Occasionally I run into some comment that makes too much sense to keep to myself. Such a comment is this one I read on WorldNetDaily.com.

I don’t mean to be any more of an alarmist than necessary; but it’s getting pretty dicey; and, the huge gulps of money we’re needing to borrow in the short term, just to pay the expense of running the government look to be the last gasps of healthy capitalism in this country.

I know I said  I was going to take a break…and I am. But you need to read this and find a way to run our politicians out of Washington and back to fiscal kindergarten!

Ellis Investment Concepts

As you’ve noticed, occasionally I drift off topic (investing, lest you forget) and indulge myself in writing about things that may touch on my core interest but are only indirectly related to it: current events, the economy, politics, etc.—things about which I have strong feelings and which current events compel me to comment.

As you know, I’m disgusted with the obvious absence of financial literacy, responsibility, and just plain common sense that’s displayed by so many in elected office, from the top of our government institutions to the bottom. And I’ve railed about it time and again, wishing that some able folks would get off their duffs, take the bull by the horns, and give up their comfortable complacency to act instead of just talk.  Read more…

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The Herald, South Florida’s major newspaper, headlined the unthinkable this past week: Jackson Halts Dialysis of Poor Patients .  One of the nation’s top-rated hospitals, Miami’s Jackson Health System had to adopt a policy that would deprive some 175 indigent patients of critical, life-saving care because it could no longer afford to provide it.

Hardly a decision taken lightly by the hospital administration, the financially strapped institution finally had to draw the line on life. Fortunately for those patients , some of the other area hospitals volunteered to take up the slack for all but about 4o. These would have to seek care in the city’s emergency rooms, where the law requires the hospitals to provide critical care regardless of the financial condition of the patient—or the hospital!

This, to me, is a tragic and stunning case in point that illustrates a simple fact: no matter how humane and compassionate the issue, the ultimate truth is that there simply ain’t no free lunch. As much as we would like to characterize medical care as a right rather than a privilege, without the funds to provide it, it vanishes.

Ellis Current Events, Food for Thought entrepreneurialism, health care, healthcare, no free lunch, right or privilege

I just wanted to take quick note of a comment that I heard on a talk show as I was surfing the stations while driving. Unfortunately I don’t even remember the fellow’s name or the position he held—not even the station I was listening to.

The purpose of my doing so is not to suggest that this is the position of our government. It’s only to take issue with the remark and suggest that anyone who thinks this way is wrong-headed.

In any case, the offending phrase was that the financial industry is the backbone of our economy!

There are far too many people who don’t really understand what the “backbone of our economy” really is. This parallels the notion that investing in diamonds, bonds, art, etc. is productive when it’s not. The “backbone of our economy” is truly anything that adds value or creates something of value out of something that had less value before. Read more…

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Did you ever watch a school of dolphin or porpoise as they follow closely beside a boat? Of course, no single one can stay two feet in the air all the time; but, each rises from the water, arches gracefully above it for as far as he can propel himself, and then knifes back into the sea. Shortly after the first emerges, another does the same, and then another. And so on. The effect is that, at any one moment, a number of the graceful animals are above the surface, glistening in the sun, and there is a constant presence there.

We buy shares of quality companies to hold until we want or need the money. The “rule of five” tells us that, of every five companies we select, we can expect four to do as well or better than expected, but one is likely to disappoint us. And, occasionally, the herd will bid up the price of one or another of our companies to a point where we can no longer expect as healthy a return going forward as we did because we have already enjoyed much of the appreciation. In any of those cases, we will need to replace our companies with others that will better meet our requirements.

Ellis Food for Thought, Fundamental Investment Views, Investment Concepts, NAIC Veterans' Lounge porpoises, portfolio management, rule of five, save the best, when to sell

A couple of posts back, I made some comments that ignited a challenge to me to come up with some kind of measurable evidence that our system really works.

The beauty of this investment methodology is that it’s not one that’s so doctrinaire that, given the same set of circumstances, everyone could be relied upon to do exactly the same thing. The variables are simply too many and too subjective. Therefore, you can’t put together a control group whose performance you can empirically measure against a benchmark.

Believe me, if I could make my point without seeming to brag, I would. What I buy, when, and for how much, and how my portfolio performs is my own business. So, I’ve tried to avoid talking about my own case and relied on the logic and common sense of this approach to impress people with its validity.

Read more…

Ellis Food for Thought, Fundamental Investment Views, Investment Concepts, NAIC Veterans' Lounge, Successful Investing