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...borrow, have fallen dramatically. The typical municipality is now paying 3.7% when they issue a bond, down from as high as 4.5% in January, before the BABs program was announced, according to Barclays Capital. Some of the drop in yields reflects the improvement in the economy in general, and the easing of the credit crunch. But muni-bond-market observers say BABs have played an important role as well...
...some of the people buying BABs are individuals, who will owe taxes, though not all of them are in the highest tax bracket. What's more, BABs are bringing down the yields of all muni bonds, not just BABs. That is lowering the borrowing costs of local governments in general. That lower expense should save taxpayers money when it comes to paying their state and local taxes, even if it increases the money being shelled out by the federal government...
...course, attractive deals can always trump fiscal responsibility. And plenty of retailers are offering incentives for husbands and wives to stuff each other's stockings. "In general, retailers realize that shoppers don't have as much money," says John Vincent, founder of BlackFriday.info. "They know you're not going to spend $1,000 on a TV. So they are emphasizing deals for smaller, more practical, more giftable items." Vincent points to Target, which on Black Friday will be selling $3 coffeemakers, toasters and sandwichmakers. Not exactly stuff that tugs at the heartstrings on Christmas morning...
...frustration on everybody's part is that no one thing can be fixed to make the rate drop precipitously," says Dr. Laura Riley, medical director of labor and delivery at Massachusetts General Hospital. "Multiple things need to be investigated, and multiple things need to be fixed...
...Vincent Minelli, director of the Zurich-based assisted-suicide group Dignitas, says that "if a new law is passed, the only thing it would accomplish is an increase in clandestine deaths and in the number of suicides in general." Unlike EXIT, whose membership is restricted to Swiss residents, at an annual fee of $27, Dignitas has sparked repeated controversy by helping people from abroad die in its clinic, including non-terminal cases like that of Dan James, a 23-year-old British rugby player who was paralyzed from the neck down and who ended his life in Zurich last year...