Journey to the Center of a Republican Portfolio
Submitted by ms in la on November 8, 2007 - 9:58pm.
Economics | Economy | Taxes
I'm always curious what makes a Republican tick-- especially these days. What makes them stay in the dark corridors of that cold, malignant party that morphed from conservatism into... unrecognizablism. I have a casual friend that I used to work with, a very wealthy casual friend, who is regularly generous and thoughtful amongst her family, friends, and associates. But who has this... other side.
We'll call her 'Carolyn'.
Carolyn honored me recently by appointing me Trustee on a trust account to oversee a substantial portfolio. It's a big responsibility involving large sums of money and investments, so I was flattered she'd felt comfortable enough to entrust me at such a level. Because I have some background involving finance and contracts, I accepted the offer and signed on.
Today was our introductory conference call with the financial brokers to define the allocation strategy for this rather hefty account.
And can I just say....Oy.
By the time we'd traversed about half of the sectors they would be investing in on her behalf, Mr. Big Financial Broker (BFB) paused around the Industrials neighborhood and, and with that distinctive blend smirk and smarm, rattled off this gem:
"Now, Carolyn, despite what the Democrats think -- we're going to be in Iraq for a lonnnnng time, we're not getting out any time soon. And government contracts are still popping up every day-- and they're lucrative -- so we feel there's a strong future there. We're being aggressive in defense contractors, buying Lockheed Martin, Boeing, General Electric and the entire sector. These defense contracts are huge and we believe they're not going away or slowing down any time soon. They're good for growth--"
"Good for growth-" bounces inside my head like an old Jefferson Airplane chorus. Visions of shiny military aircraft dropping shiny new smart bombs suddenly cloud my beautiful brain as I drift into a defense contractor reverie.
_____________________________________________
Good for growth
Good for growth
Good for growth
Good for growth
Good for growth
Good for growth
_____________________________________________
I am jarred back into focus as Mr. BFB extols the merits of Carolyn dropping her real estate holdings. Bad for growth.
Housing = Bad.
Defense = Good.
I think I'm getting the hang of this now.
I listened on to what they were planning to buy across the board. Which sectors and markets were overweighted, undervalued, and bound to outperform in the next year. Emerging markets, risks versus returns, large caps, mid caps, small caps, and oh, yes- let's go heavy into the Internationals please. (Subtext: Yikes! Whassup with the tumbling US dollar!?)
Being a good little trustee, I took copious notes-- I have a responsibility here--- but I was clearly over my head by the time we got to I-Shares of the Dow Jones dividend index and the relative unsexiness of Consumer Staples. Oh dear. What had I gotten into?
Now my "friend" is a two time, double-dipper bush voter... and like most bush voters (but oddly not all...) she is quiet or "shy" about discussing her politics out loud. Whenever the subject crops up she politely smiles and does the equivalent of a Scarlet O'Hara curtsy, excusing herself from the ugliness of it all. It would seem that any closer examination of the state of things, the state of the world, only represents an annoyance to her... can't we just change the subject?
Back in '04, after her second vote for the Decider-- reeling from shock and awe-- I demanded some shred of an explanation. And she 'splained it to me thusly:
"Our portfolios have done so well."
And there it is.
There it all is in a nutshell- the anatomy of an 21st century urban republican. Billionaires for Bush; it's not a satire anymore.
I snarked back that her teenage son would no doubt look extremely handsome in his uniform ... but that was right after I had been so Kerry-catastrophized that I could no longer restrain myself with two-time Bush voters. I don't think it registered in any case.
But that was when it really hit me. With this specific sector of the electorate, it is about the portfolio. It's about a vision that does not telescope further than a Prada pocketbook. It's about the food chain and making sure you're on the top of it, whatever it takes.
It's about "oil and health care", as Mr. Big Broker eagerly informed us -- "They are the increasing markets, you know."
Cui bono? I ask myself, from these 'increasing markets'
Right about then, he stated that he would be buying into "Pipeline entities...Less volatile than your Exxon-Mobil's right now."
My tongue is surely raw and bleeding by now. As a longtime devotee of Pipeline News, images of sabotaged exploding pipelines now spring forth as I realize that "less volatile" is, in fact, a highly relative term.
