Search found 4297 matches

by Xan
Thu Oct 25, 2012 2:27 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: Permanent Portfolio Book - Kindle Edition Now Shipping!
Replies: 89
Views: 34517

Re: Permanent Portfolio Book - Kindle Edition Now Shipping!

That "Family Wealth" actually looks like it might be interesting.  The rest...  Not so much.  (Apart from the PP book of course!)
by Xan
Wed Oct 24, 2012 2:39 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: Sorry, you guys. I broke the PP. My bad.
Replies: 73
Views: 30373

Re: Sorry, you guys. I broke the PP. My bad.

I believe HB said there wasn't anything particularly scientific about the 15/35 bands.  It may work better to let a gain ride, and it may work better to lock it in quick.  I don't think there's a thing wrong with rebalancing "constantly" (effectively, 24/26 bands), especially if it reduces your perc...
by Xan
Wed Oct 24, 2012 11:43 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: President Obama's Executive Power Grab
Replies: 8
Views: 3457

Re: President Obama's Executive Power Grab

Why exactly is it bad that people should earn their living and then spend their money the way they see fit, rather than being wards of the state?
by Xan
Wed Oct 24, 2012 10:55 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: President Obama's Executive Power Grab
Replies: 8
Views: 3457

Re: President Obama's Executive Power Grab

Every elected federal officeholder (not 100% sure, but certainly the President) swears an oath to uphold the Constitution.  If a law is passed that requires him to do something he believes is unconstitutional, it is his DUTY to ignore it. Everyone seems to assume that his duty is to follow the law n...
by Xan
Tue Oct 23, 2012 10:04 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Who ya voting for?
Replies: 126
Views: 37468

Re: Who ya voting for?

"Women's rights" - as leftists define them.  Universal health care - a terrible idea, and actually everyone should vote against Obama just for this one.  Gay marriage - that's a tough one, but it's hard to make the case that everybody who's against it is a bigot, which is the assumption here. "I am ...
by Xan
Tue Oct 23, 2012 5:46 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Hilarious but sad
Replies: 8
Views: 4979

Re: Hilarious but sad

I assume Donald Trump wasn't available. No true buffoon-apalooza would be complete with The Donald. he is to busy getting ready for the big announcement i suspect :-\ you can place bets on what it will be and see current odds here http://www.paddypower.com/bet/novelty-betting/other-politics/us-poli...
by Xan
Mon Oct 22, 2012 1:05 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Is Lance Armstrong Guilty?
Replies: 53
Views: 17392

Re: Is Lance Armstrong Guilty?

I think some of that is reflected in the UCI's decision to leave those Tour championships vacant rather than give them to the runner up.  If all of them are cheating, then none of them deserve medals.  None of them.
by Xan
Mon Oct 22, 2012 10:29 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Governments are Not Households
Replies: 56
Views: 13800

Re: Governments are Not Households

I think the other thing that is tempting is to assume that MMR is an endorsement of the current system.  A "libertarian" approach to MMR could be to use it to point out that the current monetary regime is fundamentally flawed and should be replaced with something else.
by Xan
Sun Oct 21, 2012 11:06 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Governments are Not Households
Replies: 56
Views: 13800

Re: Governments are Not Households

l82start wrote:i would love to hear the libertarian MMR theoretical policy i have trouble envisioning how the two can coexist.
Perhaps I'm wrong, but I believe that MMR has no policy recommendations; it is simply descriptive.  It's perfectly consistent to be a libertarian and to believe MMR is correct.
by Xan
Fri Oct 19, 2012 3:58 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Mobile phones and cancer; yes really
Replies: 11
Views: 2526

Re: Mobile phones and cancer; yes really

With many carriers, it's possible to get a miniature cell tower in your house.  It plugs into your Internet connection, and your phone calls go out over that.  It seems counter-intuitive that adding a receiver and transmitter in your house can lower your exposure, but I believe it does just that tha...
by Xan
Thu Oct 18, 2012 5:23 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Forced Retirement Account Confiscation
Replies: 35
Views: 10730

Re: Forced Retirement Account Confiscation

The law could simply adjust the penalty for early withdrawal to 100%.  Then when you filed your taxes for the year, you'd find that you owed exactly the amount you had taken out, even if you took it out before the law passed. Recent Supreme Court rulings have demonstrated that the feds have absolute...
by Xan
Thu Oct 18, 2012 12:05 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Funds
Topic: PERM vs. PRPFX - which is best?
Replies: 71
Views: 60264

Re: PERM vs. PRPFX - which is best?

