Fed broke financial markets; will stimulate the economy at any sign of trouble ...

[supton]

I'm no happier being where I'm at financially today vs when I was in my 20's. I'm sure people will be happy when my wife and I die.

Ditto. When I was young and dumb I didn't care. As long as I could tote the note I was content. Now I have a nice net value yet worry incessantly about "is it enough". So I feel worse off despite being otherwise.

 

[Arch Stanton]

Foreign aid and military costs and hand outs are the killer. Despite what people say year over year the numbers add up

A lot of those DOD dollars are paying for the defense of our Allies. To me that's just another way of saying "foreign aid". Why do you think all those countries can afford to pay for their citizens health care, etc. Just think what the US could do with the money spent on defending other countries.

 

[JeffKeryk]

In that case. I agree - A person making $500K should be able to write a check for $10K (for an unexpected expense, say, like new windows) with much greater ease than one making significantly less.

But that presumes responsible spending, and that’s not a universal situation. So, they should, but I have seen irresponsible spending folks making that kind of money.

Still, a grande coffee at Starbucks is $3.00 to both people.

The top 1%, by the way, is still slightly above your $500K, so, that person is not “well into” the top 1%, they’re just on the cusp.

Further, and this is really important, the top 1% is very transitory, and an earning level that represents the apex of a career. The 1% tend to be people between 55 and 60, who have reached the apex. You don’t just zoom up to 1% and stay there, in many cases, you spend just a few years there and then drop out.

Sure. All I am saying is, to your point, a $3 Starbucks is a $3 Starbucks, but the real cost, aka opportunity cost, can be far different depending on your income situation. The $50K earner may need the $3 for rent while the $500K earner may have no monthly housing requirement.

100% agree on differing spending habits. I have seen so much money squandered (at least in my opinion) during my working days.
This is why I shrug when I hear people blaming "hand outs", taxes, whatever. My 2 cents is, "Blame yourself!" The worst of all is, "I'll save for my future when I'm older." OMG...

Personal finance is a critical subject that is lacking in our education. Again, my 2 cents.
All good Astro. And I had no idea $500K did not make you a 1%er... Wow.

 

[Astro14]

Sure. All I am saying is, to your point, a $3 Starbucks is a $3 Starbucks, but the real cost, aka opportunity cost, can be far different depending on your income situation. The $50K earner may need the $3 for rent while the $500K earner may have no monthly housing requirement.

100% agree on differing spending habits. I have seen so much money squandered (at least in my opinion) during my working days.
This is why I shrug when I hear people blaming "hand outs", taxes, whatever. My 2 cents is, "Blame yourself!" The worst of all is, "I'll save for my future when I'm older." OMG...

Personal finance is a critical subject that is lacking in our education. Again, my 2 cents.
All good Astro. And I had no idea $500K did not make you a 1%er... Wow.

Yeah. The numbers are surprising.

I reckon in your area the top 1% is well over several million. For your state it’s over 1 million.

https://www.investopedia.com/personal-finance/how-much-income-puts-you-top-1-5-10/

 

[tbm5690]

Further, and this is really important, the top 1% is very transitory, and an earning level that represents the apex of a career. The 1% tend to be people between 55 and 60, who have reached the apex. You don’t just zoom up to 1% and stay there, in many cases, you spend just a few years there and then drop out.

This is a good point and also true on the other end of the earning spectrum. Some are poor and stay that way, but many of the "poor" at any given time are young and just starting out in the workforce part-time hence the low earnings. The majority work their way out and on up. In essence, the amount of truly poor people appears artificially high.

 

[4WD]

Since December 2022, we have given $175 billion in aid to Ukraine alone. I’m not sure why $65 billion is mentioned as far an aid for the world when Ukraine alone this year passed by Congress was $61 billion
I’m not sure how it’s been labeled, maybe congressional special authorization instead of RNI’m not sure how it’s been labeled, maybe congressional special authorization instead of Foreign aid?


https://www.cfr.org/article/how-much-us-aid-going-ukraine

Signed the rare earth deal today.

 

[Pablo]

Signed the rare earth deal today.

Meh stock market not making poor people rich like last year and year before

 

[alarmguy]

Signed the rare earth deal today.

Isn’t that ironic!
My wife just out of the blue brought this up maybe 15 minutes ago

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

Interesting article.

The thesis of the author is there will not be a long term bear market- ever. The Fed will stimulate the economy to ensure no bear market, by printing money. The author implies the Fed can print money for a very, very long time before hyper inflation takes over.

Below is a picture from the article showing how easy it is for the Fed to "create" 8 billion dollars in seconds.

Bottom line from the article- nobody should be shorting equities.

From the article:
I am an optimist and I am a student of history. You only have to go back to the Global Financial Crisis to realize the rules of the game changed. Time in the market is more important than timing the market.

https://pomp.substack.com/p/quantitative-easing-made-market-bears?
View attachment 253480

I don’t buy this, because there’s too much profit left on the table if they’re not letting their buddies short the market. Long term, sure… more overall business puts tons of money in their pockets. But it’s awfully curious how many of the big players “get out just in time” or end up with massive shorts during apparent bull runs that they still end up making bazillions on. To me, this is just proof the whole game is rigged, and not in our favor.

Fractional reserve banking is the largest robbery in the history of civilization.