“Virus of the mind” – margin notes

This book was published in 1996 by Richard Brodie, the original author credited with publishing Microsoft Word. Although I may be reading t 15 years late, it seems that some of the concepts are more relevant today than when the work was published.

These are unformatted margin notes from my reading, published here in my customary fashion as a memory aid:

the trick to learning a new paradign  p. XV

evolutionary psychology (was controversial) p XVI

What are the interesting units of imitation? p 4

4 characteristics of a virus: 1) penetrate, 2) copy, issue instructions, 4) spread

meme, memetics=study of meme pool

evolution by natural selection is a much misunderstood science

evolution (creative) vs. entropy (destructive) are opposites

humans have natural breeding tendencies for lower IQ

memetic evolution has little to do with genetic evolution

“selfish meme” concept explains how culture works

4 Fs of biology = fighting, fleeing, feeding, f (breeding)  = drive

Memes involving these basis drives spread faster

We [ay more attention to the memes that push our primary buttons = evolutionary advantage

2 ways to improve verbal communications: 1) talk louder, 2) listen closer

We are evolving toward a world of memes and mind viruses that replicate better

kluge?

the future: power and profit visuses p 196

MLM = survival of the fittest; a higher moral value

“beliefs are like cow paths” p 204

Book: The Celestine Prophesy – there are no coincidences p 208

listening to lectures is one of the least effective ways to learn? p 224

teaching “new math” led to morequestioning minds and dissatisfaction with status quo

asking questions: what to learn?  p 226

“marriage is the world’s best (and frequently most expensive) personal growth workshop”.

power corrupts

seperation of school and state.

 

thinking about Margot Fonteyn

Margot Fonteyn was a great dancer (the wikipedia page) who is credited with saying “The one important thing I have learned over the years is the difference between taking one’s work seriously and taking one’s self seriously. The first is imperative and the second is disastrous.” She died in 1991.

The tribute song by Eddie from Ohio moved me from the first performance when I heard it in the mid-2000s and every time since. I added emphasis to phrases that I’ve tried to incorporate into other communication.

Margot Fonteyn you’re a dancing Eleanor to and fro

who would know you ever touched the floor

Margot Fonteyn know for now and evermore

you’re looking great in tights and bows

your palm contains the front ten rows

you had the moves but no one knows

that your legs were touched by the hands of God

but your heart stands on its toes yeah, your heart stands on its toes
Wheels of misfortune a retired nurse down south living on a memory

living hand to husband’s mouth

when most call on a pension and act senile and mean

you pirouette as Juliet and look like you’re eighteen
Chorus

smallest things can cause a change like a bullet to the spine

and who would know that wasn’t planned you act like it’s all fine

should I need a private maid would you please be mine?

roll me through your garden and push me from behind
Chorus
but this ain’t how it happens for queens and cavaliers

you know something we don’t your ending’s not down here

 

Medicare Advantage skewed toward lower income non-white enrollees

Medicare Advantage is a health plan for seniors offered by private insurance carriers as an alternative to traditional Medicare coverage. The attraction and trade-off is that enrollees in Medicare Advantage typically avoid the deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses of traditional Medicare coverage but limit their choice of providers. The core funding comes from the federal government and sometimes enrollees purchase an additional enhancement of benefits. Some envision Medicare Advantage coverage as falling somewhere between Medicare and Medicaid.

This new report says that the Medicare Advantage program is skewed toward lower income non-white retirees. While this has always been a common assumption in the financial planning industry, I’ve not actually seen a report backed by data that supports this conclusion. The report is presumably produced for the purpose of influencing public opinion to prevent the federal government from cutting funding to the Medicare Advantage program.

A report on Medicare Advantage produced by America’s Health Insurance Plans says the private program is a "vital source" of coverage for low-income and minority Americans. While 26 percent of beneficiaries nationally are enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans, the figure is 29 percent for African-American beneficiaries and 36 percent for Hispanic beneficiaries, according to the AHIP report, which was based on publicly available Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services data.

In addition, 43 percent of all beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Advantage had annual incomes of $20,000 or less, and 64 percent of non-white beneficiaries in the plans had incomes of $20,000 or less.

