Friday, June 5, 2020

What are the 3 most important rules of investing?


What are the 3 most important rules of investing?
1. Invest just 10% of your income for $1,000,000 nest egg
2. Invest automatically in a stock index fund every payday
3. Use a tax-advantaged account to avoid income taxes

We pay more taxes: Congress allows wealthy to avoid paying
Congress cuts funds. The IRS is letting hundreds of thousands of high-income individuals duck their tax obligations, according to a government watchdog report. The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration found that 879,415 high-income individuals who didn’t file returns cumulatively failed to pay $45.7 billion in taxes from 2014 to 2016 and that the agency hasn’t tried to collect from many of those taxpayers. The IRS didn’t put 326,579 of the cases into its enforcement system, and it closed 42,601 of the cases without ever working on them. “In addition, the remaining 510,235 high-income nonfilers, totaling estimated tax due of $24.9 billion, are sitting in one of the collection function’s inventory streams and will likely not be pursued as resources decline,” said the report, released Monday. Among those who haven’t paid their taxes are approximately 1,891 individuals who owe the IRS more than $1 million, according to the report. Trump is proud he does not pay his fair share. The number of people who have been failing to file tax returns -- a crime that could come with steep penalties or as many as five years in prison -- has been increasing in recent years. The average U.S. household is paying an annual surtax of more than $3,000 to subsidize taxpayers who aren’t paying all they owe.

We subsidize drug development; drug firm owners take the profits
We paid $ millions to develop remdesivir, but Gilead Sciences owners get all the profits. This has been the pattern for 100 years. Drug companies claim high prices are for development of new cures but we pay for the science behind new drugs. Drug companies control the manufacture, marketing and distribution and so can charge whatever they like. We have no say even though we paid $ millions for the startup. Drug prices are pushed up even if they are not new—just the marketing and packaging. Drug firms manipulate patents so that low-cost generics are kept out of our hands.

If you stayed in the market
Many long-term investors did NOT sell in the downdraft in March. Their portfolio is now at the level it was in January 30. What will happen next? No one knows despite all the high-priced fortune-tellers on radio and TV. As we have seen, if you had timed the market and missed 30 or 40 best days, you would have lost money. Over time, including recessions over the last 30 years, your stock investments have averaged 11% in a low-cost account. Timing the market—selling and buying—in any form: rebalance, single stocks to ‘sector rotation’ usually fails over time. Sure, some crystal balls do shine a light for a short time but you can’t be sure the next time. Ponzi schemes can look very impressive and confound all the critics, but not forever. Bernie Madoff’s $65 billion scam lasted longer than most because many so-called professionals went all in on the con. They were getting rich too. Remember Bogle’s favorite line: Stay the course.


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

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

Ordering the military against civilian protesters: King George

The Mob: Cotton calls for “an overwhelming show of force


Mobster: I will use "most ominous weapons" if protesters breach WH



Mobster: I decide which facts are real: Twitter: NO you don’t


Mobster: I decide who gets virus drug remdesivir first and who doesn’t



How Govt wastes our money: Congress gives 3.7 Trillion to the wealthy! 
EPA: water pollution allowed by biz: states have less control
Trump built The Wall around his bunker to keep Americans OUT: $ ½ million waste.

SCAMS/SPINS:

Trump ends police reform program: “we need to dominate the battlespace.” 
GOP second thoughts on their Leader: https://twitter.com/RVAT2020

With Eighteen conduct complaints filed against him, MN murderer allowed to kill!
White nationalist group posing as antifa called for violence on Twitter: chaos

Trump steals image of astronaut and her son: sends wrong message & it’s illegal


BoA Merrill caught overcharged us for mutual fund transactions: repay $ 2.7 millions
Fake health app, masks, sanitizer: Everest Microbial Defense, Ebay masks, Vivoo app
Approved Cash Advance, Main Street Personal Finance caught holding overpayments
Price-fixing by chicken producers: What about toilet paper, towels, disinfectants, masks?


Jobs
Small biz loans aren’t working: too short-term and lack of re-opening crowd demand.
House is out of session this week: more vacation time! Senators out of their minds?
Protesters told to ‘get a job’ by armed militia along route: intimidation speaks  

Who owns your account now?
Which debts does your executor have to pay? Surprisingly few must be paid by heirs.

Best bank mortgage deal? Reduce rate or costs; long or short term; best of 3 estimates

Miracle:
Newer drugs control cancers: lung, prostate, colon: can we afford them w/o insurance?

Christian nationalism: “It’s about identity, enforcing hierarchy, and order.” Not religion at all
Racist Rep King still got 36% of the vote!: Can IA still be 1/3 racist GOP?

IAN
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