A spectre is haunting the United States — the spectre of "effective altruism." This is the idea, lifted from the corridors of financial capital, that philanthropy can and should be streamlined, optimized, A/B tested, and transformed to make sure each dollar is deployed "effectively." The other day I saw Dylan Matthews, in honor of "Giving Tuesday," write about his own … [Read more...] about “Effective altruism” is as stupid an idea as “smart beta”
“Opportunity Zones” are a terrible idea, poorly implemented, but big ambitious policies can and do work
Over the course of 2018 we've seen increasing clarity about the so-called "Opportunity Zones" included in the Republican smash-and-grab tax heist of 2017. Over at Alpha Architect they have an excellent breakdown of the tax advantages of these investment vehicles, so I'll stick to the roughest possible outline: taxable capital gains (e.g. from the sale of an appreciated … [Read more...] about “Opportunity Zones” are a terrible idea, poorly implemented, but big ambitious policies can and do work
Vanguard just made lower-cost Admiral funds available to (almost) everyone
While not as complicated as the offerings of some mutual fund companies, Vanguard has long sold several different share classes to the public: "Investor" shares, "Admiral" shares, and ETF shares. While all three share classes hold the same underlying assets, they can have quite different expense ratios, with Investor shares the most expensive, and lower-cost Admiral and ETF … [Read more...] about Vanguard just made lower-cost Admiral funds available to (almost) everyone
Regulatory uncertainty, business confidence, and entrepreneurship
The driving force behind this site is promoting a culture of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship. As I like to say: not everyone should be an entrepreneur because not everyone wants to be an entrepreneur, but a lot more people should be entrepreneurs than are currently entrepreneurs, and I'm here to do a little hand-holding along the way. On Tuesday night, I was thrilled … [Read more...] about Regulatory uncertainty, business confidence, and entrepreneurship
Why is it necessary to give the problem a name?
Last week I wrote a brief post explaining why guaranteed government old age pensions, like Social Security in the United States, the State Pension in the United Kingdom, or Old Age Security in Canada, are the only mechanism that has ever been invented for ensuring security and dignity in retirement, and need to be centered in any attempt to reduce elder poverty. This is not … [Read more...] about Why is it necessary to give the problem a name?