USA News and Poland - part 10

@Bobko

What makes me question this is that over 60 million Americans have a 401(k). I don't know the exact numbers, but I'd have to think more than 1% of bottom 50% have ownership in market.

I totally and completely agree that most would benefit from not making stock investment decisions, but investing in managed funds most should do. Of course, that'd mean fund management fees mustn't be confiscatory.

All of them are dumb indoctrinators? .

PF's own Torq is a school teacher. My best friend is one also-dude is a legit top 1% intellect, not to mention a morally grounded devout Catholic. There are plenty of good and solid educators out there. Don't pigeon hole them.

Being a school teacher isn't Walz's problem. His problem is his policies.

Something I really respect in America, is the Teach for America NGO. I know there's a lot of criticism of it, especially by teacher's unions for replacing veteran teachers with recent college graduates, but that's their problem.

From my graduating class of 2011, a few dozen went to teach with this org instead of becoming investment bankers or management consultants. Even then I had deep respect for these people - they were committing a financial act of seppuku through some misguided sense of duty.

The people that went were some of the smartest people in my class.

Same goes for the guys that went to clerk for judges or work at the New York AG's office.

Them not being motivated by money was absolutely incomprehensible to the other 95% of us. Respect to these people.

The teachers unions are a problem.


Good on those few dozens. The financial sector is sucking the talent away from other sectors dry. We have a looming staffing crisis of doctors, researchers, engineers, etc but no shortage of bankers and management consultants. It's understandable, why not go and make big money quickly rather than rack up a mountain of debt and suffer through years of internships and residencies before you can make some dough.

We need to address this problem.

That's why at the top of my respect list are doctors.
I don't know how much I would have to be paid to do colonoscopy day in and day out on ugly hairy fat guys like 50% of the adult population here.

First year associates at the top law firms can count on at least $200-250K in first year compensation. Of course, this involves working from 8 am to 2 am for the first year or two.

First year associates at the top investment banks can count on $150-200K in comp. Similar working hours, however.

At hedge funds and private equity funds - at the top of the market - the pay is also in the $150-300K range. These guys can work a little less, but they have to be proportionately more brilliant.

The management consulting companies like McKinsey, Bain, and BCG also pay first year employees on the order of $200K a year.

All the comp stats above include bonuses.

You won't get the best and brightest to go teach, serve as officers in the army, or do pro bono legal defense if that's what they are foregoing.

You can either be a millionaire by the time you're 30, or live with your parents and also borrow from them to make ends meet. Simple decision for most.

Yes, hence me not including lawyers in my list of sectors.

The hours they work are nuts-same as CPAs during busy season. By time they make partner or go into management, they've already put in enough hours most people do in a lifetime.

At the beginning of being a 1L I had the goal of making it to JonesDay, by Christmas break my goal was getting back my old pizza delivery job. 🤣

That's an excellent analogy. Boeing would actually be a loser. This highlights how it is imperative to measure the impact of the particulars within a trade agreement.

I also don't take Novi's assessment lightly.

One thing you said that I'm not sure about though is that those economists that argue against perpetual trade deficits are more complex than simple plus and minus calculators. I think they see perpetual trade deficits as a creator to an investment imbalance that will make America less competitive. I mean, China's restrictions placed on foreign investors is a major problem.

When it comes to dealing with China on trade, it isn't-or shouldn't-be about how much goods and services are being traded, but about intellectual property rights and foreigners being free to manage their own investments in China.

America is still the top destination in the world for investment. There's no better place in the world to place your money in.

It's not like it's even close. There were years in the past, where China overtook, or was close to overtaking the United States, but it's not the case now.

The trends are not even worrying. Wealthy Chinese are fleeing China, and they're taking their money with them.

So I don't think investment is so much the concern, but truly debt.

The people that obsess over trade deficits are the very same people that obsess over debt.

P.S. Of course if you add HK back into Chinese stats it's a much closer race.

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Debt is our major concern...certainly. But, I was talking about the realm of US-China trade.

Since you mentioned debt: how you think your adopted home country should fix it?

EDIT: "your deeply beloved adopted home country...". 😀

Adopted is a good word. America is a cruel step-parent.

Regarding what to do with the debt... I don't know. Elect Bill Clinton again?

The debt is so huge now, that it doesn't seem practical to actually concern oneself with paying it off. It just won't ever be paid off, all things staying equal.

No amount of fiscal discipline and cutting pork will dig you out of this hole, the good old fashioned way.

So I think the answers are probably:

1) Inflation - Pretty much print the problem away. Pay it all off at the expense of the average American's buying power. It's been done before, in the US and in other places. Argentina is sort of a champion in that sport, when it comes to its peso liabilities.

2) Default - just call a spade a spade, and make investors and savers feel super dumb. It might cause all sorts of apocalyptic consequences, however it will also provide a clean break with the problem of debt. Since there's no better place to invest anyway, the pathetic investors will come crawling back on their knees asking to buy new tranches of Treasuries.

