STUDENT OPINION in a five-year program, I feel that a significant strength of the Bush School student body is being weakened. This program, in order to reach the world-class status for which it has the potential, needs to be highly selective in both the quality and diversity of it’s student body. If we continue to be seen as an extension of a Bachelor’s degree from the Department of Political Science, the reputation of the program will be damaged. For those of us about to walk out of the door with a Bush School degree, we should be concerned
about the continued value added or detracted from it. As the program’s quality increases, so does the value of our degree. As a soon-to-be former student, I’m concerned at the direction that our program is taking. As we grow, we need to be careful to maintain, or increase, the quality and diversity of our student body. Only with investments in the areas of recruitment and student selection, will our program increase in renown. n
Sticking it to the (Tax) Man David Arceneaux, MPIA ‘12
With tax season coming to a close, many of us are still recovering from long nights of debating whether or not morning doughnuts and coffee are tax-deductible items. As aspiring investors, we must take this opportunity to recognize the importance of an individual retirement account (IRA), the investor’s way of combatting taxes through a couple of different means. There are two kinds of IRAs to know about: a traditional IRA and a Roth IRA.
Roth IRAs
Traditional IRAs
A common misconception about an IRA is that you can only open an account with a bank or investment firm and make a meager 1.5% or less per year. If this were true, you would be better off just spending the cash before it is outpaced by inflation. Fortunately, an IRA can have a vast assortment of investment vessels within it. Stocks, bonds, mutual funds, CDs, and several other investment opportu-
Traditional IRAs allow an investor to use their investment as a tax-deduction. This is particularly helpful when money is tight and a shortterm financial relief is needed. While this benefits the investor in the short term, the gains are taxed upon withdrawal. For simplicity’s sake, the traditional IRA should be considered as a short-term tax strategy.
Roth IRA contributions are not tax-deductible, but the gains are. This means that if you double or triple your initial investment, none of that is taxed when you take it out. An investor who is successful and stays the course for decades can save vast sums of money by utilizing this tax umbrella. While a traditional IRA is a short-term tax strategy, the Roth IRA is one for the long-term. Opportunities
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nities are available to an investor using an IRA. One option worth mentioning in particular is mutual funds. Mutual funds are a great opportunity for IRA investors; these funds can give exposure to stocks without the individual investor needing to manage their own portfolio daily. Stocks have outperformed any other asset class over any given ten year period, so clearly the potential for great gains are present. The problem is typically that investors are not confident in their ability to manage a portfolio. Mutual fund managers do the work for you in this regard, for a nominal fee, of course. Whatever method you choose for investing, an IRA is a must-have for the long-term investor. Remember: it’s not just how much money you make investing; it’s also how much of that money you get to keep. n