Friday, March 6, 2020

Despite market correction, stocks are best buy long term


Despite market correction, stocks are best buy long term
Another study confirms Warren Buffett’s strategy. Equities have provided an annualized real return of 5.2% since 1900, compared to 2.0% for bonds and 0.8% for Treasury bills. Real returns are AFTER inflation which runs at 3%. Actually, DALBAR has tracked US stocks total returns showing 11% more recently. This includes all the corrections and recessions. Total returns includes dividends as well as changes in value. Buffett said he had been a net buyer of stocks every year since he was 11. His company owns many firms for diversification so his buy and hold strategy has returned 20% for his shareholders. Overweight certain sectors during the last 20 years has helped many investors achieve their long-term goals. Energy, Health and Tech have been especially productive. Unless you use insider information like our Congress, you need to stay in stocks. Selling high and buying low is NOT possible long-term. The so-called ‘safe’ investments are losers: 1% yield Treasuries minus 2.5% inflation = -1.5% lost value.

Conservatives actually love ‘socialism’
Conservatives say they hate socialism but they actually love socialism as long as they receive the benefits. Although many of them do NOT pay taxes, they receive our taxes as subsidies, grants, loans, etc. Since many of their corporations pay NO taxes and even get a tax refund from loses from bad management decisions, corporate shareholders often receive higher dividends. Tax refunds come from those of us who are taxpayers not shareholders. Many of the most profitable corporations receive tax breaks that throw the local tax burden back on us. Conservatives ‘despise’ those who receive help from government but don’t mind the welfare they receive. The wealthy use their gifts to their own charity in order to avoid taxes we can’t avoid. Congress people receive farm and gas/oil subsidies. And like candy, the rich want more tax breaks.
Our reps use Congressional information we can’t legally use to enrich themselves. They approve corporate mergers and new regulations that provide them with insider information. They don’t consider themselves socialists but yet use government regulations to favor companies they like. When they are led by industry lobbyists to reward certain companies with socialist favors, they find money in their election in-tray overnight. Industry lobbyists actually write the laws that give themselves the benefits since our reps are too busy running for re-election. And in health care, why did our reps agree to not letting Medicare negotiate better prices? Why does some bureaucratic clerk determine whether I can obtain a procedure I need? This is ‘American’ socialism.

MA invokes fiduciary rule ‘light’
Massachusetts’s new regulations, which take effect March 6 says investment advice and recommendations must be given “without regard to the interests of anyone but the customer.” A prominent consumer advocate, however, said the final rule had been weakened from the original version. Trump deleted the 2016 fiduciary rule which required that advisors will act like accountants not like used car salesmen. The new rule also prohibits sales contests. Other states “will wait to see how the litigation plays out” before moving ahead. MA rule is ‘light’ because its biggest change “is the extent to which they [Massachusetts] walked back the obligation to provide ongoing monitoring of accounts. Under the original proposal, that obligation would have applied whenever there is ongoing compensation or where the investor has a reasonable expectation, based on how the broker holds out and markets their services, that they will be providing ongoing services. Both were removed.”

Why are health care costs so high?
1% of People Account for 22% of Total Healthcare Spending. The top 5% of the health care population accounted for over half of total healthcare spending in 2017. Top 5% of people listed by all health care expenditures account for over HALF of our spending from all sources. Older whites make up most of the top 5%. Most of the expenses are inpatient care. For persons in the top 5 percent spending tier, Medicare paid for 33.7 percent and private insurance paid for 38.6 percent of medical expenses. Out-of-pocket payments for this group comprised only 5.7 percent of total expenses. Our hospital room and board for the lucky few may account for the greatest health expense to Americans. Second may be the physician specialist and their team. A recent elective endoscopic surgery in a highly rated NJ hospital counted 5 billing team members. Teams are expensive since each wants to also charge for a 5 minute ‘rounds’ visit. Costs average $3-6,000 for 2 day stay.


File your taxes for free
TurboTax and other for-profit tax prep firms are due to raise prices soon. If you have your documents, use your favorite software now and pay your tax due on April 15. The payment, if any, can be in April; the filing should not. The federal and state can cost you nothing at https://apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile/. Another site has no cost or restrictions: https://www.creditkarma.com/tax. And remember you can usually reduce income and thus tax by making a deductible contribution to your IRA. 


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

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

Mobster getting rid of bad people; hiring those who love him: crying on our flag.
We are already in a dictatorship: Court: Congress subpoena worthless!

SCAMS/SPINS:
Francisco Patino MI caught drug fraud $120 Mil and money laundering TV fake doc.

Buy financials like you buy groceries: house or discounted brands have higher value.
Apple caught slowing down phones to sell newer ones: great trick cost $½ Billions
Toyota recalls 700,000 2013-2015, 2018-9 cars for failing fuel pumps

Annuity in estate plan: beware complications of income tax and inheritance law.
BEWARE: Broker regulator slacks off—fewer fines, bans, customer collecting.

Scams hit even the really smart: $400,000 con on RE mogul Barbara Corcoran

Pence, not experts, now in charge of corona since he did not “have anything else to do”
Mulvaney says that the “coronavirus is the hoax of the day" GOP has ‘hoax’ on brain.
Tips to avoid the ‘hoax’: like the flu: wash and stay home; ask Pence to pray for you


Jobs
GM adding more than 1,200 jobs at Michigan plants: more crossovers and Cadillac cars.
Retire early: Time more important than non essentials; save $1,497 per month

Who owns your account now?
Oracle employees win 401k plan overcharge suit: few and overpriced options: stop cross-selling


Miracle:
Trump deals with Taliban: 38,000 Afghans; 2400 Americans died: Cost us $2 Trillion
Our beaches gone: half of them could disappear by the end of the century
February was the wettest month in Britain's recorded history
GOP-religionist Supremes to decide if we have choice on life/health issues: we choiceless
Inherited blindness treated with DNA editor: changing faulty DNA for right sequence.

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