·        what is the current U.S. cumulative National Debt, and what was the U.S. cumulative National Debt at the end of 2000? (answers, about U.S.$13 trillion and U.S.$6 trillion respectively;

·        what is the current targeted U.S. Federal Reserve inflation rate? (answer, 2%);

·        what is the current U.S. monthly net trade deficit? (answer, it varies from month to month but currently runs about U.S.$40 billion/month);

·        what is the current cumulative U.S. net trade deficit? (answer, just under U.S.$8 trillion);

·        what % of the cumulative U.S. net trade deficit has been accumulated after 1999? (answer, about 75% of it);

·        what % of U.S. manufacturing jobs have been lost after 1999? (answer, about 40% depending upon how this is measured);

·        what is the current U.S. unemployment rate? (answer, the posted rate is 9.7%, but the estimated actual rate is much higher at as much as 17%;

·        specifically in what economic sectors is the U.S. going to be able to develop meaningful, long-term jobs that will reduce its current unemployment rate back to what is thought of to be full employment (being 4% - 5%);

·        how important is U.S. housing market recovery to U.S. re-employment? (answer, very);

·        what does ‘structural unemployment’ mean? (answer, ‘an economic environment where the skill sets of the unemployed, and the skill sets required for the available jobs, are significantly mismatched’);

·        does the U.S. currently suffer from ‘structural unemployment’? (answer, debatable, but I think the (complicated) answer is ‘yes’);

·        how do economists determine whether an economy is ‘in recovery’ (answer, if a country’s GDP has increased in percentage terms in the most recent quarter from the previous quarter – sometimes in the context of 3 or 4 consecutive quarters);

·        is the current stock market more an ‘investor’s market’, or more a ‘trader’s market (answer, debatable but likely more a ‘trader’s market’);

·        on a scale of 1 – 10 as measured against a partner in a public accounting firm, how well are you (the adviser) able to read a company’s financial statements and accompanying notes? (answer, who knows, but probably for most not at a level of 10);

·        should physical gold be viewed as an ‘investment’? (answer, ‘no’);

·        if physical gold should not be viewed as an ‘investment’, how should it be viewed? (answer, as a ‘safe haven’ purchasing power protectorate); and,

·        (if you don’t know the answer to this one already) do you (the adviser) primarily do your own research on the stocks, mutual funds or other investments you recommend, or do you primarily rely on the analysis of others in your firm or otherwise?