Economic Status of the United States in 1950

Introduction

Emerging victorious from World War II five years earlier, the United States in 1950 was reaping the benefits of a growing economy - benefits that were actually derived out of the country's participation in the War. The destruction and mayhem brought by the global conflict also brought with it several positive contributions to the economy. Some would even argue that the country's participation in World War II actually saved it from the Great Depression.

To understand the economic boom of the 1950s it is necessary to appreciate the positive impacts that were borne out of World War II. The foundation for the economic expansion and growth experienced in 1950 and several years after that were laid during World War II.

To fund and support the country's war time efforts, it had to recruit millions of American soldiers to be sent to the war front as well as to be stationed at home. Factories had to be built to produce war materiel - guns and ammunitions, military transport, tanks, fighter planes and bombers, etc. To man the factories women and older people had to be recruited as most of the able-bodied men were at war. WWII created jobs and gave life to many industries and energized a nation. Among the industries that prospered during and immediately after the war were the newspaper industry, the agriculture industry and even Hollywood. Industries that produced transport and plant machineries also prospered. Throughout the War, women, for the first time, were given the opportunity to work outside their homes and participate in nation building. The participation of the women in the labor force started to increase during this time.

The War also provided opportunities that would later be manifested in the 1950s. Take for example many of America's products went overseas - introducing themselves to new markets.

Many had actually feared that the end of the War would lead the country back to depression. With production of military supplies coming to an end, this fear had its basis - for the entire economy was propped up by all that had to do with the global conflict.

Fortunately, this was not the case. The victory relished by the nation brought about confidence in the government and the economy. The common consumer best exhibited this confidence as the strong consumer demand spurred economic growth after the War.

Leading towards the 1950s, industries that experienced a surge in growth included the automobile industry and the housing industry, and new industries experienced fantastic births - industries such as aviation and electronics.

There was also another outcome of WWII that contributed to post War growth - the Cold War between U.S. and the U.S.S.R.

Many of the military industries that sprouted during the war continued to do big business after it. As communist block emerged as a military power in Europe, America had to arm itself against what it considered as a threat. Huge investments were made in the defense of the country. Such investments meant jobs, factories, huge spending - all contributed to the boom of the 1950s.

The economic success of the country probably influenced its leaders to advocate the replication of an open economy at the international level. This is best evidenced by the country's spearheading the establishment of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

Gross Domestic Product and Per Capita GDP

In 1950, the country's GDP was at $293.8 Billion (in current dollars). At that time, Per Capita GDP was $9,573.00 - making the United States the number one country world wide in this aspect. By 1996, GDP was at $13.194 Trillion. Per Capita GDP was at $43,800.00 - however, the country ranked only at 10th place world wide in this respect.

Post World War II scenario showed that too few economies survive the war while a great majority, especially in Europe, was greatly affected. Many developments starting in the late 1970s toward the early 2000s enabled other countries to overtake the U.S. in terms of Per Capita GDP.

As Per Capita GDP is influenced by population, countries that had significant economic growth coupled with low birth rate were able to surpass the U.S. in this indicator. However, the U.S. remains the most powerful economy in 2007 taking into consideration other indicators.

Employment and Unemployment

In 1950, the civilian labor force was about 58 million strong. Only 5.3 percent of the labor force was unemployed. 41.6 million of the labor force at that time were males, while only 17.34 million were females. By 1996, the labor force grew to about 142 million while unemployment rate as at 5 percent. 76 million were males while 66 million were females in the labor force. In the 1950s, the number of workers in the services sector caught up with workers in goods production industries. The same time also saw the rise of white-collar jobs and the strengthening of labor unions. Awareness on labor rights was on a rise. The biggest impact experienced by the labor force was the increase in women's participation in employment activities. Accordingly, women have literally poured into the labor force starting in 1950. By 1990, women's participation in the labor force would nearly double. On the other hand, men's participation would drop over time.

Per Capita Personal Income

In 1950 the Per Capita Personal Income was pegged at $1,501.00. By 2006 this rose to about $36,600.00. Though marked by huge difference in amount, it can be noted that $1,501.00 in 1950 could by more goods and services than the $36,600 in 2006 as illustrated by the CPI rates for both years.

Consumer Price Index and Inflation

With 1967 as base year, CPI in 1950 was registered at 72.1 - meaning that a basket of goods and services bought in 1950 were 72.1 percent of the price of the same goods and services bought in 1967. By 2006, the CPI was at 603.5. This meant that the same basket of goods and services bought in 1967 would cost 603.5 percent more in 2006. Inflation rate in 1950 was at a steady 1.09 percent. In 2006 the rate was at 3.24 percent.

Emerging Industries

1950 saw the emergence of new industries that were anchored on new technologies. Among these is the aerospace industry. The great success of the heavy bombers during the war emphasized importance on innovation. Improvements in engine design, metallurgy, and arms technology helped advance the industry as well as improve manufacturing procedures.

The onset of the Cold War ensured that the industry was there to stay. At its peak, the industry hired hundreds of thousands of workers in four major factories. The industry was also fueled by a $3 billion government spending.

Other industries that grew during this time were boosted by other industries. Take for instance the housing boom experienced after war. New homes meant additional furniture and appliances as well as new cars. The consumer-led growth likewise spread to other areas. The introduction of television to the masses spurred the growth in electronics.

There were also after effects in the growth of industries. As the demand for homes and cars increased, many Americans were lured out of central cities to the suburbs. The construction of better highways also contributed to these phenomena.

Farmers though were facing tough times. As people left farm lands, lesser people were left behind to do farm work. This led to a drop in the productivity of the farm sector.

Innovations and the Transformation of Business

At a personal level, 1950 saw the introduction of the first hand held T.V. remote control - a device that would be seen as a necessity in many households for years to come. Color TV also emerged through the issuance of a license to CBS Network. Another innovation is the introduction of the first credit card - Diners - also an item that would come across as a necessity in modern times.

The first pagers were also developed in 1950.

In the business front, 1950 would usher in an era marked by consolidation of large companies. Businesses would combine to create bigger, greater businesses. Example, International Telephone and Telegraph bought Sheraton Hotels, Continental Banking, Hartford Fire Insurance, Avis Rent-a-Car, and other companies.

Notable Events and Personalities

Notable events of 1950 included the following:

Start of the Korean War - influenced greatly by the U.S. and USSR at opposite sides, North and South Korea would tangle in a three-year war that highlighted the tension during Cold War regime.

Development of the Hydrogen Bomb - raged by the atomic bomb testing by USSR, the government pursued the development of a hydrogen bomb.

Senator Joseph McCarthy - started the Red Scare in halls of the U.S. Senate - making accusations that the State Department was filled with Communists or their sympathizers. The Senator's actions led to the adoption of the term McCarthyism - describing intense anti-Communists sentiments.

This period coincided with and fueled the onset of the Cold War between America and the USSR. Thousands of Americans were accused of being Communists or sympathizers during this time - Americans in various sectors of the society. History would later judge these accusations as reckless and baseless. While Senator McCarthy gained considerable media mileage at the start of his "campaigns," he would be later unmasked as a grandstanding antic who had little or no evidence to back up his accusations. Many of the people Senator McCarthy accused suffered greatly. Many loss their jobs, had their careers ruined while some were even unjustly imprisoned.

Conclusion

The end of World War II led to the end of the Great Depression and the start of a long period of economic expansion through the 1950s. It is quite ironical that the most destructive war in history would contribute to the emergence of the strongest and biggest economy in the world. The confidence on the economy was obviously brought about by the country's victory in the War. Tempered by strong collaboration between the government, businesses and the consumers, the U.S. emerged from the War a lot stronger and economically strengthened. Industrial expansion during wartime brought economic impetus that would be carried on even after WWII. The fact that most of the major economies were slow to recover from the after effects of the conflict placed the United States at absolute and relative advantage over both its allies and its enemies.

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Cities, States, and Others Step Up Action on Climate, Despite Federal Reluctance

Last year, Pentagon defense adviser Andrew Marshall issued a harsh warning of the consequences of climate change: mass chaos, national security crises and food shortages. If climate change occurs abruptly, the report declared, there could be a catastrophic breakdown in international security. Wars over access to food, water, and energy would likely break out between states. Even if climate change is more gradual, recent studies have argued that as many as one million plant and animal species could be rendered extinct by 2050 due to the effects of global warming.

Climate change is the most serious challenge facing the international community. In order to plan for a sustainable future - one that meets needs today without compromising meeting the needs of future generations - global warming must be addressed. We have arrived at a stage in human evolution that requires international cooperation - a stage which demands that world leaders put world priorities ahead of national political agendas in order to halt the peril threatening humanity.

In 1987, the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) asked all nations to renew their commitment to implement policies based on the three pillars of sustainable development - economic, environmental and social - in order to arrest environmental deterioration and revive world economic growth. In particular, the report stated, poverty has played a major role in environmental degradation. Not only is it our moral obligation to eliminate poverty, the report revealed it is essential to protecting and improving the environment. Further reports have concluded that environmentally unsound technology has been exponentially far more detrimental to sustainable development than even population growth. In order to achieve sustainable development, the Commission reported, our cities must be considered in the global concerted effort.

Rural-to-urban migration and its negative impacts must be stopped, or better, as Urbanist Kaarin Taipale puts it, we must "transform urban growth into an engine of sustainability." Since three-fourths of the global warming pollution could be solved if we decreased burning fossil fuels, one of the most effective ways to transform urban growth is by switching to alternative energy sources. Fortunately, there are many means of harnessing energy which have less damaging impacts on our environment than fossil fuels, and we already have developed all the technological resources needed. Now we must admit there is a problem and start working in the direction to make this transition. If our current leaders do not want to face this pressing challenge with integrity, then as Leonardo Dicaprio urges, we need to vote for leaders who care about the environment and our health and the future generations.

