Peering Into Your ‘09 Future…With Kreskin!

It might not take a Kreskin to predict financial gloom in the year ahead, but that hasn’t stopped the actual Kreskin from making just such a proclamation.

As reported in the Tonawanda News, the famed hypnotist The Amazing Kreskin, born George Kresge Jr., went out on a limb with the latest presidential election, predicting in December 2007 — when no less than 10 candidates were alive in the race — that Barack Obama would win.

In addition to his Obama prediction, Kreskin correctly said the New York Giants would win last year’s Super Bowl by three points, and that a cloud of social controversy would hang over the Summer Olympics in Beijing.

Many of Kreskin’s predictions come from studying the past, which he said can teach society a lot about itself. Among the blasts from the past he predicts to make a comeback in 2009 are trains and mom-and-pop stores
Read more Kreskin's prophecies and predictions for the future

A Silver Lining?

Despite the dark clouds that have cast a shadowy pall across America’s countryside, there are fleeting signs in the sky that something may be twinkling on high and the economy is not quite as dismal as we all may dread, or, at least, that the storm front shows imminent signs of clearing.

As the year rolls to an end, the dollar has actually increased in value compared to foreign currencies like the Euro and the Yen.  This is rather remarkable considering how much money the Fed is printing and the bundle of billions sliding down the chimneys of our temporarily credit-frozen banks.  One of the biggest concerns of the bailout thus far has been inflation (the lessened ability to purchase goods at the same price) but if the dollar continues to increase in value, American’s will be able to buy more with every dollar which will help the economy even more.

Discover more promising signs for economic recovery

The History of Money: Forgiving Debt

The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World is a sweeping history of finance written by scholar Niall Ferguson that affords readers a rare, historical glimpse of how money has evolved since biblical times.

One historical recounting looks at the subject of debt forgiveness. As Niall writes, “In the Old Testament Book of Leviticus, God commands the children of Israel to observe a jubilee every 50 years.

The biblical conception of a jubilee was a general cancellation of debts. “Every creditor that lendeth ought unto his neighbour shall release it; he shall not exact it of his neighbour, or of his brother; because it is called the Lord’s release.”

In 1788 BC, for example, about 500 years before the time of Moses, King Rim-Sin of Ur issued a royal edict declaring all loans null and void, wiping out some of history’s earliest known moneylenders.

Discover money's history and importance in societies

Energy = Economy

Throughout history, nations have relied upon and gone to war over, the resources they need to run their economies. These resources have evolved from water, to farmable land, to the ever more volatile resource of oil. Energy is the life force of a modern economy.  In the current equation, oil adds up to both convertible heat in a building furnace or combustion in an automotive engine to drive transportation.

Like all finite resources, our oil supply is subject to the market forces of supply and demand.  The commodity is on a trajectory to skyrocket in price, be it in the short term or long, and must be weighed against more economical alternatives.

Just as important as the economic impacts are the environmental benefits. The right energy policy can spark the dynamism of our economy through long-term investment in renewable energy. We can create potentially millions of jobs, starting with a 21st- century economic recovery plan that puts Americans to work building wind farms, solar panels, and fuel-efficient cars. At the same time, we can reduce the carbon emissions that threaten to warm the planet through the creation of greenhouse gases in the ozone layer.

Shifting from an oil based economy would also cut our dependence upon foreign entities for our economic survival. Imagine all the money Americans would have saved this summer if gas was less than $4 a gallon. If we do not need as much gas, the money saved could be funneled into our national economy, increasing our economic strength. Energy = economy if you do the math.

How do you think America’s energy policy has affected our economy? How could new energy sources  transform the economic landscape?  Energize us with your ideas!

Children as Life Insurance Beneficiaries

When completing a life insurance application people often list out all the people they love most in the world, sometimes without thought to the meaning of primary or contingent beneficiaries. When minors are involved, the primary beneficiary is most often the person who will be caring for the children and taking care of them financially. In a family situation the wife should be the beneficiary of the husband’s policy and the husband the beneficiary of the wife’s. The children should be listed as contingent beneficiaries.

What should you do if you are divorced, or your spouse has died? You want to take care of your children in the event of your death, but children cannot cash checks, and you certainly wouldn’t want them to handle large sums of money. How do you specify the beneficiary so they will be taken care of? Fortunately, a statute has been adopted in all states to take care of this situation. It is called the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act or “UTMA”.

Think of UTMA as a mini-trust with standardized language that does not need an attorney to set up. An UTMA account can be set up at a bank or brokerage company. Under UTMA an account can be set up for a minor using the minor’s social security number. The UTMA account will require a custodian be named to manage the account.
Read more about ensuring your life insurance is managed properly

First-Ever “Life Insurance Gap” Study Finds That Many Americans Have Just Half the Life Insurance Protection They Need to Meet Their Own Self-Described Financial Objectives

With only about 4 years’ worth of coverage in the event of a breadwinner’s death, family goals like college funding and retirement planning are put immediately at risk –95% of Americans make it a priority to protect their kids by using seatbelts, but only 20% have enough life insurance for family protection. Learn more about how much life insurance you need