Boldly Committed to Truth Telling in the False Face of Fakery
Investing, Spending, or Gambling
UPDATE OCTOBER 2016: I am throwing some political rants up for your perusal and possible a chuckle or two. Some are just to make you think and be more informed about your choices when you vote. I hope to provoke some thought beyond the meme and cliche stuff we see on social media. If you disagree feel free to cast you ballot as you see fit on November 9, 2016.
There is an old adage about investments in the stock market: It is not the return 'ON' my money that I worry about, it is the return 'OF' my money.
There is some mixed projections over how the market will react to the election of either of the two candidates. Some say were are in a bond bubble while others say that the stock market is sound and in good shape. Investing usually has a longer time frame than gambling. Gambling usually plays out in the short run with the results known. Spending also plays out in the short run. Money is spent and then it is gone. The investor says that in the long run things will even out and the gambler says in the long run we are all dead. The spender stops when his money runs out.
Since we all know that words have meaning, our national politicians have always tried to choose the right word to convey their philosophies in the best light possible. Few politicians would get elected or stay elected if they just stuck to the 'Joe Friday Just the Facts Ma'am.' In politics and used car sales, the most important thing is to paint that clunker as a rare find worthy of your consideration. That is not generally true of local politicians who don't have to appeal to the national audience. I think the line starts somewhere just above Mayor when the voting public is more diverse. I will not belabor the point beyond another cliché about making a silk purse out of a sow's ear.(See Below)
That is why you always hear politicians talk about spending taxpayer's money as an INVESTMENT instead of spending. Investing implies that there will be a return on your initial payment plus some additional assets in either appreciation or regular interest payments.
Spending on the other hand implies that you money is gone in exchange for of equal value that promises no return of your original money or any additional gains.
Investing involves the risk of losing some or all of your initial principal. There are laws requiring firms to advise you of this. It is in the small print, but below is the what I think should be at the bottom of every 'INVESTMENT' discussion.
I feel bound to include that other category that many people associate with the trifecta of investment, spending, gambling. Many people will tell that investing in the stock market is nothing more than gambling and they do not gamble. They may not realize that the premiums spent on insurance are invested in the stock market. The money in their company retirement account is invested in the stock market. The money in their savings account are invested in the stocks and bonds and loans that they consider gambling.
It should come as no surprise that the money spent on our social security over our lifetime is not an investment but spending. That money was spent by our government before it ever hit the fictional balance sheet knows as the Federal Budget. There is no Social Security Lock Box full of our previous payments. I will let you do your own research if you dare about how your Social Security money is used.
bsp; Nevertheless, one thing is clear about your payments into the Social Security fund and your expectations of a retirement when you get to your golden years.
WHAT YOU HAVE INVESTED IN WITH YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY PAYMENTS IS A PROMISE FROM YOUR GOVERNMENT THAT THEY WILL PAY YOU BACK IN THE FUTURE.
We are approaching an election full of promises and pledges. It may be more contentious than previous elections but one of the things it has in common with elections since we started having them is most people do not believe that either candidate will keep their promises to the public.
So if you don't trust your politicians to keep their promises to you how can you trust your Government to keep theirs? You have put your faith in a system that has unlimited ability to print paper money at will without constraint.
When I was about 10 years old my cousin and I had the idea to bury a time capsule in my side yard. My plan was to come back many years later and dig it up. It never crossed my mind that I would not be living at the same house where I grew up. That was 60 plus years ago and I often think about that mason-jar planted in the side yard of my childhood home. I know right where it is buried. I think I could probably visit the house and explain to the current owner my plan. I am sure they would let me dig up that jar and examine its contents.
What was in the jar, you ask. I have forgotten most of the contents but I remember several things.
The only thing of investment value in that jar is possibly the quarter. It was a 1955 version, which was made of a blend of metals and about 90% silver. It weighed .65 Grams and would be worth about $3.17 based on today's silver price. The is equal to a 4.32% compounded interest rate over those 60 years. I was not a savvy investor in 1955 and I have proved that over the years since. But maybe I did have an inkling about the value of something. Back in 1955 a Coca Cola cost a nickle, so a quarter was a pretty big investment to bury. That had been true since 1886. I almost had enough for a six-pack. I could have used a 1955 penny instead of a quarter. My excuse is that was all my dad had on his dresser at the time.
