At the annual Schwab conference a couple of weeks ago, many of the expert speakers and panelists offered a similar take on our precarious financial situation. The good news is that, while a number of difficult decisions have to be made, a political consensus can lead us to a reasonable fix of what ails us. The bad news, of course, is that we are reliant on politicians to make the necessary hard choices. We are also reliant upon a public willing to accept them.

The most impressive presentation came from Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles, who warned of the dangers of our country's tremendous deficit. While you may not agree with their plan for fiscal responsibility, they do offer a sobering perspective.

In an interview with Jeff Miller, a business coach at Action Coach, we discuss how business owners and executives can benefit from independent guidance.  Click the video to hear a discussion that busts some of the myths surrounding coaches.

While economists and politicians hotly debate the efficacy of the Federal Reserve targeting low interest rates to boost the economy, less attention is being paid to the impact on investors. Don Phillips at Morningstar calls such interest rate policies a "War on Savers." He boldly asserts:

"These policies represent a massive transfer of wealth from savers to debtors. To cushion the blow for the millions of Americans who lived beyond their means over the past decade, the Fed continues to penalize those Americans who kept to a budget and set money aside for the future. The cost of these subsidies is in the billions of dollars and puts the retirement security for millions of prudent Americans unfairly in jeopardy."

The city of St. Petersburg is quite impressive—the canals, the architecture, and the history make it a wonderful place to visit.  The city is also economically vibrant, which is a far cry from the Russia of old, with long lines for a limited supply of food and necessities.  But economic success has not translated into political freedom. Disdain for the government has not overcome the fear of being jailed for protesting.