In this edition of our “Ask the Experts” series, we at Card Hub surveyed authorities on tax policy from around the country about how they would choose to alter the tax code in an ideal world.

With tax season in full swing, the economy still floundering, and the federal government’s budget mess yet unresolved, it seems that no one is immune to money woes these days.  That’s not likely to change anytime soon either, what with Congress acting like kids on a cross-country road trip and the economic recovery doing its best impression of the University of Maryland mascot.

Despite the recent economic turmoil, Americans have continued to display an altruistic streak, donating billions of hard-earned dollars to noble causes each year.  For instance, in 2011 – the most recent year for which data is available – roughly 88% of consumers bequeathed a combined $298.3 billion to charity, according to a Giving USA report.  And while the cynics among us will chalk that up to the accompanying tax benefits, it doesn’t really matter as long as the money is being put to good use.

But that’s the crux of the issue:  How can we make sure our charitable donations actually get to those who truly need the money, rather than executives’ pockets or, worse, fraudsters?

Net Result of Consumer Credit Card Debt Q1 2009 – Q1 2013

Net Result in Debt Load – Green indicates that consumers decreased their debt relative to the previous quarter. Red indicates they increased their debt relative to the previous quarter.

The economy may be rebounding, but the effects of the Great Recession will continue to be felt for years, particularly when it comes to retirement.

The retirement outlook is especially ominous for older generations who should theoretically have a line of sight for their exit from the workforce, as Generation-Xers (ages 38 – 47) lost 45% of their net worth during the downturn, while young Baby Boomers (ages 48 – 57) saw a 28% decline, according to a recent report from the Pew Charitable Trusts.

Financial literacy is more than a buzzword these days.  In truth, it’s proven to be something of a pandemic, as habitually poor consumer borrowing, spending, and payment habits not only helped bring about the Great Recession, but are also jeopardizing the retirement plans of huge population segments as well as leaving new college graduates without the jobs necessary to pay off the mountains of debt they leave campus with.  The question is what are we going to do about it?

If Sen. Kay Hagan (D-NC) has her druthers, Congress will pass the Financial Literacy for Students Act that she introduced in late April.  The bill – which is currently on the docket for consideration by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions – would create grant program for states that add financial literacy to their K-12 public school curricula and develop professional education programs for teachers.

One of the most pressing issues facing our nation these days is the federal government’s massive budget deficit.  The deficit and its implications for the already prodigious national debt have been front and center in the national discourse as a $315 billion surplus in 2001 has gradually transformed into an $885 deficit in 2013 under the weight of tax cuts, healthcare policy changes, and spending tied to the War on Terror, Wall Street “bailouts,” the 2009 economic stimulus, and the oft-forgotten interest continuing to accrue on amounts already owed.  With each looming debt ceiling, fiscal cliff, and sequester, the unfortunately partisan debate gains vigor, begging the question of whether we’ll find a solution before we run out of nifty nicknames for the various kick-the-can crises encouraged by our infighting and indecision.

There are plenty of proposed solutions out there – both practical and inane – coming from a variety of sources – from the Brookings Institute to Esquire Magazine’s Commission to Balance the Federal Budget.  But evaluating the efficacy of a potential remedy, of course, necessitates making a proper diagnosis first.

The Great Recession has reinvigorated America’s entrepreneurial spirit.  As the job market soured during the housing market crisis and ensuing economic swoon, business creation rates soared to record heights.  We averaged fewer than 29 new start-ups per 100,000 people each month from 2000 to 2007 – when the unemployment rate averaged 5.0% – and that number rose to 33 start-ups per month from 2008 to 2011 – when joblessness climbed as high as 9.6%, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics as well as the Kauffman Foundation.

When jobs weren’t as abundant, we took it upon ourselves to create our own.  That’s certainly admirable, but the fact of the matter is that starting a business is the easy part.  What’s hard is not only staying in business, but also growing and becoming profitable.  Of all the businesses founded in 2008, only 74.4% survived two years, and even fewer – 62.4% – made it three, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Who knew what when?  Whose heads should roll?  Is Democracy itself in jeopardy?  The recent turmoil surrounding the IRS’s Nonprofit Division has sparked no shortage of sensationalism or bravado-filled calls to action.

But is it possible that we’re failing to see the forest for the trees?  Sure, an arm of the IRS used right-wing buzzwords to help identify organizations trying to take advantage of tax breaks meant to encourage advancements for the public good, rather than the causes supported by one particular political group or another.  But might this “scandal” – which is all the rage in the current news cycle, yet sure to fade in time – speak more to the pervasive posturing in contemporary politics and the way the IRS is viewed than any sort of bias or conspiracy theory?  There has been an explosion in the number of tea-party themed nonprofits in recent years, after all, and they’re not in the business of giving dolls to impoverished children or anything like that.

Continuing CardHub’s theme of small business-related releases in anticipation of National Small Business Week (June 17-21), this study sought to identify the cities that are the most and least friendly to employees of small companies.

There is no shortage of commentary on the best and worst cities to start a small business, after all, and with such companies employing about 47% of the private workforce in this country, paying more than 40% of the private payroll, and creating more than 60% of the new jobs added over the past 20 years, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration, it bears asking what opportunities exist for the roughly 14% of people who are currently either unemployed or underemployed, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

A report from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid – the government agency that administers and oversees the disbursement of many federal health care benefits – recently revealed the amounts that hospitals charge insurance providers often vary widely at the regional, state, and even hospital level.

The study, released earlier this month, examined how more than 3,000 hospitals nationwide bill for the 100 most common types of inpatient stays – which together account for more than 60% of the market, according to the CMS.

