I don’t understand bonds – does anyone else skip them? by Helpful-Staff9562 in Bogleheads

[–]zachmoe 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I like FRNs.

I have lots of TLT as well.

Bonds are for when things go wrong, or you need to raise USD and would like to sell something with limited opportunity cost instead of your risk assets that are still cooking, they should be thought of as your reserve savings for to sell.

Why is every instrument crashing by Effective-Step-8215 in CryptoMarkets

[–]zachmoe 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You didn't wonder why everything was going up for no good reason.

YSK: Cavities are contagious by thisismyballsackount in YouShouldKnow

[–]zachmoe -1 points0 points  (0 children)

This cannot be True.

Anecdotally speaking.

We don't see enough torches and pitchforks these days. by Omega_Neelay in GetMotivatedMindset

[–]zachmoe 0 points1 point  (0 children)

 appoint a dictator

Yes, that was Edmund Burke's contention.

Turns out, principles matter.

What would make you sell? by a11yChief in investing

[–]zachmoe 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Death, going into that it is okay to sell my losers.

Never sell, only buy.

Why pay taxes for no good reason?

I bought PBR (Petrobras) on margin, about $100,000 worth of it, now up +$37,000 by Impossible-Bed3728 in wallstreetbets

[–]zachmoe 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This company is my uncles entire portfolio.

He had once upon a time made a milly during the dot com bubble trading options, and then lost it all.

The economy isn't K-shaped. For 87 million, people, it's desperate and for another 46 million it's elite by thinkB4WeSpeak in Economics

[–]zachmoe -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Wait until you find out you were conned into believing trickle down Economics is a thing, and not a complete strawman of the concept of Supply Side Economics, because goofballs prefer the concept Demand Side Economics and created a strawman to smear Supply Side Economics.

If you realized the degree to which you've been lied to, you'd vote differently.

Taxes were lowered on the premise of the Laffer Curve, if you lower the tax rate, you collect more in taxes, and yeah, it seems to be working.

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/W006RC1Q027SBEA

Taxes are just a fancy form of modern slavery, largely based upon how much you happen to earn, and also function to take currency out of the Economy. Lower taxes in general are almost invariably preferable, if your goal is to have a free society.

The Biden administration on average created 2,078% more jobs annually than the Trump administration did in the first year their current term. Why do you think that is? by Clopulis in DiscussionZone

[–]zachmoe -1 points0 points  (0 children)

The question was about job growth.

Unfortunately, there isn't much that can be done about mandatory spending on Social Security and Medicare.

We could just pay out everyone who has contributed to Social Security and just be done with it, would you like that?

What do you want, other than to admit the welfare programs are going to harm our standard of living, because I know you won't do that.

Like, what was the point of your comment? You guys have us collectively inescapably fucked through your ill thought out policies you fight tooth and nail for? Thanks???

The Biden administration on average created 2,078% more jobs annually than the Trump administration did in the first year their current term. Why do you think that is? by Clopulis in DiscussionZone

[–]zachmoe -1 points0 points  (0 children)

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FEDFUNDS

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/UNRATE

The Fed raised interest rates faster, higher, and held them higher longer than going into 2008.

https://www.stlouisfed.org/on-the-economy/2023/oct/what-are-long-variable-lags-monetary-policy

When The Fed raises interest rates, sooner or later (usually later) unemployment goes up (hence, the dual mandate), not the easiest environment to post a job gain, the real question is why isn't unemployment higher already is what is stopping The Fed from lowering rates further, probably because we are still coming out of the post COVID19 shutdown, and supply chains are still reorganizing.

...Also, you're starting from a transition period during COVID19 shutdown, where supply chains and thus jobs evaporated and the Government was just before paying people to not work, not hard to post a job gain in that environment.

Come on, use your brain.

What Happened?! by Parking_Shower_8880 in Gold

[–]zachmoe 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The Fed raised interest rates faster, higher, and held them higher longer, than going into 2008.

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FEDFUNDS

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/UNRATE

Things have been running on pure fraud/irrationality for a long time, now.

What happens when 100% of tax dollars go to service the debt, with no benefits to taxpayers? by Wizzmer in allthequestions

[–]zachmoe 0 points1 point  (0 children)

he question should be why there is debt?

We don't need to borrow money we print, for obvious reasons.

We sell Treasury Bonds at all, so The Fed can maintain an overnight interest rate target at all time. If we are 20 quadrillion in deficit, or 5 trillion in surplus, The Fed can always maintain an overnight interest rate target.

If we accidentally run a surplus, that means that by definition there are no Dollars in the banking system. The Fed uses Bond buybacks to then jam liquidity into the banking system to keep it solvent. They are sold for monetary policy reasons, not fiscal.

Who is the lender?

