thought of the day
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Economics
The Lump of Labor Fallacy
A few weeks ago, we talked about false choices on the blog. These are situations where a belief that there are only two variables falsely constrains the debate. More women are in the workforce these days so therefore they must be spending less time with their children. Smaller class sizes will increase student achievement. And so forth.
Today I’m talking a… read more »
Redbook’s no-spend zone
May’s Redbook magazine has a financial package called “Redbook’s 30-day money cleanse.” Money guru Beth Kobliner gives 30 “tiny daily steps” to “shock you out of your financial rut.”
While many of the tips are perfectly fine, the whole package reminded me of my beef with much personal finance literat… read more »
Compounding the problem
Are you saving for retirement? Great. But here’s an equally important question: what kind of returns are you envisioning in your portfolio?
Financial guru Manisha Thakor pointed me toward an interview that ran in the WSJ recently with Robert D. Arnott, a portfolio manager. Looking at demographic trends and the maturing of the US economy, he made the… read more »
The Princess Problem
(Laura’s note: This column originally ran in USA Today on Aug 12, 2009. It’s somehow disappeared from the archives, and since I’ve been getting requests for it lately, I’m reprinting it here).
by Laura Vanderkam
Austere times bring austere fashions to the runways but not, it seems, to toy stores. Hunting for birthday presents la… read more »
Welcome to the 1 percent
(Laura’s note: my column ran in yesterday’s USA TODAY under the headline “Does Income Inequality Matter?” online and “Does Income Gap Matter?” in print.)
Income inequality has long been with us, but it has seldom been talked about as much as in this election cycle. Last fall’s Occupy Wall Street movement int… read more »
