Economy

A Look Into The Real World

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I recently came across the article “What I Wish I Knew In My 20s” which I thought was a good article I wanted to share…primarily for my children. I grew up with amazing parents who were always able to provide what was needed. They were also hands off in many respects…including when it came time to select a college, consider what I should do when I grow up, etc.

Another aspect of what is rarely, if ever discussed is basic financial principles. Just today, I had a conversation with our lovely neighbor who is 78 years old who was never married or had any children. Her 401K is still with her former employer with whom she retired from many years ago. Apparently, someone from the company who manages the 401K wants her to consider taking out an annuity. In her case, this would be the worst thing she could do (An annuity is almost always a bad idea) Instead, she should have rolled her 401K over into a Traditional IRA and simply invested in an index fund such as the S&P500.

We are now in the midst of exbortant costs and inflation covering everything from housing, college tuition, food, etc that now is a good time to learn some basic and simple financial principles to live by.

Two Articles – Same Sentiment. Preview Of What’s To Come?

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I previously worked on the issue of political reform which was rooted in my belief that crony capitalism served to protect the past and its first victim was capitalism. I felt this way after the financial crisis in 2008 but quickly realized that the issue was co-opted by those of a certain left-leaning bend who could only see the issue as big money vs everyone else or rich vs poor. With the COVID-19 virus the same sentiment is once again coming up and with it, we have an opportunity to protect and defend real capitalism which ultimately works better than any other system for everyone.

Two great articles which express the sentiment perfectly were published this weekend.

The first. Capitalists Or Cronyists? A few highlights:

A pillar of capitalism is you can’t reward the winners without punishing the losers. I worry our government has been co-opted by the wealthy and is focused on protecting the previous generation of winners, even if it means reducing future generations’ ability to win.

The second. It’s Time To Build. A few highlights:

The right starts out in a more natural, albeit compromised, place. The right is generally pro production, but is too often corrupted by forces that hold back market-based competition and the building of things. The right must fight hard against crony capitalism, regulatory capture, ossified oligopolies, risk-inducing offshoring, and investor-friendly buybacks in lieu of customer-friendly (and, over a longer period of time, even more investor-friendly) innovation.

It’s time for full-throated, unapologetic, uncompromised political support from the right for aggressive investment in new products, in new industries, in new factories, in new science, in big leaps forward.

The left starts out with a stronger bias toward the public sector in many of these areas. To which I say, prove the superior model! Demonstrate that the public sector can build better hospitals, better schools, better transportation, better cities, better housing. Stop trying to protect the old, the entrenched, the irrelevant; commit the public sector fully to the future. Milton Friedman once said the great public sector mistake is to judge policies and programs by their intentions rather than their results. Instead of taking that as an insult, take it as a challenge — build new things and show the results!

Covid-19

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Just so I NEVER forget….. April 2, 2020
Gas prices a mile from home were under $2
School cancelled for the rest of the school year – yes cancelled!
Self-distancing measures on the rise.
Tape on the floors at grocery stores and others to help distance shoppers (6 ft.) from each other.
Limited number of people inside stores, therefore, lineups outside the store doors.
Non-essential stores and businesses mandated closed.
Parks, trails, entire cities locked up.
Entire sports seasons cancelled.
Concerts, tours, festivals, entertainment events – cancelled.
Weddings, family celebrations, holiday gatherings – cancelled.
No wakes or funerals
No masses, churches are closed.
No gatherings of 50 or more, then 20 or more, now 5 or more.
Don’t socialize with anyone outside of your home.
Children’s outdoor play parks are closed.
We are to distance from each other.
Shortage of masks, gowns, gloves for our front-line workers.
Shortage of ventilators for the critically ill.
Panic buying sets in and we have no toilet paper, no disinfecting supplies, no paper towel no laundry soap, no hand sanitizer.
Shelves are bare.
Manufacturers, distilleries and other businesses switch their lines to help make visors, masks, hand sanitizer and PPE.
Government closes the border to all non-essential travel.
Fines are established for breaking the rules.
Stadiums and recreation facilities open up for the overflow of Covid-19 patients.
Press conferences daily from the President. Daily updates on new cases, recoveries, and deaths.
Government incentives to stay home.
Barely anyone on the roads.
People wearing masks and gloves outside.
Essential service workers are terrified to go to work.
Medical field workers are afraid to go home to their families.
This is the Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) Pandemic, declared March 11th, 2020.
Why do I write this status?
One day it will show up in my memory feed and it will be a yearly reminder that life is precious and not to take the things we dearly love for granted.
We have so much!
Be thankful.
Be grateful.
Be kind to each other.
Love one another.
Support one another.
We are all one! ❤️
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