<font size="3"><b> Mo’ Money, Mo’ Problems </font size="3"></b><br>
If there is one thing our little recession has taught The Teller, it’s this: it’s ain’t easy bein’ rich. Don’t believe us? Just ask your neighborhood millionaire.
That’s what the <b>Phoenix Companies Inc.</b>, a "leading provider of life insurance and annuities for high-net-worth consumers" did for its 10th annual<b> Phoenix Wealth Survey</b>. Apparently, the 1,700 people with a net worth higer than $1 million (not including their primary residence, of course) they surveyed are pretty unhappy with the way their bountiful assets are performing.
"The continuing economic turmoil has stripped America’s millionaires of their confidence and sense of security; they are feeling far worse off than they did during the last economic downturn in 2003," said <b>Walter H. Zultowski</b>, Ph.D., senior vice president of Research and Concept Development at Phoenix. "This pessimism has affected their attitudes about their financial future as well as their behaviors."
Nearly 30 percent of the millionaires were pessimistic about their financial future, up from only 5 percent when the survey began in 2000. The millionaires weren’t holding out for a quick recovery, either: 59 percent were pessimistic about the country’s economic outlook over the next year, up from 30 percent from last year. The Phoenix Companies call that the "gloom barometer," and apparently we’re in the middle of a Category 5 Gloomicane (or Tygloom, if you’re on the West Coast).
Clearly, something must be done about this. We can’t have millionaires losing confidence in the economy! Who will shop at the <b>Natick Collection</b>, or get box seats at the new <b>Yankee Stadium</b>, or buy fully-loaded <b>Cadillac Escalades</b>? Goodness, 44 percent of millionaires surveyed are concerned they will have to modify their lifestyle! What’s the point of being a millionaire if you can’t live in pure, unchecked decadence?
Fortunately once the economy actually does turn around, things will go back to normal. According to the survey: "Despite the wrenching changes in the U.S. economy and the lives of individuals, [those with] high net worth don’t foresee any long-term behavior changes. Sixty-five percent say Americans will save more and borrow less in the near term, but when financial conditions improve, they will return to borrowing more and saving less. Just one quarter see a permanent change."
Parasol holders, palm frond waivers, and lounging grape feeders will be back in business, and we’ll all be better off for it. If the millionaires are unhappy with the economy, The Teller can’t imagine how the wretched, dirty, debt-riddled middle class must feel. They ought to be so pleased they didn’t have any money to lose in the first place: just look at all the troubles those of "high net worth" are having.
<font size="3"><b> Bells And Whistles Not Just For Trains </font size="3"></b><br>
<b>Massachusetts’ Executive Office of Transportation</b> (EOT) must be getting pretty fired up about the <b>Green Line Extension</b>, because they’ve produced a high-tech mock up with computer animations to show the proposed stations along the new route, released on April 28.
The interactive architectural drawings, which can be viewed at www.eot.state.ma.us/glx, are fascinating, but The Teller can’t help but wonder if the time and money spent to produce such a product couldn’t be better spent elsewhere.
According to the project’s Web site, www.greenlineextension.org, during the current 18-month phase, EOT and the<b> Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority </b>still have to decide on the precise locations of stations, and prepare "the necessary state and federal environmental review documents."
Meanwhile, the <b>Legislature</b> and <b>Gov. Deval Patrick</b> are haggling over a gas tax to raise revenue for the state’s embattled transportation departments. The MBTA is saddled with $5.2 million in <b>Big Dig</b> debt and faces a $160 million budget shortfall this year. They are planning service cuts and have already frozen wages.
The Teller suggests EOT and the MBTA worry about their current Green Line service, which is absolutely, positively terrible, before figuring out what an arriving train would look like at the proposed <b>Lowell Street Station</b> in <b>Somerville</b>. Let’s leave the pretty pictures and fancy animation alone until somebody can figure out a way to improve the MBTA’s financial situation. And we’re not talking about bake sales in front of the State House.
