18 Comments
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Captain Pompano's avatar

Great stuff James. Should be taught in schools.

James Lavish, CFA's avatar

Thanks so much Captain, I sincerely appreciate that! Maybe I’ll put together a book on all this. πŸ˜‰

Mara Delaney's avatar

Love the new graphics

James Lavish, CFA's avatar

Thank you Mara!

G Dinero's avatar

Spot. Freaking. On. James!! Every week, for the past year and a half, I've settled in with my cup 'o joe and read the newsletter. And every week, I've learned more and more from you. Thank you my friend. This one is GOLDEN (literally and figuratively). It's the best "WTF1971" explanation I've seen. Crystal clear. And the new graphics are legit. Thanks again brother. Gary aka G Dinero.

James Lavish, CFA's avatar

Hey G! Thank you a ton for this, I really appreciate hearing how much it all helps. Truly could not make me happier. 🫢

AMF's avatar

Fantastic write-up and explaination once again ! It is a great preface to Lyn Alden's book titled Broken Money.

Brian Clavin's avatar

James.

A Tour de Force telling of Truths that are not Universally Understood.

( Say, perhaps, 1.5 % of the World’s Population…)

I think it was Benjamin Franklin who wrote a quip akin to β€œIt is when Voters discover that they can vote for free money for themselves, that it will be the beginning of the End of Democracy” .

Smart Guy!

Thanks Again

James Lavish, CFA's avatar

Thank you so much Brian, I truly appreciate this note. Yes Ben Franklin was wise beyond his years and time for certain. We can all learn from the founding fathers these days!

Brian Clavin's avatar

PS… A number of the Graphs/Charts are killer. So Visually Instructive.

James Lavish, CFA's avatar

Awesome to hear, thank you!

Simple man's avatar

Great post! While familiar with these concepts, you combined and presented them so well that it really clicks. I plan to share this with my kids. Also, I appreciate your humility so much, as seen in your quote:

β€œHere’s my honest answer: I don’t know exactly what happens next. Neither does anyone else.”

But here is my main takeaway:

β€œStop thinking like a saver and start thinking like an owner.”

Thanks for doing this each week!

Larry Spraker's avatar

Awesome article James! I need to have my adult kids read this!

Drx Dave's avatar

I finally subscribed. Fell in love with your content and hated missing weeks. Thank you for your articles sir.

Tony D's avatar

Nailed it. It’s a sad story for sure. 😫

ζΊι‡Ž Yuanye's avatar

Thank you for this wonderful and life changing education James.

Patrick Brennan's avatar

James, great article today. Your casino analogy reminded me of an evening in a casino in Port Au Prince, Haiti in the fall of 1984. After a trip to the Iron Market that afternoon where I learned about the ovarian lottery (something I've never forgot), I happened to win a jackpot of $50 worth of nickels at the slots. When I tried to convert the nickels to dollars they would only give me Gourdes in return (their currency). Interestingly, I was able to exchange those Gourdes at a bank in Florida because the Gourde was then pegged to the dollar. Good luck making that exchange now.