Dana Barfield

Here is the Labor Force Participation Rate from 1980 when Ronald Reagan took office through January 2012 (Obama in office for three years). Reagan created an environment where employment grew substantially. Obama has overseen an equally intense decrease in labor participation. Source:  Bureau of Labor Statistics Jan 2012 ... (more)

Good Time to Give…But Is It a Good Idea?

Perhaps you saw the article in a recent edition of the Dallas Morning News, or maybe your attorney, CPA, or financial advisor has suggested that you make estate planning gifts before the end of the year.  Presently, every donor can give just more the $5 million without incurring a gift or estate tax (you may consider these dollars amounts to be too large for your particular circumstance, even so, please keep reading as the principles here apply to smaller amounts also).  Unless the law is changed, this is set to revert back to the $1 million threshold on January 1, 2013.  When th... (more)

Whom You Align Yourself With…

And the corollary is, be careful who you let align with you. In this day and age there is constant discussion and effort a bout partnerships, high performance teams, the team approach, and alliances. The rationale is one can accelerate or maintain one’s position more effectively by teaming up with others. While partnering with others has its benefits (at least in certain cases), it also has real draw backs. There is an old saying a bout a chain being “only as strong as its weakest link”. Anyone seeking a partnership of any kind needs to keep this wisdom in mind, especially regardin... (more)

European Union Economy Hard Numbers

Eurozone unemployment hits record. The biting austerity and debt crisis across the Euro-zone continued to hit hard in December, with unemployment coming in at a euro-era high of 10.4%, which was unchanged from revised November figures. At 22.9%, Spain clocked in with the greatest unemployment, followed by Greece and Lithuania. At the other end of the scale, Austria had a 4.1% rate, while Germany's jobless figures fell more than expected; the rate was 6.7%. Eurozone banks to tap ECB for even more money. In further evidence of the liquidity squeeze among eurozone banks, several of ... (more)

Obama Economic Record

There was the speech and then there are the numbers... ... (more)