Most of us in the U.S. return to work today from the last long weekend of the summer. We are now looking forward to National Football League’s first week of games, starting on Wednesday evening, with the Super Bowl Champion Giants hosting the Dallas Cowboys. This past weekend while we were visiting with friends and family in Sea Pines on Hilton Head Island, the collegiate football season began in earnest. Saturday morning started the day with the overmatched Naval Academy playing Notre Dame in Dublin, Ireland in the Emerald Isle Classic. Notre Dame came away with a one-sided victory, 50-10. My Boston College Eagles played Miami in an ACC contest in Chestnut Hill, taking a 14-0 early lead, but they fell behind in the 2nd quarter and lost 42-31. Their offense clearly looked improved from last year, but turnovers and a defense that did not dominate showed that they still need improvement to return to their 12-year streak of bowl games, which they broke last year. On November 10th the Fighting Irish will travel to the Heights to play the Eagles, once again, in the Holy War. I will be following the game from Down Under on a business trip to our Plan For Life subsidiary and our clients in both Sydney and Melbourne. Saturday’s collegiate football games came to an end with #2 Alabama totally dominating #8 Michigan by a score of 41-14. Alabama demonstrated that they are still a contender for the National Championship.
Last week we also watched Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan officially nominated by the Republicans to challenge President Obama and Vice President Biden, who the Democrats will nominate this week in Charlotte. I looked back to a column I wrote in early January of this year, Retirement & Energy Independence: Two Issues to Be Addressed. I wrote, “The first one is the funding of retirement. This is a global issue that goes well beyond the U.S. election. In the U.S. the impending retirement of the baby boom generation needs to be addressed by both parties, particularly with regards to Social Security funding requirements and Medicare, as well as what retirement resources individuals will need as they live longer. These entitlement programs and their funding requirements cannot be ignored.
“The other issue that has just started to be discussed nationally is energy independence. Recently, the Deloitte Center for Energy Solutions conducted a poll and released the results at their annual oil and gas conference in Houston on December 15th. Eight out of 10 respondents linked gas with job creation and economic revival….While there are environmental risks, the majority of the respondents believe that the long-term reward of energy independence from shale gas far outweighs the risk. In 2005 shale gas made up a very small share of domestic natural gas production but has surged beyond 20% recently. The positive impact on the health of our economy over the next several decades, when combined with newer green technologies, cannot be overstated.
“These two issues are ones that I would like to see President Obama and his likely challenger Mitt Romney address when they meet in the fall to debate, prior to the November election.”
We will have the opportunity to hear from both candidates on this important issue for both our children and grandchildren. I should add that these new technologies have also resulted in an abundance of shale oil in the U.S. and Canada. When combined with renewable energy sources like solar and wind, there is a real opportunity for a new era of growth.
I will close with this question: Do you remember what a gallon of regular gasoline cost when you first got your driver’s license? I will date myself. When I started my love affair with the automobile it was $.32! Please drop me an email and let me know what a gallon of regular gas cost when you first started to drive. From 1950 until 1970 it averaged $.27, only moved to $.36 in 1970, and it stayed below $1.00 until 1990.