A Call to Action

On October 25, 2005, Senator Hillary Clinton (NY) called for a national energy strategy enlisting the oil industry in a process that would help consumers while making the transition to alternative energy technologies. Her plan redirects the hidden "tax" that Americans are already paying to OPEC and the oil companies, but she explained "lasts only long enough to kick-start the alternative energy market that we all know is out there."

Speaking to Cleantech Venture Network, a group of venture capitalists who recently were named by Wall Street Journal reports for their success in developing clean energy as a viable investment category, Clinton emphasized the immediate concern which is how to help citizens pay their bills and keep the economy moving in the face of dramatically higher energy costs. There is no question, she said, that our failure to make better energy choices is sapping our pocketbooks, limiting our competitiveness, threatening our environment and even our national security. "Hurricanes Katrina and Rita made that brutally clear."

The far reaching problem we face, Senator Clinton stated, is coping with the impacts of massive economic development and competition for oil in other parts of the world such as India and China in the next twenty years. "Loosening environmental standards or opening up a new oil field or two is not going to offset this seismic shift in energy demand," she explained. Her plan unburdens the American people of foreign oil dependence, investing a portion of the profits into the U.S. energy future, instead of regimes we would never choose to subsidize.

The oil industries can choose to either reinvest their profits into America's energy future or contribute to a new Strategic Energy Fund, she said. The Strategic Energy Fund would help consumers cope with spiraling energy costs, promote adoption of existing clean energy and conservation technologies, while stimulating research and investment by the private sector. She also recommends assessing an alternative energy development fee for those companies deciding not to directly reinvest in our energy future. That fee, she explained would help fund energy transition.

"The Fund could generate as much as $20 billion a year to help with home heating oil costs and develop new energy strategies." In this way, she explained, we would reduce our reliance on fossil fuel, make existing alternative technologies more affordable, jump start our technology, and regain U.S. world leadership. It's got "Made in America" written on it, in addition to providing a role model for developing nations.

The "energy revolution" can be as big and important as the industrial revolution and the explosion of the information age. However, we have to do what America has always done when faced with a big challenge, she said, "roll up our sleeves and dedicate this country to finding a solution." In effect, she explained, "the country that put a man on the moon can be the country to find new lower cost and cleaner forms of energy. Our nation needs it. Our planet needs it."

Addressing Climate Change

The Rio de Janeiro Summit in 1992 articulated the need to include humanity as well as environmental protection in the sustainability equation. Hence, it concluded, the critical problem of poverty must also be addressed. When the United Nations authorized the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002, it had already realized poverty had deepened and environmental degradation had worsened since the 1992 Summit. The world needed a new summit of actions with results, and not just intent.

Managing urban environmental conditions ultimately belongs with national governments, businesses, scientific bodies, and communities working together; but history shows us U.S. involvement has always sped and strengthened global progress in improving urban environmental conditions for sustainable development.

Although the United States makes up four percent of the world's population and produces 22 percent of the world's greenhouse gases, it's refusal to ratify the Kyoto Protocol's call for reductions in the greenhouse gases merely underscores Federal unwillingness to address climate change. Claiming that the treaty would raise energy prices and kill five million U.S. jobs, the Administration has even raised questions about the scientific legitimacy of climate change. As British Petroleum CEO John Browne put it, "The time to consider the policy dimensions of climate change is not when the link is conclusively proven, but when the possibility cannot be discounted."

According to a study published by Princeton professors Robert Socolow and Stephen Pacala, the U.S. could reduce emissions to below the 1970 levels just with its current technology. "We in fact already have everything we need to face this challenge," Vice President Gore has said, "save perhaps political will. But in our democracy political will is a renewable resource."

Embracing the Urban Challenge

The former Vice President challenged the notion that addressing the problem of climate change would harm our economy. "Incredible opportunities in addressing climate change are available that would help, not hurt, our economy," he said. Citing how the city of Portland, Oregon, independently decided to reduce greenhouse emissions below the Kyoto limits, Gore reported that Portland has come within a hair of achieving its goal "and has prospered economically while doing so."

More than 160 cities have already made commitments and are involved in combating global warming by reshaping their cities through innovative programs and technologies. Mayors across the country created a coalition of their own to deal with climate change.

Worldwide, cities and provinces are working together to end global warming: 675 localities in thirty countries are now documented participants. Moreover, 152 U.S. cities and counties and 100 Canadian localities have joined in Cities for Climate Protection program created and run by ICLEI. Scores of major U.S. cities have already reduced their emissions below 1990 levels, saving $600 million through efficiency measures. These coalition mayors say they have made urban living more eco-friendly while creating local jobs. They have also agreed to pressure Congress to pass the bipartisan Climate Stewardship Act, which would establish a national emissions trading system.

Critics say U.S. government efforts are coming too slowly. According to the White House Council on Environmental Quality, the Administration is spending $2 billion on initiatives to promote renewable energy, clean-coal technology, hydrogen-powered vehicles, and nuclear power. President Bush's energy bill, which went into effect in August 2005, calls for industry to slow emission increases, but it still does not demand an overall reduction.

Senator Clinton explained emphasis must not only be placed on increased use of alternative energy sources, but the federal government must offer direction by setting clear, measurable goals. In this way, she said we can assume leadership in solving our energy crisis. Therefore, as part of her national energy strategy, she is calling on Washington to replace its entire fleet of government vehicles with fuel-efficient cars and trucks by 2010.

Urbanist Kaarin Taipale explained what's wrong with the tempo of the forthcoming energy mandates from the Bush Administration. "They are just now calling for gas efficiency changes, not only are these efforts coming as too little, too late; they only save a few gallons of gas while cars are heavier, using more energy through electronics and air conditioning."

Besides, she said, making cars more energy efficient will not solve our urban problems alone. "Cities must be made to have mass transportation accessible, viable, and not just for the poor," she stated. We need to build cities where people do not depend on their own private car. "I'm not talking about green ideology; where we use bicycles and suffer - or where we all live provincial and primitive lives," she explained. She then cited Manhattan as an example: even though it was not originally purposely planned to be energy efficient, the city offers a great transportation system. In most cities in America - and even more in the rest of the world where buying American cars imitates the American Dream - the car is a status symbol, a signal telling people how well you are doing. "But in Manhattan," she said, "this is not the case. Everyone takes some form of public transportation, not just the poor."

Addressing Climate Change at the Clinton Global Initiative --Thinking Outside the Barrel

"We face a global emergency; a deepening climate crisis that requires us to act." -- Al Gore

The Clinton Global Initiative, which took place in Manhattan on September 14 -16, 2005, served as a catalyst for spurring community-level development while providing a supportive atmosphere from which to facilitate pro-development policies at regional and national levels.

During the session on Climate Change, Senator Clinton remarked that while the Federal government has avoided responsibility for climate change, state and local governments have been providing models for action. The very large disadvantage of this state and local leadership, Senator Clinton warned, "is it could lead to a patchwork of regulation, which I think would be very unfortunate and would pose extra burdens on the private sector." In effect, she said, it is the private sector that has a big stake in pushing for a real national response - one that will actually deal with the problem, not continue to deny it or postpone it.

Senator Clinton described her visit to Barrow, Alaska, where she met with a number of the scientists who have been charting climate change for 30 years. While 'off the radar' for many of us, the situation there is having very problematic effects for all of us. One professor studying the effects of Permafrost thawing explained that, as the Permafrost melts, it releases carbon and methane which makes our global warming worse. When Clinton asked him what an individual citizen could do to solve the problem, he responded, "plant more trees." Trees have a sequestering ability. They absorb the excess carbon dioxide in that atmosphere and in return give back clean oxygen. That's something every one of us can do, she added, alone, with family, group, neighborhoods, and communities. And the other is: each of us can make decisions that insure we are as energy efficient as we can be in our homes and in our places of business and try to make better choices about transportation. While these individual choices might seem very small in and of themselves, she told us, in the aggregate, they can also influence policy.

Tom Roper, retired Victorian Parliament and current Project Director of the Global Sustainable Energy Islands Initiative (GSEII), represents a group that must rely on the International community. While the small island developing states (SIDS) are collectively the least responsible for greenhouse gas emissions through fossil fuel use and deforestation, Honorable Roper explained, they are most impacted by climate change. In addition, island states contain a disproportionately high amount of below poverty level income citizens. "Most SIDS are ill-equipped to deal with their existing environmental problems," said Roper, let alone the predictions of rising sea levels. The 43 members of the Alliance of Small Island States represent 50 million citizens. No where are people more at the mercy of international inaction. Roper is supervising projects on the small islands to serve as a role model of sustainability which incorporates energy efficiency and renewable energy. "They are tackling their own economic and social issues as well as environmental," Roper said. "These nations are not just complaining; they are taking action," he added.

Pennsylvania and Perhaps Louisiana . . .

Kathleen McGinty, Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and former principal environmental advisor to President Clinton, offered a project to reduce greenhouse gases in Pennsylvania. The project is committed to providing the resources to enable a clean energy future in Pennsylvania through up to $1 billion in tax-free bond financing to build renewable and efficient power plants and fuel production facilities.

Governor Rendell's administration has committed itself to: adopting greenhouse gas tailpipe standards, replacing dirty, inefficient power plants, and securing passage of one of the most far-reaching clean energy laws in the nation.

On a final note: at the Clinton Global Initiative, many found one recommendation most compelling - rebuilding New Orleans as a model of energy efficiency. The city of New Orleans, like older cities, was not built to withstand the effects of a level 5 hurricane. It flourished during a time when the effects of global warming were not yet known. Global warming, however, has been increasingly creating erratic weather patterns with more frequent, extremely severe storms. What better way to target climate change and create hope than by turning New Orleans into a model city for a new, more intelligent tomorrow. As one Climate Change session participant put it, "we've got to think outside the barrel."

