Government Debt and the Stock Market

The headlines the past few weeks have been dominated by political wrangling about raising the government debt limit and the related volatility in the stock market. As a financial professional, I do follow the headlines, but I also try to formulate relevant lessons that I can apply to my own or my clients' situations.

Although there was hope that the discussions between Congress and the President would lead to some significant improvements in the fiscal outlook for America, the resulting bill basically arranged financing for spending that has already occurred. Although big changes still could be coming, the lack of significant improvements in some economies is one thing that has contributed to decreases in various stock markets the past couple weeks.

I think that more people are coming to the realization that the government can't solve our problems. In America, we are our own government and the problems at that level are often a reflection of what is going on in individual homes and families. The solution is ourselves. We should individually evaluate our household finances, our debt situation, our savings and our education to make improvements. Just as America needs a new plan for government revenues and expenditures, we can each make an individual financial plan to improve our lives. It can start with small changes and eventually we'll see improvements at a higher level. Let's return to what made America great and get to work!