Friday, November 22, 2019

Our new medical system: scrubs worn just for the ‘TV show’?


Our new medical system: scrubs worn just for the ‘TV show’?
You get to watch the Dr Skow ‘Show’ while he examines you from his (phone?) screen hundreds of miles away in the telemedicine center that provides remote emergency care for 179 hospitals across 30 states. Physicians for Avera eCare work out of computer screens (soon phones) instead of exam rooms. They wear scrubs ‘to look the part’ of traditional doctors on camera, even though they never directly see or touch you, their patients. If you can’t afford a real doctor, this is what you get for your $144 a month Medicare B payment. Rural America’s busiest emergency room is in fact a virtual ER located in a suburban industrial park. Instead of 25 doctors and staff, you now get 5 people in the room. None were doctors. None had significant experience performing emergency intubations. Downside: you still may receive a ‘surprise medical’ bill since another doctor may ‘consult’ by computer while you are in the ‘ER.’


Holiday gifts for your family

What is the best investment strategy for you?
Fidelity study: best investment strategy for accumulation over time was leaving your money alone to work for you by itself. The accounts that were forgotten or owned by dead people showed the best performance over time. Warren Buffett, one of the best investors, says the same thing—We continue to make more money when snoring than when active." If you are not going to let your money work for you (impatience), it won’t grow as fast. This implies that Wall Street ‘professionals’ cost more than they are worth! Fees, trading, timing, special opportunities, etc are how we give up 50-60% of our overall potential accumulations by giving a ‘professional’ control of our money. In almost every period, we investors are better off using an index than an advisor: 11% vs 3.79%.

Your fund’s return--market index up 26.03%?
Low-cost investing in a diverse company fund like the Vanguard 500 can help you meet your goals. It also provides greater diversification, less volatility and more predictable earnings over time. We don’t need to worry about picking the right stocks or time to buy them. Most working people can accumulate $1 million for retirement with just one fund automatically invested from their paycheck. It is so simple: it’s like brushing your teeth—once you start it becomes a habit you do ‘automatically.’ This is Buffett’s strategy for investors: “A very low-cost index is going to beat a majority of the amateur-managed money or professionally-managed money.” He says you put your investment on autopilot and forget it. Chart: your total goes down sometimes but then it goes up 11% over time.

Is a ‘buffer’ annuity right for you?
Advisors love to have a new product to talk about so you should expect to hear this one buzz at you. Buffer annuities are invested in complicated structured products (such as options contracts). Structured products often provide the potential to offer higher returns, but also carry more significant risks than the traditional mutual fund investment because of the types of underlying investments (including emerging markets and REIT index options, which can be inherently more risky). Thus they do NOT provide full downside stops—only buffering your fall partly. Compare this situation to a variable annuity which provides less and an indexed annuity which provides more protection. Your ‘buffer’ is more complex and thus more misunderstood than a simple indexed annuity. ‘Buffers’ probably cost more because of the controlled risks involved in structured investments.

Social Security benefits
The 2020 cost of living increase will be eaten up with a higher Medicare B 2020 increase to $144. If medical costs are part of the ‘cost of living’ index, you would think the SS increase in 2020 would cover the medical increase. Since all the rules for SS benefits are complicated, who can argue? Most retirees agree that we should have started saving for these increases long ago. We should have dealt with inflationary increases by investing in securities that matched the long-term growth of successful businesses. We must own stock in a bunch of successful businesses and earn 11% over time.

Tax-FREE retirement just got bigger
IRS just increased the amount we can stash in our tax-deferred or tax-FREE accounts. We can put up to $26,000 into tax-advantaged accounts. Regular 401k and IRA reduce current taxes but cost more when we retire. Roth 401k and Roth IRA provide more tax-sheltered money when we take money out. We could invest $250 a month in a Roth 401k, receive our company match and spend $1,000,000 tax FREE later: Cost only $99,000.



**********ACCOUNTABILITY**************

Like 1776, this period is a test of democracy—do we really want ‘low-IQMobster?





$7.5 Trillion uncollected taxes from ONE percenters makes our system a joke for US.
Supremes hide Trump’s financials from Congress: democratic check-balance dead!

Trump’s businesses funded by US: mob lieutenants eat/stay only at his restaurant/hotels.
GOP buying up Jr’s book in bulk making it a ‘best’ seller

SCAMS/SPINS:
Frederick Randhahn caught selling Woodbridge notes; not allowed: suspended & fined
Neil Burkholz Frank Bianco caught taking $6 million in Ponzi; options ‘profitable’
Joseph Viet Duy Phan caught borrowing from client w/o OK: defrocked
Financial firms fight for growth by grabbing others’ clients: Goldman’s retail bank



Goldman Sachs caught rigging prices for bonds issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
"Secret Sister" an internet-wide gift exchange: pyramid scheme scams name, address, etc

House to help SEC “recover money scammed from hard-working Americans." GOP ‘no’
Online scams: too-good-to-be true pattern discounts on Facebook Instagram: Research

Sutter Health caught paying kickbacks to Sacramento Cardio Surgeon’s 3 docs for biz.
Hospitals/insurers to post prices: but actual full price omits millions of add-ons to bill. 
Drug makers caught pushing drugs through gifts to charity: healthcare system broken!

Overpriced unreliable vehicles from CR: Chevy, Jeep, Chrysler, Acura, Tesla, VW, Alfa,
Boeing board did nothing re: 737 until 2 plane crashes: investor lawsuit claims on board.

Juul markets flavors to underage kids because Juul knew unverified age: Follows tobacco

Netanyahu indicted on charges of bribery, fraud, breach of trust: sound familiar?

N Korea says can’t use meeting with Kim for Trump propaganda anymore. Waste of time
Trump claims to open new Apple plant open since 2013. Exempted Apple from tariffs.

Elections administrators: 2020 preparations for what could be record-breaking turnout.

Who owns your account?

Jobs

Miracle:
Venice under water again—can art history be saved? Reversing the tide of warming

Pakistan’s glaciers melt: taking out farms; everything

IAN
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