Terry Savage

This great debate will impact YOU -- whether you're a young worker or a retiree hoping Medicare will cover everything (it won't). The subject is complicated, the solutions are incredibly difficult. And the fix will be created by politicians who are impacted by all the money involved in the industy.

It's tempting to just close our eyes and let "them" solve the problem. Let's not do that! Please post your thoughts on Healthcare Reform. Here are just a few things to think about:

Are we willing to make choices?
• Will we ration healthcare, based on age, or condition or ability to pay?
• Will we strike a balance between diagnostic medicine and "lawsuit prevention" medicine?
• Can we even agree on an electronic system for healthcare records that provides adequate security and privacy?
• And can we cut healthcare costs if the insurance system doesn't create a reason for people to know and care about the costs?

I look forward to your comments, and will use them anonymously in a future column. And here's a link to find your Congressional representative's email address, so you can let them know how you feel!
https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

ONE FUND within theI llinois Bright Start College Savings plan suffered a huge loss not directly related to the stock market decline. It was a bond fund that should have provided low, secure, and positive returns. Instead, it appears that the Fund Manager took extreme actions with the portfolio, resulting in a loss of more than 30 percent of the value of this fund, which is included in the age-based portfolios.
State Treas Alexi Giannioulias is threatening to file suit to recapture the $85 million lost because of this bond fund.
IMPORTANT: Losses in stock market funds are to be expected in a bear market. So thisis not an attempt to recoup market losses in the stock funds.
Please post your comments here, and I am sure the Treasurer and AG will be looking at these personal stories!
Here's a link to that column: http://www.suntimes.com/business/savage/1376279,CST-FIN-savage14.savagearticle

On Monday, January 21st I posted a column with a "Dear Santa" wish list for our new President. And I asked you to join in, adding your ideas to the list!
Here's a link to the column: http://www.suntimes.com/business/currency/1384986,CST-FIN-terry19.savagearticle
I'm looking forward to your comments!

Congress has passed and the President signed (on Tuesday, Dec 23rd) H.R. 7327, the Worker, Retiree and Employer Recovery Act of 2008, a bill that places a one year moratorium on required minimum distributions from Individual Retirement Accounts and defined contribution plans for 2009.
To Clarify my earlier post (and thanks to a sharp-eyed reader who caught my unintended error as I posted in December, before knowing details of the bill):
The suspension of required minimum distributions applies to 2009 distributions, NOT 2008. Therefore, you should have taken the 2008 required distribution before year end. If you did not, you may face a 50% penalty on the amount you "should" have withdrawn.
There may be some exceptions made because of the confusion at year end. BUT, if you did not take a 2008 RMD, you should immediately contact your plan custodian and arrange to do so!
.

Monday, December 15th -- Should we use taxpayer money to bail out the automakers?
If you subscribe to my free newsletter (www.TerrySavage.com -- just fill in the little "pop-up" box) you'll know that I have mixed feelings on that issue.
One thing is sure: Like a parent coddling a spendthrift young adult, you can't keep throwing good money after bad, jeopardizing your own retirement plans, without demanding some CHANGE! What do YOU think?

The President-elect is naming his economic advisors -- a very smart group. And he has demonstrated determination to face the problems squarely and comprehensively. But are we expecting too much in the way of a bailout or stimulus plan?

What worries me most is that many people seem to expect miracles, instant miracles. I was on a local call-in show Monday evening, and found that people in this particular audience were expecting a check to arrive in the mail. That was their vision of the upcoming economic plan.

One caller complained that a few hundred dollars a person wasn't going to make much difference. Instead, he proposed that a check for $50,000 be sent to each American for the "bailout." He was serious! Asked where the money would come from, he responded quickly: "From the paychecks of all those rich CEOs that have been ripping us off!"

I guess that balanced off the outrage of last week - the utter stupidity of the top auto execs private-jetting their way into Washington to ask Congress for money, without even presenting a plan. Were their expectations any more ridiculous than the sentiments of the guy on that phone call?

Can this get any more ridiculous, any more extreme? And, by the way, where are we going to get all this money for the "bailout" that everyone is expecting?

I have received so many questions about why the stock market is down, when it will recover, who to blame, and most importantly, what to do NOW! So I'm posting a real email I just received, and my response.
What do you think of my advice? And what are YOU doing now?