Brett Arends

1 week ago | marketwatch.com | Brett Arends

Brett Arends's ROIVoters want to curb the deficit and extend Trump’s tax cuts. They can’t have both. Published: May 29, 2025 at 4:59 p.m. ETSpeaker of the House Mike Johnson speaks after getting his bill through by one vote. Photo: Getty ImagesThe highly respected Harris Poll just conducted a snap quiz of voters to test their understanding of federal budget math. Most of them got an F.

1 week ago | marketwatch.com | Brett Arends

Brett Arends's ROIStart early, finish firstPublished: May 29, 2025 at 1:24 p.m. ETDon’t worry, be happy, buy stocks Photo: Getty ImagesWhat do young people actually learn in schools these days? Maoist dogma? Finger painting? Anything at all? This question comes up yet again following the news that just 19% of Generation Z — fewer than 1 in 5 — understands the magic of mathematical compounding and how it can affect their finances.

2 weeks ago | marketwatch.com | Brett Arends

Brett Arends's ROIThe plan to investigate the private health-insurance companies that run Medicare Advantage has been drastically expandedPublished: May 23, 2025 at 10:42 a.m. ETMehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, is hiring 2,000 staff to go after Medicare Advantage overbilling. Photo: Mandel Ngan/Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesIf the Medicare Advantage program isn’t in crisis, it’s doing a terrific impersonation of something that is.

2 weeks ago | marketwatch.com | Brett Arends

Brett Arends's ROIAmong tipped workers in the bottom quintile of income-tax units, only 34% would see any tax benefitPublished: May 21, 2025 at 2:13 p.m. ETDo you get to tip less? Photo: Getty ImagesIf you think the “no tax on tips” measure just passed by the Senate will mean you can tip less with a clear conscience, think again.

2 weeks ago | marketwatch.com | Brett Arends

Brett Arends's ROIBuy high, sell low. Oops!Published: May 20, 2025 at 12:03 p.m. ETInvestors are making some terrible choices. Photo: Getty Images/iStockphotoThe latest Gallup survey makes for yet more depressing reading about the great American public and all the ways we find to set fire to our hard-earned money. Ordinary investors overvalue real estate, savings accounts and certificates of deposit as long-term investments, the poll shows. They undervalue stocks and bonds.