My 3 day weekend morning reads:
• It’ll Do: Impeachment did not prevail, but Trump still lost. Thanks to their integrity, a clear majority of the Senate voted to condemn the former president as an insurrectionist against the United States. The 57–43 margin wasn’t enough to convict under the Constitution. It wasn’t enough to formally disqualify Trump from ever again seeking office in the United States. But practically? It will do as a solemn and eternal public repudiation of Trump’s betrayal of his oath of office. (The Atlantic)
• Good News In Α Terrible Time: Forget GME, Positive Developments in the Fight Against Covid are the Real Big Story To get a proper sense of how the battle against covid is progressing, it’s necessary to look beyond editorial tone. My goal here is not to engage in baseless optimism. Fear mongering is also out. All I want to do is take a (relatively) quick tour of recent covid developments in an attempt to sort out where we stand and where we’re going: (Stock Answers)
• Is Biden the “Reagan of the Left”? Presidential history follows a distinct pattern: “Reconstructive” presidents like Franklin Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan transform American politics in their own image, clearing the field of viable competition and setting the terms of political debate. (Noahpinion)
• The agency founded because of 9/11 is shifting to face the threat of domestic terrorism “Ideologically-motivated violent extremists with objections to the exercise of governmental authority and the presidential transition, as well as other perceived grievances fueled by false narratives, could continue to mobilize to incite or commit violence.” (Washington Post)
• How Democrats Planned for Doomsday A huge coalition of activist groups had been working together since the spring to make sure that Joe Biden won and that the “election stayed won” amid Donald Trump’s subterfuge. (New York Times)
• The Test of Time: Art as an Investment 80%-90% of your investment portfolio should be in income-producing assets. The rest you can leave for non-income producing assets like gold, Bitcoin, and art. Why? Because non-income producing assets are priced solely based on what someone else is willing to pay for them in the future. Since there are no underlying cashflows, price is based on perception. (Of Dollars And Data)
• The New Electric Vehicles Now Hitting the Road An influx of new electric-car models helped boost sales of battery-powered vehicles in Europe and China last year. But in the U.S., where buyers had fewer choices and less in the way of government-backed incentives, electric-car sales fell around 10% in 2020, industry analysts say. (Wall Street Journal)
• America’s billionaire philanthropists gave away more during the pandemic. But there’s a catch. America’s billionaire philanthropists gave away more of their fortunes during the Covid-19 pandemic than they ever have before. But there’s a catch — one that underscores just how hard it is to follow the money in the world of mega-charity. (Vox)
• In defense of interesting writing on controversial topics: Some thoughts on the New York Times’ Slate Star Codex profile (Slow Boring)
• Fox News is a hazard to our democracy. It’s time to take the fight to the Murdochs. Here’s how. James Murdoch blasted the harm that his family’s media empire has done: “The sacking of the Capitol is proof positive that what we thought was dangerous is indeed very much so. Those outlets that propagate lies to their audience have unleashed insidious and uncontrollable forces that will be with us for years.” (Washington Post)
Be sure to check out our Masters in Business interview this weekend with Ben Inker, head of Asset Allocation at GMO, which manages about $60 billion in assets. During Dotcom implosion, GMO’s US Aggressive Long/Short Strategy achieved 80+% cumulative net returns for their clients. Inker is widely regarded as founder Jeremy Grantham’s heir apparent.
Health-care spending by risk factors in the USA
Source: The Lancet
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