A Good Primer on the Fiscal Shenanigans With Potential Solutions
589990
Every book review is influenced by what the reader brings to the table when he picks up a book for the first time. As someone who considers himself well-informed about the true fiscal situation of the U.S. government, I found the book simplistic if not outright boring. (Full disclosure: I did not make it past the introduction.)

The above notwithstanding, I believe this would be a excellent place to start for someone who has never read about these issues before. As an alternate, such a someone could simply go to the Treasury Department's website and download a copy of the "2011 Financial Report of the United States Government" for themselves. ([...])
4684834
A very interesting read.  Paul's approach to solutions seems like good common sense.  Playing politics seems like such a waste of time. I really believe the government should run on a balanced budget much as most home budgets are run.  Maybe things will change for the better as we see change in leadership in 2015., although by inserting the old school people in power I do not have a lot of faith.  We need younger like Paul to really make a change.  We really need a budget as we have not had one in 5 years.
Interest and well written.
2667612
For the financially literate there's probably nothing unique in this book. Perhaps that's why I like it. While I consider myself relatively intelligent (who doesn't see herself that way?), at time finance baffles me, at least beyond the absolute basics of compound interest and credits and debits. In particular, the nuances of investing and insurance confound me. Chris Farrell's The New Frugality clarified and demystified the management of personal finances.

Mr. Farrell offers 7 basic guidelines called The New Frugality Rules: keep it simple, pay yourself first, invest in yourself, worry about the downside, borrow rarely and wisely, give back, and think big. See, there's nothing totally new there. But the author offers insight into each of these rules and various areas of personal finance. I won't give that insight here because, well, read the book.

There are plenty of call-out boxes that list resources and specific information like tools for budgeting, calculating retirement and calculating the benefits of renting versus buying. Mr. Farrell often offers several options, understanding that the best plan isn't one-size-fits-all but rather a blend of ideas and tools that suits one's particular life circumstances and personality.

I find a number of the book's topics to be immediately useful such as buying a car, planning for college expenses, saving for retirement, life insurance, and home refinance. I'll admit there are a few sections that may have still flown over my head. I'll return to those sections for greater understanding in the coming weeks and months.

I appreciate the writing style of this book. It's as if Mr. Farrell is in the room telling me a story, blending facts and history with real life accounts of contemporary people. These are the qualities that I consistently find in the best teachers. Overall, rather than screaming "invest in gold!" and "the sky is falling" the author presents an optimistic yet realistic view of the overall state of personal finance.

As I think about what I took away from this book - and there is much including those new rules - I'd have to say the deepest is the realization that I'll probably work well past 65 and that's okay. It will likely mean I'm still a vital, productive contributor to my community and the economy. Another moment of clarity is that being frugal doesn't mean being cheap and boring. What a relief!
889620
Baker and Wesibrot do a yeoman's job of making the issues confront Social Security and the trust fund understandable and accessible to the average reader. There is so much misinformation (some of it deliberate) and misunderstanding out there on this topic that it's often hard to know where to begin. This book is an excellent place to start.

For other reviewers here that are ready to "throw this book across the room" or who seem to have confused a program of social insurance with "investments", I suggest they actually take the time to read the book and/or educate themselves on the issue of government bonds. First, it is hard to understand why the same government bonds backed by the full faith and credit of the United States and which are universally considered to be the safest investment in the entire free world are great investment vehicles when held by billionaires and central banks but are "worthless" when held by the Social Security trust fund. Second, Social Security is not an "investment" program, it is a program of social insurance designed to insure the elderly, the disabled and the spouses/children of the dead and disabled against poverty. It provides a solid base, a bedrock foundation, on which to build, and as such is perhaps the most successful government program in history.

There are potentially some challenges ahead for Social Security but they are easily overcome though economic growth, growth in productivity or expansion of the working population through birth or immigration. In fact, if the economic growth of the United States simply matches that of the average growth of the last 130 years, the Social Security trust fund is solvent basically forever.

I hope that Baker and Weisbrot will issue an update to this excellent book. It was written prior to the meltdown of the NASDAQ and S&P 500 and before tax cuts for the top 1 percent of the nation (paid for largely with money borrowed from the Social Security trust fund) which all by themselves dwarf any potential shortfall in the trust fund over the next seventy-five years.

