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At 6 PM ET we can start checking the Dow futures. Unless there is a fix for the now-closed-again Strait of Hormuz  the gains we've made in our nest eggs in the past few days could go poof. And worse.  Sure, we Boomers are a fragmented lot. Who we are depends on how we experienced the economy. The oldest like myself entered into an era of abundance. Younger Boomers not so much so. But one thing we currently have in common is our necessary preoccupation with money. We could make it into our 90s. Through Facebook I'm encountering members of my class of 1967. So far only one who I know of has passed on. What we didn't expect is that here we still would be at age 80. The angst is if we will be able to keep paying the bills for this peculiar expansion of longevity. Policymakers, please fix the Hormuz issues. 

Agreed, currently capitalism is downright toxic. Predictably there would be a "hero" like Luigi Mangione who allegedly took action against it. That alleged offing of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson resonated. Who doesn't live in high angst about a medical bill wiping them out. Most personal bankruptcies happen that way.  Now we have Daniel Moreno-Gama, another young man with a cause we can certainly identify with. As The Wall Street Journal documents: " ... Texas college student named Daniel Moreno-Gama was  charged with attempted murder  and arson as part of an alleged attack on OpenAI chief executive Altman’s home ... He was carrying an anti-AI manifesto ..." Moreno-Gama could also take on the aura of being exactly on the side of right. For that, he has been willing to sacrifice his own future. To more and more, those in the AI box are the bad guys.   Among the tipping points about this technology, from being regarded with awe to terror that the end is n...

  Dow Jones 30 Industrial Index  , DJIA 49,238.35 +659.63 +1.36%

SCOTUS Justice Brett Kavanaugh grew up in a household with parents who were professionals. SCOTUS Justice Sonia Sotomayor didn't. Neither did I. So? This issue of a privileged background - or membership in the "lucky sperm club" - is getting old. Essentially in America we're accepting that life isn't fair. From conception some have an edge. The joke is: Choose your parents wisely.  Proof that Radical Acceptance is the current mindset is that Sotomayor had to back down from attacking Kavanaugh for how differently he grew up from her and from so many immigrants and those who get paid by the hour. That mouth-full didn't go over well. Politico reports: " ... Sonia Sotomayor apologized Wednesday for suggesting that Justice Brett Kavanaugh had a sheltered upbringing that made him insensitive to day laborers being targeted by the Trump administration for immigration enforcement." She hadn't mentioned her SCOTUS colleague by name but she didn't have...

You bet, the generations which followed Boomers certainly have resentments. They size up that Boomers got a better deal than they did. A much better one. Everything from cheap higher education to secure corporate jobs (that is, at least until Jack Welch, et al., sent middle managers into the cold in middle age). Those hostilities have become raw. Therefore, Boomers have a ready-made excuse to look away from the suffering of younger generations. It's so heavy. No help is on the way for youth. They could be the worse off generation since The Great Depression.  What Boomers are looking at is their own money. Will they have the funds to continue with a lifestyle or to make it until they die? Inflation is blowing up the years of planning. And for them too help isn't on the way.  Social Security payments can be reduced in six years. Medicare is uncertain. Most have already crossed the line from very good health to scary medical conditions. How much in addition to Medicare/Medicare s...

During the next Super Bowl party, guests might not turn up their nose that I'm not serving the big brands. That's even though Pepsi, after losing customers through raising prices, got back some by lowering them. Instead for the annual entertainment hoopla of the Super Bowl, there will be the generics developed by the big boxes such as Walmart. I'll put them out there on the table, without apology. Just like AI is getting better and better so are the private labels like Great Value. I honestly can't taste the difference between Pepsi diet cola and Sam's. Recently Walmart has redesigned the look.  That's a worthwhile investment since private label has surged to a $330 billion industry. This isn't new. Way back in 2024, it was documented that there was a flight from big brands to private label.  The tipping point was price in an era of inflation.  The old-line obstacle to serving generic food items had been the socioeconomic "shame." You wouldn't...