Search found 1365 matches

by stuper1
Wed Feb 10, 2016 11:43 am
Forum: Bonds
Topic: Maximum Bond Upside
Replies: 278
Views: 161432

Re: Maximum Bond Upside

Also, what would TLT be at if the long bond rate were at 1%?
by stuper1
Mon Jan 25, 2016 5:39 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Greed is Good (Fodder for a broad discussion of economics :))
Replies: 308
Views: 72055

Re: Greed is Good (Fodder for a broad discussion of economics :))

Jafs, you probably think that you are arguing with a bunch of heartless people.  You are not.  We care about other people just as much as you do.  However, the answer to helping people doesn't come through government policy on wages, etc.  If you want to help people, then get off the couch and go vo...
by stuper1
Mon Jan 25, 2016 5:37 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Greed is Good (Fodder for a broad discussion of economics :))
Replies: 308
Views: 72055

Re: Greed is Good (Fodder for a broad discussion of economics :))

I liked the book "Economics in One Lesson" by Hazlitt.
by stuper1
Mon Jan 25, 2016 5:32 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Greed is Good (Fodder for a broad discussion of economics :))
Replies: 308
Views: 72055

Re: Greed is Good (Fodder for a broad discussion of economics :))

jafs, you missed your chance.  If you wanted to live in a centrally planned economy, you should have moved to the USSR while it still existed.
by stuper1
Mon Jan 25, 2016 4:48 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Greed is Good (Fodder for a broad discussion of economics :))
Replies: 308
Views: 72055

Re: Greed is Good (Fodder for a broad discussion of economics :))

Did you never take an economics course?  If Walmart has to raise its prices to pay its employees more money, guess what happens to the demand?  It goes down.  This is called the law of supply and demand.
by stuper1
Mon Jan 25, 2016 4:47 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Greed is Good (Fodder for a broad discussion of economics :))
Replies: 308
Views: 72055

Re: Greed is Good (Fodder for a broad discussion of economics :))

Can't you see that if you have to pay each one of the cashiers more money, then you won't be able to hire as many cashiers?
by stuper1
Mon Jan 25, 2016 2:54 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Greed is Good (Fodder for a broad discussion of economics :))
Replies: 308
Views: 72055

Re: Greed is Good (Fodder for a broad discussion of economics :))

Nobody is stopping businesses from paying employees $10/hr if they think they are worth it. What we are trying to say is that businesses shouldn't be forced to pay people $10/hr who are not worth it.  All that does is cause price inflation and less employment at the lower end. The question is who g...
by stuper1
Mon Jan 25, 2016 1:16 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Greed is Good (Fodder for a broad discussion of economics :))
Replies: 308
Views: 72055

Re: Greed is Good (Fodder for a broad discussion of economics :))

Nobody is stopping businesses from paying employees $10/hr if they think they are worth it.

What we are trying to say is that businesses shouldn't be forced to pay people $10/hr who are not worth it.  All that does is cause price inflation and less employment at the lower end.
by stuper1
Tue Jan 19, 2016 2:42 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Greed is Good (Fodder for a broad discussion of economics :))
Replies: 308
Views: 72055

Re: Greed is Good (Fodder for a broad discussion of economics :))

You don't think that one can be coerced into compassion?  Isn't that what the New Testament is all about?  You know, be nice to each other or you will suffer for eternity. The New Testament is not about coercion.  It's about hope that there's a way to overcome the animal nature that you mentioned e...
by stuper1
Tue Jan 12, 2016 11:55 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Powerball is up to $1.3 Billion ($806M cash)
Replies: 31
Views: 10673

Re: Powerball is up to $1.3 Billion ($806M cash)

Reub wrote: So what is the best way to invest my future winnings?
Math education for the poor.
by stuper1
Wed Jan 06, 2016 4:04 pm
Forum: Gold
Topic: Do you insure your Gold?
Replies: 48
Views: 44947

Re: Do you insure your Gold?

Their website says that they won't pay if your gold just goes missing (i.e., if there is no sign of break in).  I'm not an expert on safe deposit box burglary mechanisms.  Does anyone have an idea what the chances are of an inside job versus an outside job?
by stuper1
Wed Jan 06, 2016 10:29 am
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: Tilt due to taxes?
Replies: 15
Views: 7822

Re: Tilt due to taxes?

I sent you a PM to ask some questions privately.  But for public consumption, do you mind saying if your taxes are high solely due to your investments?  Because that is definitely fixable, with one big modification to the PP. But if you have ordinary earnings putting you in the top bracket, that's ...
by stuper1
Mon Dec 21, 2015 8:51 am
Forum: Gold
Topic: What private safe do you use for gold/silver storage?
Replies: 24
Views: 12849

Re: What private safe do you use for gold/silver storage?

