BankNotes

01 Apr

2020 April BankNotes

“This is R. Nelson Nash” in His Own Words
The following was put together in January 2018 by R. Nelson Nash for the
2018 IBC Think Tank Conference. I thought it appropriate to share on the
anniversary of Nelson’s passing (27 March, 2019). — David Stearns
A person’s thoughts over a period of time ultimately results in a set of core
beliefs—a mindset—some call it a worldview—that controls human action
and gives life meaning and purpose.

12 Mar

2020 March BankNotes

Norman Vincent Peale’s Timeless Advice: Take Charge of Your Own Life, First

Dr. Norman Vincent Peale’s ideas are especially important today, when envy
and jealousy seem to permeate much of our politics.

by Lawrence W. Read

The more jealousy one has in his nature, the more critical he is of those who have accomplished things. If you are critical and mouthing negativisms it could be that your own failures are caused by a mixed-up, hate filled mind.

19 Feb

2020 February BankNotes

On March 27, 2019 — not two months after that year’s Think Tank — Nelson graduated (Passed Away). Things didn’t feel the same this time as we shuttled downtown late Tuesday morning. Though attendance this year would be the greatest in eight years, this one man’s absence was obvious and painful.

23 Jan

2020 January BankNotes

As in the grocery business that we discussed earlier, you must first study the banking business so that you have a firm grip on what it is all about and feel that you can run such a business. Without this confidence you are fighting a losing battle. This, too, is a very competitive business.

10 Dec

2019 December BankNotes

The newfound openness of large numbers of Americans to socialism is, by now, a well documented phenomenon. According to a Gallup poll from earlier this year, 43% of Americans now believe that some form of socialism would be a good thing, in contrast to 51% who are still against it. A Harris poll found that four in ten Americans prefer socialism to capitalism. The trend is particular apparent in the young: another Gallup poll showed that as recently as 2010, 68% of people between 18 and 29 approved of capitalism, with only 51% approving of socialism, whereas in 2018, while the percentage among this age group favoring socialism was unchanged at 51%, those in favor of capitalism had dropped precipitously to 45%

18 Nov

2019 November BankNotes

Although the roughly two million affected residents of Northern California are recovering from the rolling blackouts imposed by utility PG&E, the company has warned that these “fire safety outages” may be periodically required for another decade. Naturally, California Governor Gavin Newsom decried the debacle as yet another example of “greed and neglect.” Yet as IER analyst Jordan McGillis explained in a previous article, the episode actually showcases the dangers of a government-imposed monopoly in electricity provision. In this article, I’ll elaborate on McGillis’ insights and show why the conventional economic rationale for government regulation of electric utilities is fundamentally flawed. Read More in BankNotes

07 Oct

2019 October BankNotes

Fractional reserve banking arises because banks legally are permitted to use money placed with them in demand deposits. Banks treat this type of money as if it was loaned to them.

06 Sep

2019 September BankNote

It is with this in mind that I wish to take a closer look at the Mutual Insurance Holding Company (MIHC), which is a topic that is relevant to IBC practitioners and all those who may be thinking of implementing IBC policies in the near future. It is especially important now because Bob and I repeatedly stress that we are in the midst of an unsustainable boom that will crash and IBC offers, among other benefits, an exit strategy from the market collapses that are heading our way.

02 Aug

2019 August BankNotes

Back in the September 2012 issue of the Lara-Murphy Report, I tackled an older blog post by financial guru Dave Ramsey where he strongly attacked the idea of using permanent life insurance as a savings vehicle.1

08 Jul

2019 July BankNotes

Last month, I began this series, which tackles the question: Does IBC “work”
for people who are older and/or in poor health? Many people are concerned
that the “pure cost of insurance” will be so high in such cases, that practicing
IBC will be too expensive, or will have “too much drag,” to be sensible.

13 Jun

2019 June BankNotes

One Of the most common questions we get from the public is whether IBC “works” or “makes sense” for someone who is older and/or in relatively poor health. People naturally worry whether the “pure cost of life insurance”— which is more expensive for older and/or sicker individuals, of course— at some point could make IBC impractical. If so, would it be better for people in this situation to take out IBC policies on others who are younger and/or in better health?

02 May

2019 May BankNotes

A Business Credit survey1 conducted and published in March 2016 by the Federal Reserve Banks of New York, Atlanta, Boston, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Richmond, and St. Louis reports that “cash flow” is the number one problem facing small businesses with fewer than 500 employees. At the same time a Financial Stability Report dated November 2018 by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve cites that business-sector debt relative to GDP is historically high and “debt has been growing fastest at firms with weaker earnings and higher leverage.”2 In essence this report insinuates that the very same cash flow difficulty also exists among the larger companies, that is, those businesses with more than 500 employees.

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