In our discussion of how much money it takes to rank among the top 1% of wealth in the United States, we uncovered the fact that roughly 80 out of every 100 members of the "new elite" in the United States - those with at least $5 million to $10 million in liquid net worth and / or generating $380,000+ in annual income ($31,700+ per month) from dividends, interest, and rents - practice what is known as stealth wealth.   What is stealth wealth?  It means that 80 out of every 100 members of the … [Read more...]

This is the simplest, most straight-forward explanation of the United States budget and national debt situation I've ever seen. Brilliantly done, whomever is responsible. … [Read more...]

In economics, opportunity cost is defined as the cost of not choosing the next, best alternative for your money or time.   Everything in life has an opportunity cost.  If you want to go to the movies with friends it means you can't stay home and read a good book.  If you want to spend cash on new furniture, it means you can't buy more shares of a blue chip stock for your portfolio.  If you want to donate time to a charity that helps clothe poor children, it means you can't be down at the … [Read more...]

A significant minority of readers have written me, still not convinced that the United States economy is shifting from manual workers to knowledge workers, even after seeing the list of highest paying college degrees.  The hallmark of the latter system is, in the words of Peter Drucker, that the most important skills will be the "ability to learn".  Multiple careers and retraining will be a staple of life.  Yet, one need not look any further than the manufacturing sector of the United States … [Read more...]

Yesterday, I explained how most of the people in the Occupy Wall Street protest haven't yet realized the struggle isn't between the rich and the poor - it is between the knowledge workers and manual workers, which Peter Drucker predicted in startling detail decades ago.   Charles Hughes, a professor at Henderson State University, had reservations, saying: The problem with this analysis is that it privileges only one set of skills:  how to turn a buck.  The young MBAs who delve into … [Read more...]