I’d imagine these would be some of your favourites. Correct me if I’m wrong
(California, Florida, Oregon, New York, Vermont, Minnesota, Pennsylvania)
What others, or is your favoruite one of these 7?
Vermont is the French-Canadian vacation spot. The Quebecois families bring paddleboats over the border and then go fishing and camping in the lakes of Vermont.
I’m looking to move to a pedestrian neighborhood, pretty much anywhere in northern United States.I was thinking more in like Oregon, Washington, Nothern California, Minnesota, Michigan, Pennsylvania. I really don’t want to be in a big metro area (New York, Boston San Francisco, etc.). And hopefully the real estate isn’t with ridiculous prices.
So, do any of you know of any neighborhoods like this?
I am an Indian National and working in US on H1B.
I have $ 55,500 Home Loan (Mortgage) in India and I would like know if it is possible to get an exemption here in United States?
If yes, please let me know the documents required and will it be in Federal/State?
I spoke to H&R Block tax consultant and he was not sure and wanted to do some research on this.
I pay EMI-Equated Monthly Installment in Indian Rupees to Nationalized Bank in INDIA. I get an annual statement which clearly states the Interest and Principal paid in financial year. How do I convert amount paid Indian Rupee to US dollars and get exemption?
**** This is the only home loan I have ****
*** I have no home loans here in US ***
No this is not Home in US. It is in India.
How would i get in contact with all of them for very little money?
by Greg Bocquet Monday, February 28, 2011
Regardless of how much closer Obama’s budget brings our economy into a balance of payments not seen since 2001, we will continue to run deficits for the next decade, and the national debt will keep growing every year that happens.
While most of the country’s $14 trillion debt is held by private banks in the U.S., the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve Board estimate that, as of December, about $4.4 trillion of it was held by foreign governments that purchase our treasury securities much as an investor buys shares in a company and comes to own his or her little chunk of the organization.
Looking at the list of our top international creditors, a few overall characteristics show some interesting trends: Three of the top 10 spots are held by China and its constituent parts, and while two of our biggest creditors are fellow English-speaking democracies, a considerable share of our debt is held by oil exporters that tend to be decidedly less friendly in other areas of international relations.
Here we break down the top 10 foreign holders of U.S. debt, comparing each creditor’s holdings with the equivalent chunk of the United States they “own,” represented by the latest (2009) state gross domestic product data released by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Obviously, these creditors won’t actually take states from us as payment on our debts, but it’s fun to imagine what states and national monuments they could assert a claim to.
1. Mainland China
Amount of U.S. debt: $891.6 billion
Share of total foreign debt: 20.4%
Building on the holdings of its associated territories, China is the undisputed largest holder of U.S. foreign debt in the world. Accounting for 20.4% of the total, mainland China’s $891.6 billion in U.S. treasury securities is almost equal to the combined 2009 GDP of Illinois ($630.4 billion) and Indiana ($262.6 billion) in 2009, a shade higher at a combined $893 billion. As President Obama — who is from Chicago — wrangles over his proposed budget with Congress he may be wise to remember that his home city may be at stake in the deal.
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2. Japan
Amount of U.S. debt: $883.6 billion
Share of total foreign debt: 20.2%
The runner-up on the list of our most significant international creditors goes to Japan, which accounts for over a fifth of our foreign debt holdings with $883.6 billion in U.S. treasury securities. That astronomical number is just shy of the combined GDP of a significant chunk of the lower 48: Minnesota ($260.7 billion), Wisconsin ($244.4 billion), Iowa ($142.3 billion) and Missouri ($239.8 billion) produced a combined output of $887.2 billion in 2009.
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3. United Kingdom
Amount of U.S. debt: $541.3 billion
Share of total foreign debt: 12.4%
At number three on the list is perhaps our closest ally on the world stage, the United Kingdom (which includes the British provinces of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man). The U.K. holds $541.3 billion in U.S. foreign debt, which is 12.4% of our total external debt. That amount is equivalent to the combined GDP of two East Coast manufacturing hubs, Delaware ($60.6 billion) and New Jersey ($483 billion) — which was named, yes, after the island of Jersey in the English Channel. The two states’ combined output in 2009 came to $543.6 billion.
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4. Oil Exporters
Amount of U.S. debt: $218 billion
Share of total foreign debt: 5%
Another grouped entry, the oil exporters form another international bloc with money to burn. The group includes 15 countries as diverse as the regions they represent: Ecuador, Venezuela, Indonesia, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Gabon, Libya, and Nigeria. As a group they hold 5% of all American foreign debt, with a combined $218 billion of U.S. treasury securities in their own treasuries. That’s roughly equivalent to the combined 2009 GDP of Nebraska ($86.4 billion) and Kansas ($124.9 billion), which seems to be an equal trade: The two states produce a bunch of grain for export, which many of the arid oil producers tend to trade for oil.
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5. Brazil
Amount of U.S. debt: $180.8 billion
Share of total foreign debt: 4.1%
Rounding out the top five is the largest economy in South America, Brazil. The country known for its beaches, Carnaval and the unbridled hedonism that goes along with both has made a big investment in the U.S., buying up $180.8 billion in American debt up to December. That’s almost equal to the $180.5 billion combined GDP of Idaho ($54 billion) and Nevada ($126.5 billion), a state that is no stranger to hedonism itself.
