Here's a statement of the obvious: The opinions expressed here are those of the participants, not those of the Mutual Fund Observer. We cannot vouch for the accuracy or appropriateness of any of it, though we do encourage civility and good humor.
Having just paid a $704 “out-of-pocket” deductible following a 15-minute in-office surgical procedure yesterday, and having decent insurance, $1,000 doesn’t seem so huge. But understand that for a lot of out-of-work Americans it may put food on the table for a few weeks.
It’s hard to spend any money right now except for groceries and regular bills. Many restaurants, bars and stores are closed, with more to come. If I got a check, which I don’t need, it would just go into my savings account. It’s not enough money to invest.
I'm likely to cash the check, divide it between two envelopes and hand them to folks with young families for whom this time will be vastly more stressing than it will be me. Plan B would be to give half or more to the Riverbend Food Bank and the rest to folks who are struggling.
Our daughter's rent. She was moved out of her university-owned apartment and had to move into the place she had reserved for June when her first full-time job begins. Since the job is in health care, maybe the job will not be there. Her university is considering rebating some housing, dining, etc. fees. All this may change domani.
David, Thank you for your response. You are a role model to follow. Unfortunately, right now I am still in the accumulation phase of my life/career so I am not able to follow your lead/example.
We all do what makes sense for our families and our communities. Sometimes that means buying a little peace of mind for ourselves, sometimes we have the luxury of trying to share a little peace of mind with others. Both paths make perfect sense to me.
Thanks @David_Snowball for commenting. This non-investment thread is a perfect example of the difference between the “Other Investing” category and the “Off Topic” category where this one firmly rests.
Yep - The human toll at this point is looming so large, and looking so increasingly desperate, that that’s where our hearts should be, whether we send money, call an elderly neighbor, share valuable survival information with others or simply lend comfort to the afflicted. This one, unfortunately, seems right out of a Stephen King novel.
John Templeton would probably know how to put a positive spin on all of this (investment wise) but folks like him are rare nowadays - rare always I suspect. Let’s all try to keep our wits about us. Perhaps more sympathy / caring for our fellow humans and less fretting about the stock market’s gyrations is in order
If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you; If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too ...
The current admin is still pursuing cutting welfare benefits: food stamps (by adding work requirements), free school lunches (by altering poverty threshold), and other necessities of life. https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/14/politics/food-stamps-work-requirements-usda-rule-blocked/index.html (There are other sites with same info, such as LA Times, for those registered.) Even without such actions, only temporarily blocked by the courts, in the current climate people are losing jobs who can't afford to lose them. And kids at home are missing school-provided meals. So that is my answer.
Agree with MikeM as to funds being misdirected. And it is "other people's money" (taxpayers') in an election year.
Why am I getting a check???? Shouldn't this be used for people and families unemployed by this pandemic? Why give money to me?
Short-term thinking. We're gonna bury the value of the dollar so deep, it'll become like the Filipino peso. 50 to 1 dollar. (At least it was that ratio as of last month!)
"If I'm wrong, nothing happens. We go to jail--- peacefully, quietly. We'll enjoy it. But if I'm right... And we CAN stop this thing... Lenny: YOU will have saved the lives of MILLIONS of registered voters." Sorry about the head-splitting, idiotic loud bell-ringing at the very start.
Hi Folks: You never know when you post a new topic whether anyone will notice / or care / or comment. Appreciate the wide range of opinions expressed here. I‘ve edited the title a bit at the top after watching both CBS & ABC News this evening. I wouldn’t want to appear either sarcastic or unsympathetic regarding the growing Coronavirus tragedy.
NYC is facing the very real possibility of a city-wide lockdown. It is now the epicenter of the rapidly spreading Corona Virus pandemic here in the U.S. Lots of fine people reside in that city, as I know from personal experience. Nationwide, hospitals are already overwhelmed with patients. They’re understaffed and short on supplies. Blood running low. Not enough surgical supplies. We’re looking at losing hundreds (possibly thousands) of Americans a day to this insidious pestilence. Grocery stores with bare shelves. Hoarding of food and supplies. People afraid to go anywhere or visit relatives and neighbors.
The $1,000 check (supported by Trump) is intended to ease the suffering of millions of Americans. So many have lost work and wages. Since the Dems are proposing as much as $8,000 per person, it’s hard to fault Trump as being overtly political here. An indirect effect of the cash payments could be to help salvage a badly deteriorating economy. But, that’s another issue.
The ramifications of this thing are so far-reaching that we’re only beginning to understand how it will affect us. I want to apologize for dismissing this a couple weeks back as just “media hype.” You get so used to CNN and the others exaggerating stories to attract viewers that by the time something serious like this comes along you’ve become a bit jaded and dismissive. But this is the real deal folks. I was born shortly after my Pa returned from WWII in Europe in 1945 where he helped defeat the Nazis that had occupied France. Been around awhile. Can’t remember any crisis as profound or far-reaching, and with such potentially long-lasting repercussions, as this one appears to be. (Possibly the Vietnam War / 9-11).
The $1000 is a great idea and example of demand side economics. The vast majority of Americans will have an MPC near 1.0. They will be forced to spend every dime. It will bubble up to support the economy via increased aggregate demand. This is why supply side economics never worked. The rich have an MPC near zero. They save or invest most of it. Other demand side economics would be to increase the minimum wage nationwide, wide a rebuild America infrastructure program, universal health and education. And all of this is capitalism.
Upon further reflection, I am certain that we would donate our check to charities or those in need. However, it would be better if the government to find a way to make any payments need based.