Elizabeth Autumn, MBA, is a freelance reporter. She covers environment and corporate governance issues and specializes in media analysis. Completing her Masters in Environmental Management at Harvard University, Elizabeth also writes for Crane?s Magazine, Create Magazine, and Publishers Weekly. Prior to this she was a freelance producer for Fox News, in addition she worked for CBS News and on the Emmy-Award winning CBS Documentary "9-11".

2011 Economic Forecast - Part 2: The United States (US)

2010 is finally history. The economic recovery, which officially began in 2009, was scarcely evident as the US economy muddled through 2010. It seemed that for every piece of good news, like the strong end to the 2010 Christmas shopping season, was countered by news of a setback, such as unemployment rates that unexpectedly returned to nearly 10% during the same period.

The government's stimulus efforts have run their course. The TARP program is officially over and tax credits for new home buyers have all expired. The economy now has to perform on its own without all that artificial stimulation.

The fed has reduced interest rates to historic lows to internally stimulate the economy. If interest rates were the cause of The Great Recession this action should have revved up the economy and put us back on track. With federal reserve interest rates at 0% the economy should be white-hot. However, high interest rates are not the problem, so lowering them did not spark an economic rebound. Here's why with my forecast for 2011:

Unemployment Will Probably Stay Stuck Near 10%

The dirty little secret behind this statistic is that the 10% figure represents only those who currently have no earned income. Those who are working one or more part-time jobs because they can't find a full-time work, are underemployed in their field, or who are laboring out-of-bounds of their education or training are considered by the government to be employed. When this expanded population is taken into account, the actual unemployment/underemployment statistic is most likely double the official figure.

Unfortunately, there are now multiple barriers to lowering our now chronically high unemployment level. Some of the most important are:

The huge oversupply of foreclosed and unsold homes - The reasoning here is straightforward: there is no need for new construction in a saturated market, which means no construction jobs. Jobs in support industries that supply new home construction goods and services will obviously also be affected. More on this topic below.
Continued restraint in consumer spending - more on this topic below.
Major (and many smaller) corporations continue to outsource overseas everything from manufacturing to admin support - much is made of sending low skill or semi-skilled manufacturing jobs overseas, while the US supposedly maintains its edge through high tech startups at home. The government likes to point to numerous high tech startup companies as proof this strategy is working.

Some entrepreneurs do successfully start corporations that may eventually employ 50 white collar workers. However, the product they create is outsourced to manufacturing overseas in a factory that employs perhaps 5000 workers to produce it. Granted, it may cost less per unit to manufacture there, but those 5000 low skilled or semi-skilled workers employed there are exactly the type of person most likely to be unemployed in the US.

So, manufacturing, the great economic engine that for over 100 years was the promise of the high school graduate being able to enter the middle class, is essentially gone, which in great measure explains the growing class rift in our nation.

Note that when manufacturing is sent overseas, the outsourcing company essentially has to teach the foreign corporation how to create the new product, which is new knowledge that a foreign power can use to its own benefit. China is the best example of this. We have successfully trained and paid the Chinese (and others) to beat us at our own game, as evidenced by China's growing economic might and a political presence that now must be reckoned with.
Hiring temporary workers, rather than in-house employees - temporary or contract workers are far cheaper to hire than in-house employees who qualify for benefits like health insurance and the retirement program. The company owes no loyalty to temps or contractors, and they can be hired and fired at will.
Corporations no longer hire employees with "potential" or experience in parallel or complementary industries - major corporations have ceased to think long-term in many areas, shifting their focus nearly exclusively to near term actions that produce short-term results. Examples of this myopic view range from focusing on the next quarter's stock earnings per share to viewing employees as a short-term commodity rather than long-term assets.

Viewing employees as a commodity results in corporate behavior of hiring what's needed for the moment and discharging them when the immediate need disappears, which in turn results in a goal of only searching for and hiring employees "who can make an immediate contribution to the bottom line."
The exponential increase in education, credential, and experience criteria for candidate employees over and above actual position requirements - new hire employees are now expected to "hit the ground running" and be able to "make an immediate contribution to the bottom line." Like a new electronic gadget, a new employee should be able to "work right out of the box."

This new expectation was unheard of only a few years ago during the era when employees were a valuable asset to be invested in over the long term. Then, new hires weren't expected to be able to make meaningful contributions until they had been with a corporation long enough to learned the ropes.

Now, most hiring authorities don't even make the effort to understand what skill set is actually required to perform the job they're hiring for. So, advanced degrees, myriad commercial certificates, and recent experience in everything are specified in the hope that the overkill will result in a person eventually hired that can do the job.

These excessive requirements are then passed to the human resources (HR) department, which dutifully uses them as an inflexible tool to screen the applicant database. The popularity of online employment applications has exacerbated this problem, where the HR person can enter "MBA" as a search term and never see the many capable, well qualified people who are discarded because they don't have this degree.

As an example, you may not need an engineer with an MBA to be the head of a maintenance department. The better candidate may well be a military veteran non-commissioned officer (NCO) who successfully ran a repair depot. Hiring the former NCO would bring superb talent and a broad background into the organization, could probably be hired at a substantial savings for the company, and may stay with the company longer than the highly credentialed engineer who is intent on furthering his career climbing the corporate ladder.

Further, most large corporations have returned to profitability during the Great Recession through extreme cost cutting, mostly through layoffs in their labor force. Employees who survived the purges were told to take on the extra responsibilities of their former colleagues, so technically the same amount of work is being performed by fewer people (which is responsible for the great gains in national productivity figures compiled by the government and widely reported in the media). This approach obviously places all the necessary skill set eggs into fewer baskets, which creates entirely predictable problems when the new multi-taskers eventually leave and corporations try to replace them with another single person who can do the newly defined mega-job, rather than spreading skills (and risk) over several employees.
The well documented bias against hiring the unemployed - On the surface this bias may seem counterintuitive, after all, someone who's unemployed is readily available and could probably start Monday, right?

However, the corporate thought process generally follows this logic path; "most corporations layoff their least productive workers during a downsizing, therefore if you're unemployed you were among the least desirable or productive workers or you wouldn't have been laid off. It follows then that there must be something wrong with you that we don't know about, otherwise you would be employed" regardless of your skill set, recent experience, or personal references.

It's unfortunate that this twisted and nonsensical logic that is frequently imposed on situational "outsiders", from marital status to any of society's other membership groupings, has now found its way into corporate hiring mentality.

I recommend Louis Uchitelle's book, The Disposable American, for more on this topic. (I have no financial interest in this recommendation.)

The unemployment bottom line - The unemployment/underemployment rate will little change in 2011, with those fitting the categories above most affected.

Real Estate Foreclosures Will Continue at a Record Pace and Housing Prices Will Remain Depressed in Most Areas of the Country

The government statistics here are shocking, with estimates that nearly half (HALF!) of all homeowners with mortgages have homes that currently appraise for less than the mortgage value; they're "upside down". Further, nearly 20% of all mortgages nationwide were in some stage of foreclosure at the end of 2010, with rates much higher in the hardest hit states of Michigan, Florida, Arizona, Nevada, and California.

The efforts of the banking industry to work through this massive backlog lead to the "robo-signing" fiasco, where foreclosure paperwork was being routinely approved under oath en mass without verifying what was being attested to in the court documents. Faced with active investigations by attorneys-general in all 50 states, banks temporarily suspended foreclosure proceedings during the 4th quarter of 2010 to straighten out the mess they created, which the news media widely (and inaccurately) reported as a sign the economy is improving. However, the backlog must be worked through to get the bad debt off the banks' books, so foreclosures will resume at perhaps even a greater pace when the paperwork is straightened out, probably by the second quarter of 2011.

The huge inventory of foreclosed and otherwise unsold homes will keep housing prices depressed. As long as there are so many unsold homes on the market (with more to arrive when the banks resume foreclosure processing), the oversupply will keep prices down and may drive them ever lower in 2011. Even after the foreclosure backlog is reduced, many new home sale listings will appear on the market when prices start to rise from the concealed backlog of those who want or need to sell, but didn't list when prices were low, which will depress prices again. I wouldn't be surprised if it took until 2015 to work through this immediate and hidden backlog.

The real estate bottom line - in most markets, residential real estate values will remain depressed or will decline further in the high impact states. Now is the time to buy if you have income security, the necessary available cash, an astronomical credit rating to qualify for a mortgage, and can find a bank willing to lend.

Energy Prices Should be Stable

Recent articles in authoritative publications have reported that on-shore crude oil storage is full to capacity and that mothballed tankers functioning simply as floating storage tanks are anchored off the coasts of Great Britain and Iran. A recent inventory showed that 50+ tankers were anchored off of the coast of England alone.

Most oil producing countries derive the majority of their national income from crude oil sales, so their incentive is to keep pumping, regardless of market price, in order to maintain their revenue stream, which will keep supplies abundant. So, the world is awash in crude oil, with inventory stores in excess of demand, putting downward pressure on gasoline prices. Overall, gas prices should remain relatively stable during the first half of the year, absent an unplanned disruption like a major refinery fire or a hurricane that destroys oil platforms. That's good news for every household and corporate budget in our petroleum-based economy.

The wild card is China, again. Prior to the recession, China became a net importer of crude oil and was starting to compete on the world market for the limited supply of crude available (remember $150 per barrel spot market crude?). If other world economies improve and start consuming more oil, then everyone will return to competing for limited energy supplies on the world market. And China will most certainly win any contest here, because their trade surplus has given them an unlimited supply of dollars to buy oil with.

The energy bottom line - energy prices will most likely slowly increase throughout the year as the fragile recovery continues and the economies of the world pick up steam.

An alternative scenario is that energy prices remain stable when China's real estate bubble collapses (see 2011 Economic Forecast - Part 1: The World View from a US Perspective for elaboration on this possibility), causing a large loss of personal wealth for the average Chinese citizen, dramatically driving down internal consumption, and leading to China's own internal economic recession.

Crude prices will not decline because OPEC will adjust production to maintain oil in the $90-$100 price range.

