Welcome to the Weekender, the highlight of everyone's week! (And isn't that what really disappoints you during the week- the fact that DQYDJ is so far away from posting another Weekender?)
Quick updates: 173 Twitter Followers and 57 Facebook Likers currently contribute to our massive egos. Make it worse by joining them!
First up, we're going to be blacking out the web site on The 18th (Wednesday) in solidarity with other sites protesting SOPA. We've already written about SOPA (click that link for our official statement) and I'm sure I'll editorialize again... perhaps even on the blackout page! (Cue Twilight Zone Music). Just know this: section 201 of the Stop Online Piracy Act makes it a crime to stream more than 10 pieces of music or movies illegally in a six-month time frame.... (talk about defining down crime and making vague laws). Pretty much every single person who has ever gone to YouTube has violated that... likely in a single session! Jail the entire Internet!
Carnivals and Featured Links
- Carnival of Financial Camaraderie at Boomer & Echo.
- Yakezie Carnival at Broke Professionals.
- Nelson at Financial Uproar gave us a shout-out in his article about dating... thanks, we think!
- Corey at 20's Finances is a Pro when it comes to interesting blog posts about Personal Finance bloggers (that's so... meta!). His most recent insight was to ask bloggers about budgeting... go check out the results.
- Another country heard from! Richest Nation featured us in a Top 10 list of best PF posts in 2012 - as #2, no less! I demand you repay their love of our site by visiting theirs...
- Out favorite Hybrid Horticulturalist and PF Writer at 101 Centavos featured our link on Rick Santorum, surprise runner-up in Iowa.
- The Personal Finance Whiz was unfortunately sick, but he hallucinated that our tax visualization was a good article! Don't worry, he's better now and back to writing interesting things about fast food.
- Jeff at Money Spruce, fellow New Englander (hey, I may live here, but I once lived there!), also liked the tax graph! Go discuss his retirement strategy... and check out the comments where we turned on the DQYDJ mind control ray and caused Matt Allen at Rambling Fever to mention us! We'll get out of your head now, Matt, sorry...
- DQYDJ made it's way North of the Border with a mention at Boomer and Echo. For advice that makes sense in any country, read their common sense guide to spotting financial scams.
Weekly Reads...
- "Fire Ants Self Assemble Into Waterproof Rafts to Survive Floods" (PDF). You guys know the trope Accidental Nightmare Fuel? Here's some!
- A. Blinkin says, "what's up with people selling when their stocks fall?" Interesting question!
- Andrea at So Over Debt participated in a Twitter battle with Suze Orman over a ridiculous financial product. I arrived late and unprepared, but she provided me with ammunition!
- Budgeting in the Fun Stuff has a story about a lady who should probably lease instead of purchase cars...
- Invest it Wisely asks a wise question: Do You Really Want to Know What Others Make?
- Control Your Cash wants to make large purchases easier for drug dealers. Sorry, I mean that they wonder about bringing back bills larger than $100!
Weekly Rant!
Or is it two? How do you count the SOPA rambling above?
Let's talk about Mitt Romney and Bain Capital, because everyone else seems to be. The silly thing? This attack on Mitt Romney's career at Bain is coming from both sides of the political isle.
Let me pose a theoretical. Say there is a company which has 3,000 employees and is about to go out of business if nothing is done. A private equity firm, let's call it Lame Capital, comes in and buys the firm. They
Sorry to Spend So Much Text on This Guy... (Gage Skidmore)
stop the bleeding by laying off 2,000 people and streamlining operations. You see... they 'saved' 1,000 jobs, but there is now bias against the 'unseen', in this case, the unseen bankruptcy. Years later a politically motivated hit piece can point out the struggles of some of the folks laid off, even though they would have been laid off anyway had Lame Capital not intervened. This analysis ignores the companies that a firm like Lame Capital improved (causing net job gains) and the companies which, unfortunately, didn't make it (it happens to government investment too; see Solyndra) - but as a whole we know Mitt Romney left Bain having created more jobs on net... and that's without dubious 'saved or created' arguments, which I hope Romney doesn't stoop to.
Look, the theory of Creative Destruction means that out of the destruction of firms (Even industries! Seen any horse-drawn carriages lately?) leads to growth elsewhere. Private Equity firms are based on saving the most sick firms possible... if you want to invest in healthy firms, try the regular stock market. So, to speak politically, by propping up industries which can't survive on their own (the 'seen'), we are missing out on the 'unseen' - those industries and companies which will never form because the most efficient capital allocation is short circuited by politics.
Political Calculus
Here's a zany political theory for you - what if the Republican attacks on Romney's time at Bain are actually a form of Republican support. Am I an idiot? I don't think so, but let me lay out the scenario (which is like a more nuanced version of James Taranto's recent column). For the record, one of my groomsmen can verify I typed out this theory before Taranto... haha!
Ingredients: Candidate A with the 'problem' (Romney), Candidate(s) we believe really doesn't like Candidate A (Gingrich, Perry, Huntsman...).
So we know that in a general election Mitt Romney's time at Bain Capital will certainly be in the spotlight - it's a given that Barack Obama's reelection campaign will try to tie Romney to the 1% as a scheming uber-capitalist who finds glee in cutting jobs. Here's where things get interesting - instead of laying off the Primary Capitalism Hate, other Candidates attack Candidate A while also framing the debate in terms which are easily rejected or with arguments which are easily diverted or nullified... scoring sound-byte hits, but also allowing Candidate A an out in case he wins (likely). So the debate is framed favorably to the Republican party because Republicans start the attacks (and therefore can choose the phrasing), it helps Candidate A ready his talking points for the General Election, it comes at a time when less people pay attention (Primaries), and it's less likely the Media will pay as much attention in the General (it's "old news").
Evidence: The Democratic Party had a similar effect on their message in 2008 when Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama went 10 rounds before President Obama emerged victorious - leaving the media to focus on Candidate John McCain's odd request to stop campaigning instead of any character issues of Mr. Obama (spare me the complaints about Media bias). Oh yeah, I seem to remember they also concentrated on one Sarah Palin. In fact, the Republican Party is using proportional delegate awards in early states to ensure a longer Primary slog... if the primary doesn't lock up early, the eventual nominee will have a much stronger message.
What do you think? We also saw some signs of the 'attack candidates' reversing course, perhaps to set up eventual support for Candidate Romney.
Okay, you've now read the Weekender. You are now the farthest away you'll ever be from a new Weekender...
