Blugolds

And what we did to the British In the US Civil war, the South would be considered Terrorist, wishing to leave the union etc. Those who want/force power will always consider those who resist it to be "terrorists". Often those with/in power have it due to money, influence, connections, size etc. The resistors are generally always at a disadvantage, the only way to have a chance is via unconventional tactics ie. guerrilla warfare etc. One persons freedom fighter is anothers terrorist. It is possible to understand someones thinking and sympathize with their situation without agreeing with the way they go about trying to bring change.

Always chuckle when I see crypto the lengths crypto bulls go to add to legitimacy. Anytime there are jokers trying to ride BRK coat tails and prove legitimacy via association that should be a red flag. Association can be a picture with someone from Omaha (we've seen that) assumption of association via name dropping (we've heard that) or comparison, automatically makes me think... Here's one of the latest: https://thecryptobasic.com/2024/12/03/wall-street-analyst-says-selling-xrp-now-is-like-selling-shares-of-berkshire-hathaway-in-early-days/ analyst warned investors that selling XRP now is like parting with Berkshire Hathaway shares in the company’s early days. “All you have to have is patience,” Her comments come as XRP has experienced significant volatility over the years, often caught in the crossfire of regulatory battles and fluctuating market sentiment. Jones believes that XRP’s unique use case, specifically its role in cross-border payments, positions it for even greater long-term success, much like Berkshire Hathaway’s value became apparent only after years of growth and development. XRP Like Berkshire Hathaway’s Shares Notably, Berkshire Hathaway is one of the most successful investment firms in history, led by renowned investor Warren Buffett, the company’s chairman and CEO. While many early investors did not recognize its long-term value, those who held onto their shares have seen substantial returns. According to market data from TradingView, Berkshire Hathaway’s Class A shares (BRK.A) boast an all-time return of 292,100% from their current position. Essentially, the Wall Street analyst suggests that those who choose to hold onto XRP now could find themselves in a similar position when the asset’s true value is realized. Notably, the audacious comparison of XRP to shares of successful companies has been a recurring theme in the crypto scene. Other market commentators have also compared XRP to shares of the FANG companies. Some have used this analogy to argue for an 8,000% price surge for XRP into the future. https://decrypt.co/207783/rat-poison-cantankerous-bitcoin-critic-charlie-munger-dies-at-99

At least electricians and dermatologist can make a case for some standard of licensure. Those dont bother me as much as the need for a license to CUT HAIR! a cosmetology license? Really? There are a ton of other jobs that you need a "license" for that are a complete joke. Some states require a license to be a florist, some to be an interior designer! There are 8 states that you need a license to be a travel agent! For the industries that require some level of training that could get someone killed I can understand the case for licensure. But for all these ridiculous job licenses I say deregulate the heck out of them and let the market decide the winners and losers. Many licenses are just a tax masquerading as a license.

True, "young" is subjective, but the challenge is that by the time you have a proven track record managing "real" amounts of money you're probably in that "strange definition of young"!

I agree, I’d also add, chastised Trump for nepotism and pardoning his father in-law, cried foul when Trump said the DOJ was a joke and was harassing him unjustly, Democrats said nobody was above the law…then Biden pardons his son because the DOJ was out to get him…so which is it? Is the DOJ unjust and used as a political tool or is it independent and a safeguard against criminal behavior…the Democrats cheered legalities against Trump and said Trumps claims of DOJ being used against him unjustly was BS that would never happen, then Biden turns around and pardons his son because he said the DOJ was being used against him unjustly.You cant make this stuff up! Both sides are equally hypocritical and dishonest. It’s dirty and neither side IMO has the best interest of the avg American as their focus. All they are concerned about is feathering their own nest. I never understand why people get so worked up and emotional about politics, it doesn’t matter honestly, it’s just different flavor of the same rotten fruit. It’s like arguing who the best WWF wrestler is without acknowledging that the entire thing is scripted. I can give you a list of blatant lies, dishonesty, hypocrisy, nepotism and deceit from both parties for the last 50 years and if you cant acknowledge that regardless of what side you “lean” you’re not being honest with yourself. The country would be much better off if Americans focused on making sure they as individuals epitomized what it meant to be an American, a good person, a leader etc, than expecting some shmuck in Washington to do it for them. Politicians gonna do what politicians do, the side of the aisle doesn’t matter.

