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A Eulogy For My Grandfather & Financial Role Model

By Frugaling 14 Comments

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Pop and me at Le Pain Quotidien

My grandfather, Pop, passed away on Christmas Eve. Over the last couple years, he had steadily declined. His short-term memory had completely disintegrated. Pop couldn’t remember the last time we had talked, but his intelligence and spirit remained till the end.

I last spoke with him a couple weeks ago. We talked about who he’d be voting for — Bernie Sanders — and how his favorite stocks were performing. After I asked these questions, I silently cried on the phone. I realized he’d likely not make another election cycle. He was all out of votes after 92 years of life.

Pop and I spent most times talking about politics, economics, and relationships. I shared countless moments across from him in his reading nook. He sat on a donut pillow for hemorrhoids; although, he didn’t have them anymore. His mug sat on a hot plate and was covered with a small plate. He savoured and sipped every ounce of tea or coffee. It was here that learning was done.

He was the single largest impact on my economic and social beliefs. I read Marx after he extolled the virtues of communism. I didn’t necessarily agree with it all, but that wasn’t what was important. In discourse, he gave me the tools to debate politely and disagree adamantly. And he opened my eyes to prejudice, social justice, and financial inequities.

At 17, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps (precursor to the Air Force) and flew some 30+ missions over France and Germany. As a Jew, he received maltreatment from those he served and fought. It wasn’t easy service. He shared experiences talking with broken Yiddish (an old, Germanic language) to German prisoners of war. Pop wanted to learn about them. This was a perfect example of his social respect for others — no matter how “bad” they were.

Later in life, he made a friend who worked for a biopharmaceutical company who recommended Biogen Idec. After contemplating the scientific merits of the company and their products, he made an investment. It paid many times over for the last couple decades. Pop wasn’t a financial genius, but he consistently made smart decisions that put his family and future first. It allowed him to retire to a small apartment complex and enjoy the smell of fresh Santa Monica air.

Years and years of conversations with him cemented an emphasis for economic and social justice in me. As a child of the Great Depression, his perspective was forever changed. In current society, Pop didn’t like that vast amounts of wealth were being siphoned from the majority of people. He disliked that politicians weren’t doing enough to protect the average, everyday American. Taxes were a social good — it prevented a select group from pillaging from others in need.

I silently said goodbye to him in summer 2015, when I visited. But he would live a few more months before passing. Frankly, it’s hard to capture him in a list of “10 financial lessons from my grandfather,” but as one of the biggest influences on my life, I couldn’t help but say a few words to honor him.

Pop, thank you for editing my first journalistic endeavors, hugging me so tightly, brilliant financial lessons, giving the best stock-picking advice, tutoring me on Jewish culture and the Yiddish language, always having Manischewitz matzos, providing a near-endless list of dessert options after dinner, sharing the joy of Bangaleri birds, educating me on Freud and Marx, encouraging my academic endeavors when I struggled to see the light, and being proud of me. I knew you meant it, and I’ll miss your excitement on the phone after I’d say, “Hey Pop! It’s Sam.”

You’ve given me a debt of gratitude that I’ll forever try to pay forward.

As we always said, it’s time to say “chachalakas.” I hate that it’s time, but we must.

So, with tear-filled eyes, chachalakas, Pop.

Your grandson and friend, Sam

Filed Under: Save Money Tagged With: communism, Economics, family, financial advice, Jewish, marx, money, politics

One Nation… Poor, Divided, And Unequal

By Frugaling 8 Comments

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Statue of LIberty Inequality
Photo: Statue of Liberty. Credit: Juanedc/Flickr.

We’re in economic trouble. As the deficit wages on and the country continues to spend billions of dollars on wars that make no sense to average citizens, it’s easy to say that we need austerity and tax relief. That’s what this country voted for in the mid-term elections, as a slew of new Republicans were elected to Congress. Unfortunately, that action is shortsighted and relief will not last.

