I see an economic diasater coming...

[triffid]

The index published in Economic Freedom of the World 2012measures the degree to which the policies and institutions of countries are supportive of economic freedom. The cornerstones of economic freedom are personal choice, voluntary exchange, freedom to compete, and security of privately owned property. Forty-two variables are used to construct a summary index and to measure the degree of economic freedom in five broad areas: (1) size of government; (2) legal system and property rights; (3) sound money; (4) freedom to trade internationally; and (5) regulation.

[triffid]

Another article I believe to reflect the american reality  http://www.nextavenue.org/article/2012-07/biggest-retirement-mistake-boomers-make-and-how-avoid-it.


A post from a reader and I tend to agree with him:Paul Solomon does a great job--for people like me. We're both 67 and employed in the media writing about retirement (although he likely makes lots more than me, while maybe I have a wider view of aging that he seems to). His scolding of boomers for not saving enough--in a recession on top of three decades of attacks on pensions and almost unfettered controls o health costs -- not so great for the many we now call the 99%, especially ethnic elders. (Add to that uneven gains in longevity across U.S. demographic groups. Add to that trying to save to help our kids through college and the debt burden they've been saddled with.)For a balance, look at Teresa Ghilarducci's op-ed in last Sunday's New York Times, July 21, 2012 -- "Our Ridiculous Approach to Retirement (http://nyti.ms/LAFf4n). I also quoted Teresa in my recent piece after the June election The Great Retirement Squeeze—Pension Cuts Mean Poverty for Future Elders (http://bit.ly/KsQH7p).[/size]Stock advice like Mr. Solomon's is only half the story (for those of us in the upper half, but maybe not even that much) without a well rounded view including the fatuous form of U.s. retirement--including blaming people for struggling upstream against a bad system. Wake up, indeed!

[triffid]

Here is a post from another reader worth mentioning. I like Paul Solomon but for boomers 60+ scolding doesn't help. There seems to be a dirth of reality about what has happened with the 99% over the last 20 years. A lot fewer of us have any sort of defined benefits plan than the statistic seem to show and those plans are what give financial security. If you've been through a couple of corporate buy-outs or downsizings and you've moved to take of keep a job and even if you maxed out your 401K to an employer's match (assuming they match at all) you've now been through three recessions that have taken your 401K back to baseline. If you were in a firm with a defined benefits plan and a laddered vesting schedule, you may very well have lost it all during a merger.

[the_big_m_in_ok]

@triffid
       Considering your excellent narrative in general, I would occasionally begin doing what you're doing:  Exposing things that aren't right economically in this and other countries.


To wit...
       The IMF is pressuring the American gov't to raise the maximum tax rate for the highest income classes to 71%.   It's lower than that now.   The wealthiest Americans don't pay income tax now, so the only ones who will get hurt in the wallet are the poorer Americans.   The upper management at the IMF doesn't give a 'middle finger flip-off' about the poor of the world, either.

This was from a local S.F. Socialist weekly newspaper El Reportero, in Spanish and English to reach the largest Bay Area readership.   Right.   I agree with the article above.

So, as a result of my research in this, I'll start blowing whistles in this regard concerning goings-on at places like the IMF and others.

--Lee

[triffid]

Lee,this thread has taken me down many roads since I started posting here.I realized a long time ago that my education would not end with my last class in college.Of course you are limited by the types of knowledge that your instructors possess.So a lot of education is self education.Books,tapes,internet sources.My recent trend here was to point out a couple of wealthy people who made more money than they could possibly spend in their remaining lifespan.I wondered who they were and how did their life turn out the way it did.But My heart really lies with the 99 percent who outnumber the 1 percent.So seeing countries like Chile pull themselves up out of poverty gives me hope that Americans will do likewise.The best helping hands are still at the ends of our arms.We need to use our smarts(brains).We need to do things in our own backyards and homes that benefit us.I still believe in college.Free colleges especially.There are a couple.I still try to point people to them when I get a chance.