Thompson: Right and wrong in a weak economy

“Ooh, don’t pooh-pooh a nickel, Lisa. A nickel will buy you a steak and kidney pie, a cup of coffee, a slice of cheesecake and a newsreel. With enough change left over to ride the trolley from Battery Park to the Polo Grounds.” – The rich, but miserly, C. Montgomery Burns to youngster Lisa Simpson on “The Simpsons” Lisa looks unimpressed. Her dubious expression probably sums up the attitude of anyone younger than 40 who has ever purchased a postage stamp with a credit card. Generations X and Y aren’t cash operations. Some of us aren’t good savers. And with myriad shiny things to chase, it’s not ALL our fault. Maybe two-thirds or five-eighths our fault. All I know is that my unopened 401(k) statement was thrown into a drawer that was then nailed shut. My Depression-era grandparents knew how to keep costs down. Grandpa Vander... [read full story]