires an examination of inflation within the context of the modern economic era.
Cryptocurrency Explained
Cryptocurrency has been making headlines lately, from media coverage by prominent networks to Twitter weigh-ins by the likes of Mark Cuban and Elon Musk, but there is still a shroud of mystery surrounding it and its uses. The popularity of cryptocurrency has ebbed and flowed for over a decade but some companies are now ready to bank on where it could go in the future. Tesla just announced the purchase of $1.5 billion in Bitcoin and intends to start accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment. RBC analysts have suggested that Apple is ideally positioned to offer consumers the ability to buy and sell cryptocurrency via its Wallet app. Although opinions abound about how risky cryptocurrency is to own and its long term viability as a form of currency, one thing seems certain: as a concept, it’s here to stay.
The Paycheck Protection Program
In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) was established and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) began distributing loans to businesses in need. The goal of the program is to incentivize businesses to keep all of their employees on payroll; applicants had to affirm that they needed the funds in order to continue operating and employing their workforce. If you’ve been approved for a loan, you’re likely trying to stay on top of the requirements to have it forgiven. There’s a lot of information out there to digest and, since this is a new program, guidance is still evolving even though funds have already been dispensed. To get you started, we’ve provided answers to common questions with the information currently available.
Understanding the SECURE Act
Signed into law at the end of 2019, the SECURE Act poses potentially significant changes to most Americans’ plans for retirement and estate planning documents. SECURE stands for Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement, and it went into effect on January 1st, 2020. The goal of the bill was to address what some are considering to be a national retirement crisis.
