Clinton and Trump should beware the 'infrastructure genie' Rick Newman

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Roads! Bridges! They’re coming to save the US economy.

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump both want to spend 12-figure sums to rebuild infrastructure, create thousands of jobs and stimulate economic growth. There’s even a kind of bidding war on the matter. Clinton, the Democrat, wants to spend close to $300 billion on new construction, which would be the most in decades. Republican Trump has said he’d double that spending.

But the more the next president spends, the more disappointing the results may be. “There are good reasons to be skeptical,” Douglas Holtz-Eakin, president of the American Action Forum and a former director of the Congressional Budget Office, says in the video above. “Infrastructure [spending] isn’t really as great as it’s often portrayed to be.”

One reason for that involves timing. Big spending on infrastructure does make sense during a recession, when unemployment is high and the economy is shrinking. Putting people to work building things keeps income flowing to otherwise-idle workers who are likely to spend most of it, reducing the severity of a downturn. That’s what happened with the 2009 stimulus plan, which went into effect as the unemployment rate was soaring toward 10%.

The unemployment rate now is just 4.9%, nearly as low as it can go. Construction has been strong and there may not even be that many qualified workers to man big stimulus programs. With less slack in the labor force, infrastructure spending tends to generate less bang for the buck. Holtz-Eakin, who has advised Republican politicians, cites CBO research that found a massive infrastructure program on the scale of Trump’s proposal would boost economic growth by less than 1 percentage point.

Upgrading the arteries of the nation’s economy would have benefits. It would make some businesses at least a little more efficient. And it makes sense to do such a thing when interest rates are low, as they are now, since the government would pay less for any money it borrowed.

But there are still financial constraints. Borrowing to cover the entire cost of new infrastructure programs would push the national debt—which already tops $19 trillion—closer to the danger zone. Clinton would pay for all her roads and bridges with new taxes on the wealthy, and tax hikes are usually bad for the economy, since they inhibit spending and cut into growth. That offsets part of the gain from infrastructure spending. Holtz-Eakin refers to Clinton-Trump-style stimulus as “the infrastructure genie,” arguing that the promise far exceeds the likely reality.

Thing is, there aren’t many other big ideas in either candidate’s plan that seem likely to juice a slow-growing economy. Economists widely pan Trump’s plan to rework free-trade deals and impose tariffs on imports, saying it would do more harm than good. Many of Clinton’s economic ideas involve new subsidies paid for with new taxes, which tends to move wealth around instead of creating more of it. At least roads and bridges help you get somewhere.

Culled from yahoo finance

Achieving a Happy Retirement- Odunze Reginald C

According to Donna Rosato  in an article captioned “5 secrets to a happy retirement-“ noted that “Busy retirees tend to be happier. But just how active do you have to be? Moss has put a number on it. He found that the happiest retirees engage in three to four activities regularly; the least happy, only one or two. “The happy retiree group had extraordinarily busy schedules,” he says. “I call it hobbies on steroids.”
Rosato (op cited) noted that “For the biggest boost to your happiness, pick a hobby that’s social. The top pursuits of the happiest retirees include volunteering, travel, and golf; for the unhappiest, they’re reading, hunting, fishing, and writing. “The happiest people don’t do things in isolation,” says Moss.
That’s no surprise when you consider that people 65 and older get far more enjoyment out of socializing than younger people do.”

This is agreement with Merrill Lynch survey  who “found that nearly three out of four people over 50 said their ideal retirement would include working. Which is fine. Staying connected to the work world in some way can not only offer financial benefits, it can also keep retirees more active and socially engaged”

But be as it may, they tend to be happy and according to Dave Bernard in an article captioned “Finding Retirement state of mind” which appeared in US News .he stated that “they appear to be genuinely happy with their state of affairs and making the most of each day. When you ask about their retirement experience they shine a genuine smile and are happy to regale you – often at length – about how wonderful it is to be in their shoes. Their happiness is infectious and you may find yourself caught up in their joy. Although it is safe to assume not everything is perfect in their world, their overall outlook is positive.

But does it relate to Africa, and Nigeria in particular, from my little experience any forum organized for retirees normally had a large turnout, indicating that there is that urgent need for socialization. Even though psychologist has noted human beings are gregarious, but on overall outlook they tend to treasure human relationship in the form of socialization.

But can retirees afford the huge cost of socialization? One of the major means alleviating such expenditure is to join volunteer group, but is it effective in Africa and Nigeria in particular.

Odunze Reginald is the Lead Consultant, Chareg Consulting, a management and marketing  consultant  a social media and social marketing consultant , you can visit our twitter anchor @dunzereg, find us on Facebook @ Reginald odunze and reginaldodunze.com, at google+ @ Reginald Odunze and at Linkedin@reginald odunze.

 

 

 

Business Sun Trust: 10 Things Every Nigerian Should Know About the Branchless Bank

SunTrust Bank formally opens for business today as it seeks to reshape the Nigerian banking space and the way consumers interface with their banks.



Many have continued to ask questions about the mode of operation of the bank which has no branch or branches.

Here are 10 things you should know about the Sun Trust Bank:

1. The bank though with no branches has its headquarters at Oladele Olashore street in Victoria Island Lagos.

2. The banking hall is completely different, no kiosks or cashiers and it looks more like an airport lounge, signaling a total dependence on technology in its service offerings to the public.

3. The bank promises to offer telephone, mobile and Internet banking underpinned by the traditional banking ethics of probity and integrity.

4. The bank does not plan to have any branch as it will rely on technology 100%.

5. Its services will be available to customers 24 hours daily, seven days a week and from anywhere in the world where there is a good Internet service.

6. The bank claimed that its data centre is outsourced, thus, ruling out the overbearing requirement to put on the generator at locations.

7. By adopting a branchless strategy, SunTrust will save the N100m-N120M required to build a modern branch and the about N2.5m it costs to run the generators at a typical bank branch.

8. Customers of SunTrust can use any bank’s ATM because the bank will not be charging them the fee charged by other banks for using ATM machines belonging to other banks.

9. Opening an account at the bank is easy free and it can be done by logging on to the website; www.suntrust.com

10. Money deposit into Suntrust is to be done by the bank’s ATM. These machines are currently available in USA and not in Nigeria yet.

 

Posted by Kemi

Culled from Nigeria bulletin

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