Sometimes it makes my head hurt trying to understand how Washington works. The Federal Reserve raises interest rates in order to curb inflation.Immediately following these actions, Senate Democrats passes the Inflation Reduction Act with the blessing of the White House.
This bill goes counter to what Jerome Powell and the Federal Reserve are trying to accomplish. Jim Kramer on CNBC calls this bill the “Spend Our Way To Oblivion Act or SOWOA.”
If you own stocks, this could be a problem.For many U.S. companies the bill includes a tax on stock buybacks. This will impact the way companies address their capital. A 15% book tax which hurts companies with net operating losses will force them to issue debt in order to raise capital.
Senator Chuck Schumer proudly states that this bill will allow Medicare to negotiate prices with drug companies. Really? This is not quite correct. Beginning 4 years from now, Medicare will only be negotiating on lowering prices on 10 drugs. Schumer also states that the bill will create higher paying Environmental Engineering jobs. This potentially will lead to hyper wage inflation.Just look at last Friday’s employment figures.
Environmental groups are euphoric over the bill, providing the potential for an additional 500,000 high paying jobs. That’s awesome, but where are the applicants to fill these positions? This is the type of wage inflation that the Federal Reserve is trying to rein in.
It appears that commodity inflation has peaked, but now we will have to contend with labor inflation by creating jobs we have no ability to fill, other than to take from the private sector. I don’t want to beat a dead horse, but every time Fed Chairman Jerome Powell tries to get a handle on inflation, the Federal government throws him a curveball.
The people of this country for the most part are hard-working and good-hearted.The stock market has politics, of course. We all want to slow global warming or better yet, STOP IT. However, what is occurring in Washington has the potential to destroy our free enterprise system. The government is printing money and spending it like sailors on shore leave. A final thought on this, TERM LIMITS.
On a positive note: We have had a nice bounce during the month of July. The jobs number this past Friday appears to show that we may not be on the verge of a recession, but it sure puts pressure on the Fed to increase rates.
Stock news. GE is splitting into 3 different companies. Those individual stocks could perform very well.Think back to the split up of AT&T into 7 different entities. I am still a big fan of ExxonMobil, even though it is already up 50% this year. JPMorgan has come down from $165 in January to $114. The potential for a higher price is very possible, while being paid with a nice dividend. Last, but not least, Proctor and Gamble. Most of us use their products on a daily basis, like toothpaste and laundry detergent, don’t we?
Until next month, try to stay cool.
Michael E. Russell retired after 40 years working for various Wall Street firms. All recommendations being made here are not guaranteed and may incur a loss of principal. The opinions and investment recommendations expressed in the column are the author’s own. TBR News Media does not endorse any specific investment advice and urges investors to consult with their financial advisor.
The visitor comes unexpectedly sneaking around corners, invisible in the air even if you’re staring directly at him.
He is particularly welcome in the summer, when it’s so hot that the sweat on your skin only makes you wet and clammy, without providing much relief.
A cold drink might help, you think. As your fingers take respite from the moisture on the cup, your lips, tongue and mouth journey far from the heat, giving your brain the chance to ignore the signals the rest of your body is sending about how hot and miserable you are.
Short as this comfort is, it’s nothing compared to the effect this guest brings.
I tend to make an odd face when I get too hot, curling my short, thick tongue into my slightly larger lower palate and waiting, as patiently as possible, for the fall to bring cooler temperatures, Halloween costumes, pumpkin pie and, down the road, maybe a snowman that’s taller than me and my son who years ago started bending down to hug his father.
Today, however, during that most amazing of now moments, the guest has arrived, offering the kind of cooling and refreshing massage that lasts much longer than an hour. He charges nothing for his services.
He has an open invitation, of course, but he doesn’t always accept the offer, particularly when he’s traveling elsewhere.
He makes the horseflies scatter and alters the surface of the water, causing the kind of rippling pattern that may inspire a young mathematician eager to find a formula to explain what she sees.
He can interrupt even the most heated of discussions, debates and disagreements. It’s hard to be angry or to make an aggressive point when he’s around. And, in case you ignore him, he has a way of making his presence felt, knocking that stylish hat off your head and into the Long Island Sound, causing that expensive silk scarf to ruffle toward your face, or loosening those carefully tucked bangs.
