In 2020, we saw American motherhood shift into an insane multi-tasking circus which included our normal work, but now at home, coupled with virtual schooling for our children, on top of our everyday household duties. It was wild (to say the least) and before I go any further, I would like to give every single mom a round of applause! As the nation starts to make gradual shifts back to in-office working, I am reminded of the good old 1960s sitcom, “Leave It to Beaver,” in which working Dad, Ward, always managed to get home in time for dinner to…
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In this letter: A discussion of Modern Monetary Theory. While interest rates are back up, the rebound in risk-assets continues domestically and abroad. Global context regarding debt, deficits, interest rates, and inflation. Re-reading what we wrote last year at this time, it is amazing to see how much has changed, but also more importantly, how much has stayed the same. We ended last year’s letter with this: “We are entering a unique period where it is getting harder to lean on precedent. Like it or not, the fiscal and monetary policies enacted today, and the associated backstopping of the economy…
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Expected future returns for the prototypical equity/fixed income portfolio have been coming down for the last few years as valuations of each of the two asset classes therein have become increasingly expensive. For fixed income investors, this has merely been an extension of a longstanding bull market which has seen the yield on the 10-Year U.S. Treasury Note decline from over 15% in the early 1980s to as low as 0.52% in August of 2020. Since that time however, improving prospects for economic growth, largely driven by the successful development of multiple COVID-19 vaccines, have driven bond yields higher by…
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Although I am writing this in early April, I promise you, this is no April Fools’ Day joke. There are many potential tax law changes on the horizon, but today I will address two of the most recent proposals. On March 25, 2021, Senators Bernie Sanders (D-VT) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) introduced what they call the “For the 99.5% Act.” The title refers to the authors’ attempt to make the estate tax system more progressive so that it will result in a stronger economy for 99.5% of Americans, only impacting the top 0.5%. Under current law, the estate and gift…
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For many young girls today, this may be a valid question. But for many of us, we grew up with very few female role models in history books. Sure, we heard of Betsy Ross, we learned Bible stories about Eve, Sarah, Rachel, Rebecca, and Mary. We even grew up with the U.K. having the longest reigning monarch who is a woman, Queen Elizabeth. But in the U.S., she was rarely mentioned and most of the history that was taught was centered around men’s accomplishments. History books taught that the greatest scientists were Albert Einstein or Sir Isaac Newton. We did…
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