The elected Republicans are responding to a warranted distrust and unease with our current administration, but this new direction could corrupt our chances of lasting economic recovery. It may sound tragic, but we need greater taxation more than ever. In these economically troubled times, we are digging ourselves deeper by talking about cuts to budgets and public programs.

About 30 years ago, President Reagan began a long series of cuts to federal agencies and public funding — ushering in the first era of big time tax cuts for the wealthiest elite. And this trend only continued. The tax breaks hurt the most disenfranchised first. Cuts to funding generally suck necessary funds from education and welfare — programs that keep clothes on children, employees healthy, and roofs over heads. These are all in high demand.

It’s no accident that as cuts to important budgets continued, income and wealth inequality skyrocketed. We now live in a new Gilded Age. The average CEO gets about 204 times the salary of traditional employees. That’s immoral and outrageous. Are they doing 204 times more work? No. Are they doing 204 times more jobs? No. Some people point to the pressures of being a leader — the taxing life that they lead. To those supporters of income inequality for upper management versus average employees, I urge you to develop some empathy for the person that is on food stamps, working full-time, and dealing with children — all on poverty-inducing wages. Isn’t that stressful, too? I think the impoverished person would gladly take on CEO-level stress to pay their bills each month, reliably feed their children, and possibly (holy crap!) take a vacation from time to time.

Walmart is a perfect, nightmarish example, where CEOs and upper management make it big, and their precious employees wear blue uniforms and need food stamps to make ends meet (even when working full-time). It’s then that those outfits look more like prison uniforms.

Even more alarming is the growing wealth inequality. The Economist recently highlighted new research from two of the leading wealth economists. What they found was shocking. There are 16,000 families — 0.01% of the population — that have an average net worth of $371 million each. Staggering hardly describes this level of “average” wealth. The research suggests that this represents 11.2% of total wealth. To be clear, 0.01% of the population has 11.2% of the total wealth! How do we accept this inequality and disparity? How do we accept this assault on true family values? How do we accept this inequality that causes massive funding gaps?

We’ve reached astonishing levels of wealth inequality — approaching records from 1916. This disparate wealth disrupts middle-class opportunities, wealth generation, and social class mobility. All opportunities are stifled for the masses, as a select few profit. Those who’ve suffered most have the least. I cannot help but reflect on our values as a country. Could this corrupt — post-Citizens United world — truly be what our Founding Fathers set out for America?

Today more than ever, we are one nation, poor, divided, and unequal.

Filed Under: Social Justice Tagged With: CEO pay, citizens united, Congress, Democrats, Income Inequality, politics, republicans, Walmart, wealth gap, wealth inequality

The New Cadillac ELR Commercial: A Corporate Dream Of Consumerism (Video)

By Frugaling 4 Comments

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Bill Maher is known for his polarizing opinions and uncensored diatribes about right-wing politicians. He’s an amalgamation of environmentalist, socialist, philanthropist, talk-show host, and comedian. While I seldom agree with his polemics, I feel like his opinions help me become a more well-rounded, critical-consumer of news.

Each week he films Real Time with Bill Maher, brings on about 4-5 guests, and does a brief standup routine. In one of his segments this week, he targets the car company, Cadillac. The brand is known for luxury vehicles and generally appeals to a higher-income bracket.

This commercial was too funny, disgusting, and wrong to avoid sharing it. While humorously filmed and brilliantly acted, the commercial suggests that Americans are special because we take less time off than other countries, work harder than everyone else, and get “bored” with scientific accomplishments.

The company and actor propagate a dream of consumerism that is your reward for all this “hard work.” Instead of enjoying more time with your family, taking a vacation, helping a charity, or saving for an early retirement, the dream is the all-new Cadillac ELR.

Hopefully your family, time, and life are worth more than this new car:

Filed Under: Save Money, Social Justice Tagged With: balance, Bill Maher, Bracket, Cadillac, car, Consumerism, Income, income ratios, money, politics, Real Time, Vacation, work life

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