Pipeline explosion in Iraq
I drift back in memory to a recent lunch, at which Carolyn had gushed to me that, since Bush took office, she and her husband had been able to avoid paying so much in taxes that they had collectively saved themselves an extra few hundred thousand dollars per year! I wish I could've seen my own face at that moment. Thinking to self; What does one say to that? Should I offer congratulations? I mean, she knows where I'm coming from.... Staring deeply into my soup, I ponder - What kind of perverted American Flagism is this? Exclaiming with glee, during a time of war, how grand it is you've managed to avoid paying your taxes? Still shocked, I eeked out a meager;
"Really? Huh." and slurped my soup. She's heard it all from me a hundred times before. It never has gotten through. I open my mouth to offer an opinion when, there's that look-- that Scarlett smile. Oh, do hush!
She and her husband live the life. Have the stuff. And like most in their demographic out here, they remodel their house with the change of the seasons-- so as not to get caught by the horrors of entertaining this winter wearing last summer's kitchen designs. Their designer has opted for an avalanche of all white this season... it's been hard on her son's dog who, not being white, clearly clashes with the decor and makes the fussy designer quake and cringe whenever he pads about on the white carpets.
By now you must be thinking Carolyn is some sort of pathological, demonic, puppy killing, parasitic a**hole that you'd spit at on sight. But I'm telling you she can be kind, engaging, and caring, even with a probing philosophical bent at times. If you catch her on the right day. In the right mood. And at those times I am quite fond of her. We don't see each other very often anymore, but in her former (less opulent) times, she did exhibit more of those pleasantries, I'm sad to say.
Leaving me to wonder if it was the sudden onset of wealth that corrupted her, or if some dormant corruption was but re-energized by the influx of all that money? And why couldn't she see over the top of her portfolio to just beyond the horizon? What kind of optical device would it take for her to see further? Could I maybe steer her portfolio a little toward the greener side? Or might that not be good for growth? Could I ever convince Mr. BFB to invest in more socially conscious directions? And would I be able to continue to take part in this if I don't?
I didn't arrive at the answers to those questions yet. There is one thing, however, that I can speak to:
At the end of the day... at the end of this day anyways-
Her portfolio is doing very well.
Money is all they care about. One of my relatives used to be one of those. Til he realized he was gay--then--VOILA! liberal democrat. What a hoot!
I'll make a lesbian pass at her and ... oh wait. I'm not gay. And I'm married. And I know my husband would be so upset if I were to-- Ha! ;)
Plan B.
Tahoe is red. People here for the most part, are socially very liberal, but when it comes to $$$/their portfolios, everything else takes a back seat. The Republic party has been very good for the old rich get richer thing, and the fact that not only do the poor get poorer, but that the middle class is quickly disappearing is not only just fine with them, but the way they actually prefer things to be. Back to the good old days when we lower class peons knew our place, accepted it and stayed there.
Oh, and don't dare try to say that we're a class based society. They can't stand for reality to be called what it is, else someone might figure out what they're up to.
Once in a while you get shown the light, In the strangest of places if you look at it right.
on a big picture.
That's the kind of politics that drive me mad. When people base their entire political philosophy on their own little lives and needs. Small frame.
Money and Food-- more neuroses develop over those issues! Hard to find anyone with a natural healthy attitude about both.
a good portfolio and invest in something that's good for everybody? Maybe she should invest alternative energy or at least companies that are investing in alternative energy. Maybe she should feel like saving money is a good thing. If she's that rich, saving money is a good thing. Money does change people. They get addicted to the stuff. For whatever reason, they just never have enough.
the money flows in - in surplus amounts- and then the appetite for more money seems awakened. More stuff. In her case I think it's because she went through a lot of roller coaster ups and downs and is insecure about the down hill returning...
Just seems like she can still find a win win mix in her portfolio that doesn't involve anybody getting blown up or have to do with fossil fuels.
alternative fuels, energy-efficient products, etc...will be booming as we search for an alternative to oil.
And that Maytag washer is probably not as energy efficient as a new one. I have 20+ year old washer/dryer/refrigerator and they still work even if they are a bit banged up. I would do the environment a favor by purchasing newer, more energy efficient appliances, but can't justify the replacement of working stuff!
Another conundrum...
"It takes two to speak the truth - one to speak and one to hear." - Henry David Thoreau
I spent a fortune getting all the top rated energy efficient windows (my house is all windows upstairs), got a new energy efficient fridge, dishwasher, hot water heater, and went native in the back slope so I no longer need to sprinkle there saving a ton of water.
Now can I please keep my Maytag? :P
I never do laundry unless it's full and most of the time it's at midnight!
I am starting to sound like those 2nd amendment guys-- You'll take my Maytag out of my 'cold dead hands'... Ha!
burned by the container ships from China would have to cancel out any energy savings from a washer used by a household of two people. Maybe a family doing many more loads per week would be better off swapping old for new.
