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Bright Spot in Dismal Labor Market for Class of 2026: X-Rated Economy

This is the kind of opportunity that self-confident 2026 graduates from the Ivy League might look into: the whole continuum of the sex economy. That is, all those x-rated activities, ranging from soft porn to operating in a location such as Germany or the Netherlands where the exchange of sex for money is legal.  The March 21st - March 27th 2026 edition of The Economist  documents the monetary aspects of the global sex economy. Here are snippets: Porn - $100 billion OnlyFans - $7 billion Exchange of Sex for money - 0.6% of females over 15 of age Virtual companionship - to be determined. Meanwhile government policies and technology keep expanding the reach of this, one of the oldest of businesses.  However, because of the stigma embedded in the sex economy, as university researcher Stef Adriaenssens points out in "Sex Work By Numbers,"  only 5% of studies dig into the market factors. That is, the nature of supply and demand and how pricing impacts the dynamics. That c...
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BoomerVille: Flashbacks of Hooverville

  Let's cut to the worried chase. Okay, after a bad run, the Dow surged yesterday. Today, futures are up: **************************** Market Summary  > E-mini Dow Jones Industrial Average Index Futures 46,813.00  USD+231.00 (0.50%)today Apr 1, 5:04   AM CDT  •  Disclaimer ***************************** But, like almost half of Americas, more and more of us Boomers are looping into doom talk about a whopper of a downturn. The common phrase: "The house of cards will come down."  Yahoo Finance reports: "A recent survey by YouGov found 42% of Americans believe the country will experience a 'total economic collapse' within the next decade ..." Pile onto that the possibility of a reduction in the monthly Social Security payment in six years.  Meanwhile Rich Dad Poor Dad has been predicting escalating rates of homelessness for us Boomers. What could come to mind are the images of Hoovervilles. Those constitute the shanties put up for housi...
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ChatGPT - Free Will Entail Ads, But We've Learned to Tune Out

  Of the 900 million ChatGPT users, 850 million of us are freeloaders, documents BusinessInsider.  The chat bot's parent OpenAI probably knows that if there's a subscription fee slapped on for the basic model (the Plus one already operates on a fee basis) we'll figure out how to go elsewhere.  So, to build revenue OpenAI has come up with the ad strategy. While we're having our prompts responded to there will be digital advertising. Overall, OpenAI has shifted from branding for innovation to sticking to the knitting in terms of financial performance. Recently it halted that amazing video development: Sora. The question is: How successful will this be?  Recall that during the Super Bowl competitor Anthropic's commercial mocked that strategy. The messaging resonated.  But the more significant variable is this: We have grown accustomed to tune out ads. That's that. Instead of paying for streaming services like Netflix (which just raised its price) I have been with f...
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BoomerVille: Don't Rule Out Whopper of a Downturn

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Our first encounter with economic reality was the severe mid 1970s recession. We Flower Children suited up, cut up hair and applied for MBA programs.  Next came corporate downsizing in the late 1980s. Business magazines posted cover stories "Fired." The subhead was "Middle Management - Middle Aged."  Age again bit us in the pocketbook when at 66 we realized we still needed to work to make ends meet or just hold onto an identity. And work was hard to find "at our age." So we Boomers are always braced for economic reversals of fortune.  We're not reading much into today's Dow rally. Dow Jones Industrial Average Index Index: DJI Compare 46,341.51 USD ▲  +1,125.37 (+2.49%) today March 31, 4:42 PM EDT  ·  Market Closed Earning a Good Living in 2026 Involves Mental Combat. The enemy is usually your own thinking. Complimentary consultation. No Pressure. Solid Guidance. Contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.
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BoomerVille: No Euphoria Tuesday

  We have been here before: A rally after some serious hits to our equities/bonds nest eggs. And that was supposed to restore our confidence in where the economy is and heading. No global meltdown worse than The Great Depression that our Boomer parents endured - and wound up emotionally hollowed out for the rest of their lives, right. Things will be fine, right. No longer am I and the Boomers I coach/conduct tarot readings for accepting that kind of reassurance. The memory of our scarred parents remains embedded in our collective consciousness.  So, we have relief that things have picked up in the markets this Tuesday. But no euphoria that all's well that ends well. Things may not end well. I hammer to coaching/tarot reading clients: Keep bringing in income from other sources. Build moats around what could be your financial security. Dow Jones Industrial Average INDEXDJX: .DJI 45,621.69 +405.55  (0.90%) today Mar 31, 9:34 AM EDT  •  Disclaimer Earning a Good Liv...
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Nothing-New Coverage, From the Murdochs to Friends of Jeffrey: And, Who Really Cares Anymore?

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Gabriel Sherman sure did have a fix on Roger Ailes and Fox. Obviously he had direct access to sources. Much that was new to us was in his blockbuster book "The Loudest Voice in the Room."  So fearful was Ailes of that detailed expose that his personal public relations guy Bob Dilenschneider , on a stealth basis, took out a major ad promoting a vanity book about Ailes published a whole year earlier (Zev Chafes' "Roger Ailes: Off Camera.") The lame trick was outed. That increased attention for Sherman's brilliant investigative reporting. How I thought about Ailes after that caper? It was: Run, rabbit, run. Unlike "The Loudest" which was a best-seller, Sherman's recent "Bonfire of the Murdochs"  is a disappointment. There's nothing new. That was expected, since so much about that dynasty and the nepo babies came out in "Succession." Also, Tom Wolfe had already made hay with the concept of "bonfire." Recall his blo...
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Summer of 2026: Vacationing In-Place

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  On your home printer this summer you may be creating a sign to post on your front door:  On Vacation, Do Not Disturb. Prop up a lawn chair against the building and smell the roses and grass. Your annual time-out in 2026 may be experienced in-place. BusinessInsider presents that emerging trend. The New York Times documents that iconic vacation spot Las Vegas is already in a kind of recession. What's generating this is the perfect storm of uncertainty of safety conditions outside the US and inside the US high transportation costs, fragile job market, roller-coaster stock market, inflation including the rising cost of lodging and surging personal-debt levels.  Of course, you must take a vacation. Whatever way you structure it. The Cleveland Clinic reports that vacations are critical for mental/physical health, preventing burnout, adapting to change and opening up to creativity. In a Bloomberg Law  interview partner at Paul, Weiss Brad Karp noted that the law firm was...
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