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“People get the government they deserve,” observed Alexander Hamilton, long before his story hit Broadway. Ben Franklin also chimed in. When asked what kind of government the Founders had given the people, he responded, “A Republic, if you can keep it.” Franklin’s classic line is often disputed, but the conclusion is obvious. Starting in the […]

Gargantuan ships at sea do not turn on a dime (read: Titanic), nor do national economies. Instead, small course corrections, planned and executed intelligently, are required to navigate successfully to the destination. Experienced ship captains and global heads of state are charged with providing direction and orchestrating course corrections. Our currency (the U.S. Dollar) is […]

All the way back in September of 2022, Congress and the IRS released inflation numbers used to determine important items such as Income Tax Brackets, Social Security COLAs (Cost-of-Living Adjustments), and various other items affecting virtually all Americans. At that time, I was upset that the entity charged with calculating the annual rate of inflation, […]

With March comes basketball, green beer, and …. a banking crisis? During the first full week of March 2023, two significant California-based banks (Silvergate and SVB) closed their doors due to insolvency. While banks do sometimes fail, we have a mechanism for the protection of depositors’ money. Failures are generally (with the exception of the […]

Nothing is certain, except death and taxes. We’ve all heard that, we believe it, and many of us have a notion as to its origin. According to Quote Investigatorâ, the exact origin remains uncertain. Among the often-attributed authors are Benjamin Franklin, Mark Twain, and Daniel Defoe. In Washington, D.C., taxation is as polarizing as any […]

Back in 2020, we reported this observation: New and innovative financial scams constantly bombard Americans’ identities. The attacks seem to have no end. What next, you might ask? You probably shouldn’t be shocked, but you probably haven’t heard this one yet. The bad news is that it can affect your home, and the good news […]

Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) became a headliner in newspapers throughout the media, financial and otherwise, in November of 2022, quickly attaining the status of a “Mini-Madoff” shyster. Like Bernie Madoff, SBF was formerly a well-known figure only in a smattering of households. Suddenly, a boatload of money disappeared virtually overnight, and SBF (the term brought to […]

Almost everyone has experienced some stress from incurring a significant unexpected expense, which is the reason financial planners advise clients to establish and maintain a significant Cash Reserve, even before attempting to fund long-term goals. “Running out of money before running out of month” is a common problem, articulated by far too many Americans. Whether […]

Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) are similar to Mutual Funds, which should surprise no one who realizes that one business grew out of the other. Each begins as a collection (pool) of financial assets, typically stocks, and bonds. Once assets are in position, differences begin to take shape. While traditional Mutual Funds have been in existence for […]