Harold Tynes

Comments

• Some really good thoughts here. I was pondering this topic after reading a WSJ article on the deficit. My conclusion:the typical representation of huge deficits generated from Social Security and Medicare ignores revenue from employers, employees and taxation of SS.

  Post: The Federal Debt and Social Security Payments

  Link to comment from August 22, 2026

• Here in Michigan, the state has totally messed up their tax collection system with a "system upgrade." Thousands of taxpayers, including myself, received notices of short payment on estimated taxes paid electronically or by check. Penalties and interest were accessed and refunds were not paid. This is still unresolved for the 2025 tax year.

  Post: If Retirement  is Getting Close

  Link to comment from August 19, 2026

• Bill, I will be going through a similar process later this year when my wife and I begin our Social Security and Railroad Retirement. Railroad Retirement has its own version of Medicare which is similar to others except you pay the Railroad Retirement Board quarterly and the claims are processed by a private company in Augusta, Georgia. I am told my wife will have to convert to the Railroad Retirement version of Medicare. It will be interesting to see how things settle out between SS & RR.

  Post: Preparing for SS at Age 70….. How Do I Transition to Monthly Part B Premium Deduction?

  Link to comment from August 18, 2026

• That was me.

  Post: TreasuryDirect changing login procedure to mandate ID.me later in 2026

  Link to comment from August 17, 2026

• This is the latest from Dave Enna on this change. TreasuryDirect is launching a controversial login system | Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities

  Post: TreasuryDirect changing login procedure to mandate ID.me later in 2026

  Link to comment from August 17, 2026

• Dave Enna at Tipswatch.com has promised more on this on Tuesday. He is my go to for TIPS/I bonds and Treasury Direct. My current strategy is to wind down my I Bond holdings at Treasury Direct. They do not give me confidence that my heirs could sort through the maze. I keep my TIPS in brokerage accounts. I have ID.me already through SS.

  Post: TreasuryDirect changing login procedure to mandate ID.me later in 2026

  Link to comment from August 16, 2026

• I've been down this road with my wife. She was our source of healthcare. She retired early at the end of Covid. I was close to Medicare eligible, but not quite there. COBRA was our bridge. In our case, she was a school teacher with a very good medical plan. There was no way we could get that level of coverage at better than the COBRA price. When her 18 months expired, I had moved to Medicare and she spent another two years on a high deductible BCBS plan. Very expensive!

  Post: COBRA insurance: No need to fear the bite

  Link to comment from August 14, 2026

• Appreciate the comment. Zweig is one of my main sources for learning about the investment world. Others that I follow include Mike Piper, Allan Roth, Jim Dahle, and Christine Benz. I learned a lot from Jonathan all the way back to his days at the WSJ. We had a few email exchanges in those days.

  Post: Can a Value fund also be a Growth fund?

  Link to comment from August 14, 2026

• Andrew, your story reminds me of another Andrew, my parish priest. He is from Wales and has lived here in Michigan for over 20 years. In spite of best efforts, he has been unable to obtain a green card. He requested a renewal of his work permit as early as possible in November. His permit expired in May and he was advised by the diocese and his attorney to leave his parish responsibilities until the permit was issued. It is now August and Father Andrew is still on the sidelines, unable to follow his calling or do meaningful work.

  Post: One Piece Of Paper

  Link to comment from August 5, 2026

• I'm not convinced that selling a bond fund in a taxable account and replacing it with a TIPS is a good idea. The taxation of individual TIPS in a taxable account involves paying taxes on phantom income. In other words, there is no current cash flow for this income. If you are speaking about a TIPS bond fund, you could have the same issues of the fund declining in value as rates rise. TIPs generally belong in tax deferred or tax paid accounts.

  Post: Taking a Loss?

  Link to comment from July 28, 2026