Simply stated, I continue to recommend Medicare Advantage plans to those individuals whose concerns over cash flow outweigh concerns over quality of care.

(Disclosure: I am an individual member of the association America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) that produced the report.)

WSJ Professional Article – WSJ.com

Finances in the Older Patient With Cognitive Impairment, February 16, 2011, Widera et al. 305 (7): 698 — JAMA

Here is another report, this one from the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), that physicians are primary contacts in financial decision-making of cognitively impaired patients; presumably those who have not made adequate prior arrangements with a trusted financial adviser. Research of families with special needs children reported the same conclusion. Physicians are too often the first consulted and they are not prepared to offer the best response.

“patients with cognitive impairment and their families seek guidance from their primary care clinician for help with financial impairment, yet most clinicians do not understand their role or know how to help. We review the prevalence and impact of diminished financial capacity in older adults with cognitive impairment. We also articulate the role of the primary care clinician, which includes (1) educating older adult patients and their families about the need for advance financial planning; (2) recognizing signs of possible impaired financial capacity; (3) assessing financial impairments in cognitively impaired adults; (4) recommending interventions to help patients maintain financial independence; and (5) knowing when and to whom to make medical and legal referrals.”

Finances in the Older Patient With Cognitive Impairment, February 16, 2011, Widera et al. 305 (7): 698 — JAMA

Life-Stage Planning for Life Insurance

 

Life-stage benefits of insurance

The death of a loved one takes an enormous emotional toll. And unfortunately it may also come with significant financial consequences. That’s why any time there’s a change in your financial situation is a good time to visit or revisit your insurance needs:

• Just graduated from university/college: “A common reason to purchase life insurance is to ensure that any debt you have when you die isn’t passed on to your family,” says Mr. Minor. “At this age, you may have debt that’s shared with your parents — like if they co-signed a student or bank loan for you — that a life insurance policy can pay off should you die.” He also notes that insurance premiums are at their lowest when you’re young so payments will fit easily into your budget.
• Just married or just moved in together: At this stage, you probably share a collective income and have shared everyday expenses (like rent, food, and utilities). You may also have combined debt, such as a car loan or mortgage. “At this time, life insurance will guard against the sudden loss of one of those incomes,” he explains. “A life insurance payout could ensure the surviving spouse or partner can meet their financial obligations. That’s a real comfort, especially if you’ve bought a home — probably the biggest purchase you’ll make in your lifetime.”
• Just starting a family: Without doubt, the death of a parent is emotionally devastating; but it can be financially devastating as well. According to the Canadian Council on Social Development, in 2004, the cost of raising a child in Canada was just less than $167,000. “The loss of one income could put a strain on the family finances, and there may also be new expenses including household and child-care help,” says Mr. Minor. “The last thing you want is for your family to struggle to make ends meet or have to make drastic cutbacks, such as losing the family home.”

Life-Stage Planning for Life Insurance | Get the Right Coverage

A short reflection on accepting change

Robert Frost wrote:
“When I was young my teachers were the old.
I gave up fire for form till I was cold.
I suffered like a metal being cast.
I went to school to age to learn the past.

Now I am old my teachers are the young.
What can’t be molded must be cracked and sprung.
I strain at lessons fit to start a suture.
I go to school to youth to learn the future.”

I wish he had continued this poem to comment on how he ultimately coped with the difficulty of the new lessons. It’s a topic that I struggle with lately. Mature individuals must of course accept that today’s world is more hostile and less gentile. It’s not easy to be pushed into the “cracked and sprung” stage of life in order to maintain social and commercial relevancy in cultural environments that I view as distasteful. But it’s even more difficult to accept that the pace of acceleration from even the most basic historic cultural norms is still accelerating. Sometimes it leaves me absolutely terrified to think about the future and, in fact, the only comfort comes from falling back on one of those now out-of-fashion cultural norms – faith.

