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?
My Comments: Putting money to work for the future is something we all try to do. Our expectations vary all over the map. If you use the past to predict the future, you’re probably going to be disappointed. This is very relevant if we have money sitting somewhere that we plan to use tomorrow to …
My Comments: Some of you will not bother to read this. Like when you’re in the car looking for a radio station and you hear classical music or country & western; you can’t stand either so you just move on. But we all have a responsibility to our children and grandchildren. So, in my opinion, …
Continue reading Capitalism’s excesses belong in the dustbin of history. What’s next is up to us
My Comments: Sooner or later, the penny will drop. Joe Ciolli \ Jul 30, 2017 To a growing chorus of strategists and investors across Wall Street, the stock market looks like it's headed for a rude awakening. Their mounting pessimism comes at a time when US equities are looking healthy, at least on the surface. …
Continue reading Wall Street is sending huge warning signs for stocks
My Comments: I find the parallels uncomfortable. There's also the truism that includes the words "... are doomed to repeat the past". The new White House Communications Director, is, by definition, expressing the ideas of his employer. His message, to me, is very similar to those expressed by his counterparts in Germany in 1937, despite …
My Comments: Financial illiteracy is a huge problem. But many people have no idea it applies to them. The other day I was trying to explain something to a widow in her 70’s and it was like talking to my six year old grandson. People should be exposed to the markets. But they need to …
Continue reading How do I safely invest my retirement savings for growth?
My Comments: I consider income inequality the greatest existential threat to our democracy. It manifests itself as a shrinking middle class in these United States. It has the potential to erode what we think of as rational and peaceful co-existence among nations globally. It’s what continues to drive the tensions and conflict in the Middle …
Continue reading The Business Case for Fighting Growing Inequality
My Comments: Brian Stoffel has identified 3 critical elements for everyone not yet retired and receiving Social Security benefits. And they are not just about money and the role it plays in people’s lives. I could point out some flaws in his arguments, but the message is real. Brian Stoffel | Apr 17, 2017 You …
Helping Define Your Financial Future 