Scott Burns

The creator of Couch Potato investing and 40 years of personal finance columns is retired but Still At Large. (Well, writing less but Still At Large.)

[Scott Burns @ScottBurnsSAL]

https://t.co/RXulCjPwdH

[Scott Burns @ScottBurnsSAL]

Most discussions of federal finance are less than useful. Here’s a discussion from economist Larry Kotlikoff on the true state of federal debt/obligations.
https://t.co/117TLWF99D

[Scott Burns @ScottBurnsSAL]

Yet more evidence that sloth, not activity, is good for investment results

[Scott Burns @ScottBurnsSAL]

They Came. They Saw. They Incinerated Half Their Funds’ Potential Returns. https://t.co/WlpiAYMx0V

[Scott Burns @ScottBurnsSAL]

The 3 most feared words in finance:
"MARK TO MARKET." We're going to be hearing those words a lot in the coming weeks and months.

[Scott Burns @ScottBurnsSAL]

The Quiz Noir for today:
Q. What does a failed bank share with a cockroach or mouse?
A. There's always more than one of them.

[Scott Burns @ScottBurnsSAL]

Measuring Social Security income against the basic cost of living in Texas: https://t.co/03QDX5E6l7

[Scott Burns @ScottBurnsSAL]

@IanJaeger29 We have a complex system of multiple taxes, so just talking about the federal income tax is useless. For real tax reform we need to consider how ALL taxes impact the spectrum of income earners. https://t.co/fO18bprLEh

[Scott Burns @ScottBurnsSAL]

Understood. But upside down is still upside down. Add lots of upside down car loans and you have a recipe for consumer paralysis.

[Nick Timiraos @NickTimiraos]

Why the housing downturn of 2022-23 will look very different from the bust of 2006-09 https://t.co/hbbhW1yZ5v

[Scott Burns @ScottBurnsSAL]

@hblodget There are people whose incompetence, recklessness, and stupidity is criminal. And, yes, it happens often -- perhaps most often -- in finance.

[Scott Burns @ScottBurnsSAL]

It appears the wide-open spaces of Texas aren't anywhere near most homes:
https://t.co/hc91ki7aCr
-- only 4 states have smaller lot sizes for homes!

[Scott Burns @ScottBurnsSAL]

I don't write about politics, but I thought this needed to be said.
https://t.co/l9EelTs8J4

[Scott Burns @ScottBurnsSAL]

I understand the argument, but I'd like to see how the subsidy number is calculated. An assertion without support simply isn't adequate.

[Scott Burns @ScottBurnsSAL]

Should electric co-op members pay higher rates to subsidize solar members? https://t.co/Jl1aD0JGj9 via @TPPF

[Scott Burns @ScottBurnsSAL]

Here's the second installment of "The Great Reversal"

https://t.co/R11UlQE5Gi

[Scott Burns @ScottBurnsSAL]

Recent interview about "The Great Reversal" on NPR. Listen to it here:

https://t.co/ykjK5LtLWB

[Scott Burns @ScottBurnsSAL]

New BCCR research suggests a nudge to raise Social Security benefits for early retirees and reduce (a bit) the extra money for delaying benefits. This would increase the virtual wealth of lower income workers.

https://t.co/4Jq2rZZheG

[Scott Burns @ScottBurnsSAL]

There are many ways to tax wealth, including some that are wildly high but less than obvious --- like the Texas Black Swan Power Event.

https://t.co/pwPB6y6A69

[Scott Burns @ScottBurnsSAL]

Virtual wealth -- the material well being brought by things like Social Security and pensions -- works to offset some (Some!) of the increasing concentration of wealth.

https://t.co/6aewrn00pA

[Scott Burns @ScottBurnsSAL]

The Pudding Report, just published, shows how much money retirees had left after taking inflation adjusted withdrawals from a dirt-simple Couch Potato portfolio for periods of 30, 25, 20, 15, 10, 5 and 3 years.

https://t.co/6gOm3LoqEJ