Excuses Be Gone – margin notes

by Wayne Dyer

read in January 2012. These are the margin notes:

Tao

relation to Bruce Lipton p. 6

memetics – the habitual mind

“We don’t like to use the term “cured” in the mental counseling profession, it’s bad for repeat business”. (TV show)

meditation – p. 29

visit Henry David Thoreau’s Walden Pond in Concord MA

strength p. 47

BOOK: “Train you mind, change your brain”

BOOK: “A Course in Miracles”

I’m too busy p. 58

1) Awareness p 70 – false belief in limitations, non-judgemental, offer help

2) alignment p 79 – I get what I think about

3) Now – meditation

4) Contemplation  p 106 – highest form of activity

5) Willingness take total responsibility, arrange whatever pieces come my way to work for me

6) passion – passion always trumps excuses

7) compassion – Tolstoy’s 3 questions: Jesus

Changing – 7 ideas to change thinking

Is it true?

Where did excuses come from? Me

What’s the payoff?

FILM: “The Shift”

BOOK: “Unstoppable Me”

How could I handle that? Turn a personal question…

Q4 Excuses can’t be used

- imagine myself as a high energy person

- imagine I am in control of my thought & emotions and can change them at will

- what activity is “busy work” in my life

- outgrow my problem by eliminating the possibility of excuse

Rational reason – makes sense, do-able, feels good

- what inventory of habits I’d like to break

- what list of excuses I use

4 Cardinal virtues: Revenge, sincerity, Gentleness, Supportiveness

BOOK: Getting in the Gap”

www.drwaynedyer.com

Let’s be clear about the JOBS Act: it’s not about jobs unless you are an accountant or investment banker

Passage of the JOBS Act last week took me (and probably most Americans who normally follow such news) by surprise. Political experts gave the bill only a small likelihood of success only a short time ago. Yet it pushed its way through Congress and became law when Obama signed the bill last last week. Mainstream media covered the passage in the usual lighthearted manner without looking under the hood or asking any tough questions.

This explanation of the JOBS Act in a blog post is particularly insightful:

The JOBS Act is short for Jumpstart Our Business Start-Ups Act and it was billed as a way to get Americans back to work.. to create “jobs”.  It does nothing of the sort and everyone admits it now.

It was created by Obama’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, 27 members appointed by the White House, 2 are labor union presidents and 19 are CEOs of the largest corporations and hedge funds in America. See for yourself….

• Jeffrey Immelt, Chair
• Ursula M. Burns
• Steve Case
• Kenneth I. Chenault
• John Doerr
• Roger W. Ferguson
• Mark T. Gallogly
• Joseph T. Hansen
• Lewis Hay
• Gary Kelly
• Ellen Kullman
• A.G. Lafley
• Eric Lander
• Monica Lozano
• Jim McNerney
• Darlene Miller
• Paul Otellini
• Richard D. Parsons
• Penny Pritzker
• Brian Roberts
• Matthew Rose
• Sheryl Sandberg
• Richard Trumka
• Laura D’Andrea Tyson
• Robert Wolf
• Christopher Che

It’s not surprising that this crowd would just happen to come up with something that gives them the chance to put millions into their own pockets while erasing regulations put in place after the last tech bubble burst costing investors millions and millions of dollars needlessly. It’s also not surprising that this group would come up with a JOBS bill that does everything but create actual jobs.

The blog post is titled “Obama’s “Jobs” Act: Boon for Wall Street and Venture Capitalists … but … No Jobs for You” and is published in American Everyman

We should quickly point out this harsh criticism doesn’t mean that the new law is entirely bad. There will be some “good” and some startup businesses will benefit. The new law will help to partially address the credit crunch that is now crippling our economy. It is a phenomenal business booster for CPAs and investment advisers. Internet-savvy start-up companies and young MBAs  will love it. But let’s be clear – this is not about creating jobs and the primary benefit will be to already well-established individuals and companies in the financial services industry. It’s primary net long term effect (when we do the post-mortem exam of what went wrong a decade from now) will be to shift hard-earned money from middle class investors to the financial services industry, much the same as the subprime mortgage industry did in the last decade. Is this a risk worth taking in order to stimulate economic growth? Apparently some of America’s prominent business people think so but I suspect that an educated population would not agree.

Passage of this bill is a perfect example of the product of a political system where double speak and an end run around the legislative process is the most effective way for special interests to influence legislation.

