I don’t know a great deal much about economics, simply defined as the social science that studies the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services.

The term comes from the ancient Greek that means “management of a household, administration.” Current economic models developed out of the broader field of political economy in the late 19th Century when business and politics grew hand in hand.

Journalist Ambrose Pierce, known for his Devil’s Dictionary first published in 1881, had unkind words for both.

Corporation: An ingenious device for obtaining individual profit without individual responsibility

Politics: A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage.

In the 21st Century, business and government share the blame for the global financial crisis. You don’t have to be a financial wizard to realize why the United States is in grave trouble.

When citizens spend more than they earn and owe more than they’re worth, then loses their jobs, how can they escape economic disaster?

Frankly, greed is the beast (as in King Kong) that has been killing our way of way of life for quite a few years.

Before the Great Depression, Herbert Hoover wanted a chicken in every pot and many Americans ended up with not even a pot to do you-know-what in. Ah, but FDR and World War II saved us and put Americans to work.

During the past two decades politicians and corporate America wanted every citizen to own a home even though quite a few couldn’t afford it. That’s the primary reason one in 10 homeowners are in trouble.

Living on credit is the dagger for many consumers while loss of jobs and the dwindling manufacturing sector is the death mask.

A famous American from the 18th Century got it right: “If you can’t pay for a thing, don’t buy it. If you can’t get paid for it, don’t sell it. Do this, and you will have calm and drowsy nights, with all of the good business you have now and none of the bad.”

This jack-of-all-trades and master of many is Ben Franklin. His advice holds so true today. I’ve been following it for years.

A penny saved is a penny earned: I began setting aside $5 a week for retirement a year after I got married. Whew, that was 1964 when I was 29, Lyndon Johnson was president and the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit the 800s.

Tis easy to see, hard to foresee: Plenty of Americas has learned the hard way that playing the stock market isn’t a piece of cake. The older you get, like yours truly, the less risk you can afford. My idea of smart investing is protecting the principle in retirement funds at all times.

There is no kind of dishonesty into which otherwise good people more easily and frequently fall than that of defrauding the government: The line forms at the rear.

After crosses and losses, men grow humbler and wiser: That goes for most of the recent investment swindlers club that have been caught recently.

Silence is not always a sign of wisdom, but babbling is ever a folly: That goes for the plethora of politicians and slew of financial TV experts that talk for hours on the tube.

There are three faithful friends -- an old wife, an old dog, and ready money: Two out of three isn’t bad. Fifi the four-pounder is less than 2.

Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing: Thanks, Ben.

Greg Melikov, who writes about various subjects for publications and Internet sites, can be contacted at

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