YouBeTheBank.com

The financial principles that have made America the envy of the world are clear and simple.

• In the Declaration of Independence:

  • "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."

• In the Constitution"

  • "We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

Liberty and the blessings of liberty are both the cause and the effect of America's financial success.  Liberty derives from the ability of individual Americans to engage in "the pursuit of happiness" and is sustained by their success in doing so.

U.S. application activity for individually underwritten life insurance rose 1.2 percent in January year-over-year, according to the MIB Life index.

January's increase marks the sixth consecutive month where positive year-over-year growth was seen in the index, the longest consecutive streak of increases on record.

For Americans aged 0 to 44, activity was off negative 2.5 percent, while for those aged 45 to 59, it was up 2.5 percent. Finally, for those ages 60 and up, activity was up 15.2 percent, the tenth consecutive month of year-over-year, double-digit growth for the group.

Meanwhile, the 45 to 59 age group, which had been losing ground steadily since 2004, has experienced improvement in application activity since July of 2009.