Powerful as the sun and heat are, he can offer a counterbalance.
He can be cruel, knocking a bird’s nests out of the trees. He can also topple a table filled with carefully cooked cuisine, turning the mouth watering meal into a mess. When he feels like attending a baseball game, he can turn a home run into a fly ball and vice versa.
Ah, but go with him when you’re sailing, flying a kite or just sitting on a hot beach, and he brings the kind of cleansing magic to the air that water brings to a parched plate.
He helps send a kite high into the air, tugging on a line that causes the kite to dart, dive, dip and climb.
On a sailboat, he is the copilot, willing your ship, no matter its size, faster. You don’t need a motor when he’s around and you may not even need to drink that iced tea, lemonade, ice cold beer or soft drink you brought along with you.
After a sail, even on some of the hottest days, but particularly around dusk, he provides cool comfort in much the same way a blanket offers warmth during the coolest nights of the winter.
As he climbs through the nearby trees, he seems to ask you to “shhh.” Then, he waltzes past chimes, tapping each sound singularly and together, singing a unique summer melody that changes with each of his appearances.
He is an equal opportunity flag waver, indifferent to the political leanings of the people who hoisted the revered cloth to the top of a pole.
One of my favorite companions during the summer, I celebrate the cherished breeze, not only for the comfort he affords but for the way he alters the landscape and offers a respite from the heat.
One of the reasons we travel is to broaden our horizons, literally and figuratively. Yes, we want to see new vistas, consider how others live, and cut ourselves a little break from our daily routines. The same could be said when we meet people from elsewhere. They come from different worlds, bring their personal history and cultural differences into view, and generally teach us about more than what exists in our own small circle.
Such is also the benefit of diversity. We don’t have to travel to find new worlds, we only have to be aware of others who come from those different worlds and admit them into ours.
All of which is to say that last Monday, as I went about my daily routine, I met a lovely woman from Kenya, and we had time for a leisurely talk. Now there were only three things I knew about Kenya. It is a country in Eastern Africa. A friend went with her extended family on a safari there some years ago and raved about it on her return. Runners from Kenya, both male and female, usually win the New York City Marathon. That’s it.
At least, that was it until we started to chat. Now that she raised my consciousness about her home, I realized that Kenya has been in the news lately. Elections were scheduled this past Tuesday, and they were hotly contested. This much I learned from the PBS News Hour Monday night. Because of my encounter, I paid more attention to that news segment as well as to a couple of news stories in TheNew York Times. She brought her country within my view.
The news stories told me more.
William Ruto, 55, the self-proclaimed leader of Kenya’s “hustler nation” [his designation], was vice president for nine years but was now portraying himself as an outsider, representing the masses of frustrated young people, most of them poor, who just want to get ahead. He paints his rivals as elitist. That would include Raila Odinga, 77, who is running for president for the fifth time but who now has made an alliance with his former bitter rival, the outgoing president, Uhuru Kenyatta, who is backing him. The race is expected to be close.
Why should we care about Kenya?
“Since its first competitive multi-party elections 20 years ago, the East African nation has emerged as a burgeoning technology hub, a key counterterrorism partner, a source of world-class athletes and an anchor of stability in a region roiled by starvation and strife,” according to the newspaper article. Some 80 % of Kenyans voted in the 2017 election, making for a democracy in the midst of nations run by strongmen.
There are major concerns now. The pandemic and the Ukrainian War have badly affected their economy, which already was struggling under heavy debt to China for financing a railroad and road projects. This was part of its trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative, aiming to expand China’s economic and political influence in Africa. China never has financed the completion of this construction, leaving the railroad to end abruptly in a field 200 miles short of its intended destination in neighboring Uganda. But the debt remains to be paid, and the railroad is further enmeshed in serious corruption charges. Meanwhile China is reconsidering its early investments in African infrastructure since it paid out large amounts of money to countries with shaky economies. But the Chinese government still seeks influence in Africa, as does Russia, which was supplying much of its grain.