Consumer Spending Will Remain Flat

People out of work spend only what they have to on the barest necessities. People who are afraid they will be next out of work, cut back on spending in order to save for what might come to pass, and also focus on buying only the practical, needed, and necessary. People who are secure in their jobs, but don't want to be seen conspicuously consuming during hard times, will curtail their luxury purchases. Need I say more?

Further, it's underreported that the historically low interest rates have meant a sharp drop in savings interest income for retirees. Retirees dependent on interest income have had to sharply reduce their spending in order to avoid further encroachment on their principal. Typically, the budget cuts include things like the lawn service contract, the beauty shop, dry cleaning, and eating out, all of which impacts local businesses.

The modest economic improvement widely reported during the last half of 2010 is probably the result of businesses simply restocking depleted inventories to low levels, which is good news but not great news. However, the buying surge that turned the 2010 Christmas shopping season into a last minute success means that retailers will start 2011 on better financial footing because they won't have to start the year having to liquidate seasonal inventory (and profits) at 50%-70% off to generate cash flow.

Additional reasons that I think consumer spending will continue to be restrained in 2011 include the increased personal savings rate (an eventual benefit, but lowers consumer spending in the short term), a focus on reducing credit card debt, unplanned new car payments in the household budget resulting from the federal Cash for Clunkers program, and credit that's either not available at any price or only at unfavorable interest rates and terms when it is.

The consumer spending bottom line - consumer spending on non-essential purchases will continue to be restrained in 2011. When consumers do make purchases, they will focus on the needed, necessary, and practical, and avoid luxury items even if they can afford them. Family vacations will be to local or regional destinations, rather than the exotic venues.

The Credit-Starved Economy

It's widely reported that large corporations are currently hoarding large amounts of cash. This stockpile gives them the ability to hire, expand production, and grow organically if they wanted to, but they are refusing to do so in light of what I've shared above. Even a White House meeting with the president in 2010 wasn't enough to persuade them to resume hiring if they can meet market demand with staff on hand.

However, large corporations continue to have aspirations to grow and, rather than slowly growing organically, the method they're often choosing is rapid growth through acquiring their competition. When companies combine, the result may possibly be good for the new, larger corporation (the marriages generally have a 50-50 chance of commercial success), but the result always has two negative economic impacts:

The cash and loans required to buy the competitor removes large amounts of capital from the market that would otherwise be available for mortgages and loans to small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs), and
Mergers always result in layoffs as the new corporation works to eliminate duplicate functions to help pay for the merger. After all, you don't need two payroll departments, two HR departments, two training departments, etc.

So, large corporate mergers have a break even chance of internal benefit, but nearly always have a negative impact on the economy.

Credit will most likely continue to be tight for SMBs in 2011. Banks say they have money to lend in this area, but the reality is the qualifying bar is set so high that very few will be able to meet it. It's noteworthy that this economic barrier persists despite the availability of government Small Business Administration loan guarantees and the president repeatedly summoning banking CEO's to the White House to urge them to begin lending again.

Finally, a common source of loan collateral for SMBs is no longer available in most cases. In areas hard hit by the collapse of the real estate market, the business owner's home equity line of credit has been completely erased if the property value is now less that the outstanding mortgage balance. Even if there is some equity technically available, few business owners have the stratospheric credit scores necessary to qualify for the loans.

If longer term loans remain unavailable, SMB's will turn to the only recourse they have left, which is financing their need for operating cash with personal credit card debt. Unfortunately, this option is fraught with danger because lending institutions issuing credit cards are rapidly changing card terms, raising interest rates to usurious levels, requiring most new cards to have variable interest rates (a practice which helped get us into this mess in the first place), and lowering credit limits in response to the new federal laws enacted in February 2010. These moves effectively sidestep the legislation intended to curb these abuses.

At a time when banks can borrow at 0% from the fed, it's not uncommon for the credit cards they issue to charge 15% or more on outstanding balances. Further, the new laws do not apply to corporate credit cards, exposing the company to even greater financial risk if the owner is forced to finance via this route.

The credit bottom line - expect little or no improvement in credit availability in 2011.

The Impending Commercial Real Estate Tsunami

Commercial real estate values and investment income will probably take a drubbing as vacant store fronts drive down rents renegotiated in 2011. Failing businesses have created a glut of vacant commercial space in many areas and vacant commercial space doesn't generate income. Surviving business owners will have several alternative locations to choose from and will use the oversupply as leverage to negotiate lower lease rates for the space they do occupy for as far into the future as possible.

And devalued properties of all types will have an adverse effect on local tax digests, forcing local governments to either raise property tax rates or trim operating and school budgets. Which of these choices do you think your local government will make?

Deficit Spending and the Growing Threat of the National Debt

Fiscally, the United States is in a mess and is rapidly approaching the financial meltdown so many European countries are currently experiencing.

The annual budget deficit - the federal government currently spends $3 for every $2 of revenue it receives and the annual spending gap is now over a trillion dollars (a TRILLION dollars) a year. Proposals to close this gap through either increased tax revenue, such as eliminating the homeowners mortgage deduction, or by cutting spending, such as cutting back on Medicare entitlements, meet with howls of constituent protests and go nowhere in a hurry. Note that Medicare alone accounts for 12% of all federal spending and that figure is certain to increase as baby boomers begin to retire in large numbers from the workforce.

The federal government currently spends $1,000,000,000 more every 8 hours than it brings in. It's ridiculously obvious that this can't continue for long, yet collectively Congress keeps kicking the can down the road to tomorrow (figuratively speaking) instead of dealing with the issue.

The US government borrows money to support this deficit spending through the sale of US treasury bonds. During World War II the debt was largely financed internally with American citizens buying "war bonds" at rallies that featured real-life war heroes on display.

Today we sell our bonds to foreign powers finance the deficit. Who's buying them? The largest single buyer, by far, is China, followed by Japan, Germany, and the Arab OPEC nations. So, we are effectively (and quietly) being held hostage to those who buy large amounts of our bonds, because if they don't buy them, then we can't operate the federal government. It follows, then, that the nations buying our bonds use this leverage to exercise considerable influence in our behavior behind the scenes. We are no longer a totally independent nation.

Larry Burkett's book, The Illuminati, is a fictional work about a foreign country that brings down the United States using exactly this leverage. For those who say that can't happen, the book makes an interesting read of a plausible scenario. (I have no financial interest in this recommendation.)

The national debt - The accumulated national debt has reached an unimaginable size. The previous administration added more to the national debt than all previous presidents combined, including Ronald Reagan's, and the current administration is on track to exceed this sorry milestone in just its first 4 years in office. We continue to add to this debt, which must be paid back at some point, almost without thought. For example, the president's much heralded tax deal forged at the end of 2010 added $900 billion dollars to the national debt in extended income tax cuts, additional jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed, and a temporary cut in social security taxes without corresponding cuts in social security spending, at the stroke of a pen.

Predictions are, depending on interest rates, for interest payments alone to equal all non-defense spending of the federal budget by perhaps 2015.

There are only 4 ways out of this mess and they will become increasingly painful the longer we, as a nation, avoid changing our spendthrift ways:

Massively cut spending - this will be very difficult, since the federal budget would have to be immediately cut by 1/3 to be able to simply stop borrowing. It would have to be cut even further to begin paying back principal on the debt.

This step will further impact the national unemployment rate as large numbers of government employees are laid off in the downsizing, as we have seen happen in the European Union bailouts. Most popular government programs would have to be axed or pushed off on the states to fund, such as Medicare, which currently consumes 12% of the annual federal budget alone.
Enacting huge tax increases - this move will generate howls of protest because no one wants to pay more of their hard-earned money for fewer services. As an example, how easy do you think it would be to eliminate the cherished homeowner's mortgage interest deduction?
Defaulting on the debit payments - this is an admission of bankruptcy, pure and simple. If we take this route the government's access to credit on the world market would immediately dry up. After all, if we stop paying on our current bond obligations, how many more bonds do you think we could sell to foreign governments the next time we needed to borrow money?
Printing dollar bills - this is the route to hyperinflation, because as the money supply increases the value of each dollar falls. The most often cited example of the folly of taking this route is the Republic of Germany following World War I, as it struggled to meet the surrender terms imposed by the Allies and make payments to the victorious nations for the cost of the war. Germany was forced to print money to meet its financial obligations, sparking the hyperinflation recorded in the pictures of German citizens in the 1920's hauling wheelbarrows of money to the grocery store to buy a loaf of bread.

The national debt bottom line - At the present rate of deficit spending, interest payments on the national debt will overwhelm the national budget by 2015. At that point we will be left with 4 stark choices to deal with the mess we've created: massively cut federal spending, enact huge tax increases, default on the debit, print money, or do some combination of these choices. The outlook is stark.

The US National Forecast Bottom Line

What does all this mean? Well, in the near term a realistic forecast is to be cautiously optimistic that the fragile recovery will continue, absent any further shocks to our financial system. However, the economy will be dragging a ball-and-chain along with it in the form of high unemployment, depressed commercial and residential real estate markets, the lack of available credit, the corporate preference to acquire the competition rather than hire new employees, and the looming national debt crisis.

If the scenarios above make sense to you then my suggestion is for small and medium-sized businesses, like professional practices that depend on elective procedures and service industry businesses, to be prepared for clients and patients to continue to defer discretionary spending until at least the second half of 2011. If you're a retailer, you should keep inventories lean for the first half of the year.

And my personal recommendation is for everyone to reduce their personal debt to as close to zero as possible by 2015.

Will this all come to pass? It's hard to tell because we haven't been here before, but I've shared my best guess. Do you think I nailed it or do you have a different opinion? I look forward to your comments.

Dan Elder is an experienced business coach and management consultant with Business Growth Accelerators, specializing in growing professional practices and retail and service industry businesses. He offers a free initial phone consultation to those interested in significantly improving their business situation. Learn more about how he can help you at bgaccelerators.com/services-business-coaching.html.

