I wrote last week of the ever decreasing personal savings rate of Americans, and how and why federal policies to encourage savings have failed. How do we encourage Americans to save money then? We look at other successful savings programs around the world. Many Asian nations have successful savings programs, but they are usually mandatory. The best example of a ... Read More »

The personal savings rate of American has been declining for some time. According to the Department of Commerce in 1980 the rate was 8.9%, in 2000 3.5%, and in 2013 2.2%. (All numbers for January of that year) There have been month to month and year to year fluctuations, but the overall trend is downward. Conservatives would say this is ... Read More »

I saw an interesting article on Wal-Mart today (It was on Yahoo, so you probably saw it too). The article discusses how the company was losing customers to competitors because the stores are understaffed. Empty shelves and long lines at check outs were reasons given. One of the sources cited was Bloomberg news not exactly a bastion of left wing ... Read More »

Last week I posted articles addressing the rising cost of college, the burden of college debt, and the decreasing value of a college education. How do we deal with this problem? The problem of student loan debt has begun to pose a threat to our financial stability, and the decreasing wages of graduate combined with this debt threaten to annihilate ... Read More »

We have already looked at the rapidly growing cost of a college education. The average cost in 2011 was $18, 497 a year. So what does four years of your life and almost $75,000 dollars get you. Not a hell of a lot it turns out. We are of course coming out of recession, and unemployment is high. According to the ... Read More »

The cost of a college education has been skyrocketing of the past few years. It has made college increasingly unaffordable for the poor, and has buried middle class graduates in mountain of debt. How bad is it? Well, let us take a look at the rising cost of college and the increasing burden of debt. According to the national center ... Read More »

Apple taking a trending down turn that will maintain and this is the reason why. I remember in 1986 getting my first home computer, the Apple II GS.  At the time it was one of the most advanced home computers with color graphics.  Apple almost going bankrupt in 1996 but pulling itself out of the downward spiral for many different ... Read More »

The Helium Cliff is very real but we haven’t heard anything about it.  Yes, we have a helium reserve and all the helium is to be sold from the reserve by 2015.  Due to the government wanting this mass and fast sell off of the reserve they have fixed the price well below market value. Why does any of this ... Read More »

The House recently passed H.R. 64269 or the STEM Act. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. It basically allows for unlimited immigration for people with graduate degrees in these fields.  The White House has indicated that it supports the general purpose of the bill, but wants it to be part of a comprehensive immigration deal. Both parties agree ... Read More »

The Budget Let’s take a quick look at the current federal budget. Revenues— $2.469 trillion Spending—$3. 590 trillion                 Defense discretionary— $683 billion `               Non-Defense discretionary— $655 billion                 Non-Discretionary— $2.252 trillion (includes $779 billion in social security, $484 billion in Medicare, $225 billion in debt servicing, etc.) (Yes, I just included $764 billion under etc.) Deficit— $ 1.121 trillion ... Read More »