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Settle in, shelter-in-placers, we’ve got another super-sized (and shall we say, impassioned) edition of the Ricochet Podcast. In addition to the robust debaters, we’ve got Deb Saunders (self-quarantined from an undisclosed location) and Arthur Brooks who provides some much needed optimism in these dark days.
Music from this week’s show: Life During Wartime by Talking Heads
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This is one of those times when I would have wanted to Like something more than once. Too many people don’t realize how the very act of panicking and selling low is what converts a potential loss into an actual loss.
I don’t disagree that there were some kinks – fighting takes practice like everything else. It’s nearly impossible to avoid coming off as obnoxious when arguing passionately. That doesn’t mean people should stay out of the ring. What was noteworthy, though not exactly surprising, was that once the debate was through, they went right back to being pals. There are things to work on, but I’ve always sensed that he and Rob disagree on a lot more than one might sense from the tone.
I definitely don’t agree that he monopolizes the podcast. He asks way more questions of his other hosts than he receives. He already has a very good interview series, I like when he participates here. If he gets a little rowdy, so be it, says I. 😈
Every show doesn’t have to be “perfect”.
It’s very hard to produce a show that sounds different from regular talk radio and in someway superior to most podcasts. I know it when I see it and that’s what I want to listen to on the weekends.
@roblong, if you accepted your delivery of milk, I’m sure you gave one to a family with kids near you. Also, you can use that whole milk along with lemon juice or vinegar to substitute for buttermilk. 1 Tablespoon of either plus milk to make one cup of buttermilk. I am impressed you can actually get buttermilk in NYC. Bet you can’t get grits (at least not good grits).
I have no problem at all with disagreement – passionate or otherwise. My family starts at around a 7 on a 10 pt scale. And I really don’t care if Peter Robinson and Rob continued in a friendly manner, as their disagreement didn’t bother me one bit.
My problem is the arguments that Peter chose to make.
He monopolizes all of the Ricochet Podcasts. If you don’t think so, I’m pretty sure you don’t listen to it very often. He interrupts Rob and James frequently and will also say, “I know Rob (or James) wants to ask some questions, but I just have one more.” And then he proceeds to go on and on.
Because he has had his own show at the Hoover Institution for around 20 years (which is pretty good) he is used to running things and being the star. He isn’t good at sharing. If you are a listener, it gets very old when he takes up so much time. Rob and James are both very bright and very different (from each other and from Peter.) I would like it if they got equal time.
I listen every single week! This is just about the only place I go to listen to people talk about their political opinions – it’s always struck me as about the only place worth doing so.
Maybe a one question rotation would be a better idea than having each go through their own question segment. Even so, if he’s asking questions, I’m not sure he’s exactly monopolizing.
I like James and Rob a lot too. I’ve tried to float the idea that the show could drop down to one guest an episode, or even no guests with greater frequency, because I really come here to listen to the big three. That said, I really enjoyed both guests this week.
I just thought this was an especially good episode! It’s certainly among the more talked-about ones. 😉
So, ummm, depending on just how good a “friend” she is, you might want to offer her some “friendly” advice – to sell everything as soon as possible, to avoid further “losses”. >;-)
But don’t do that to family, or Thanksgiving will be unbearable.
She was actually a little ahead of the curve and got out at a decent number. To be fair to her sentiment of “losing money”; she’s 78. Any loss at that age is felt meanly. And I have a little sympathy as a mere three weeks ago (feels like a lifetime) my husband and I went out to dinner to celebrate an awesome value we got on an appraisal. We actually started muttering about retiring earlier than we had thought would be possible.
No big deal for us; we like our house. We like our town. My husband and I both like our jobs. We’ve joked for years that we’ll die at our desks. We just hate California.
Depends what the portfolio is. There are a lot of long-term opportunities here, if you’ve already got extra cash.
I agree with Annefy, I’m sure there are people whose worries are grossly self-centered. (I mean, if you’ve got a stock portfolio to complain about, then you’re probably okay.) But a lot of us are concerned even though we aren’t big shots with considerable sums caught up in the stock market.
We have occasionally experimented with one or even no-guest shows, but we like mixing it up with a variety of guests. When we have an interesting host segment, we usually just go long (no pun intended…or maybe it was intended…) on the show as we have done the last few weeks.
I think their overall point, or at least part of it, is that we COULD have, and SHOULD have, been taking steps a lot earlier, If China Hadn’t Been Lying.