Dan is also a regular columnist for Business in Savannah (The Savannah Morning News), speaks on a wide variety of business topics, and is the author of the Business Growth Accelerators series on Amazon.com. He welcomes your comments. Contact him at bgaccelerators.com.

(c) 2010 - Daniel J. Elder. Permission is granted to reproduce and distribute this article in its entirety without fee or royalty. Portions may be excerpted for publication provided attribution is made, including the author's contact information.

Socialized Medicine - Would it Work For the United States?

"Socialized Medicine" is primarily an ideology championed by the Democrats. However, contrary to popular belief, a nationalized health care system has never actually been on the agenda for President Elect Obama. His agenda has always been to assist those who are rendered uninsurable and or are in need of assistance in obtaining health care coverage due to low income. Part of his plan is to expand the role of SCHIP and State Insurance Risk Pools so that those who are rendered "uninsurable" on the individual major medical market have access to guaranteed insurability.

Many states already have established Risk Pools. However states such as Arizona and Florida do not. These states desperately need such Risk Pools. Unfortunately, until now they have not been able to receive enough Federal funding to expand this much needed role. President Elect Obama wishes to provide more Federal funding to these existing risk pools to drive the premiums down, thereby making this option more affordable for those rendered uninsurable.

One of the reasons a "nationalized" health care system has never been on Obama's agenda is most likely due to the terrible failure of such programs in countries such as France & Canada. However, proponents of "socialized medicine" often use Canada as a template in which the U.S. Health Care System should follow. Those living in Canada know full well that their government run health care program is most certainly not working. As a matter of fact, many Canadian citizens choose to hire high priced brokers to find them quality health care right here in the United States because of the terrible bureaucracy that controls all forms of health care in Canada. For facts about the current Canadian Health Care System and how it correlates to the current state of health care in the United States watch the short but informative documentary videos embedded in the first article of my health care blog located at the end of this article.

The truth of the matter is we already have an enormous amount of entitlement programs available to those who find themselves unable to pay for their health care. Often times these entitlement programs are offered to those who are here legally and illegally as was the case in the State of Illinois. Most recently, the State of Hawaii tried to emulate the Medicaid Expansion programs that were enacted in Illinois. It took less than 7 months to render their program bankrupt.

All things considered, the best way to offset the high cost of health care in the U.S. is to adopt the initiatives set forth over a decade ago by Senator Bill Archer (R) of Texas. The HSA (Health Savings Account) commonly referred to as a "Medical IRA" coupled with an HDHP (High Deductible Health Plan) is a unique option that maintains high quality health insurance coverage for the policy holder whilst also building a tax deductible, tax deferred interest bearing account for the insured to use for future medical expenses. Many medical expenses that would not normally be covered by a traditional health insurance plan would be a 100% tax deduction when the insured owns a tax qualified HDHP. The list of IRS approved expenses can be found on the HSA section of the IRS web site.

Even if one can not qualify for the aforementioned HDHP option due to underwriting restrictions. There are still several other options now available to those who have been rendered "uninsurable" in the individual health insurance market. These options are as follows:

1.) The aforementioned State Insurance Risk Pool Coverage provided under HIPAA which provides seamless continuation of coverage once an insured has either lost employer sponsored group or has been offered Cobra continuation coverage and then exhausted it. To find out the states that have risk pools visit: http://www.naschip.org/states_pools.htm

2.) Small Group or Employer Sponsored Health Insurance which contains the all important "Guaranteed Insurability" clause. A Small Group policy can be purchased by as little as two people (often husband and wife working under the same corporate tax ID number).

3.) Gauranteed Issue HIPAA certified "Defined Benefit" Health Insurance policies issued on an individual basis to anyone regardless of medical history. Whilst these plans offer limited benefits, they will cover pre-existing conditions such as Cancer and Diabetes from day one providing the applicant can produce a Certificate of Creditable Coverage from their former carrier showing at least 18 months of continuous coverage with no lapse of more than 63 days.

In the end consumer education and retention of existing Federal entitlement programs (via a legitimate needs assessment test) will go a long way towards not only maintaining our current health care system, but also towards keeping the bulk of our nations risk where it belongs namely, with the private health insurance sector. In light of the recent $7 Trillion "Bail Out" and many other failing corporations coming to the table with their hats in their hands (and their private jets on the tarmac) the last thing our government should do is start cutting more blind "bail out" checks in an effort to "reform" the U.S. health care system.

C. Steven Tucker, is the President of Small Business Insurance Services, Inc. and has been a Licensed Mult-State Insurance Broker serving the small business and self-employed market for over a decade. Mr. Tucker believes an informed insurance consumer makes the best health insurance purchasing decisions. Mr. Tucker has written several articles that focus on small business health insurance, which can be read on a number of web sites around the web. He also serves as a health insurance subject matter expert for the Wall Street Journal, Fortune Business Magazine, The Nashville Business Journal, Real Estate Executive Magazine, The Tennessean and other business journals around the country.

You can learn more about the state of health care and how to avoid insurance fraud by visiting his health blog here: http://www.sbisvcs.com/blog.htm

If you have general questions regarding health insurance, or you are in the market to purchase a health insurance plan, you can also call Mr. Tucker toll-free at 1-866-SBIS123 (724-7123)

States Offering Millions in Interest Free Loans to Film Producers & Their Investors?

Anyone following the news these days is well aware that US investors are taking a beating. While some analysts talk of "picking up bargains in an oversold market" most investors seem to be looking quietly for a way to get their money out of the hands of banks and investment houses and into businesses they have some real control over. Money invested in a company's stock today can turn into executive parachutes tomorrow. What started as problem in mortgage-backed securities is swiftly turning into a serious deflationary spiral. States, like investors, are well aware that businesses are facing very hard times. Store closures, plant closures, layoffs, falling wages all translate in falling tax revenues and very angry voters. Which is why states are now working overtime to bring jobs and outside investment directly to their constituents.

Almost all fifty states offer incentives to film producers because film is a relatively clean industry that creates high paying, technically skilled jobs. Its the kind of industry than can come into a state quickly, and it can stay for a very long time. Because it is mostly a service-based business, film generates good tax revenues. Film also beats opening a coal mine or building automobile plant when it comes to dealing with activist citizens who do not want to live next to either.

As an example, New Mexico's film loan investment program has turned the state into a Mecca for producers and their investors. New Mexico offers an interest free loan of up to $15,000,000 for up to three years in return for a share in a film's profits. Investors who invest in a New Mexico production may receive a portion of gross profits just for providing collateral for the loan. Someone with $5 million in property can elect to use it as collateral for a film and in return receive money before, during and after production. The investor gets to keep his property and the revenues it generates and still receives a return. That's a pretty attractive deal for property owners who now have a rather non-liquid asset on their hands.

What happens if the film goes south? The collateral provider has to finish paying off the loan which will have been partially paid for by any revenues the film has generated. And if the film hasn't generated any revenues? Well, that's why its good to have a state as your investment partner.

New Mexico and Michigan vett films extensively prior to making the loans, and their contracts make "Hollywood-style" accounting impossible. So a project they choose to fund has a very, very good chance of covering its production costs and generating a profit. The shortfall, if there is a shortfall, is very, very unlikely to be the kind of absolute "crash and burn" one sometimes sees in film investment. The state, like investors, expects to get a return on its investment, so it works very hard to insure a film they fund is produced by competent professional filmmakers with a track record of success.

Loans are not the only upside to film as an investment. New Mexico and Michigan offer substantial rebates on production undertaken in their states. In New Mexico you get up to 25% of the money spent on production back in the form of a rebate when the production is complete. In Michigan its 40%.

Film loans are the first of what will be many state-based "incentives" designed to bring investors into collaboration with business owners and governments to make rational, trackable, accountable investments. New Mexico and Michigan have two very aggressive film incentive programs, while states like Hawaii have technology incubators which work along similarly profitable lines.

Some experts, like George Soros, have compared the financial crisis the nation is facing to the market in 1928. The difference is that today's investor can invest in projects nationwide, and states are willing and able to facilitate that process. As bad as this market is, and as unattractive as it is about to become, investors will still be able to find financially profitable projects in the months and years to come.

Nancy Fulton is a writer, publisher and filmmaker. You can find more about her work by visiting http://www.nobetterfriendmovie.com and [http://www.bluestatefilms.com]

Insurance Marketing Territory - Great Product Marketing States

Check and see if any of the states in your insurance marketing territory are listed here. These are great insurance product marketing states to enhance your sales. State rankings are provided for the 11th through 21st state along with a recap listing of the first ten.

TENNESSEE, Rating = 11 Tennessee is not considered a rich state by any means. However, it holds a solid reputation as a solid insurance marketing territory. Here long time recruiting operations are as totally committed to mailing Tennessee brokers, as are music collectors totally committed to collecting Elvis memorabilia. What really helps split up the competition is that the state is divided up into three major metropolitan areas, Nashville and Memphis, followed by Knoxville. We mentioned before, how this factor helps to significantly lower total recruiting competition. In addition, the wide diversity for annuity, life, financial, health, group, and senior products offers all product marketing firms an opportunity.

OREGON, Rating = 12 This an all round very good state to market your insurance products. Examining almost every statistical figure points out Oregon is within close range of the national "average" state. This includes the income level, the percentage of senior residents, the number of agents per thousand residents, and the amount of insurance marketing competition. The agent retention rate, and average number of years of agent experience correlate correctly. The response received back from insurance marketing firms contacting the quality agents has been favorable, and the response rate from agents has been slightly above normal. It is these two last, yet very critical recruiting factors that place Oregon significantly ahead of the middle of the pack.

ALABAMA, Rating = 13 Sweet home Alabama, where the skies are so blue, and the recruiters are too few. Alabama has an exceptionally good mix of agents, meaning independent agents, career agents that broker business, and multi-line small agencies that brokers with insurance marketers their life and health business. There is far less recruiting demand than expected. The lower competition pressure mixed with the pleasant response from those who using refined lists to recruit in Alabama, places a well deserved, lucky 13, rating.

