Largely due to this same advice from you years and years ago, I invested about 30% of my retirement funds in international stocks. Would I have earned more if I invested in U.S stocks alone? Yep? Would I have worried about that a bit every day? Yep. Japan rings in my head, too, Jonathan. So does $35 trillion in U.S. debt.
"But who will foot the bill we are accumulating?" While I realize your piece is about taxes, they exist to pay for government spending. I don't object to paying IRMAA -- I object to paying IRMAA because our government does a rotten job of eliminating waste and fraud. As for property taxes, they are fine, too. But if you look at education in this country, there has been virtually no correlation between additional spending on public schools and increased educational achievement. Where's the accountability for applying the tax revenue in an effective manner?
Like anything else, there are areas where things are better, and areas where I think they have declined. Jonathan touched on a number of the positive developments, such as tech, healthcare, and life, in general, for women and minorities. All of which have had enormous impact. However, some things have moved in a negative direction: The decline of the nuclear family, the failure of the public schools to improve educational outcomes despite huge investments of capital, the (apparent) increase in the obesity rate among young people, and the over-reliance on technology to the deteriment of developing social skills. Technology is a HUGE two-edged sword for younger generations. P.S. I realize I'm slightly off topic in that all of these don't address, per se, the financial habits of generations. I hope you'll indulge me all the same.
It is infuriating to me that the government has set up such a complex system that someone 'in the know' as much as Jonathan and others on this site have great difficulty figuring out something as basic as survivor benefit --let alone people who aren't so financially savvy. Signing up for Medicare is equally bewildering. It is shameful that lawmakers and unelected bureaucrats have created systems so complex that countless citizens don't receive what they are entitled to.
I get all the vaccines. Pneumonia, shingles, Covid, tetanus, etc. Not a 'denier', but similar to 'IAD' below, not a huge fan of that term. It's loaded. That said, there is no doubt in my mind that in the short and mid-term, the Covid vaccines work for the vast majority of patients. No doubt. However, I am also pretty sure that in human history, there is no precedent for taking so much of one vaccine in our body over such a compressed time period without any long-term data to assess its impact. I've read of some people who have had six or seven doses of a Covid vaccine in the last 3-4 years. Can you think of any other vaccine that we have introduced into our bodies at that frequency? I can't. There is NO long term data on this subject because the history starts in early 2021. Do I think there might be problems down the road? No. But the risk is not zero, by any means. I just had Covid again for the third time (after flying). Case was mild, thank God. Probably due to my previous three doses of the vaccine, and having had Covid before, and my general good health. On my list of worries, the long term impact of this vaccine is probably not in my top 25. But it's on the list, somewhere. More for younger generations, than my own. I trust medical science. I hope they don't let us down. P.S. I would absolutely take the vaccine about 1 month before I fly again (assuming I'm eligible). I know many, many people of late who have gotten Covid shortly after flying.
Comments:
Largely due to this same advice from you years and years ago, I invested about 30% of my retirement funds in international stocks. Would I have earned more if I invested in U.S stocks alone? Yep? Would I have worried about that a bit every day? Yep. Japan rings in my head, too, Jonathan. So does $35 trillion in U.S. debt.
Post: Stuck at Home
Link to comment from November 23, 2024
"But who will foot the bill we are accumulating?" While I realize your piece is about taxes, they exist to pay for government spending. I don't object to paying IRMAA -- I object to paying IRMAA because our government does a rotten job of eliminating waste and fraud. As for property taxes, they are fine, too. But if you look at education in this country, there has been virtually no correlation between additional spending on public schools and increased educational achievement. Where's the accountability for applying the tax revenue in an effective manner?
Post: Quinn thinks “free” is a dirty word.
Link to comment from November 17, 2024
Like anything else, there are areas where things are better, and areas where I think they have declined. Jonathan touched on a number of the positive developments, such as tech, healthcare, and life, in general, for women and minorities. All of which have had enormous impact. However, some things have moved in a negative direction: The decline of the nuclear family, the failure of the public schools to improve educational outcomes despite huge investments of capital, the (apparent) increase in the obesity rate among young people, and the over-reliance on technology to the deteriment of developing social skills. Technology is a HUGE two-edged sword for younger generations. P.S. I realize I'm slightly off topic in that all of these don't address, per se, the financial habits of generations. I hope you'll indulge me all the same.
Post: Those Who Follow by Jonathan Clements
Link to comment from November 1, 2024
It is infuriating to me that the government has set up such a complex system that someone 'in the know' as much as Jonathan and others on this site have great difficulty figuring out something as basic as survivor benefit --let alone people who aren't so financially savvy. Signing up for Medicare is equally bewildering. It is shameful that lawmakers and unelected bureaucrats have created systems so complex that countless citizens don't receive what they are entitled to.
Post: Death Benefits
Link to comment from October 19, 2024
I get all the vaccines. Pneumonia, shingles, Covid, tetanus, etc. Not a 'denier', but similar to 'IAD' below, not a huge fan of that term. It's loaded. That said, there is no doubt in my mind that in the short and mid-term, the Covid vaccines work for the vast majority of patients. No doubt. However, I am also pretty sure that in human history, there is no precedent for taking so much of one vaccine in our body over such a compressed time period without any long-term data to assess its impact. I've read of some people who have had six or seven doses of a Covid vaccine in the last 3-4 years. Can you think of any other vaccine that we have introduced into our bodies at that frequency? I can't. There is NO long term data on this subject because the history starts in early 2021. Do I think there might be problems down the road? No. But the risk is not zero, by any means. I just had Covid again for the third time (after flying). Case was mild, thank God. Probably due to my previous three doses of the vaccine, and having had Covid before, and my general good health. On my list of worries, the long term impact of this vaccine is probably not in my top 25. But it's on the list, somewhere. More for younger generations, than my own. I trust medical science. I hope they don't let us down. P.S. I would absolutely take the vaccine about 1 month before I fly again (assuming I'm eligible). I know many, many people of late who have gotten Covid shortly after flying.
Post: Jabs Anyone?
Link to comment from September 22, 2024