Well, Peter was claiming that the IPO for his son’s company had nothing to do with WeWork’s IPO failing, which may be specifically true but was also irrelevant. Rob’s point was that IPOs in general, perhaps especially for tech startups, have been dropping for some time already. Coronavirus certainly doesn’t help, but it wasn’t the CAUSE.
Easy for me to say, but this is the only podcast I listen to that I don’t care if it’s longer. An hour and a half every week would be excellent. Two guests and the principals get to talk more.
I never thought a thing of it. Just another good episode that would be great to discuss.
There is this thing called the “investment frontier”. It goes from risk-free United States treasuries all the way over to something really stupidly risky like commodities. People can’t run their lives and manage the risk of their portfolios or their life without being able to get 2% over inflation in a savings account. Plus the government lies about inflation. You cannot run a civilization this way. This is all artificial created by the government and the Fed. This is going to end badly.
I am not going to get in a big discussion about this, but I really recommend you spend $240 and get a Real Vision subscription and look at the videos about retirement, asset valuations, and pensions. Also I keep repeating this but watch the 90 minute interview of David Stockman and then come back and tell me all about “conservatism” so I can hate Trump like a “reasonable” person.
A relevant question for a person who is 78… Why was she still in the stock market?
The thing about volatility is that people who don’t need the money soon can afford to ride it out. Sure it tanks to a low price for a while, but eventually it will go back up again and on to new heights … provided you can wait that long and not feel obligated to cash out when it’s at a low point.
I understand her disappointment, but those nearing a point where they need to sell should be moving away from volatile investments ahead of time.
Why can’t she get any interest on her money?
People are going to work until they drop and they are going to burn up all of their money in annuities. The public pension assumptions around this country are a joke. This is a disaster.
One might describe it as being too exclusively involved and harmfully slow at letting others be involved.
Excerpt from an excellent and very revealing article:
Timeline: The Regulations—and Regulators—That Delayed Coronavirus Testing
There have been three major regulatory barriers so far.
Alec Stapp
Mar 20
Ironically, the pandemic emergency declaration triggered extra regulations that made the whole process much slower. See the article.
The only reason I brought her up was because of her complaint that any loss she suffered is more important than anyone else’s (specifically mine), which was her response when I told her to quit complaining.
And I felt similar resentment when Peter was speaking of his children and their trials and tribulations. We are in a unique situation where almost everyone’s adult children are suffering the same trials and tribulations. I found his passionate and constant complaints to be self absorbed, as if his childrens’ situations were somehow unique.
My own hope, and one that I’ve fostered with my children and friends, is that we’re all in this together. This situation is difficult enough with hearing complaints.
A small announcement we’re making here first: in the spirit of experimentation and extreme social distancing, we’re going (attempt) to do this week’s Ricochet Podcast live on Zoom. So for those of you who really want to see how the sausage is made, this is your lucky day. As we have never done this before, I’m quite sure something –possibly many– unexpected things will happen. Should be fun. Or terrifying. Or both. And yes, it will be recorded and released as an audio podcast later on Friday.
We roll at 8AM PT/10AM CT/11AM ET on Friday, March 27th. Our guest will be Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, Professor of Medicine at Stanford University who’ll be discussing his piece in today’s WSJ, Is the Coronavirus as Deadly as They Say?
The Zoom waiting room will open 15 minutes prior to our start time. We’ll release the Zoom URL the night before in a post on the Member Feed (this event is for members only — not a member? Join today!) and in a site-wide announcement. And sure, Rob, Peter, and James will stick around for a few minutes after the show to take a few questions. Who knows, we may even take some during the show. See you (and I mean that literally) on Friday morning.
I’m glad to find I’m not the only one who’s a little testy these days.
Thanks to Peter and Deb for making it clearer to me why a shut down is so painful for many people.
I can’t believe how many Republicans are so casual about shutting down the economy. Ground Zero is that Principles First group.
This conversation has run its course, but I did write a small article about where I am currently staying that shows a spike in suicides, which I think any fair-minded person would find troubling.
I just read on Twitter (but have not confirmed) that a German official (minister of Finance) has committed suicide directly related to the pandemic.
I would not be surprised, but I find that horribly sad. And Germany is doing better than other countries, isn’t it? As far as Covid containment is concerned? I think they are actually taking patients from Italy? (Don’t quote me on that either. Maybe that’s no longer the case. The news moves so fast, and I’m paying more attention to the US.)
I did a quick google search. And “economic fallout” was his concern. Thought there was no mention of a note.
Well, that was interesting. Hope Debra Saunders is doing alright by now.