One of the more curious tricks played by late capitalism on the minds of its subjects is conceptually transforming all aspects of life into different forms of capital. From this trick arises the idea of "social" capital, which turns relationships with friends, neighbors, and loved ones into assets that can be assigned a precise value based on discounted future cash flows. … [Read more...] about Business is not work is not investing
Archives for August 2017
How good are Roth IRA’s for emergency funds?
Roth IRA's are interesting vehicles because, among other things, contributions can be withdrawn at any time penalty-free. Since contributions are capped annually but can be withdrawn at any time penalty-free, this leads to the following logic: make your maximum contribution each year whether or not you intend to invest it. After all, if you need the money later you can always … [Read more...] about How good are Roth IRA’s for emergency funds?
See how “frugal” I am
I always have a good time reading the latest explanation for how easy it is to save money if you just make a few simple sacrifices, whether it's your daily latte, your breakfast avocado toast, or whatever other "excess" has seized the imagination of our Baby Boomer media publishing overlords. But even I was surprised when a reader tweeted me the other day to say "you are … [Read more...] about See how “frugal” I am
Investing your values, from easy to hard
I've been meaning to write this post for a while, but this afternoon a podcast I was listening to finally inspired me to put digital pen to internet paper. The question is simple: what is a wealthy individual who despairs over the excesses of capitalism to do with their wealth? The traditional answer provided by capitalism, conveniently, has been to invest their wealth in order … [Read more...] about Investing your values, from easy to hard
An unbridgeable divide in American life
I recently returned from a long weekend trip to my hometown (made longer by one voluntary bump and one involuntary missed connection), and have been turning over in my head something that has come to seem more and more important to me. Here it is: small-town life is so obviously superior to big-city or suburban life that the suggestion that big cities or suburbs are better … [Read more...] about An unbridgeable divide in American life