Jan

31

Obama Gives Keynes His First Real-World Test

January 31, 2009 | Leave a Comment

NPR has an article about Keynes and spending our way out of a depression. One point about Keynes theory that if I remember correctly goes something like spend in bad times cut back in good times. Keynes is overused much like prescription antibiotics. Prescribing Keynesianism to some politicians is like prescribing crack to a coke [...]

Jan

16

What Prosper.com Taught Me About Risk

January 16, 2009 | Leave a Comment

In 2007 I started investing with Prosper.com.  Prosper is a peer to peer lending website.  I thought I was investing cautiously, only choosing to loan to people with good or very good credit (A & AA).  Boy was I wrong. I learned some valuable lessons about  risk and predicting the future. With Prosper, like all [...]

Jan

14

If the Treasury Secretary Can't Figure Out His Taxes, How Can We Do It?

January 14, 2009 | Leave a Comment

Obama's pick for Secretary of the Treasury has a problem.  He didn't pay his taxes.  How can a guy that heads up the Treasury (you know the department that contains the IRS) not pay his taxes? According to various news sources Timothy Geithner didn't pay self employment taxes while working for the International Monetary Fund. [...]

Jan

8

Billionaire's Poker

January 8, 2009 | 1 Comment

..or why that German billionaire jumped in front of a train: Adolf Merckle, one of the world’s richest men, committed suicide yesterday by throwing himself under a train, Bloomberg reports. Financial difficulties, and particularly great losses he suffered on Volkswagen stock, are being cited as the key reason he ended his life: [Merckle's company] VEM was [...]

Jan

5

Driving Myself Crazy Trying to Get Rich

January 5, 2009 | 2 Comments

I've been driving myself nuts lately think about money.  Trying to make money that is.  Isn't a smart person supposed to be rich?  And shouldn't I be rich by now? Wealth is the slave of a wise man. The master of a fool. – Seneca For the last decade, I've spent most of my free [...]

Jan

2

New Year's Resolution Number 1 – Pay Off Your Credit Cards

January 2, 2009 | 1 Comment

The new year is a time for a fresh start.  I have a suggestion for new year's resolution: pay off your credit cards. The economy isn't looking to good in 2009.  People have lost their jobs and more will lose their jobs this year as the economy continues to free fall.  So what can you [...]