Seventy-eight million Baby Boomers face a massive problem that will doom their retirement to poverty, illnesses most can’t afford to treat, and a miserable quality of life just when they wanted to relax and check off their “bucket list”.

The problem, quite simply put, is running low on income to pay for increasing costs. Real inflation now is more than 7%, as estimated by economist John Williams of Shadow Government Statistics and has every reason to increase as more and more bailouts, wars, and other government programs must be paid for by creating new money.

Working until we die is not a realistic option

Few of us are healthy and working one day and dead the next. There is usually a period where health breaks down, making it impossible to go on working — while expenses mount.

The real nightmare no Boomer wants to think about is needing long-term care without the having the resources to afford the best care.

Betting what’s left of your life savings on stocks, bonds, foreign exchange arbitrage, penny stocks, or the lottery is not a wise practice. Statistics show that most boomers don’t have sufficient capital to leverage into the amount of ROI they need, anyway. Like they say, it takes money to make money — and most American Boomers don’t have much to spare.

Gambling your remaining savings on the uncertainties of the financial markets is — to put it mildly — not wise.

Waiting for the economy to come roaring back is also a bad bet. Home prices, adjusted to take inflation into account, will never regain the high valuations we saw in 2005. The high returns on real estate appreciation were “a bubble” brought on by loose Federal Reserve lending policies. The bubble burst — it’s Game Over.

The economy and our global system of work is changing. True, there are new high-tech fields where work can be done from home, but most Boomers don’t have the specialized education required, nor do they have time or inclination to get it.

Fortunately, in all this gloom, there is an answer to the predicament of millions of Boomers. It is Network Marketing and millions are already successfully using it to generate all or part of their family income.

Is This You?

Millions more are looking at network marketing for the first time, wondering if it could be the answer to their prayers. It can be, but there are so many misconceptions that booby-trap the road to understanding what network marketing is, how it works, what is required to succeed, and how to pick a good company.

There is no space here to answer all these questions and concerns. The main purpose of this article is to point out the urgent need of millions of American Boomers (though many may not admit it) and a workable solution that — if implemented in time — can provide a comfortable retirement income that can stay ahead of inflation.

Unfortunately, most who need this won’t listen. They will find reasons to believe it won’t work, without really looking into it. When crunch time comes, they will be unprepared for the economic disaster that now seems inevitable.

Almost exactly two years ago, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told “60 Minutes” that he was beginning to see “green shoots” in the economy.(1) Like the first buds after winter, he said, these events and statistics were signs that the economy would soon grow again.

Now I find myself spying hints of green in the housing market, the first part of the economy to enter the recession’s deep freeze.

The official reports on housing are still dispiriting. The S&P/Case-Shiller index, which tracks home prices in 20 U.S. cities, fell 2.4 percent over the past year. The index also dropped on a quarter-to-quarter basis from the third quarter of 2010 to the fourth quarter and on a month-to-month basis from November to December. The trend is likely to continue, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg. On average, they predicted prices will drop almost as much this year as they did last year.

Foreclosures, too, are expected to continue. In 2010, there were around 1.2 million bank repossessions, up from 900,000 in 2009, according to Rick Sharga, a senior vice president at RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for foreclosure properties.(2) “We expect we will top both of those numbers in 2011,” he told The Wall Street Journal.

But when I drove into Miami over President’s Day weekend, I saw encouraging signs. The downtown area, which was crushed by the housing crisis, appeared to be flourishing once again. Stores were doing business and there were people on the streets.

Miami was one of the epicenters of the condo boom. Over 20,000 condos were built in the downtown area alone in the past decade, the Miami Herald reported. I remember driving through the area five years ago and thinking that, with so many construction cranes, it looked like a photo of a Persian Gulf emirate.

The new construction promised to transform a once blighted neighborhood into a vibrant urban hub. There was already a new sports center, the American Airlines Arena, built in 1998. In 2006, Miami became home to the country’s second-largest performing arts complex, the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts. Only New York’s Lincoln Center is larger.

But just as many of the gleaming new high-rises surrounding those facilities were completed, the economy tanked, and no one moved in. In May 2009, developers had sold only 62 percent of those new condos. However, a new study found that 78 percent of those condos sold by the end of 2010. Even better for the neighborhood, an influx of renters has driven the overall occupancy rate up to a nearly-respectable 85 percent. Downtown is no longer a ghost town.

