Barack Obama

Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii to Barack Obama, Sr. (born in Nyanza Province, Kenya) and Ann Dunham (born in Wichita, Kansas). Barack Hussein Obama (born August 4, 1961) is the junior United States Senator from Illinois and a member of the Democratic Party.

Obama grew up in culturally diverse surroundings. He spent most of his childhood in the majority-minority U.S. state of Hawaii and lived for four years in Indonesia. Obama delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention while still an Illinois state legislator. Since announcing his candidacy in February 2007, Obama has emphasized ending the Iraq War and implementing universal health care as campaign themes.

As a member of the Democratic minority in the 109th Congress, Obama co-sponsored the enactment of conventional weapons control and transparency legislation, and made official trips to Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Obama's parents separated when he was two years old and later divorced. His father went to Harvard University to pursue Ph.D. studies, then returned to Kenya, where he died in an auto accident when the younger Obama was twenty-one years old.

If you have any difficulty viewing this newsletter click here

Print This E-Mail

Feedback

Personal Finance Thursday, Dec. 11, 2008

	NOTE TO READERS: Michelle Singletary's e-letter will take a break for the holidays and return on Jan. 8, 2009.

Closing the Books on 2008

Well it's been a heck of a year: Foreclosures hit the roof, as did bankruptcy filings and unemployment. We finally heard we're officially in a recession, a fact that many of us knew already. Then there was the $700 billion bailout, which has turned into a billion-dollar handout to corporate America. And even this week changes are coming to the credit card industry.

So, what's all this news have to do with you? What's on your mind? What lingering personal finance questions do you have before celebrating the holidays? Take a look at my column today, Overcharged and Over a Barrell and then join my chat today at Noon ET to discuss whatever is on your mind.

If you have time before or after my chat, read the transcript for The Return of Depression Economic web chat. Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman recently answered questions about the economy.

Wit Hits Home

Feel like financial experts are pulling you in different directions? On one hand you're getting messages to spend in order to save the economy; on the other, the message is that saving is what's important to get through this.

Well, you're not alone: The Post's political cartoonist Tom Toles, as usual, has delivered a biting illustration of the conflicting advice Americans are being given in Economic Good Cop, Bad Cop (Dec. 15).

Happy Holidays With a Thank You

In the workplace, is showing kindness a strength or a weakness?

Kiplinger contributing columnist Marty Nemko says it's a mixed bag in Kindness, Gratitude and Your Career (Dec. 12). Nemko says perhaps, if only in light of the holiday season, we should forego personal advancement and just be kind for goodness' sake.

Last year, I wrote a column on the importance of a thank you card when you receive a gift from a co-worker or boss. Read If You Got a Gift From Your Boss, Take Note (Jan. 4, 2007).

Are We Chumps?

Is the bailout making us chumps? I wrote what I thought here. But here's what what you had to say:

Jackie Smurlo, a CPA at Veith Smurlo Financial Services in Oakbrook Terrace, Ill., wrote: "No, we aren't chumps. We are worse than chumps. We are being raped and pillaged. Who is going to come to my rescue when my retirement fund is worthless? No one. I don't want to scream, I want to cry."

"Management all the way to the top should make less in salary and benefits til things turn around for the big three," Jim Graves from Poulsbo, Wash., believes.

Daniel B. Blake of Urbana, Ill said: "Chumps is the least of it; why should any company worry about doing its job if all it has to do is open the government (taxpayer) spigot?"

Seattle resident Jennifer Delanty said: "Why are taxpayers being asked to bail out corporate America's failures, just so we can eventually hear their complaints about paying taxes on a portion of their profits? Does this not exemplify the very definition of a chump? I would also call it insanity."

"Doling money out to the chiefs of the American car industry is an insult to ordinary Americans," says David Shaw, who is living in Italy. (He's not alone: Read The Post's poll on this subject.)

Not everyone thought a bailout for the auto industry is a bad thing.

