What a couple of weeks it has been! I spent some time with the founder of the Canadian National Stock Exchange and had a personal tour of Toronto. As I drove into the city, the number of cranes increased dramatically. Some have indicated that the city currently has over 180 high-rise private projects, many city utility projects, and major street renovations going on all at the same time. In short, Toronto, and many Canadian cities, are being rebuilt right before our eyes. Europeans are excited and the money is pouring in to this new land of extraordinary economic opportunity. One can live in a high rise condo for a little more than $200,000, the private sector is buoyed by regulations that are streamlined, and the country is on the move with citizens that understand personal responsibility. Vast natural resources are managed and developed responsibly for the benefit of a nation. Contrast this with the United States, where there is little personal accountability, and those who exercise the right thing to do are ridiculed. Jingle mail Jingle all the way! Where it is coming to light that the government hunts down its own citizenry for a different opinion through multiple agencies, where the church is losing its right to its own beliefs, and where regulation stifles creativity and growth, where we dismiss responsible resource management and implement cap and trade in California. The Hague indicated gas prices would necessarily rise to $8 per gallon, and businesses in California reportedly will ultimately shutter the majority of its refineries and 75 percent of jet fuel will be imported. One of our stops was at a book store where Ian handed me 1493 and many other texts. Key passages set the tone of a modern day globalized society in Manila. All continents, save Australia, traded through this first truly globalized modern Mecca. China hoarded silver, Spain was a dominant global powerhouse financing expeditions to the new world, and a mission system that spanned vast expanses of land provided a pathway of silver and other commodities across to Europe and Manila. International bankers provided loans to Spain to finance their activities under the assumption that the riches would continue. Debt grew to 10 times revenues. By 1557, Spain was hopelessly in debt triggering a string of defaults over the next 60 years. Do parts sound familiar?
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Leonard C. Wright, CPA/PFS, CFP, CLU, ChFC
Money Doctor, AICPA
KLAV 1230 AM Financial Fridays Radio Show Host
213-447-1833