Commentaries

Have you ever wondered if you are a member of the esteemed (or notorious) top 1% made famous by the Occupy movement? I suspect most of you already know. To …

Since the start of 2014, the Standard and Poor’s 500 Index is up about 2%. Not bad, but when this proxy for the overall stock market has averaged a 21% …

For thirty five years I’ve followed the stock market as part of my profession. For the twenty prior years, starting at about age ten, I was a spectator and minor …

One reason conservatives hate the Affordable Care Act (aka Obama Care) is that it’s not called “Bush Care” or “Reagan Care.” The ACA is a product of congressional compromise that …

  I turn sixty five (65!) this month. This designates me as officially OLD, but it does provide my biggest birthday perk since I turned 21. I’m now covered by …

When clients want to discuss bonds with me on a daily basis, I know bond angst has made the mainstream. Bonds are supposed to be boring, but they can become …

“Correction” is a cute word that describes a stock market decline of 10-20%. This is a normal part of unpredictable stock market cycles. The good thing about corrections is that …

As I begin my 41st year of preparing income taxes, I once again contemplate the complexity, even lunacy, of the Internal Revenue Code.  I have two thick volumes of The …

The fiscal cliff really is something to worry about, but like most cliffs you don’t have to go over it. The U.S. doesn’t have to do a “Thelma and Louise.” …

If I was President Obama’s campaign chairman, I would run would ads showing a crawling line representing the movement of the Standard and Poor’s 500 stock index from when President …