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6. Caribbean Banking Centers
Amount of U.S. debt: $155.6 billion
Share of total foreign debt: 3.6%
You have to have cash on hand to buy up U.S. government debt, and offshore banking has given six countries the combined capital needed to make the Caribbean Banking Centers our sixth-largest foreign creditor. The Treasury Department counts the Bahamas, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, the Netherlands Antilles, Panama and the British Virgin Islands in this designation, which as a group holds $155.6 billion in U.S. treasury securities. That’s equivalent to the GDP of landlocked Kentucky ($156.6 billion), whose residents may not actually mind if they were ever to become an extension of some Caribbean island paradise.
7. Hong Kong
Amount of U.S. debt: $138.2 billion
Share of total foreign debt: 3.2%
At No. 7 on the list of our foreign creditors is Hong Kong, a formerly British part of China that maintains a separate government and economic ties than the communist mainland. With $138.2 billion in U.S. treasury securities, the capitalist enclave could lay claim to Yellowstone Park and our nation’s capital: The combined GDP of Wyoming ($37.5 billion) and Washington D.C. ($99.1 billion) totaled $136.6 billion in 2009.
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8. Canada
Amount of U.S. debt: $134.6 billion
Share of total foreign debt: 3.1%
They say that a friend in need is a friend indeed, and our neighbor to the north has proven to be a kind and generous creditor in our time of financial need. Canada holds about 3.1% of our foreign debt, or $134.6 billion. If friend were to become enemy and Canada were looking to annex some U.S. land to cover the debt though, the country would have an easy time of it. The combined GDP of Maine ($51.3 billion), New Hampshire ($59.4 billion) and Vermont ($25.4 billion) comes close to Canada’s debt holdings at $136.1 billion.
Residents of the three states in our extreme northeast corner should start practicing their French: They might become Québécois one of these days.
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9. Taiwan
Amount of U.S. debt: $131.9 billion
Share of total foreign debt: 3.0%
Taiwan, an island barely 100 miles off the coast of China, is claimed by the People’s Republic of China, despite having its own government and economic relations with the outside world. Part of those economic relations includes the island’s holding of $131.9 billion of U.S. debt, roughly equivalent to the combined GDP of West Virginia ($63.3 billion) and Hawaii ($66.4 billion), which totals $129.7 billion.
Unless we get our spending in check, we risk losing some of our most visually stunning territory (West Virginia, obviously) to our friendly neighbors on the other side of the Pacific Ocean.
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10. Russia
Amount of U.S. debt: $106.2 billion
Share of total foreign debt: 2.4%
Starting off the list of our major foreign creditors is Russia, which holds about 2.4% of the U.S. debt pie that sits on the international dinner table. Its $106.2 billion in treasury securities is equivalent to the 2009 GDP of our sparsely populated North: The combined output of North Dakota ($31.9 billion), South Dakota ($38.3 billion) and Montana ($36 billion) matches up nicely with the Russian holdings, at $106.2 billion…….story
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As some here may know, the bill entitled “Medical Debt Relief Act of 2010″ died when the 111th Congress adjourned. Kind of like the bill in this link:
Bill Dies on Capitol Hill (I couldn’t resist…
)
The bill passed the Senate, but did not get voted on in the House.
All bills not enacted into law during the 111th Congress are now dead.
The 112th Congress will convene for the Senate Feb 7, 2011 and for the House of Representatives Feb 8, 2011.
I ask that all here affected by medical debt contact their Senators and Representatives and ask them to sponsor the following. You can cut and paste this exact same bill that was sponsored in the House; being HR 3421 with amendments.
You can find out who represents you at this link…just type in your zip code:
http://www.congressmerge.com/onlinedb/
Follow the links to find their email addresses and websites.
For those who would like to know how a bill becomes law; use this link:
For those who just need a refresher on how a bill becomes law; use this link:
Begin Cut Here to Paste to your Congressman and Senators email:
Please sponsor this proposed bill
A PROPOSED BILL
To exclude from consumer credit reports medical debt that has been in collection and has been fully paid or settled, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ”Medical Debt Relief Act”.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—
(1) medical debt is unique, and Americans do not choose when accidents happen or when illness strikes;
(2) medical debt collection issues affect both insured and uninsured consumers;
(3) according to credit evaluators, medical debt collections are more likely to be in dispute, inconsistently reported, and of questionable value in predicting future payment performance because it is atypical and nonpredictive;
(4) nevertheless, medical debt that has been completely paid off or settled can significantly damage the credit score of a consumer for years;
(5) as a result, consumers may be denied credit or pay higher interest rates when buying a home or obtaining a credit card;
(6) healthcare providers are increasingly turning to outside collection agencies to help secure payment from patients, coming at the expense of the consumer, because medical debts are not typically reported unless they become assigned to collections;
(7) in fact, medical bills account for more than half of all non-credit related collection actions reported to consumer credit reporting agencies;
(8) the issue of medical debt affects millions of consumers;
(9) according to the Commonwealth Fund, medical bill problems or accrued medical debt affects roughly 72,000,000 working-age adults in America;
And,
(10) in 2007, 28,000,000 working-age American adults were contacted by a collection agency for unpaid medical bills.
PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act to exclude from consumer credit reports medical debt that had been characterized as debt in collection for credit reporting purposes and has been fully paid or settled.
SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO FAIR CREDIT REPORTING ACT.
(a) MEDICAL DEBT DEFINED.—Section 603 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a) as amended by section 1088(a)(1) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Public Law 111–203; 124 Stat. 2086),is amended by adding at the end the following:
”(z) MEDICAL DEBT.—The term ‘medical debt’ means a debt described in section 604(g)(1)( c ).”.
(b ) EXCLUSION FOR PAID OR SETTLED MEDICAL DEBT.—Section 605(a) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
”(7) Any information related to a fully paid or settled medical debt that had been characterized as delinquent, charged off, or in collection which, from
the date of payment or settlement, antedates the report by more than 45 days.”.
Regarding: Account No. Mod Cut!
We seem to forgotten the original premise of our Constitution: Individual responsibility and obligations, replacing these with group consequences that reached the absurd with a single mother on “Entitlements” giving birth to eight rather unhealthy children. As Entitlements are now reported to exceed all the money raised by taxes in the US on all our industries and citizens, we need some way to curb what has become “victim entitlement”. The easiest way to do thois is to say we are all exacxtly the same, namely, American citizens and we earned our right to citizenship. We are going to hgave to do something like this to overcome the scientific reality of the Genome DNA mapping of racial types, namely Black, Whate and Asian, with most of us a mixture of many types. You want hiring preference as a Black have your DNA traced to prove you are more than 50% Black or you want preference as a “Native American” prove you aren’t a mixture of White and Asian with a dash of Black. We are a nation of hybrids and in some ways this is really fortunate because we are not susceptible to some diseases that must affect the purer strains. So let us get rid of absurd quotas unless we all want to prove our with our DNA we are entitled. Therefore, I think we should consider the following Constituitional Amendment:
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THE CITIZENSHIP AMENDMENT
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           The survival of the United States as a democratic society requires its citizens be responsible individuals who have prepared themselves to be contributing members. Therefore, the awarding of “Birthright Citizenship†is prohibited. Additionally, all citizens will demonstrate spoken and written proficiency in English and will be citizens of only the United States.
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           All persons born or naturalized in the United States whose parents are citizens and who are subject to the jurisdiction thereof are candidates for citizenship, but no one under eighteen may enjoy the privileges of United States citizenship and no law or directive can bestow citizenship to any group or individual on the basis of race, religion, ethnic background, political persuasion, compassionate desire or need. There are no special categories of citizenship and every citizen enjoys exactly the same rights, duties, responsibilities and obligations with the exception of the right to own private property and the right to be rewarded for their labors and creative efforts.
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           Entering the United States without the permission of those charged with enforcing the nation’s immigration laws is a felony and any group or individual assisting in this illegal activity is guilty of immigration fraud, a felony. As those entering the United States illegally are not under the jurisdiction of appropriate authorities, they, their dependents and/or relatives are not eligible for either citizenship candidacy or citizenship. This re-emphasizes the exclusion of those illegally in this country and their children as is currently stated in the 14th Amendment.
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           All candidates for citizenship must pass a qualifying test, or achieve a specific level of education or become a contributing member of society under a uniform set of rules that apply equally to all candidates. Candidates must also have served a period of time, normally two years, in some capacity that improves the nation or be willing to defend or have defended the country against its enemies—foreign and domestic. No citizen may belong to any organization whose actions and ideals are in conflict with American constitutional government as it relates to responsible actions by individuals. All citizens and candidates are required to pay those taxes levied to keep government functioning, but no activity of government supported by these taxes may erode those attributes of individual character necessary for a democracy to function and prosper.
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           Only those who are citizens may vote in state and federal elections, and those voting must present proof of citizenship, proof of residency and be allowed to cast their ballot in secret at an appropriate polling place. Every voter must attest in writing at the time of voting that they have not voted elsewhere, and except under unusual circumstances individuals may not vote in absentia. For every citizen who votes, the county of residence will be reimbursed a minimum amount by the credit card company contracted by government to verify this citizen’s single vote and residency.
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           The intent of the Third Amendment was to prohibit citizens from being taxed for activities without their specific approval, therefore, no law, directive or activity by government may relieve an individual of responsibilities nor shift consequences from that individual for poor decisions they made as an individual. In addition no group, no individual, no association of individuals and no division of government may transfer consequences from the individual to others in American society without the consent of those assuming these consequences, except that on a temporary basis, not to exceed five years, elected representative may approve such a shift as a non-renewable emergency.
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I have Allstate Corporation, which is very bad. Now I have Geico companies, but the reviews are bad. In fact, I was able to find the car insurance companies in the United States do not have hundreds of negative reviews. And the bad reviews are all similar. I have something that does not exist? If there is a right site, will follow?
