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Steve’s Butler’s 2009 Columns ...
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 All 2008 Articles
December 29, 2009 - Health care reform big leap forward for America
While Congress marches toward health care reform, I'm surprised that I haven't heard two obvious arguments for why passage is so critical.
December 22, 2009 - Never invade your nest egg's principle
What America needs is a simple book spelling out the most productive decisions people need to make as they transition from work to retirement.
December 15, 2009 - Bond funds better than fixed-rate annuities
A REPORT in last week's New York Times pointed out that AIG was once again the top-selling provider of fixed-rate annuity products by banks.
December 9, 2009 - Happiness in retirement not dictated by money
AFTER MEETING one of the authors at a book-signing, I was prompted to read "How Remarkable Women Lead," by Susie Cranston and Joanna Barsh.
December 2, 2009 - Do not look for trust at major brokerages
The poor Saint Anthony Foundation will have to sue Citibank to get its money back from what was purported to be a money-market fund.
November 25, 2009 - Investors who exited seek way back in
"The market rises on a wall of worry." For those who bailed out at some point during the downdraft, it's now a "wailing wall."
November 18, 2009 - Good living habits can bring happy returns
When I step out the door most mornings these days, my wife shouts from the breakfast table, "Stay focused!'
November 11, 2009 - Fluctuation can't derail disciplined investors
THIS MONTH marks the 10th anniversary of this column. It seems like just yesterday when I was asked to contribute after gaining notoriety from a cover article in Money magazine titled, "Beware, Retirement Plan Rip-Off."
November 4, 2009 - Alternative to 401(k) plans not in your interest
So, there I was last Thursday on WNYC radio, the public broadcasting station of New York City, where I was rebutting the recent Time magazine article that called for "retiring the 401(k)" because of the latter's apparent failure.
October 28, 2009 - CalPERS influence costly to taxpayers
Anytime there's a lot of money sloshing around, it can bring out the worst in people. California's $163 billion public employee retirement nest-egg, CalPERS, is proving to be a feeding trough for opportunists of several different stripes, and in the end, we taxpayers pay for the damage they create.
October 21, 2009 - Alternate to 401(k)s tax trap in disguise
Barbarians are at the gate. Time magazine last week had a cover article called "Retire the 401(k)" wherein they cite that "the average balance is $45,519." How stupid do they think we are?
October 14, 2009 - Investing returns depend on timetable
While basking in the afterglow of a 50 percent rise in the stock market, the financial press reminded me that we are closing in on the worst decade ever for the S&P 500 going back to 1927.
October 7, 2009 - TIP bonds could trap investors in bad net
Don't look now, but Treasury Inflation-Protected bonds (TIP's) may be a trap for the unwary. They're certainly good for the government, because the interest cost on TIP's is half of what it takes to sell a regular fixed-rate, 10-year government bond.
September 30, 2009 - Regulations help keep bankers honest
"Death panels" for institutions "too big to fail" sounds like a good idea to me. The concept was voiced by Barney Frank in describing what Congress has in store for the financial services industry.
September 23, 2009 - Health care solution by one reader
Last week's health care column triggered a flood of e-mail from readers. Most agreed that something needed to change, and they cited their specific frustrating examples in dealing with the prevailing system.
September 16, 2009 - Health care costs fuel reform call
I was stunned last week to learn that the health insurance premium my company pays for my wife and me (we're in our 60s) is $1,827 per month.
September 9, 2009 - Bonds could be a better bet
"Wall of Worry" is said to be the old bugaboo upon which the market rises. In a nation of too much communication, there's no end to a worry wart's source of supply.
September 2, 2009 - Investing during stagflation
Anyone lining up historical facts and then peering into the future can reasonably guess that inflation will define the economy for the coming generation.
August 26, 2009 - Good, bad and the ugly of Kaiser
My new Aussie puppy reminds me of the dog-training book, "Good Dog, Bad Dog." Meanwhile, the flood of e-mail after my column on Kaiser Health suggests that it's time for a book "Good Kaiser, Bad Kaiser."
August 12, 2009 - Retirement Boot Camp now begins
To spend or not to spend? Do we enjoy life to the fullest and accept what it costs, or do we save for retirement?
August 5, 2009 - Kaiser may be future of health care
My recent column on the health care crisis brought anecdotal experiences out of the woodwork. My favorite was the guy who called and said that his doctor had recommended a new skin cream.
July 29, 2009 - Banks not paying back AIG money
I saw the Johnny Depp movie "Public Enemy" about John Dillinger just days after learning that the average wage this year at Goldman Sachs will be $700,000.
July 22, 2009 - October turnaround in the cards
Cheer up. The depth of our despair, from an economic standpoint, is scheduled to take place on or about October of this year.
July 15, 2009 - Health care reform needs common sense
On a seven-mile hike up Flat Top mountain in North Carolina with my nephew, a young family physician, he shared what his experience is like in an emergency room practice in a medium-sized southern town.
July 06, 2009 - Bonding could protect investors
The Bernie Madoff fiasco prompts me to wonder if the ubiquitous "Member of the Security Investors Protection Corporation" (SIPC) means very much right now for those of us who were never given the chance to invest with Bernie.
