My Comments: Value is in the eye of the beholder. When we need something, and it may be financial advice, pork chops or a car to drive, we typically spend money. If it's financial advice, it's sometime difficult to measure it's benefits, so be prepared to pay for it. As a self-styled expert on retirement …
Continue reading This is how much fees are hurting your retirement
Wednesday = Global Economics If you are anything like me, you’re uncomfortable with the forces at work across society that are creating tension, fear and animosity everywhere you look. When you add the ever present slurs and crude expletives, the message often gets lost. My definition of civility is way out of date. Instead of …
Continue reading Neoliberalism: the idea that swallowed the world
Tuesday = Social Security comments Concern about the continued viability of our Social Security system if very justified and real. The solutions to the problem are reltively simple and if started soon, will be absorbed by the economy with relative ease. But Capitol Hill is the wildcard here. The crisis is far from dramatic. Yet. …
Monday = Investing Money: I’d like to think that my posts help someone, anyone? Professionally I’ve lived in the financial world for over 40 years and it pains me to say I haven’t a clue what’s going to happen next. What’s telling is that others, far more competent than I, don’t have a clue either. …
My Comments: Remember the context. Racial tension has been a hallmark of our society since the beginning. Think pilgrims vs indigenous peoples in the 1620’s. Think black vs white in the 1860’s. Right now the tension is elevated, and coupled with Trump’s inability or unwillingness to quash the tension, overreaction is going to surface. Reaction, …
Continue reading Trump Can’t Reverse the Decline of White Christian America
My Comments: Readers of my posts know I usually talk about money or some aspect of it. My challenge over the years has been to assess the financial literacy of whomever I’m talking with. And that challenge increases with age; both mine and that of my friends and clients. This article might start a useful …
My Comments: To Make America Great Again, the presumably well intentioned mantra for those leading the GOP these days, someone has to overcome ignorance of economics and start paying attention to reality. A positive corporate bottom line is the driving force for a healthy US economy. To reach that goal, we need people willing to …
Continue reading The Danger From Low-Skilled Immigrants: Not Having Them
My Comments: I’ve you’ve not yet signed up to receive your monthly Social Security benefit, this is worth a read. I encourage everyone to try and wait until Full Retirement Age (FRA). The outcomes are likely to be much better. If you claim Social Security early, your checks will be permanently reduced. Consider looking for …
Continue reading Retiring Early? Here’s How to Delay Taking Social Security Anyway
My Comments: As an economist, I’ve talked consistently about the threat to society posed by income inequality. My rantings make zero difference at the national level, where if this issue is not addressed, there will be rioting in the streets. A friend and I talked this morning about the apparent collapse of societal norms he …
My Comments: If you have not already signed up for Social Security, chances are good you will draw the short straw. If you are now getting monthly benefits, chances are you have a longer straw. Me, I have no idea. What we do know is that sooner or later the crisis will become immediate and …
Continue reading Do Social Security Payroll Taxes Need to Increase?
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