Here is the story of why coke stayed the same price so long.
Now as the sermon comes to a conclusion, I remind myself that the other contents of that jar may not have any monetary value on the current market, but in an aging 71 year old man's eyes the memories would be beyond value. Maybe before I die, I will stop by that house with shovel and story in hand and ask the owner to let this old man just dig one last hole to revisit his youth. Now that would be an investment much more rewarding than my social security deposit which now is not a even a check but a digital transaction between the treasury and my bank. Where it is invested before I spend it , who the hell knows. We found out in 2008 that for the most part the neither the bank or government knew where the ?MONEY? was. How did they solve that problem. Simple they just made a digital adjustment to the books and all was well. So you see why it is important to know the difference between investment and spending. Occasionally what started out as an investment turns out to be spending and what started out as spending turns out to be an investment. That is where the gambling part comes in.
Here Are a few quotes on investing , spending and government.
"An investment in knowledge pays the best interest." - Benjamin Franklin
"Invest in yourself. Your career is the engine of your wealth." - Paul Clitheroe
“Calling someone who trades actively in the market an investor is like calling someone who repeatedly engages in one-night stands a romantic.” Warren Buffett
"A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have." Gerald Ford
"Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it." - Ronald Reagan
"We are fast approaching the stage of the ultimate inversion: the stage where the government is free to do anything it pleases, while the citizens may act only by permission; which is the stage of the darkest periods of human history, the stage of rule by brute force." - Ayn Rand
I spent some of my money on wine, women, and song. I guess I must've just blown the rest. Unknown
No offense is meant toward Miss Piggy but we currently have a candidate running who wears pants suits promising that the government will take care of everything. Now after all these words I still can't decide if my upcoming vote is investing, spending or gambling. Perhaps a combination of all three. Maybe one last quote will help me with this dilemma.
"The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help." Ronald Reagan
This last bit of advice you already know.
LIFE IS A GAMBLE
Go Back
There is an old adage about investments in the stock market: It is not the return 'ON' my money that I worry about, it is the return 'OF' my money.
There is some mixed projections over how the market will react to the election of either of the two candidates. Some say were are in a bond bubble while others say that the stock market is sound and in good shape. Investing usually has a longer time frame than gambling. Gambling usually plays out in the short run with the results known. Spending also plays out in the short run. Money is spent and then it is gone. The investor says that in the long run things will even out and the gambler says in the long run we are all dead. The spender stops when his money runs out.
Since we all know that words have meaning, our national politicians have always tried to choose the right word to convey their philosophies in the best light possible. Few politicians would get elected or stay elected if they just stuck to the 'Joe Friday Just the Facts Ma'am.' In politics and used car sales, the most important thing is to paint that clunker as a rare find worthy of your consideration. That is not generally true of local politicians who don't have to appeal to the national audience. I think the line starts somewhere just above Mayor when the voting public is more diverse. I will not belabor the point beyond another cliché about making a silk purse out of a sow's ear.(See Below)
That is why you always hear politicians talk about spending taxpayer's money as an INVESTMENT instead of spending. Investing implies that there will be a return on your initial payment plus some additional assets in either appreciation or regular interest payments.
Spending on the other hand implies that you money is gone in exchange for of equal value that promises no return of your original money or any additional gains.
Investing involves the risk of losing some or all of your initial principal. There are laws requiring firms to advise you of this. It is in the small print, but below is the what I think should be at the bottom of every 'INVESTMENT' discussion.
I feel bound to include that other category that many people associate with the trifecta of investment, spending, gambling. Many people will tell that investing in the stock market is nothing more than gambling and they do not gamble. They may not realize that the premiums spent on insurance are invested in the stock market. The money in their company retirement account is invested in the stock market. The money in their savings account are invested in the stocks and bonds and loans that they consider gambling.
