Just as heated political "debate" (which usually amounts to raised voices and name-calling) finally begins to lose a little steam this afternoon after President Obama's first State of the Union address, we hear that Ben Bernanke has won a second term as chairman of the Federal Reserve. So much for peace and quiet.

Fairly or not, Bernanke has become synonymous with the overall state of the U.S. economy, largely due to his role in federal bailouts for banks and other financial institutions.

Praised by some for saving the U.S. economy, or at least competently guiding it through a very rough patch, he is villanized by others, who say he is given far too much credit for the nation's tenuous recovery.

As the Obama administration continues to face criticism and fight for health care reform, Bernanke will surely continue to share the harsh glow of the national spotlight. And he actually wanted this? As for me, I think maybe I'll pick up a pair of earplugs on the way home tonight.

Whatever one’s opinion about Ben Bernanke and his actions as Federal Reserve Chairman, one thing’s for certain: He hasn’t been afraid to act.

Life Insurance Awareness Month always serves as a good reminder to get back to the basics. I recently came across some highlights from LIMRA International’s Life Insurance Ownership study, which highlights many of the concerns that often hinder Americans from making this important purchase.

This month, I’m going to be posting some quick interviews with various experts and authors on the site. Recently, I asked Jeffrey Reeves, our expert on Life Insurance Strategies, a few questions about the state of the industry. Jeffrey has been guiding small business owners and individual clients for more than 34 years as they chart their paths to financial security and wealth.

This month, I’m going to be posting some quick interviews with various experts and authors on the site. Recently, I asked our Sales and Marketing for Boomers expert, Jason Lampa, a few questions about the state of the financial services industry. Jason is a strategic consultant and leadership coach to independent financial advisors and RIA advisory teams looking to become the wealth manager of choice to the affluent during both the accumulation and annuitization stages of life. Here's what he had to say.

ProducersWEB: What is your favorite thing about working in the industry?
Jason Lampa: I come from a family of educators, my father a principal and my mother a guidance counselor. Teaching and coaching is sort of in my blood. Coaching new financial advisors is my favorite part about working in this industry.

PW: What is your least favorite thing?
JL: The scrutiny that this industry faces is completely unfair. 99.9 percent of the financial professionals that I come across have the highest of standards when it comes to business ethics and supporting the needs of their clients. At the end of the day, it is the end client (investor) who winds up suffering from increasing regulation. On many occasions, I have been witness to financial advisors not recommending what are deemed “risky investments” because the risk to their business outweighs the benefits of providing that investment strategy for their individual client. Regulation should not be a barrier to entry.

PW: Do you think the next 10 years will bring significant change?
JL: Yes, I am extremely optimistic about the future prospects of our industry. I believe the recent turmoil in the global equity and credit markets will wind up being a blip on the screen when we look back 10 years from now. The need for financial advice has never been greater; however, those who want to capture this opportunity must be willing to change. During the next 10 years, I see the top wealth managers having a diversified business throughout the world, with satellite offices set up in places such as Brazil, India, South Africa and the Middle East.

PW: Do the words "increased regulation" keep you up at night?
JL: I am a proponent of monitoring fair practices and making sure that all investors are provided an opportunity to prosper from investing their resources; however, what keeps me up at night are my doubts about whether those in charge of increasing regulations have the experience to make the right decisions.

PW: What is your advice for someone who is just entering financial services?
JL: Three years ago I came across an article written by executive coach and author, Richard Leider. He had asked senior citizens over a 25-year span how they would have lived their life differently if given a second chance. Almost without exception, when looking back, they wished they had taken more risks. Think about that for a moment. That is pretty powerful stuff. When I speak with people entering the industry, I ask them to think about the times in their own life when they wish they had gone for it but decided to sit it out. I let them know there is good news, because they still have time on their side to take more risks, move to new levels of confidence and create a great career for themselves.

PW: If you were forced to wear a sandwich board and walk up and down Wall Street, what would the sign say?
JL: If your not willing to take risks, retire.

It’s no secret that it’s been a disastrous couple of years in the investment world. The industry has been faced with a steady barrage of negativity and panic, and so have your clients and prospects. It can be daunting to continually stare into the face of so much pessimism and maintain a calm, professional manner. Yet it’s our job to continue to represent our industry in the best possible light and remain knowledgeable about the latest solutions and strategies. And no matter your specific area of expertise, our authors and experts have you covered.

Recently, health care has taken an even more prominent place in the public eye, as President Obama continues to devote enormous amounts of time to health care reform. There is no shortage of opinion on the matter within the industry (or outside of it for that matter).