Many of those buying Miami condos right now are foreign investors, who are probably encouraged by the area’s newfound liveliness. The new occupants, owners and renters alike, create business for local stores and restaurants and make the area more attractive to additional residents who may soon follow.

There are promising signs on the other coast as well. Emile Haddad, a former Lennar Corp. executive who is now chief executive of FivePoint Communities Inc., is staking his money on recovery in San Francisco and Los Angeles, aiming to build two large planned communities in each city. While Haddad recognizes that the demand is not yet in place, he said, “I don’t want the party to show up and I’m not dressed. When the market says ‘I’m here,’ we’ll be one of the few that can deliver inventory.”

Haddad’s developments will be close to the cities, while the worst-hit areas are farther inland, in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, east of Los Angeles, and in the San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys, east of San Francisco. But as is often the case, the economic core has to recover for the fringe areas to have a chance, and that process is now beginning. Once prices return to their old heights in urban centers, people looking for deals will once again begin migrating to the outer areas.

A similar process is starting to play out in New York City. Prices in Manhattan began to rise last summer, after a sustained slump. The median price of a co-op or condo in Manhattan is now $880,000, 3.5 percent more than in 2009, according to the realty firm Prudential Douglas Elliman. The average time apartments spend on the market has dropped. As in San Francisco and Los Angeles, this rebound in Manhattan will likely drive sales increases in the outer boroughs and suburbs.

Places like Seattle and Chicago, which saw the housing market slide later, are finding themselves at the later end of the recovery as well. But even in Seattle, which had a dismal fourth quarter, anecdotal evidence of change has gathered since the start of this year. “I think folks are more positive,” one real estate agent said. Granted, many real estate agents would see a buying opportunity even in the midst of a major earthquake, but vibrant regional hubs like Seattle and Chicago will, in fact, turn around sooner than less fortunate places like Cleveland.

I think the recovery we are starting to see is occurring more in spite of official policies to help housing than because of them. The first-time homebuyer’s credit just shifted the timing of demand, rather than actually creating it. And the strategic adjustment of mortgage terms for those struggling with payments simply kept people in houses they couldn’t afford, preventing those properties from going to people who could afford them. The noise on Capitol Hill about paperwork flaws in foreclosure processes delayed things even further.

I said, in response to each of those government efforts, that the only way to truly move forward would be to allow the wave of foreclosures to run its course. Now, that is actually happening. In a year or two, the foreclosure rate will drop, and many of the homes now being foreclosed will be in the hands of new owners.

Healthy housing markets need a strong national economy as their foundation, solid local and regional economies for superstructure, and a desirable local atmosphere for the rest. Not every place that suffered in the housing drought will recover at the same rate, or even recover at all. But, given the proper encouragement, at least some of today’s green shoots will grow.

Sources:

(1) Slate: Green Shoots: Is The Economy Really Showing Signs Of Recovery?

(2) The Wall Street Journal: More Foreclosures Expected In 2011

Recall September 18, 2008 – Edge of Collapse. It was the worst of times.

Recall the months and years following September 18, 2008. Let’s put ourselves in the moment.

Everything changed. Business is stopped dead in its tracks. Commerce comes to a screeching halt. The days and weeks and months following show little improvement. We elected a new hero on a white horse to lead us back into the glory we once new.

“We have seen better days”. William Shakespeare, Timon of Athens, Act IV, Scene II

So far it hasn’t worked out that way. There may be some chinks in the armor. As a country we may need to do some soul searching and make some cultural adjustments to get back on track.

More than a year later the economy still looks bleak and consumer confidence remains in the basement. The government has tried a number of things to stimulate the economy. The financial bailout of many financial institutions was not exactly received all that well with those that work for a living.

The Stimulus Package was highly promoted and initially looked like it had the makings for a real boost for business and commerce. So far it hasn’t worked out that way. You hear about all the money earmarked for the building industry. The best I can tell, most of it went for roads and infrastructure. The practice of building buildings has not been kick started with the stimulus. There is still no money out there to finance it. The economy in the United States is at the lowest point is has been since the great depression.

Because the United States is such a driver in the world economy, the global situation is not much better. The big guys and the little guys are feeling it. The building and construction industry is feeling it more than most. I hear the reports of 10% unemployment and wonder if the economists who publish these figures really have any idea what kind of impact the downturn has had for the everyday worker. Is this figure really just a mechanism to manipulate the public temperature?

