Amidst all the political hysteria, gamesmanship, claims of chaos, in-fighting, and media counter-punching, Mr. Trump would be wise take to heart James Carville's 1992 winning campaign slogan for Bill Clinton's presidential run to defeat President George H. W. Bush - "it's the economy, stupid." Rather than insult, the phrase is intended to be an admonition not to underestimate the importance of the economy in every policy and political decision a president makes.

The Labor Department’s new fiduciary rule is an implicit endorsement of the business model we follow in serving our clients everyday - to act in their best individual and unique interests. While lofty in its proposal, the ultimate DOL rule will fall short of sweeping change for the financial services industry, due primarily to the efforts of the lobbying and political weight of Wall Street, banks, and insurers. The new rule for now, is focused solely on retirement services like 401ks and IRAs.

The real tragedy facing America is not the latest debt ceiling debate, or government shutdown, or for that matter, whether the Fed decides to 'taper' or not. Rather, it is the lack of engagement by far too many Americans to understand things as basic as how our government works, how ill-suited our welfare system is for lifting people from poverty, and how unchecked growth in government entitlements will eventually swamp our economy. Given today's headlines, let's focus on the first one.