How to make the world a better place            

                            29 responses |         

                Started by metmike - Jan. 9, 2020, 10:23 p.m.            

https://www.marketforum.com/forum/topic/45623/

With the mission of Artemis complete, I was thinking of these pictures they took.

From where we are all reading this, planet earth is extremely enormous. We can get in a car and drive 60 mph for several hours and still only cover a very tiny part of it.

However, viewed from the images below from the Artemis crew  helps us to put our planet into more cosmic context. 

It's almost impossible to completely appreciate how tiny of a speck that we are in the universe. How amazingly incredible that life even exists here because of the freaky physical, scientific, chemical, biological circumstances that all had to line up perfectly compared the rest of the universe which features lifeless space with a bunch of rocks in it. 

                Re: Re: Back to the moon! Exciting!            

                            By metmike - April 9, 2026, 11:02 p.m.            

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And it's so much more than just "life" on our planet.

The advanced forms of life, so many different varieties are mind boggling. With humans at the top evolving to a stage now where we can travel in space. 

Discover/invent hundreds of thousands of things that have improved our lives more in the last 150 years, then the previous 15,000 years of humanity. And 15,000 years was a blink compared to the 4,500,000,000 year old earth.

Everybody reading this has only lived in the past 100 years of that 4,500,000,000 years.  The best years for advancement of human beings. 

100 / 4.5 billion = 2.22222222 x 10^-8    

   =.0000000022    That's eight 0s. 

That's the fraction of time that the  lives of the oldest humans on our plant right now represent. 

If we go back in time by just .00000001 of the earth's age (that's seven 0s), humans on this planet struggled every day just to survive. They thought the sun revolved around the earth and the earth was flat. 

From that perspective, 2026 looks like heaven on earth!!!

                Scientific Laws and Theories            

                                            Started by metmike - April 4, 2019, 2:27 p.m.  

https://www.marketforum.com/forum/topic/27072/

Grateful that we have democratic elections in this country and there are less than 200 days until the November 2026 elections.
All 400+ seats in the House will be in play but just 33 of the 100 seats in the Senate.

Grateful that we have democratic elections in this wonderful country and there are less than 200 days until the November 2026 elections.
All 400+ seats in the House will be in play but just 33 of the 100 seats in the Senate Are on the line.         

https://days.to/us-midterm-elections/2026

https://days.to/us-midterm-elections/2026

                Gerrymandering                                                   

                Started by metmike - April 21, 2026, 10:25 p.m.            

https://www.marketforum.com/forum/topic/119713/

 I didn’t know where to put this and didn’t feel the need to start a new thread for it:

 I feel that “Trump Accounts” are a positive accomplishment of DT, quite possibly the 2nd biggest accomplishment of his 2nd term so far. Gov. Newsom alerted me to this. The other huge accomplishment is the huge reduction of illegal encounters along the Mexican border, which is probably his best of the 2nd term.

 I already have stated that Operation Warp Speed was the biggest accomplishment of his 1st term.

Thanks a ton, Larry!
I had no idea this existed and will see about an account for our 4 year old grandson, Cyrus! Never mind, only children born while Donald Trump is president get the free money!.

It's clear that every child eligible gets an account seeded with $1,000 of FREE money from the government! The money can't come out until they are 18 but it can still grow and its free and a wonderful idea.

Rich people will have the actual money to make personal contributions after the account is opened.

                  The dubious rags to riches promise of Trump accounts            

              While they may not mean much for low-income households, rejecting them could leave money on the table, experts say  

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  Further review:

AI Overview

Mike said:

“Investments for your children with the same criteria and tax free benefits are already available and possibly less risky(since Donald Trump has a very long history of bankruptcies and scams). The only thing different here is the free $1,000 that Donald Trump added and the name ‘Trump Account’”

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Thanks, Mike!

 Regarding what I bolded, I want to make sure I’m not misunderstanding you. Are you by chance implying that Trump Account funds are invested in anything related to Trump in any way? If so, I’d agree with the bolded. But they’re not. I apologize if I misinterpreted you.

Thanks for the comment and opportunity for me to elaborate/correct on a misleading statement by me.

AI

2. Government-Backed "Trump Accounts" (530A Accounts)

If you are instead referring to the newly live "Trump Accounts" program launched by the federal government on July 4, 2026, these accounts are not inherently unstable. [1, 2]

• Broad Market Investment: These are custodial savings accounts set up for children. The funds inside them are required to be invested in low-cost index mutual funds and ETFs that mirror the S&P 500 and the general U.S. stock market. [1, 2]
• Market Risk Only: While they carry the normal fluctuations and risks of the broader stock market, they are highly diversified and not legally tied to Donald Trump’s private business performance, making them far safer than individual corporate stocks like DJT

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    The Trouble with the Trump Accounts                                                          

A free $1,000 is nice, but parents’ funding is double-taxed.

https://www.cato.org/commentary/trouble-trump-accounts

The idea behind Trump Accounts is sound, but Congress got the tax treatment wrong. Make contributions tax-free, and I’ll happily fund my children’s Trump Accounts. Until then, the $1,000 handout is where it stops. The rest I’ll save elsewhere

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Trump Accounts: A Primer for Parents

https://crr.bc.edu/trump-accounts-a-primer-for-parents/

.During the “growth period,” assets must be held in mutual funds or ETFs that track an index of primarily U.S. companies and have expense ratios below 0.10 percent. These rules limit fees and speculative strategies but also restrict broad diversification.

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So my point is that Donald Trump's policies, treaties, agreements, actions, words and such are constantly subjected to his unstable mindset which often results in him ripping them up or changing the terms based on his mood that day. This one appears to be insulated from that sort of thing but it was created by Donald Trump because it has his name on it.  I can't be sure that he wouldn't find a reason to alter the terms like he does most things he is able to control.

Maybe most importantly is the restrictive nature of the investments. As somebody that likes to pick their own investments, this would not allow me to do that. It seems like this is just another way for Donald Trump to keep the stock market making new highs because of those limited investment opportunities. 

The free $1,000 up front is nice but after that, I would never do it because it's inferior to other available investments for children. 

Beware Widespread Misinformation About the New “Trump Accounts”

https://www.aei.org/economics/beware-widespread-misinformation-about-the-new-trump-accounts/

Several features of Trump accounts differ from common online descriptions.

• Withdrawals from Trump accounts are taxed at ordinary income tax rates. Contrary to some online statements, they are never taxed at preferential capital gains tax rates.
• Beginning in the year in which the beneficiary turns 18, withdrawals can be made from a Trump account at any time for any reason, if the beneficiary is willing to incur a 10 percent penalty. To avoid the penalty, a withdrawal must made after age 59 ½ or must satisfy an IRA penalty exception. Contrary to some online statements, nothing about the tax treatment of withdrawals changes when the beneficiary turns either 25 or 30.  
• Contrary to some online statements, required minimum distributions are the same for Trump accounts as for traditional IRAs.
• A Trump account can be established only for a child who has a work-eligible Social Security number. The $1,000 one-time federal contribution for children born in 2025 through 2028 is available only if the child is a US citizen. Contrary to some online statements, however, the citizenship and immigration status of the child’s parents is irrelevant.
• The first date on which contributions can be made to Trump accounts is July 4, 2026, not January 1, 2026, as some online sources state.
• The $2,500 and $5,000 limits will be automatically adjusted for inflation, starting in 2028, not in 2027, as some online sources state.