Don't fall for the shell game. The trust fund represents the money that you have already paid into the system. Read the book. You'll be glad that you did.
3921823
Hu's book is an excellent primer on mortgage-backed securities from both the supply and demand sides. While I must confess I was quickly swamped by the math (through no fault of Dr. Hu's, perhaps a workshop would have been a better way for me to learn about WACs and WAMs) I got the gist of the material.

Although the publication date is 2001, most of the examples and graphs are as of the mid-90s. It would be great to see a 3rd edition, especially discussing the more exotic mortgage instruments that have come on the market.
1530914
I just happened to pick up the audio-book version of this book before thumbing through the hardcover.

This is first book of its kind that I've found that recommends stock options and an investment strategy for surviving the coming economic collapse. Dr. Leeb presents a strong argument for getting your finances in order. The basis for his book is the 1970's, a period very familiar to me, the time of "Stag-flation." I believe that with a few adjustments for problems he missed  academic studies such as these tend to be rich in details and highly accurate but myopic. Dr. Leeb is primarily worried about inflation. The basis of his book is that the government will flood the market with dollars to counter the political fallout from collapsing demand. Maybe so, if it can.

Unfortunately, when this book was written, the mortgage crisis had just begun to show up in the media. Where will the money come from when the government is broke? I'm just guessing but I think you'd want to hedge a little more towards deflation than inflation and Dr. Leeb takes this into account.

Another minor flaw with the book is a lack of appreciation for the economic impact of the environment. He sees this as a problem that is 50 years away. As a practical environmentalist and a chemical engineer, I see it as a problem we must address within 10 years or so or we, as a species, will be dead. The American Chemistry Society (ACS) has provided ample warning for years about the rising unhealthiness of the food we eat -- like the warnings to everyone, not just pregnant women, not to eat fish (those on the top of their food chains).

The EPA now warns pregnant women not to eat shark, mackerel, tilefish, albacore (white) tuna or swordfish because of mercury; in truth, their credibility is not gold leaf anymore. Better advice would be to not eat walleye, salmon, pike, or trout and this goes for wild fish and farm-raised. The reason why government agencies such as these are not reliable is because of protection of government interests, such as Canadian and American commercial fishing. But, that, to use an old author's ploy is another story.

Dr. Leeb misses this converging phenomena. One reason may be the cost of damage to the environment. This cost is largely un-measureable and is usually ignored in economic analysis. I should know, I'm a engineer. We have trouble accounting for inflation in our calculations let alone the economic impact of improvements in quality, safety or the environment. I am sure that DuPont would have taken more care not to destroy the Chesapeake Bay if they could have weighed the economic cost. Certainly, the government accountants would have reminded them with stiff penalties.

Or, maybe, Dr. Leeb assumes that if the effect of the environment is severe enough, the health system will collapse altogether. Imagine a world without health care. He alludes to this towards the end of the book.

All in all, this is an excellent book. Like the others in this genre, he warns about inflation. I think Dr. Leeb has chosen the correct path by avoiding the temptation to tell you how bad it could get and focusing on how you can improve your lot during the collapse. At least, Dr. Leeb has some investment ideas for your survival.

