Whether you are well-versed in international economics or not, you’re probably aware that Europe is having substantial problems. You’re also likely familiar with the resulting worldwide ripple effects: uncertainty amongst investors, fears of a global double-dip recession, and widespread political upheaval, just to name a few. Of course, there are a number of prominent theories for how to solve Europe’s debt crisis, but given the depth and complexity of the problem, none is perfect and each requires tough choices to be made. People – not just in Europe, but around the world – need hope, however. We need a plan, a sense that these economic issues are finite and not permanently debilitating. So, with that being said, what say we take a quick look at four different courses of action that Eurozone governments can take, the pros and cons of each, and which will provide the most long-term benefit without causing short-term chaos.

Option 1: Economically sound European countries pay down southern debt
This plan would involve countries like Germany, the Netherlands, and Finland using savings, tax revenue, and export surpluses to help pay down the debts of southern neighbors like Greece, Portugal and Italy until they are at manageable levels. Such an approach is logical in the sense that the economies of European Union (EU) nations are interconnected, and the default of one or more countries would have negative repercussions for others.

While the tradition of stores being veritable zoos on Black Friday continued this year – news reports describe consumers getting pepper sprayed, trampled, and even shot – many people turned to the Web for their Thanksgiving purchasing, hoping to score the same deals without the lines, bodily harm, and overall hassle. Unfortunately, this approach did not help Walmart.com customers save money or live better, as we all learned the hard way. You see, before learning of the technical problems that plagued the retailer’s website on Black Friday, forcing shoppers to look elsewhere to complete their purchases, I had quite the adventure when trying to purchase a digital gift card.

My ordeal began on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving when I placed my Wal-Mart electronic gift card order. It’s important to note from the start that I opted to get a digital gift card precisely because the person I was buying it for wanted to purchase a TV from Walmart.com on Black Friday. In order words, time was a factor. After providing my payment information and completing the transaction, I received an e-mail confirmation, saying that the gift card would be delivered to the recipient’s inbox within a few hours. Everything was going according to plan.

Not everyone is getting an email from his or her employer to enroll in health and dental insurance this year.

Unfortunately, in the last two years, we’ve witnessed 9 million adults losing their health coverage as nearly a quarter of working-age adults either lost their job, or dealt with a spouse losing their job, according to a 2011 Commonwealth Fund survey.

On the eighth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me…eight things to know about gift cards this holiday season. Sure, you might have been expecting some milk maids or something, but with gift cards firmly entrenched as the most popular type of holiday present and the U.S. agriculture industry not what it once was, you might find this more useful. So gather together your swans, geese, golden rings, calling birds, French hens and turtle doves; get that partridge out of the pear tree; and settle in to learn everything you need to know about getting better gifts this year

1.  Last year’s leftovers are still valuable
It’s not just you; all of us in general don’t even come close to using all of the gift cards we receive each year. In fact, a quarter of U.S. adults have at least one gift card left over from last year, and 55% of them have more than two, according to a Consumer Reports Holiday Survey. The top three reasons people gave for not using their cards: not finding anything they want to buy, lack of time, and forgetfulness. It’s not too late to get value from old gift cards, however, as you can sell them for cash via an online gift card exchange.

Impulse purchases, we all make them and almost always end up regretting them later. Decisions involving money should always be well thought out. For me at least, impulse buys almost always end up being bad decisions. They are bad choices because you haven’t taken the time to decide if you really need the item or you just want it. Since you also did not spend any time doing any comparison shopping, purchases made on a whim will cost you more.

So how do you stop yourself from making these bad choices time and time again? Here are five ways you can stop your impulse purchasing habits.

Unions are inextricably tied to the U.S. economy. Since the industrial revolution, they have served an important purpose, ensuring that there is a balance of power between management and labor. But what if things have gone too far? Could unions actually be costing Americans jobs by forcing companies to outsource? And, if so, what’s the solution?

To understand the role of labor unions today and how they could be jeopardizing your wallet, we must circle back to their origins. When most of the U.S. labor force was concentrated in mills and factories in small towns and growing industrial epicenters, connected only by a limited railway network, unions played the dual role of watchdog and agent. They ensured that management could not subject workers to inhumane conditions or force them to accept unfair compensation by giving workers bargaining power borne from unity, organization and educated leadership. For many of us, the noble role unions played during this time, righting wrongs like those explored in Upton Sinclair’s famous novel about the U.S. meatpacking industry, The Jungle, created a romanticized image that unfortunately does not match up with current realities.

When you think of Switzerland, the first few things that likely come to mind are bank accounts, chocolate, and neutrality, and there’s a reason for that. The Swiss love to portray themselves as mild mannered people who eschew crime, make delicious candy and run perhaps the most unique banking industry in the world. But hidden behind this façade are layers of hypocrisy and implicit criminal involvement, which allow illicit operations to flourish around the world and provide safe haven for tax evaders. Lost in the aura and tradition of Swiss banking isolationism is the negative effect the Swiss system often has on citizens of other countries. The bottom line is that economies around the world are now more interconnected than ever, and if we want the world to become a safer place or all U.S. citizens to be held accountable for the same tax laws, then Switzerland will need to adjust or risk expulsion from the Western financial network.

Swiss Banking’s Murky Past
Swiss banking secrecy officially took effect in 1934 with the passage of the Swiss Banking Act—which effectively made it illegal to share bank account information with third-parties, including Swiss authorities and foreign governments—and even the circumstances of these origins are enough to raise eyebrows. Switzerland has long justified its banking secrecy laws by harping on the merits of personal privacy, and while this is likely a large part of the equation, scholars seem to agree that the aforementioned 1934 law was passed in reaction to a French scandal, which involved France’s Prime Minister accusing distinguished French citizens from various walks of life of stashing money away in Swiss banks and thereby funding the Nazi regime.