Posted by Randall A Reinwasser on Friday, April 29, 2011,
In :
Economy
If anyone tries to tell you the deficit/debt is caused by too few taxes give 'em this chart...the real problem is a government (republicans & democrats share the blame equally) that's totally out-of-control:
Posted by Randall A Reinwasser on Thursday, April 28, 2011,
In :
Culture
Since my post on Prop Bets for the Superbowl was such a hit, I thought I'd help out my degenerate gambling readers with a look at some of the crazy bets you can make on the Royal Wedding, via the online Sportsbook Bodog:
What will be the total estimated Worldwide TV viewers of the wedding? Over/Under 1.75 billion ->Holy sh.t!
What Color Hat will the Queen wear at the Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton? -> Highest odds on Yellow
Will Prince Harry (Best Man) drop the Wedding Ring durin...
Posted by Randall A Reinwasser on Monday, April 25, 2011,
In :
Culture
I hate Orkin. I mean I really, really hate Orkin. I hate their stupid little white trucks, I hate their dumb commercials and I really hate their incompetence and poor service. In 2007. we made the idiotic decision to purchase a 5-year termite service contract with Orkin, When we originally called them they sent someone out fast to discuss their "protection" plan. What we quickly found out is that the overpriced plan we bought, should be called an anti-protection plan.
Posted by Randall A Reinwasser on Friday, April 22, 2011,
In :
Economy
U.S. based readers might be shocked to learn that there are countries where government spending is limited, debt is rarely used and counter-cyclical measures are utilized to end the boom and bust cycles...also known as saving for a rainy day. Today, Jim Jubak outlines the brilliant policies of Chile and Norway, two countries with a bright future. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Be You... Continue reading ...
Posted by Randall A Reinwasser on Friday, April 22, 2011,
In :
Gold and Silver
Frank Holmes, CEO of U.S. Global Investors, dropped this interesting chart into his weekly commentary. Comparing today's gold price action to the 1970's gold mania and the 1990's NASDAQ bubble, it's pretty clear we're nowhere near a bubble in gold.
When listening to someone comment on the gold or silver market, you must find out if they were invested in precious metals five or more years ago. If, like Frank Holmes, they spotted this bull market in the early part of its rise they probably k...
Here's a pathetic story that zeroes in on why our government sucks so badly. Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller is leading the investigation of fraudulent mortgage practices by the banking industry. What happens next? His campaign contributions from the financial industry go through the roof. How is he allowed to accept these contributions? Is there no law against accepting contributions from those you're investigating? Talk about a conflict of interest. Could a judge accept campaign con... Continue reading ...
Posted by Randall A Reinwasser on Wednesday, April 20, 2011,
In :
Stocks
If you're one of the lucky employees who has access to a brokerage
account inside your 401k plan, you should consider using it. Besides
offering you a much broader array of investment choices, a brokerage
account allows you to take control of your financial future and grow
your portfolio, regardless of how badly US and international economies
might falter in the future.
1) More Mutual Fund Choices
- A typical 401k plan might have 20 investment options. At first
glance, this seems ...
I'm honestly not sure what's a bigger scam, what Madoff did or paying a couple of attorneys $43 million for four months work. ------------------------------------------ Madoff Trustee Seeks $43.2 Million for Four Months Work by Linda Sandler
The trustee liquidating Bernard L. Madoff’s defunct investment firm asked a judge to pay him and
his law firm $43.2 million for four months’ work, bringing total
fees sought in the case to $175.5 million since Madoff’s arrest.
For years I've noticed that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) does a poor job
reflecting the economic health of the average American family. Since
government spending is included in GDP, the government can borrow or
create an endless quantity of money and no matter how poorly these
dollars are spent, GDP will rise. Moreover, the GDP growth rate is a "real" figure,
meaning it includes the impact of inflation. Since many analysts feel
official inflation numbers are under-reported (and I hap... Continue reading ...
Posted by Randall A Reinwasser on Tuesday, April 12, 2011,
In :
Politics
Matt Taibbi knocks it out of the park again, with his expose' of fraudulent emergency Fed loans to housewives of Wall Street bankers. I've been calling for a shutdown of the Fed for five years, because they're flat-out killing the middle-class in this country. However, I truly never thought their corrupt activities would become this brazen. Before pointing fingers at someone like Qaddafi for stealing all his country's wealth, we need to look in the mirror.
