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September 7, 2005
Reader mail, Wed., September 7, 2005, 3:50 PM
I enjoy reader mail, especially this one from the guy who was calling me a jerk and all:
OK Bill, I see that you are someone who's heart is in the right place.
Please accept my apology for my original writing. I really shouldn't have sent it and rarely do that kind of thing. I think I snapped with all of the 'I told you so' chatter. I should have just ignored it this time as I normally do.
I did like your quote about rhythm of life. I guess I expected that you would delete my email immediately per your blog. I wish I could ignore everyone who bugged me, but that is difficult to do. If you are able to do it, congrats. Well, I guess you engaged me, so maybe you have another formula for those who bug you." ;-)
He then went on to write some interesting stuff about poverty...
And this one from a different reader:
hey Bill, Originally you had predicted that the American South would arise stronger and better after all this, now you seem much less positive on the future. Has your attitude changed, or am I misinterpreting the evolution of your thinking?
Personally, having seen all the red tape embarrassment surrounding the Freedom Tower project (too many cooks, too many opinions, too much politics), I have been wondering how an entire city -- one that was already quite poor -- will rebuild successfully. I am hoping for the best, but I can't shake that concern.
I thought we had a war on poverty in America already, so if you're going to call JTFK a "War Against Poverty," maybe it needs a "2" at the end of it, just for the sake of historical accuracy? I am thinking of _There Are No Children Here_, a very sad book.
Two other bits, if you have time...
Was the now-apologetic reader the cause for turning off comments? Or are you simply getting too much spam? Some of your readers have had very interesting things to say, and I am wondering if comments will be available again at some point.
What do you think of my previous suggestion re: your discussing an investing framework for the do-it-yourselfer who has a full-time job and doesn't have more than a few hours a month, say, an hour or two a week, perhaps, and little understanding of how to properly risk manage him or herself while getting started? Do you think such an effort would be worth your time? Have I missed your covering the topic already?
Thanks, as always, for sharing your thoughts. /J "
So here is my reply:
J, I explained on Sat in the Week in Review that reader reaction caused me to drop comments and "bill's portfolio". Actually I only had two idiots writing me, which they did outside of the comments section. But it takes time to monitor the comments and I can't keep up. Ergo, it's gone. Next month, I think I'll get an admin asst, and that person can manage the comments. Also, the new publishing software has had a major impact on spam, so really there is no reason I won't return to both comments and trackbacks next month.
I changed the portfolio idea because I'm going to set up a long (or cash) portfolio among about 50 ETF's. I'm going to have maybe two portfolios, one that would trade say once per year or so on average for each holding, and one that trades maybe once every six months for each item. I'm going to back it up with investment reports that will be archived in the Investment Reports section. Also the Trades section on the top bar will have a P&L. In the Weekly Reviews, I'll monitor these portfolios.
As to the rebuilding of the South, clearly so much insurance money, donations and government (taxpayer) money will help do a great job. If it weren't for the smelly refineries there, the place could easily be built like much of Florida. New Orleans is a broken city but a historically important one. I expect it to be rebuilt better than ever -- but smaller -- and more expensive. The convention business and Mardi Gras and so forth ought to become bigger as well as better. But I doubt that homes will be built like before, and those inexpensive homes housed the low-paid workers of the tourism industry.
Therefore I expect to see Baton Rouge and Lafayette grow bigger, and New Orleans smaller.
The New Orleans port is an essential one, but as long as the city sits on the Mississippi, there is a danger of the kind Katrina brought. A direct Category 5 hurricane would have been much worse. I now expect the port will be downsized and ports in Galveston and Tampa made larger.
Gulfport and Biloxi, I expect, to be rebuilt to withstand the biggest of storms. All along the Gulf coast I expect the building standards will be upgraded and more small cities will be built to accommodate a growing population, but also allow for easier evacuation in the event of a major storm.
Now these thoughts are no different than most others. I suspect entrepreneurs and real estate speculators have already figured it out and are hard at work today.
If there was any negative thinking lately, it is the $50-60 billion (and counting) in taxpayer money going into this effort. If government decisions in the past are largely to blame for a huge portion of these losses, and govts are not in the business of creating wealth, then I think the new Task force is more grist for the mill, but little else.
Govt would be better off sending Requests For Proposals from the private sector, and then funding the best ones, as judged by an independent panel. CNBC's Bill Seidman would be a terrific choice to oversee that " just as he did with the Resolution Trust (savings and loans industry crisis).
Then I think American taxpayers could sit back and participate in this rebuilding of the South, with confidence.
Posted by Posted by Bill Cara on September 7, 2005 03:51:18 PM | Category: Yada yada