Proud to be an American.
On that sound bit of logic-- I can now, in good conscience, keep my beloved Maytag!
Phew, that was close...
It is about conscience after all- this blog... : )
Have an old old, reconditioned maytag in my house, but not living there now, and selling the house! Certainly miss my maytag!
Well, I see this situation as one in which you're in a tough spot. My first reaction is that transforming a friendship into a business relationship often puts both the friendship and the business relationship in jeopardy. I would ask, are you willing to lose this friendship?
I'd be very reluctant to become financially responsible for a friend I value.
Just my two cents, but maybe a thing or two to think about.
Oh...are you a co-trustee or a successor trustee in case your friend becomes incompetent or, God forbid, dies? The risks are much less if you're a successor trustee.
Stan Davis
Lakewood, CO
Wes Clark -- Don't settle for less.
Make America All It Can Be!
but as I understand it, the duties will not be that consuming, just approving transactions made by the brokers -- investments and sales as they come and go. I don't think it will have any impact on the friendship at this level, and we don't really see each other that frequently anymore. Quarterly meetings to reevaluate the portfolio, should be OK... I hope. : )
dramatically since March 2003. I don't have the option of socially responsible investments so pick from very good funds vetted by my employer.
But I have still profited from the war, I'm sure.
More money is available to go to charities and other worthy causes, so some good comes out of it.
If we could only designate how our tax and investment $$ were used, the world might have fewer wars and more of the arts. That's where my money would go.
"It takes two to speak the truth - one to speak and one to hear." - Henry David Thoreau
Almost everyone with mutuals and IRAs is in there to a degree unless you hand pick each purchase and investment or specifically go to a green fund...
But how you choose to use the profits is a good way to balance it out. I guess...
I keep wondering what the next stage will be when working parents of middle class families can't provide for their kids-- can no longer afford the basics. Will normally law biding citizens, when faced with hungry or sick kids who depend on them, break their own code of ethics and commit petty theft or more to provide for their family? And then if we have an armed citizenry- er, a well regulated militia -- what implications does that bring to the scenario? These are things I worry about. Well, they're on the worry list... : )
....and their portfolio. The rich are another breed.
I had one guy tell me back in 2003 that war was always GOOD for the economy.....and he gave me a big smile when he said it. My guess is he had lots of Defense industry stock.
People want leadership......and in the absence of leadership, they will listen to anyone who walks up to the microphone.
Lewis Rothschild, in "American President"
Yes it's true. But what the super rich don't seem to understand is that there are more of us (middle class and poor) then there are of them. Better for whose economy? Ours or theirs? The middle class and poor is what helps hold the country together. Whats that old saying again? Oh yeah. While the rich get richer the poor get poorer. Seems it does hold some water. What the rich don't understand is that we are the ones that get sucked into buying their product (oil and gas just as an example) by making us dependent. Sooner or later our tills will run dry. It it will come back and bite them in the tush when the money is gone. And the dollars not worth a damn. Much like it is now.
I think I heard Randi Rhodes once say that when the dollar falls and we are forced to change our currency to Euros our whatever our dollars not going to be worth anything. So they themselves may actually become part of the poor. When they are seen wheeling around wheelbarrows full of worthless money what will they think then?
about the sliding consumerism when the middle class is living hand to mouth... I think this holiday season may be an eye opener for a lot of companies. Unless the newly uber uber's skew the bottom line by scooping up all the big ticket items which could happen.
But department stores and others who bank on Christmas sales will probably be forced to "reorganize" in 08. The only thing middle class can think about consuming these days are staples-- roof, food, health care, gas. Holiday gifts --- don't think so. I wouldn't mind a month of health care for my holiday! : ) That would be one heckuva stocking stuffer.
is that the money saved from paying taxes could be added to the amount given to charity. Presumably there is a philanthropic portion of the trust? If not, maybe it could be added.
Nope. No philanthropic sector there. Don't think philanthropy is good for growth. Heh.
Like I said to marinerfan-- there is a plethora of philantropy in L.A. coming from the uber rich, and much of it goes unrecognized, which is impressive. But this particular portfolio did not provide for it. I could suggest that however. I'm just afraid she might consider donating to the RNC as philanthropic... : )
All that money - tied up in those things. If the money just went away. But it won't. If the money wasn't there in the first place. But it is.
:-(
It's amazing how fast those fundraising certificates for Krispy Kreme increase in value. People will design their own local economies based on barter. Remember country pay?
I needed to think on this one for a while, ms.
