Yikes:

Could the RESTRICT Act Criminalize the Use of VPNs?

Smith1776 wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 28, 2023 1:52 pm

Proposing to ban TikTok is like proposing to ban cancer (if it were possible).

Blech.

Wait... If it were possible, you wouldn't want to ban cancer?

There's no excuse for anyone to use TikTok. So that's one thing. Most of the concerns about spying are dead-on correct. I would prefer a much more general Internet spying ban than banning a specific service, though. Yes, TikTok's tracking pixels and use of user data are awful. But so are Google's an...

SCHQ at 0.03% is hard to beat.

Is there any particular reason to have a lot of cash sitting in a bank? I keep enough to pay the monthly bills, but the rest of my "cash" is in a T-bill fund at a brokerage. Anybody here use a bank to just hold significant money?

The whole reason why bank runs destroy banks is because of the institutionalized fraud. It makes the banks fundamentally fragile and unstable. If bank loans were legally limited to time deposits (CDs) as they should be, bank runs would not destroy banks. Not sure how this would fix anything. AFAIK,...

Theoretically the systemically important banks are subject to greater regulatory oversight, so they should be the safer ones. It's getting a lot of attention that SVB WAS in this category until the roll-back of the Dodd-Frank threshold during Trump's administration (which, to be fair, had support f...

So... Is it stupid to have money in any bank that isn't one of these?

Where will these funds come from? The Fed will create them obviously. So basically, it was a lie that taxpayers would fund the bailout. That dang inflation.... I think you mean "wouldn't". But, strictly, taxpayers and people who use the dollar are not exactly the same set of people. So I suppose it...

She makes an important point that situations can be both real and hyped. You're right, glennds, that was an important point in the piece, and it's an easy trap for people to fall into. Once you're seeing that there's hype it's tempting to dismiss everything, which allows others to bury events by tu...

Hello, It's interesting to see how the concept of a permanent portfolio has influenced the Cambria Global Asset Allocation ETF, which includes a small allocation to gold and gold miners. This highlights the role that gold and other commodities can play in diversifying a portfolio and hedging agains...

Sorry, Vinny, I may have been unclear. I'm not asking for your opinion of Naomi Wolf. What is your opinion of what she is saying here?

I had not heard of Naomi Wolf before this. She wrote a very interesting perspective on the newly-released footage from the perspective of the Left. Seems very fair to me. Vinny, I'd be interested in your opinion, as it doesn't rely on Carlson being trustworthy. Primarily the concern is that those ag...

But, it doesn't mean 97.3% isn't FDIC insured. It could be that 97.3% of accounts have $250,001 deposited, in which case virtually 0% is uninsured. As of 12/31/22 SVB had $173 Billion in deposits. $152 Billion were uninsured. Total of deposits over and above $250K per account. Thanks, Mark. Wow. Th...

Thank you, I see the distinction now. And I agree, to a point. The 1980s was a grand experiment in trickle down economics, and while the idea hasn't been totally discredited, I think there are differing opinions on whether enough trickled down such that society as a whole was lifted. I'm kind of gl...

Genevieve Roch-Decter, CFA @GRDecter Only 2.7% of Silicon Valley Bank deposits are less than $250,000. Meaning, 97.3% aren't FDIC insured. Ouch. Less than 3 percent of accounts have less than $25,000? Who the heck was depositing money there? That is crazy. But, it doesn't mean 97.3% isn't FDIC insu...

Would you rather the poor be poorer, so long as the rich are worse off? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdR7WW3XR9c This was actually pretty thought provoking. I watched the video twice and then thought about it more during an evening walk (I know, get a life). If I am understanding what Maggie sai...

jalanlong wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 09, 2023 1:17 pm

Timely news for this thread:

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/10-w ... 09051.html

I have yet to see a convincing argument that the corporate tax rate should be anything other than zero.

Would you rather the poor be poorer, so long as the rich are worse off? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdR7WW3XR9c No. But I'd love to hear your thoughts on the (sincere) question to Pug: What are your thoughts on wealth disparity and income disparity? Real issue or an exaggerated, maybe fake soun...

If the rising tide had floated all boats, there might not be the dissension we see or the need for this thread. But instead we have super winners and losers. I guess it depends on your opinion of what that means. Even truly poor people in the US have cell phones, flat screen TVs and air conditionin...

I think the writing is on the wall that the wealthy (including the traditional middle-class) are going to increasingly vilified and made to do penance for whatever inequality happens to be the focus of concern. I definitely agree it's not justified or helpful to villianize the wealthy. But I wonder...

vnatale wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 08, 2023 1:14 pm

Excellent work, Xan! Thanks!

Well... That interview didn't point out that the op-ed was by the founder and chairman of the WEF. It made it sound like the author of the piece was some random schlub, which he isn't.

On the World Economic Forum "own nothing and be happy" quote: I did some digging to try to find the origin of that and what the broader context might be. I found this interview: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/davos-explains-itself-the-exclusive-interview-with-the-world-economic-forum whi...

Seajay, very interesting. I didn't know that Britain ended gold convertibility so long before the US.

I'm curious as to how you came up with 1793 as a start date. And I'm not entirely convinced that the 1932 date isn't a bit of cherry-picking as well. In any case, it's very impressive.

Old people in the Senate isn't unprecedented. The word "senate" comes from the same root as "senile", the Latin "senex" for old man.