Jim Rickards new book is an interesting read - almost PP like

[dualstow]

Yeah, Odyssey.
But how many ocean munching whirlpool sucking monsters do they have?
Maybe one poem alludes to the other.

[vnatale]

12) On the first page of the book he quotes from Homer's Illiad poem (never read it). One mythological woman in it has six heads with teeth that would make JAWS seem tiny while she had six ferocious dogs around her waste. The other mythological woman swallowed whole oceans and then caused whirlpools. I forget which one he chose to accept as the lesser risk. But he analogizes the risks presented by each with the risks the Fed assesses in taking their actions in that they are forced to make the choice between two bad outcomes.

Must be Scylla and Charybdis. “Between a rock and a hard place.”

I believe you are correct!

Vinny

Surely that's the Odyssey, though, right?

I thought it was the Illiad and the Odyssey? I've already previously stated my reading is almost 100% confined to non-fiction and I was never assigned to read Homer at any time in school.

Vinny

[Xan]

12) On the first page of the book he quotes from Homer's Illiad poem (never read it). One mythological woman in it has six heads with teeth that would make JAWS seem tiny while she had six ferocious dogs around her waste. The other mythological woman swallowed whole oceans and then caused whirlpools. I forget which one he chose to accept as the lesser risk. But he analogizes the risks presented by each with the risks the Fed assesses in taking their actions in that they are forced to make the choice between two bad outcomes.

Must be Scylla and Charybdis. “Between a rock and a hard place.”

I believe you are correct!

Vinny

Surely that's the Odyssey, though, right?

I thought it was the Illiad and the Odyssey? I've already previously stated my reading is almost 100% confined to non-fiction and I was never assigned to read Homer at any time in school.

Vinny

The Iliad is one epic poem, about the fall of Ilium, also known as Troy. The Odyssey is the sequel about Odysseus's journey back home.

Epic poetry like that kind of straddles the line between fiction and nonfiction. It's almost always in the nonfiction section of the library.

[Kriegsspiel]

They're also mentioned in the Aeneid, which is about Trojans who survived the war and escaped to eventually found Rome.

[Xan]

They're also mentioned in the Aeneid, which is about Trojans who survived the war and escaped to eventually found Rome.

It's an origin story for Rome itself! Pretty neat.

Think about this: the Aeneid is an ancient epic poem. And it was written a thousand years (a THOUSAND years) after the Iliad and the Odyssey.

[Smith1776]

Why do financial authors all seem to have a penchant for quoting classic texts like this?

Ben Graham, too, had lots of quotes from Horace, Virgil, and the like. I believe Burton Malkiel has a few as well.

[vnatale]

12) On the first page of the book he quotes from Homer's Illiad poem (never read it). One mythological woman in it has six heads with teeth that would make JAWS seem tiny while she had six ferocious dogs around her waste. The other mythological woman swallowed whole oceans and then caused whirlpools. I forget which one he chose to accept as the lesser risk. But he analogizes the risks presented by each with the risks the Fed assesses in taking their actions in that they are forced to make the choice between two bad outcomes.

Must be Scylla and Charybdis. “Between a rock and a hard place.”

Checked that first page of the book and you are, indeed, correct. Not that I was doubting you. And, I'm even more impressed that you knew how to spell each of those names!

And, here is excerpt from the book describing Scylla(excuse the weird symbols that my ancient Eudora email program sometimes adds):

“In Homer’s epic poem the Odyssey, Scylla and Charybdis confront the hero, Odysseus, sailing home after the Trojan War. Scylla and Charybdis were the most feared women of Greek mythology. They lived in caves, a bowshot apart on each side of a narrow strait. Although female in nature, they were monsters. Scylla had six heads. Each mouth had rows of razor-sharp teeth that made the shark in Jaws seem tame. Her waist was shrouded with heads of baying dogs. She swam and walked on twelve snaky legs and devoured all within reach.”

Excerpt From: Rickards, James. “Aftermath.” Penguin Publishing Group, 2019-07-23T04:00:00+00:00. iBooks.
This material may be protected by copyright.

Vinny

[dualstow]

I love Greek mythology, but those two are quite famous.

[vnatale]

I love Greek mythology, but those two are quite famous.

I have a memory of a book from my high school days -- Edith Hamilton - Mythology.

Correct memory?

I also seem to have a memory of reading it all or part of it and being fascinated by it.

