Search found 762 matches

by rickb
Thu Mar 10, 2016 10:07 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: Staggering World Debt Points toward Crisis
Replies: 53
Views: 25302

Re: Staggering World Debt Points toward Crisis

The modern monetary system is truly bizarre.  Modern money is not backed by a tangible resource like gold.  It's backed by debt.  What the levels of world wide debt increasing means is that people (overall) have more money.  It's like the gold supply increasing over time.  This is not necessarily as...
by rickb
Wed Mar 09, 2016 1:27 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Big Surprise [not] - Hillary odds on favorite to win in 2016
Replies: 23
Views: 13156

Re: Big Surprise [not] - Hillary odds on favorite to win in 2016

Latest odds at http://www.oddsshark.com/entertainment/us-presidential-odds-2016-futures have Hillary at -200 and Trump at +200, meaning if you bet on Hillary and she loses you pay $200 and if she wins you win $100, while if you bet on Trump and he loses you pay $100 and if he wins you win $200. Real...
by rickb
Mon Mar 07, 2016 2:49 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Money in Politics
Replies: 71
Views: 21616

Re: Money in Politics

How about the proposed constitutional amendments here: http://reclaimdemocracy.org/proposed_constitutional_amendments/ ? the real problem is there is no counterbalance to money, in a more idealized, and probably more in line with founding intention type world, there would be a free press that would ...
by rickb
Sun Mar 06, 2016 10:01 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Money in Politics
Replies: 71
Views: 21616

Re: Money in Politics

I see. Well, don't we call that bribery?  It doesn't sound as good that way, does it? That could very well be, I don't actually know the history there. There are two issues here. One is how much money individuals can spend on influencing government.  The other is how much money corporations can spe...
by rickb
Fri Mar 04, 2016 7:35 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Money in Politics
Replies: 71
Views: 21616

Re: Money in Politics

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5-4jW5dLSI (Good video on why taking money out of politics isn't actually a good idea. Or at least provides a different view point. Worth a look. From Prager University). Restricting how much money individuals can spend is completely different from what we now have ...
by rickb
Fri Mar 04, 2016 6:52 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Modern TVs & 'the Soap Opera Effect'
Replies: 6
Views: 2808

Re: Modern TVs & 'the Soap Opera Effect'

It's a mismatch between the source frame rate (often 24 fps) and the display frame rate (generally 60 fps).  If the TV is getting input frames at 24 per second but has to generate output frames at 60 per second, there's a problem (since 24 doesn't divide evenly into 60).  There's a reasonably access...
by rickb
Fri Mar 04, 2016 1:49 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Money in Politics
Replies: 71
Views: 21616

Re: Money in Politics

Your reading of Trump is that he is basically lying about every single aspect of his campaign, and I mean everything. One question about this theory, though, is why isn't Trump soliciting campaign contributions from all of the usual suspects if he is only doing this to turn himself into THE moneyed...
by rickb
Fri Mar 04, 2016 10:56 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: The political re-alignment of our time
Replies: 108
Views: 46957

Re: The political re-alignment of our time

The Republican Party is totally fracturing it appears.  The modern Republican party is an unholy alliance created by Nixon between the country club elites (the "haves") and southern segregationists (generally "have nots", who used to be solidly Democratic) disaffected by LBJ's civil rights agenda. ...
by rickb
Fri Mar 04, 2016 10:14 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: The Real Hillary Shady
Replies: 118
Views: 38922

Re: The Real Hillary Shady

BTW, what another administration did or did not do has no bearing on what Hillary did.  That's a grade school-level defense. Yeah. Rickb, think about how petty and tribalistic the point you seem to be making sounds: "Someone I hate did something in the past that I think is much worse and got away w...
by rickb
Fri Mar 04, 2016 2:38 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Money in Politics
Replies: 71
Views: 21616

Money in Politics

Okay, so the moneyed interests want open borders and trade agreements that make it easy to offshore U.S. jobs.  Trump says he is against these things because they weaken our society. Do you think he is secretly for these things because he is his own moneyed interest? I'm not following your logic. Y...
by rickb
Fri Mar 04, 2016 2:01 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: The Real Hillary Shady
Replies: 118
Views: 38922

Re: The Real Hillary Shady

You're mistaken: the president didn't out a CIA operative; former deputy secretary of state Richard Armitage did. ROFLOL.  You think he didn't do this at the explicit request of Rove and Bush? Would it be rational from a risk/benefit perspective for a President to do that? Do you think W. was even ...
by rickb
Fri Mar 04, 2016 1:04 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: The Real Hillary Shady
Replies: 118
Views: 38922

Re: The Real Hillary Shady

Pointedstick wrote: You're mistaken: the president didn't out a CIA operative; former deputy secretary of state Richard Armitage did.
ROFLOL.  You think he didn't do this at the explicit request of Rove and Bush?
by rickb
Thu Mar 03, 2016 11:46 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: The Real Hillary Shady
Replies: 118
Views: 38922