I'm trying to figure out what to do with two sizable and frequently-contributed-to chunks of money: the quarterly income tax due January 15th and the final payment due April 15th.  Assuming that I know what the amount will be and have the cash, is it worth taking any risk at all for some extra rewa...
by Xan
Thu Oct 18, 2012 12:10 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Skydiving from Space
Replies: 15
Views: 5328

Re: Skydiving from Space

I am also sympathetic to the argument that corporations -- even private -- are the breeding grounds of socialism.  They are certainly not free market hierarchericies internally, but utilize the same top down, command and conquer perversion that government festers upon general society. There's an in...
by Xan
Thu Oct 18, 2012 12:03 am
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Funds
Topic: PERM vs. PRPFX - which is best?
Replies: 71
Views: 60264

Re: PERM vs. PRPFX - which is best?

I'm trying to figure out what to do with two sizable and frequently-contributed-to chunks of money: the quarterly income tax due January 15th and the final payment due April 15th.  Assuming that I know what the amount will be and have the cash, is it worth taking any risk at all for some extra rewar...
by Xan
Wed Oct 17, 2012 4:14 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Milestones to Financial Freedom
Replies: 77
Views: 22838

Re: Milestones to Financial Freedom

Engineer / INT(J|P) here.
by Xan
Wed Oct 17, 2012 2:47 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: Taylor Larimore's "Gems": The Permanent Portfolio
Replies: 21
Views: 9474

Re: Taylor Larimore's "Gems": The Permanent Portfolio

Gumby wrote: He'll be back. He's probably just doing an identity/data purge. I can see the reasoning for not wanting his opinions and recommendations to be documented for eternity.
Yeah, if I had some of his opinions, I sure wouldn't want anyone to know about it either!
by Xan
Tue Oct 16, 2012 4:08 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: Boglehead arguing against the PP
Replies: 16
Views: 8473

Re: Boglehead arguing against the PP

Was that the same Clive from this forum accusing Craig and Tex of stealing from Harry Browne's widow and purposely for their own profit leading naive investors down the garden path?  I suppose he's entitled to his opinion, but that certainly seemed uncalled-for and below the belt.
by Xan
Mon Oct 15, 2012 12:30 pm
Forum: Gold
Topic: Would you use a Vanguard gold ETF?
Replies: 11
Views: 5506

Re: Would you use a Vanguard gold ETF?

I should clarify that my Vanguard account is an IRA, so the downsides are more limited than they would be in taxable.  For example, I could switch all my assets from IAU to the new thing without tax consequences, if I wanted.  Also, if the new fund folded and I were forced to sell, I wouldn't take a...
by Xan
Mon Oct 15, 2012 12:27 pm
Forum: Gold
Topic: Would you use a Vanguard gold ETF?
Replies: 11
Views: 5506

Re: Would you use a Vanguard gold ETF?

Absolutely I would!

I have institutional diversification already.  For my account at Vanguard, I try to keep everything in the family.  If this ETF traded commission-free and had a comparable expense ratio, I'd be all over it.
by Xan
Mon Oct 15, 2012 10:23 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: What should we aim for with medicine?
Replies: 22
Views: 8279

Re: What should we aim for with medicine?

http://gyroscopicinvesting.com/forum/http://77.104.139.218/~gyroscop/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?p=42158#p42158 Perhaps spreading the word about how many doctors wouldn't want intrusive end of life medical treatment for themselves is a good way to move in the right direction. I heard about that on here fro...
by Xan
Mon Oct 15, 2012 10:19 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: An America eternally 'at war'
Replies: 18
Views: 5995

Re: An America eternally 'at war'

I don't fully understand the belief that the U.S. government has a limited ability to improve the quality of life of U.S. citizens here at home, but it does have the ability to improve the lives of other people in far flung locations all over the world. For me, skepticism of the ability of big gove...
by Xan
Fri Oct 12, 2012 3:22 pm
Forum: Bonds
Topic: 14% LTT's
Replies: 19
Views: 9155

Re: 14% LTT's

Sure; it's worth more now than what you paid for it.  Sounds like a good time to sell!
by Xan
Thu Oct 11, 2012 3:45 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: If you had $1 Million in the PP, can you live off of that?
Replies: 106
Views: 40034

Re: If you had $1 Million in the PP, can you live off of that?

Clive,

I think akratic has shown that your "0% real" shortcut is an oversimplification.  Just because inflation is equal to the rate of growth doesn't mean that you can gloss over it to say the account balance never changes.
by Xan
Thu Oct 11, 2012 12:55 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: The Case Against Patents
Replies: 45
Views: 13437

Re: The Case Against Patents

The main question is: for any particular industry, is there more innovation because of patents, or less?  Do patents encourage or discourage progress and development?

I think in the case of software, it's clearly on the "discourage" side.  Therefore there should be no software patents.
by Xan
Wed Oct 10, 2012 4:56 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: The Case Against Patents
Replies: 45
Views: 13437

Re: The Case Against Patents

I look forward to the day when I'll be able to swing sideways on a swing again!  It's coming up soon. "A method of swing on a swing is disclosed, in which a user positioned on a standard swing suspended by two chains from a substantially horizontal tree branch induces side to side motion by pulling ...