Low Taxes,Stable Money

I saw this excellent thought provoking article on how governments have previously successfully pared down debt . Roughly opposite formula of what we are following here in the U.S. The object is to create an environment for capitalism to thrive. A very good read.

Foundational Economics

This is a good description of the differing views of economics . The past couple years , well really the past half dozen or more have been dominated by so-called Keynesians . Lord Keynes would likely be non-plussed since he believed that indeed fiscal stimulus and deficit spending from time to time was good. We have taken that to mean all the time which even he did not profess. Enjoy!

Good Advice- Don't Panic

Some good advice on markets and panics. For the main, it pays to stay the course. Some interesting times indeed but our focus should be on our long term goals and how we get there. You have to be in (the market) to be in (to achieve market returns).

Customers and Clients- there is a Difference

A pretty good article in the WSJ describing some of the differences between advisers and brokers. Interestingly the writer using the words "selling us investment products" in the entry sentence which to me already indicates a broker versus an adviser. We often tell our clients that brokerage firms have no clients...they only have customers. Webster's says a client is "one under the protection of another". That is a long way from what customers get from sales organizations . As the article says, the distinction is "more than academic".

Solving the New Retirement Reality

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Government has Peaked

Ran across this excellent article that provides international perspective to the issue of government largesse. Revolves around a written a couple decades ago by historian Martin van Creveld titled the Rise and Decline of the State. One quote "the amazing ability of government to aggravate the social problems it was designed to cure."

The Future of America

Respected historian (and Brit) Paul Johnson on the future of America. A very interesting perspective ,particularly about when the avalanche of deficit spending began. Well worth the read.