President Barack Obama didn't benefit last year from the huge break in the tax code that allows his presumptive rival, Mitt Romney, to pay taxes at a lower effective rate than most anyone who earns a regular middle-class salary. But the president and his wife did save nearly $10,000 in 2011 by claiming a credit that favors the wealthiest Americans. According to their tax returns released Friday by the White ...

It is a myth that Gandhi said, "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." But that old saying nevertheless carries a lot of truth when it comes to social movements. And it is always a pleasure to see a worthy target of activism move from disregard or mockery to going on the attack. Therefore, I was happy to see the right-wing American Legislative Exchange Council (AL ...

Sometimes it's not a good idea to use certain symbols to represent things, especially when the subtext involved, well, makes you look stupid. Take Paul Ryan's Roadmap for America's Future. On the website there's a picture of a cherubic Paul Ryan wearing a greenish sport coat (too long at the sleeves), a blue button down shirt and what appears to be a burgundy and white diagonally stripped tie. To borrow a l ...

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Actor Ashton Kutcher is among the early investors in Dwolla, an Iowa tech startup that lets users transfer money or pay for things through their smartphones or online for a flat fee of 25 cents per transaction. The "Two and a Half Men" star didn't disclose the size of the investment his venture capital company made in Dwolla, which is hoping to lure customers seeking an alternative to th ...

-- ___ Hybrid and electric cars see record sales in March DETROIT (AP) – Americans are buying record numbers of hybrid and electric cars as gas prices climb and new models arrive in showrooms, giving the vehicles their greatest share yet of the U.S. auto market. Consumers bought a record 52,000 gas-electric hybrids and all-electric cars in March, up from 34,000 during the same month last year. The two ...

Mitt Romney's campaign announced at 5:16 p.m. Friday that the presumptive GOP nominee has filed an extension for his 2011 tax return. "Sometime in the next six months, and prior to the election, Gov. Romney will file and release the 2011 return when there is sufficient information to provide an accurate return," wrote Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul in an email to reporters. Six months from now would be Oct. ...

BREAKING NEWS GUYS: It is "arguable" that one of the single worst financial decisions a woman can make in this country is to become a mother. Regardless of whether she gets paid for work that she does. And one of the most disastrous economic growth policies governments can pursue is to impede women's ability to plan their families and be paid fairly for their participation in the labor force. And yet this i ...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez said Friday she is asking federal officials not to allow a southeastern New Mexico company to open the nation's first slaughterhouse for horses since 2007. Martinez plans to send a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture asking it deny a Roswell meat company's request for inspections that would allow it to operate. "Despite the federal governme ...

Facebook on Friday sought to explain its support for cybersecurity legislation that has come under fire from civil liberties groups who say the bill does not protect consumers from having their private data shared with the government. The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, or CISPA, seeks to give businesses and the federal government legal protection to share cyber threats with each other in an ...

As a start-up founder, I've come to expect new and interesting experiences on a regular basis. It's part of what makes being an entrepreneur so exciting. Not long ago, James Logan, Program Director for the Chester County Chamber of Business & Industry, asked me to be the keynote speaker at their Annual Small Business Dinner. I'd never given a keynote before, and like many people, I find public speaking ...