The 54 nations and 1.4 billion people on the African continent are important enough to us that Secretary of State Antony Blinken just started a tour of countries there. His trip and the election in Kenya are more meaningful to me now, thanks to the conversation I enjoyed with the woman who may become a new friend.
Now back to travel. She enticed me to visit with a description of their magnificent sand beaches along the Indian Ocean. Travel, imagined or real, is a beautiful thing.
As you know, the stock market has attracted a lot of attention — and for good reason, as we’ve seen considerable volatility almost from the beginning of the year. But if you own bonds, or bond-based mutual funds, you might also have some concerns. However, it’s important to understand why bonds should continue to be an important part of your portfolio.
To begin with, let’s look at what’s happened with bond prices recently. Inflation has heated up, leading the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates to help “cool off” the economy. And rising interest rates typically raise bond yields — the total annual income that investors get from their “coupon” (interest) payments. Rising yields can cause a drop in the value of your existing bonds, because investors will want to buy the newly issued bonds that offer higher yields than yours.
And yet, despite this possible drop in their value, the bonds you own can still help you make progress toward your financial goals. Consider these benefits of bond ownership:
Income — No matter what happens to the value of your bonds, they will continue to provide you with income, in the form of interest payments, until they mature, provided the issuer doesn’t default — and defaults are generally unlikely with investment-grade bonds (those rated BBB or higher). Your interest payments will remain the same throughout the life of your bond, which can help you plan for your cash flow and spending.
Diversification — As you’ve probably heard, diversification is a key to successful investing. If you only owned one type of asset, such as growth stocks, and the stock market went into a decline, as has happened this year, your portfolio likely would have taken a big hit — even bigger than the one you may have experienced. But bond prices don’t always move in the same direction as stocks, so the presence of bonds in your portfolio — along with other investments, such as government securities and certificates of deposit — can help reduce the impact of volatility on your holdings. (Keep in mind, though, that by itself, diversification can’t guarantee profits or protect against all losses in a declining market.)
Reinvestment opportunities — As mentioned above, rising interest rates and higher yields may reduce the value of your current bonds, but this same development may also offer you some favorable reinvestment opportunities. If you own bonds of varying durations — short-, intermediate- and long-term — you should regularly have some bonds maturing. And in an environment such as the current one, you can reinvest the proceeds of your expiring short-term bonds into new ones issued at potentially higher interest rates. By doing so, you can potentially provide yourself with more income. Also, by owning a mix of bonds, you’ll still have the longer-term ones working for you, and these bonds typically (but not always) pay a higher interest rate than the shorter-term ones.
It might not feel pleasant to see the current value of your bonds drop. But if you’re not selling them before they mature, and you take advantage of the opportunities afforded by higher yields, you’ll find that owning bonds can still be a valuable part of your investment strategy.
Michael Christodoulou, ChFC®, AAMS®, CRPC®, CRPS® is a Financial Advisor for Edward Jones in Stony Brook. Member SIPC
Branzino sounds so much more continental and interesting than sea bass, but in fact, it is the same fish.Found in the waters off southern and western Europe, branzino has garnered great popularity on restaurant menus and in fish markets. Its flaky sweet meat pleases many palates and renders it adaptable to many preparations and cooking methods. Although it is often cooked and served whole, when filleted it’s also quite delicious. If you are buying the whole fish, look for clear eyes, taut skin and red gills which all indicate freshness. And cooking surfaces should always be well oiled to prevent skin from sticking.
Sautéed Mediterranean Branzino
YIELD: Makes 4 servings
INGREDIENTS:
4 branzino filets, bones removed, skin on
Coarse sea salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes
Finely grated zest from one lemon
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup chopped Italian flat leaf parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
DIRECTIONS:
Rinse the fillets in cold running water and pat dry with paper towels. With a sharp knife score the skin with 3 diagonal slashes on each fillet, then season with salt and pepper. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat oil, then carefully lay fillets, skin side down, in the oil (Be careful of spattering oil). Cook 3 minutes, then carefully flip and cook another 30-60 seconds.
