Search found 1265 matches

by glennds
Tue Apr 04, 2023 10:45 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: How much to save for retirement
Replies: 101
Views: 74320

Re: How much to save for retirement

The existence of those commercials indicates to me that this is a serious and ongoing problem, rather than that bad stuff doesn't happen because of the threat of lawsuits. The fact that terrible nursing homes exist would seem to indicate that the mechanism of state penalties / governor embarrassmen...
by glennds
Mon Apr 03, 2023 7:28 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: How much to save for retirement
Replies: 101
Views: 74320

Re: How much to save for retirement

glennds, I didn't realize you had insider information on the industry! Good to hear how CCRCs are performing in your experience. Yes, I'm an insider alright. I don't want to sound like I'm defending the senior care industry. Personally I think it's a quintessential Gordian knot. There are good faci...
by glennds
Mon Apr 03, 2023 6:50 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: ChatGPT and what it means for our future
Replies: 135
Views: 44515

Re: ChatGPT and what it means for our future

ChatGPT just totally flubbed the knights & knaves logic puzzle. I still love it, though. Maybe version 4 does better. So far it's 3 for 3 on giving me good recipes. Two nights ago I asked it for a good recipe for roasted Greek lemon potatoes. I used the recipe it gave me with no changes and it was ...
by glennds
Mon Apr 03, 2023 2:04 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: How much to save for retirement
Replies: 101
Views: 74320

Re: How much to save for retirement

No, but in situations where there isn't a guarantee, I don't like to pay up front. That's my main concern with the CCRCs. That's a reasonable position as a consumer. When I was active in the senior living industry, mostly on the development side, there were some states where CCRCs were preferred mo...
by glennds
Mon Apr 03, 2023 1:18 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: How much to save for retirement
Replies: 101
Views: 74320

Re: How much to save for retirement

The existence of those commercials indicates to me that this is a serious and ongoing problem, rather than that bad stuff doesn't happen because of the threat of lawsuits. Your conclusion is the intended goal of the commercial. Believe me, they are mostly opportunistic commercials for a lucrative a...
by glennds
Mon Apr 03, 2023 12:43 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: How much to save for retirement
Replies: 101
Views: 74320

Re: How much to save for retirement

I'd be curious to know what kinds of promises these CCRCs make with respect to quality of care. Are they definite enough that they could be reasonably enforced? Usually a CCRC is maybe 75% or more independent living, and 25% or less other levels of care such as Assisted Living, Memory Care and Skil...
by glennds
Mon Apr 03, 2023 9:50 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: How much to save for retirement
Replies: 101
Views: 74320

Re: How much to save for retirement

The continuing need to bring in new people to replace people dying makes sense, and that's a reason that service needs to be maintained. I'm not sure being able to sell your "share" to somebody else is a reason: if service has gone downhill, your share will be worth less, and you won't be able to e...
by glennds
Sat Apr 01, 2023 2:08 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: How much to save for retirement
Replies: 101
Views: 74320

Re: How much to save for retirement

Everyone's favorite topic! However there's a ray of hope. First, if that measure is per account (which is how it's described) rather than per person, then $266K is a big underestimate. No one has just one retirement account. I have 8 active accounts plus 3 that I emptied out (to try to consolidate ...
by glennds
Thu Mar 30, 2023 10:46 am
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: I'M OUT!
Replies: 64
Views: 60043

Re: I'M OUT!

But then... is the USA really going to soon collapse as the kingpin of the global financial order? This has been predicted for decades. Yes, it will happen eventually since nothing lasts forever, but is this really the moment? I don't think so. Even if this were the moment, I'd like to think we won...
by glennds
Wed Mar 29, 2023 6:27 pm
Forum: Politics
Topic: TikTok ban thoughts?
Replies: 26
Views: 19394

Re: TikTok ban thoughts?

I do not believe that there is any evidence that the Chinese government has used TikTok in any way that we are supposed to fear them doing? Plus Social Security is considered the third rail because the politicians do not want to antagonize those senior voters. Are the politicians really going to an...
by glennds
Wed Mar 29, 2023 5:30 pm
Forum: Politics
Topic: TikTok ban thoughts?
Replies: 26
Views: 19394

Re: TikTok ban thoughts?

Yikes: Could the RESTRICT Act Criminalize the Use of VPNs? There's going to be a lot of businesses that let employees work from home on a VPN very unhappy... It's a clickbait headline. Nobody is talking about banning VPNs that are being used for legal purposes like employees working from home. Usin...
by glennds
Wed Mar 29, 2023 10:44 am
Forum: Politics
Topic: TikTok ban thoughts?
Replies: 26
Views: 19394

Re: TikTok ban thoughts?

Here is a video summary that does a great job of deconstructing the circumstances around the RESTRICT Act bill and the proposed movement to ban TikTok. Many hurdles to come, but the momentum is building. The discussion of how anti-China sentiment has evolved is good. If you have 9:42 to spend, and f...
by glennds
Tue Mar 28, 2023 5:15 pm
Forum: Politics
Topic: TikTok ban thoughts?
Replies: 26
Views: 19394

Re: TikTok ban thoughts?