Issuer requirements for crowd funding

Requirements for issuers per cuttingedgecapital.com

• file with the SEC and provide to potential and existing investors and the intermediary—

• the name, legal status, physical address, and website address of the issuer;
• the names of the directors and officers (and any persons occupying a similar status or performing a similar function), and each person holding more than 20 percent of the shares of the issuer;
• a description of the business of the issuer and the anticipated business plan of the issuer;
• a description of the financial condition of the issuer, including, for offerings that, together with all other offerings of the issuer under the crowdfunding exemption within the preceding 12-month period, have, in the aggregate, target offering amounts of—
• $100,000 or less—(I) the income tax returns filed by the issuer for the most recently completed year (if any); and (II) financial statements of the issuer, which shall be certified by the principal executive officer of the issuer to be true and complete in all material respects;
• ◊ more than $100,000, but not more than $500,000, financial statements reviewed by a public accountant who is independent of the issuer, using professional standards and procedures for such review or standards and procedures established by the SEC, by rule, for such purpose; and
• ◊ more than $500,000 (or such other amount as the SEC may establish, by rule), audited financial statements;
• a description of the stated purpose and intended use of the proceeds; § the target offering amount, the deadline to reach the target offering amount, and regular updates regarding the progress of the issuer in meeting the target offering amount;
• the price to the public of the securities or the method for determining the price, provided that, prior to sale, each investor shall be provided in writing the final price and all required disclosures, with a reasonable opportunity to rescind the commitment to purchase the securities;
• a description of the ownership and capital structure of the issuer, including—
• ◊ terms of the securities of the issuer being offered and each other class of security of the issuer, including how such terms may be modified, and a summary of the differences between such securities, including how the rights of the securities being offered may be materially limited, diluted, or qualified by the rights of any other class of security of the issuer;
• ◊ a description of how the exercise of the rights held by the principal shareholders of the issuer could negatively impact the purchasers of the securities being offered;
• ◊ the name and ownership level of each existing shareholder who owns more than 20 percent of any class of the securities of the issuer;
• ◊ how the securities being offered are being valued, and examples of methods for how such securities may be valued by the issuer in the future, including during subsequent corporate actions; and
• ◊ the risks to purchasers of the securities relating to minority ownership in the issuer, the risks associated with corporate actions, including additional issuances of shares, a sale of the issuer or of assets of the issuer, or transactions with related parties; and
• § such other information as the SEC may, by rule, prescribe, for the protection of investors and in the public interest;
• • not advertise the terms of the offering, except for notices which direct investors to the intermediary’s web site
• • not compensate or commit to compensate, directly or indirectly, any person to promote the offerings without taking such steps as the SEC shall, by rule, require to ensure that such person clearly discloses the receipt, past or prospective, of such compensation, upon each instance of such promotional communication
• • not less than annually, file with the SEC and provide to investors reports of the results of operations and financial statements of the issuer, as the SEC shall, by rule, determine appropriate, subject to such exceptions and termination dates as the SEC may establish, by rule
• • comply with such other requirements as the SEC may, by rule, prescribe, for the protection of investors and in the public interest. Transferability: Securities issued pursuant to the crowdfunding exemption may not be transferred for one year after purchase except back to the issuer, to an accredited investor; as part of a registered offering; or to a family member Automatically becoming a public reporting company when a certain number of shareholders and asset amount is reached: securities acquired under the crowdfunding exemption will be exempted, conditionally or unconditionally depending on what the SEC does in its rulemaking, from this cap (which was increased from 500 investors to 2,000 by the JOBS Act – see future blog post on this subject!) State preemption: the states are not allowed to require registration of offerings that are exempt under the crowdfunding exemption; however the can require notice filings and fees in the state that is the issuer’s principal place of business and in any state in which purchasers of 50 percent or greater of the aggregate amount of the issue are residents Adjustment for inflation: Dollar amounts under the exemption will be adjusted not less frequently than once every 5 years to reflect any change in the Consumer Price Index

start of estate planning research project

Today I launch a rew research project on the failure of the estate planning industry to impact middle America. For the first time, a video journal will be published of my progress.

Launch of estate planning research project

 

http://youtu.be/uWYHnHxPlZc