Basically yes, you get a "stepped up cost basis", the CB becomes the value at the time of death, gains after that, if sold will incur taxes. IE. Tom buys BRK 20 years ago with cost basis of $50, Tom dies today with BRK @ $460, shares transfer to Tom's son, Son's new cost basis on those inherited shares is $460, no tax owed. If Tom sells shares for $500 he pays tax on $40 gain. There is a difference between inheritance tax and estate tax. There is a dollar limit to this, and some states have taxes independent of federal (so even if you are below the threshold for federal taxes your state may want a cut) , however many of these can be avoided by putting assets in a trust. Generally for every instance Uncle Sam wants to stick his hand in your pocket with regard to large sums of money outside of W2 income, he also gives you a way to avoid it, because generally the people in those situations either create the laws or have enough money to influence those who do, and they can afford to pay legal experts to ensure they take advantage of every way out. Im not taking a political position with that statement, its just the rules of a game, since the rules dont seem to change significantly, the best you can do is learn the rules and/or pay those who play well to be on your team if you want to win.

BRK FRFH CNSWF COST META GOOGL IVV NTDOY JOE BRK and FRFH make up vast majority and and in taxable accounts with significant gains, SWANs, would trim some of the other names but dont want to pay tax without seeing a better deal to deploy. Also about 10% cash.

Pizza has one of the best margins of any food/restaurant business..COGS of say 20% with gross profits of 80% assuming you arent talking about franchise since you said small business, but Pizza can be very lucrative if you have a good product and a good reputation. My grandfather owned a pizza business that did very very well and I knew a guy who had a small storefront in a college town that sold by the slice and had a great business, 90% of his sales probably came between the hours of 11-2am (bar close) but there was always a line out the door. Sold 1 kind of pizza and had one other kid that worked with him, he just stood at the till and took in piles of cash. Mac and cheese pizza was the go-to so he didnt even have the high meat costs! Just cheese and noodles on the top of thin crust, but that gooey slice got the line out the door every night he never even closed the till for hours, just cash hand over fist for hours. Probably not great if you want to be a hands off owner like you said, you're right its more of a job, and I dont like food businesses in general but if I DID, you could do a lot worse than pizza, if you have a good location that would be toward the top of my list actually. Keep the menu simple, flour, sauce is cheap and homemade, main variable costs are cheese and meat assuming you want quality and if you source correctly and make decent relationships with local butchers to produce your sausage recipe it somewhat insulates you from major fluctuations. If you wanna talk about plain cheese pizza 16" you can get your costs to about a buck on a 16" and sell for $10 thats a pretty sexy margin, if you're talking chicago style deep dish then you're gonna be on the lower end, but for thin crust NY style pizza with quality cheese and sausage or pepperoni you're gonna be around that 80% gross mainly from the cheese and meat options, soda is high margin, employees are cheap assuming you have a younger workforce.