KENTUCKY, Rating = 14 You way find the blue hills of Kentucky beautiful, along with the green pockets of Kentucky agent product recruiters. Kentucky has a fairly similar mixture of agents to Alabama. Although here in Kentucky, there exists a heavier concentration of career life agencies. The competition search for recruiting experienced agents to sell products, is just above normal, yet the response feedback from insurance marketing organizations ranks as being very good.

ARKANSAS, Rating = 15 Arkansas is ranked the ninth highest state for its rising senior population, and reasonable retirement housing and living costs. This makes it a must state for insurance marketing recruiters of senior market agents to sell ltc, long term care, medicare supplements part B and D, final expense, and some annuity products. However, here is a drawback for some insurance recruiters. This is a state where it is much harder to sell high premium, sophisticated annuity and life retirement/invest plans. Arkansas lends itself to a rural and small business atmosphere, starting just outside Little Rock city limits and extending throughout the entire state. As it is a low-income state, major life insurance career agencies have focused elsewhere. This leaves many semi-captive agents, independent agents, brokers, and PPGA producers. Moreover, it is a very good state also for marketing medical plans, small group, term, universal life, and family life products.

KANSAS If you have a limited recruiting budget, stay out of Kansas City, Kansas. This area has too many career life agencies. and lower agent retention. Unknown Fact revealed: a state or area of a state with a high concentration of career life agents averages a 5% to 20% lower retention of maintaining The remainder of the state, has agents of the caliber that are much more likely to show an interest in your insurance product or give brokers an opportunity. Kansas holds the 21st position for median family income, plus a senior population equal to the state average. For you, a recruiter, it means you have a vast variety of products for brokers to sell. Products ranging from variable indexed annuities, to long-term care, to universal life, all have their marketplace in Kansas. To these advantages, add good feedback response from other marketers and a lower that capacity demand for recruitment advertisements.

MISSISSIPPI, Rating = 17 For the current time we are keeping Mississippi in this ranking position. .Earning the distinction of currently being the state with the lowest median family income, does not help .This means it is a poor state to market annuity products, while lower cost health and life products thrive. Overdue modernization and a favorable business tax environment will eventually drive up the housing market and associated contracting and building occupation incomes. Local and regional recruiters know that outside areas are not feeling the effects; in fact, some are benefiting from higher quality that normal. Staying out of main town New Orleans is smart, while staying out of Mississippi is not.

OKLAHOMA, Rating = 18 Oklahoma is more than just an "OK" state. It may surprise you that most of the lower income states, have a higher than average rating. Why? Over the last 10 years, larger career life companies, especially those based in the high-income Northeastern/New England states have pulled out almost all their agencies in lower income areas. Why So? A Large career life company wants to get the agents off and running appointments with higher income products. They look for lots of possible clients that can afford high premium life and investment plans. In a low-income state, finding people with this profile is not feasible. For the number of Oklahoma agents willing to broker business, recruiters have overlooked the state far too often. Other than high premium or complex annuities, the state is wide open for business.

NEBRASKA, Rating = 19 Nebraska is not only home to the Cornhuskers. It is also the home of major health insurance companies, like Mutual of Omaha, World, Medico, and others. Although the senior population is slightly above normal, these home base insurers have quite a monopoly of senior related products. Their agent direction has widely changed however to being much less captive than before. This means the brokerage agents in Nebraska are still not very open to non-senior, blue-collar disability, and medical plans. The average family median income is above 28 states. This opens up good premium opportunities for brokers offered variable life, universal life, term, small group, worksite benefits, and annuity plans to sell their clients.

UTAH, Rating = 20 No every man does not have 6 wives, and 20 children. Therefore, it is not selling family life, and family medical policies that place Utah so high up in the rankings. Instead, it is the wide mixture of clients, especially outside the Salt Lake City area. The influx of agents moving from Nevada and Colorado to Utah is worth noting. The market for all types of life, annuity, and health products is very strong. There are a sufficient number of brokerage agents to make your mailing worthwhile.

In case you are wondering here is a recap of the first 10 rated states Florida, Texas, California, Ohio, Georgia, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Carolina, Michigan, and Missouri with the #10 state ranking.

Well published author, Don Yerke likes to concentrate on what you don't know or what no one else dares to print. Tell it like it is.

Watch for his new paperback book debuting on Amazon early this summer. It is loaded with great insurance marketing and recruiting information.

Come and get your FREE "Think and Grow Rich" Ebook by Napoleon Hill instantly. The website address is [http://www.agentsinsurancemarketing.com]

Burning Down the House - States Struggle to Turn Up the Heat on Insurance Fraud

Drastic times call for drastic measures. Among those bashed by the lingering U.S. economic downturn, homeowners, insurance brokers and motorists alike are turning more and to insurance crimes for a personal bail-out. But state fraud investigators, suffering stiffer budgets are facing equally drastic cuts in resources to fight the fraud.

According to study partially funded by the nation's largest insurance companies --- fraud fighting bureaus are seeing a significant spike in cases.

"The troubled economic climate confronts many fraud investigators with the severest challenge they've faced in years. But a positive outcome could be greater efficiency in combating schemes as fraud bureaus find better ways to fight crime with the resources they do have," says Dennis Jay, the coalition's executive director.

Surprisingly, agents and brokerages are considered the biggest offenders, accounting for the most instances of insurance fraud in the past year. Seven of 10 fraud bureaus report a spike in agent cases, according to the coalition. Nearly 40 percent of fraud bureaus say their producer caseload was much higher. The survey of 37 state fraud bureau directors was conducted last October.

After insurance agents, anxious drivers continued ditching unwanted vehicles for insurance payouts in one of the defining fraud trends of the troubled economy. Seven of 10 fraud bureaus report more vehicle abandonment and vandalism cases, the coalition's survey shows.

More homeowners literally are burning up for insurance payouts as well. Nearly two thirds of fraud bureaus report increased home arson cases. This uptick is generally isolated to regional or local hotspots, the coalition's survey notes.

Business owners struggling to stay afloat are resorting to insurance-related crimes with 60 percent of state fraud bureaus reporting bogus liability claims. "Reports of increases in slip-and-fall claims from insurers and self-insurers-especially grocers, department stores and restaurants-began surfacing in early 2009 and seem to have continued," the coalition's survey says.

Bogus health plans are spreading rapidly around the U.S. as well, taking advantage of the large market of uninsured Americans. Most fraud bureaus report a spike in fake health plans, with nearly 40 percent saying their caseload was much higher due to health insurance misrepresentation.

Prescription drug abusers also are on the loose. More than 60 percent of fraud bureaus report more cases involving diversion of painkillers and other addictive prescription drugs such as painkillers. Drug diversion has spread with alarming speed around the U.S. in recent years, with insurers paying billions of dollars for illicit prescriptions.

Many fraud bureaus are being forced to manage this spreading crime trend with smaller budgets and staff, the coalition's survey reveals.

Some 63 percent of fraud investigators report lower budgets for 2009. "This is somewhat surprising, given that a majority of the fraud bureaus were created with dedicated funding, specifically assessments on insurers," the survey notes.

Nearly a quarter of state fraud teams also lost staff positions this year, and a third of these agencies were forced to leave vacant positions unfilled.

To most people, health insurance is a card with numbers you take to the doctor's office and a little booklet of paper that lives in your filing cabinet, closet or dusty corner of your home. To McKinley, health insurance and the historical reforms that go along with the inequality of healthcare in America are topics of healthy discussion, worthy of further study and catalysts for education and action.

McKinley moved to South Florida after directing corporate communications and marketing strategy for several FORTUNE 500 companies and public relations agencies. A founder of Communicatia, Ink (an independent communications company he founded while working as a business reporter and newscaster in Nashville), McKinely is an emerging subject matter expert on health insurance and regulatory issues.

Advanced Insurance Marketing - Ranking Best States For Marketing Insurance Products

Choosing the top states to market your products in is the sign of an advanced insurance marketing organization. There is a clear realization among the best marketers that many factors are involved in determining a state's insurance product market ability. Here are the states ranked in order. View a previous report on how 30 steps are engaged to calculate where one state relates in a positional ranking to another.

Recruiting agents in one state to sell your product may be a breeze while in another it could be a financial nightmare. The margin of response is very vast. So vast, that spending the same amount of money an insurance marketing recruiting campaign in one state, produces double the results of another. Why not start with the states consistently producing for most wise marketers good productive replies and product sales production exceeding normal expectations?

This wisdom applies both to selecting agents and to insurance recruiting in individual states to give you a state-by-state analysis of insurance recruiting and insurance agent marketing. Using the combined knowledge allows you to plan your insurance recruiting campaign on smart insurance agent marketing information. You will be shown from the top down to the very bottom, the guideline ranking best states for marketing insurance successfully.

This means that it you have a national territory, what do you do. It does not mean recommending that you send a proportionate amount of marketing sales pieces to agents in each of the states. Smart marketing can be achieved either of two ways. Spend 80% of your recruiting budget on states known to provide great results and 20% on the others. Here is an option to this. It is better to mail a quality list in a good state twice than a bad one once. Double mailing the best is a very viable option. Mail the best and forget the rest.

For a successful insurance recruiting campaign, follow the ranking best states for marketing insurance products recommendations, or take your chances at hit and miss. This particular state insurance agent marketing information provided to you is not available from any insurance recruiting internet or list source. A list broker would not want this information published. It is more beneficial to them to sell you a list of agent names in all states. To a list broker the larger the agent name list you purchase, and the more states you order, the bigger their profits become. Ask yourself if this is a means of enhancing their profits or your personal profits.