Vinny

[dualstow]

Google would tell you, but yeah, she is also famous (and easier to spell).
I remember not enjoying the hardcover of hers as a kid, but I took a really fun class in junior high (Didn't use that book), and the teacher was great at storytelling. Most satisfying class in my first 12 years of school, hands down. I wish I hadn't goofed around with my friend so much.

[boglerdude]

> I wish I hadn't goofed around with my friend so much

Maybe kids should be given small investment accounts to play with...at an age earlier than 25 (which I guess is the average). Nothing focuses the mind like your own skin in the game. My interest in econ and politics doubled when faced with the prospect of losing my life's labor

[vnatale]

Tonight finished reading the book.

I give it no less than a grade of A. It is the type of book that as soon as I finish it I want to reread it but this time around in a more slow, studying fashion so as to retain and absorb more of the material.

It was not only interesting from a financial point of view but he had a fair amount of politics in it, which gave me two of my favorite reading subjects.

It did cause me tonight to buy his five other books.

Here are his proscriptions from this book:

Investment Secret #1: Tariffs and trade surpluses are back in style. Prepare for a more mercantilist world.

Investment Secret #2: Prepare for slow growth and periodic recessions for decades to come.

Investment Secret #3: Beware the hidden hand of behavioral manipulation. Watch out for nudges.

Investment Secret #4: Seek diversification away from exchange-traded markets by allocating to cash, gold, and alternatives.

Investment Secret #5: Low productivity may mean inflation . . . or deflation.

Investment Secret #6: Prepare for asset-backed currencies with physical gold.

Investment Secret #7: Allocate wealth to alternative assets.

In his conclusion he had this: "The best depiction of life after a financial collapse is found in The Mandibles, a brilliant 2016 novel by the award-winning author Lionel Shriver. The novel offers details of an economic collapse in 2029, but is mostly concerned with the lives of everyday people living in the aftermath."

He then gave much detail about that book. Anyone here read it? It caused me to also buy that book tonight and it will be one of my RARE fiction book reads.

Vinny

[Kriegsspiel]

In his conclusion he had this: "The best depiction of life after a financial collapse is found in The Mandibles, a brilliant 2016 novel by the award-winning author Lionel Shriver. The novel offers details of an economic collapse in 2029, but is mostly concerned with the lives of everyday people living in the aftermath."

He then gave much detail about that book. Anyone here read it? It caused me to also buy that book tonight and it will be one of my RARE fiction book reads.

Vinny

We did! Here. Lionel Shriver has written some damn funny articles recently too.

[vnatale]

In his conclusion he had this: "The best depiction of life after a financial collapse is found in The Mandibles, a brilliant 2016 novel by the award-winning author Lionel Shriver. The novel offers details of an economic collapse in 2029, but is mostly concerned with the lives of everyday people living in the aftermath."

He then gave much detail about that book. Anyone here read it? It caused me to also buy that book tonight and it will be one of my RARE fiction book reads.

Vinny

We did! Here. Lionel Shriver has written some damn funny articles recently too.

Thanks! It was almost exactly a year ago to the day that you first wrote about it. I will read that New Yorker review tonight. I bought the book used at Amazon so it will arrive at some point in the next week or two. When it arrives I'll try to find time to make it one of those books that I read from start to finish in one sitting.

Vinny

[vnatale]

In his conclusion he had this: "The best depiction of life after a financial collapse is found in The Mandibles, a brilliant 2016 novel by the award-winning author Lionel Shriver. The novel offers details of an economic collapse in 2029, but is mostly concerned with the lives of everyday people living in the aftermath."

He then gave much detail about that book. Anyone here read it? It caused me to also buy that book tonight and it will be one of my RARE fiction book reads.

Vinny

We did! Here. Lionel Shriver has written some damn funny articles recently too.

I did read the New Yorker review of the book plus followed the link to here and also read this....https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/09/opin ... .html?_r=0.

Thanks for letting me know about this quite remarkable woman!

Vinny

[vnatale]

In his conclusion he had this: "The best depiction of life after a financial collapse is found in The Mandibles, a brilliant 2016 novel by the award-winning author Lionel Shriver. The novel offers details of an economic collapse in 2029, but is mostly concerned with the lives of everyday people living in the aftermath."

He then gave much detail about that book. Anyone here read it? It caused me to also buy that book tonight and it will be one of my RARE fiction book reads.

Vinny

We did! Here. Lionel Shriver has written some damn funny articles recently too.

