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It seems like everyone agrees that reforming the tax system is a good idea. Progressives don't like how today's Swiss cheese tax code mainly helps the affluent, while conservatives don't like how our tax system picks winners and losers. Typical filers complain about the complexity of taxes -- indeed this is a bigger gripe among Americans than how much they pay. 

University of Pittsburgh economist Chris Briem is out with a post titled “Things That Make Libertarians Implode," on the new Census report showing there are 84,004 local governments in the United States.

A military hiring expo, which provides jobs training to veterans. House Republicans hope to expand these sorts of programs. The Senate proposition directly hires veterans as police officers and firefighters. (Photo Courtesy of the Pennsylvania National Guard)

Missouri is at a higher risk for bullying this year but it's not at school. Missouri has made a list of ten states at risk for voter bullying this election year. Missouri made the list because it is expected to have some highly contested races.

A military hiring expo, which provides jobs training to veterans. House Republicans hope to expand these sorts of programs. The Senate proposition directly hires veterans as police officers and firefighters. (Photo Courtesy of the Pennsylvania National Guard)

On the heels of a disappointing jobs report last week, Congress returned from recess on Monday with several options for how to help create jobs. All of those options involve some increase in this year’s deficit or a rise in taxes to offset the revenue, a non-starter to conservative ideologues. 

Recently, the Wall Street Journal published an editorial harshly criticizing a bill being considered by the California State Assembly to create universal, portable retirement accounts, administered by an independent board and invested in private financial markets.

NOW that some sunshine is being shed on 401(k) expenses, it’s time to see how you can improve returns by lowering the costs of the middlemen.

Something that you hear about quite a lot these days is the "all of the above" energy plan. The phrase is in both party platforms with the general idea being that our energy needs should be met by using all forms of energy available -- coal, oil, gas, nuclear, renewables, biofuels, etc. Diversifying our energy sources and moving away from strictly relying on fossil fuels is a good idea.

The November presidential election, widely expected to rest on a final blitz of advertising and furious campaigning, may also hinge nearly as much on last-minute legal battles over when and how ballots should be cast and counted, particularly if the race remains tight in battleground states.