That most famous face of the psychological profession, Dr. Phil, is known for his down-home philosophies.
One of the chief among them is: “If Momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.”
Well, all I can say is “Momma” must really be ticked off about health care, because it seems like nobody likes the road reform (or lack of reform) is taking.
A (very) short list of angry people:
Some people have been seething for a long time; for others it’s been a slow boil.
According to a photo essay in Time magazine, “at an overflowing town hall meeting in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, on Aug. 11, Craig Anthony Miller grew so agitated that he had to be restrained by another audience member. ‘You are trampling on our Constitution!’ he shouted at Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.).”
In the photo, Miller looks like he’s about to give Specter a Three Stooges poke in the eye, which would only have contributed to the nation’s bloated medical expenses. Ah, but at least Specter, as a member of Congress, has great health coverage. Nyuk nyuk.
Everybody, it seems, is angry about health care. And if I have learned one thing in following this incendiary topic, it’s this: you can’t escape the outrage.
Believe me, I’ve tried. I was late to the party of anger and only swept up in the fervor by virtue of my being collateral damage—angry due to others’ anger.
This time of year I like to frequent college football message boards to keep up with the latest scoop on which players are developing during spring practice and who’s climbing up the depth chart.
Have I been able to find that out lately? No! Instead of discovering if the quarterbacks can make “all the throws,” or if the middle linebacker can run sideline to sideline, I’m reduced to reading wild rants about health care reform—on a college football message board!
I thought I would be the last angry man in America, but now I’m mad, too.
Maybe, hopefully, by the time you read this in April, everyone will have joined arms at the elbows and will be swaying and singing happy songs about health care. But something tells me whether a bill has pushed through by then, somebody, somewhere, is going to be angry—very, very angry.
5 Forgotten Referral-Selling Sources
Many of us believe that, because our business is complex and sophisticated, only certain people would be good referrals. This assumption is just wrong. Everyone knows someone--you just need to ask....
A recent study by an Allianz Group research team reveals how the recent economic turmoil and plunge in household wealth is affecting consumer habits.
The research showed that the spike in savings rates, which recently hit 6 percent, could prove to be a permanent shift in Americans’ behavior.
Such a sea change in consumer habits could correlate to an increase in the need for guaranteed and safe-savings solutions, as Americans become more leery of risky investments.
Allianz estimates that $700 billion in U.S. savings could be amassed in the next 10 years. This would come as a reaction to the unprecedented drop in net worth from mid-2007 to early 2009. At its worst, the collapsing real estate and stock markets erased almost $17.5 trillion in household wealth.
“We have witnessed a surge in the saving rate since early 2008, up to an average of 4.6% in 2009,” said Michael Heise, an economist at Allianz. “We anticipate that products such as mutual funds, annuities and equities will benefit from this change.”
After a slow start to 2009, purchases of financial assets are set to climb to an estimated $700-800 billion annually. This compares to the average of nearly $900 billion for the boom years of 2003 to 2007.
“One [lesson] from the financial crisis is that it’s not just about asset allocation, but asset location. There is a definite need for financial products that offer guaranteed lifetime income and which we view as the emerging fifth asset class,” said Allianz Life Insurance president Gary Bhojwani. “It goes beyond saving for retirement; it’s about planning how we want to live once we do retire.”