One of the problems with the unemployment figure is that it doesn’t correctly factor in underemployment. I know a lot of people that are underemployed and are bringing in 5-25% of the commissions they were before the fall of 2008. Rest assured, 10% unemployment does not come close to capturing reality. In the design and construction industries the figure has been more like 70% and even more in some parts of the country.

“The world is grown so bad, that wrens make prey where eagles dare not perch”. Shakespeare, King Richard III, Act I, Scene III

Any industry dependent on financial leveraging and investment participation is flat and will be flat until the economy recovers. Eventually the supply and demand imbalance will be restored to a healthy ratio but there is too much excess out there right now. We have been racing out of control for too long. Like a kid in a candy store. We have not been able to manage ourselves. Not on a consumer level. Not on a business level.

Unemployment is a lagging indicator for the economy. Consumer spending and business spending are still very low. Inflation and deflation will be something to watch. I read the other day that a good indicator of the state of the economy is in men’s neckties. If men are wearing brightly colored neckties then confidence is high and we are the road to recovery. I guess pink ties are an especially good indicator. I hear all the stories that the Fed is reporting that the economy is recovering. I am hoping for the best, but I’m not seeing it yet.

In the interim, businesses have to figure out how to survive in the new marketplace. I don’t think sitting around waiting to see pink neck ties will be a strong enough strategy. They have to work smarter and come up with a plan to deal with change and figure out how to manage their risks. Business as usual is out the door. Commerce will never be the same.

“When sorrows come, they come not single spies, but in battalions”. Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act IV, Scene V

We are now in a continual battle to correct the events and impacts that led up to the sputtering of our economy. The Federal Reserve, has tried to do something about it. We were dragging the rest of the world right along with us. On the surface, it appears as though the stimulus attempts have made a difference. Efforts to free up bank credit have helped slow the pace at which banks have tightened their credit standards. This is fine unless you are in the commercial real estate market. The effects of bad loans linger. Credit for commercial development projects has all but frozen and there is no end in sight.

There have been a few programs that have had a positive effect like cash for clunkers and first time home buyer tax credit. Both of these caused an increase in demand that will be at the expense of tomorrow. That is to be expected for most any stimulus program. The intent is to stimulate to create a false sense of confidence. Confidence whether founded or not will have a positive effect. If it spreads we are on the road to recovery, theoretically.

The real impact of the general tax cuts and government spending is yet to be realized but early indicators are somewhat disappointing.

We all have to realize is that our spending spree in the past decades was financed with reckless abandon and disregard for tomorrow. Irresponsible and greedy creditors helped us along this path. Many got wealthy at the borrowers expense. Consumers spent money they did not have and had no long term capacity to pay back.

What about non residential construction?

Long term growth is still a big question and commercial real estate has not seen much if any relief.

When posed with the question, “what is the current state of the economy?” I believe you will get as many answers as you have people willing to answer. I know there are many people who can give you a better assessment than I can. Probably most people.

Stock market goes up; stock market down. Gas prices go up; employment down. Oil corporations get richer; average folk getting poorer. Food prices are up; energy costs are up, mortgage foreclosures are up, consumer confidence is way down. Does all of this sound familiar? While economic “experts” debate about the possibility of recession, millions are living a recession. The question is, why? There is ample energy in the world; food is plentiful; there is more than enough money; so much needs to be done there is no reason for people to be unemployed or underemployed. So what gives?

The government, economists and big business is imbuing the public with a sense of defeat. While the few are making their billions, they continue to insist that there is not enough to “go around.” Argue for your limitations and they are yours. We are at a point where the consumer can strike back with the power of their hard earned dollars and show all of the economic gurus that they are wrong. There are no “laws of economics.” You believe there are because that is what you are taught, but the truth of the matter is that what you believe, you manifest. We are all subject to the same events, yet some are having no problems while others are struggling to make ends meet in “these tough economic times.” People must come to understand that times are tough because that is what you believe.

Since so many people believe oil prices will go up; that money is scarce; that food may be hard to come by; that banks will foreclose; that jobs will be lost and that we may have to fight our way out this so called mess, that is the way it will be. Form follows thought. So what is the average person to do? How can you keep your eye on the prize while the winds of change seem unstoppable? The following are just a few ways to beat the system that seems intent on breaking your economic back.

