Gambling In the Market

I’ve lost track of the number of times over the past 25+ years that clients said they would play the stock market if they only knew more about it. My reply was always that the more you understand how the market works, the less you will want to take part in its irrationality.

I used to also say that if I were in a mood to gamble, I would much prefer to do it in a casino for some very good reasons. First is the fact that the odds of winning or losing in a casino game are statistically known, while the odds of making a profit in the stock market are completely impossible to determine. Another big difference is that there are plenty of free drinks and cheap food buffets in the casinos; amenities that few (if any) stockbrokers provide.

Along this line comes this suggestion to just turn over the stock markets to the casino (aka gaming) companies.

KMK

Higher State Taxes & Fees

This should be no surprise, with all of the news of state governments unable to balance their budgets. Whether they call them taxes or fees, they are pulling out all of the stops in trying to think up creative ways to squeeze more money out of as many people as possible. The Beatles song, TaxMan doesn’t seem as farfetched any more. Parody becomes reality.

With cigarettes rising to $7.00 per pack in the PRC, it seems like importing them from other states will become a very lucrative business.

KMK

Shady Accounting

Here’s another piece on the crooked accounting long done by our rulers in DC. They have the luxury of being able to declare almost everything as emergencies and thus not counted in the annual operating budget. That is how they can claim to be running a surplus, while still borrowing money. If any real world corporation tried such fraudulent accounting, its executives would be in the slammer. So, what else is new?

KMK