June 29, 2009 - Common sense and investing
Ford family members who still own 40 percent of their family's company have gathered once again to discuss what to do about their once $2 billion that has shrunk to $150 million.
June 22, 2009 - Long-term outlook a no-brainer
I once suggested what I thought was a great idea to my attorney who countered with, "Steve, that's not a good idea. You don't understand. You're in the system now, and the system defies logical thinking."
June 15, 2009 - Corporate 'right-sizing' means profits
A picture in the New York Times showed an empty General Motors office building that recently housed over 10,000 engineers. Think about what that means beyond the 20,000 Hush Puppy shoes and pen protectors.
June 8, 2009 - 'Valley after the rally' looming?
What next? While the stock market may be taking a breather, could another shoe be dropping soon?
June 1, 2009 - Time to get back on the horse
Now that we can bear to open our retirement plan statements again, it might be a good idea to revisit some investment fundamentals.
May 25, 2009 - Time to stand back and reassess
With the market falling off five percent after a thirty-seven percent surge, we ought to be wondering: "What's going on?" For the optimists, this is basically a bull market taking a breather.
May 18, 2009 - Dividends, buy-backs key elements
Some readers tell me they sleep at the end of their driveways on Sunday nights so they don't waste a minute getting to my column early Monday morning.
May 11, 2009 - True family wealth can't be counted
It was a busy week in Florida. I attended my son's graduation from veterinary school, met my engaged daughter's future in-laws for the first time and celebrated my dad's 93rd birthday with a family dinner that included our three generations.
May 4, 2009 - We've been through this before
What a great time to be old. My father just celebrated his 93rd birthday and passed his driver's license test that was required this year.
April 27, 2009 - Murky 401(k) fees siphon savings away
Think about this: You're a 401(k) participant with $100,000 in a combination of funds from a popular financial institution, and you receive an annual bill from that fund company for $800 - 0.8 percent of your account balance.
April 20, 2009 - Sun filtering through our dark clouds
READING ALL the economic prognostications just makes my head hurt. Nobody strikes me as being that convincing either way, so it's really an exercise of hedging bets and gripping the arms of my chair as tightly as possible.
April 13, 2009 - GM's CEO exit pay heart of problem
The news that Rick Wagoner was about to receive $23 million as he leaves his post as General Motors CEO left me sick to my stomach. What have those GM directors been smoking?
April 6, 2009 - Look under hood of your investments
While unfortunate events in our investment portfolios may have prompted some anxiety, the vast majority of us can at least enjoy some smug satisfaction at having avoided a wipe-out from the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme.
March 30, 2009 - Speedy recovery will inflate stocks
What a bummer. I was hoping the stock market would go up, but not this soon. Having just finished Warren Buffett's 900-page biography "Snowball," the main recurring theme is the extent to which he made most of his money by buying stocks when they were down, in many cases, really down.
March 23, 2009 - COBRA can bit workers, employers
An employer's worst nightmare? A terminated employee fails to be notified of their extended health insurance rights under COBRA, and then this uninsured former employee gets really sick.
March 16, 2009 - Recovery's foundation being built
During the federal governmentÃs case against Enron, I recall an especially contentious point in the proceedings when the lead lawyer for our government felt compelled to say "Mr. Lay, you seem to have forgotten that I'm here in this courtroom representing the People of the Untied States of America."
March 9, 2009 - Like a mosquito in a nudist colony
What a great time to be young, and employed. The dichotomy of recessions is that people tend to get increases in pay if they are fortunate enough to avoid layoff.
March 2, 2009 - From the ashes, a new SEC attitude
Help is on the way. At the Securities Exchange Commission, Mary Shapiro replaces Christopher Cox, the former Orange County U.S. representative who ran the agency into the ground.
February 23, 2009 - Some reasons for market optimism
I would hate to be branded as yet another economic Pollyanna, but I am excited about some of the good things I see out there in the wilderness.
February 16, 2009 - Stop the Barbarians at the gate now
OK, we've had it. Let's round up the pitchforks and torches and storm the gates. Our fury has its roots at both ends of the social-economic spectrum.
February 9, 2009 - New Health Care Model Needed
Among all the different models for alternate coverage that we have, from the VA to Kaiser to PPO's, there are several that would work as national policy if we ever decide to go there. That time might have arrived.
February 2, 2009 - Wading through mutual funds ratings
Theologically speaking, a term "The Left Behind" describes those of us who will miss what's called the "Rapture," a lift up to heaven at the time of some future world apocalypse.
January 20, 2009 - Voters may have to do job of lawmakers
When you watch the dimes, the dollars take care of themselves. The problem for California taxpayers is that we are powerless when it comes to watching the dimes unless we bludgeon our Legislature with the fiscal sledgehammer of the initiative process.
January 19, 2009 - Butler: Main Street takes over Wall Street
Thinking about the Ayn Rand novel "Atlas Shrugged", I found myself wondering if we 401(k) investors are propping up Wall Street.
January 12, 2009 - Day of reckoning here for pensions
Even someone with a foot fetish would find little gratification in the shoe stories of the past month.
January 5, 2009 - A silver lining to stock price drop
It might be realistic to be pessimistic about the prospects for big stock market gains in 2009, but what's the point?
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