I started reading her book tonight. Just read this:

Using the powers vested in your president by the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977, I am calling in all gold reserves held in private hands. Gold-mining operations within our borders will be required to sell ore exclusively to the United States Treasury. Gold stocks, exchange-traded funds, and bullion will likewise be transferred to the Treasury. In contrast to Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s gold nationalization of 1933, when FDR made his bold bid to rescue our suffering nation from the Great Depression, there will be no exceptions for jewelers or jewelry. All such patriotic forfeitures will be compensated by weight, albeit at a rate that does not reflect the hysterical inflation of gold stocks in the lead-up to this emergency. Hoarding will not be tolerated. Punitive fines of up to $250,000 will be levied on those who fail to comply. Retaining gold in any form beyond the deadline of November 30, 2029, will thenceforth be considered a criminal offense, punishable by no less than ten years in prison.

All gold exports from our shores are henceforth prohibited. In retaliation for outside agitators’ attempts to fray the very fabric of our flag, all foreign gold reserves currently stored with the Federal Reserve are hereby confiscated, and become the property of the American government.


!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good thing I was also listening to Bruce Springsteen's Roalita while I was reading that as a counter balance!

Vinny

[vnatale]

In his conclusion he had this: "The best depiction of life after a financial collapse is found in The Mandibles, a brilliant 2016 novel by the award-winning author Lionel Shriver. The novel offers details of an economic collapse in 2029, but is mostly concerned with the lives of everyday people living in the aftermath."

He then gave much detail about that book. Anyone here read it? It caused me to also buy that book tonight and it will be one of my RARE fiction book reads.

Vinny

We did! Here. Lionel Shriver has written some damn funny articles recently too.

I started reading her book tonight. Just read this:

Using the powers vested in your president by the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977, I am calling in all gold reserves held in private hands. Gold-mining operations within our borders will be required to sell ore exclusively to the United States Treasury. Gold stocks, exchange-traded funds, and bullion will likewise be transferred to the Treasury. In contrast to Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s gold nationalization of 1933, when FDR made his bold bid to rescue our suffering nation from the Great Depression, there will be no exceptions for jewelers or jewelry. All such patriotic forfeitures will be compensated by weight, albeit at a rate that does not reflect the hysterical inflation of gold stocks in the lead-up to this emergency. Hoarding will not be tolerated. Punitive fines of up to $250,000 will be levied on those who fail to comply. Retaining gold in any form beyond the deadline of November 30, 2029, will thenceforth be considered a criminal offense, punishable by no less than ten years in prison.

All gold exports from our shores are henceforth prohibited. In retaliation for outside agitators’ attempts to fray the very fabric of our flag, all foreign gold reserves currently stored with the Federal Reserve are hereby confiscated, and become the property of the American government.


!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good thing I was also listening to Bruce Springsteen's Roalita while I was reading that as a counter balance!

Vinny

Then a few paragraphs later I come across this!


As of this evening, myself, the secretary of the Treasury, and the chairman of the United States Federal Reserve have declared a universal “reset.” In the interest of preserving the very nation that would meet its obligations of the future, we are compelled to put aside the obligations of the past. All Treasury bills, notes, and bonds are forthwith declared null and void. Many a debtor has wept in gratitude for the mercy of a wiped slate, the right to a second chance, which for individuals and corporations alike all fair-minded judicial systems like our own have enshrined in law. So also must government be able to draw a line and say: here we begin afresh.

Thus let us strike into the future, our step lightened, our hearts gladdened—confident in the endurance of the greatest country on earth. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America. Good night.


There goes almost our entire Permanent Portfolio! After reading those two paragraphs I had to replay Rosalita!

Vinny

[stuper1]

I rarely enjoy fiction anymore, but the Mandibles was awesome. It's quite a roller coaster ride and in my experience is quite a rarity of fiction in that I was smiling at the end rather than feeling depressed.

[vnatale]

Some parts of the book are genuinely fascinating, such as his discussion on the concept of choice architecture. He likens the beeping sounds your car makes when you leave the lights on as the same kind of "nudge" that 401K offering forms have to steer you into saving.

The above is obviously what you wrote. And, in his summary, here is what he wrote: "Investment Secret #3: Beware the hidden hand of behavioral manipulation. Watch out for nudges."

In the actual chapter regarding the beeping sounds, he described in intense detail how often they went off and how annoying they were. Almost to the extent that because they were so annoying that he tuned them out. Therefore, the net result of the beeping sound was to accomplish nothing positive but creating annoyance for him.

Regarding the 401(k)'s requiring you to opt OUT, he believed this was NOT a good thing. That it was possible to invest on your own outside of a 401(k) with better results.



Vinny