Amazing how loss can be quelled the majority of time day to day, but true love/loss never goes away, its always lurking there, just below the surface, waiting, ready to surprise you from a song, a smell, a memory. 2020 and 2021 I lost the two most important people in my life, within 6 mo of each other, first my mom, unexpectedly and quick. We never discussed finances, she didnt have anything anyway and I was her only son. Next was my grandpa, who also lived a pretty simple life but had been successful in business when I was born, since Mom was gone her share passed to me. My Uncle, Aunt and I divided up the assets from my grandfather who passed at 91. The sums we are talking about would be fairly insignificant to anyone reading this, it didnt make that much difference to me monetarily, I was much more concerned about getting small trinkets that reminded me of way back when (i grew up living with my grandparents). To my Aunt and Uncle, the monetary value was all that mattered and they were ruthless! At times there was screaming, it was brutal and I could help but think that my grandfather would have had nothing to do with it, he would have been ashamed at their behavior. I ended up playing mediator despite a 30yr age difference and took the strategy of just trying to keep the piece, even if it meant I supplemented from my share, I had gotten what I wanted, some old tools to hand on the wall and an Eagle statue from the dining room. My point is, Warren’s advice to have these discussions BEFORE the emotions take over is fantastic advice, I think a lot of what I had to watch could have been avoided if everything was very clear rather than “share and share alike”. As other posters already commented, the LAST thing you want to deal with when your world has fallen apart is confrontation with those who are supposed to be support and partners processing grief. Ive obviously never met WB, but like many here have the utmost admiration for him and have benefited from his ability and generosity sharing wisdom. I too feel the difficulty reading his letter, we all know that none of us get outta this alive, but that reality is still tough, Warren knows it too and he’s facing it with dignity and class right to the end. I cant help but stand, clapping for an encore. The show is coming to an end, the lights in the auditorium are dimming, but I dont wanna go home. Was tough to see the headlines when Charlie passed, but we still had Warren. When both are gone the finality of it will be difficult. I hope that the letter is just being responsible and preparation as planned, but my gut tells me he might sense the ride is coming to an end.

There is a TON of illegal labor in this country. Most of which are jobs done that nobody I know would want to do. Ie. Roofing, drywall, landscaping, concrete etc. I know several guys that own their own business. They basically drive around and quote roofing jobs, meet the customer, make the sale, order the materials and schedule a dumpster delivery...he calls Hefe' to tell him the address of the job to show up on Monday, Hefe' shows up with his crew in a van and they strip. prep, reinstall the roof and clean up, they are INSANELY fast, Hefe's is paid in cash and the white American guy collects the check from the homeowner and the cycle repeats. His entire business is structured around cheap, fast, quality labor force. He has been doing this for over a decade, I dont know if the next 4 years will be any different, he has seen many administrations, but he's certainly concerned. He probably couldnt find white guys to do the work in general and show up reliably, and if they did they would want a wage that would probably be double or more than what he is paying now. Another example, when I was younger I worked on a farm in the small rural community near my hometown. The farmer I worked for had a 1970's dilapidated trailer house in the back of the farm that housed about 6 young Mexican guys, again one "farm hand manager" that spoke enough English to get by and the rest did ALL the chores around the farm, this was a facility that housed about 1000 heifers from newborns to 1yr old at which time he would sell them back to the farmer or send to auction. It was the farmer, me, the on staff veterinarian and the illegal workforce. I remember once there was an argument/fight between the Mexicans and I asked the farmer about it, he told me that one of the guys was from the south and one was from the north and those mexicans fight so they kicked him out, he was gone...I said, "oh no, what are you gonna do?" he said, "ah doesnt matter, Petey (his nickname for the head guy with broken english) will find another guy" sure enough Petey made a phone call and the next day there was a new guy there to take the place and get trained in, The farmer paid them peanuts and the kicker was, they also paid "rent" to live in the trailer! My guess is what they netted was for sure under minimum wage even, but they got to work, and a place to live, and Christmas presents of Carhart jackets and bibs to work in the cold. I was shocked, and its like that at all the farms in the area he told me. Again, all these guys have seen multiple administrations over decades, I dont know if this one will be truly different or it will be another "build a wall and make Mexico pay for it deal" but I know there are many guys that have made a lot of money on the backs of ultra cheap reliable labor that are a little nervous, they are staunch republicans and voted for Trump, want secure boarders, but also dont want to kill the golden goose, it'll be interesting to see how it plays out. My experience from what I have seen is just like @rogermunibond described above. Another example, we have an Au Pair who's contract is up this summer after her 2nd year, she wants to stay obviously, but unless she gets married or starts going to school (which she cant afford obviously) she will have to go back home, she has been networking with other Au Pairs in the program and they have told her if she wants to stay she can get cash jobs, they have a whole network like Roger described, a lot of it sounds to be like waitressing jobs, kitchens, housekeeping type duties, some of which sounds like the restaurant manager isnt even paying them hourly, just straight tips...not a bad deal if you own a restaurant! They all speak perfect English, reliable and arent entitled, plus with no hourly wage, he has nothing to lose, they are at the mercy of the patrons generosity.

