Archive for December 20th, 2011
The problem with 401K plans
Dan Solin warns us of the huge problems involving 401K plans:
Here is the harsh reality: 401(k) plans are a false crutch for employees. They simply don’t work, if you define “work” as providing funds that will permit retirement with dignity — if at all. According to Fidelity Investments, average balances in 401(k) plans as of March 31, 2011 were $74,900. Those 55 and older had saved $233,800 on average. Given increased life expectancy, it is understandable that another study found that 61 percent of those surveyed said they were more scared of outliving their assets than they were of dying.
I have just finished reading Solin’s new book, The Smartest Portfolio You’ll Ever Own: A Do-It-Yourself Breakthrough Strategy. Lots of intriguing numbers that run counter to much of the hype you hear from “financial advisers” on TV. Most important part of his book is the Solin gives you the recipe for assembling your own portfolio based on passively managed funds with low fees. He is one of the relatively few well-known financial advisers who steers you wide of brokers who claim that they can pick stocks. Solin essentially calls these people frauds, based upon decades of numbers.
Jesus visits the Denver Broncos
Jesus visited the Denver Broncos. It had to happen. After all, I saw it on Hulu.
Quotes on tolerance
A reader named Mike Baker handed me a huge collection of quotes, organized by topic. Here are the quotes he collected on the topic of tolerance:
“Human diversity makes tolerance more than a virtue; it makes it a requirement for survival.”
~ René Dubos
Without tolerance, our world turns into hell. ~ Friedrich Durrenmatt
Anger and intolerance are the twin enemies of correct understanding. ~ Mohandas Gandhi
I have learnt silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet strange, I am ungrateful to these teachers. ~ Kahlil Gibran (1883 – 1931)
Tolerance and celebration of individual differences is the fire that fuels lasting love.
– Tom Hannah
The remarkable thing is that we really love our neighbor as ourselves: we do unto others as we do unto ourselves. We hate others when we hate ourselves. We are tolerant toward others when we tolerate ourselves. We forgive others when we forgive ourselves. — Eric Hoffer
I never will, by any word or act, bow to the shrine of intolerance or admit a right of inquiry into the religious opinions of others. — Thomas Jefferson
“Tolerance implies no lack of commitment to one’s own beliefs. Rather it condemns the oppression or persecution of others.” — John F. Kennedy
Tolerance is the positive and cordial effort to understand another’s beliefs, practices, and habits without necessarily sharing or accepting them. — Joshua Liebman
No human trait deserves less tolerance in everyday life….. than intolerance.
– Giacomo Leopardi
Let us not speak of tolerance. This negative word implies grudging concessions by smug consciences. Rather, let us speak of mutual understanding and mutual respect.
– Father Dominique Pire
We should therefore claim, in the name of tolerance, the right not to tolerate the intolerant.
– Karl Popper
“If civilization is to survive, we must cultivate the science of human relationships – the ability of all peoples, of all kinds, to live together, in the same world at peace.”
– Franklin Roosevelt
Tolerance is the oil which takes the friction out of life. — Wilbert E. Scheer
In every country and every age, the priest had been hostile to Liberty. ~Thomas Jefferson
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