It should come as no surprise that the money spent on our social security over our lifetime is not an investment but spending. That money was spent by our government before it ever hit the fictional balance sheet knows as the Federal Budget. There is no Social Security Lock Box full of our previous payments. I will let you do your own research if you dare about how your Social Security money is used.
bsp; Nevertheless, one thing is clear about your payments into the Social Security fund and your expectations of a retirement when you get to your golden years.
We are approaching an election full of promises and pledges. It may be more contentious than previous elections but one of the things it has in common with elections since we started having them is most people do not believe that either candidate will keep their promises to the public.
So if you don't trust your politicians to keep their promises to you how can you trust your Government to keep theirs? You have put your faith in a system that has unlimited ability to print paper money at will without constraint.
When I was about 10 years old my cousin and I had the idea to bury a time capsule in my side yard. My plan was to come back many years later and dig it up. It never crossed my mind that I would not be living at the same house where I grew up. That was 60 plus years ago and I often think about that mason-jar planted in the side yard of my childhood home. I know right where it is buried. I think I could probably visit the house and explain to the current owner my plan. I am sure they would let me dig up that jar and examine its contents.
What was in the jar, you ask. I have forgotten most of the contents but I remember several things.
- A 1955 quarter
- A rattlesnake's rattler
- A handwritten note telling some future explorer who I am
- The front page of the Atlanta Journal to show the news and the day it was buried
- A picture of my cousin and I
- A rabbits foot for good luck
The only thing of investment value in that jar is possibly the quarter. It was a 1955 version, which was made of a blend of metals and about 90% silver. It weighed .65 Grams and would be worth about $3.17 based on today's silver price. The is equal to a 4.32% compounded interest rate over those 60 years. I was not a savvy investor in 1955 and I have proved that over the years since. But maybe I did have an inkling about the value of something. Back in 1955 a Coca Cola cost a nickle, so a quarter was a pretty big investment to bury. That had been true since 1886. I almost had enough for a six-pack. I could have used a 1955 penny instead of a quarter. My excuse is that was all my dad had on his dresser at the time.
The fixed price of Coca-Cola from 1886 to 1959 refers to a period in the United States during which the price of 6.5 oz of Coca-Cola fluctuated very little to consumers.
Now as the sermon comes to a conclusion, I remind myself that the other contents of that jar may not have any monetary value on the current market, but in an aging 71 year old man's eyes the memories would be beyond value. Maybe before I die, I will stop by that house with shovel and story in hand and ask the owner to let this old man just dig one last hole to revisit his youth. Now that would be an investment much more rewarding than my social security deposit which now is not a even a check but a digital transaction between the treasury and my bank. Where it is invested before I spend it , who the hell knows. We found out in 2008 that for the most part the neither the bank or government knew where the ?MONEY? was. How did they solve that problem. Simple they just made a digital adjustment to the books and all was well. So you see why it is important to know the difference between investment and spending. Occasionally what started out as an investment turns out to be spending and what started out as spending turns out to be an investment. That is where the gambling part comes in.
"An investment in knowledge pays the best interest." - Benjamin Franklin
"Invest in yourself. Your career is the engine of your wealth." - Paul Clitheroe
“Calling someone who trades actively in the market an investor is like calling someone who repeatedly engages in one-night stands a romantic.” Warren Buffett
"A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have." Gerald Ford
"Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it." - Ronald Reagan
"We are fast approaching the stage of the ultimate inversion: the stage where the government is free to do anything it pleases, while the citizens may act only by permission; which is the stage of the darkest periods of human history, the stage of rule by brute force." - Ayn Rand
I spent some of my money on wine, women, and song. I guess I must've just blown the rest. Unknown
No offense is meant toward Miss Piggy but we currently have a candidate running who wears pants suits promising that the government will take care of everything. Now after all these words I still can't decide if my upcoming vote is investing, spending or gambling. Perhaps a combination of all three. Maybe one last quote will help me with this dilemma.
This last bit of advice you already know.
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