Remove fish to a platter, tent with aluminum foil and set aside to keep warm. To remaining oil add the tomatoes, lemon zest, capers and olives; cook, stirring constantly, for one minute, then add white wine and cook another two minutes, until wine is reduced by half; stir in butter, parsley and basil and serve immediately with orzo or couscous.
Whole Roasted Branzino
YIELD: Makes 4 servings
INGREDIENTS:
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
Coarse sea salt and pepper to taste
4 whole 1 – 1 1/4 pound each branzini, cleaned
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
1/4 cup unflavored bread crumbs
Freshly squeezed juice of one large lemon
1/3 cup chopped Italian flat leaf parsley leaves
DIRECTIONS:
In a small bowl, combine oil, garlic, salt and pepper; set aside. Preheat oven to 425 F. Wrap the tail of the fish in aluminum foil; season fish inside and out with salt and pepper and rub inside cavity with half the thyme; brush all over with 3/4 of the garlic-oil mixture and place the fish, evenly separated, on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast fish until they are cooked through and flake easily with a fork, about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the remaining thyme, bread crumbs and oil mixture. Coat top of fish with mixture and return to oven one minute, just until bread crumbs start to darken; remove fish from oven, sprinkle with lemon juice and parsley and serve immediately with lemon wedges and tiny roasted potatoes.
Grilled Branzino Fillets with Fennel
YIELD: Makes 4 servings
INGREDIENTS:
2 teaspoons za’atar
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon fennel powder (fenugreek)
Four 8-ounce branzino fillets with skin on
1 tablespoon orange juice
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 garlic clove, bruised
1 fennel bulb cleaned and finely diced
1/2 cup chopped fennel leaves
1 orange, peeled, pith removed and diced
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat grill to medium. In small bowl combine half the olive oil, salt and pepper and fennel powder. Brush fish with mixture, then grill, skin side down, 3 – 4 minutes until skin is crisp; carefully turn and grill one more minute, just until it is white and flakes easy with a fork. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine the remaining olive oil, salt and pepper, orange juice, lemon juice and garlic. Let sit a few minutes so garlic flavor can infuse mixture, then removeand discard garlic. Toss diced fennel, fennel leaves and orange with mixture, then spoon over cooked fish. Serve immediately with rice pilaf.
Katia Lamer during her experiment in Houston. Photo courtesy of U.S. Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement user facility
By Daniel Dunaief
Clouds and rain often cause people to cancel their plans and seek alternative activities.
The opposite was the case for Katia Lamer this summer. A scientist and Director of Operations of Brookhaven National Laboratory’s Center for Multiscale Applied Sensing, Lamer was in Houston to participate in ESCAPE and TRACER studies to understand the impact of pollution on deep convective cloud formation.
Katia Lamer during her experiment in Houston. Photo courtesy of U.S. Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement user facility
With uncharacteristically dry weather and fewer of the clouds she and others intended to study, she had some down time and created a plan to study the distribution of urban heat. “I am always looking for an opportunity to grow the Center for Multiscale Applied Sensing and try to make the best of every situation,” she said.
Indeed, Lamer and her team launched 32 small, helium-filled party balloons. She and Stony Brook University student Zachary Mages each released 16 balloons every 100 meters while walking a one mile transect from the suburbs to downtown Houston. A mobile observatory followed the balloons and gathered data in real time through a radio link.
While helium-filled party balloons are not the best option, Lamer said the greater good lay in gathering the kind of data that will be helpful in measuring and monitoring climate change and explained that until some better balloon technology was available, this is what they had to use.
“Typically, we launch the giant radiosonde balloons, but you can’t launch them in a city,” she said because of the lack of space for these larger balloons to rise without hitting obstacles. The balloons also might pass through navigable airspace, disturbing flight traffic.
The smaller party balloons carried sensitive equipment that measured temperature and humidity and had a GPS sensor tucked into foam cups.
“If we can demonstrate that there is significant variability in the vertical distribution of temperature and humidity at those scales, then this would suggest that we should push to increase the resolution of our models to improve climate change projections,” she explained.
By following these balloons closely with a mobile observatory, Lamer and her team can avoid interference from other signals and signal blockage by buildings.