The distinguishing reasons for why some states tend to be so more productive will be found in another advanced insurance marketing report. Size is not a major factor. If it was, Illinois, New York, and Pennsylvania would be given a much higher rank. The median family income is a factor, but just one of many issues that are analyzed. The Northeastern and New England states often enjoy a much higher average family income, but that presents itself as a minor aspect with insurance agents. View how few of these states are listed among the top half.

RANKING FOR MARKETING INSURANCE PRODUCTS

1. Florida

2. California

3. Texas

4. Ohio

5. Georgia

6. Wisconsin

7. Minnesota

8. North Carolina

9. Michigan

10. Missouri

11. Tennessee

12. Oregon

13. Alabama

14. Kentucky

15. Arkansas

16. Kansas

17. Mississippi

18. Oklahoma

19. Nebraska

20. Utah

21 New Mexico

22 West Virginia

23. North Dakota

24. Montana

25. Maine

26. Louisiana

27. Pennsylvania

28. Montana

29. Iowa

30. Idaho

31. Illinois

32. Delaware

33. Massachusetts

34. South Dakota

35. New Hampshire

36. Connecticut

37. Virginia

38. Maryland

39. Washington

40. New Jersey

41. New York

42. Indiana

43. Alaska

44. Wyoming

45. Vermont

46. Rhode Island

47. Colorado

48. Arizona

49. Nevada

50. Hawaii

Well published author, Don Yerke likes to concentrate on what you don't know or what no one else dares to print. Tell it like it is.

Watch for his new paperback book debuting on Amazon this spring. It is loaded with great insurance marketing and recruiting information.

Come and get your FREE "Think and Grow Rich" Ebook by Napoleon Hill instantly. The website address is [http://www.agentsinsurancemarketing.com]

Insurance Market Analysis - States Ranked 21 Thru 31 For Insurance Product Marketing

In this insurance market analysis are 10 states ranked as not earth shattering for recruiting agents. However, these states should be repeat winners every time you use a top-notch insurance mail list to contact the key insurance product marketing brokers. Merging insurance marketing skills, with a quality mailing list, puts these states within the budget of many regional and national brokerage firms, along with the big wholesalers fmo's, and insurance companies. Read each different  insurance marketing analysis.

In these 10 states, trim the unnecessary fat away and you have an excellent brokerage mailing list.   This means no mass mailing, email blasting, or faxing. Mass marketing to insurance agents is not only very foolish, but also in the end costly. How many agents respond at the lowest cost is very insignificant in an insurance recruiting campaign. What is important is the quality of the agent that responds and in turn if this agent actually becomes a proven producer.  Do not measure by "leaders" but by production from contracted insurance brokers.

NEW MEXICO, Rating = 21   In the last 5 years this state has really turned directions for recruiting. Before this, the state had far too many insurance agents, with minor experience. The turnover rate was ridiculous.   Everyone had a rookie cousin in the business, and another licensed cousin who was rapidly falling by the wayside. This has changed. The big Northeast/New England career recruiting shops wised up finally, and closed down shop. As a result, there are more semi-independent minded agents climbing up the success ladder.  The number willing to give brokerage products a good look is rising. As additional competing recruiters are catching on to our advice, get your piece of the action before it gets too over hit. The downside is the highly migrant average household income in this state is $20,000 lower than that of many states where the big life career companies are headquartered. All factors considered the future is now two thumbs up.

WEST VIRGINIA, Rating = 22  By the little recruiting attention this state receives, you would think it is hidden on the map. West Virginia averages only 1/4 to 1/3 the population of the states of Virginia, Maryland, Massachusetts, and New Jersey, and the agent receives at least 90% less calls, emails, or mailings. The problem to annuity recruiters is that West Virginia ranks dead last of all states when the median household income is examined. The decent senior population makes it a respectable area for selling long-term care and senior life products.

NORTH DAKOTA, Rating = 23   North Dakota, for being such a cold state, has one of the highest percentage of senior age citizens in the entire nation. This small agent population state, makes finding senior market agents a great find. Combine that with the warm reception of many fraternal life insurance agents. Here is the opening for marketing to agents you health insurance plans. However, when looking for annuity sales reps, the median family income needs to be acknowledged. In this, sales area, because of sub-par overall income status, North Dakota would rate lower for annuity marketing organizations and wholesalers.

SOUTH CAROLINA, Rating = 24   Agent reception in South Carolina, sure lags behind its sister state North Carolina. Two factors lower this state's recruiting rank. First, it is a state of a lower family income level. Second, it is also a state with higher agent turnover. If you target the right agents with the right products at the right time, you will find the South Carolina is smack dab in the middle. Part of this is the fact that South Carolina is not given enough recruiting attention.

MAINE, Rating = 25   "Little" is the word keeping this state from being ranked much higher. There is an insufficient number of agents to give a seminar, and almost too little to mail. Maine agents, unlike those in most northeastern states, are receptive to both local, regional marketing firms, along with far away national marketers and insurance companies. Like North Dakota, the overall income status is low, but the number of seniors willing to brave the winter chill is high. A state way overlooked. Especially it is true when recruiting firms are looking for agents to sell ltc, life, and annuities to the senior and near senior ma

LOUISIANA, Rating = 26   The hurricane disaster sent this state hastily rolling 6 spots downward on our recommendation list. Since then, it has climbed back up two positions. Many agents have made a transition to drier states with a better economy. It was already one of the poorer states, and right now, many low-income people stayed. In New Orleans, many with money or job transfer opportunities moved out. The surviving agents, with over 5 years experience, still have a stable client base, or work parts of the state not affected by the disaster. The good news is that your competition has pretty much given up on the state. Some adaptive, insurance brokerage operations tell us that their current Louisiana mailings are getting the best results ever. The main reason being is that the less knowledgeable recruiting competition has retreated.

PENNSYLVANIA, Rating = 27  We feel the state of Pennsylvania keeps the worst insurance records of licensed agents. Are there really 100,000 or so just life and health agents alone? Absolutely Not. Moreover, how about the addresses of the agents? Using addresses the insurance department provides would produce far in excess of 30% of your mail being undeliverable. This might sound shocking. However, numerous other state insurance department agent address records hover between 20 and 35% not deliverable. Do not trust anybody that says they have a large accurate list of Pennsylvania agents. Hint: In Pennsylvania, obtain either a small-refined list or none at all. Definitely, this is not the state to engage in mass mail, mass email, or use telephone telemarketing. Overall, the agents that can be determined to being brokers (placing business with an outside company) are premier producers. Only the best will do, especially for target marketing to agents with a knack for annuity and financial related products.

MONTANA, Rating = 28  The agent base in Montana is small, but the geographic area they must cover is immense. The amount of small independent multi-line, life-health-auto=home agents is beyond normal proportions. This however is a plus factor. The majority of these small operations are independent, representing multiple carriers. They place their life and health products with different carrier insurers that receive their car, home, and business insurance premiums. 

IOWA, Rating = 29   Iowa is the home to many life and health insurance companies, and most insurers like to have a heavy presence in their home states. Therefore, while the insurance company direct recruiting pressure is high, the pressure placed by brokerage and marketing firms is average. It is a hard city for recruiting wanting to give a seminar. Only Des Moines has enough quality agents to invite. This means areas like Cedar Rapids, Davenport, and Sioux City are commonly overlooked. The demand for agent recruiting is overall is slightly below what it should be.

IDAHO, Rating = 30   There are a lot of potato farmers spread out over a vast lot of land for the professional agents to follow up on. Unfortunately, the number of independent agents and agencies in this state falls below what it should be. Although there are quite a few agents that will occasionally place insurance, life or health cases outside their main company. So many should be called semi captive and semi-receptive, instead of independently receptive. The amount of business each broker produces is limited, making it harder on the insurance marketing firm to get a good return on investment.

ILLINOIS, Rating = 31   Illinois is a very large population state, with a 60/40 split. This means 60% of the agents are crammed in the metropolitan Chicago area alone. The Chicago are shares many of the New England State characteristics. The similar features are the higher than normal agent turnover rate, the large presence of big career life training companies, and the 9th highest median family income in the United States. The other 40% of the state follows its Midwestern state counterparts. It has more independent brokers, less recruiting competition, and producers receptive to annuity, life, and health offers. Stay out of Chicago, and you find a good middle range state for marketing your products to agents.

Right here, in case you are printing out the ranks, are the top 20 states in order. They are Florida, California, Texas, Ohio, Georgia, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Carolina, Michigan, Missouri, Tennessee, Oregon, Alabama, Kentucky, Arkansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Utah holding the 20th position.

Well published author, Don Yerke likes to concentrate on what you don't know or what no one else dares to print. Tell it like it is.

Watch for his new paperback book debuting on Amazon early this summer. It is loaded with great insurance marketing and recruiting information.

Come and get your FREE "Think and Grow Rich" Ebook by Napoleon Hill instantly. The website address is [http://www.agentsinsurancemarketing.com]

Insurance Brokerage Marketing Analysis - Worst States For Marketing Insurance

This is a commentary on the 19 states ranking lowest for insurance brokerage marketing remains. Insider fact revealed - This analysis reveals that in 17 of these 19 states, they appear among the top 25 for highest income ranking. Find out why.

Logic would say, the richest states, should produce the best money making brokerage opportunities. In-depth Research should this is not true. The main factor being the overwhelming presence of career based life insurance agencies, pushing new agents into financial planning. How many agent trainees could be consider efficient financial advisors? This leads to few lasting very long in their insurance career venture. Insurance Brokerage Marketing requires sufficient numbers of semi-independent agents and independent brokers to make endeavors pay off.

DELAWARE, Rating = 32

The very small agent base consists of around 3,000 annuity, life and health producers. This number can be refined further to only about 1,100 who have interest in placing brokerage business. Because of the small numbers of producers, compared to MA, NJ, VA, or CT, it is often an overlooked state. If you eliminate the 2,000 agents not worth bothering with you might land a few good brokerage producers.