1. The first thing to do is to not buy into all of the economic “doom and gloom.” If you think that things are getting rough, they will get rough.

2. The next thing you want to do is to truly evaluate all of the garbage that you have been wasting money on. It is obvious that we have been in a buy, use and throw away state of mind. This way of living is not sustainable and no longer acceptable. You are bombarded daily with commercials that want you to spend your money on things that you really do not need. Stop watching commercials.

3. Buy basic! I am not talking sacrifice; I am talking about living a healthy and less expensive lifestyle. Look at your cupboards and all of the junk food that is only killing you and your children. You do not need expensive, sugar filled cereals. You do not need all of the junk treats that are clogging your arteries and making you and your children fat. You do not need all of the sweets. Buy basic, healthy food and you will find it more nutritious and more filling. I will not list brands but your basic whole grain cereals, without the color and sugar added; real bread that is more filling; less prepared foods-they are expensive and not good for you. Make your own. A can of tomato sauce that you spice yourself for pasta is half the cost of prepared sauces. Frozen foods must go. Make your own and it will be cheaper. Get the family involved in food preparation and maybe actually talk to your children.

4. Get off of the meat kick. Meats are expensive and should not be the mainstay of your diet. Cut back and be healthier and if you must, buy no hormone meats. They may cost a little more but they will make you feel better. Use recipes that include some meat but which add vegetables and it will go a lot further.

5. You do not need all of those snack foods in the house. Again, this is not a sacrifice, it is common sense. Forget what your children demand. Make real popcorn, use fruit for snacks and get the sugar out of your diet.

6. Eliminate soda. Neither you nor your children need it and it is not good for you. Water works just fine. Cut back a little each week and watch how you feel better and watch your dollar go further.

7. Forget the latest fashion. Dress basic. You do not need to constantly purchase new clothes just because fashion changes. All you are doing is making someone else rich, at your expense. You are better off buying quality that lasts than buying cheap clothes that do not hold up.

8. Reduce unnecessary driving and save gas. If people do not show up to events, sports, or other social functions because of the cost of gas, maybe someone will get the hint.

9. Rent the movie, don’t go to one. The cost of movie theaters and the food that they sell are ridiculous. This is just wasted money.

10. Live differently. Forget how others say you should live and go with what your instincts say. A more natural life is a less expensive life. Stop mindless consuming and buy what makes sense. Your money can change the way business does business. Don’t buy what “they” say you need, buy what you really need and watch your expenses shrink.

The so called “economic crisis” that we seem to be in is self induced. The banks and lenders did not have to raise rates. They did not have to make loans to people they knew were not financially sound. Oil prices did not have to skyrocket. Consumers did not have to waste millions on junk. We did not have to settle for poor quality and products that polluted the environment. What we have done by default, can be undone by conscious choice. Consumers can make its own “course correction” and by their action create an economy that is sustainable, efficient, environmentally compatible and logical.

The tips offered are just a beginning. If you are losing your home, let it go if it was truly out of your reach. Use this as an opportunity to re-think your priorities, the way you live, the way you spend your money. Use this as an opportunity to re-shape your world into one that makes sense to you, and not one created by the latest commercials that would have you give all to line the pockets of those who have much. Buy a few less beers, eat healthier foods, get off the sugar habit, stand up to wasteful buying, ignore the adds and take control of your life.

In 2012, Princeton University professor Anne-Marie Slaughter wrote an article that attracted attention from all around the world. Why did her article attract so much attention? Instead of spreading the falsehood that women can have it all, Slaughter boldly told the truth. She said women can’t have it all.

As women, we tell ourselves that we can have both a family and a career if we are committed enough, dedicated enough, hardworking enough, have a partner who helps out at home, or if we delay having children. Slaughter says while these aren’t lies, they are partial truths at best. They are partial truths because barriers and flaws exist in our world that continue to hold women back making it impossible for women to have it all.

Slaughter believes we must clear stories like these out of the way in order to make room for more honest and productive discussions. Instead of spreading myths that keep barriers and flaws intact, we need to talk about real solutions to the problems faced by women who work today.

As women, we are blessed to have been born when we were. Our mothers and grandmothers were expected to get married, stay home and raise their kids. Those who wanted a career outside the home faced many challenges including overt sexism. These women knew the only way to succeed in their career was to act like a man and to never talk about their children while at work.

