Our economy has been like a rollercoaster over the past few decades. When Lyndon B. Johnson took office, he created the greatest Social Security, Medicare, civil rights programs, and tax law changes since Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal. We were living with the most constantly fluctuating tax and interest rate changes in forty years. We watched major companies create scandalous problems for employees as well as investors; e.g., Enron, Global Crossing, Tyco, MFGlobal, etc. We have seen the breakdown of the Glass-Steagall Act (which prevented banks, insurance companies, and brokerage houses from being in each others’ business), mergers and acquisitions among financial institutions, the demutualization of major insurance companies, and corporations getting bigger and bigger with the intent of globalizing the world marketplace. “Eat or be eaten” is their motto, all with no regulation.
Subsequent presidents have inherited an economy rampant with greed and lack of regulation, collapsing our global economy. The few have benefitted at the expense of the many. Our financial markets have had their values destroyed, and companies like Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers no longer exist, while those who ran them earned $400-500 million in bonuses.
In the financial services industry, the race to get ever larger has led to the end of the traditional banking, insurance and brokerage institutions as we have known them. And so begin financial conglomerates known as financial service organizations, financial department stores, or financial supermarkets. Everybody is trying to be all things to all people at the expense of personalized service. The philosopher George Santyana once said, “The working of great institutions is mainly the result of a vast mass of routine, petty malice, self-interest, carelessness and sheer mistake. Only a residual fraction is thought.” More is not always better, and those individual, personalized, creative financial strategies still have a place in today’s marketplace.
Currently, we live in a divided country seeking peace of mind. In this economic turmoil, families and businesses alike are looking for stability as they wonder about the future of our nation. Can we maintain lower taxes today while spending more and more money on bailouts? What is the current value of our dollar? The world at large is facing major financial problems, which reduces access to credit markets and forces loans from IRAs, 401(k)s and profit-sharing plans that the weary workforce is planning to retire on. The constant changes in our tax laws, the proposed changes to Social Security, companies reducing or eliminating their pension plans (putting in place 401(k) plans instead), the huge fluctuations in the stock market and ups and downs in one’s own personal wealth and security mandate that everyone review their financial products and strategies for accumulating and protecting their families, their retirement and their wealth.
The content is developed from sources believed to be providing accurate information. The information in this material is not intended as tax or legal advice. Please consult legal or tax professionals for specific information regarding your individual situation. The opinions expressed and material provided are for general information, and should not be considered a solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security.
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