My Comments: Yesterday, I posted Part I of a three part series from the staff of Fortune magazine. I was struck by it’s relevance in today’s America in terms of it’s expose of where we are as a nation, both politically and economically. In my opinion we have roughly two years to figure out whether …
Continue reading The Shrinking Middle Class: How We Got Here, And Why
My Comments: I’ve always enjoyed the traditional greeting associated with today: Happy New Year! And so I offer you my heartfelt wishes for a HAPPY NEW YEAR! But the reality is that for many millions of Americans, 2019 will not be a happy year. And so I offer an apology for spoiling the fun with …
Continue reading The Shrinking Middle Class: The Current State of Affairs
My Comments: This is an alarmist headline written some five months ago. Because the ‘disaster’ has not yet happened, there’s a false assumption that it won’t happen. Markets crash, whether we like it or not. No amount of bluster by the political party in power or the efforts of the Federal Reserve will change the …
Continue reading America Is Overdue for Another Economic Disaster
My Comments: My observations and memories of economic and financial forces over the past five decades has led me to fundamentally distrust the moves made by those who profess to Make America Great Again. My instincts told me they were pushing us in the opposite direction, ie Make America Irrelevant. It started with us withdrawing …
Continue reading How Donald Trump Is Shaping The Next Global Economic Recession
My Comments: I’ve written before about income inequality and the effect it will have on society if we do not find a solution. The ever long crisis in the Middle East arises from vast segments of the population having very little compared to a small ruling class who have a lot. Using religion as a …
Continue reading Life is going to turn very nasty if we can’t solve the growth puzzle
My Comments: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an international organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of "189 countries working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world." They recognize that market crashes happen from time to time, and …
Continue reading Listen to the IMF’s new warning, economist says, and cut your exposure to US stocks
My Comments: Since this article first appeared several months ago, the current administration has doubled down on the idea of import tariffs. For some reason, it thinks that trade wars are what is needed to ‘Make America Great Again’. A reverse analogy that comes to mind are the gas price conflicts that used to appear …
Continue reading Trade Wars: Stop Hyperventilating, It’s All About the Dollar
My Comments: For the past 18 months, there has been a war on immigration, fostered by Donald Trump and most Republicans. It portends an economic disaster for the US economy. Yes, open borders will inevitably allow some bad people into the country. But it will also allow some really good people in as well, and …
Continue reading Welcome, Immigrants. The U.S. Really Needs You
My Comments: Having more money to spend in retirement requires a delicate balance between living cautiously and making sure your funds are growing properly. If you stay alive, the money to pay your bills has to come from somewhere. All that is to say that global economics is going to play a role in your …
Continue reading Trump’s Looming Bust-up with China is Bad News for 2018
My Comments: I may have retired from providing investment advice but I’ve not yet left the building. What happens in the world of money still interests me both professionally and personally. Attached to this post, by way of a link to a 12 page, downloadable report, is a projection from Guggenheim that says we’ll experience …
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