Re: The Real Hillary Shady

Here's the info about the CIA spy thing: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/30/us/politics/22-clinton-emails-deemed-too-classified-to-be-made-public.html?_r=0 WASHINGTON — The State Department on Friday said for the first time that “top secret” material had been sent through Hillary Clinton’s private c...
by rickb
Tue Mar 01, 2016 7:09 pm
Forum: Bonds
Topic: Maximum Bond Upside
Replies: 278
Views: 161387

Re: Maximum Bond Upside

I bought individual LT's when I first started the PP a few years ago. One batch is @ 3.75% and the other at 3.25%. Every time I check them on Fidelity they are well in the green. Not sure what Craig and you are thinking here. Are you saying you just wouldn't buy more at these low rates (tend to agr...
by rickb
Tue Mar 01, 2016 10:52 am
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: Are gold and bonds very uncorrelated?
Replies: 6
Views: 4304

Re: Are gold and bonds very uncorrelated?

Per http://www.efficientfrontier.com/ef/0adhoc/harry.htm, the long term correlation between the annual returns of gold and long term bonds was -0.2 computed from 1964 to 2009. Daily correlations will be different, but probably in the same sort of ballpark. There's a discussion of gold and bond price...
by rickb
Fri Feb 26, 2016 10:27 am
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: What is a Federal Reserve note?
Replies: 20
Views: 9928

Re: What is a Federal Reserve note?

A dollar is a unit of debt.  Dollars are not backed by nothing - they're backed by debt.  The US government does not just "print money out of nothing" - they borrow it into existence (although way more money is borrowed into existence by the private sector than by the government). Read the words on...
by rickb
Thu Feb 25, 2016 3:19 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: What is a Federal Reserve note?
Replies: 20
Views: 9928

Re: What is a Federal Reserve note?

A dollar is a unit of debt.  Dollars are not backed by nothing - they're backed by debt.  The US government does not just "print money out of nothing" - they borrow it into existence (although way more money is borrowed into existence by the private sector than by the government). Read the words on ...
by rickb
Wed Feb 24, 2016 1:01 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: The thought crimes of Donald Trump
Replies: 80
Views: 29969

Re: The thought crimes of Donald Trump

You're right, Trump hasn't said anything like that. All he's suggested is that we enforce the immigration laws that we already have. Laws that I'll mention Obama has been at times vigorous about enforcing himself; his administration has deported more than two million people over the course of his p...
by rickb
Wed Feb 24, 2016 11:11 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: The thought crimes of Donald Trump
Replies: 80
Views: 29969

Re: The thought crimes of Donald Trump

Bumping this thread in honor of Trump's win in Nevada and to illustrate again that immigration is *the* issue for America, bar-none. Since this thread started, we have had massive immigrant crime wave sweep through Europe, Paris shot to pieces, San Bernadino shootings, and countless other violent a...
by rickb
Wed Feb 17, 2016 11:25 am
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: What is a US dollar?
Replies: 53
Views: 22326

Re: What is a US dollar?

It's an IOU corresponding to a (very) small portion of the total public and private debt.
by rickb
Sun Feb 14, 2016 1:24 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: February 13 Republican Debate
Replies: 7
Views: 4066

Re: February 13 Republican Debate

I think that historians will be hard on W. when it comes to the Iraq war. From the false WMD narrative that was sold to the American people as a pretense for war, to the nonexistent Saddam Husseign Al Queada connection, to the "Mission Accomplished" speech, to the exorbitant cost, to the fact that ...
by rickb
Sun Feb 07, 2016 11:14 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Super Bowl Predictions
Replies: 20
Views: 9043

Re: Super Bowl Predictions

Pointedstick wrote: Are the cars on fire yet? ;D
My wife went to a show downtown.  She's having a little trouble getting home.
by rickb
Sun Feb 07, 2016 10:59 pm
Forum: Variable Portfolio Discussion
Topic: Dual Momentum Permanent Portfolio (DMPP)
Replies: 18
Views: 12384

Re: Dual Momentum Permanent Portfolio (DMPP)

MangoMan wrote: Faber has neither a PhD nor an MD or other professional degree, so I'm not sure why you refer to him as Dr. Faber.
I suspect he's thinking about Marc Faber (who does have a PhD).
by rickb
Sun Feb 07, 2016 10:55 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Super Bowl Predictions
Replies: 20
Views: 9043

Re: Super Bowl Predictions

If Manning calls the plays - Denver wins 20-13 Well done, rickb. Well - my "Kubiak calls the plays" prediction was 31-9 the other way, and I think Kubiak actually called the plays (huddle after every down, run, run, run, and run some more).  Minus a couple of critical turnovers and I think it actua...
by rickb
Sat Feb 06, 2016 6:28 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Super Bowl Predictions
Replies: 20
Views: 9043

Re: Super Bowl Predictions

Maybe it's already out there somewhere but a good idea for an article on the internet would be "Sports Superstars who went out in a blaze of glory". If Peyton Manning wins the super bowl he'll be close to the top of the list but I'm having a hard time thinking of any others . The closest is Michael...