While we’ve seen many improvements since these early days of feminism, we still have many challenges ahead. While women today are paid more than in previous generations, graduate from university in record numbers, hold more leadership positions and enjoy more prestige than ever before, men continue to dominate the highest paying jobs and most top-level leadership positions. Many women today are single mothers and others struggle to find jobs. Some support husbands who cannot find work and others struggle to find quality daycare they can afford. The very few women who make it to the top of their organizations have to be superwomen to get there. They make enormous personal sacrifices and work extremely hard in order to overcome the barriers and ceilings that stand in their way.

Companies are beginning to realize that when they make changes to enhance work life for women, these changes actually improve work life for all employees. Studies show that when companies have good family-friendly policies like flexible work hours, job sharing, on-site daycares and the ability to occasionally work from home, they are able to attract better talent and this raises productivity. Creativity experts say that connecting play and imagination in the workplace is important too, in order to unleash creativity in employees. Companies like Google have embraced this idea. They encourage play with Ping-Pong tables, light sabers, and policies that allow employees to work on whatever they wish one day a week.

Economists Justin Wolfers and Betsey Stevenson report that women are less happy today than they were in 1972. They call this the paradox of declining female happiness. They say this “unhappiness difference” creates a new gender gap that isn’t measured by salary but is measured by well-being and happiness instead. They believe the best way to improve the lot of all women is to close the leadership gap. They say that only when women hold power in ample numbers will we create a society that authentically works for all women. And a society that authentically works for all women, they insist, will authentically work for everyone.

We are all out of work-life balance. We are busy and stressed beyond belief. There are never enough hours in the day and we find it impossible to do all the things we know we should. We don’t sleep enough or exercise enough, we have significant demands from our jobs, we feel the pressure that comes with raising children, and our children themselves lead increasingly busy lives. We know there are huge emotional and health costs to this lifestyle, yet we keep running hard because we don’t know how to stop.

In an article called The Great Burnout, author Maryam Sanati writes that the 12-hour workday used to be the exception, but now it’s the norm. Sylvia Ann Hewlett and Carolyn Buck Luce, both of Columbia University, say we have become “extreme workers.” Jeff Muzzerall, former director of the MBA Corporate Connections Center at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, says that a devotion to endless workdays has become culturally ingrained.

Because we are out of balance, our world is out of balance too. Gaps continue to grow between the rich and the poor, and food and water crises are rising. More than a billion people are starving, yet a billion and a half adults are overweight and half the food produced in the United States is thrown away. Our current methods of mass food production through factory farming, along with an overuse of antibiotics and pesticides, are making people and the environment sick. We are in a time of worldwide economic meltdown. We are increasingly dependent on oil, have experienced a massive erosion in public trust, and our planet is ecologically imperiled. Our weather patterns are intensifying as we experience hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, droughts, snow, ice storms, and floods of unbelievable severity. Violence, war and terrorism are “normal” ways of life.

Slaughter tells us that seeking a more balanced life is not a women’s issue, it’s an issue for all of us. Change is possible but we need to rethink how we live, work and even play. We need to create new structures and systems that are balanced, practical and grounded, empowered and empowering. For example, Deborah Epstein Henry, a former litigator for a large law firm says that the billable hour, the way the legal system charges for its services, has “perverted” the legal industry, leading to excessive work hours, massive inefficiency and highly inflated costs. The answer, she contends, is a combination of alternative fee structures, virtual firms, female-owned firms and the outsourcing of certain legal jobs to other areas. Women and younger lawyers are beginning to push for these changes. Clients who are tired of inflated legal fees are demanding change as well.

If women are going to achieve real equality and help to create a better world for everyone, we must stop accepting traditional male behaviour and traditional male choices as the ideal. Slaughter reminds us that our behaviour and our choices as women matter too.

In order to create a better world, men will need to begin to ask how they can manage a better work-life balance just as women have always done. They too will need to figure out how to balance active parenthood with their professional careers.

If we have these conversations and if we encourage women to take on more active leadership positions, together we’ll create a world that will properly focus on how to help everyone lead happy, healthy and productive lives.

Then and only then will we be able to rebalance ourselves and the world.

Then and only then will women (and men) truly be able to have it all.