The system they used allowed them to select a cut-off height. Once the balloons reached that altitude, the string that connected the sensors to the balloon burns off and the sensors start free-falling while the balloon climbs until it pops.
The sensors collect continuous data on temperature, humidity and horizontal wind during the ascent and descent. Using the GPS, researchers can collect the sensors.
While researchers have studied urban heat using mesoscale models and satellite data, that analysis does not have the spatial resolution to understand community scale variability. Urban winds also remain understudied, particularly the winds above the surface, she explained.
Winds transport pollutants, harmful contaminants, and heat, which may be relieved on some streets and trapped on others.
Michael Jensen, principal investigator for the Tracking Aerosol Convection interaction Experiment, or TRACER and meteorologist at BNL, explained that Lamer is “focused on what’s going on in the urban centers.” Having a truck that can move around and collect data makes the kind of experiment Lamer is conducting possible. Jensen described what Lamer and her colleagues are doing as “unique.”
New York model
Katia Lamer during her experiment in Houston. Photo courtesy of U.S. Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement user facility
Lamer had conducted similar experiments in New York to measure winds. The CMAS mobile observatory’s first experiment took place in Manhattan around the One Vanderbilt skyscraper, which is 1,400 feet high and is next to Grand Central Terminal. No balloons were launched as part of that first experiment.She launched the small radiosonde balloons for the first time this summer in Houston around the 990 foot tall Wells Fargo complex.
Of the 32 balloons she and Mages launched, they collected data from 24. The group lost connection to some of the balloons, while interference and signal blockage disrupted the data flow from others.
Lamer plans to use the information to explore how green spaces such as parks and blue infrastructure including fountains have the potential to provide some comfort to people in the immediate area.
Such observations will provide additional insight beyond numerical models into how large an area a park can cool in the context of the configuration of a neighborhood.
This kind of urban work can have numerous applications.
Lamer suggested it could play a role in urban planning and in national security, as officials need to know the dispersement of pollutants and chemicals. Understanding wind patterns on a fine scale can help inform models that indicate areas that might be affected by an accidental release of chemicals or a deliberate attack against residents.
Bigger picture
Katia Lamer during her experiment in Houston. Photo by Steven Andrade/ BNL
Lamer is gathering data from cities to understand the scale of heterogeneity in properties such as heat and humidity, among others. If conditions are horizontally and vertically homogeneous, only a few permanent stations would be necessary to monitor the city. If conditions are much more varied, more measurement stations would be necessary.
One way to perform this assessment is to use mobile observatories that collect data. The ones Lamer has deployed use low-cost, research-grade instruments for street level and column wide observations.
Over the ensuing decades, Lamer expects that the specific conditions will likely change. Collecting and analyzing data now will enable scientists to develop a baseline awareness of typical urban conditions.
Scientific origins
A native of St.-Dominique, a small farmer’s village in Quebec Canada, Lamer was impressed by storms as she was growing up. She would often watch them outside her window, fascinated by what she was witnessing. After watching the Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton movie Twister, she wanted to invent her own version of the Dorothy instrument and start chasing storms.
When she spoke with her high school guidance counselor about her interest in tornadoes, which do not occur in Quebec, the counselor said she was the first person to express such a professional passion and had no idea how to advise her.
Lamer, who grew up speaking French, attended McGill University in Montreal, where she studied earth system science, aspects of geology and geography and a range of earth-related topics.
Instead of studying or tracking tornadoes, she has worked on cloud physics and cloud dynamics. Hearing about how clouds are the biggest wild card in climate change projections, she decided to embrace the challenge.
During her three years at BNL, Lamer, who lives with her husband and children in Stony Brook, has appreciated the chance to “push the envelope and be creative,” she said. “I really hope to stay in the field of urban meteorology.”
The following incidents have been reported by Suffolk County Police:
Commack
■ Target on Veterans Memorial Highway in Commack called the police on July 24 to report that a man allegedly stole assorted Hanes T-shirts and a Norelco electric razor valued at $180.
■ Walmart on Crooked Hill Road in Commack reported a shoplifter on July 27. A man allegedly stole assorted soaps and food worth $53.
