How the drive for efficiency leads to greater wealth concentration and threatens capitalism. What can be done about it.

Topics covered include:

• Why income growth has slowed for the middle class
• Why the economy now follows a power-law distribution rather than a normal distribution, leading to skewed outcomes
• Why the economy is a complex adaptive system rather than a machine
• How the type of job you have and the company you work for affects your income
• Why greater efficiency increases the risk of catastrophic collapses
• What are ways to balance efficiency with resiliency

Show Notes

Changes in U.S. Family Finances from 2016 to 2019: Evidence from the Survey of Consumer Finances—The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve

How America Banks: Household Use of Banking and Financial Services—Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

When More Is Not Better: Overcoming America’s Obsession with Economic Efficiency by Roger L. Martin

How The Economic Machine Works by Ray Dalio—Video

For more information on this episode click here.

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How a nation's balance of payments impacts its currency exchange rate as evidenced by Turkey and other countries.

Topics covered include:

• What is a nation's balance of payments, its current account, and its capital account
• How an individual's personal financial flows are similar to those of a country
• What is causing the currency crisis in Turkey and Lebanon
• Why gold imports have increased by 150% in Turkey
• What is the Triffin dilemma or paradox and how does it impact the United States
• What individuals can do to manage currency risks

Thanks to The Great Courses Plus and Policygenius for sponsoring the episode.

For show notes and more information on this episode click here.

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How to determine whether you should invest in a complex investment such as an actively managed ETF that uses option strategies.

Topics covered include:

• A recent investment David made that he shouldn't have
• What is the volatility risk premium and how to invest in it
• Why there have been over 200 new ETFs and ETNs launched in the U.S. in 2020
• Why some ETF sponsors launch lower cost versions of ETFs that compete with their existing offerings.
• What questions to answer as part of analyzing a complex investment
• Why there is always a catch to ETFs such as the Innovators Stacker and Ultra Buffer ETF series that can make them seem too good to be true.
• A simpler way to lower portfolio risk without using complex option-based ETFs.

Thanks to Netsuite and LinkedIn for sponsoring the episode.

For show notes and more information on this episode click here.

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As we await the U.S. presidential election results, we review the results of the Trump Administration's economic policies to see if Americans are better off financially than they were four years ago.

Topics covered include:

• Why pollsters and election models can be wrong
• Why the state of the economy often drives election outcomes
• What has been the economic impact of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
• What has been the impact of the U.S. trade war with China
• How have poverty and health insurance costs changed under the Trump Administration
• What has been the growth of federal regulations under the Trump Administration
• How have stocks performed during the Trump Administration
• Why we shouldn't let whoever wins the presidency ruin our life

Thanks to Policygenius and Tempo for sponsoring the episode. Use code David with Tempo for $100 off

For show notes and more information on this episode click here.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How central bank digital currencies would work, what is the motivation to create them and what are the risks.

Topics covered include:

• What percentage of central banks are working on a digital currency and plan to issue one soon
• What are the two kinds of money that central banks currently issue and how would a central bank digital currency differ
• How central bank digital currencies would be similar and different from Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies
• What are the benefits and risks of central bank digital currencies
• What are the design principles that major central banks proposed for their digital currencies
• What percentage of central banks currently have the legal authority to issue their own digital currency

Thanks to Gen Z Green podcast and Masterworks for sponsoring the episode. Use code David for Masterworks to skip the wait list.

For show notes and more information on this episode click here.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How special purpose acquisition companies work, what their performance has been and what are the ways to invest.

Topics covered include:

• How much money has been raised in SPAC initial public offerings and who are some of the better known sponsors
• What are the benefits of a SPAC acquisition compared to a traditional initial public offering
• How SPACs work from the initial IPO to the acquisition of a private company
• How have SPACs performed so poorly
• How a new SPAC ETF is structured
• An intriguing way to invest in SPACs that potentially could outperform

Thanks to Tempo and NetSuite for sponsoring the episode. Use code David to save $100 on Tempo.

For show notes and more information on this episode click here.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

U.S. home prices are on fire and sales are skyrocketing. Here are 8 rules of thumb for buying a house in a hot housing market when there are multiple bidders over the asking price.

Topics covered include:

• What are the latest metrics on U.S. home sales, prices, and valuations
• Why are homes sales increasing and prices soaring and how likely are they to fall
• Why David is buying a different house (again) in a hot housing market
• What are rules of thumb that can help us find the right house without paying too much

Thanks to The Great Courses Plus and Policygenius for sponsoring the episode.

For show notes and more information on this episode click here.

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This episode is an interview that Fund Evaluation Group LLC held with David as part of their FEG Insight Bridge podcast series.

Topics covered include:

• What David did and learned at FEG
• What goes into making the Money For the Rest of Us podcast
• Central banking and the Federal Reserve
• Investing in gold and cryptocurrencies
• Current investment conditions
• Favorite investing books

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What are the elements of a successful monetary system.

Topics covered include:

• The stone currency of Yap
• The fiat currency of ancient China
• Why money requires trust, accounting and tokens
• Why too much money can lead to inflation and too little to deflation
• Why the best money is useless other than as money

Thanks to LinkedIn and Candid for sponsoring the episode.

For show notes and more information on this episode click here.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How ultra-low interest rates support higher stock market valuations but also make the investment environment more challenging. Is there a stock market bubble?

Topics covered include:

• How expensive are stocks on an absolute basis and relative to bonds
• What are examples of individual investor enthusiasm for stocks
• Why stock valuations and prices increase when interest rates fall
• Why lower interest rates make it more difficult for central banks to support stocks during a downturn
• Why TIPs might be a better choice for a long-term bond allocation
• Why deglobalization is a reason to increase the geographic diversification of stock portfolios
• How investors can make invest decisions without having an informational edge

Thanks to Masterworks and Policygenius for sponsoring the episode.

For show notes and more information on this episode click here.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.