TikTok is more dangerous as a tool of persuasion than of espionage. The US Government doesn't like tools of persuasion that they can't control (and apparently they haven't figured out how to profit from it) hence they want to ban it. Agreed. I think there's a real ability to use the algorithm to pu...
by glennds
Tue Mar 28, 2023 12:49 pm
Forum: Politics
Topic: TikTok ban thoughts?
Replies: 26
Views: 19394

Re: TikTok ban thoughts?

If a VPN is used, how would anyone know what you accessed? Isn't the whole point of a VPN privacy from your ISP and the watchful eyes of any agency? That's a common response among the tech types. Especially crypto fans ask how the gov't will know they have banned bitcoin on their external, encrypte...
by glennds
Tue Mar 28, 2023 10:31 am
Forum: Politics
Topic: TikTok ban thoughts?
Replies: 26
Views: 19394

TikTok ban thoughts?

What do people here think about the proposed ban on TikTok? Whether you are a user or not, I think it's an interesting question. Trump's administration tried and ultimately failed to get it past the court system. Biden's administration withdrew Trump's EO and instead has tried to mount a bipartisan ...
by glennds
Fri Mar 24, 2023 10:30 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: ChatGPT and what it means for our future
Replies: 135
Views: 44515

Re: ChatGPT and what it means for our future

This is moving at incredible speed. Just this week ChatGPT opened up to plugins. There is already a list of familiar names that have plugins ready to go, but most every major tech company will have a ChatGPT plugin in short order. Plus any user can write their own plugin to enable ChatGPT to do pret...
by glennds
Thu Mar 23, 2023 11:12 am
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: I'M OUT!
Replies: 64
Views: 60043

Re: I'M OUT!

Your particular concerns make a good case for hard assets. Including gold coins or bars that you store in the secure location of your choice. In terms of investments a case could be made for commodities that have had a bad time in the past decade but may be poised to take advantage of many of the is...
by glennds
Tue Mar 21, 2023 6:02 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Silicon Valley Bank Failure
Replies: 130
Views: 346719

Re: Silicon Valley Bank Failure

Where do you keep your money? Do you have a way of paying your bills outside the banking system? I don't have a lot of money, so that solves a multitude of problems! Well that's an elegant solution! But the bigger question is how does one go about living a normal life without the banking system? I'...
by glennds
Tue Mar 21, 2023 8:53 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Silicon Valley Bank Failure
Replies: 130
Views: 346719

Re: Silicon Valley Bank Failure

I agree that it's deceptive--and not only toward the unsophisticated. The reality of what a bank offers a depositor is so ridiculously one-sided that if people really understood what was going on, they'd never put their money there. Where do you keep your money? Do you have a way of paying your bil...
by glennds
Mon Mar 20, 2023 4:31 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Silicon Valley Bank Failure
Replies: 130
Views: 346719

Re: Silicon Valley Bank Failure

Are you suggesting that institutionalized fraud in the banking system should be tolerated because bank runs are uncommon? If so, that's a rather strange argument since civilized societies generally consider fraud to be illegal, unethical, and not to be tolerated. How is it fraud? Did a bank ever te...
by glennds
Mon Mar 20, 2023 2:11 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Silicon Valley Bank Failure
Replies: 130
Views: 346719

Re: Silicon Valley Bank Failure

All you say seems logical and consistent. But it would certainly be a radical dramatic change in the banking industry if your proposals were adopted. Definitely. But it's a necessary change, IMO. The whole reason why bank runs destroy banks is because of the institutionalized fraud. It makes the ba...
by glennds
Mon Mar 20, 2023 12:08 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Silicon Valley Bank Failure
Replies: 130
Views: 346719

Re: Silicon Valley Bank Failure

Although the libertarian view (depending on your flavor of libertarian) might not be so sympathetic to the depositors. Those entrepreneurs and customers chose to do business with a private bank that chose to mismanage its risk. Personally I think the government stepping in was the right thing other...
by glennds
Sun Mar 19, 2023 11:48 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Silicon Valley Bank Failure
Replies: 130
Views: 346719

Re: Silicon Valley Bank Failure

"why should there be a risk-free return?" Because the banks make money on that deposit by loaning it out. If there was no return, why would you let them hold it vs "putting it under your mattress"? Not to mention that banks "create" money when they write loans backed by the deposits. The vast major...
by glennds
Sun Mar 19, 2023 10:38 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Silicon Valley Bank Failure
Replies: 130
Views: 346719

Re: Silicon Valley Bank Failure

"why should there be a risk-free return?" Because the banks make money on that deposit by loaning it out. If there was no return, why would you let them hold it vs "putting it under your mattress"? Not to mention that banks "create" money when they write loans backed by the deposits. The vast major...
by glennds
Sun Mar 19, 2023 12:36 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Silicon Valley Bank Failure
Replies: 130
Views: 346719

Re: Silicon Valley Bank Failure

My favorite thing that happened this week - High net worth depositors pulled money out of First Republic Bank and moved it to the big banks for safety.
The big banks then got together and sent $30B of excess deposits to First Republic to shore it up.