I don’t care about History cause that’s not where I want to be. – The Ramones
Presidential Elections bring out the worst in some people.
The bomb throwers take it to the next level.
Nazi, Fascist, Marxist, and Communist are terms that have become part of the modern political vocabulary.
Donald Trump and Kamala Harris may be many things, but they don’t stack up to the O.G. dictators of the last century.
Let’s take a stroll down memory lane.
Adolph Hitler Ruled Nazi Germany from 1933-1945. Hitler’s despicable policies resulted in the death of about 20 million people. The Death Camps and other mass atrocities of The Holocaust killed six million and another Six million of his political opponents and those thought not to be worthy of his warped belief of a Super Race of people called Aryans.
During the same period, Joseph Stalin, a Marxist, was the dictator of the Soviet Union. Estimates of the immense human cost of his nefarious policies were more challenging to count due to lease than stellar Soviet records. It’s fair to say he was responsible for at least as many deaths as Hitler and likely more since his tenure was longer. Forced collectivations, The Great Purge, and the Gulag System were Stalin’s version of the Holocaust with the same horrific results. Over twenty million people met their demise.
The horrifying aspect of all this was Mao Zedong of Communist China surpassed both of these monsters regarding body count. During his reign from 1949-1976, it’s thought Mao’s policies resulted in the deaths of Seventy Million people. The main catalysts for the depravity were the massive famine of his disastrous economic policy, The Great Leap Forward, and blood purges like the Cultural Revolution.
Before throwing around such incendiary terms like Nazi and Marxist, it would be wise to let History be your guide. Actual Nazis and Marxists practice genocide on an unprecedented scale.
Times of uncertainty magnify emotional vulnerabilities for investors. Don’t fall for the oldest trick in the book.
The other day, I was watching a webinar for some C.E. credit. The presenter warned of impending doom from the rise of world populism and the upcoming disaster scenario for the standard 60/40 portfolio. Surprise! The answer to the mayhem was a complicated and expensive derivative-based portfolio.
I should’ve thrown this chart into the chat.
Despite a time of History’s most notorious Fascist and Marxist Predators, the deaths of over a hundred million people in World War II, and an Ominous Cold War, The Korean War, the Dow Jones went from a little under 100 to almost 240 from 1942 to 1953.
You can never have too much perspective and context in your investment plan.
A client called us recently and inquired, “What would happen if there is a Totalitarian Appropriation of my investment funds?”
I’m not sure, but you’ll probably have no money left. What are we supposed to say?
Incendiary terms have real-life consequences.
Like everything else, this too shall pass. The markets adjust to even the most heinous events. Once uncertainty lifts and some clarity arises, the ever-moving grind upward based on belief in a better future and human ingenuity continues.
If it doesn’t, there will be much bigger things to worry about than a presidential election. Letting the Fear Mongers spook you out of a well-constructed financial plan benefits nobody but the Prophets of Doom.
The financial markets will take of themselves.
Who will take care of you?
