No one knows when the economy will actually recover.

Don't let anyone tell you they know. They don't.

In today's Wall Street Journal, I got a kick out of an article titled, "The Economic Recovery: Fast, Slow or Neither?" Fortune telling financial analysts are crawing out of the woodwork to proclaim their predictions.

Just ignore them.

Read the article instead as a way to educate yourself in three of

I just got off the phone with a man who is desperately trying to figure out how to make it until his retirement kicks in. He just got laid off and has some physical challenges that makes employment in his field at best challenging, and at worst, impossible.

He's out scouring for a decent job so he can put food on his table and afford a much needed surgery.

And, Goldman Sachs just reported record

We are a long way from benefiting from any real reform. Though there are elements of the Administration's proposal that I believe could ultimately benefit business and individuals, the reforms appear as little more than political window dressing. Moreover, these initiatives still have to pass into law - and much can happen as well as die on the vine - before legislation gets passed and signed

Simon Johnson and Peter Boone, both notable economists with common sense (don't laugh!) have written a thoughtful piece on what the US should be doing to salvage the financial system (published by the New York Times).

The net net. The US Government should stop being so cautious and unwilling to restructure America's banks and should instead force the restructuring now while the public's appetite

I encourage you to follow thought leaders on what could happen vis a vis the Treasury Department's (aka the Geithner) Plan to shed banks' toxic assets off their balance sheets, free up capital for lending and restore our confidence in the financial system.

The New York Times has published the perspectives of 4 highly regarded economists: Paul Krugman, Simon Johnson, Bard Delong and Mark Thoma.

Here's a website for you that contains documents and links about what the US government is doing to help stablize the financial system.

http://financialstability.gov/

 You can read the latest offerings from Treasury on the Public Private Investment Program, unlocking credit for small businesses, and making your home more affordable.

I agree with the public outcry about the bonuses paid to AIG executives who failed not only their company but created an enormous problem that we taxpayers are digging out of now.

Like most things, though, let's not confuse the proper and effective use of bonuses and other incentives with the  mess promulgated by the so-called "brainiacs" at AIG.

I encourage you to study what happened at AIG.

If you are starting or running your own business, listen up!

Check out Harlan Kilstein's site, Tactic 7. Yes, I'm biased. Yes, I'm a huge fan. Yes, I have actually worked with Harlan. Chances are you need his no BS, take no prisoners approach. 

Check out his site here: http://tactic7.com/

And, come back and thank me!

In trolling for the most thought provoking insights about our money, I came across an intriguing article highlighting Social Security, Medicare and the current Universal Healthcare initiative sponsored by the Obama administration as....drum roll please....

PONZI SCHEMES.

That's right. The very scheme that Bernie Madoff pled guilty too last week is what columnist Craig Cantoni is calling two of our

I sure wish our federal govenment had the intestinal fortitude that Jim Rogers talks about during his interview with Maria Bartiromo of Business Week.

 It's absolutely nuts that many people actually believe the hype that there are companies that are simply too big to fail. The real crime is in not letting the companies and the people that run them the "opportunity" to experience the impact of