■ Home Depot on Jericho Turnpike in Commack reported a petit larceny on July 27. A man allegedly stole a Ryobi generator valued at approximately $700.
Greenlawn
■ TD Bank on Pulaski Road in Greenlawn was robbed on July 31. A man entered the bank at approximately 1:10 p.m., and handed a teller a note demanding cash. The teller complied and gave the man cash from the drawer, police said.
Huntington Station
■ Byron Martinez, 23, of Huntington Station was shot and killed after he answered a knock at the door at his home on 5th Avenue at 1:15 a.m. on Aug. 2. Suffolk County Police Homicide Squad detectives are investigating.
■ Sunglass Hut on Walt Whitman Road in Melville reported a grand larceny on July 27. Two women entered the store and allegedly stole seven designer sunglasses with a total value of $3250.
■ Best Buy on Walt Whitman Road in Huntington Station reported a shoplifter on July 24. A man allegedly stole two Apple watches worth $825.
■ Target on East Jericho Turnpike, Huntington Station called police on July 25 to report that a man allegedly stole assorted electronics valued at $104.
Kings Park
■ CVS on East Main Street in Kings Park reported that several youths entered the store on July 24 and allegedly grabbed assorted groceries valued at $500 before fleeing on bicycles.
Melville
■ A woman shopping at Uncle Giuseppe’s Marketplace on Walt Whitman Road in Melville reported that someone stole her wallet from her shopping cart and attempted to use her credit cards shortly after.
■ Dick’s Sporting Goods on Walt Whitman Road in Melville reported a shoplifter on July 26. A woman allegedly stole various Nike clothing valued at approximately $900.
■ A 2013 Acura MDX was reported stolen from the driveway of a residence on Naomi Court in Melville on July 25. The keys had been left insid
Port Jefferson Station
■ A black Ancheer electric mountain bike was reported stolen from the Long Island Rail Road parking lot off Main Street in Port Jefferson Station on July 27. The bike, valued at $700, had been locked.
■ An SE Performance bicycle valued at $1,000 was reported stolen from in front of Planet Fitness on Route 112 in Port Jefferson Station by an unknown man on July 27.
■ A blue and yellow bicycle valued at approximately $215 was stolen from a bike rack in front of Rite Aid on Old Town Road in Port Jefferson Station on July 26. The bicycle had been unlocked.
St. James
■ Car Tech Automotive on Middle Country Road in St. James reported that a catalytic converter valued at $900 was stolen from a 2004 Ford F230 on July 28.
Selden
■ Home Depot on Middle Country Road in Selden reported a grand larceny on July 26. A man and a woman allegedly stole $4,115 worth of electrical supplies.
■ Three men allegedly stole electrical and lighting supplies valued at approximately $2,000 from Home Depot on Middle Country Road in Selden on July 25.
South Setauket
■ Stop & Shop on Pond Path in South Setauket reported two shoplifters on July 30. A man and a woman allegedly loaded grocery and beauty items into a cart and walked out without paying. The items were valued at approximately $730.
■ Home Depot on Pond Path in South Setauket called police on July 25 to report that three men allegedly stole electrical and lighting supplies worth $2,140.
Suffolk County Crime Stoppers offers a cash reward for information that leads to an arrest. Anyone with information about these incidents can contact Suffolk County Crime Stoppers to submit an anonymous tip by calling 1-800-220-TIPS.
When creating estate planning documents for clients, a common concern is how to protect the beneficiaries of the estate.
When it comes to providing creditor protection for oneself, there are not many estate planning options available, aside from giving assets away. This could result in undesired consequences, such as the loss of ownership of the assets or creating a taxable event. Fortunately, this is not the case for beneficiaries — there are certain planning techniques to provide beneficiaries with creditor protection, and other protections, that one would otherwise not be able to provide for themselves.
The Internal Revenue Code states that if a trust limits the distribution of principal to an ascertainable standard, the trust qualifies as a creditor protected trust. Limiting distributions to the beneficiary for their health, education, maintenance, or support (HEMS) falls within the IRS guidelines of an ascertainable standard that creates creditor protection for the beneficiary.
