Philip Stein

Comments

• Mark, I concede your point. ASML was founded as a joint venture between two Dutch technology companies. It’s chip-making equipment is world-class and the people who built ASML have every reason to be proud of their accomplishments. I have also read that ASML once considered moving to another European location because it was unhappy with the Dutch government’s approach to fostering growth. Could high taxes have been one reason? Could ASML have had difficulty attracting talent with offers of stock options if the Dutch government taxes unrealized capital gains as income? In 2021, Shell relocated its global headquarters to the UK partly due to Dutch dividend taxation. The Netherlands, like many western European countries, has a strong social safety net funded by higher taxes. And yes, innovation and high taxes can coexist. But when innovative companies seek to expand their global reach, do high taxes at home become an obstacle? As far as I am aware, there is no European technology company that has the global reach of an Nvidia, Amazon, Apple, etc. I wonder why that is?

  Post: Billionaires, taxes and you

  Link to comment from May 30, 2026

• Many of the comments I’ve read in this post appear to suggest that Americans don’t pay enough in taxes to fund our government. They seem to feel that, to improve our fiscal condition, we need to raise tax rates generally or on billionaires specifically. But even if billionaires were forced to pay a few billions more in taxes, that wouldn’t seem make much of a dent in our deficit. Does our federal government have a revenue problem or a spending problem? I feel it’s the latter. If our government received more tax revenue, my hunch is that most of that money would be spent rather than used to reduce our debt level. How many billions are wasted in ineffective programs or to outright fraud? How many able-bodied people fraudulently claim disability to avoid work and secure a place on the welfare rolls? Personally, I wouldn’t support a tax increase until there was significant progress made in spending reform. Unfortunately, our elected representatives seem unwilling to make hard choices and prefer to kick the can down the road, especially in an election year. We may not be the most heavily taxed country in the world, but we are certainly the most innovative. Is there a connection here? Leaving more money in the hands of private citizens to invest in new technologies, products, or services would seem to be a national strength. One reader mentioned that the Netherlands taxes unrealized income along with a progressive tax rate approaching 50% at the top end. I’m not aware that the Netherlands is a hot bed of innovation.

  Post: Billionaires, taxes and you

  Link to comment from May 30, 2026

• Here are some additional thoughts about direct indexing: When the direct indexing software sells losing positions, you’re paying a bid-ask spread. When the software buys similar stocks as replacements for those sold, you’re paying a bid-ask spread. These are costs not reflected in the management fee. The tax benefit you enjoy must overcome these additional expenses. When the software buys similar stocks, you’re likely introducing tracking error because those similar stocks might not be in the index. Your returns will no longer mimic the returns of the underlying index. If personal preferences lead you to filter out certain companies or sectors, you’re no longer tracking the index. You must accept that you are engaging in active management. If you happen to own the Vanguard Total US Stock Market ETF (VTI) instead of the S&P 500 ETF, would you (or could you) employ direct indexing? VTI holds 3,494 stocks. It would seem that an attempt to directly index this fund would be overwhelming. Maybe direct indexing by its nature, is best suited to funds tracking indexes with relatively fewer constituents, like the S&P 500.

  Post: Direct Indexing Anyone?

  Link to comment from May 17, 2026

• Patrick, I agree with your characterization of gold as a form of money and a neutral store of value. But, as individuals, we are not yet at the point where we can use gold to purchase goods and services. For example, how would we use gold coins or bars to purchase groceries? At present, all we can do is purchase gold and store it away. If we wish to transact, we would have to sell some gold for paper dollars. If you believe that gold preserves our purchasing power, you may find this approach more appealing than a significant allocation to cash or bonds. One argument I’ve heard for purchasing gold, is to have it available to bribe border guards when attempting to flee tyranny. In this case, I would view a gold holding more as an insurance policy than a form of money.

  Post: Investment Versus Speculation

  Link to comment from April 4, 2026

• Berkshire Hathaway’s current policy is to reinvest income rather than pay a cash dividend to shareholders. That portion of income that Berkshire uses to grow the business is reinvesting income for the benefit of shareholders who don’t have to reinvest themselves. In this sense, I would consider Berkshire an investment. When Berkshire purchases its own shares, it is not growing the business, but buoying the stock price. This is likely a sign that management is finding it difficult to identify compelling investment opportunities.

  Post: Investment Versus Speculation

  Link to comment from April 2, 2026

• Mark, what are your thoughts on the appearance of these newly public stocks in total market index funds? If I’m not mistaken, Tesla appeared in Vanguard’s Total US Stock Market index fund before it was added to the S&P 500. Could the same situation be in store for these upcoming mega-IPOs?

  Post: $3 Trillion S&P 500 Gatecrashers

  Link to comment from March 21, 2026

• The HumbleDollar up/down arrows remind me of the Like/Don’t Like buttons on social media web pages. The latter, I presume, feed algorithms that determine ad pricing and content feeds. Since HD does not allow advertising (thank goodness), or feed different content to different readers, I have to question the value of up/down arrows. Were some of the features of social media web pages simply copied to HD when the website was being developed? The whole purpose of HD, as I understand it, is to promote commentary so readers can shares ideas, information, and experiences. Just clicking an up or down arrow doesn’t add much to the conversation. I do have one question: How did you earn the sobriquet “DrLefty?” Are you left-handed?

  Post: The “Mean Girls”/Junior High Bullies at HumbleDollar

  Link to comment from January 10, 2026

• I suspect that the tale of the anonymous investor who enjoyed a $70 million dollar profit from S&P 500 call options will lead a number of people to conclude that buying call options on the S&P 500 is the path to riches. But that investor was extraordinarily lucky. Consider what the media is not offering: stories about the much larger number of people who invested in S&P 500 call options and lost money. No one is interested in those stories. As Nassim Taleb warned us: don’t be “Fooled by Randomness.” Also, we know that correlation does not imply causation. Yet, Taylor Hamm seems convinced that paying $25 for a spell was responsible for her good fortune. I’ll guess that she’ll be buying many more spells in the future.

  Post: Money Moments

  Link to comment from December 27, 2025

• One of those opportunities for spontaneous giving might include the tip jar at take-out eateries.

  Post: Cash Ain’t Trash

  Link to comment from December 27, 2025

• Dan, thanks for mentioning the need to have smaller denominations available. If you only stockpile large denomination bills, you might find it difficult to purchase simple items in, say, a convenience store.

  Post: Cash Ain’t Trash

  Link to comment from December 26, 2025