{"id":50661,"date":"2020-05-15T12:02:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-15T16:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.technologyinvestor.com\/?p=50661"},"modified":"2020-05-15T19:18:56","modified_gmt":"2020-05-15T23:18:56","slug":"wshingtons-miserable-performance-is-scaring-me-and-confusing-me-but-i-have-some-rules-for-avoiding-the-idiocy-and-inaction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.technologyinvestor.com\/?p=50661","title":{"rendered":"Washington’s miserable performance is scaring me and confusing me. But I have some rules for avoiding the idiocy and inaction"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you arrive in Australia from overseas, they whisk you from the airport to a hotel for your 14-day mandated quarantine. If you escape from the hotel, they hunt you down and fine you heavily. Often $1,600. They have police on the roads checking where you’re going and …more fines. They’re serious down under.<\/p>\n

Australia has 25 million people. So far, it has 98 covid-19 deaths. The U.S. has 13.1 times as many people (328 million). If it had Australia’s numbers, it would have 1,287 deaths. The latest numbers for the U.S. is 86,676 deaths. That’s 67 times as many deaths as it should.<\/p>\n

Australia does nothing more the U.S. could easily do if our Washington Administration had the leadership and the will.<\/p>\n

My reason to lead with this dreary statistic is because I’m personally scared. So is Susan.<\/p>\n

I’m 77, fortunately in good health. I don’t mind being in quarantine. But I fear catching this virus because our Washington Administration is doing so little to protect me. It continues to substitute magical thinking mixed with heavy diversion for intelligent action based on science.<\/p>\n

Check out the CDC’s latest “guidelines” on opening the economy. No, don’t. They give vagueness a whole new meaning.<\/p>\n

Washington’s flow of diversions demonstrate a level of creativity that’s quite impressive. There’s an escalating dispute with China. There’s Obamagate. There’s the nonsense with Michael Flynn. There’s the WHO. And now there “the covid death numbers are overstated.”<\/p>\n

My God, can’t we see through this? Just another diversion from the inaction and incompetence. Even if our deaths of 86,676 were overstated by a factor of ten, they’d still be way too high — based on Australian numbers.<\/p>\n

This blog is called “In Search of the Perfect Investment.<\/em>” So what is today’s “perfect investment?<\/p>\n

Common stocks. Simple.<\/p>\n

Reasons:<\/p>\n

+ The Fed cares about the stockmarket.<\/p>\n

+ Trump cares about the stockmarket.<\/p>\n

+ There’s huge money on the sidelines waiting to pounce.<\/p>\n

+ There are companies doing well — like many financials, and special purpose stocks like Peloton.<\/p>\n

+ Bonds are dead. They pay nothing. And when interest rates rise — as they will one day — they’ll fall in value. Oops.<\/p>\n

On the other hand,<\/p>\n

+ Stocks are well priced. Everyone and his uncle has said that.<\/p>\n

+ The economy is sliding into depression — much worse than any we’ve had since the Great Depression of the 1930s.<\/p>\n

+ Opening up the economy won’t do it, since there are too many of us afraid to venture forth into malls, restaurants and sporting events and cram ourselves into an over-crowded airplane with sick people sneezing and coughing on us.<\/p>\n

Where do I come down, since I clearly can’t predict where this is all going:<\/p>\n

+ I’m heavily in cash.<\/p>\n

+ I’m sticking with Stay-at-Home stocks, like Zoom, Amazon, Apple<\/p>\n

+ I’m staying away from whole classes of stocks I don’t like — banks, energy, retail, cruise lines, airlines, etc.<\/p>\n

+ I’m analyzing stocks — especially those in Cramer’s Covid-19 ETF.<\/p>\n

+ I’m putting in low bids on stocks that sort of appeal (at much lower prices), like Cisco.<\/p>\n

+ I’m not looking at “distress” real estate. It’s too early.<\/p>\n

I remain conflicted. If we have a depression, will stock prices plummet? If so, I should short my “favorite cockroach stocks” like Boeing and the banks.<\/p>\n

Or should I stop this nonsense altogether and do what so many of my clearer-thinking friends do — dollar cost averaging. They pick a sum to invest — say $10,000 a month — and they buy like clockwork. Often they put their money into index fund or two. Sometimes a nice stock like Amazon, Google, Shopify, Moderna. UNH, Walmart or Nike.<\/p>\n

The big plus is No Emotions. With dollar cost averaging, you don’t look at where we are or where we’re going. You just put more money in. And keep putting more money. Long-term markets go up, so why fight them by trying to figure out where they’re going tomorrow.<\/p>\n

Right now, we need to recognize:<\/p>\n

+ No one is looking after our health, especially Trump.<\/p>\n

+ If we get sick, it’s because we were stupid.<\/p>\n

+ We need to exercise, cut back on eating, and rest.<\/p>\n

+ And we don’t discuss anything with Trump supporters. That’s a guaranteed way to get agita big-time.<\/p>\n

Susan finally got her iPad Pro and Magic keyboard<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

It ain’t cheap — $1100. But it’s a joy. Fast. Logical. Portable. Perfect for Zoom calls.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I’m allowed to play with it “so long as I don’t change anything!!”<\/p>\n

Here’s one thing I like:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

See those two squares on the right. Click on them and you’ll get this.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Bingo, it shows you all the sites your browser has open. Click on one of them and it opens up immediately. You don’t have this simple feature on any Windows browser I can’t find yet — whether Edge, Chrome or Firefox. Dumb Windows.<\/p>\n

Recording videos on the iPad for YouTube or doing Zoom videos is a joy. The iPad’s new camera is stunning.<\/p>\n

The keyboard actually is pretty good too. A good keyboard with a great touch screen is really a lovely way to work.<\/p>\n

I could go on and on. Susan said I should buy myself one for Fathers Day. I bought hers for Mothers Day. Is there an irony here?<\/p>\n

Country quarantining.<\/strong><\/span> From our Post Office’s noticeboard:<\/p>\n

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Our local Chatham, NY supermarket. <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Lots of new bottoms quarantining among us to wipe.<\/p>\n

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They walk among us.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

She snipped a hole in her mask because she found it difficult to breathe. This is a real photo of a real idiot.<\/p>\n

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The Jewish Prison<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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