Zuckerberg cornhole game

 

Happy Taint Week!

't ain't still Christmas, but 't ain't yet New Year's!

Socialism is like a pot luck

 The latest product of the American public education system, I presume:

      

Sure, socialism is just like a pot luck.

You would have enjoyed the way they did pot lucks in Cambodia. You could call it a Pol Pot luck.

Exodus! Movement of Jah people!

 Joe Rogan is yet another multimillionaire fleeing California’s insanity.

Who’s going to be left to pay the bills?

More academic malpractice against gold

This is just pathetic.

WSJ:

Gold is, in fact, a poor hedge against inflation. Accounting for changes in the cost of living, gold has returned an average of minus 0.4% annually since 1980, versus positive annualized returns of 7.9% for U.S. stocks, 6.2% for U.S. bonds and 1.2% for cash, according to Prof. Spaenjers.

1980, you say? I wonder how Prof. Spaenjers chose that starting point.

Oh, this.




Of course you can make returns look bad if you cherry-pick the absolute worst starting point!

Anyone making an honest inquiry would find that not only does gold have pretty good returns, but  also excellent diversification properties.

Gavin Newsom's executive order contradicts his public statements

Gavin Newsom's insane new executive order commands Californians to stay in their homes "until further notice" "except as needed to maintain continuity of operations of the federal critical infrastructure sectors, as outlined at https://www.cisa.gov/identifying-critical-infrastructure-during-covid-19."

There is absolutely no exception for going for a walk or run or bike ride to get exercise and fresh air. But trips to the drug store, food store, and even to get restaurant take-out are allowed because food supply and other necessities fall under the critical infrastructure exception.

That's crazy. If you want to go out for a walk alone for exercise, you have to crowd into a store as a pretense! This idiot is going to cause people to spread Coronavirus more!

Fortunately, Newsom's public statements indicate that he didn't read or understand what he signed. Union-Tribune:

Newsom asked Californians to practice social distancing when performing such “necessary activities.”

“We’re going to keep the grocery stores open,” he said. “We’re going to make sure that you’re getting critical medical supplies. You can still take your kids outside, practicing common sense and social distancing. You can still walk your dog.”

In this age of government by morons, I'm going to assume the more lenient of the conflicting statements wins.

White House considering new tax-deferred accounts to encourage investing

CNBC:

As part of a forthcoming package of proposed tax cuts, the White House is considering ways to incentivize U.S. households to invest in the stock market, according to four senior administration officials familiar with the discussions.

The proposal, one of many new tax cuts under consideration, would see a portion of household income treated as tax-free for the purposes of investing outside a traditional 401(k). Under one hypothetical scenario described by multiple officials, a household earning up to $200,000 could invest $10,000 of that income on a tax-free basis, although officials noted these numbers are fluid.

CNBC's Kayla Tausche, like her colleague Brian Sullivan, is a blithering idiot:

Money put into the account would be done so on an after-tax basis, and taxed when withdrawn as well; but any accumulation of profits during the investment timeframe, known as capital gains, would not be taxed.

No, an accumulation of profits is not "known as capital gains." The accumulation of profits comes from both dividends and capital appreciation. Capital gains are taxed only when a position is sold. Tausche doesn't mention how dividends are treated, though they make up the vast majority of the "accumulation of profits" for low-turnover investors.

The proposed accounts arguably aren't of much value. Capital gains are already deferred for buy-and-hold investors. And even realized capital gains and dividends are taxed at low rates. Being taxed at ordinary income rates upon withdrawal will likely make these accounts a worse deal than just buying index funds or ETFs in a taxable account. Which, by the way, you should already be doing.