A Corporate State?

                     

American politicians will strongly deny accusations of any fascistic offense. Yet they are often guilty of corporate state politics.

                       

Their argument is that super financial regulation, such as Dodd- Frank, is the answer to stopping bubbles and financial risk. More regulation, they say, will reduce financial meltdowns. That same financial risk that past regulation failed to catch.

                       

And if large companies “too big to fail” look ready to do so, the U. S. ought to be the employer of last resort, to bail them out. While government, in effect, operates them. In the past, the bankruptcy laws remedied the problem without political input.

                       

Well, that action is corporate statism, pure and simple. That was the road taken by the administration with autos, banks and insurance in 2009, and it is now a permanent fixture.

                       

There were alternatives. Actions that would have been better solutions and less destructive to our long-term economy.(See the Earl J Weinreb NewsHole® comments and @BusinessNewshole tweets.)

A Useless College Diploma?

      

More kids go to college. More get into debt. More of their parents are going broke financing their education.

           

According to the National Assessment of Adult Literacy, the percentage of college graduates’ ability in literacy had declined from 40% to 31% in the past decade. About 20% of college seniors did not have the ability to estimate whether their car had enough fuel to get to a gas station.

           

But more kids and parents can show those fancy diplomas to friends and relatives. So I guess all is not lost after all? (See the Earl J Weinreb NewsHole® comments and @BusinessNewsh tweets.)

Unions--Fair Wages Disconnect

           

In an ideal productive society, a worker gets what he or she produces. Labor has to be productive. If it is not, there is an eventual disconnect somewhere.

           

The perfect example is the past downfall of the American automobile industry which priced itself out of business primarily because of its labor costs. You can talk style and product non- competitiveness, but the bottom line is this: Management was bulldozed into giving eventually catastrophic labor contracts, in order to avoid immediate catastrophic union walkouts.

           

The breakdown in schools can be attributed to the same cause. Here it is the avoidance of competition in the form of the public-school monopoly. (See the Earl J. Weinreb NewsHole® comments and @BusinessNewshole at Twitter.)

Money Management Charges

                    

Avoid money managers if you can. You pay them a fee of 1% to 2% of your assets which amounts to about 20% and more of your earnings a year. As much as one third or more of your earnings.

If you invest with them in a hedge fund, you pay 20% or more of earnings off the top, plus that percentage management fee.

                       

Only a tiny number of money managers prove to be frauds, but you will sleep better by staying away from them all because of their annual cost that adds up to a large chunk of what you’re left with.                        

Hire an accountant, or a CPA, and if you have considerable funds, and a tax attorney. But avoid expensive money managers by sticking to plain, low- management-cost funds.(See the Earl J. Weinreb NewsHole® comments and @BusinessNewshole tweets.)

How to Avoid Ponzi Schemes

                  

Sometimes it’s not easy to protect against Ponzi frauds despite what the media tells you. The SEC often fails to discover them in time.

               

But there are basics you can follow to reduce odds of falling into traps that entice scams. A basic way to avoid investment frauds: Stick to plain investing vehicles from low-cost, investment funds. They are the ones with the lowest-cost management fees, who have been in business for years.

                       

Avoid those who appear to pay off far better than the plain low- cost investment funds. And steer clear of hotshots who get publicity from ignorant or complicit “friends” and from media public relations. (See the Earl J. Weinreb NewsHole® comments and @BusinessNewshole tweets.)

Silkscreen Art Print Originality?

                 

Sometimes referred to as screen printed or silkscreen prints, these works of art have commanded lots of attention from collectors.

                       

I have paid attention to the question of print originality as this is a factor in determining value. After all, when collecting, you must ask yourself what is true art?

                       

One of the several cogent factors has to do with the way prints are created by the artist. Each copy of a print made in multi- copies can be original if done according to established standards.

                       

I have always felt, along with experts on the subject, that the silkscreen process does not produce a genuine original because the artist has no complete control over the finished work, as is the case with other print processes. (See the Earl J. Weinreb NewsHole® comments and @BusinessNewshole tweets.)

Follow Your Own Investment Goals

                 

Consider your personal investment goals when investing, not media suggestions. Media advice can be totally misleading because they invariably disregard individual circumstances. Namely. the investor’s age and ability to take risks.

                       

You can afford to take losses in your youth when you have time to recoup any errors that you cannot afford, when you are older or retired.

                                           

Investors must also consider risk by taking into account their knowledge of the securities markets and other distinctive personal situations; age, ability to take risks.

                       

Therefore, much media advice and commentary are universally misused. (See the Earl J. Weinreb NewsHole® comments and @BusinessNewshole tweets.)

