Detours: a country in search of direction
On the eve of the election, a reporter and photographer set out for Washington, via America. We tell stories from seven towns, touching on seven issues from politics and real life.
Friday Night Rewind It doesn't matter which team you cheer for. We've got video previews of every high school football program in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Hernando County.
How have you or your family members been affected by rising unemployment rates?
Half my household has been laid off from high-skilled jobs transferred to workers from India who are here in the U.S. on H1-B visas and getting paid substantially less. It's alarming how many people I know have been affected by these arrangements. We need to quit renewing these visas.
Lindsay Myers, St. Petersburg
My daughter was laid off from her job working for a pen-manufacturing firm in Rhode Island. She is now out job hunting, but most places are only hiring part-time help.
Vivian Rapoosa, St. Petersburg
My husband was laid off as a cement truck driver. We are fortunate not to have a mortgage, but I am starting to watch the things I buy more closely, not buying so many impulse items as I have in the past and buying stuff on sale.
Sandra Novak, Port Richey
I am an experienced debt-management facilitator, bank manager and financial planner and am currently experiencing the unemployment challenge.
Paul Joseph Dufour, St. Petersburg
You asked
My son and daughter-in-law are sending one son to first grade and the other to pre-kindergarten in a private school run by their church. Can they get any kind of tax break for their tuition and other expenses?
The best education tax credits and tuition deductions apply only to students in post secondary institutions such as colleges, universities and vocational schools. However, there are a couple that extend to families with younger children:
• Scholarships and tuition reductions are tax-free.
• The Coverdell Education Savings Account gives special tax benefits to education savings. Contributions (up to $2,000 a year per child) are not tax deductible, but withdrawals are tax-free if used to pay education expenses at elementary or secondary schools and colleges. No tax is due on earnings as they accumulate. For more details, see IRS Publication 970, "Tax Benefits for Education."
Followup
In March I wrote about Keith and Dolores Cutler of New Port Richey, who were hit with a big tax bill when they sold one annuity and bought another. They blamed it on bad advice from their agent with Ameri-Life & Health Services. They could have continued to defer taxes had the old insurance company sent the money directly to the new one in what's known as a 1035 exchange.
The good news: The Cutlers say Ameri-Life came through with a $5,000 check, which covered their tax bill.
Next week's question
How are you saving and investing for college for your children or grandchildren?
To ask a question,make a comment or answer the Money Question of Week, e-mail hhuntley@sptimes.com or write Helen Huntley, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731. Visit her MoneyTalk blog (blogs.tampabay.com/money) for more money information.
[Last modified: May 13, 2008 09:42 AM]
Comments on this article
by B
May 12, 2008 9:15 AM
There are plenty of unemployed engineers that are looking for engineering positions. Many of them would even work for low H1B rates if given a chance. Students are smart to go into fields where they are wanted, which are certainly not the "STEM" occupations.
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