HelpfulArticles
Economics
These are articles that were written to help develop ideas for journalists that work for The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Kiplinger’s, Smart Money, AARP, newspapers, financial web sites, etc. They’ve been used as a source of quotes for these publications.
Solving the nation's debt problem with I.O.U.S.A This is an article containing my comments on the movie I.O.U.S.A. as well as my notes taken during the movie.
Retirees get blasted by inflation. Retirees are likely to experience inflation rates higher than the 3% annual increases often used as the default value in retirement programs. This article explains why they should expect to see higher rates in the future.
Our nation is headed for trouble. Are you? This article shows that there is a virtually inevitable economic catastrophe coming—and the financial community is unwilling to admit it because of the impact on their ability to sell their most profitable products. However, it will affect every one of us in one way or another.
Prosperity Depends of the Most Dismal Part of the Dismal Science. This article discusses the importance of planning and saving for the future and offers some commentary on the views and excuses of some economists for the current abysmal national savings rate and pervasive debt at every level.
Government's Retirement Double-Talk. The best interest of Congress is not your best interest when it comes to the subject of spending vs. saving. This article shows how a Congressional report distorts the amount people should be saving while hiding its own lavish benefits. It also provides valuable insight into retirement planning methods, or as some would say, retirement planning myths.
A Different Perspective. The economy likely will get worse in long-term. Wall Street has to make a bad picture look good to make money. I Bonds may be good haven.
The Future Is Likely To Be Tough (PDF File)*. The financial industry has huge overhead to cover. Senior company executives are taking far more than they and heirs can spend, financial reports overstate earnings, pension funds and individuals are using unrealistically high future return assumptions, etc. Diversification should be your first line of defense.
A National Tragedy (PDF File)*. For the last decade, people have been saving far less than historical averages. This is likely to lead to a baby boomer’s tragedy as the elderly become a larger percentage of the population with few workers to fund the public programs that provide their medical and often other needs. With a significant part of the population without money to spend, the economy is likely to go to pot.
Pattern for Disaster (PDF File) *. Here we see some national savings statistics depicted graphically. The national savings have been low for so many years that it would take extraordinary annual savings to catch up. That’s a very unlikely thing to happen, especially when everyone is being encouraged to spend more.
Will Reduced Tax Rates Help Your Retirement? (PDF File)*. This paper suggests that it is important to save the money you get from the tax rate reductions and reviews the implications for taxable vs. deferred-tax accounts (401(k), IRA, etc.), allocation/reallocation, and retirement planning forecasts.