If this review was helpful, please add your vote so that others can benefit.
2531816
As this book points out, unless you have a budget you are not as likely to be successful in being able to pay for the things you want. This is a beginners guide to the basic steps you need to take to manage your finances. Creating a budget is covered, including assessing your current situation, identifying income and expenses, and thinking about ways you could save more money. This book reminds us that there are many things that we can do to lower our energy bills. Learning to manage debt is an important factor, and this is discussed in some detail. This is a handy little book with some good tips.
3405930
Interesting hypothesis--that too much household debt was a principal cause of the financial crisis and Great Recenssion.  I prefer the authors' recommendation of partial sharing of both the upside and downside to the debt's collateral to debt foregiveness as a way yo reduce the likelhihood of a repeast crisis going forward.  The book is brief, well argued and easy to read.
3073763
This book is an easy read, with simple, clear examples that provide the tools for expanding one's thinking about methods of personal investment and exploring alternatives for making large scale purchases.  Although debt is a four letter word, this book shows it is not evil or undesirable.  It convincingly forces you to look at debt as a good thing, demonstrating how one can leverage debt for personal gain and improved financial security.  Well worth the time it takes to read it.
1097484
This book would be good for someone in debt. My husband and I just need more discipline with our spending. Our tax person suggested it. Most of this was stuff I already knew, but all in one place. Be prepared to get all your info together and work the numbers.
4176143
This book might at first appear to be a bit out of date, but with the current economic and political situation, it is a must read.  The reader willl have to do a bit of thinking to apply the information, but it is worth the time and effort.  I suggest it as a primer for understanding what trouble the Republicans are determined, knowingly or unknowingly, to get the economy into and for preparing for the next elections.  December 2010.
688200
The book is a good introduction to the importance of taxes in business decisions. In some chapters you will find too much theory in respect to the presence of exemples, the chapters introducing international tax planning are too general. The biggest problem of the book is the absence of solutions of the exercices proposed at the end of each chapter. There is a clear international trend to present economics and taxes books with problems and solutions. The times were solutions are presented only in a separated volume accessible to teachers are over
4410716
This is a helpful book for someone new to the world of financial and retirement planning, but also enjoyable for those who already have a foundation. The author breaks his chapters into vignettes almost, several within each of his 12 chapters, each of which corresponds to the month he originally wrote the post (it seems some content comes from his blog or notes he has taken over the last few years). He gives context so you know when that thought or entry occurred, but there is some interesting insight into the financial crisis and individual mistakes we tend to make when trying to be wise with our money. A quick and worthwhile read - I finished most of it on a plane ride.
4598502
I came across this book by chance and loved it. Author explains about possible outcomes resulting from fiscal cliff of 2013 or avoiding the same. He also explains some simple strategies to protect your wealth. Of course one needs to learn a lot more to adopt advanced strategies but this books definitely offers an excellent start. I wish some chapters were bigger, but still it's a great read.
3198259
The author's methods are sound and sensible, and it's certainly impressive to be able to pay down such a large amount of personal debt. The book is written very personally. Using a tone that feels like a discussion, the author is able to help you begin to untangle your personal finance issues.

It's a great conversation-starter for you and your spouse, or simply as food for thought. Another book "Effortless Savings: A Step-by-Step Guidebook to Saving Money Without Sacrifice" is also a great resource for reducing expenses. Unlike most personal finance books, I found these two to be particularly helpful. Happy reading!
2950142
I originally bought this book for my husband (who is a political junkie) but became curious after catching him laughing off and on while reading it. After being intrigued by the back cover, I decided to dive in myself. What exactly was  author, Jon Mitchell, advocating on the back cover with "Advancing social justice by repealing the income tax. Instituting a libertarian meritocracy with cradle-to-grave healthcare"
Mitchell first diagnoses the structural imbalances in the economy that he says brought about the recent economic collapse and that, left uncorrected, will thwart America's economic recovery for decades. His diagnosis: there is too much consumption and not enough investment and net trade; healthcare costs are too high and taxes are not scaleable or rational in a way that enables optimal economic growth (Fair warning: Mitchell is big on scalability and optimals!)
He then follows up with an out-of-the-box plan (called the "LMAD" plan) which he claims can only be implemented by "buying off"  the opposition to the plan?  That's what finally hooked me, I think, because the problem with all these plans is that they can't survive in today's politically polarized Washington.
So his plan is to "rebalance" the economy by replacing income taxes with consumption taxes, balancing the federal budget, fixing the size of government to just 18% of GDP and deregulating the healthcare system to lower costs just as airlines and cell phone companies are deregulated. That right-wingish stuff would normally turn me off right away. What saved me was his "buy off" strategy.
He then "buys off" Liberals with, my favorite, a carbon tax to fight global warming. He adds fully-funded Healthcare for every American, a public option for health insurance (another favorite), a "sugar" tax and a value-added tax like they use in Europe. His plan even grants "overnight" amnesty to illegal aliens living in the US (another favorite.)
Well, that explains the back cover.
So Conservatives get their favorite things; Liberals get theirs and the country gets a growing economy that puts the US firmly in the China-India economic growth league and creates millions of new, higher-income jobs and. Healthcare costs go down so Medicare is fixed without harsh benefit cuts.
His numbers seem to mostly add up but what do I know.
I read the whole book over a weekend but I skipped most the healthcare chapter because I don't understand the topic all that much though it's obvious the author pretty much does. I laughed off and on as well; Mitchell does a pretty good job of seeing to that.
Best of all, I felt, someone finally gets it.  Sign me up for the LMAD plan.
1584038
The contains some nice chapters on consumption and investment. In particular, it gives some clear presentations of key models including the PIH and the q-theory. Its coverage of growth issues are little weak.  The book also contains some nice exercises with answers.