Posted by Randall A Reinwasser on Tuesday, April 12, 2011,
In :
Economy
In this article, Simon Black informs us that the IRS is considering new technology that pre-calculates your federal income taxes. If your actual return differs significantly from their expectations, the IRS will reject it. However, there's more to this article than just pointing out continued IRS thuggery. It seems to me that almost every policy change the U.S. government makes is not only wrong, it's the exact opposite of the right thing to do. Washington's "solution" to endless wars, ba... Continue reading ...
Posted by Randall A Reinwasser on Sunday, April 10, 2011,
In :
Culture
Excellent article on the double-standard of the NCAA punishment decisions, specifically UCONN basketball criminal coach Jim Calhoun compared to a Baylor basketball player whose mother borrowed money to feed her family. However, I'm not sure why this Op-Ed had to bring race into the discussion...punishment from the NCAA is clearly doled out (or not) based on whether the person/program in question benefits the NCAA, regardless of their race. ---------------------------------------------------... Continue reading ...
Posted by Randall A Reinwasser on Thursday, April 7, 2011,
In :
Culture
Bravo to 60 Minutes for airing the incredibly inspirational story of a teenage Gospel singing group based in Harlem. I think I cried tears of joy four separate times. It's nice to remember that all the news isn't bad... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Part 1
Posted by Randall A Reinwasser on Wednesday, April 6, 2011,
In :
Culture
Dr Weil gives us another reason not to eat junk food:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: I recently heard a report that fats in fast foods raise the risk of
depression. Is this true? If so, is that why so many people are
depressed these days?
Dr Weil: Some
evidence does suggest that the trans-fats and saturated fats in some
junk foods increase the risk of depression. The latest findings on this
topic come from Spanish researchers who followed... Continue reading ...
Posted by Randall A Reinwasser on Tuesday, April 5, 2011,
In :
Economy
This housing article takes a look at the shadow inventory of homes for sale. I'll add one thing, it doesn't include all the homeowners who would like to sell but are praying for waiting for higher prices. Interesting chart at the bottom showing the shadow inventory by state. It's very surprising to see Arizona in the bottom-half of this list. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Why The Housing ... Continue reading ...
Posted by Randall A Reinwasser on Monday, April 4, 2011,
In :
Politics
Popping the Qaddafi Zit by Andrew Sullivan
If Qaddafi survives and even regains control of much of the country,
the temptation will be to ratchet up military pressure. Reflexive war
mongers like McCain and Lieberman will always fight for another war in
the name of good versus evil. And have no doubt that a man like Romney
will cite Qaddafi's survival as part of a critique of Obama's
"weakness". That political dynamic can often lead to the temptation of a
covert war, surreptitiously arming... Continue reading ...
Posted by Randall A Reinwasser on Monday, April 4, 2011,
In :
Permanent Portfolio
Yesterday, the investment blog Random Roger had a link to one of his reader's blogs, who goes by the name "T". T's blog discussed changing the allocation of the Permanent Portfolio, because "Investment products better reflecting the world are available to capture
long trends while defending against your best intentioned stock
selections going haywire."
T believes he knows which investments are most suited for the future and built an ETF Portfolio to reflect his views. It consists of the ... Continue reading ...
Posted by Randall A Reinwasser on Saturday, April 2, 2011,
In :
Economy
We've Become a Nation of Takers, Not Makers by Stephen Moore
If you want to understand better why so many states—from New York to
Wisconsin to California—are teetering on the brink of bankruptcy,
consider this depressing statistic: Today in America there are nearly
twice as many people working for the government (22.5 million) than in
all of manufacturing (11.5 million). This is an almost exact reversal of
the situation in 1960, when there were 15 million workers in
manufacturing and ...
Posted by Randall A Reinwasser on Friday, April 1, 2011,
In :
Economy
Matt Taibbi and Senator Bernie Sanders have a question. Why are we bailing out Libya and allowing their banks to operate in the U.S.? ---------------------------------
Barack Obama recently issued an executive order
imposing a wave of sanctions against Libya, not only freezing Libyan
assets, but barring Americans from having business dealings with Libyan
banks.
So raise your hand if you knew that the United States has been
extending billions of dollars in aid to Qaddafi and to the Centra...
Posted by Randall A Reinwasser on Friday, April 1, 2011,
In :
Economy
January 2011 Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participation rose to 44,187,831, which is a 12% rise over January 2010. SNAP usage has risen for 28 straight months!
Until SNAP participation begins to fall, I fail to see how the economy could possibly be improving for the average American family. While those at the top of the economic pyramid are clearly doing better, a good portion of everyone else is struggling to make it. Thanks in part to stagnant wages, rising prices, a ... Continue reading ...
