While the OWS people have a few valid complaints, most are misguided. Still, the valid complaints should have a place at the table. Sad thing is that they will not play well with middle America when stuff like this is done. http://tinyurl.com/64kv5h4 Furthermore, despite the small size of the protests, a surprising amount of criminal behavior is noticed. http://www.verumserum.com/?p=33490 Still, I support their right to protest. I wish that the media wouldn't glamorize what those people are doing, especially since they are busy calling the Tea Partiers racists. I noticed how the OWS crowd wanted a moment of silence for the guy who shot at the White House. http://tinyurl.com/7v6xwos Yet the main media doesn't even mention a thing. Bet if some Tea Partier wanted to take a moment of silence for a guy who was shooting at the White House, they'd be pilloried in the media, called racist, and there would be more calls for gun control.
But I digress, I agree with the crux of Don's article that there are too many games being played with pension money. I support a fully segregated account system. As far as the 401-K money is going, as long as one has their 401-K in a fund of your choice, then the only risk should be market risk. All retirement funds are inherently risky just by the nature of deferred payments, money value, time value, etc. There is no reason to make it more risky by heisting a good portion of the money to improve the bottom line to the shareholders. — November 18, 2011 5:37 a.m.
How Sempra used cash-balance plans
But couldn't one easily make a coherent argument for the exact opposite of what you're saying? But then again, you say that the Fed wants inflation of asset prices, yet wants to avoid inflation of goods and services. That statement is very confusing to a simple mind like me.— November 22, 2011 7:09 p.m.
How Sempra used cash-balance plans
No, the market ticker report has no bias whatsoever. Absolute raw data and eliminate the middleman, the reporter that thinks it's his duty to explain things to the public.— November 22, 2011 7:06 p.m.
How Sempra used cash-balance plans
I don't find any big salaries disgusting because if someone is stupid enough to pay a huge salary, why shouldn't one be able to collect? I would also question the contention that movie stars pay is determined by market forces. Has there been a study on that? Couldn't one make the same contention that the CEO pay is determined by market forces, but the market for CEO's is a a small market, composed of board members... it's still a market though.— November 22, 2011 7:05 p.m.
How Sempra used cash-balance plans
Just like CNN, MSNBC, CBS, NBC, ABC, the NYT, Washington Post all claim they are telling the truth. Actually the only real news is the prices I see over the ticker all day long....everything else is copy and inches that are interpreted through the lens of human bias and are just editorial and basically useless.— November 20, 2011 6:14 p.m.
How Sempra used cash-balance plans
Funny thing is that one sees the average wage of a CEO in the top of the Fortune 500 is around $11.4 million and change. Yet the top 10 Hollywood movie stars make $12 million a picture, and the top 40 stars have an income commensurate with the CEO's. Why is no one going after the top Hollywood types? Why is nobody going after Michael Moore who finances some of his films through a unit of Goldman Sachs and he has a net worth of $50mm and change? He's suing Wasserman for more money by the way.... Finally, has anyone noticed that Warren Buffett's company Netjets is suing the IRS to not pay $650mm and change in taxes they owe? I would think that the honorable Buffett would show his munificence and pay those taxes(after all he complained that he doesn't pay enough), and perhaps add a little lagniappe to do his part as a concerned, patriotic citizen.— November 20, 2011 6:10 p.m.
How Sempra used cash-balance plans
That financial TV will rot your mind just as much as the financial media.— November 18, 2011 2:19 p.m.
How Sempra used cash-balance plans
While the OWS people have a few valid complaints, most are misguided. Still, the valid complaints should have a place at the table. Sad thing is that they will not play well with middle America when stuff like this is done. http://tinyurl.com/64kv5h4 Furthermore, despite the small size of the protests, a surprising amount of criminal behavior is noticed. http://www.verumserum.com/?p=33490 Still, I support their right to protest. I wish that the media wouldn't glamorize what those people are doing, especially since they are busy calling the Tea Partiers racists. I noticed how the OWS crowd wanted a moment of silence for the guy who shot at the White House. http://tinyurl.com/7v6xwos Yet the main media doesn't even mention a thing. Bet if some Tea Partier wanted to take a moment of silence for a guy who was shooting at the White House, they'd be pilloried in the media, called racist, and there would be more calls for gun control. But I digress, I agree with the crux of Don's article that there are too many games being played with pension money. I support a fully segregated account system. As far as the 401-K money is going, as long as one has their 401-K in a fund of your choice, then the only risk should be market risk. All retirement funds are inherently risky just by the nature of deferred payments, money value, time value, etc. There is no reason to make it more risky by heisting a good portion of the money to improve the bottom line to the shareholders.— November 18, 2011 5:37 a.m.
San Diego unions push transaction tax
Fred, I love hearing the cries from you guys in the peanut gallery.— November 16, 2011 5:28 a.m.
Income chasm widens in San Diego
And Krugman writes some really mediocre, partisan stuff also. Here's a totally laughable paper he wrote some time back. http://www.princeton.edu/~pkrugman/interstellar.p… Sad thing is that Krugman used to be a pretty decent economist in his younger days.— November 12, 2011 7:53 a.m.
Income chasm widens in San Diego
Fred, you are a beauty. I noticed your inability to sift through facts and some kind of dissociative disorder you seem to have when you came over to my blog, tried to stir things up, totally confused me with another commenter and you said, "Do you turn every conversation into a rant about “liberals” and another opportunity to showcase your intellectual superiority? You must be great fun at parties…" You confused me with another person and railed against me. I notice it here also. Furthermore, I love the way you hide behind proxy servers. Fast with an opinion, yet wrong about everything, especially when you try to use your poor abysmal powers of deduction. Along with that other whackjob, I will not be commenting when you try to engage me because you're simply not worth wasting 5 minutes a day on.— October 30, 2011 3:59 a.m.