We must eliminate “... government programs shown to be wasteful or ineffective … there will be no sacred cows or pet projects.”  — President Barack Obama, weekly address (4/18/09)

According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the federal government spent $25 billion in fiscal year 2008 on 69 early education and child-care programs. The best-known program is Head Start, which currently serves approximately 900,000 pre-school children at an annual cost of $7 billion.

The nation's GDP jumped 5.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009, the U.S. government reported this morning. Great news, right? The number is not as strong as it seems.

Many are breathing a sigh of relief after participating in the largest stock-market roller coaster since the Great Depression. Others bailed out at the wrong time and are unsure whether they will ever recover their nest egg. A valuable exercise early in a new year is to review your investment returns in light of what occurred in the broader asset classes.