I think that's it. Of course, AI could cause some kind of fantastic shift in productivity and growth will skyrocket, and you'll just simply grow out of the problem - but I wouldn't bank on that.

*waves shyly*

Can I throw in a question from far away Europe?

On "X" I read constantly about this Walz changing his state flag to something resembling Somalia? In our media I can't find anything about this...what's the story behind that?

Only when the step-child needs reform. 😀


Only if Newt is there to correct his errors. 🙂


But, that would mean breaking with the promises of social security and medicare.

Damn! I was hoping our reforming adopted son would have answers. Our debt is like the child of Hitler, Stalin, Keynes-oppressive, unimaginable, and short-sighted.

The old flag showed a white guy tilling land while an Indian is on horseback riding away. Apparently very hurtful.

As far as the flag looking like Somalia's, Minnesota does have a sizeable Somalian population.

They changed the flag on right to the one on the left::

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*squints at flags*

The old flag is definitely prettier (was the Indian hurt? Or his horse???)....was there some kind of voting? A poll or something? I can imagine to change something important like a flag is a big thing everywhere...

Hahaha!!! Apparently people who have Indian backgrounds that serve in the MN government found it offensive. In other words, the perpetually aggrieved went and found themselves something to be offended by.

BTW, I've been thinking of starting a movement of those who are offended by those who are offended. Our motto will be: I'm Offended by Your Offense. I'd like you to chair the German Branch, BB.

Sounds cool! :)

Yes. At least here. 99% of them are Democrats.

Walz is a veteran National Guard member who bailed on his unit right before they were assigned to fight in Iraq.

What a coward, but typical for a leftard.

America is lucky that it has not yet completely turned into the socialist neo-capone enclave of Chicago


Is this verifiable or just some rightist concoction?

"On May 16th, 2005, [Walz] quit, betraying his country, leaving the 1-125th Field Artillery Battalion and its Soldiers hanging; without its senior Non-Commissioned Officer, as the battalion prepared for war,"

nypost.com/2024/08/06/us-news/tim-walz-embellished-military-career-for-years-dropped-from-national-guard-unit-ahead-of-iraq-deployment/

Tim Walz left National Guard battalion 'hanging,' 'slithered out the door' before Iraq deployment: vets

msn.com/en-us/news/world/tim-walz-embellished-military-career-for-years-dropped-from-national-guard-unit-ahead-of-iraq-deployment/ar-AA1olgkg

That does not make America any richer since foreign investments belong to foreign investors. A rented car is not my asset.
They do create jobs only if foreign investments do not kill local companies.

GDP is bullshlt because it includes the service sector. It does not reflect how wealthy people are. Only how busy...

Even the word "Product" is a lie. A funny guy telling jokes adds to the GDP but produces nothing we can take home as an asset.

That's why banks never ask how many jokes loan applicants have heard.

@Novichok

Damn, that's some serious cynicism. What keeps you going?

My BS and woke detectors do.

BTW, where is that cynism? Just like math and physics, Econ 101 is not cynical.

But you aren't giving us Econ 101. You're giving us Novi 101-A Cynics View of the World.

Your post was cynical. Saying foreign investment in America only benefits the foreign investor, for example, is cynical. Toyota invests in America by building plants in America, it's not only the Japanese investor who benefits. The American who works in the plant, the guy who works in the power plant that supplies power to the Toyota plant benefits as does the domestic investors of power plant, the local community benefits through taxes collected from production at said Toyota plant, the local businesses benefit from the commerce generated by the Toyota workers, the American consumer of the Toyota vehicle benefits.

Look at that: a bunch of Americans are benefiting from the foreign investor. To see that is either cynical or obtuseness.

Cynicism is not seeing how paying for a ticket to see a guy tell jokes or services performed as contributing to commercial production that adds to individual wealth, because there is no value in the intangible.

I never said that!

Read 442 again...slowly...

Is everybody here an imbecile with low English comprehension?

They are calling him Tampon Tim on social media because he forced the schools in Minnesota to install tampon machines in all of the Boys restrooms.Wtf??

Hes the most radical leftist Kamoola could have picked..

Tampon Tim has a nice ring to it... I hope,Trump uses it! Hahaha

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Good! This way she doesn't get any more votes. She just cloned herself.

Just imagine the giggler picking somebody like Trump...Or me!

She didnt want to pick the Jew from Pennsylvania ( Shapiro) who would have really helped her.. Good news:)

The Hamas squad of the democratic party would never allow that to happen.

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@Novichok

Then what the hell were you saying? In comprehensible English this time-remeber you're dealing with imbeciles. Write slower, if needed. 😁.


My reply shows that Americans do become richer because of foreign investment.


This election is Trump's to lose. Let's pray he doesn't lose it