By Garrett Gunderson We only make exchanges when we value what we’re receiving more than we value what we’re giving away. Economics is the science of the efficient allocation of resources. Through free exchange, all resources—material and otherwise—end up in the hands of those who value them the most, and those who value them the most will … [Read more...]
China and the US Decline
April 1, 2011 by Leave a Comment
By Oliver DeMille “According to the Pew Research Centre, some 87% of Chinese, 50% of Brazilians and 45% of Indians, think their country is going in the right direction, whereas 31% of Britons, 30% of Americans and 26% of the French do….For most of its history America has kept its promise to give its citizens a good chance of living better than … [Read more...]
The Globocracy
March 16, 2011 by Leave a Comment
By Oliver DeMille One of the most significant changes brought by the American revolution and founding was the replacement of an aristocratic class system with the ideal of a democratic society—supported by a federal-democratic-republic form of government and free enterprise economic system. Today we are witnessing a similar shift, but in a … [Read more...]
Financial Velocity Trumps Compound Interest
March 9, 2011 by Leave a Comment
By Garrett Gunderson You’ve heard of compound interest being “miraculous,” but what is it? Compound interest is the concept of adding accumulated interest back to the principal, so that interest is earned on interest from that moment on. For example, suppose you owe someone $1,000, with an annual interest rate of 12 percent, for a monthly … [Read more...]
Why Risk “Tolerance” is Ridiculous
February 28, 2011 by Leave a Comment
By Garrett Gunderson If you’ve ever worked with a traditional financial advisor, you’ve probably taken a risk profile to determine how much risk you can tolerate. The idea, of course, is that the higher returns you want to enjoy, the more willing you must be to take on risk. This is backwards and illogical, yet so few people are able to … [Read more...]
The Presidential Election of 2012, Part 2: Putting Aside Partisanship
February 25, 2011 by Leave a Comment
By Oliver DeMille This is Part Two of a two-part series. Read Part One here. Away from Arrogance With a Republican House, we now get to see if President Obama is only ideological (as some people claim) or if he has the ability to be a pragmatist. It is possible that President Obama is a pragmatist, but that he simply believes his own … [Read more...]
The Presidential Election of 2012, Part 1: The Benefits of Divided Government
February 24, 2011 by Leave a Comment
By Oliver DeMille The Big Three Americans feel deeply and strongly about three things right now. All three have support on the right, the center and the left. These may well dominate the news and politics until the election of 2012, just as stimulus, health care and the midterm election overshadowed the discussions of 2009-2010. … [Read more...]
The Allegory of the Fishermen
February 21, 2011 by 2 Comments
By David Grant In a small village in Scotland a lake that was previously void of life was found to have fish. Several entrepreneur/fishermen launched fishing businesses to take advantage of the rich natural resource. The first few businesses to launch made enormous amounts of money which caused more entrepreneurs to test the … [Read more...]
Reduce Expenses or Increase Production?
February 15, 2011 by 1 Comment
By Garrett Gunderson Most accumulation-based books and advisors teach you to decrease your expenses as much as possible in order to save more money for retirement. There is definitely merit to decreasing expenses, especially in a consumption-driven culture where most people are borrowing to consume. But I generally take issue with how … [Read more...]
Why We Are Still in a Recession?
February 14, 2011 by Leave a Comment
By Oliver DeMille “Why was it that scientists were so excited to discover facts that farmers had known for generations and generations?” —Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings The Wisdom of Crowds or Crowns? There is a technical definition of economic “recession,” but many Americans don’t know exactly what it is. Nor do they accept the experts’ … [Read more...]