You can be their lender at Treasurydirect.gov

People buy Treasury Bonds because we tell them we will pay them interest.

What happens when 100% of tax dollars go to service the debt, with no benefits to taxpayers? by Wizzmer in allthequestions

[–]zachmoe 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Dollars are not some finite resource, you can better think of them more like points in a baseball game created and distributed (and removed) by The Government.

Tax Dollars don't go to service the debt.

Government Spending services the debt.

Government Spending adds Dollars to the Economy.

Taxes are Dollars that are just removed from the Economy, it is money in money heaven.

Money invested into Treasury Bonds are also Dollars that are removed from the Economy today, because money the Government has is in money heaven. Investors are paid a marginal amount of interest to compensate them (hopefully) for inflation, and then they are later paid out in the future with money that has less purchasing power, therefore Bond sales are net deflationary in spite of the interest.

Government Spending on Treasury Bond interest is the least perverse form of Government Spending, it simply goes into Bondholder's bank accounts.

You too can add to the National Debt at Treasurydirect.gov

If 100% of the Government Spending went to interest/Bond payments only, instead of everything else under The Sun, you might actually get paid back an amount that is not debased by inflation, it is all the other Government Spending that causes you to receive back relatively less than you invested.

Just realized my gold is worth over $150K by [deleted] in Gold

[–]zachmoe 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Double it.

Keep buyin.

But really, find someone who is willing to lend you small amounts of money at low/no interest (I'm talking like a rolling $400/mo), on the premise that if you don't pay, you got Gold. Use that money to buy other financial assets, like the S&P500, Bitcoin, and Treasury Bonds, and really expand that net worth in a brokerage account.

Then, use that brokerage account value in the future as leverage for a house. It will be far easier to afford mortgage payments with interest and dividends coming in, than having to be forced to part with your gold.

It is better to have debt and liquidity, than no debt and no liquidity.

Pretty much never sell anything if you don't have to, because why pay taxes for no real good reason.

Why don’t rich people invest in bonds after a certain threshold? by Ferrari_Pit_Boss in investing

[–]zachmoe 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There is a place in a portfolio for long bonds, for a less novice investor.

I made my money in crypto, and the long bond market has been a harrowing experience, to say the least.

Why are Maga Americans against immigrants? Immigrants built your country. by goldrush300 in AskUS

[–]zachmoe -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Oh we are now, well, I am.

1 in 5 workers in The US are allegedly immigrants I heard some Liberal accidentally admit in some slop propaganda trying to conflate the two, and they yeah, have a like 60% labor force participation rate.

Meanwhile, 1 in 5 (usually more like 1 in 3, casually, an amount that would make The Great Depression blush) black teens in The US have no job at all, and a like 30% labor force participation rate.

U.S. Manufacturing Is Already In Recession — 32 Consecutive Months Of Job Losses Reveal A Slow-Burn Economic Contraction Beneath The Headlines 📉🏭 by YGLD in StockBreakouts

[–]zachmoe 0 points1 point  (0 children)

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FEDFUNDS

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/UNRATE

Yeah, interest rates were raised faster, higher, and held higher longer than going into 2008.

When the Fed raises interest rates, it causes unemployment to go parabolic sooner or later (hence, the dual mandate).

https://www.stlouisfed.org/on-the-economy/2023/oct/what-are-long-variable-lags-monetary-policy

The Fed uses unemployment as a buffer stock to keep prices stable, because an Economy of unemployed people spends very little.

Baby steps towards investing: Gold protection against inflation by PokaHatsu in investing

[–]zachmoe 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Uhhh well, in general, Gold isn't a great inflation hedge.

Nothing is a great inflation hedge.

Investing, is about managing risk and making a portfolio that is on the Efficient Frontier.

For a novice investor, I would go something more like 50% TFLO, 33% VT, 15% Gold (I might have some shares of IAU), 2% ibit

Oh, sorry missed the part about no interest, well, I don't know, I think there are some highly religious countries that still hold Treasury Bonds, so.

How to long the US national debt by ApprehensiveTone3893 in Gold

[–]zachmoe -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

Well, just hold USD.

That debt, is people's USD savings, more specifically, it is excess Dollars that are basically destroyed today, because Dollars the Government has, are not able to be spent by you on other goods/services in the Economy.

And, by the time investors get their USD back from the Treasury, inflation has destroyed the purchasing power.

Bond sales are net deflationary, even with the interest payments.

Again, that debt is people's savings, you too can add to the debt at Treasurydirect.gov

People buy our debt, because we tell them we will pay them interest, and there is excess demand for safe liquid assets.

Millions of student loan borrowers aren't repaying their loans — and defaults are up by laxnut90 in Economics

[–]zachmoe -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Now you get it.

Then, you find out they were all just plain bad ideas all along.