Mind Over Money

So, I wondered how much my average or effective tax rate was. All this talk of Gov. Mitt Romney’s millions and his low tax rate of 14 percent made me pull out my tax returns from the last two years. We have a good income, better than most in the state, but we’re not even [...]

Sometimes we choose by not choosing. Behavioral economists have long recognized our tendency to avoid making decisions. The more difficult the decision, the more we avoid the question all together. Thaler and Sunstein wrote a book called “Nudge.” In it, they cite all kinds of instances of this tendency to avoid choosing. Of course, the [...]

Gotta love competition! The new fees on debit cards have had me hot under the collar. The financial reform bill set limits on bank debit card fees. Many lawmakers decried this change. How dare we interfere with the fine citizens of Wall Street in their pursuit of profit? It was downright un-American, and they warned [...]

Cellular South recently changed its name to C Spire. I’m sure they paid a marketing firm a lot of money for that name. And I’m sure the marketing firm paid a lot of focus group people to sit around and rate various names. But, for the life of me, I can’t understand how they landed [...]

I grew up in the 60s and 70s in South Mississippi. Our house was in one of the new subdivisions of modest homes. Of course, it was segregated. I remember going to Dr. Benefield’s clinic and waiting in the whites only portion. I noticed another room beyond the partition, but I was clueless about the [...]

Hgh treason? Them’s fighting words! I must come to the defense of the Fed. The Federal Reserve was created in 1913 in response to the booms and busts in our economy. Booms were great, but the busts were causing too much pain. We were looking for a way to smooth out our business cycle, and [...]

The moon is made of green cheese. The moon is made of green cheese. The moon is made of green cheese. I’m testing a theory that saying something enough times makes it so. It seems to be the way marketing (and politics) works. I’m so tired of hearing about “job creators.” Supposedly, these are the [...]

What keeps you up at night? For many of us, sleepless nights are the result of financial worries. A new Gallup poll asked Americans to rate those financial woes. At the bottom of the list is the worry about paying our credit card bill. Since 2008 many have cut down and cut up credit cards, [...]

So, we’re fat. Fattest state in the union. Our politicians are fat. Our news anchors are fat. Our family reunions look like an episode of “The Biggest Loser.” And, yes, I’m trying to lose a few pounds myself! “Fat” has an economic impact. Of all the money we spend on healthcare, nearly 10 percent can [...]