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NFTs and The Greater Fool Theory of Investing

Years ago, my chairman became an NFT enthusiast. At one point, he assured me “I’m not joking.” I responded: “That’s what I’m afraid of.” NFTs are a manifestation of The Greater Fool Theory of Investing. Like disco and yacht rock, they had their day. But eventually, the fools are left holding the bag: “ Flash forward a year, and the vast majority of NFTs are now virtually worthless, according to a report by   dappGambl . An NFT of the first ever tweet – from former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey that read “just setting up my twittr” – that sold for £2.3 million in 2021, is now worth around   £1,200 . In August, it was reported that a group of collectors who had invested in Bored Ape NFTs were   filing a lawsuit   against the numerous celebrities (including Fallon, Hilton, Justin Bieber and the auction house Sotheby’s) who they believe had falsely marketed the artworks and intentionally inflated their price. ” Click the link to read about five NFT “investors” about what went ...
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Public broadcasting cuts hurt red states

Just read that Rhode Island public radio and public broadcasting will have to downsize, but are far from out of business. That looks to be the case for many blue states and blue cities in red states. You know who will be hurt? Trump voters in rural parts of red states: “When Donald Trump directed Congress to defund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), he and his allies pushed a  long time, right-wing  narrative about targeting liberal “bias” at NPR and PBS. Instead, the Republican  rollback of $1.1 billion in CPB funding  that had previously been approved by Congress is hurting vulnerable, rural-America communities in red states.    “On Monday, CPB  officially announced  it could no longer manage the Next Generation Warning System (NGWS), a federal grant program that helps public broadcasting stations provide alerts about severe weather. CPB administered the NGWS in partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, another agency...
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Is sovereign debt finally catching up?

For decades, the American right has prophesized (a) the takeover of America by socialism/communism and (b) hyperinflation due to US debt. Neither has happened yet. America is a firmly as ever in the grip of plutocratic capitalist oligarchs, and while the GOP-fueled nation debt is skyrocketing, US treasuries are still selling. So will the pearl-clutching right ever be right? “In the United States, yields on 30-year Treasury bonds are nearing 5 percent, despite—or perhaps causing—the department’s shift to a shorter-term   financing strategy . As its options narrow, the Treasury is rolling over its borrowing more frequently to avoid paying rising rates on long-term debt. More worrisome, it is increasingly   relying   on primary dealers (mainly big banks) to refinance its debts, implying that other investors have less appetite for its securities.   “Indeed, since debt levels began to scrape all-time highs and inflation rates started to chip away at the value of currencie...
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The AAP childhood vaccine schedule

Since the secretary of HHS is a vaccine denialist who cannot be trusted, the  American Academy of Pediatrics  has this week published its own authoritative, comprehensive, science-based vaccine schedule for children and adolescents from birth to age 18.    The link provides:   - the schedule for routine immunizations from birth to 18 years of age;   - how to catch your child up with vaccines if they have lagged behind;   - under what conditions you may want to avoid or speed up vaccination for your children.  If you have kids or grandkids, you might want to print these out and bring them to their doctor's office. You also might want to have copies available for insurance purposes.    https://publications.aap.org/redbook/resources/15585/Immunization-Schedules?fbclid=IwY2xjawMRj0VleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFWRTZORmg5d3A3bnpySmQ3AR4J6cDM0XkevmD80t-05yrYDEFkgcgjDX9zSQJAiBkTZISsCZ-EYWOEbSBRJA_aem_gCytcYBJQhjPGDL_sm4xlw?autologincheck=redirected
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Alas, Cybertruck, we hardly knew ye

A Cybertruck passed us this morning on the way back from the south shore of Rhode Island. My wife remarked that it looked like a rolling dumpster. I’ve certainly never understood the appeal. Apparently, my aesthetic is shared. “ Once one of the world's most-hyped vehicles, sales and production numbers for Tesla's Cybertruck have fallen sharply. In the second quarter of this year, the company sold just 4,306 Cybertrucks, a drop of more than 50% over the same period in 2024. “Now, Torque News reported, some insurance companies are using those numbers to cancel their coverage of the all-electric truck.” Apparently some Cybertruck owners said they received cancellation notices from Hanover Insurance but had success finding policies with other companies like Farmers Insurance. Maybe they can sell theirs before Farmers cuts them off, too. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/tesla-owners-gut-punched-receiving-004500233.html
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Trump lied about Medicare

Remember when Trump said he wouldn’t touch Medicare. According to the director of OMB, he lied. The giant deficit increase in Trump’s BBB will trigger automatic sequestration. “If OMB ordered a sequestration of $230 billion for each year through 2034, the ordered reductions in Medicare spending would increase to about $75 biollion in 2034 and would total roughly $490 billion over the 2027-2-34 period.” Hope none of you were planning to depend on your current Medicare coverage. https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2025-05/61423-PAYGO.pdf
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The future of the American southwest

Years ago, I was invited to give a talk at Arizona State University in Tempe. My host told me to fly in early in the day, so he could take me walking in the desert. I’d never seen anything like it: mostly cactus and rocks. Seemed like Middle Earth. Since then, we’ve vacationed in Arizona and New Mexico several times, and I’ve always been impressed by the stark beauty of the desert southwest. But what is already dry looks to get even dryer. “The southwestern United States has been in   a historic megadrought   for much of the past two decades, with its reservoirs including   lakes Mead and Powell   dipping to record lows and legal disputes erupting over   rights to use water from the Colorado River . “This drought has been linked to the   Pacific Decadal Oscillation , a climate pattern that swings between wet and dry phases every few decades. Since a phase change in the early 2000s, the region has endured a   dry spell of epic proportions . “The PDO was...
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