Jamie Dimon and Ray Dalio have both come out and said that despite America being such a strong country and performing well economically, not all is right when looking under the hood.
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The Philosophical Investor's Blog
You Gotta Serve Somebody - Who is the Fed Serving?
by 
Gary Carmell
Gary Carmell
Bob Dylan said, “You gotta serve somebody.” The Federal Reserve is no exception. The Fed has the mandate to use its policy tools granted to it by Congress to help achieve full employment, stable prices, and moderate long-term interest rates (most people are not aware of the third mandate).
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The Manipulative Function: George Soros Theory of Reflexivity
by Gary Carmell
Gary Carmell 
I recently re-read George Soros’ lectures at Central European University from October 2009. He gave five of them and they will be something I return to over time. Soros’ most formative experience was as a 14-year-old in 1944 and having escaped the Nazis out of Hungary.
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I Don't Buy It So I'm Selling It
by Gary Carmell
Gary Carmell
I probably should have written this two weeks ago but I wanted to finish my Munger trilogy. I dislike when hindsight bias is used and prefer when people tell me when they are going to do something or just did and the reasons for it so that the decision can be evaluated objectively.
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Man Up! Munger On The Benefits Of Diversifying Investments
by Gary Carmell
Gary Carmell
This is the last in my three-part series excerpting what were the highlights for me from Charlie Munger’s extemporaneous comments and responses to questions at the Daily Journal shareholders’ meeting. Most financial professionals recommend diversifying your investments to avoid being wiped out financially and/or emotionally.
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From Proust to Proctologists - Charlie Munger on Personal Development
by Gary Carmell
Gary Carmell
This week I continue with lessons learned from Charlie Munger and the answers he gave to shareholder questions at the Daily Journal annual meeting held in February. Last week I focused on delayed gratification and this week I will turn to his thoughts on personal development.
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Marshmallows, Munger, and the Benefits of Delayed Gratification
by Gary Carmell
Gary Carmell
Warren Buffett and Bill Gates were interviewed recently to discuss why they are both so optimistic about the future of America as well as other issues. Naturally, one of the topics covered was philanthropy as Gates and Buffett are leading the charge with regard to the Giving Pledge and the two have given more money away than other people in the world.
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Compound Interest and How to Create Tremendous Wealth Owning Great Real Estate Long-Term
by Gary Carmell
Gary Carmell
“Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it … he who doesn’t … pays it.”
-Albert Einstein
Waldorf Astoria Recent Sale Showing the Benefit of Long-Term Real Estate Ownership and Compound Interest
Another quick one this week given how busy a week it was.
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From Obama to Trump: 180 Degrees or More of the Same?
by Gary Carmell
Gary Carmell
From Obama
This post is a blatant application of hindsight bias. We all now know that when Barack Obama won the election and subsequently took office, the economy was melting down and the financial markets were in a free fall around the globe. To refresh your memory, there was the bailout of AIG by the Fed,
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Inflexibility When you Need it Least
by Gary Carmell
Gary Carmell
I have often made the case that apartments and home rentals are highly valuable because of the flexibility they provide people to move for whatever reason. Housing became way over-owned in the 2000s and this did great damage to our economy and society. I finally came across some interesting research that explored how damaging it was for underwater homeowners in terms of limiting their geographic flexibility to seek out employment and how this impacted their long-term earning power.
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