The full article is here.

Of all the scary bullet points Mr. Laffer addresses in the article, the worst one for us -potentially- is the almost trippling of the tax on dividend income. Yea, you heard that right.

Buckle up, friends. Buckle up!

Three Strikes against Obamacare
By the Editors

Barack Obama promises that if the Democrats’ health-care plan is passed, Americans will enjoy wider and better insurance coverage without: 1. being forced out of their current insurance; 2. being subject to government rationing, including the outright denial of life-saving care; 3. spending themselves and future generations into deeper debt. The Democrats’ program deserves to be rejected because conditions 1, 2, and 3 are not going to be met — and because the Democrats know it and are doing their best to hide that fundamental and important fact from the American people.

healthcare, baby boomers

Dollar loses reserve status to yen & euro

Dollar loses reserve status to yen & euro

By PAUL THARP

Last Updated: 3:16 AM, October 13, 2009

Posted: 1:44 AM, October 13, 2009
Ben Bernanke’s dollar crisis went into a wider mode yesterday as the greenback was shockingly upstaged by the euro and yen, both of which can lay claim to the world title as the currency favored by central banks as their reserve currency.

Over the last three months, banks put 63 percent of their new cash into euros and yen — not the greenbacks — a nearly complete reversal of the dollar’s onetime dominance for reserves, according to Barclays Capital. The dollar’s share of new cash in the central banks was down to 37 percent — compared with two-thirds a decade ago.

Currently, dollars account for about 62 percent of the currency reserve at central banks — the lowest on record, said the International Monetary Fund.

Bernanke could go down in economic history as the man who killed the greenback on the operating table.

After printing up trillions of new dollars and new bonds to stimulate the US economy, the Federal Reserve chief is now boxed into a corner battling two separate monsters that could devour the economy — ravenous inflation on one hand, and a perilous recession on the other.

“He’s in a crisis worse than the meltdown ever was,” said Peter Schiff, president of Euro Pacific Capital. “I fear that he could be the Fed chairman who brought down the whole thing.”

Investors and central banks are snubbing dollars because the greenback is kept too weak by zero interest rates and a flood of greenbacks in the global economy.

They grumble that they’ve loaned the US record amounts to cover its mounting debt, but are getting paid back by a currency that’s worth 10 percent less in the past three months alone. In a decade, it’s down nearly one-third.

Yesterday, the dollar had a mixed performance, falling slightly against the British pound to $1.5801 from $1.5846 Friday, but rising against the euro to $1.4779 from $1.4709 and against the yen to 89.85 yen from 89.78.

Economists believe the market rebellion against the dollar will spread until Bernanke starts raising interest rates from around zero to the high single digits, and pulls back the flood of currency spewed from US printing presses.

“That’s a cure, but it’s also going to stifle any US economic growth,” said Schiff. “The economy is addicted to the cheap interest and liquidity.”

Economists warn that a jump in rates will clobber stocks and cripple the already stalled housing market.

“Bernanke’s other choice is to keep rates at zero, print even more money and sell more debt, but we’ll see triple-digit inflation that could collapse the economy as we know it.

“The stimulus is what’s toxic — we’re poisoning ourselves and the global economy with it.”

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Ben Bernanke’s dollar crisis went into a wider mode yesterday as the greenback was shockingly upstaged by the euro and yen, both of which can lay claim to the world title as the currency favored by central banks as their reserve currency.

Over the last three months, banks put 63 percent of their new cash into euros and yen — not the greenbacks — a nearly complete reversal of the dollar’s onetime dominance for reserves, according to Barclays Capital. The dollar’s share of new cash in the central banks was down to 37 percent — compared with two-thirds a decade ago.

Technorati Tags: dolllar, slide, status

What have we been saving it for in the first place?

This is a decent article, but the premise for me is scewed as it would appear Mr. Rauch is crying alligator tears that we’re going to spend our money on -you ready for this- OURSELVES!

Here’s the link to the article:

Wealth management due for $10 trillion shift: BlackRock exec | Reuters.com

Wealth management due for $10 trillion shift: BlackRock exec
Tue Oct 6, 2009 6:05pm EDT

By Joe Rauch

BOSTON (Reuters) – U.S. financial advisors are due for upheaval as baby boomers, controlling $10 trillion in assets, reach retirement age and shift their investment priorities, said a senior executive at asset manager BlackRock Inc (BLK.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

Baby boomers will move the industry’s main client goal from one from accumulation — investing in assets that create the most value over time — to one of “decumulation,” said Frank Porcelli, who heads U.S. retail for BlackRock, at the Reuters Global Wealth Management Summit in Boston.

“The questions won’t be, ‘How did I do against the S&P 500?’” he said. “It’s, ‘Can I meet these liabilities?’”

Instead of a focus on building wealth and a retirement nest egg, those clients will soon focus on making the money last.

Baby boomers, he said, are increasingly spooked by the turbulent markets of the past year, and concerned with ensuring their funds last through retirements that could last 20 years or more.

The $10 trillion that will be in the control of the newly-retired will dictate a more conservative investment and spending approach.

BlackRock is one of the world’s largest investment managers and advisors, with $1.37 trillion in client assets under management and providing services to clients with $7 trillion in assets.

When it completes its purchase of Barclays BGI unit in December, it will be the world’s largest asset manager with roughly $3 trillion in assets.

The New York-based firm, which built its reputation by serving institutional clients, does not cater directly to retail customers, but provides funds and services to financial advisors who work with retail investors.

Porcelli said research conducted by the firm found that 70 percent of retirement-age clients are willing to move their accounts to another firm, if the firm offered expertise on constructing portfolios to avoid running out of money during their golden years. This was a far different, and more complex service than aiding in asset accumulation, he said.

“This is the equivalent of financial brain surgery,” said Porcelli, adding advisors would have to manage clients’ spending expectations, as well as investment performance.

DONE WITH DEALS

Porcelli also said that that while he is not privy to such discussions, he sees another acquisition for BlackRock as unlikely.

The firm announced in June 2009 an agreement to purchase Barclays Global Investors for $13.5 billion.

“I don’t see a lot what we can’t do right now,” Porcelli said.

© Thomson Reuters 2009.

Baby Boomers, retirement, assets

For our children and grandchildren, this is very sobering news. Maybe even getting the boomerang effect in some of our households.

Check this out and get prepared!

The dead end kids

The dead end kids
Young, unemployed and facing tough future

The unemployment rate for young Americans has exploded to 52.2 percent — a post-World War II high, according to the Labor Dept. — meaning millions of Americans are staring at the likelihood that their lifetime earning potential will be diminished and, combined with the predicted slow economic recovery, their transition into productive members of society could be put on hold for an extended period of time.

And worse, without a clear economic recovery plan aimed at creating entry-level jobs, the odds of many of these young adults — aged 16 to 24, excluding students — getting a job and moving out of their parents’ houses are long. Young workers have been among the hardest hit during the current recession — in which a total of 9.5 million jobs have been lost.

EPA

United States President Barack Obama

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