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The Economy

“The Economy is Bad–But Not For Me”

I recently came across a new survey of personal financial and economic views of Americans done in March of 2023 by NORC at the University of Chicago, funded by The Wall Street Journal. Here are some of the findings I thought were particularly notable. Most of us, a...

The Debt Ceiling: Government Borrowing From Itself

You probably are aware that the U.S. has reached its debt limit (roughly $31 trillion) again. The Treasury Department has borrowed as much as is allowed by the last debt ceiling measure passed by Congress—an amount that is entirely arbitrary. To avoid defaulting on...

Any Bank Can Fail; Why There’s No Need To Panic

I’ve received more emails and calls from clients on the failure of SVB Bank than I did the stock market crash in April of 2020. That tells me there is wide concern today about the stability of the economy and financial markets. When you listen to politicians and...

Do Rent Controls Really Help Tenants?

Given that I’ve been a landlord since I bought my first rental house at age 19, I was surprised to realize recently that I’ve never written about rent controls. Here’s the quick primer: rent controls are laws established by government, typically a municipality,...

Your Biggest Holiday Expense Could Be a Hidden Cost

Consider your Christmas shopping list. What was the most expensive single item on it? That special gift for your partner? The latest electronic gizmo for your teenager? Your family’s holiday travel? Certainly, with inflation hitting a 40-year high, all these items...

It’s a Good Year to Celebrate Like Scrooge

With all the supply chain chaos, inflation, and uncertainty in the economy, this year is a perfect time to celebrate Christmas in the manner of Ebenezer Scrooge. If you’re superficially familiar with Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, the first thought that may come to mind...