On the eve of Earth Day 2011, a year after the BP Gulf Oil Spill, it's somehow gratifying to see the President go after those who are profiting, at our expense, from high oil and gas prices. I hear the pain -- and the solutions -- from readers. (Read or add your own comment at How Do High Gas Prices Affect You and What Should Be Done).
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Standard & Poor's announced its negative outlook on whether the U.S. will pay back its $14 trillion debt. Although the official S&P credit rating on America is still AAA, the lowered outlook (from "stable" to "negative") means there is now a 30% chance the U.S. will lose this coveted credit rating in the next two years. As a result, the Dow dropped 200 points, the dollar dropped and gold gained $10 an ounce.
Does this mean the U.S. is headed toward bankruptcy?
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Today is the deadline to file your taxes. Usually it's the 15th, but Congress pushed it back because Friday was a Federal holiday in Washington DC. They were celebrating Emancipation Day, which was actually Saturday. On April 16, 1862, Abraham Lincoln signed the Compensated Emancipation Act, which freed the slaves in DC.
Of course, the question still remains -- why is Tax Day usually on April 15, anyway?
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The nation's CPI is 2.7% higher than last year, driven by a 27% increase in gas and oil prices. This, in turn, increased fertilizer and transportation costs, which drove food prices 3.6% higher year-over-year. (Source: BLS, Consumer Price Index April 15, 2011)
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