Election won’t prevent pension crash

"The tax gap isn't the deepest divide in America. The deepest gap is the pension divide, between those few who have a guaranteed cushion in the form of defined-benefit pensions, which promise a fixed annuity at retirement, and those who don't. How the candidates address this divide, cultural as well as political, is crucial, far beyond November. To understand the current mindset, it helps to consider the pension culture of the past. In the early 1980s, many companies, as well as governments, offered employees a defined-pension benefit when they retired. Thirty years ago, about 62 percent of American workers were covered by some kind of plan like this." Continue reading

Continue ReadingElection won’t prevent pension crash

Retire at 65. Become a Ward of the State.

"PBS had a recent article about retirees who stay in the work force beyond age 65. It interviewed economists. What it did not do was provide statistics on how many Americans work until age 75. The answer is: hardly any. Most Americans do not have enough savings. They retire anyway. Most Americans believe in the tooth fairy: the federal government. They think the checks will keep coming. They will not budget. They will spend their $120,000 long before they die. Then what?" Continue reading

Continue ReadingRetire at 65. Become a Ward of the State.

Voluntary Slavery in Action? ‘Why I Am Leaving College’

"How will I pay my bills? I’ve decided to sell 10% of my (after tax) income for the next 10 years of my life. Why? I’m realistic enough to know that as a 19 year old female, with no proven track record, I have about a 0% chance of finding someone to invest in Senior Living Map. So to up the stakes, I’m offering a piece of me. I can’t guarantee Senior Living Map will be a success but I can guarantee that I will be. So instead of asking you to “bet” on my first venture, I’m asking you to bet on me. I’m asking you to bet and believe that in 10 years time, 10% of my income will be your best investment." Continue reading

Continue ReadingVoluntary Slavery in Action? ‘Why I Am Leaving College’

How Millennials will shape the future of work

"92 percent of Millennials believe that business should be measured by more than just profit and should focus on a societal purpose. Millennials want the flexibility to work from home and make their own hours. A Cisco study shows that 70 percent of students believe it is unnecessary to be in an office regularly. Millennials will make working from home or from shared office spaces the norm — goodbye cubicles! The New York Times reports that the average amount of office space per employees in the U.S. has already dropped from 400 square feet to 250 and in the future will be reduced to 150. The idea that we’ll be walking into a major office building will face away." Continue reading

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Note to Fed: Giving the Banks Free Money Won’t Make Us Hire More Workers

"As anyone in the actual position of hiring more staff knows, it is not a lack of cheap credit that makes adding workers unattractive, it is the lack of opportunities to increase profit margins by adding more workers. If the economic boom of the mid-1980s proves anything, it is that the cost of credit can be very high but that in itself does not restrain real growth. What restrains growth is not interest rates, it is opportunities to profitably expand operations. What the Fed cannot dare admit is that in a crony-capitalist, globalized, State/cartel-dominated economy, there are few profitable opportunities, regardless of the cost of credit." Continue reading

Continue ReadingNote to Fed: Giving the Banks Free Money Won’t Make Us Hire More Workers

Bill Bonner: Empire of Debt

"Everywhere you look the scene is the same. The insiders are taking more and more wealth from the outsiders. Everyone wants to be an insider. And in a democracy especially, over time, more and more people find ways to game the system and join the insiders. Finally, everyone seems to have an angle. And soon civilization is on the road to decline and ruin. This happens when there are more parasites than producers… and more voters with their hands in the cookie jar than there are people making cookies!" Continue reading

Continue ReadingBill Bonner: Empire of Debt

Bill Bonner: Empire of Debt

"Everywhere you look the scene is the same. The insiders are taking more and more wealth from the outsiders. Everyone wants to be an insider. And in a democracy especially, over time, more and more people find ways to game the system and join the insiders. Finally, everyone seems to have an angle. And soon civilization is on the road to decline and ruin. This happens when there are more parasites than producers… and more voters with their hands in the cookie jar than there are people making cookies!" Continue reading

Continue ReadingBill Bonner: Empire of Debt

Is the 30-Year Bond Bull Market Over? You’re Darn Right It Is!

"Three decades is a long time. And for the past three decades, America has known nothing but steadily falling interest rates. Oh, sure, there have been spikes during that time. It hasn’t been a one-way trip. Federal Reserve rate-hiking cycles and the occasional bond market rout have interrupted that process. But, by and large, it’s been a consistent, steady march lower from around 20 percent for short-term rates and 15 percent yields on the 30-year Treasury bond. That decline is now over. Kaput. That’s what I believe. That’s what many experts believe. Heck, that’s what at least one Fed policymaker has gone on record saying he believes. And that’s what the market is telling us day in and day out." Continue reading

Continue ReadingIs the 30-Year Bond Bull Market Over? You’re Darn Right It Is!

Is the 30-Year Bond Bull Market Over? You’re Darn Right It Is!

"Three decades is a long time. And for the past three decades, America has known nothing but steadily falling interest rates. Oh, sure, there have been spikes during that time. It hasn’t been a one-way trip. Federal Reserve rate-hiking cycles and the occasional bond market rout have interrupted that process. But, by and large, it’s been a consistent, steady march lower from around 20 percent for short-term rates and 15 percent yields on the 30-year Treasury bond. That decline is now over. Kaput. That’s what I believe. That’s what many experts believe. Heck, that’s what at least one Fed policymaker has gone on record saying he believes. And that’s what the market is telling us day in and day out." Continue reading

Continue ReadingIs the 30-Year Bond Bull Market Over? You’re Darn Right It Is!