Crude Oil Supplies Are Enormous

My Comments: If you pay for the gas you use in your car, these are good days. If your life depends on a job in the oil extraction industry, no so good. You can argue the merits, or lack of merits, of fracking, but as the worlds largest consumer of oil, we’re increasingly unaffected by …

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Our Place in the Cosmos

My Comments: This has nothing to do with economics or finance or asparagus. Whatever it is that allows me to think about and observe our presence on this relatively miniscule lump of rock in the cosmos we call earth is beyond my ability to understand. This is an image of a tiny piece of sky, …

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An Affordable Care Act Idea

My Comments: Based on my background in economics, finance and a professional interest in health insurance, on balance I have strong, positive feelings about the Affordable Care Act. Here is one reason why. Our culture has evolved to where instant gratification is in high demand, to where there is an assumption that any solution more …

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The View From Across the Atlantic

My Comments: Sometimes it’s difficult to see the forest for the trees. When that happens from time to time, it’s helps me to get another perspective. This one is from England. It’s about the chaos in the political party not now in the White House. This party is searching for new leadership and reading this …

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Desperate in Damascus

My Comments: The world is ‘a changin’. This was written just a little over two weeks ago. And now we hear Russia has sent cruise missiles from its’ navy ships into Syria. NATO is paying very close attention, given that Turkey is a member nation; this could get really ugly before its over. By Fred …

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Gatorade 50 Years Later

My Comments: I had the pleasure, and the good fortune, to know Dr. Cade personally. Along with other friends and associates, we enjoyed lunch together over countless days. We told stories, talked business, sports, and shared gossip. He was delightful to be with and those days leave lasting good memories for me. The headline of …

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“Borrowing” from Retirement Savings

My Comments: There is a fundamental truth to be gleaned from demographics. A great majority of us live well into our 80’s and beyond. And given the nature of our society, it’s better to have more money than less money. Accounts like an IRA, or a 401k or any number of other titles, implies that …

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The Fed’s Dilemma

My Comments: Last week the Fed board of governors met and nine of the ten voted to NOT raise the Federal Funds Rate. That’s the rate charged to commercial banks who borrow money from the Federal Reserve. It’s the fundamental tool used by the central bank to influence the economy. For those of you who …

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TAX ESSENTIALS

My Comments: I think I found this article published in Medical Economics some months ago. I apologize for my inability to provide accurate sourcing. That aside, all of us have a ZERO obligation to pay more in taxes than absolutely necessary. Just remember, the IRS has a responsibility to collect taxes. It’s up to us …

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Financial Gravity

My Comments: It's easy to get upset by what is happening to the stock market, the bond market, and trying to make sense of it all. You either quit thinking about it or try to get your brain around it so that it fades into the background. Or not. Most think the crash of 2008-09 …

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