My Comments: When I saw this, I was surprised. When you have family wealth of many billions, you don’t expect to see a nuanced economic commentary. It’s refreshing to see someone clearly at the very top of the economic pile, writing in recognition of those near the bottom. Of course, it helps that if those …
Tag: Alachua County
Middle Class Shrinks to Half of US Homes
My Comments: Amid all the hubbub about The Donald, ISIS and Christmas, this report has gone mostly unnoticed, but it has huge implications for our children and grandchildren. Since 1946 and the ending of WW2, American society has grown more prosperous and economically successful than any society on the planet. If you measure success by …
Reclaim Republicanism for the Conservatives
My Thoughts: I vowed recently to stop posting anything political. All it does is encourage trolls who eviscerate those who dare to think differently. But from time to time I’m reminded that a viable two party system is probably critical for the long term survival of our democracy. There is a crisis bubbling up that …
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Edwin Hubble’s Birthday
I'm not sure how many more I will have, but their celebration as a recurring milestone in life is a good thing. Among my daily pleasures is checking a website with an image of cosmic interest. An image like this one, for example. Virtually every speck of light, including the swirls and blue, smudgy spots, …
Always Think About Inflation
My Thoughts About This: Inflation is one of those existential threats I always talk about with clients. But it’s like watching a car rust. You simply don’t notice it on a daily or monthly basis. But the Oh MY God inflation that happened to the Weimer Republic in 1921-24 or perhaps more recently in Argentina, …
Investors Avoiding Both Stocks And Bonds
My Thoughts: Many of us are concerned about our investments. We don’t want our money under the mattress; we don’t want it all in money markets; we know bonds are going to get hammered when the Fed decides to start raising interest rates; and we know that over the past three months, the stock market …
China’s Currency Conundrum
My Comments: Our standard of living, yours and mine, used to be a function of how well we built our house and how well we managed to feed and clothe ourselves. That was perhaps 250 years ago, a single blip in the passage of time. A blip later it’s a little more complicated. Among the …
9 Charts Showing Big Global Slowdown Is On Its Way
My Comments: There are two messages here. The first is a global recession is most likely about to happen. The second is the published report has 49 pages with dozens of charts. If looking at charts makes you happy, you will be thrilled. Will Martin Nov. 14, 2015 The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development …
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A Reverse Mortgage To Protect Your Retirement Income
My Comments: Confused? Skeptical? A normal response. But as someone with 40 years of experience as a financial planner, a reverse mortgage can be a significant tool to promote financial freedom as we live out our retirement years. Nov 11, 2015, by Robert Powell Advisers have long looked down on reverse mortgages: Only the most …
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Fifth Generation Warfare: Follow the Food!
My Thoughts About This: For several years I followed the writings of Thomas P. M. Barnett. About 3 years ago, he suddenly closed his blog. He posted thousands of ideas and articles about global economics and security issues, most of which made sense. I never forgot one of them where he predicted that by 2045, …
Helping Define Your Financial Future 