While this type of trust may sound restrictive, the trust can essentially be used to maintain the beneficiary’s lifestyle. The principal of the trust can be used to pay for the beneficiary’s schooling, rent, taxes, medical expenses and more.
Additionally, assets, such as a real property, can be bought directly in the name of the trust, thus protecting the assets immediately upon purchase. Lastly, the beneficiary can be their own trustee of the trust and have the right to withdraw the income generated from the trust, all while still maintaining creditor protected status.
If there is a concern that the beneficiary may want or need access to the trust beyond HEMS distributions, or that the trust may become too burdensome or impractical to manage, the estate planning document creating the trust can provide various ways to either completely undo the trust or to authorize a distribution of principal beyond the beneficiary’s health, education, maintenance, or support.
Aside from creditor protection, there are additional benefits that come with beneficiary trusts. If, for example, there is a concern that a beneficiary may end up with a taxable estate, any assets transferred to them in trust will not be includable in the beneficiary’s estate.
This could help reduce, if not eliminate, a large estate tax on the beneficiary’s death. Another benefit is the ability for the creator to maintain control of the distribution of trust assets should the beneficiary die before the complete distribution of their trust.
If the beneficiary is unable to manage their personal finances for any reason, the document can name someone other than the beneficiary to be the Trustee of the trust. The document can include specific instructions on how to administer the trust, thus ensuring that the beneficiary is properly cared for and that assets of the trust will last for an extended period of time.
Beneficiary trusts can exist both within a last will and testament, also known as a testamentary trust, as well as a free-standing living trust. Either document can take advantage of this powerful tool.
Because it is not always immediately clear whether a beneficiary trust or outright inheritance is the right distribution method, it is important to meet with your estate planning attorney and provide them with as much information as possible in order for them to properly advise on the creation of your documents.
Nancy Burner, Esq. is the founder and managing partner at Burner Law Group, P.C with offices located in East Setauket, Westhampton Beach, New York City and East Hampton.
During a meeting of the Port Jefferson Board of Trustees on Monday, Aug. 1, trustee Lauren Sheprow suggested building closer ties between the village government and Stony Brook University experts.
Sheprow, who worked as the university communications officer at SBU for over a decade, proposed the creation of a local think tank composed of resident experts whose specialized knowledge could be used in service to the community. We believe that this is a neat idea, worthy of the public’s attention and further exploration.
Long Islanders sometimes forget that there are world-renowned scholars living among us. SBU is the largest single-site employer on Long Island. This institution harbors thousands of faculty members who are trained specialists in their chosen fields.
Citizens can often feel alienated from their local government. Municipal operations — reports, budgets, meetings, hearings and so on — can appear to be endless drudgery at times. Perhaps, innovative thinkers could be the source of new ideas.
With regularity, we read about various scientific and medical breakthroughs made by SBU faculty members. From the sciences to mathematics, the humanities to the arts, SBU students and faculty are changing our world for the better. These are people of immense talent and wisdom, sometimes an untapped resource in solving local problems.
The community would tap into local experts who could offer up their insights on matters that most affect us. Specialists could advise our elected officials to make better decisions.
This is not without precedent. During the administration of SBU President John Marburger, there was a community advisory council, or CAC, in which such a relationship was forged. It was disbanded some 15 years ago. Perhaps it’s time to bring that back.
Anything that brings the government closer to the people, injecting new blood and ideas into the political process, is beneficial to democracy. We should support our local municipalities in strengthening their ties to local universities. This is good for the government, the university and the people.
Cumulative impact of lifestyle changes can be significant
By David Dunaief, M.D.
Dr. David Dunaief
Most often associated with tremors and other movement disorders, Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder. Roughly 60,000 are diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease (PD) annually in the U.S., and approximately one million Americans are living with PD (1).
Patients with PD suffer from a collection of symptoms caused by the breakdown of brain neurons. In medicine, we know the most common symptoms by the mnemonic TRAP: tremors while resting, rigidity, akinesia/bradykinesia (inability/difficulty to move or slow movements) and postural instability or balance issues. It can also result in a masked face, one that has become expressionless, and potentially dementia.
There are several different subtypes of PD; the diffuse/malignant phenotype has the highest propensity for cognitive decline (2).
