Worst investing year ever...

[vnatale]

I was surprised at how good the HBO movie from "Too Big To Fail" was. Strong performances by William Hurt as Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson and Paul Giamatti as Fed Chair Ben Bernanke. My favorite scene was Paulson (R) literally getting down on his knees and begging Nancy Pelosi (D) to support the TARP bill in the US House.

Unfortunately, stock market crashes, bank panics, and depressions have been more common in American history than most people think. After the Civil War, the triumphant North went on a speculative and highly-leveraged railroad building binge that ended with a stock market crash in 1873. The depression that followed went on for five years and wiped out half of the railroad companies in the US.

Thanks for this review. Will start watching it tonight until my eyes can no longer stay open.

Vinny

[dualstow]

If only we could have the economic equivalent of controlled “cool burns” in the forest, maybe we wouldn’t have to experience full on market crashes.
Until then, all we have is rebalancing.

[jhogue]

From a historical standpoint, it has proved impossible to repeal the business cycle. Think of it this way: the guys (in this case, central bankers), who are trying to do the controlled burn are just as likely to start a fire so big it gets out of their control and they themselves get roasted alive. The forest will re-grow eventually, but it may take more time than you can afford to wait.

[dualstow]

^ Yes! ^

[Smith1776]

I personally think that the economic equivalent to small and controlled burns is the natural business cycle.

The way I see it, it is only when government gets involved that we get these massive booms and busts.

I mean, don't get me wrong, I do think there is validity to the idea of applying a modicum of "pump priming" to get the economy on track when a recession hits. But we've pushed the idea waaaay too far. 24/7/365 economic stimulus is the name of the game now.

[vnatale]

I personally think that the economic equivalent to small and controlled burns is the natural business cycle.

The way I see it, it is only when government gets involved that we get these massive booms and busts.

I mean, don't get me wrong, I do think there is validity to the idea of applying a modicum of "pump priming" to get the economy on track when a recession hits. But we've pushed the idea waaaay too far. 24/7/365 economic stimulus is the name of the game now.

You do read Rickards's books, correct? What you just wrote seems to go along the recurring themes in his books (on my third one so far).

Vinny

[Smith1776]

I personally think that the economic equivalent to small and controlled burns is the natural business cycle.

The way I see it, it is only when government gets involved that we get these massive booms and busts.

I mean, don't get me wrong, I do think there is validity to the idea of applying a modicum of "pump priming" to get the economy on track when a recession hits. But we've pushed the idea waaaay too far. 24/7/365 economic stimulus is the name of the game now.

You do read Rickards's books, correct? What you just wrote seems to go along the recurring themes in his books (on my third one so far).

Vinny

Yes! I do enjoy his work. I don't agree with everything I've heard him say, but his general foundation I think is actually quite sound.

Jim Rickards is like the crazy uncle who warned you about the government when you were growing up. And then the Internet came along and you read Edward Snowden's revelations about massive surveillance. The "crazy" uncle wasn't so crazy after all.

Rickards is like the economic equivalent of that.

Most of his economic writings can be boiled down to this: buy some gold. Don't bet the farm on it or anything. That would be crazy. But a solid 10% is decent place to start.

Funny enough, some of his recommendations regarding alternative investments sounds an awful lot like the alternative investments that Larry Swedroe recommends.

[vnatale]

I personally think that the economic equivalent to small and controlled burns is the natural business cycle.

The way I see it, it is only when government gets involved that we get these massive booms and busts.

I mean, don't get me wrong, I do think there is validity to the idea of applying a modicum of "pump priming" to get the economy on track when a recession hits. But we've pushed the idea waaaay too far. 24/7/365 economic stimulus is the name of the game now.

You do read Rickards's books, correct? What you just wrote seems to go along the recurring themes in his books (on my third one so far).

Vinny

Yes! I do enjoy his work. I don't agree with everything I've heard him say, but his general foundation I think is actually quite sound.

Jim Rickards is like the crazy uncle who warned you about the government when you were growing up. And then the Internet came along and you read Edward Snowden's revelations about massive surveillance. The "crazy" uncle wasn't so crazy after all.

Rickards is like the economic equivalent of that.

Most of his economic writings can be boiled down to this: buy some gold. Don't bet the farm on it or anything. That would be crazy. But a solid 10% is decent place to start.

Funny enough, some of his recommendations regarding alternative investments sounds an awful lot like the alternative investments that Larry Swedroe recommends.

He is currently one of my favorite authors of any type book. His writing style is excellent. He packs so much substance into each of his books. I cannot fight or question his persuasive logic based upon all that substance he provides the reader.

Vinny