CardHub’s annual Small Business Credit Card Study examines the extent to which the nation’s 10 largest credit card issuers have proactively extended the most important CARD Act protections to their business-branded cards as well as how closely they tie such cards to the personal finances of accountholders.

The CARD Act of 2009 is a landmark piece of legislation enacted to protect credit card users from unfair policies.  While it automatically covers general consumer credit cards, the law unfortunately does not apply to small business accounts, despite the close ties between most small business owners’ personal and company finances.  Therefore, if a given issuer has not proactively adopted these protections for all of its customers or is not transparent about its policies, small business owners cannot use its business credit cards without worry.

While everyone is probably more concerned with whipping their bodies into shape for beach season, it’s important to not forget about our credit scores as well.  That might sound a bit odd, but studies show the difference between an out-of-shape credit score and an excellent one can be hundreds of thousands of dollars over the course of your life.  Not only could we all use that money in this economy, but a bigger wallet might even attract more attention than a flat tummy.

Kidding aside, maximizing your credit standing is essential in this day and age.  In addition to the interest rates you’ll get on loans and lines of credit, your credit impacts the insurance premiums you pay, your ability to lease a car or rent an apartment, and even the jobs you’ll gain serious consideration for.

Say what you will about the NRA and the AARP, the most powerful lobby around might be that of motherhood.  Just think:  public pressure from women’s groups in the interest of stay-at-home mothers actually led the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to go back and tweak the landmark CARD Act of 2009 – legislation enacted to reform the personal finance landscape.

The Change That Sparked a Movement

How does a holiday become a holiday?  That question may have crossed your mind recently as we transition from Mother’s Day to Father’s Day, shelling out hard-earned money for gifts all along the way.

Some holidays obviously have historical roots, while others are largely corporate creations, but for a holiday to achieve staying power it needs consumer interaction (and lots of it).  With mainstream acceptance, a holiday can find a home on every calendar and grow into a huge source of revenue for business.  Without it, well, just look at the likes of National Walk to Work Day (first Friday in April), National S’mores Day (August 10), Flag Day (June 14), and even Arbor Day (last Friday in April).

Whether you’re prone to believing that kids should just be kids for as long as possible or that they should get off their spoiled butts and start pulling their own weight, the financial tumult we’ve endured in recent years has made clear how important it is to start sowing the seeds of a successful financial future early.

We saw a 23-year-high unemployment rate in October 2009 (10.0%), at which time 15.7 million people were out of work in the United States.  We saw more than 10% of all credit card users fall so far behind on their bills during the first half of 2010, that banks legally had to write their debt off the books (the consumers still owed it, however).  And we’ve also seen U.S. consumers rack up more than $86 billion in new credit card

It turns out Jay-Z isn’t the only one with a new $100 bill these days, not to mention a highly-anticipated release date.  The Federal Reserve recently unveiled plans to introduce a revamped $100 note this October.  And while you obviously can’t use it to purchase the soundtrack for the new Great Gatsby movie – which was executive produced by the rap mogul and features his track “100$ Bill” – (at least not yet), the Fed believes new security features will help thwart increasingly advanced counterfeiting techniques.

“The redesigned $100 note will begin circulating on October 8, 2013,” according to a Federal Reserve press release.  “This note, which incorporates new security features such as a blue, 3-D security ribbon, will be easier for the public to authenticate but more difficult for counterfeiters to replicate.”

In order to supplement the money-saving information already available to travelers through CardHub’s Currency Conversion & Best Travel Credit Card studies, CardHub sought to determine the Best & Worst Cities for Summer Travel in 2013.

More specifically, CardHub analyzed flights listed on Kayak.com from the 30 largest metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) in the United States to the 10 most popular domestic and international destinations, using July 13 as the departure date and July 21 as the return date.  We compared airfare costs, flight times, and the number of connections for each in order to determine:

While most of us have a vague idea that “offshore tax evasion” costs the government money and hurts the economy in the process, upon hearing the term we’re far more likely to think about Wesley Snipes, Al Capone, or some sort of abstract meeting between a shady looking billionaire and his Swiss banker on a boat somewhere.  But a recent report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office revealed the IRS could be leaving billions of dollars in taxes, penalties, and interest owed by evaders on the table.  Considering all the recent angst over the sequester, that’s sure to get your attention regardless of your familiarity with the income tax landscape.

According to the GAO – which is a sort of ombudsman arm of Congress – the IRS has failed to identify thousands of people who’ve made so-called “quiet disclosures” since its first Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP) in 2009.  A quiet disclosure is when someone simply amends past years’ tax returns to note previously unreported international income, rather than formally bringing it to the IRS’s attention.

As we all know, exchanging currency is necessary for most trips outside the United States, and there are a variety of ways to convert U.S. dollars into the currency used in your destination. Banks, credit card companies, credit unions and the currency-exchange companies that typically operate out of airports and train stations all offer currency conversion services at varying rates and with different fees. But which one offers the best deal? It’s commonly said that credit cards are the best way to save on currency conversion, but is that true? And if it is, how much can consumers expect to save using a no foreign transaction fee credit card?

In order to find out, Card Hub conducted a study whereby we analyzed online rates and anonymously called the nation’s largest consumer banks as well as Visa, MasterCard and one of the Travelex locations in the John F. Kennedy Airport (Visa and MasterCard are the most widely accepted card networks around the world, and Travelex is the world’s largest currency exchange operator). Both for uniformity’s sake and because the Euro is the most prevalent foreign currency, we gathered information about the U.S. Dollar-to-Euro exchange rate as of May 7, 2013. In other words, we determined the dollar amount needed to buy one Euro from each of the companies polled. Please find the results of this study, as well as our findings from last year, below: