[Swiftwater Gazette] P: Are You Better Off Now?
Bill Effros
bill at effros.com
Fri Jan 30 14:15:23 EST 2009
Ok,
I missed the picture.
Can somebody point me to it?
B.
Michael D. Weisner wrote:
> Brad,
>
> Point taken. But it is like the first real sports car that you bought. It
> is soooo much fun to drive fast and recklessly. Nobody ever drove my 911T,
> well, except for the garage mechanic.
>
> As my better half always reminds me, she was built for distance, not speed.
> My response is always that I thought it was all about the journey, not the
> destination. That's why I sail - I don't care where I am going, as long as
> I am on my way.
>
> Mike
>
> From: "Brad Haslett" <flybrad at gmail.com> Sent: Friday, January 30, 2009 1:31
> PM
>
>> Mike,
>>
>> Though I don't have direct experience with that specific machine, I
>> have experience with those types of machines in general. They can be
>> very demanding in maintenance and performance. The maintenance is
>> mostly about money, the performance can be more challenging. When you
>> have a machine like that, everyone want to ride in it as well. It
>> flattering but tiresome after awhile.
>>
>> Now as to the airplane - never flown one, worked on one, nor ever hope
>> to own one. Looks like a lot of expense for very little additional
>> speed to me.
>>
>> Brad
>>
>> On Fri, Jan 30, 2009 at 12:10 PM, Michael D. Weisner
>> <mweisner at ebsmed.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Brad,
>>>
>>> It's pictures like the one of the wife that make me ask, "What in
>>> heaven's
>>> name was he looking for if that wasn't enough?" As the line in Sheryl
>>> Crow's song 'Soak Up the Sun' goes, "It's not having what you want it's
>>> wanting what you've got."
>>>
>>> Then again, I am happy, but ...
>>>
>>> Mike
>>>
>>> From: "Brad Haslett" <flybrad at gmail.com>Sent: Friday, January 30, 2009
>>> 12:36
>>> PM
>>>
>>>> Mike,
>>>>
>>>> Yeah, but they did find this dumb ass. Did you see the photo with him
>>>> standing with his wife in front of the Lexus and the Malibu? Damn!
>>>> That is one long set of, er, wings on that plane! Fantasies die hard!
>>>> I guess I'm lucky in that respect. As a 17 year-old I finally got the
>>>> "girl of my dreams" to go flying with me. I wanted that soooo badly.
>>>> She asked me once aloft, "can you see state lines from the air?" We
>>>> didn't have Viagra back then and at 17 I didn't need it, but perhaps
>>>> could have used a pill right then. At that early point in my career I
>>>> didn't know whether to ask her to quit sucking the air from under the
>>>> wings into her head or let some out for more lift. I got over it once
>>>> back in the car. Anyway, being the 'kind and gentle soul I am', I
>>>> explained to Joy (you can't make shit like this up) that, "yes, the
>>>> state line between Illinois and Missouri is easy to spot, as is the
>>>> line between Illinois and Kentucky - the one between Illinois and
>>>> Wisconsin is hard to see but we don't have the fuel to go there
>>>> anyway!
>>>>
>>>> Brad
>>>>
>>>> On Fri, Jan 30, 2009 at 11:16 AM, Michael D. Weisner
>>>> <mweisner at ebsmed.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Brad,
>>>>>
>>>>> Quoting you:
>>>>> Am I better off? Yeah, a helluva lot better off than that idiot
>>>>> "investment counselor" who jumped out of his million dollar airplane
>>>>> leaving behind his "trophy wife" and 'bigasshouse' a few weeks ago.
>>>>>
>>>>> How do you know? They never did find DB Cooper ...
>>>>>
>>>>> Mike
>>>>>
>>>>> From: "Brad Haslett" <flybrad at gmail.com> Sent: Friday, January 30, 2009
>>>>> 11:31 AM
>>>>>
>>>>>> Bill,
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Most folks pay too much attention to the destination and don't enjoy
>>>>>> the journey. I was having j fun flying commuters at $700 a month, and
>>>>>> I'm still having fun doing a much easier job now at a substantial
>>>>>> multiplier of that salary. Maslowe's 'Hierarchy of Needs' hasn't
>>>>>> changed. You need to eat, stay warm, and get laid every now and again.
>>>>>> I'm pretty happy with a really old airplane, a 25 year old sailboat,
>>>>>> and a 14 year old car. I've had a younger wife before and it's a
>>>>>> major PITA!
>>>>>>
>>>>>> We need a safety net in place to help people get back on their feet.
>>>>>> But, we can't afford to "make people whole" and it's not ours or the
>>>>>> governments responsibility to do so.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> My oldest son is driving over from Little Rock this evening to spend
>>>>>> the weekend and help me tinker at the hangar. He will finish his
>>>>>> second undergrad this year, Construction Management, after discovering
>>>>>> he loves the industry but not working for a piss-ant family company.
>>>>>> He works during the day for a construction company and attends classes
>>>>>> at night, paying for this one on his own nickel through student loans
>>>>>> and personal earnings. He learned from his Grandfather, who spent is
>>>>>> whole life in construction as both a laborer and a superintendent, "be
>>>>>> kind to people on your way up and maybe they'll be kind to you on your
>>>>>> way down". Spencer took it to heart and I was really proud of how he
>>>>>> interacted with immigrant labor on the coast after Katrina.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Am I better off? Yeah, a helluva lot better off than that idiot
>>>>>> "investment counselor" who jumped out of his million dollar airplane
>>>>>> leaving behind his "trophy wife" and 'bigasshouse' a few weeks ago.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> It's all relative.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Brad
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Fri, Jan 30, 2009 at 10:04 AM, Bill Effros <bill at effros.com> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Brad,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> My question is completely politically unloaded.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I think I'm better off because of the national Ponzi scheme than I
>>>>>>> would
>>>>>>> have been without it, although I'm not really sure.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Am I comparatively better off now than I was when I entered the labor
>>>>>>> market
>>>>>>> 40 years ago?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Yes. Certainly I have moved up into a different income and asset
>>>>>>> level,
>>>>>>> compared to others who were in the labor force 40 years ago.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Some of that was due to real growth, new industries, more actual
>>>>>>> wealth
>>>>>>> in
>>>>>>> this country.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Some of that was due to betting on the right horse in the right race.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> But I know many of my contemporaries are worse off now than they were
>>>>>>> 40
>>>>>>> years ago. However in the intervening 40 years they had a good time,
>>>>>>> and
>>>>>>> thought throughout their working lives, that they were better off
>>>>>>> than
>>>>>>> they
>>>>>>> had been. Now they are discovering that they are no better off than
>>>>>>> when
>>>>>>> they started.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Most of them would probably do it again. Are they wrong?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> B.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Brad Haslett wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Bill,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> The real estate Ponzi scheme didn't hurt me a bit, directly that is,
>>>>>>> I
>>>>>>> didn't play. The market hurt me A LOT. I just opened Cora's 529 plan
>>>>>>> statement yesterday and it is now worth $500 less than the total
>>>>>>> monies contributed to it (two years ago her education was "in theory"
>>>>>>> paid for at any of the most expensive colleges in the country). My
>>>>>>> 401K is down 40%. Yeah, I got burned, but you never heard me
>>>>>>> complain
>>>>>>> during all those years when I was "earning" 20%+ per year returns.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Is the government going to bail me out? No, and why should they? I
>>>>>>> made those investment decisions as a grown adult, and in my case,
>>>>>>> with
>>>>>>> two degrees in business. The responsibility is mine and only mine.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> "Are you better off now than you would have been if you hadn't
>>>>>>> played
>>>>>>> along?"
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> With the benefit of hindsight, I should have invested in US
>>>>>>> Treasuries. Will I do that in the future? No, I doubt it, I'm not
>>>>>>> sure about the US Government's ability to repay. The Chinese are
>>>>>>> thinking the same thing.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Brad
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> On Fri, Jan 30, 2009 at 8:52 AM, Bill Effros <bill at effros.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Brad,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> We are in this jam because we are all complicit in it.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> People who couldn't afford the homes they lived in KNEW they couldn't
>>>>>>> afford their homes, but they enjoyed living in them while they could.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> People maxing out their credit cards KNEW they could never pay them
>>>>>>> off,
>>>>>>> but they enjoyed what they were buying for the moment.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> People playing "Hot Potato" with stocks and other assets KNEW they
>>>>>>> weren't worth what they were paying, but they thought there would
>>>>>>> always
>>>>>>> be a "greater fool" who would pay more.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Many of us called this situation at the time it was going on...but
>>>>>>> most
>>>>>>> of us played into it anyhow, thinking we would be smart enough to get
>>>>>>> out before everything crashed and burned.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Few of us were right.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> So my question is, "Are you better off now than you would have been
>>>>>>> if
>>>>>>> you hadn't played along?"
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> That question applies to everybody.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I'm not sure of the answer, although I think I am better off having
>>>>>>> played and won this silly game than I would have been if more
>>>>>>> thoughtful
>>>>>>> heads had prevailed early on. What about you?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Bill Effros
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
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>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
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>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
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>>>>>>>
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>>>>>>
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