If Unemployment Insurance Terms Are Extended

                    

About one third of the unemployed on benefits get jobs once those benefits expire. However, the longer the benefit term, the longer many unemployed take to start looking.

                       

The difference between the U. S. and Europe has been that the latter has better unemployment benefits. Europe also has chronically higher unemployment. (See the Earl J Weinreb NewsHole® comments and @BusinessNewshole tweets.)

Temporary Jobs are a Career Path

                    

Why not look for a temporary job when permanent opportunities are scarce? There are a variety of temporary positions in different industries, with a variety of activities.

                       

This advice is for those just out of school with a new diploma but with no job offers in their chosen profession. Or a suggestion for those who have no idea what it is, exactly, you would like to do at work.

                       

You will get the on-the-job experiences you need, though few may relate in any way to what you studied in courses at school. You may even wait tables in some instances.

But they will all add to your practical education. And, importantly, to your pocketbook. (See the Earl J Weinreb NewsHole® comments and @BusinessNewshole tweets.)

One Federal Government Agency with Fewer Workers

                

I’ve seen some numbers pertaining to employees working at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or FDIC. We know the organization as the overseer of deposit insurance and the caretaker for solvency of banks.

                       

In 1995, the agency had had about 12,000 employees; the number is now down to about 4,500.

                       

Politics and inter-agency bickering are probably the underlying reasons. I may add, however,

that the FDIC has done a far better job than many of the other banking and monetary agencies the U.S. government employs. (See the Earl J. Weinreb NewsHole® comments and @BusinessNewshole at twitter.)

Media Economics

                   

Most people are confused about personal finance, economics and business and related political slants. Because most folks are in the dark about the basics that they should have acquired in public school. College graduates often are just as lacking in fundamentals.Most have no knowledge of finance, economics and business.

                       

And unfortunately, most radio and Tv moderators and anchors have had similar “liberal” schooling, and are in no position to correct such views. (See the Earl J Weinreb NewsHole® comments and @BusinessNewshole tweets.)

Costly Bank Regulation

                      

There’s lots of competition among banking regulatory agencies. You have the FDIC, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the SEC and the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS). They’re made up of bureaucrats vying for dominance and power. Criticism varies; as one example, the OCC is said by some to be too close to the big banks,

                       

The question is whether such competition is healthy in that it may be imposing directives that make banks even more unstable in an emergency. (See the Earl J. Weinreb NewsHole® comments and @BusinessNewshole at twitter.)

Uneducated College Students

                                      

Interestingly, Richard Arum and Josipa RoksaIn in their study of 3,000 students at 29 colleges and universities, found that after two years in school, as much as 45% "did not demonstrate any significant improvement in learning." And after four years, 36% did not.

                       

To add insult to injury-by-education, students’ debts have increased well over 500% since 1999; many are in default. (See the Earl J. Weinreb NewsHole® comments and @BusinessNewshole at twitter.)

Can Government “Invest” for Growth?

                   

There is a major difference between a dollar “invested” by government and a dollar invested by private industry.

                       

State-control politicians believe that it’s better if government makes the decision to spend. Or as the administration says, “invest,” as opposed to private enterprise doing the function.

                       

The government allocation is made by a political decision. That is often subject to pressures which have nothing to do with supply and demand. Rationing and corruption is bound to follow. Privately imposed decision is, however, more likely to conform what the public wants.

                       

Moreover, private industry investment has a multiplier effect, while government spending does not. Government jobs have no leverage impact on the economy. Their purpose often has political, social and environmental intentions.

                       

Governments do not innovate and create new companies and actual multiples of jobs. Nor do they enervate the needed psychology of a booming economy. Psychological effect is most important. (See the Earl J Weinreb NewsHole® comments and @BusinessNewshole tweets.)

Inflationary College Costs

                  

Why should college costs have doubled, compared to what is considered expensive health care? At least health care has vastly improved over the years, while education quality has stagnated and even faltered.

                       

In fact, it’s estimated that going-to-college, despite its futile results, has seen its costs far, far outpace what the average graduate earns. Moreover, too many grads work at jobs for which they need mere high school education. (See the Earl J. Weinreb NewsHole® comments and @BusinessNewshole at twitter.)

When Non-Profit Companies Excel

                  

I repeat: Government-operation proponents are always enthusiastic about non-profit business. They rant against profit-makers.

                       

The non-profits can lose fortunes for their backers, while the for-profits can make pennies-on-the-dollar of sales. Yet, the government-operation fanatics remain committed.

                       

Furthermore: It is impossible for private business to compete for long, whether it be the insurance business, health care, energy production, whatever, if opposed by taxpayer funds, grabbed by government for capital and operating capital needs. (See the Earl J Weinreb NewsHole® comments and @BusinessNewshole tweets.)