SAVING DISGRACE
Catch-22 keeps interest rates low
Dear John: So often I read your take on the jobs report and say, “I didn’t know that” or “I like that slant.”
Your recent column on savings was informative and made me think.
Low interest rates have been just what the doctor ordered for the supposed 1 percent or so, but a large part of the remainder of the country is saddled with credit card debt that requires a huge percentage of their income to service.
I’m not sure there are any savers left in this country, sadly. T.K.
Dear T.K.: Sure, there are savers.
They are the consumers who would be spending money right now to get the economy going but who aren’t because the Federal Reserve has imposed a secret tax — by way of lost interest income.
So they’ll just sit on their hands and say, “Screw it, this car can last another year” and “We’ll go out to dinner less this month.”
They aren’t broke. They are comfortable because they have money in the bank. And that’s where it’s going to stay until the Fed can finally get interest rates back to normal levels.
Which, of course, can’t happen until people start spending and the economy gets going ... which, of course, won’t happen until interest rates get back to normal levels ... which, of course, won’t happen until people start spending and get the economy going.
Dear John: As a NJ resident, I wonder what the underlying reason is for the holding back of thousands of tax refund checks.
On April 14, I received a notice requesting backup for my electronically returned filing, which the state received on March 8.
Yesterday, I called the state hotline, which now has a recorded message indicating high activity levels.
The Web site shows my backup info has been received. If approved, expect 90 days from receipt of that backup before I can expect to get a refund.
Being retired, my backup was a 1099 form in which I removed 401(k) funds.
Historically I’ve received refunds in March. Seems like July is extreme in delay tactics. D.M.
Dear D.M.: New Jersey said it was using “additional tools” to protect taxpayers from fraud.
It warned that there would be delays and that electronically filed returns would take up to four weeks “to validate and process.” Returns filed on paper “may take a minimum of 12 weeks.”
Then you know how it works — someone has to find the Pony Express driver, get him in the saddle and send him to your house with the refund. He’s not Santa, you know!
New Jersey says to check your refund status at its online refund service Web site before calling the refund hotline at (800) 323-4400.
Someone who is a skeptic at heart might think New Jersey just wants to keep your refund a little longer so the state can use the money in the meantime. But, nah, that can’t be it.
How can I help?
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