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There's new data from the census bureau on the fastest growing metro areas. Dallas is the top city and added 160K+ people in a year; Other cities include Atlanta (No. 2); Phoenix (No. 3); Houston (No. 4); Riverside, CA (No. 5); Charlotte, N.C. (No. 6); Chicago (No. 7); Austin (No. 8); Las Vegas (No. 9); and San Antonio (No. 10). Clark finds it very telling that 5 of top 10 cities are all located in places with no state income tax. Texas, in fact, has 4 of those cities. The Lone Star State offers affordable housing, flexible labor laws and low taxes all around. Weather is also a big factor in growth; Chicago is the only cold-weather town on the list!

The bottom line is that if you tax too heavily, you run the risk of making people flee. High-tax states provide for their citizens, but at what cost? High taxes harm long-term economic growth. Clark predicts that you'll see Congressional seats evaporate from high-tax states and migrate to low-tax one. Yet it's so odd that representatives from low-tax states get to Washington and start spending money like they don't remember where they've come from. Must be something in the water on Capitol Hill!

A few weeks ago, Clark slammed Comcast for violating net neutrality and lying about it. After that debacle, the monopoly actually paid people to stack an FCC hearing room and lied about it again! Well, that was a real turning point because it fanned the flames of public outrage. Now the company has reached a deal with BitTorrent that ensures they won't degrade your Internet experience anymore. It took them a while to do the right thing, but they're finally doing it. Keep in mind that there's new tech coming in the industry that will break the cable/phone monopoly chokehold on the Internet. New wireless spectrum and WiMAX promises 10 times the speed of DSL or cable modems for less money. We Americans will no longer have to suffer through a Third World Internet experience!

RIP-OFF ALERT: In times of economic uncertainty, you're more likely to be taken in investment scams. With CDs, treasuries and stocks all hurting, people are desperately searching for a safe and profitable place to stash their money. Even Schwab is being sued over its YieldPlus Fund…and that's a legitimate company that made an honest mistake.

In a separate instance, The Los Angeles Times recently reported on a duo selling private investments in public equities (PIPEs) with the promise of returns of about 40% a year! The duo stands accused of conning more than $40 million out of everyone from retirees to sophisticated investors. One of alleged cons bought 2 multi-million dollar homes in Nevada, jewelry, clothing, cars and more. People trusted them and they were able to exploit that trust.

Meanwhile, Clark was recently approached by someone at the studio asking him about foreign CDs promising a "guaranteed" return of 18% a year. Anyone promising a number beyond 4% or 5% annually for a "safe" investment is suspect. "Safe returns" and "decent returns" are mutually exclusive. People just have to get used to the idea that right now you can't keep up with inflation. For long-term investors, Clark's advice is to get past your fear of the stock market and diversify your portfolio -- that's the key to creating wealth in the long run.

In Clark's TV work, he recently reported on a website that offers an interactive tool that should help the owners of old gas guzzlers. The site addresses that all-important question: Does it make sense to keep it or dump it and get a brand-new fuel-efficient vehicle? Before you play around with this tool, you should realize that the cost of a car is more than just the price of a gallon of gas or a barrel of oil. You have depreciation, maintenance, insurance, repairs and interest on the loan if you're not buying upfront.

What kind of gas mileage are you really getting? To find out, fill up your tank, set your trip odometer to zero and drive your normal route over a tank of gas. Then fill up again and divide the number of gallons you buy into the number of miles you drove. Keep in mind that if you replace your gas guzzler with a used car of similar age that gets great fuel economy, well, the math is irrelevant for you. You've simply bought like to replace like, in terms of age.

Clark's been hearing some interesting things in the car market. For the longest time, 4 cylinder engines were unloved. Now they're back with a vengeance. If your last 4 cylinder went from 0 to 60 in a day and a half, the technology has changed so much over the last few years. Today's 4 cylinder engines are more powerful and get better fuel economy than yesteryear. Meanwhile, sales of ultra-small cars like the Honda Fit have shot through the roof. So Clark's advice is look one size bigger for a steal of a deal. You'll get less depreciation over time and the slight decrease in fuel economy won't be much to outweigh the potential savings upfront.