KEVIN LAMARQUE/REUTERS - U.S. General David Petraeus, with his wife Holly seated behind him, testifies at his Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing to become commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan on Capitol Hill in this June 29, 2010 file photo.
Nonetheless, as I wrote in my column on Wednesday, consumers have proved time after time that there are no boundaries for their addiction to shopping for sales. If the stores open, they will come. Because they come, the stores will continue to open.
This Week’s Color of Money Question: What do you think of the new Black Thursday? Send your comments to colorofmoney@washpost.com. Be sure to include your full name, city and state. Put “ Black Thursday” in the subject line.
Pricey Pot
Matthew Yglesias of Slate had an interesting personal finance angle on the recent legalization of marijuana in Colorado and Washington.
Don’t expect to get your pot cheap, he writes.
Yglesias reports that the states hope to raise revenue from taxes and licensing fees.
“When a commodity is cheap, the main driver of the retail price is often excise taxes,” he writes. “And state governments have good reason to want to tax marijuana consumption. Most credible analysis indicates that pot doesn’t pose health risks as serious as those associated with alcohol or tobacco, but dependency is still a real issue and inhaling smoke is still bad for you, so the standard case for sin taxes to promote good health applies.”
Fiscal Cliff
For last week’s Color of Money Question, I asked: “ Now that the election is over, how are you feeling about your finances?”
Here are some of your responses.
“After this election (we voted for the President, by the way), we are ready and willing to pay a higher tax bite, if that’s what it takes to help this country out of its doldrums,” wrote Susan Hicks of San Antonio, Tex. “We are retired, living on several small pensions and my Social Security check, but with a good lump sum in our retirement accounts for travel, emergencies and health care. I think we will be okay. This is what we saved for.”
Frank Blasingame of Fort Washington, Md., would like people to stop calling the pending fiscal changes a fiscal cliff.
“Allowing . . .the Bush tax cuts to expire, is not a cliff but a slope,” he wrote. “The American people are not going to see a large tax increase and spending cut in January, as so many of you continue to state or imply. Look at the facts and deal with things as they are, not as the fear that so many seek to instill in the people for their own gain.”
“I am reevaluating my budget and cutting spending in anticipation of paying higher taxes,” said Sandra Wade of Chapin, S.C. “If investments decline as a result of the fiscal cliff, my retirement fund won’t grow, and I’ll have less to contribute to it. I am not confident in the economy and wonder if I will be able to retire as planned in eight years.”
Upcoming Events
On Saturday, Nov. 17, I will be speaking at a personal financial seminar “Dollars & Sense: 21 Days to Financial Freedom” hosted by the Arlington Chapter of the Links. Come learn what it really means to go green. The free event is from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Nannie J. Lee Center, 1108 Jefferson St., Alexandria, Va. Space is limited; so reserve your place by sending an e-mail to arlinks10@gmail.com by Friday, Nov. 16. For more information, go to www.arlingtonlinksinc.org.
Tia Lewis contributed to this report.
You are welcome to e-mail comments and questions to colorofmoney@washpost.com. Please include your name and hometown; your comments may be used in a future column or newsletter unless otherwise requested.
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