Why giving makes us happier.

Is there tax reform in our future? All the various blue-chip debt and deficit reducing commissions say yes. For instance, Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles proposed eliminating many of the deductions and credits that clutter up the tax code in return for lowering the overall tax rates.

They offer three basic tax reform options, but the most intriguing eliminates the mortgage interest deduction, the preference for employer health care insurance, favorable rates on dividends and capital gains, child tax credit and the similar tax expenditures for a sharp drop in brackets, to 8, 14, and 23 percent. It looks like the President is contemplating embracing the tax reform mantra. Cynics will say it can’t be done. Odds are they’re right. But then again the lobbyists-as-usual crowd was wrong with Reagan and the 1986 Tax Reform Act.

Worried about inflation? Morningstar looks at various hedges.