July 11th, 2011 — Government
The head of a family was laid off from a high-paying manufacturing job that technology was making obsolete. The family called in a counselor to talk about what to do. The family’s expenses had been unusually high over the past few years with a lot of unexpected bills. The family was deeply in debt.
The spouse of the head of the family lived on a trust fund left by a parent. The spouse did not want to spend the trust fund on family expenses. The fund was for the spouse, not the family.
Now, with no job for the head, and the spouse unwilling to draw on reserves, the family was in crisis. Continue reading →
June 27th, 2011 — Word of The Day
Good Debt – Debt that it pays to keep
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June 19th, 2011 — Economics and Investing
Many years ago I decided to go to Athens and Crete. Why? Because in my textbook for art history (Janson) there was what was clearly a toilet and a bathtub at the ruins at Knossos on Crete. In fact, that 3,000 year old town even had a sewage system!
Back entrance to Knossos, Crete
Odd, I reflected, that people in 19th century London threw their “slops” out the windows, and that even my parents grew up with an outhouse. Greece must be terribly civilized I thought. Continue reading →