I worked with people like this. Their portfolios were all about making more and more money....and even some who had so much money, they had porfolios just for "sporting" purposes. But I never worked FOR them. Mostly because they just weren't the type of people I could work for....what they were inside. I was fortunate to be able to say no thanks.
I'll never really be able to figure out exactly what makes them tick. Heck....I just replaced the sewing machine I bought 30 years ago because I HAD to.....and it's my most prized material possession (ooop....and maybe my golf clubs...haha), but I think it's a selfishness..something hedonistic inside. Because I've even seen some people who aren't rich but need to have it all too...stuff....just stuff. And they don't care how they get it or what someone else went through to make it for them. I actually think it's because they are unhappy and they need to seek hapiness this way. Whatever, it's not a very flattering trait. And I'm guessing it may be why you don't see this lady all that much anymore. ;)
As for Mr. BFD....er B.....Yes...the defense industry will be in business for a long time to come. Even if the "war" ends...if....they will need to replace what this crew has so wrecklessly used and abused. But...if a Democrat is elected, perhaps they will put just as much into the people as the weapons, as Wes has said. Perhaps, just perhaps, all those weapons will go back in the warehouses where they belong. Only to be brought out for what they are intended for...DEFENSE. And those along with our troops...used ONLY AS A LAST, LAST, LAST RESORT!
Maybe you could say something like this to your friend....and perhaps she would consider at least voting with us. :)
obsessive behavior - greed that is obsessive - simple
and then there are some people who are not satisfied with what they have the
only satisfaction they get is from denying other people getting what they need;
these are the people who call health care a 'priviledge' not a right
Britain gave its citizens universal health care immediately after WWII;
it was not just British pilots and British military that saved Britain; it was the
will of the British people who stood up to the bombing and attacks from Germany and in the face of all
that they withstood it all; Britain recognized that their nation would have been wiped out if it hadn't been
for the strength of the British citizens; and they understood their security rested in keeping their people strong;
President Truman tried after WWII to begin universal health care we are
still arguing with libertarians, objectivists and neocons about it;
synthetic environment Democrats break your heart but GOP just boys you'd never go out with anyway - Nora Ephron
It always seems to come down to leadership doesn't it?
The disconnect between this eternally ongoing- endless- forever- global- allovertheuniverse war on terra, hatred, extremism, islamo-anythingism --
and the people of the nation waging it...
is truly astounding.
Again, by design. Nobody can convince me otherwise. Dumb them down, drug them up, cancel the press and replace it with tabloid. Feed them junk in their mouths and junk in their brains. Economically starve them until there are no options. Et, voila! What war? Who knew? That is why my friend can't see the connection between her good for growth stocks and a legless soldier at Walter Reed.
I know and have known many people who have been quite fortunate to have beaucoup bucks - partially from just living here and from the different work I've done over the years. And I'm actually one of the first people to defend when the wealthy are targeted as being greedy, mean spirited and selfish as a sector-- because it is a classist and not well examined attitude-- too blanketing. There are truly some wonderful philanthropic people of means, and many are living right here in the Golden State. People who put their money where their activism is and really do contribute generously in positive directions. They ironically tend to be even richer than that other group.
But the "other group"-- many who are nouveau riche-- are what give the good wealthy a bad name!
"You give wealth-- a bad name." (Bon Jovi just came to mind!)
Greed- of the seven deadly sins- is really one of the more fascinating ones, along with its sister sin Envy... I think it's true that greed can be totally independent of means too.
A firm believer in Kharmic laws, I guess it all balances out in the end. And you still can't take it with you... : )
RE your sewing machine-- That's how I feel about my Maytag washer that is older than I even know! It always works great, never breaks down, just like the ads. It was undoubtedly not built in China. I love the old days when appliances were built to last a lifetime instead of a few months. Child of an engineer-- I'm fond of solid machinery that actually works. Imagine...
envy...that's a nasty one!
Just you wait, ms. When that Maytag washer of yours bites the big one. Oh the despair! What to do...what to buy. The features....oh the features to choose. Computerized or not computerized. Buy the extra warranty?....hmmmm. It's positively scary! Talk about spin cycle. Then you'll have to open your eyes and learn how to use it. ;)
I am determined to have my Maytag last as long as I do! : )
I get hives just thinking about someone trying to get it out from downstairs up a winding circular staircase and out of the house, not to mention installing a new one! Nooo!!!! I won't do it!!
No Chinese washers for me!
for the evening.... but will check back later to see if anyone else knows a Portfolio Republican or two....