I'm remembering the $300.00 check that showed up one day, under GWB. To think that it could actually make a real difference was insulting. About a dollar per day. A dollar per day. And $1,000.00 would be about $3.00 per day. I wonder how bad it will have to get before there's rationing, like in WW II? Meat, shoes, tires, sugar, butter...
"You get so used to CNN and the others exaggerating stories to attract viewers that by the time something serious like this comes along you’ve become a bit jaded and dismissive. But this is the real deal folks."
There's a fine weekly program on NPR called On The Media. They made the same point. No need to apologize.
One critique you could make of the MSM, it's that for the last several years, we have been dialed up to 10. We've been covering every episode of the Trump presidency, every scandal, every moment with a sense of urgency. That makes sense given how strange and extraordinary the last several years have been. But it comes at a cost, which is that when a global pandemic happens and we really need to get viewers' attention, or audiences' attention, and communicate that this is really urgent, there's a certain number of people who are not inside the kind of Trump MAGA-bubble but still who have started to tune out media coverage because they say, well, they treat everything like it's a catastrophe and usually things end up being fine.
That is true, it's exhausting watching the news. It's infuriating not only because everything is dialed up to 10, or 11, but it's put through a political filter. Either the filter of politics, or on specialized channels, the filter of the market.
Part of what's happened is that the people who have remained plugged into the news after years of exhausting political drama are the political junkies. There is commercial incentive or an audience incentive happening here where everybody is playing to the people who watch cable news every day instead of necessarily trying to inform the broader public.
Comments
We all do what makes sense for our families and our communities. Sometimes that means buying a little peace of mind for ourselves, sometimes we have the luxury of trying to share a little peace of mind with others. Both paths make perfect sense to me.
Take great care,
David
Yep - The human toll at this point is looming so large, and looking so increasingly desperate, that that’s where our hearts should be, whether we send money, call an elderly neighbor, share valuable survival information with others or simply lend comfort to the afflicted. This one, unfortunately, seems right out of a Stephen King novel.
John Templeton would probably know how to put a positive spin on all of this (investment wise) but folks like him are rare nowadays - rare always I suspect. Let’s all try to keep our wits about us. Perhaps more sympathy / caring for our fellow humans and less fretting about the stock market’s gyrations is in order
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too ...
Source: https://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/if-by-rudyard-kipling
I am sure some Democrats will not favor this becaus ed its trump ideas
When Barack did it... smartest ideas thoughtful 2009
https://www.thebalance.com/what-was-obama-s-stimulus-package-3305625
Election year, think trump 'switched' sides for 5_ 6 months, or he has menigeal coronavirus infections ...
https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-predicts-coronavirus-hit-economy-155125701.html?bcmt=1
Buy more guns and beers
(There are other sites with same info, such as LA Times, for those registered.)
Even without such actions, only temporarily blocked by the courts, in the current climate people are losing jobs who can't afford to lose them. And kids at home are missing school-provided meals.
So that is my answer.
Agree with MikeM as to funds being misdirected.
And it is "other people's money" (taxpayers') in an election year.
I have no idea how that emoji got in there.
"If I'm wrong, nothing happens. We go to jail--- peacefully, quietly. We'll enjoy it. But if I'm right... And we CAN stop this thing... Lenny: YOU will have saved the lives of MILLIONS of registered voters." Sorry about the head-splitting, idiotic loud bell-ringing at the very start.
CLICK BAIT ?!
Derf
NYC is facing the very real possibility of a city-wide lockdown. It is now the epicenter of the rapidly spreading Corona Virus pandemic here in the U.S. Lots of fine people reside in that city, as I know from personal experience. Nationwide, hospitals are already overwhelmed with patients. They’re understaffed and short on supplies. Blood running low. Not enough surgical supplies. We’re looking at losing hundreds (possibly thousands) of Americans a day to this insidious pestilence. Grocery stores with bare shelves. Hoarding of food and supplies. People afraid to go anywhere or visit relatives and neighbors.
The $1,000 check (supported by Trump) is intended to ease the suffering of millions of Americans. So many have lost work and wages. Since the Dems are proposing as much as $8,000 per person, it’s hard to fault Trump as being overtly political here. An indirect effect of the cash payments could be to help salvage a badly deteriorating economy. But, that’s another issue.
The ramifications of this thing are so far-reaching that we’re only beginning to understand how it will affect us. I want to apologize for dismissing this a couple weeks back as just “media hype.” You get so used to CNN and the others exaggerating stories to attract viewers that by the time something serious like this comes along you’ve become a bit jaded and dismissive. But this is the real deal folks. I was born shortly after my Pa returned from WWII in Europe in 1945 where he helped defeat the Nazis that had occupied France. Been around awhile. Can’t remember any crisis as profound or far-reaching, and with such potentially long-lasting repercussions, as this one appears to be. (Possibly the Vietnam War / 9-11).
Good luck on this one and God bless.
The $1000 is a great idea and example of demand side economics. The vast majority of Americans will have an MPC near 1.0. They will be forced to spend every dime. It will bubble up to support the economy via increased aggregate demand. This is why supply side economics never worked. The rich have an MPC near zero. They save or invest most of it. Other demand side economics would be to increase the minimum wage nationwide, wide a rebuild America infrastructure program, universal health and education. And all of this is capitalism.
And so it goes.
Peace,
Rono
I like your comment. It's the one that makes the most sense.
prinx
There's a fine weekly program on NPR called On The Media. They made the same point. No need to apologize. https://www.npr.org/podcasts/452538775/on-the-media (March 13th broadcast, around the 12:20 mark.)