When you look at funding growth in private companies, it’s like going to the racetrack. You can bet Win, Place, or Show. In the case of finance, it’s Cash, Equity, and Debt. For governments, the choices are more limited. You can’t sell equity. Hence, governments never “invest”. They can only grow from cash, which is tax receipts, or from selling debt. Selling debt is a claim on the future tax receipts remitted by taxpayers. To simplify, a claim against your future income. Most people are awar...

When you look at funding growth in private companies, it’s like going to the racetrack. You can bet Win, Place, or Show. In the case of finance, it’s Cash, Equity, and Debt. For governments, the choices are more limited. You can’t sell equity. Hence, governments never “invest”. They can only grow from cash, which is tax receipts, or from selling debt. Selling debt is a claim on the future tax receipts remitted by taxpayers. To simplify, a claim against your future income. Most people are awar...

Since I started on this journey, one of the things I have done is network. It’s come naturally for me all my life. I have an international network of finance pros that I interact with on a semi-regular basis. We bounce ideas off each other and, most importantly, become a conduit to get something done. I never asked for anything when I connected people. Ironically, many people do. They charge a commission or some other thing. They ask for payment explicitly. That’s not networking, that’s comme...

Since I started on this journey, one of the things I have done is network. It’s come naturally for me all my life. I have an international network of finance pros that I interact with on a semi-regular basis. We bounce ideas off each other and, most importantly, become a conduit to get something done. I never asked for anything when I connected people. Ironically, many people do. They charge a commission or some other thing. They ask for payment explicitly. That’s not networking, that’s comme...

The past couple of days, we have been at the Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada. If you haven’t heard of it, you need to put this on your bucket list. Elko is easy to get to, just off I-80. People come from all over the country. There is a long tradition of “cowboy poetry”. As one poet said, there is a lot of free time on the range. It keeps their mind occupied. Every day and night, there is poetry being recited, music being played, and people learning old Western crafts. There are custo...

The past couple of days, we have been at the Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada. If you haven’t heard of it, you need to put this on your bucket list. Elko is easy to get to, just off I-80. People come from all over the country. There is a long tradition of “cowboy poetry”. As one poet said, there is a lot of free time on the range. It keeps their mind occupied. Every day and night, there is poetry being recited, music being played, and people learning old Western crafts. There are custo...

How do you get started with a Trump account? Or, if you hate Trump, “tax-advantaged investment accounts for newborn children.” Investing is often scary to people. They say, and I have no way to corroborate this assertion, that 50% of Americans have no exposure to American equities. This new account changes that. Now, qualifying newborns will have exposure to American equities if their parents sign them up. Never be “short” America, despite the doomsayers. This is not rocket science, and you d...

Compound interest is one of the most powerful forces in finance. It generates outsize returns. That’s why I never take a dividend when I own a stock. I reinvest the dividend in the company’s stock. One of the things I have been able to do my entire life is invest wisely. Back when I was in college, interest rates were double digits. In those days, you could take your college loan money and do almost anything you wanted with it. Now there are restrictions, and those restrictions are the right ...

I invested in Riskalyze a long while ago. Aaron Klein was the CEO. We had a successful exit. Aaron built a great company, and while building it, I remember him launching a part of the company that didn’t work. Every entrepreneur, including me, has dealt with failure. If you haven’t, you aren’t trying, or you aren’t taking a risk, or even worse you aren’t trying to add any value to the world. You are a grifter. Aaron is not a grifter. In Aaron’s case, he pivoted off that failure, redeployed th...

Jeff Carter Announces Candidacy for Nevada State Treasurer Veteran Financial Professional Pledges Fiscal Discipline, Transparency, and Protection of Taxpayer Dollars LAS VEGAS, NV — Jeff Carter today announced his candidacy for Nevada State Treasurer, entering the race with a clear warning and a clear promise: Nevada must protect its financial future and refuse to follow states that have fallen into debt, mismanagement, and fiscal chaos. “Nevada is a special place,” Carter said. “We value ind...

80 years ago today, Auschwitz was liberated. What a day that was, and I cannot imagine what the people who were liberated felt like. I have met several of them over my lifetime. At the National World War Two Museum’s Liberation Pavilion, they have collected video interviews of people who were liberated on that day. The stories are haunting, but uplifting because of the newfound freedom that should never have been stolen from them. I knew Mark Rubin when he was alive. He was truly an amazing p...

My daughter had a baby yesterday. It is our first granddaughter. We have two grandsons. She will join her brother at home tomorrow. Mother and baby are doing fine, as is her father. Maybe it was her coming into the world that gave the Illini a little momentum against Purdue on the road today. Grandkids are a lot of fun. I enjoyed being the father of two girls, believe it or not. It is fun to see them get on with their lives and build their families. We joke that now we just become another lin...

How do you get started with a Trump account? Or, if you hate Trump, “tax-advantaged investment accounts for newborn children.” Investing is often scary to people. They say, and I have no way to corroborate this assertion, that 50% of Americans have no exposure to American equities. This new account changes that. Now, qualifying newborns will have exposure to American equities if their parents sign them up. Never be “short” America, despite the doomsayers. This is not rocket science, and you d...

Compound interest is one of the most powerful forces in finance. It generates outsize returns. That’s why I never take a dividend when I own a stock. I reinvest the dividend in the company’s stock. One of the things I have been able to do my entire life is invest wisely. Back when I was in college, interest rates were double digits. In those days, you could take your college loan money and do almost anything you wanted with it. Now there are restrictions, and those restrictions are the right ...

I invested in Riskalyze a long while ago. Aaron Klein was the CEO. We had a successful exit. Aaron built a great company, and while building it, I remember him launching a part of the company that didn’t work. Every entrepreneur, including me, has dealt with failure. If you haven’t, you aren’t trying, or you aren’t taking a risk, or even worse you aren’t trying to add any value to the world. You are a grifter. Aaron is not a grifter. In Aaron’s case, he pivoted off that failure, redeployed th...

Jeff Carter Announces Candidacy for Nevada State Treasurer Veteran Financial Professional Pledges Fiscal Discipline, Transparency, and Protection of Taxpayer Dollars LAS VEGAS, NV — Jeff Carter today announced his candidacy for Nevada State Treasurer, entering the race with a clear warning and a clear promise: Nevada must protect its financial future and refuse to follow states that have fallen into debt, mismanagement, and fiscal chaos. “Nevada is a special place,” Carter said. “We value ind...

80 years ago today, Auschwitz was liberated. What a day that was, and I cannot imagine what the people who were liberated felt like. I have met several of them over my lifetime. At the National World War Two Museum’s Liberation Pavilion, they have collected video interviews of people who were liberated on that day. The stories are haunting, but uplifting because of the newfound freedom that should never have been stolen from them. I knew Mark Rubin when he was alive. He was truly an amazing p...

My daughter had a baby yesterday. It is our first granddaughter. We have two grandsons. She will join her brother at home tomorrow. Mother and baby are doing fine, as is her father. Maybe it was her coming into the world that gave the Illini a little momentum against Purdue on the road today. Grandkids are a lot of fun. I enjoyed being the father of two girls, believe it or not. It is fun to see them get on with their lives and build their families. We joke that now we just become another lin...