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Martin Luther King, Jr.

A day off for the holiday.

There is so much to learn from King. In one of his last sermons, a month before he was assassinated, he gave a talk called "Unfulfilled Dreams." In it, he reminded people that we start out building temples, "temples of character, temples of justice, temples of peace," he said.

And so often we don't finish them. Because life is like Schubert's "Unfinished Symphony." At so many points we start, we try, we set out to build our various temples. And I guess one of the great agonies of life is that we are constantly trying to finish that which is unfinishable. We are commanded to do that. And so we, like David, find ourselves in so many instances having to face the fact that our dreams are not fulfilled.

The temple is a bit more complete with tomorrow's historic Presidential inaugeration.

In another speech not long afterwards, King wondered aloud what he would want said at his funeral. "The answer King gave was a catalog of the moral principles he held most dear, and by which he hoped to be judged," observe Stephen Smith and Kate Ellis in their radio documentary, 'King's Last March.' 'I'd like somebody to mention...that Martin Luther King Jr. tried to give his life serving others,' King said. Remember "that I tried to be right on the war question... that I did try to feed the hungry!" King continued:

If you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness.

You can listen to King's speeches, and learn much more about his last year, by listening to "King's Last March," an American Radio Works documentary.

I'll be back answering your questions tomorrow.

01/19/09 by Chris Farrell

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President's Day

Have a good President's Day.

Yesterday, at the newly reopened Smithsonian Museum of American History, I went to a small, special exhibit on Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. It had the document, as well as letters Lincoln wrote to various general's and other to explain his decision. It was moving.
The museum is terrific, and it wandering through it with my Mom and my sons for an afternoon was a good way to celebrate the holiday.

Back to posting on personal finance questions tomorrow.

02/16/09 by Chris Farrell

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I-bonds at 0%

Question: Every May and November I download the redemption values for my I Bonds. I use the program called "Savings Bond Wizard" that goes to the government website and automatically downloads the values of the bonds for the next period of time (in this case it would be May 2009 thru Nov 2009). Every time I have done this in the past, I can see how my bonds increase every month. This time, I did not see any increase at all in any of the months May June July Aug Sept Oct or Nov 2009. Do you know why this is? Could it be that my bonds will not grow any interest at all for all those months? Thanks for your help! Maxine, Danvers, MA

Answer: You read it right: The yield on I-bonds, the government's inflation protected savings bond, is almost zero. That's right, 0%. The I-bond joins a long list of very safe government backed securities that pay savers from nil to fractional yields.

Here's the deal: Treasury recently announced that inflation-linked bonds bought between May and October will earn 0% interest for the first 6 months. The same holds for current I-bond owners when their rates reset. Remember, I bonds come in two parts: a fixed rate and a rate that adjusts with changes in the Consumer Price Index. The fixed rate is at 0.10% for new issues. That fractional rate of interest will last for the 30 year life span of the bond. The 0% yield component comes from the link to the Consumer Price Index. Reflecting the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, the CPI came in at a more than 5% annual rate during the prior 6 month period. However, the yield on I-bonds can't fall below zero % so that's what holders will get.

By the way, I still like I-bonds. It's an insurance policy, a good hedge against the risk of rising inflation once the recovery does set in. Plus, these 30-year bonds allow your money to compound tax-deferred until they're cashed in. (I-bonds redeemed before the 5 year mark forfeit the 3 most recent months' interest, but after 5 years that there is no penalty at redemption.) There are no commission costs when buying or selling them.

05/05/09 by Chris Farrell

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