Wealth is an important indicator of economic well-being that provides valuable insights into a household’s economic health. For example, during financial hardships, such as unemployment, illness, or divorce, wealth is a source of liquidity to pay expenses and bills. This brief uses the Survey of Income and Program Participation to examine household wealth in 2017.
U.S. employers sharply scaled back their hiring last month as the coronavirus pandemic put new pressure on restaurants, retailers and other businesses.
The Labor Department said Friday that employers added just 245,000 jobs in November, down from a revised 610,000 in October.
I read this Jane Jacobs book a few years back. I am starting to think she is right about the decay and rot that is creeping into contemporary society.
The following is a summary of Jacobs’ description of the decay in each area.
Community and Family
People are increasingly choosing consumerism over family welfare, that is: consumption over fertility; debt over family budget discipline; fiscal advantage to oneself at the expense of community welfare.Higher Education
Universities are more interested in credentials than providing high quality education.Bad Science
Elevation of economics as the main “science” to consider in making major political decisions.Bad Government
Governments are more interested in deep-pocket interest groups than the welfare of the population.Bad Culture
A culture that prevents people from understanding the deterioration of fundamental physical resources on which the entire community depends.
But then again, if was sitting in the same seat in fifty years ago, the decay probably would have looked even worse — things weren’t exactly looking up when you looked out in the window of the world in 1969 with the Vietnam War underway, crime and inflation creeping in, and the wheels just about ready to come off the economy as the world plunged into the 1970s.
And she makes a still very valid point when it comes to ideology:
Overall, Jacobs argued that the very concept of “ideology” is fundamentally flawed and detrimental to both individuals and societies, no matter what side of the political spectrum an ideology comes from. By relying on ideals, she claimed people become unable to think and evaluate problems and solutions by themselves, but simply fall back on their beliefs for “pre-fabricated answers” to any problem they encounter.
The stock market is one of the greatest wealth-building tools that exists, as long as you follow a few key rules. You'll need to know what you're investing in, watch your fees, build a diversified portfolio, and invest for the long term if you want the best chance to build wealth in the market.
You'll also need to do one of two other things: Invest early, or invest a lot. The good news is, you don't necessarily need to do both if your goal is to invest your way to a $1 million nest egg.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says holiday shopping in crowded stores is a “higher risk” activity and that people should limit any in-person shopping, including at supermarkets.