By 2 Cents on May 18th, 2010 | Category: Investing | There’s more than one answer to these questions Pointing me in a crooked line. And the less I seek my source for some definitive The closer I am to fine.
~ Indigo Girls, “Closer to Fine”
Those of you who have been reading Balance Junkie for a while you know that my economic forecast is as follows: Cloudy with a Chance of Hurricanes. As such, I’m going to start with the assumption that we will be living with elevated volatility in the stock, bond and currency markets for the foreseeable future. That means we could see breathtaking downdrafts like the one on May 6th and we will also likely witness violent rebounds that will shake out short sellers (those betting the market will fall).
Many market watchers have sounded the all clear siren in light of the huge stock market rebound and genuinely improving economic data. They say [...]
Read on and enjoy … How to Manage Your Money in Uncertain Times
By 2 Cents on May 11th, 2010 | Category: Debt | It doesn’t matter how much milk you spill, just so long as you don’t lose the cow.
~ Mark Guilbeau
“Fair is foul and foul is fair.” (Macbeth, Witches, Act I, scene i) The EU is the latest hero in the bailout bonanza. A paltry trillion dollars bought a rip-roaring short-covering rally on stock markets world wide yesterday. So why don’t I feel all better?
Once again, we are perpetuating a cycle that’s running in reverse. In a capitalist system, we’re supposed to reward success and let the failures fail. To use the forest fire analogy that I’ve used before in my discussion of the CMHC and Fannie Mae, we’re still holding up the dead wood and choking out new, healthy growth. If we continue to reward failure, failure is what we’ll continue to get.
Welcome to the Money Pit
“Welcome back my [...]
Read on and enjoy … Financial Spilled Milk: Macbeth Meets Ponzi
By 2 Cents on April 20th, 2010 | Category: Economics | Truth is not determined by majority vote.
~ Doug Gwyn
Update: This article was included in the Money Hacks Carnival #113 at Learn Save Invest. Thank you!
This is the third and final post in our mini-series introducing some basic thoughts on capitalism. In the last installment we asked Is Capitalism Broken? Whether you think our economic system is fatally flawed, functioning well, or in need of some repairs, most of us would probably agree that there’s room for improvement – although I’m sure a few might want to debate whether our current system should even be called capitalism.
It seems to me that there are 4 main qualities that are lacking in our current version of capitalism. I’ll briefly describe each here, although if I thought about it long enough, I’m sure I could find a few more missing [...]
Read on and enjoy … Capitalism: The Missing Links
By 2 Cents on April 12th, 2010 | Category: Economics | What we have in America is socialism for the rich and capitalism for the poor.
~ Gore Vidal
Update: This article is included in the Carnival of Financial Planning #138. Thanks!
In the inaugural installment of this series on capitalism, we introduced Capitalism’s 3 Children: owners, managers, and employees. All of them have key roles to play in the success of our economy. But, like any group of siblings, they tend to jockey for attention and frequently squabble among themselves.
Is Capitalism Doing Fine, Fundamentally Flawed, or Broken?
When the financial crisis and ensuing recession hit, we heard a lot of people blaming the capitalist system for the problems. So today we’re asking: Is capitalism broken? It seems to me that there are 3 main camps, each of which would answer that question differently:
No. There’s [...]
Read on and enjoy … Is Capitalism Broken?
By 2 Cents on April 6th, 2010 | Category: Economics | We live in a world in which politics has replaced philosophy.
~ Martin L. Gross, A Call for Revolution, 1993
Update: This article was featured in the Carnival of Financial Planning #137 posted at The Skilled Investor. Thank you!
What’s the difference between politics and philosophy? It seems to me that philosophy is about searching for the truth. Politics is more about proving that your version of the truth is better than the other side’s. I’m going to start an informal series today in which I will periodically write about our current economic system. We call it capitalism.
Before you start yawning and surf on to another web page, read a bit more. I intend to write from the perspective of a layperson, mom, wife, and citizen. That makes sense, since I fit into all 4 categories. There’s no danger [...]
Read on and enjoy … Capitalism’s 3 Children
By 2 Cents on March 7th, 2010 | Category: Economics | This Tuesday, March 9th, 2010 marks the first anniversary of the stock market bottom. Most markets are up a whopping 70% or so from there, although still down from their earlier peaks. Many would have us believe that we have dodged a bullet, or more accurately, a nuclear missile.
I agree. We have pulled back from the brink and some aspects of the economy are improving. But have we fixed the problems that caused this mess? I guess it depends on who you ask. If you’re like me, you’re tired of hearing a lot of different answers from people with different agendas. If you’re like me, you just want to listen to someone who might actually know the truth and be willing to share it with the rest of us.
I found someone. It’s Elizabeth Warren. I’ve written about her before in the context of my review of her [...]
Read on and enjoy … Elizabeth Warren: Must See Video
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