MASSACHUSETTS Rating = 33

Compared to the states of Maryland, New Jersey, and Virginia, Massachusetts gets a much better recommendation. By no means is it a "poor" state, in fact the average median income in Massachusetts exceeds that of Montana by $16,000! With agent turnover not as drastic as nearby states, it means more agents are progressing into that ideal 4 1/2 year to 12-year range. From this lot come many of the prime annuity, life, and health brokers. Stay out of the metropolitan Boston to area increase your marketing results. The reception of this state (and most New England states) is often cold. The agents tend to turn a cold shoulder to brokerage marketing operations not housed in the northeast region or New England states. The ratio of agents to Mass residents is very good at 3.1 per thousand. With the household income $8,000 above the national average, it is a good state for annuities, and financial/estate planning. Loyalty is the main handicap for outside marketers.

SOUTH DAKOTA, Rating = 34

An overabundance of life health agents reside here. With almost half in the Sioux Falls area, the outlying are full of one and two man multi-line life and property and casualty shops. With the household income $7,000 below the national average, that is not an abundance of wealth. This means small life policies are the standard and the marketing of annuities is very limited. For health insurance products, the market is stronger.

NEW HAMPSHIRE, Rating = 35

As a small Northeastern state, New Hampshire is surprisingly a very strong financial state. The median family income is over $14,000 above the national average. This means the potential recruiting of agents for financial products is inviting. In regards to this, unfortunately it is just too small of a state to draw enough agents to a seminar. In addition, while agents may brokerage with one or two companies, those in New Hampshire are very conservative. Nationwide, the typical broker is likely to represent three or more carriers. However, the New Hampshire agents, those currently brokering, probably will sign at best with one additional carrier in the next 12 months. Making sure this carrier is you, means choosing the right list of proven agents, offering the best opportunity, and mailing at the right time. The "right time", is when he is sitting on the fence. Either the agent needs to add a product like yours right now, or he had had a present carrier let him down.

CONNECTICUT, Rating = 36

Are their more lawyers or more insurance agents in Connecticut? Based on census data and our agent figures, Connecticut has 40% more agents per thousand residents than any of the top brokerage states. Its wealth factor is substantial with some very well off communities. A high percentage of experienced agents have earned credentials like CHfC, LUTCF, CLU, CFP, RFP, and RIA. Your financial products here have to pass a grocery size list of qualifications from skeptical "over-educated" agents that insist on examining, then cross-examining any product they might consider selling. Almost like a lawyer examining the insurance coverage. What is missing is the prime middle ground, producers with 4 to 12 years experience. This causes an adverse condition. Not enough agents, percentage wise, are willing to become independent brokers or personal producing general agents. The best recruiting factor in CT is that agents receive far few insurance recruiting calls or mailings than those in MA, MD, or VA.

VIRGINIA, Ratings = 37

Another "high income" state, the life agents are very likely to have began their career birthing process with a life career subsidy program. It would be nice to separate the experienced 4 to 12 year professionals from the rookies, but in Virginia, it is not easy. As you know mailing the wrong agents = zero results. You should not throw thousand and thousands of unknown agents into our list. Keep concentration refined to the producer that might benefit from your offer.

MARYLAND, Rating = 38

There are many for Washington D.C. agents But most of the successful producers are licensed and reside in Virginia or Maryland. These agents are hit hard with insurance solicitations, especially those belonging to a local association. Moreover, they carry that same career life loyalty factor as Massachusetts agents. With the 4th highest national median family income, there is excellent potential for insurance brokerage marketing by introducing new annuity and variable products.

WASHINGTON, Rating = 39

Washington who be much higher up in the state ratings, but for one thing. Who are the agents of the caliber you are looking for? You certainly will not get this information from the Washington Department of Insurance, as they feel the information is not public information. Data on agents is kept sealed up. A while back, our firm was the last allowed by the insurance department to send in someone with a laptop computer to access records. Beware of obtaining a yellow-page derived list of Washington agents. That will only get you an abundance of highly captive Nationwide, S.F., Farm Bureau, and Allstate agents. Finding a good refined, multi-source compiled list from a reputable firm is your only answer here.

NEW JERSEY, Rating = 40

Surprisingly this is the "richest state", at least certain pockets of it, with $13,000 over the national average. Life agencies in the major cities tend to be extremely large with up to 300 agents each. With high numbers of career agents, also come high agent turnover, about 85% during the first 18 months in the insurance business. The state also has the largest percentage of multi-line agents, both captive and independent. Multi-line insurers are known for their lower turnover rate. A state with a whole lot of good brokerage and personal producing general agents to recruit, but only if you know who's who.

NEW YORK, Rating = 41

Here's a jumbo state. Nevertheless, New York has its own rules and regulations, making it not worthwhile for many companies to be licensed in, and if they do it usually ends in life insurance company of New York. However, some well know life insurance companies with career-orientated agencies are located there. New York regulators feel that the freedom of information act does not apply to agents licensed in their state. They have a significant team of attorneys ready to battle any notion you have on invading their state for agent information. A calculated guess would be 58,000 licensed life and health agents. Here like Washington, the problem lies in obtaining a qualified list of broker names. For smart marketers, here is a tip. New York insurance agents receive less solicitation from your competitors for any large state or any state with half the population.

INDIANA, Rating = 42

Definitely one of the highest agent turnover states in the nation. This is why the agent per thousand residents is slightly over normal About 8 years ago the agent per thousand people was almost exactly double! Like New Mexico, life career agencies shrank, realizing the profit potential here was not very great. Left over are still too many agents having the experience, but still have not taken a big enough step toward independence. If you might enjoy spending unlimited money, time, and patience "teaching an old dog, a new trick", charge ahead. Otherwise move on and concentrate your insurance brokerage marketing on more lucrative states.

ALASKA, Rating = 43

Too few agents for the decent population base. Maybe there are too many occupations that pay far beyond what most of the state's agents earn. Only three other states are a higher median family income. Most of the recruiters that have the state in their territory are based out of Washington or California. In addition, there are nowhere near enough quality brokers to send out a 1,000-piece mailing. Unless it is absolutely necessary, spend your time on easier states to recruit agents in.

WYOMING, Rating = 44

How can you promote your products in a state where the agents are so geographically spread out? Usually direct mail would be the answer, but like Alaska, and a few small states the number of brokers is very limited. Therefore, the proper suggestion is not to bypass Wyoming in your marketing, but tie it in along with Montana or Idaho and mail the best.

VERMONT, Rating = 45

With Vermont being one of the smallest states, it is one of the hardest to judge. There is minor insurance brokerage marketing demand. Along with little feedback on the state, it is hard to place in the overall ranking. Upon analysis it was able possible to compare Vermont to other states in the Northeast. Unlike Maine, or New Hampshire, it lacks the brokerage mentality of those two much higher ranked states. Its agents are not very receptive to product selling opportunity. In addition, the life career agencies have made enough of an impact to hold the agents true to their old school thinking.

RHODE ISLAND, Rating = 46

Rhode Island is a very difficult state to find out what agents write what products. This combined with career agent loyalty, and a small number of total agents means that not too savvy marketers spend their money soliciting all the agents, to find the few that might meet their qualificati

COLORADO, Rating = 47

Banks that offer insurance, definitely take away from the normal base of independent agent flow. So do aggressive mutli-line agencies like Nationwide, S.F., Allstate, etc. After all, a bank offers an agent something a career life agency cannot. This feature is an endless supply of "potential client leads" with full information on their assets. Compare this to the "lead" the life agency commonly gives an agent. It is a policy owner with $1,000 to $25,000 of insurance that 5 previous agents have either unsuccessfully solicited, or have sucked away the policy owner's previous cash value as a source of purchasing a new policy. Usually 50% of "wirehouse" securities brokers have a life insurance license, in Colorado and Arizona they figure is closer to 90%. All this is topped off by an enormous amount of recruiting competition. Either get the right agent list, or be left high and dry.

ARIZONA, Rating = 48

Too hot to handle, but not because of the heat. Insurance Brokerage Marketing firms think this is an easy state. Not just a few of them, but also tremendous floods of them send offers to every single agent in the state. You can easily waste money trying to attract 12,000 of the state's agents that will do little good to you. Thousands of Allstate and Liberty Mutual style agents, and an unusually high amount of rookie agents. Like Colorado, it has the same problem of too many under trained starving rookies, combined with too many stuck in the mud old-timers. In addition, for the marketers that think Arizona is crammed with retirement havens, think again. Its senior population is right in line with the average state.

NEVADA, Rating = 49

Bet you 10 to 1, that the number of professional gamblers making a decent income, outweigh the number of insurance agents earning likewise, by 10 to 1. It seems like every other insurance with this state in their lineup wants to roll out wads of money and gamble on the chance of hitting hot producers here. The problem is that there are so few hot producers, and they have little agent competition. The marketing competition could fill a trash dumpster with their advertisements in no time. Five words: No agents, tons of competition.

HAWAII, Rating =50

Here is a state that is hard to comment on. You have no other states bordering Hawaii. On top of this Hawaii itself, it split up with its various islands. The few number of brokers and geographic distance make it a state better served by an insurance brokerage marketing firm located right in Hawaii.

Right here, in case you are printing out the ranks, are the top ranking 31 states in order. They are Florida, California, Texas, Ohio, Georgia, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Carolina, Michigan, Missouri, Tennessee, Oregon, Alabama, Kentucky, Arkansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Utah holding the 20th position. The next eleven are New Mexico, West Virginia, North Dakota, Montana, Maine, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Montana, Iowa, Idaho, and at #31 is Illinois.

Well published author, Don Yerke likes to concentrate on what you don't know or what no one else dares to print. Tell it like it is.

Watch for his new paperback book debuting on Amazon early this summer. It is loaded with great insurance marketing and recruiting information.

Come and get your FREE "Think and Grow Rich" Ebook by Napoleon Hill instantly. The website address is [http://www.agentsinsurancemarketing.com]