Darwin's Finance » Criticism

Should Americans with No Kids Be Able “Opt-Out” of School Taxes?

Darwin — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 03:40:45 +0000

I was at a family gathering this summer and the usual topic of complaining about the ineptitude of local government officials and school boards came up. That then led to older participants questioning what their tax dollars were being used for and why they’re even paying school taxes to begin with. It led to an [...]

Should Americans with No Kids Be Able “Opt-Out” of School Taxes? is an article from Darwin's Finance

Learnings from Advanta High Yield Notes: Investors to Get 38 cents on the Dollar

Darwin — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 03:05:29 +0000

After some prolonged legal proceedings following Advanta’s collapse, there’s a new settlement whereby investors in their high yield notes will get 38% of the money owed. This follows months of warnings (April 2009, May 2009, Jun 2009 and then…boom!) from me highlighting that as the company continued to blow more and more money on ads [...]

Learnings from Advanta High Yield Notes: Investors to Get 38 cents on the Dollar is an article from Darwin's Finance

The Inflation Conspiracy? EAT ME

Darwin — Fri, 27 May 2011 03:11:53 +0000

CBSMoneyWatch published a piece of screed this week on the Inflation Conspiracy pretty much mocking and patronizing people who question the value or validity of the government’s official measure of inflation. The author somewhat misrepresents the intent of mainstream inflation critics by saying they “believe that somehow there’s an inflation conspiracy going on, and the [...]

The Inflation Conspiracy? EAT ME is an article from Darwin's Finance

Timing is Everything – Investors Who Sold at the Bottom Piling Into Stocks Now?

Lazy Portfolios are LOSERS – Told ‘Ya So…

Darwin — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 02:08:16 +0000

When I penned an article (here) criticizing the lionization of the Lazy Portfolio mantra as just historical cherry-picking and luck, the MarketWatch lemmings jumped all over me for doing the unthinkable – challenging such a seemingly successful strategy with great PR. What I said at the time was pretty much that these portfolios were no [...]

Lazy Portfolios are LOSERS – Told ‘Ya So… is an article from Darwin's Finance

No related posts.

Is It Something I Said?

Darwin — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 02:02:08 +0000

The other night I had one of those moments where I felt I needed to write a post about the experience. It’s about women and money. And attitudes and feminism. All mixed into a brief conversation. Here we go: My wife asked me to stop by the gym where our kids are taking a class [...]

Is It Something I Said? is an article from Darwin's Finance

No related posts.

Americans Scooping Up Doomsday Shelters – The Illogical “Recency Effect”

Darwin — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 03:12:04 +0000

You’ve gotta love Americans. Leading up to Y2K, gun sales and bomb shelters were through the roof. After 9/11 we were buying parachutes for jumping out of buildings. When it was evident Obama would win the election, gun sales skyrocketed over fears the government would begin confiscating guns. Californians have cleared the shelves of Iodine [...]

Americans Scooping Up Doomsday Shelters – The Illogical “Recency Effect” is an article from Darwin's Finance

No related posts.

2011 Average Raise – Will Raises Stink Like Last Year?

Darwin — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 02:22:32 +0000

With equities markets amazingly breaching prior highs already and unemployment slowing dropping to 9% with projections of 8% by year-end, the data is indicating we are firmly in a recovery now. But it still just doesn’t “feel” like that. The mood is somber, employees are still feeling like they’re on the verge of a pink [...]

2011 Average Raise – Will Raises Stink Like Last Year? is an article from Darwin's Finance

Best Places to Work 2011

Winning the Lottery Brings Misery, Loss, and Death – Why Bother?

Darwin — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 02:45:31 +0000

We often wish for things that we probably shouldn’t. I remember in middle school we were studying the middle ages and our teacher went off on a tangent about how little girls all say they want to be a Princess but what a horrible life it was. After all, Disney has about a dozen movies [...]

Winning the Lottery Brings Misery, Loss, and Death – Why Bother? is an article from Darwin's Finance

No related posts.

Jobless Rate Drops to 9.4% – But What’s the REAL Deal?

Darwin — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 16:14:06 +0000

I don’t mean to be a perpetual party-pooper here, but the headline number for unemployment looks good today – better, at 9.4%. So, why didn’t stocks rally on the news? Why aren’t people exuberantly rejoicing in the streets? The reason is the way the unemployment number is calculated. What actually helps this number is when [...]

Jobless Rate Drops to 9.4% – But What’s the REAL Deal? is an article from Darwin's Finance

No related posts.

Paying for Christmas Light Hanging Service? Absurd

Darwin — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 03:14:26 +0000

You’ve probably heard about the services that will hang Christmas lights on your house for you each year for a fee. I knew the services were out there but never actually knew anyone that used one, nor did I contemplate what the service would cost. I figure regular able-bodied people either hang the lights themselves [...]

Paying for Christmas Light Hanging Service? Absurd is an article from Darwin's Finance

No related posts.