Some Quotes and Stats

A few quotes and stats that I came across during the past week and found interesting…

The other 12%?  According to the Americans for Secure Retirement, 88% of surveyed Americans said that they are concerned about their ability to maintain a comfortable standard of living throughout their retirement years.  One year ago, the number was 73%.

Unfunded liabilities.  Actuarial firm Milliman Inc. says that traditional defined benefit pension plans are only 72.8% funded.  This is the second worst quarterly result in their index’s 11 year history.

Democrats on the hot seat.   In the 2012 elections, there will be 33 Senate seats up for grabs.  Democrats control 23 of them and Republicans only 10.

Romney – so close, yet so far.  A recent Iowa poll showed Romney trailing Cain 23% to 22%.  But, here’s the more interesting number…in the survey, they asked respondents if they were likely to participate in the caucus.  Of those respondents who definitely intend to caucus (38 percent of those polled), Romney is the first choice of only 10 percent of them. Cain has 27% of this group’s vote.  This probably makes sense – the more conservative Republicans are more likely to caucus and they don’t like Romney.

We hate everyone.  Former Republican Senator Pete Domenici, said lawmakers who refuse to consider tax increases, as well as those who rule out cutting safety-net programs, “are both complicit in letting America destroy itself.”

A few great quotes from Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher. (Here’s the link  to the speech.)

1. I am going to do just that: I am going to suggest that our nation has a crying need for public leadership to correct what is wrong with our economy; that the Federal Reserve has provided the leadership required of it; that monetary policy cannot do it alone and must be complemented by responsible fiscal policy—policy that is exclusively the responsibility of those whom we elect to represent us in Washington; that rather than posturing for political expediency and positioning for victory at the polls in November 2012, our nation’s political leaders need to actually “buy a ticket” and put themselves at risk, right now and without delay. Each passing day they fail to do so further jeopardizes our economic stability and our nation’s future.

2. The parties involved must stop the hemorrhaging without inducing cardiac arrest; they must solve the long-run debt and deficit problem without, in the short run, pushing the economy back into recession, creating still more unemployment. And they not only must confront their addiction to debt and spending beyond their means, but also reorganize the tax system, redirect the money they spend and rewrite the regulations they create so as to be competitive in a world that wants to beat us at our own game.

3. I personally don’t care which party is in the White House or controls Congress. All I know is that the “honorable” members of Congress, Republicans and Democrats alike, have conspired over time, however unwittingly, to drive fiscal policy into the ditch. They purchased their elections and reelections with popular programs so poorly funded that they now threaten the economic well-being of our children and our children’s children. Instead of passing the torch on to the successor generation of Americans, the Congress is simply passing them the bill. This is the opposite of honorable, and it must stop.

What I’m thinking about.  Finally, as we head to the weekend, one final quote from me…ROLL TIDE!!!

Have a great weekend.

If you enjoy this blog, please forward it to others who may be interested.

If you want to receive these emails, here’s how:

1. click on this link  (or type leedsonfinance.com into your browser)
2. toward the top right corner is a place to click on for email service — click and enter your email address
3. you will receive an email which will require you to click on a link to confirm that you want to be on the list

IMPORTANT: if you don’t receive the email in step 3 or you don’t click on the link, you won’t be on the list.  Sometimes, people who use corporate emails get blocked (it’s probably 50% of the time).  So if you don’t get the email, you know you need to use a personal email.