President Proposes To Do Away With "529 College Savings Program" -- CNBC, January 21, 2015

The headline over at the Wall Street Journal, in his SOTU, President Obama makes "middle-class pitch" and then says he wants to scuttle the "529 college savings program." 

Of course this isn't going to happen, but of all the things he has proposed in the last 24 hours, this is perhaps the most typical of the president's tone deafness. Seen as the champion of US higher education, he now proposes to dismantle the "529 college savings program." The reason the program is so successful is because the gains used for college expenses are tax-free. Take away that benefit and the "529 program" goes away. It's that simple. CNN Money is reporting:

The most compelling reason to save for college in a 529 plan is the tax savings.

You can put away $14,000 each year for a child, pay no tax on the money while it's growing, and no tax when you withdraw it to pay for education costs.

President Obama is proposing to roll back the second part of that equation.

Savings would still grow tax-deferred, but withdrawals would be taxed as income to the beneficiary, typically the child in school. That means the money would be taxed at a lesser rate than if it were taxed as the parent's income.

Why would he do this? He thinks the rich are getting too rich doing this. In fact, it's the middle class and the upper middle class. The rich, the super-rich, hyper-rich don't need this break. It's the middle class that needs this break. 

Fortunately the proposal is DOA in the House and the Senate. I assume the president was simply trolling again.

****************************

Is The JV Using Under-Inflated Footballs?

The JV continues to make advances in the Mideast. Now it's Yemen, and yesterday there was a story that ISIS was moving to fill the vacuum left by Americans in Afghanistan.

**********************

Back To Wall Street Journal Headlines

Over-reach:

Idaho lawmakers on Monday quashed a bill pushed by an 8th-grader who wanted the Idaho Giant Salamander to be named the official state amphibian.

State lawmakers voiced concerns that such a move could lead to federal protections for the salamander.

******************************

Back To The Bakken

Active rigs:

	1/21/2015	01/21/2014	01/21/2013	01/21/2012	01/21/2011
Active Rigs	162	190	186	203	165

**************************

A Note to the Granddaughters

I wish I had brought my camera.

I have commented a number of times how much development is going on in the Southlake/Grapevine area on the northwest side of the DFW airport. One would have thought the area quite "mature" by now, but the completion of the 121-114-360 interchange has now allowed a renewed growth in residential and commercial projects.

It is nothing short of astounding.

Just outside the Starbucks window here at the Target store on Texas Highway 121 south of downtown Grapevine is another huge retail development going up. It is all cement/concrete. The big box stores are being built with pre-fab cement walls that are then raised and put in place by sky hooks.

But what amazes me most is how fast they can lay the cement parking lots, the foundations, the roads. I think they can put in the equivalent of a standard cement driveway in about 30 seconds. Yes, a standard cement driveway appears to be laid in about 30 seconds. They have seven cement truck-mixers (and the eighth truck just drove off) all lined up, and a sky-crane delivers the cement to the precise location and not less than fourteen men (probably all Hispanic) in high rubber boots rush into the cement, level it, and smooth it, all in about 30 seconds, before the next section is poured. It is amazing how fast they do this.

The men (and it appears to be all men) remind me of the crews on aircraft carriers in their various outfits which designate their particular jobs. The men that rush in to spread the cement and smooth it out are all in hard hats and yellow vests; they number about 14. They are the ones rushing in and burning 2,000 calories every couple of hours. Then there are the supervisors, about four of them, hands in pockets, hardhats on heads, and now yellow vests, but in dark, heavy jackets to stay warm. And then there is the super-supervisor in his heated F-350 listening to music or talk radio and occasionally putting his truck in gear to move about 45 feet to the next area of interest.

A similar commercial development project is near completion a bit farther to the northwest. The new Fresh Market (like a Whole Foods market but much smaller), a new REI, a new Michaels, and several other smaller stores are already open while the building continues. I think the REI is the first REI in the area. Our younger granddaughter loves REI; it has a great reputation for quality and customer loyalty.

Down the road from the new Fresh Market is a new Trader Joe's which is slated to open sometime in February. I think the building was completed before the end of the year (2014) and was originally scheduled to open sometime in 4Q14 but then for some reason it was delayed. I know the local city fathers put a lot of restrictions on the new Trader Joe's to minimize traffic congestion.

My roommate introduced me to my first Trader Joe's back in South Pasadena, California, in September, 1973. It was an eye-opener for me. Under the radar, Trader Joe's continues to expand. The first Trade Joe's I saw in Texas was down the street from where we lived when we lived in San Antonio (2001 - 2011, or thereabouts). And now, a Trader Joe's near the DFW airport.