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‘Bug' Review: Carrie Coon Is Superb in an American Gothic Tale The New York TimesReview | Are you paranoid bugs are everywhere? Here's the play for you (or not). The Washington PostPhotos: Carrie Coon and Morgan Spector Have a Gilded Age Reunion at Bug Opening Night PlaybillJames Taylor and White Lotus and Gilded Age Stars Come Out for Bug Opening on Broadway TheaterManiaBug
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What's happening with a generation feeling burned out by the "broken promise" of the American dream.
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Topic: MediaIn the young Olympic event of "speed climbing," Sam Watson (USA) set two new world records, breaking his own previous world record. For that, he got the Bronze medal. The reason he did relates to some concepts I have been mulling over about what makes a good spectator event. The Olympics are the rare time when a whole bunch of sports that are generally relatively obscure become big-audience, big-advertising events. Spectator sports are sports as entertainment, but they are also still athletic.
Watson got the bronze because speed climbing is run in the "pyramid" or "playoff" style where two climbers "race" and the winner of the race advances or gets a point. This is a common style used in lots of sports, and in most of the "mega" spectator sports that get 90% of the audiences and money (Football, Baseball, Basketball, Hockey, American Football, Cricket etc.) Watson set one new WR in the early rounds, but he had a minor stumble in the semi-finals so he missed the gold medal "round" and in his bronze metal match set a new WR that was not matched in the official goal medal match.
The problem is this -- there's really no "match" aspect to this particular sport. The two climbers are really just racing against a clock, and the fastest time wins. They rarely glance at their opponent, and while they may have some peripheral perception, in a good run they are racing only the clock. (If an opponent has a very poor run, and falls or stumbles majorly, a climber might notice that and slow down and be more careful, now that a win is assured for them if they
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Editor's note: This is the final part of a seven-part series. It dives more deeply into the third strategy for defusing a retirement tax bomb, which is Roth conversions. If you missed the introductory article, you may find it helpful to start here.
Because they offer tax-free qualified withdrawals, Roth IRAs and Roth conversions can be a critical strategy for defusing the retirement tax bomb that traditional IRAs, 401(k)s and other pre-tax savings accounts can set you up for in retirement.
A Roth conversion is when you transfer money out of a pre-tax retirement account into an after-tax Roth. Typically, every dollar you convert is taxed as ordinary income, unless the pre-tax account was also funded with after-tax dollars.
SEE MORE Don't Move to Another State Just to Reduce Your Taxes
Here's the problem though: Most people who are facing a retirement tax bomb and are still working probably have high incomes and are in a high marginal tax bracket. The last thing they want is a Roth conversion, which adds to their income and would be taxed at high tax rates.
Instead, this is a good strategy to consider in low-income years, especially for people who retire early in their 50s and early 60s who may have several years to do conversions before Medicare means testing surcharges, Social Security income and RMDs kick in. Many of my clients do several years of annual Roth conversions starting early in retirement.
Three Windows for Roth Conversions
The first window for Roth conversions is the years before enrolling in Medicare, but recal
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