Personal Economics 101

About 18 months ago, I overloaded (30 percent) my portfolio in energy, with ETFs FENY, VDE, and IEZ, along with pipeline and delivery plays AMLP and MPLX. These are increasing in value as energy prices are on the increase and are paying decent dividends along the way. This was a contrarian play; because traditional energy was going out of favor, I felt that over the next few years, it would increase in value. I was right, and Biden's anti-oil policies have only helped me.  Energy prices continue to surge to fresh records as renewed fears stoke panic of the worst shortage in decades. India has warned it has only four days of coal reserves left, German power plants are running out of fuel and China just unloaded an Australian coal shipment despite an import ban and icy relations. Supply is just not there as economies rebound from a pandemic-induced lull, while problems like logistical logjams and transport bottlenecks are adding to the pressure. OPEC+ didn't come to the rescue ye...

I always suspected that living paycheck to paycheck did not involve your income, but was influenced by bad behavior and outright ignorance of how to handle your personal finances. And throw in some vanity, and you've got a recipe for eating cat food in retirement. Or maybe you'd prefer dog food.  Been there, done that, so I'll include myself in this category, until I shook off the insanity and put things right. I'm on a ribeye diet, nicely retired, thank you. Here are some facts, as reported by Business Insider. In a survey this June, 60% of millennials earning over $100,000 said they live paycheck to paycheck. Some of these millennials - known as HENRYs - prefer a comfortable, expensive lifestyle. In today's economy, $100,000 is considered middle class in the US. High-earning millennials feel broke. Sixty percent of millennials raking in over $100,000 a year said they're living paycheck to paycheck, found a survey this June by PYMNTS and LendingClub, which ana...

In a study just published by the Club for Growth Foundation, co-authored with Robert O'Quinn (former Chief Economist at the Department of Labor), they estimated the likely economic impact of President Biden's so-called Build Back Better plan to expand the welfare state. Here are the main findings: A loss of $3 trillion of economic output over the next 10 years A loss of $1.6 trillion of worker compensation over the next 10 years A loss of more than $10,000, on average, in compensation for workers over the next 10 years A lifetime drop in living standards of almost four percent for young workers What's especially noteworthy about the study is that they based their analysis on research published earlier this year by the Congressional Budget Office . In other words, a very establishment source. Biden's fiscal agenda would made the United States more like Europe and the economic data unambiguously demonstrate that Europeans suffer from significantly lower living standards...