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Topic: Going GreenGovernancePoliticsBill Gates recently posted his new thinking on Climate Change declaring we've been thinking about it the wrong way. His article is sending shockwaves, some agreeing, some feeling he has betrayed the cause, and some like Trump declaring this is proof that climate change was a hoax. I definitely agree with Gates here (and not Trump, obviously) but his revelation speaks to something even bigger than climate change, and hints at what may be the greatest mistake in global political discussion about a wide range of topics, not just climate. We've been doing it wrong, and are paying a terrible price.
Gates' thesis is that the general climate community has been overstating the case for climate change. It's a major, serious problem, which he has personally done far more to address than almost anybody, but it's not the civilization-ending emergency crisis it is often painted as. This has stopped us from allocating our resources wisely to fight the true big problems like poverty and disease, which will do far more harm to people than even the worst that global warming threatens. The way to combat climate change not simply to stop emissions (which is good) but to give people the economic prosperity and tools to contend with the hardships to come, and many others.
Read Gates' own essay to get the full scop
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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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