One recurring delusion in the controversy over America’s free-trade-induced trade mess is the idea that our gigantic trade deficit, which fluctuates around $500 billion a year, somehow “doesn’t matter.” Anyone who’s been reading my column in the Huffington Post will probably be taken aback by this bizarre assertion, but it’s actually out there, all over the ...

Too many Americans are blissfully or blatantly unaware of the true nature of America’s economic condition. Americans can see the U.S. is hurting, but few know the root causes of our pain. Americans are saddled with debt, both personal and national. However, many Americans do not feel the pain and economic destruction this debt is causing ...

Any renaissance of American manufacturing must begin by fundamentally reversing our trade policies—both in general and in particular toward China. Over the past two decades, leading U.S. manufacturers, both the venerable (like General Electric) and the new (like Apple), have offshored millions of jobs—by one recent estimate, 2.9 million—to China to take advantage of the ...

Campaign spending by wealthy donors and powerful corporations is an increasingly large problem in our government. Recognizing this fact, some of our elected leaders have introduced Constitutional amendments to curb this flow of special interest money. Florida Democratic Representative Ted Deutch introduced one of the most powerful versions of these amendments last month. Deutch’s amendment is ...

Help people get on with it. Here’s a quote from management professor, Henry Mintzberg: “The manager does not leave the telephone, the meeting, or the email to get back to work. These contacts are the work.” Most managers will relate to that. On the one hand, the flow of interruptions, requests and enquiries is a source of ...

We are facing an interesting dilemma in Egypt: although everyone realizes the importance of the economic dimension of the country’s transition and the quest for democracy, people tend to turn their backs when economic issues are brought up. Last week I attended a political debate on reform in Egypt where economic questions were raised, but – ...

The last several weeks have brought a steady flow of small but important improvements in the domestic economy (see summary below), but investors have shunned risk, keeping the markets spiraling downward. Today, the market was awash with stubborn, steady selling, which sank the S&P 500 deep into the 1120-1220 abyss where it has been trapped for ...

President Obama visited Australia this week, where he met with leaders and announced plans to base 2,500 U.S. troops in the country. The placement of troops is thought to signal a desire to curb China’s influence in the region, but America would be better served if the president took action on China’s economic misdeeds. The move ...

While the U.S. sits back, other countries are looking to do something about currency manipulation in the international system. Brazil has filed a proposal with the World Trade Organization (WTO) that would punish countries which achieve an advantage in trade by manipulating their currencies. Although China is not specifically mentioned, they have been one of ...

•    Organize Documents: Collect all your important financial documents and put them in a location that can be easily accessed by both partners. •    Keep a track of expenditure: Make a list of all the expenses. Once you are done, try to re-route some of the money to your savings accounts which, is an important stepping stone for a financially ...