There’s a lot we still don’t know about the causes of PD; however, risk factors may include head trauma, genetics, exposure to toxins and heavy metals, and lifestyle issues, like lack of exercise.
The part of the brain most affected is the basal ganglia, and the prime culprit is dopamine deficiency that occurs in this brain region (3). Adding back dopamine has been the mainstay of medical treatment, but eventually the neurons themselves break down, and the medication becomes less effective.
Is there hope? Yes, in the form of medications and deep brain stimulatory surgery, but also with lifestyle modifications. Lifestyle factors include iron, vitamin D and CoQ10. The research, unfortunately, is not conclusive, though it is intriguing.
Impact of iron in the brain
This heavy metal is potentially harmful for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, macular degeneration, multiple sclerosis and, yes, Parkinson’s disease. The problem is that this heavy metal can cause oxidative damage.
In a small, yet well-designed, randomized controlled trial (RCT), researchers used a chelator to remove iron from the substantia nigra, a specific part of the brain where iron breakdown may be dysfunctional. An iron chelator is a drug that removes the iron. Here, deferiprone (DFP) was used at a modest dose of 30 mg/kg/d (4). This drug was mostly well-tolerated.
The chelator reduced the risk of disease progression significantly on the Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) during the 12-month study. Participants who were treated sooner had lower levels of iron compared to a group that used the chelator six months later. A specialized MRI was used to measure levels of iron in the brain.
The iron chelator does not affect, nor should it affect, systemic levels of iron, only those in the brain specifically focused on the substantia nigra region. The chelator may work by preventing degradation of the dopamine-containing neurons. It also may be recommended that you consume foods that contain less iron.
Does CoQ10 help?
When we typically think of using CoQ10, a coenzyme found in over-the-counter supplements, it is to compensate for depletion from statin drugs or due to heart failure. Typical doses range from 100 to 300 mg. However, there is evidence that CoQ10 may be beneficial in Parkinson’s at much higher doses.
In an RCT, results showed that those given 1,200 mg of CoQ10 daily reduced the progression of the disease significantly based on UPDRS changes, compared to the placebo group (5). Other doses of 300 and 600 mg showed trends toward benefit, but were not significant. This was a 16-month trial in a small population of 80 patients. Unfortunately, results for other CoQ10 studies have been mixed. In this study, CoQ10 was well-tolerated at even the highest dose. Thus, there may be no downside to trying CoQ10 in those with PD.
Does Vitamin D make a difference?
In a prospective study, results show that vitamin D levels measured in the highest quartile reduced the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease by 65 percent, compared to the lowest quartile (6). This is quite impressive, especially since the highest quartile patients had vitamin D levels that were what we would qualify as insufficient, with blood levels of 20 ng/ml, while those in the lowest quartile had deficient blood levels of 10 ng/ml or less. There were over 3,000 patients involved in this study with an age range of 50 to 79.
While many times we are deficient in vitamin D and have a disease, replacing the vitamin does nothing to help the disease. Here, it might. Vitamin D may play dual roles of both reducing the risk of Parkinson’s disease and slowing its progression.
In an RCT, results showed that 1,200 IU of vitamin D taken daily may have reduced the progression of Parkinson’s disease significantly on the UPDRS compared to a placebo over a 12-month duration (7). Also, this amount of vitamin D increased the blood levels by almost two times from 22.5 to 41.7 ng/ml. There were 121 patients involved in this study with a mean age of 72.
In a 2019 study of 182 PD patients and 185 healthy control subjects, researchers found that higher serum vitamin D levels correlated to reduced falls and alleviation of other non-motor PD symptoms (8).
Vitamin D research is ongoing, as this all seems promising.
So, what have we learned? Though medication is the gold standard for Parkinson’s disease treatment, lifestyle modifications can have a significant impact on both prevention and treatment of this disease. Each lifestyle change in isolation may have modest effects, but cumulatively their impact could be significant.
Dr. David Dunaief is a speaker, author and local lifestyle medicine physician focusing on the integration of medicine, nutrition, fitness and stress management. For further information, visit www.medicalcompassmd.com.
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