There could soon be a ban on texting while driving going through to the states from the national government. If the states do not impose the ban, then they may lose highway funds.

Of course, the ban is directed at reducing the number of accidents and driver distraction as a result of texting while driving. The proposal was introduced after a series of tests showed the dangers of drivers who text while drive and take their eyes off the road to do so. One study that was released earlier this week found that when drivers of 18 wheelers texted while driving their collision risk was 23 times higher than when they were focused on the road. Reaching for a cell phone or dialing when driving increased their risk 6 times. The study, conducted by Virginia Tech, said that the results applied to all drivers and not just truckers.

So far, 14 states and the District of Columbia have banned texting while driving.

“The federal government ought to pass a law banning this dangerous and growing practice to protect the millions of Americans on our nation’s roads. It is a matter of public safety,” said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., who was to unveil the legislation Wednesday along with Democrats Robert Menendez of New Jersey, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Kay Hagan of North Carolina.

If the legislation were to pass, it would require states to ban texting or emailing while they were driving or the state could face losing 25% of their annual federal highway funding.

The ban would be fashioned after Congress’s required drunken driving ban.

States that have not already gone through and banned texting while driving will have two years to ban it following the passing of the legislation. It would ban drivers from texting while the car was moving and would not be enforced while the car was stopped.

This economy is no stranger to financial burdens. We are finding out how fast the mighty really can fall. If the mighty can fall so quickly, it is no wonder that some of us are falling. Sometimes you just have to do what you just have to do in order to financially survive this recession. Just do not do anything hastily, especially things that might hurt retirement or savings.

When financial times get tough, so do the decisions people have to make. Sometimes people have to figure out how they will get the money to pay the bills and sometimes people have to decide what bills they are going to pay this month. In that quest for extra cash, you should be very careful raiding the retirement funds. “This can be the most expensive cash you’ll ever withdraw,” says Ed Slott, an accountant in Rockville Centre, N.Y., whose specialty is retirement.

Early withdrawal of retirement savings from that IRA or that 401k can mean massive penalties and taxes. Unfortunately, to try to minimize this, it is suggested that you work with a financial advisor or accountant that specializes in retirement savings. The federal government usually charges a 10% penalty on money withdrawn from a 401k or IRA by those under retirement age (considered 59 ½).

Withdrawals of earnings and deductible contributions are subject to federal income taxes plus any taxes charged by your state and local jurisdictions. If you live in California, an early-withdrawal fee will be charged by the state. In a Roth IRA, contributions can always be withdrawn without penalty, but earnings can be taxed and penalized to the content of the government(s) that have jurisdiction over you (likely government, state, and local). This does not even count the fees to pay any advisor you may work with.

For people still investing in their company’s 401(k) plan and under retirement age, withdrawals generally are not even permitted unless labor there is terminated. There are, however, certain “hardship” exemptions which are strictly adhered to legally, including medical expenses, avoiding foreclosure on a home or funeral costs. Even so, those exemptions are still heavily taxed and penalized.

IRA rules are more lenient, allowing hardship withdrawals without the penalty, but the money will still be subject to steep taxes. In most cases, the only way for someone in a 401k under retirement age to avoid the penalties and taxes is to borrow from the 401k account. These loans can’t be more than 50% of the balance of the account or total more than $50,000. Here is the rub, though: it must be paid off within five years.

“Some companies will allow in-service withdrawals only for severe hardships; others don’t bother imposing restrictions,” says Frank Palmieri, a Princeton, N.J., benefits attorney. Anyone considering withdrawing money from a retirement account should consider it nearly mandatory to sit down with an accountant. You’ll want to consider the taxes and penalties hit which should be factored into how much money is withdrawn.

The hike is said to affect those who carry a balance and have an interest rate below 10 percent. They can expect their interest rate to climb into the double digits starting with June account statements.

Recently the federal government limited how the credit card companies could raise rates. The problems is that the rule doesn’t take effect until July 2010. Congress is trying to make these rules go into effect sooner, but not in time for the Bank of America increase.

So if you don’t carry a balance or you have an interest rate higher than 10% you should be ok.

I recently read an article about how after the third presidential debate, when polled, those making under $50,000 a year bumped up John McCain’s numbers. Hmm. Given that no other variables exist, this really doesn’t make since. Under Obama’s tax plan, those families would be seeing more cuts from Obama than McCain. Was it the whole story about “Joe the plumber”? I sure hope not, because he was posing a hypothetical situation. The real Joe isn’t even a licensed plumber, and makes around $40k a year. He is in no position to purchase this company (which only makes $100k a year anyway, so it too would benefit from Obama’s tax plan more).

I do understand that there are more variables when it comes to political views than just money. I, however, do not believe that they should be decided by government. I strongly support gay marriage/unions. I hate some of my best friends being shunned by the federal government because of who they are. They deserve the same rights everyone else has. I don’t think this is an issue that should be decided by the government because of the “separation of church and state” issue in the Constitution. If the government decided what should be practiced and what shouldn’t, religion-wise, would it “banish” all of the Muslims, Jews, and other religions and non-religions out of the country? Could it ban atheists from getting married? When does the tampering in our personal beliefs stop? This is one of those “variables” I was talking about.

What about defense? You really have to try hard to convince me why we still need to be in Iraq and why some are looking to invade Iran??? Yes, our policies and those of Iran’s and its president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, kind of clash, but we need to be diplomatic. We see what happens when diplomacy fails and we go to war instead. Right now, Americans aren’t viewed so well in the eyes of the world. Our military should be used to keep us safe, not put us in harm’s way by being used to start wars.

There are several more “variables” when it comes to who you cast your vote for in the next election. Whether it be taxes, the economy, change, religion, defense, health care, education, etc…

The FBI doing an inquest on a bank bailed out by the FDIC…interesting. They are really pumping a lot of federal government money into this mortgage “crisis.” It really seems like the housing market, which was once one of the largest driving forces of our economy is really in the gutter. I mean, at this point it is common sense.

I feel bad for all those people who have more than $100,000 in an account at this bank. If it’s in an IRA or other fund, they get more…but for those people everything above $100,000 in just a checking or savings account, they only get half of it. So if they have $200,000, they only get $150,000. Ugh.

I just don’t know when to expect to come out of this. Personally, I’d like to see a slumping housing market through July of next year, because that’s when we’re planning on moving. I would like to see the economy take a turn for the better before then, but for my personal economy…July.