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.
Support MFO
Donate through PayPal
LewisBraham
Hi Hank,
Your satire came across very well. Don't worry about the user name.
Best,
Lewis
Among things worth mentioning aside from your own personal need for the fund, which is paramount:
1. Low costs but not just by expense ratio, but by dollar amount. A large fund with a lower expense ratio but a higher dollar amount in fees than a sm…
@MSF, I would say all developed nations which do provide some form of socialized universal healthcare fare better than us and we are in our own weird corner unlike any other nation. From your link: "The United States is one of the few OECD count…
@little5bee,
Of course the reason plans under Obamacare in certain cases are more expensive is not because Obama is a "socialist," but because the law which the private sector healthcare industry helped write--the same private sector healthcare indu…
@LLJB, You're right that I probably overreacted. My bad on that. But where I disagree is this idea that many or even some liberal politicians necessarily come closer to socialism in part because many liberals actually believe their ideas foster capi…
@Maurice, I was not saying calling liberals socialists is the same as a racial epithet, but it is now the only socially acceptable way for conservatives to caricature and stereotype all liberals much the way racial epithets were in the past. In the …
@LLJB, I make no apologies for Clinton's mincing of words, although the fact that a public witch hunt began over someone's sexual peccadillo seems somewhat extreme given the lack of one over, say, lying about WMDs being present in Iraq. But no quest…
@little5bee, Most of the people on this board have been bullish on healthcare stocks, including, I see, yourself with the Eventide Fund. Why do you think the healthcare sector has been performing so well? Could it have something to do with the "soci…
@BrianW, That's funny how you say downward trending from the left because history has shown repeatedly that the stock market has performed better under Democratic presidents than Republican ones: bloomberg.com/news/articles/2012-02-22/stocks-return-…
@Maurice, Aside from the spurious nature of the article, which is hilarious, it would be nice if you actually learned the meaning of the word "socialist" before calling a group of people you dislike it. The words "socialist" or "communist" or "Marxi…
@OJ, I don't deny that the system we have is broken and needs to be fixed, but some of the cures I see suggested seem worse than the disease. I think the only people happy with college tuition rates and the value students get for them today are univ…
@MSF One of the ancillary benefits of education rarely discussed is it's link to crime reduction and how much that saves the country financially. In other words, it's cheaper to teach a kid than police and incarcerate him, even if what he learns in,…
@OJ, I don't disagree with you regarding the byzantine nature of federal budgets and subsidies. But there are some fairly stark realities as to what has been done to students, and particularly low income students, in recent years by both the public …
@Dex and David,
Asking whether college tuition is too high currently is different from asking whether a college education is a waste of time and money. Here's an example illustrating the difference:
cuny.edu/about/alumni-students-faculty/alumni/nobe…
@Maurice
@MSF, I am impressed with your knowledge on this. The only thing I would add is minority shareholders are almost never liable for anything civil or criminal as their lack of liability is fundamental to the legal definition of corporations…
To me among the many interesting interesting details in the report is looking at some of the markets that failed like Russia and Venezuela and some that pretty much failed like Germany and Japan because of the war. Sometimes stock markets can disapp…
@Clacy, Actually further research of mine indicates that the changes to the bankruptcy code from the 2005 law made it more difficult to discharge student loan debt for either chapter 7 or chapter 13 bankruptcy. These loans were primarily owed to pri…
@Clacy, You say "So in that case, I would suggest the person/household file Chapter 7, in which case they lose the house, and walk away with no recourse and the bank gets their secured asset." This is not a matter of choice for most Chapter 13 filer…
@Clacy I am talking about going beyond foreclosure in Chapter 13. After foreclosure the bank can enforce a repayment plan on the borrower for years after their house has been liquidated to recover the entirety of its loan. And your saying "there'd b…
@Clacy According to NOLO: nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/how-much-unsecured-debt-repaid-chapter-13-bankrutpcy.html
"Chapter 13 bankruptcy divides debts into several categories. How much you must pay on each type of debt differs. General unsecured claim…
@clacy If a company files chapter 11, first lien lenders will liquidate that company's assets and generally receive an average of 50 to 60 cents on the dollar of that debt and then the borrower is free and clear. Other contracts are void such as tha…
@Clacy, I'm saying that Chapter 13 bankruptcy that applies to the average mortgage or student borrower is far more severe than Chapter 11 bankruptcy that applies to corporations and the banks themselves. It is a double standard that came into being …
@Clacy, from the New York Times article I cited:
"In Detroit, the judge has ruled that under Chapter 9 of the bankruptcy law, the city’s creditors include even municipal pensioners whose payouts are guaranteed under the Michigan Constitution. Accord…
@Clacy, The problem is there is a double standard that now exists where companies can go bankrupt and their debt is forgiven while if a student or homeowner goes bankrupt on their loans, that debt is not forgiven but continues to follow them:
prosp…
@clacy, The author isn't just talking about using other people's money to get rich. He's talking about Trump using OPM and then declaring bankruptcy when things don't go his way, leaving the other people on the hook for his losses while he walks awa…
For what it's worth, here is Trump's actual filing with the FEC disclosing his assets and income starting on page 12: images.businessweek.com/cms/2015-07-22/7-22-15-Report.pdf
The real portfolio is his real estate one.
In some respects his portfolio doesn't surprise me. There's an old saying: If you want to get rich, buy stocks. Once you are rich, buy bonds.
But this saying exposes a terrible irony. Those who need to buy stocks the most to increase their assets a…
@little5bee, It's temping to say you reap what you sow to Florida except for the fact that the many Floridians who do believe in climate change and think their coasts are at risk are now being held hostage by those who don't and refuse to do anythin…
The problem is the economically-inclined only see college in terns of money and human capital, i.e., a return on investment. It is of course so much more than that. Yet for those of you who are so inclined, you probably would be interested in the wo…
@MSF, I do think Catholic Republicans are now in a tricky situation with the pope making such a strong declaration regarding climate change as a human-induced threat. Regarding the other survey, I wonder why China's survey results are so low for eve…
Thanks, Ted, for the article. It is depressing, but also a good sign that climate scientists are approaching the religious community. This is actually an area I think science and religion can agree upon. What could be more pro-life than wanting to s…
The thing that gives me a kick is the idea of him listening to Barbara Streisand sing "I Am A Woman In Love" at the 2012 Baron Investment Conference: https://youtube.com/watch?v=aN98D3onhC8
@MSF "It seems that we're talking about a broadcasting "Good Housekeeping Seal" for TV weather folk, not trained scientists."
Regarding the author of the article Anthony Watts attacking Cullen and climate change:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antho…
@Maurice, You're right the parallels between climate science deniers and Galileo are striking. If only Galileo had the financial backing of the most powerful industry on earth, was feted by a major media conglomerate and supported by the majority of…
@PressmUp, The saddest thing I think in the article is that some of these climate scientists have now been leaving the U.S. because they can't stand the political attacks anymore. I've always thought of America as a country scientists would flock to…
@David, From an investor's perspective even if only half of what climate scientists are predicting comes true there will be huge implications for financial markets, but since Wall Street tends to think only in quarterly increments at best--lately it…
