23 April 2019
Question: According to MSN: Money, what are eleven (11) signs your retirement will cost more than you thought?
Cain withdraws as contender for Fed – Pg. 2
– Particular questions have been raised about Mr Cain’s background and qualifications, and earlier this month he said in a video on Facebook that a background check would be “more cumbersome” in his case because of an unusual career
– Candidates for the Fed’s board need to be confirmed by the Senate…
– Some US politicians fret that the Fed’s independence is coming under threat from a president publicly demanding looser monetary policy and is seeking to appoint political loyalists to the central bank
– The president is seeking to fill two seats on the Fed’s power board, which is chaired by Jay Powell
Argentine poverty poses tough questions for IMF – Pg. 4
– Inflation, now running at more than 50% annually, played a big role in pushing the poverty level up to 32% of the population by the end of 2018
– …the government expanded a controversial programme of price controls to 60 “essential” goods, mostly food, in order to soften the impact of price rises for consumers
– The risk….is that if the government fails to cut the deficit enough because of extra social spending, markets could grow anxious that Argentina’s fiscal adjustment is not happening as fast as it believes is necessary. That could force Argentina to seek more foreign debt to cover the fiscal deficit than originally expected, to a point where its debt burden could become unsustainable
United States – Pg. 7
– …the data showing younger people are increasingly comfortable with socialism as a way of organizing the economy…
– …percentage of 18 to 29-year-old Americans who have positive views of socialism has held steady at 51%, but he percentage saying they have positive views of capitalism has fallen from 68% to 45% since 2010
– Any boss launching into a discussion of inequality risks inviting an uncomfortable discussion about their own wealth
– ….median chief executive of a large US company receives 254 times as much as his or her median employee in compensation last year, with about one in 10 earning more than 1,000 times as much…the multiple 40 years ago…was under 30
– (Prof Note: When I went to college, it was understood that one could put themselves through a state university waiting tables at night. Now, this would require a LOT of shifts but it was possible. Is it possible now?!)
Patients take control of their medical data – Pg. 13
– In Oregon, the legislature is considering draft legislation that would require signed authorization from consumers before their deidentified data could be sold on to third parties
– According to a summary of the bill, individuals “should have the right to asset a property interest in the health information such that the individual may receive remuneration in connection with the commercial sale”
– The culture of the research world, however, is often to treat data as the property of the researchers and their organizations, and the patients who have generated it may never discover what insights it has yielded
Answer: (1) You do not have a long-term care plan (Prof Note: A peer of my just lost his spouse. He waves the banner of Long-term care like no other. While his wife left us, she left him with no debt given their insurance(s)); (2) You underestimate your life expectancy (Prof Note: Building an ongoing business, rental portfolio and/or investment portfolio whose income supports lifestyle negates concern for dying at a certain age); (3) You did not plan for high healthcare costs; (4) You did not take inflation into consideration (Prof Note: Hence why I personally like rental income as, over the long-term, it increases at inflation); (5) You did not factor big-ticket items; (6) You changed your spending habits; (7) You lent money to your kids (Prof Note: Best thing, in my opinion, one can do for their children is leave them an operable business/investment portfolio. Second best thing, support your own retirement. Third best thing, and notice I label this third, pay for their eduction(s)); (8) You spoiled your grandkids; (9) You did not take taxes into consideration; (10) You did not consider fees; (11) You got divorced (Prof Note: the greatest destroyer of wealth is divorce!)