Welcome to the new longevity. We aren’t just living longer; we are also extending the years in which we remain healthy, active and productive. A recent study found that a 70-year-old in 2022 had roughly the same cognitive ability as a 53-year-old in 2000.¹

It’s been a seemingly endless flurry of geopolitical and economic disruptions: war in the Middle East, a Venezuela intervention, tariff disputes, the Ukraine/Russia conflict, soaring inflation and a global pandemic — all within five years. As the saying goes, “history is just one (darned) thing after another.”

“The old order is not coming back. We shouldn’t mourn it. Nostalgia is not a strategy. But we believe that from the fracture, we can build something better, stronger, more just.”

“The most important things never change—they just get ignored because they seem too simple.”

In 1896, Washington, DC banned the introduction of cars because they threatened the livelihoods of horses. As The Washington Post reported: “The horse’s occupation, so largely taken away by reason of the use of bicycles, shall not further be displaced by horseless carriage.”

Six minutes: that’s the time the median individual investor spends researching a stock before purchasing it online, according to a recent Wall Street Journal article.

The old joke that “economists exist to make weathermen look good” may feel especially relevant today. So far, 2025 has proven just how unpredictable the near-term outlook can be.

As we head into another year, the classic question feels as relevant as ever: is the glass half full or half empty?

“Up North: On Top — Life in Canada, Home of the World’s Most Affluent Middle Class.”— New York Times, April 30, 2014