Letter from the Editor

Dear reader, In recent stories we cover two stories from The Wall Street Journal on the economy, jobs and savings. One explains how the failure of the tech boom to create jobs has spilled over into anger in the political election campaign. The other explains how the how central bank policies to support the economy after the faulty mortgage financial crisis of 2008 have led to the low to zero interest rates that have damaged the savings growth of working class and middle class families. This combined by the refugee crisis in Europe from the failure to create no fly zones or safe havens in Syria and Iraq have led to anxiety among some voters, and support for fringe politicians with extreme policies. Democracy is the loser, says one article in DW.com (Deutsche Welle) on the U.S. election campaign. With lack of interest in public affairs, lack of willingness to check out the facts, and partisan opinion, misleading and incorrect jnformation can be spread blaming some individuals, and extreme policies attract more attention. Complex problems are reduced to simple slogans. The danger is bad outcomes if a poorly informed public makes wrong choices. One striking example is how struggling middle and working class families can do better by not supporting candidates who would worsen or exacerbate current wide gaps in income and wealth by shifting this in the wrong direction. How could one address a problem by making it worse? How could you build infrastructure by paying zero or minimal taxes? Other stories show the impact of Brexit on the British economy, and how its impact on inflation with the Pound headed for parity with the euro, may leave people poorer in Britain. Something that a slogan based referendum failed to make clear. Eternal vigilance is the price of Liberty, is a well known saying. It is also true that literacy is the price of liberty. Being literate is the price of economic freedom, political freedom. Basic literacy in economic matters is made possible by putting things in a simple manner that everyone can grasp, which we constantly strive to do at Lyrarc, and selection of artcles by experts meant to keep you well informed. Gist of essential points and insights saves time, groups offer context of what happened before to get to this point, and links offer additional insights. By economic freedom we mean being able to live a normal life and afford the necessities of life. That is not possible with a net worth of $33,000 which is the figure for average overall net worth cited by Janet Yellen for the bottom half of American households who are homeowners by 2014. Its unprecedented in American history given the advances in technology that should actually lead to better outcomes. As the middle and working class form the core of modern economic and political structures this is bad for the entire country, and bad for democracy. This happens as more people are turning away from anything that smacks of or has the look of real information about what is happening in the world around us- that is somewhere sure to be affecting our lives, and sometimes not obvious where. Trivia has taken over proper coverage of news even on sites known for good coverage, leaving readers poorly informed to make good choices. Literacy is about taking control of one's life and how what happens affect our children's lives. It does not happen overnight, but a process that takes place every day helping one grasp what is happening over time, and helping one exercize influence over how it impacts one's economic and political freedom. It is also a process essential for democracy to function properly, and not become dysfunctional by producing outcomes that are so unfavorable to the vast majority of citizens to lead to mistrust and cynicism, or the manipulation of public opinion in ways that lead to bad outcomes. As a process that happens every day it needs to be nurtured by staying informed day after day, or week after week. We will do our part in this, and we hope you will do your part by coming to our site on a regular basis.