EP 332 Projection: Twenty One Million Homes to Hit the Market–But Where are the Buyers?

EP 332 Projection: Twenty One Million Homes to Hit the Market–But Where are the Buyers?

https://www.forbes.com/sites/taramastroeni/#546a27dd1616 The baby boomers liked their suburban homes, with lots of room inside and out. The millennials, many of whom will be relied upon to buy them, not so much. Between now and 2037 it is projected that 21 million homes will hit the market as boomers downsize, move in with family and require assisted …

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EP 331 Is There American Cuisine?

EP 331 Is There American Cuisine?

https://www.paul-freedman.com/   At our founding, there were very distinctive regional flavors that made up the American palate.  Over time, as part of the industrial revolution, Americans began to standardize the way foods were prepared, thus saving time and assuring us that a trusted brand stood behind what we were consuming.  Today, in a trend that …

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EP 330 America: Land of the Fee

EP 330 America: Land of the Fee

https://www.amazon.com/Land-Fee-Hidden-Decline-American/dp/0199970165 Have you ever stopped to read all the fees tacked on to your electric bill, cable bill, mortgage, car or student loan?  It’s a cut by a thousand fees–$1.47 here, $2.50 there and before you know it, it adds up to real money.  In fact, it’s over a trillion and a half dollars a …

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EP 329 Are the World’s Democracies on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown?

EP 329 Are the World’s Democracies on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown?

https://www.independent.org/aboutus/person_detail.asp?id=487   At a recent gathering of the leaders of the world’s democracies in Canada, the reporting from the meeting in Politico opened with the sentence: ‘if there’s a word that sums up the current mood of the West’s high command, it’s this: despair’.  On the heels of French President Emmanuel Macron suggesting that NATO …

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EP 328 The Sixth Stage of Grief

EP 328 The Sixth Stage of Grief

https://www.amazon.com/Finding-Meaning-Sixth-Stage-Grief/dp/1501192736 In the realm of groundbreaking work, David Kessler and Elizabeth Kubler-Ross introduced us to the five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance in 2005 in the book ‘On Grief and Grieving’. Ms. Kubler-Ross has died, but Mr. Kessler, the world’s most well-known expert on grieving, continues his work and introduces us …

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EP 327 Plant Based Burgers Are All the Rage

EP 327 Plant Based Burgers Are All the Rage

https://www.eatright.org/   It’s hard to drive past any fast food chain restaurant without noticing that places known for unhealthy choices have added one item that most nutritionists say is better than those historically offered.  It’s the plant-based, or meatless, burger.  So we decided to find out if this new food craze is really as good …

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4 Special Edition Will a New Economy Emerge in the Wake of the Coronavirus Pandemic?

4 Special Edition Will a New Economy Emerge in the Wake of the Coronavirus Pandemic?

While the major concern we have during this most extraordinary moment is for the health and safety of our friends, family and fellow Americans, it’s hard to avoid the other implications to our personal and national economic well-being.  The two converge most directly when it comes to a long documented over reliance on Chinese manufacturers …

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EP 326 The Rise of the Transaction Man in America

EP 326 The Rise of the Transaction Man in America

https://www.amazon.com/Transaction-Man-Decline-American-Dream/dp/0374277885 How did our economy become so titled against the middle class and the poor, thus leading to an embrace of the more nationalistic soundings of Donald Trump in 2016?  We must acknowledge that the fount of his appeal had a wellspring in changes in the America fabric that took placee over a long sweep …

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EP 325 Should the SECURE Act Make You More Secure in Retirement?

EP 325 Should the SECURE Act Make You More Secure in Retirement?

https://www.financial-planning.com/author/jeffrey-levine-iag910 In an age of more do it yourself retirement planning, it’s good to see Congress put aside differences and recognize that Americans need as many tools as possible to make saving for retirement easier.  That’s the basis for bipartisan support for the first reform of retirement law in 13 years.  It’s called the SECURE …

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EP 324 Must Politics Be War?

EP 324 Must Politics Be War?

https://www.kevinvallier.com/books/must-politics-be-war/ Tribalism is the term that has entered our political lexicon as we attempt to define the raucous, contentious political phase we have entered in this country.  That seems dangerous for a society that is built on the the ideals of fairness, justice and liberty.  All of which would seem to require that we trust …

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