I think people not much older than ourselves would say it feels strange to talk in all seriousness of having all of your money stored as a bunch of ones and zeros on some electronic machine thousands of miles away from you in an unknown location.
by stuper1
Sun Dec 20, 2015 9:15 pm
Forum: Gold
Topic: What private safe do you use for gold/silver storage?
Replies: 24
Views: 12849

Re: What private safe do you use for gold/silver storage?

If I stored gold at home (which I don't), backyard burial would be my preferred option.  Put the gold in a sealed PVC tube about 4 to 5 feet down, and put a piece of scrap metal a couple feet above it.  That way, if someone with a metal detector is around, hopefully they will stop when they find the...
by stuper1
Sat Dec 05, 2015 11:12 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Low-cost smart phone plans
Replies: 35
Views: 17611

Re: Low-cost smart phone plans

Can anybody recommend a low-cost smartphone to buy and use with one of these low-cost plans?  I just need it for very basic service -- calls, texts, and very little data.  The cheaper, the better, as long as it won't fall apart.
by stuper1
Wed Nov 25, 2015 6:21 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Question for Mathjak107
Replies: 10
Views: 3344

Question for Mathjak107

Mathjak107, As you don't think that the Permanent Portfolio's future prospects are very good, I have a question for you.  What specific advice would you give to someone who wants to educate themself and pick an investing strategy?  How do I figure out a strategy that will work for me, including asse...
by stuper1
Thu Sep 17, 2015 12:08 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: The Reason to Quit PP
Replies: 262
Views: 86533

Re: The Reason to Quit PP

buddtholomew wrote:
stuper1 wrote:
Tom wrote: I don't really understand why this is such a commonly discussed topic.
Greed.
Personally, it's fear and not greed that motivated me to invest in the PP.
The topic under discussion is "why to quit the PP" not "why to invest in the PP".
by stuper1
Thu Sep 17, 2015 11:21 am
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: The Reason to Quit PP
Replies: 262
Views: 86533

Re: The Reason to Quit PP

Tom wrote: I don't really understand why this is such a commonly discussed topic.
Greed.
by stuper1
Tue Sep 15, 2015 3:23 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Questions re Long-Term Care Insurance
Replies: 11
Views: 3621

Questions re Long-Term Care Insurance

I signed up for long-term care insurance for my wife and I through my employer about 12 years ago.  The policy is with CNA.  We pay $90/month to cover both of us ($45/month each).  This gives us coverage of about $233/day in a nursing home for up to 5 years (lifetime max of $426,000 for each of us, ...
by stuper1
Thu Sep 10, 2015 2:30 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: PSA: I now have a 3-year period with no gains
Replies: 275
Views: 103067

Re: PSA: I now have a 3-year period with no gains

I don't want mathjak to leave.  I don't want anybody to leave.  I think my post was not worded very well.  My bad.

I also don't want to read the same stuff every day, over and over.
by stuper1
Thu Sep 10, 2015 11:21 am
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: PSA: I now have a 3-year period with no gains
Replies: 275
Views: 103067

Re: PSA: I now have a 3-year period with no gains

at the risk of sounding like a broken record That gets my vote for understatement of the year. I think we've got your point by now.  You'd accomplish a lot more good in the investing world by focusing your energies on the much larger group of people who are doing stupid things like wasting their mo...
by stuper1
Wed Sep 09, 2015 7:11 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: All PP assets trending down: When has this happened before? Kinda scary...
Replies: 73
Views: 24918

Re: All PP assets trending down: When has this happened before? Kinda scary...

I feel let down by the PP. The PP returns recently haven't been outside the bounds of historical PP returns.  If you feel let down by the PP, then you didn't do your due diligence before you got into it.  All portfolios have ups and downs.  The important thing is to ride them out rather than panick...
by stuper1
Wed Sep 09, 2015 10:54 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Advice Needed re Large Stash of Cash
Replies: 25
Views: 10818

Re: Advice Needed re Large Stash of Cash

Reub,

Some of us grew out of being jerks in middle school.  Is this something that you're still working through, or maybe you are younger than I thought?
by stuper1
Sun Sep 06, 2015 5:30 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Advice Needed re Large Stash of Cash
Replies: 25
Views: 10818

Re: Advice Needed re Large Stash of Cash

Reub, Obama and Sharpton didn't put anything in her head.  Personal experience put it in her head.  If you don't think that prejudice is alive and well, then you're a bit slow.  More likely, you know it's alive and well, but you don't care.  Well, I do care.  She's a friend of mine.  I don't particu...
by stuper1
Sun Sep 06, 2015 10:50 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Advice Needed re Large Stash of Cash
Replies: 25
Views: 10818

Re: Advice Needed re Large Stash of Cash

Stewardship, You mentioned "standard questions".  Do you know what those questions are?  That's what I'm trying to figure out, to make sure she knows what to expect. If you were brown with an accent, you might have a different take on authority figures, including bank officials. If you had a child w...