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Last week, a group of analysts published an astonishing report about the future of Social Security in the United States, and their remarks were nothing short of damning. According to their calculations, for example, these analysts claim that Social Security is already running a huge deficit to the tune of tens of billions
In the year 605 AD, Emperor Yang of the Sui dynasty in China formally established what became known as the ‘imperial examination.’ This was a standardized test that public officials were required to take, covering everything from arithmetic to writing to military science. The idea was to ensure that all public servants were
On November 11, 1947, Winston Churchill, then ex-Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, rose to speak at a debate in the House of Commons: “Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it
I’ve always been pretty bad with birthday and anniversaries. Even my own. So I didn’t even realize until this morning that Sovereign Man actually turned seven years old over the weekend. Seven years. I can hardly believe it. But it seems even more incredulous to think about how much has happened over the
[Editor’s note: Tim Price, London-based wealth manager, is filling in for Simon today.] “How foul this referendum is. The most depressing, divisive, duplicitous political event of my lifetime. May there never be another” – Tweet from the novelist Robert Harris. “Free at last, Free at last, Thank God almighty we are free at
In February 1768, a revolutionary article entitled “No taxation without representation” was published London Magazine. The article was a re-print of an impassioned speech made by Lord Camden arguing in parliament against Britain’s oppressive tax policies in the American colonies. Britain had been milking the colonists like medieval serfs. And the idea of
As you can imagine, here in Vietnam they call it the “American War”. Or sometimes the “Resistance War Against America.” Most of us call it the Vietnam War. It left millions dead, and millions more wounded over a nearly two decades long conflict. It caused catastrophic medical and environmental damage from over 75
In a bizarre story disclosed over the weekend, we learned that Belgium’s Princess Astrid was robbed by two assailants on a motorbike. The thieves apparently approached her while she was sitting in traffic, smashed in her window, snatched the Royal Handbag, and sped off with over 2,000 euros in cash. I have no
On July 1, 2005, the Chairman of then President George W. Bush’s Council of Economic Advisors told a reporter from CNBC that, “We’ve never had a decline in house prices on a nationwide basis. So, what I think is more likely is that house prices will slow, maybe stabilize, might slow consumption spending
All governments make absurd claims. But North Korea definitely wins the award for the most comical. Kim Jong-Il, North Korea’s “Dear Leader” from 1997 through 2011, had some priceless gems, including: He never once in his life needed to urinate or defecate He wrote over 1,500 books for North Korea’s universities He could
Shocking. Astonishing. Jaw dropping. There’s just no other way to describe how cheap South Africa is right now. Between the worldwide decline in commodities prices, and a major crisis of confidence in the national government here, the local currency (South African rand) remains at the lowest level it’s been… ever. And that’s made
Very few people know this about me. But, despite me being 37 years old, I actually have a little sister who recently turned 18 and just graduated from high school. Technically she’s my half-sister– after my parents got divorced, my father remarried and had another child when I was 19. We have a
Just days ago, in the midst of the Puerto Rico debt morass, 24 members of Congress introduced the “No Bailouts for State, Territory, and Local Governments Act.” The title pretty much sums it up. Congress knows there’s a massive wave of defaults looming at the city and state level. Detroit and Puerto Rico
Almost one year ago to the day, I introduced you to Joe— a US Army combat veteran who lost his leg while deployed to Afghanistan in 2010. Joe’s story was unfortunately all too familiar… except for one major twist. Joe’s particular wound was so severe that the Army had to amputate nearly all
[Editor’s note: Tim Price, London-based wealth manager, is filling in for Simon today.] On 23 June 2016, this British citizen will be voting to leave the European Union. To me it’s clear: the EU has not only become too big for its own good, it’s too big to do hardly anything good. Back
