On New Year's Eve millions of Americans will flock to celebrations held in town and city centers around the country. The festivities will be fun, but it's also important to remember your safety when joining large crowds. Massacres like those in Nice, France in 2016 and earlier this year in Las Vegas show that insane people target large crowds in order to do the most damage. Las Vegas is, like other cities, beefing up security for the New Year's Eve events. CNBC reports: An unprecedented number of law enforcement officers and National Guard members will be on duty when tens of thousands of … [Read more...]
The Truth Behind the S&P 500: Part V
As I've written to you before, the S&P is constructed somewhat like an actively managed fund. Real people choose which stocks go in, and which remain out. Robin Wigglesworth writes in the Financial Times that David Blitzer, the current head of the S&P Dow Jones' index committee, has done what few others have been able to do by creating decent low risk returns. But Wigglesworth also points out that it is unlikely Blitzer's success can be maintained (that's not a knock on Blitzer who isn't attempting to generate maximum returns with his picks). It's just math. As volatility increases … [Read more...]
Is College the Best America Can Do for its Students?
In today's job market it's hard to find any well paying job that doesn't require some level of college education. But should it be that way? In Switzerland apprenticeships serve to put young people into jobs immediately upon entering the workforce. How many unproductive years of college and even grad school must American students endure before entering the workforce for jobs Swiss youths are doing straight out of high school? Switzerland is one of the most competitive nations, and home to the world's most Fortune 500 companies per capita. At the Financial Times, Ralph Atkins explains why … [Read more...]
Can the GOP Turn Tax Cuts into Electoral Success?
After enacting the largest tax cuts since Ronald Reagan's, Republicans will now have a chance to campaign on their efforts. Whether in 2018, or 2020 the effects of the tax cuts will be put to the test at the polls. Pat Buchanan says that the tax cut vote should not be underestimated. He writes: By how they voted Wednesday, Republicans yet believe in “supply-side” economics. In the early ’80s, this was derided as “voodoo economics” and “trickle-down” economics, and pungently disparaged by John Kenneth Galbraith as an economic philosophy rooted in the belief that, if you wish to feed the … [Read more...]
Amazon’s Nomadic Retiree Army
Every year, Amazon needs thousands of extra workers to meet the holiday crush, explains Jessica Bruder in “Meet the Camperforce, Amazon’s Nomadic Retiree Army,” Wired’s adaptation from Bruder’s book Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century. Many of them are nomadic retirees living in RVs. In Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’s estimation, a quarter of all nomadic retirees in RVs will have worked for CamperForce by 2020. Their reasons for working are not necessarily good ones and the story illustrates how quickly one’s retirement plans can be turned upside down—requiring part-time … [Read more...]
Merry Christmas from Your Survival Guy
Merry Christmas to you and your family—wherever you’re from—you’re never far from home. And happy birthday Jimmy Buffett. … [Read more...]
The Holy Grail of Missile Defense – Booster Phase Intercepts
Historically, missile defense capabilities have always seemed to chase the advancements of Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM), never really the other way around. The Missile Defense shield, which has about as much of a chance of success as a flip of a coin, could become obsolete once hypersonic weapons are a reality. Both Russia and China currently have ongoing hypersonic weapons development programs, and several other countries have shown interest as well. Experts at the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) are taking a hard look at boost phase intercepts to counter missiles with decoys … [Read more...]
Your Survival Guy’s Top Ten Tactical Shotguns
My favorite shotguns are the ones you own. If you’re in the market for a new shotgun, this list will help get you started. 1-Mossberg 590A1 Tactical Tri-Rail 2-Remington 870 Express Tactical with Blackhawk 3-Benelli M4 4-Saiga 12–a semi-automatic shotgun 5-Remington 1100 Tac4 6-Mossberg 930 SPX Pistol Grip 7-Winchester SXP Extreme Marine Defender 8-FN Herstal SLP MK I Tactical 9-Savage Stevens 320 Pump 10-Stoeger P-350 … [Read more...]
The Real Tax-Cut “Mafia Thugs”
Who will foot the tax bill in high tax states if the successful decide to pick-up and leave? With all the hand wringing by blue state politicians about this tax cut triggering "an economic civil war" or comparing Republicans to "mafia thugs" maybe they should consider creating more ways to keep successful Americans living there. The WSJ has more here: You can figure out who most needs reform by the decibels of protest. Amid other apocalyptic warnings, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo last weekend declared that the GOP bill’s limit on the state-and-local tax deduction will trigger "an economic … [Read more...]
Tax Bill Big Changes to 529 Plan
One item, in particular, that I like with the pending tax reform is how the 529 plan will be treated. It expands the use to elementary and secondary schools at a max of $10,000 per beneficiary per year for qualifying expenses. This from the NYT: Buried in Section 1202 of the tax bill are a number of proposals to consolidate and simplify various tax breaks for education savings. Part of the section in effect would neuter something called a Coverdell account, which families have used for years to save for both private school and college. But then comes the big change: Elementary and high … [Read more...]
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