I’ve seen it suggested to create an alternative email that is just for your investment accounts, dont put it on anything else. I dont know if that will help or not but it cant hurt. I’m also generally careful about logging in on unknown networks, although it can be tricky if you want to make a trade outside of home or office. I try to lock down everything that I can as much as I can, I had some card fraud a year or so ago, enough for them to offer me credit tracking/reporting for free, and frozen at the big three, so all my accounts are max protected that they can be that way, I dont care if they want multiple things and it takes me an extra second to log in, all credit reports are locked down so nothing can be opened, outside of limited unknown network usage and trusting the brokerage safeties in place, I dont know what else is possible to make it more secure, I’m looking forward to hearing what others have to offer

American

A little different though, rather than a proxy war, Germany IS a member of NATO. I think Putin went into Ukraine because he knew he could without much issue, sure US gives Ukraine some token help but no real game changer help, not stopping Russia, just making it slightly more inconvenient. That would be totally different if Putin attempted the same with a NATO country. US has an embassy in Ukraine but no bases, the US has several bases in Germany and before the Germans had anything to worry about Putin would have had to already have made a significant push West through countries with increased US presence and NATO countries, including Poland. https://www.army.mil/article/265027/army_establishes_permanent_garrison_in_poland Putin doesnt get further than Ukraine. Trump is all talk about bombing Moscow, that is ridiculous and no way he told Putin that. Its a talking point to portray strength to voters, Putin knows he wouldnt do it because it would be the start of WWIII and to even suggest it is irresponsible IMO, just like if Putin threatened to bomb Washington, to even mention it is irresponsible IMO. Just like Putins threats to use "tactical Nukes". The truth is, people may not really like Putins invasion of Ukraine but he is more willing to sacrifice troops to do it than anybody else is to stop him, so he gets a pass, the US gives some token defense tools but nothing that makes a significant difference in the battle because its not worth escalation. The juice isnt worth the squeeze, unfortunate for Ukrainians, but thats just the way it is. Now with expendable North Korean mercenaries, Ukraine has already lost as Russia has addressed the attrition issue with its own citizens by now securing fodder that nobody will miss or have issue with, very low risk for Russia and it cost Ukraine everything, those arent good odds and its only a matter of time.

@Castanza your above post was good, when you're dealing with small sums that "hurt" if you lose it changes the emotion. I also have never understood (or maybe I understood early) that there really are only a couple variables that you completely control when investing. How much you sock away How long your timeline is to let it "work" If you are saving enough, even what many would consider mediocre returns add up and will provide satisfactory results, and if you give even modest sums long enough to compound (aka start as early as possible) it should provide satisfactory results. Probably the most common lack of focus is people getting the pot large enough to make a difference, they dont save enough or have enough disposable income to get a fat kitty. Instead they put that money toward to oversized home or fancy vehicle, so that when they do "invest", in order to have any meaningful results they would have to have returns that would put them in the .0001% of all investors in history, and thus the appeal of WSB brag posts. They start late in life and have a small pot, trying to work miracles, they want the winning lotto ticket. Again to your point, 401k allocation, nobody wants to play with compound interest calculators, have no idea what the rule of 72 is, no idea what an expense ratio is etc etc. Very very basic stuff but its not sexy like turning $1k into $100k in 6mo taking a flier on a "hot tip" that they saw/heard someplace and got in before the rest of the crowd. Also doesnt help that there is now, more than ever before, a plethora of exposure via social media showing them the mansions, exotic cars that resulted in buying a course, attending a seminar, paying a coach to get rich quick. Its like Ozempic for investing lol, nobody wants to put in the work when there is an easy way for them to get what they want without changing their behavior.