Helping People Become as Successful as Possible With Their Money
Almost every day now we hear optimistic reports about the stock market suggesting that the economy must be improving because the price of stocks continues to grow (albeit not agressively).
Surely this must be a good sign, right? And if we were to pour cold water on that notion we must surely be the bad guys. But what is the truth?
Before pointing out the obvious (at least in my mind) reason for concluding that it…
In a previous post I emphasized the importance for seeking out specialized training as part of an effort to get a new job. In that post I mentioned a related need to look for training that prepared for an actual job, meaning one that really exists. In this post I want to focus on that element.
For many years I have been perplexed about the disconnect between educational opportunities and jobs that really exist in the marketplace. Sometimes there seems to be little relationship between the two and public awareness of this reality seems minimal.
Just the other day…
The more things change, the more they stay the same. When it comes to getting a job in our tenuous economy, the real answer is not to find some new unusual approach. Instead, it means getting back to the basics of getting a job.
The proof of this in in the fact that even though we are experiencing unusual levels of unemployment, there are tens of thousands of jobs going unfilled. In fact, I heard yesterday about a business near to me that has around twenty-five jobs available, good paying jobs for the most part, and no qualified applicants. Wow!
There are many explanations for such situations. In many cases it is simply that …
Nowhere is the need for better education more apparent than when politicians talk about “economic stimulus.” And it doesn't matter which political party we are talking about.
The other day I heard a person with a business background suggest that if he could pass just one law he would require all members of congress to take a basic course in economics! That might be a good idea.
One party seems to think that spending money on almost anything is a stimulus to the economy. The other seems to think that cutting taxes on almost anything is a stimulus. But will either of these help?
Why do people who understand economics object when government jobs are proposed as part of the solution for the economic difficulties America and the world is facing today? Even though those making proposals to increase public hiring often seem not to understand the problem, there is a solid basis for objecting—especially when the money must be borrowed to do so.
Government (public) jobs are paid for by taking money from the private economy. There is no other funding source for the government other than taking from the productivity of the private economy. This means that in the end every public job is at the expense of jobs in the private sector.
This is not inherently bad, by the way. It is the way government works.
When Texas governor, Rick Perry, implied (well it might have been a little stronger than an implication!) that Ben Bernanke might have bordered on being treasonous in some of his past or possibly proposed actions as chairman of the Federal Reserve System Board of Governors, he stirred up a hornet's nest.
Unfortunately, almost all of the public discussion about this event considered whether or not this was a civil or “politically correct” thing to say. None of it that I heard focused on the issue that drove the comment, specifically…
Every cloud has a silver lining. At least that’s what the proverbial they say! And when it comes to the economy that may well be the case….
Every day the government makes it harder for a person to start and build any kind of economically sound business. That’s not a political statement, at least not altogether. It is a bureaucratic statement….
But here is the silver lining….
After writing about how the price of health care and everything else does indeed double every ten years, more or less, I knew I wanted to follow up with a few thoughts about retirement planning and how the compounded effect of normal inflation must be considered in planning for retirement.
When Social Security was first established in America the retirement age was 65 years while people lived, on average, only a couple of years longer. Now, life expectancy in America is nearing 80!
In other words, people may well see their cost of living double twice during retirement. Actually, some may experience much more since living to age 100 is not at all unusual.
Consider a very real potential.
Proponents and opponents of various health care reforms, each with different agendas, have warned that the cost of health care insurance will double in the next ten years unless we adopt their plan to stem the tide. Flash news! The cost of health care and health care insurance will double in ten years, regardless of what anyone does.
Inflation fluctuates of course, so some limited periods are more and others are less, but in the end the averages catch up with you. And on average, costs double in about ten years—always, for everything.
In the face of our current financial crisis a question that arises rather often is one of whether or not this is a reasonable time to buy a home. Should we? Or should we not?
All other concerns being satisfied, this is not only a reasonable time to buy a home, it is an excellent time to do so. In fact, I would say that it is an important time to do so if you are in a position to do so.
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