"I don't think we are chumps when we are concerned about the lives of all the people who work for these 3 companies," wrote Juanita C. Blassingame from Arlington, Va., said. "Were we chumps when we expeditiously bailed out the professionals (white shirts) on Wall Street? Most of the employees at these three companies that will be the most affected are blue-collar (blue shirts) employees. Are we basing our bailouts on the color of the shirt?"

Rounding Out 2008

Since this is the last e-letter for the year, I wanted to highlight some of my favorite columns and personal triumphs:

The Color of Money Military Challenge ended last week. For the past 10 months I put three military families through my financial boot camp. The challengers eliminated more than $50,000 in debt. Perhaps what these folks went through can help you do better with your money in 2009. Click the links to read their stories:

* Part One: Enlisting Help In Financial Boot Camp (Feb. 17). And don't forget to read details on the challengers: The Colons, The Bathiches and The Holmes)

* Part Two: 3 Families, 4 Months, $26,000 Paid (June 8). Check out their progress: The Colons, The Bathiches and The Holmes

* Part Three: Charting Their Rise Out of Debt (Sept. 28). And more progress, but with some challenges: The Bathiches, The Holmes and The Colons

* Part Four: Less Debt? Hooah! (Dec. 14). Take a look at the results: The Holmes, The Bathiches and The Colons

Other projects and columns include:

The Blessings of Living in a 'Mental Recession' (July 27).

-----

Creditors Garnishing Protected Funds (July 13). This column focused on how some financial institutions were violating federal law by garnishing bank accounts that receive electronic deposits of Social Security or disability payments. These funds are supposed to be protected from creditors. I heard from a single mom of two children living in New York whose Social Security disability payment was frozen by her credit union. The frozen money was all she had for food, gas, and utilities.

"I just got back from the bank with all of my money," she wrote to me. "I told the bank manager about the info you provided in the Post about the law concerning my income and she immediately released my money! God Bless You! I would have never known on my own."

-----

Long before we realized how deep the mortgage mess ran, I exposed a mortgage broker who was operating illegally in at least two states. The company, Financial Independence Group, which renamed itself Cash Flow Strategies, was the subject of a number of my columns. In a series, which began in 2007, I wrote how this rogue mortgage operation was taking advantage of homeowners. Here are the two columns from this year:

* Prosecute the Mortgage Sharks (April 27).

* Brokers in the Fast-and-Loose Lane? Run Their Licenses (May 1).

(As a result of this series, I won the Society of American Business Editors and Writers Award ).

-----

Here are links to other stories and columns capturing a year that put personal finance at the top of the news:

* The $700 billion bailout (Also check out a timeline of daily events related to the economic crisis)

* Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac federal takeover

* IndyMac closes and reopens

* Unemployment reaches 26-year high

* Massive layoffs in every industry

* Election of President Elect Barack Obama, largely because of the economic issues

* Gov. Sarah Palin's $150,000 wardrobe

* Foreclosures Hit Record High

* Death of a Wal-Mart employee due to American greed

* Celebrities in Foreclosure, including Ed McMahon and Wyclef Jean

Lastly, check out my TV One housing special, "Real Estate Realities: When the Boom Goes Bust," which premiered last Sunday and will air again on Mon. Dec. 22nd at 11 a.m. (Get the details here and watch a snippet)

Here's hoping and praying 2009 is a better year for all. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

You are welcome to e-mail comments and questions to singletarym@washpost.com. Please include your name and hometown; your comments may be used in a future column or newsletter unless otherwise requested.

Charity Brown contributed to this e-letter.

-Michelle Singeltary

Today's Color of Money
Overcharged and Over a Barrel
Imagine, if you will, that the interest rate on your auto loan could escalate greatly if you were late on another bill. If that were so, I'm sure many more people would pay cash for a hoopty rather than take on a loan with such an outrageous term.

Sunday's Column
Less Debt? Hooah!
When the Color of Money Military Challenge began earlier this year, George Colon was not happy.

Your Money Help Desk
Finding the Right Person to Provide Advice
Liisa Ecola has had the same broker for 15 years. She stayed with him even after he moved to Michigan, and she remained a District resident. She stayed with him after she got married, and urged her husband to use him as well. In fact, she let him act as her financial planner, making more than the...