Not surprisingly, our most popular forum threads are usually related to selling. Our sales and marketing articles tend to be very popular in general, and many of them receive a steady stream of comments and questions for weeks and sometimes months afterwards. Just ask our authors, who are kind (and passionate) enough to reply to the large majority of them individually.

Thanks to the wonder of the Internet, we never face a shortage of something interesting to read these days. Pick your poison: Keeping up with the Gosselins, the NHL draft, the ever-changing state of the economy… The list goes on and on. But even given the circus that is modern media, I have to admit that I never expected to find so many bizarre stories coming out of the insurance world.

Since the recession officially began back in 2007 (and in all honesty, for quite a while before that), many of us have been facing a new, and rather grim reality. The ongoing recession has caused us to reconsider many of the basic elements of our lifestyles, including the way we spend, save and invest. What’s more, it’s often taken a significant toll on our livelihoods, whether in the form of pay cuts, layoffs or a reduced client base.

I recently read Adam Stohlman’s article “How P&C agents can profit from the health insurance boom,” and it got me thinking. How far would you go to protect and maintain your business? If it came down to it, would you be willing to sacrifice — or, at the very least, drastically revise — your business plan and/or strategy in order to survive in your current career?

As I’m sure you know, President Obama recently proposed raising money for an overhaul of the U.S. health care system through $58 billion in new taxes affecting several segments of the financial sector, including life insurance products.

The proposed changes would affect tax rules when policyholders sell their coverage to investors in order to receive immediate benefits, while diminishing a deduction claimed by insures when they manage assets in separate accounts.

Between working, paying bills, running the kids to soccer practice and everything else that makes up the daily grind, most people already have plenty on their plates. Unfortunately, as of late, the economy is giving us even more to deal with.

As we hear and read every day, these are unprecedented economic times. There seems to be a constant stream of news stories reporting record high and lows, and tough decisions are constantly being made on a number of levels. Recently, major players in the health insurance industry made an unprecedented move of their own in response to these grim times.

 In a recent blog, I talked about the growing number of bailouts appearing in the news these days. Perhaps the most infamous (and costly) is that of AIG.

The insurer is the beneficiary of an ever-changing, always-increasing and apparently open-ended loan from the federal government. After AIG recently posted a record-setting $62 billion quarterly loss, the government again overhauled its loan to the company in an effort to keep it afloat. What’s more, AIG is slowly being nationalized, with the U.S. government currently owning just about 80 percent of the insurer.

What’s the point of helping a company that posted a $99 billion loss in 2008? Even more importantly, why should us taxpayers have to help pay for their mistakes? Why not just let them fail? After all, isn’t that the American way?

As you know, in the case of AIG, it’s just not that easy. Because of their huge influence on the worldwide financial system, AIG’s failure would have potentially catastrophic results. It looks like we’re stuck footing the bill, whether it’s fair or not.

But according to a recent article by Joe Nocera that appeared in the New York Times, just because the situation has been forced on us doesn’t mean we have to be happy about it.

In fact, Nocera goes so far as to say that one of the reasons that AIG finds itself in this situation is because it was basically running a scam. By taking advantage of loopholes in the system (along with its, at that time, AAA rating), AIG built a colossal house of cards that was bound to come crashing down eventually.

To add insult to injury, Nocero points out that although the government is now fully and painfully aware of the implications of AIG’s past business practices, they are forced to continue using them. The alternative is defaults on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of credit-default swaps that could bring the banking system to its knees. Wait, it’s already there, isn’t it? Okay, whatever’s worse than that.

As Nocero puts it, “A.I.G. helped create the illusion of regulatory capital with its swaps, and now the government has to actually back up those contracts with taxpayer money to keep the banks from collapsing. It would be funny if it weren’t so awful.”

After reading accounts like this, it’s hard not to have a bad taste in one’s mouth.  Or am I missing something?

 You can’t go anywhere lately without seeing or hearing a story about someone getting bailed out or at least begging for money. Banks, Fannie and Freddie, automakers — the list continues to grow. And these are just the prominent ones.  Apparently everyone from Harley Davidson to the city of Harrisburg, PA thinks that they’re entitled to federal funds. Oh, and did I mention the pornography industry?

 It seems that fewer older drivers are involved in fatal accidents these days, a trend that might surprise some people. Perhaps even more surprising is the fact that a large part of this is due to a tough decision made on the part of the seniors themselves.