In what might be the biggest, hugest, most crazy story ever, financial journalist discovers taxpayers, some of which were highly successful, didn't pay taxes on unrealized gains, per the tax code followed by everyone.
Other journalists agree and are outraged.
In other crimes-against-humanity news, millions of ordinary Americans are now declared morally bankrupt and should be cancelled because they failed to pay taxes on rising home values.
Financial journalists everywhere call for a national day of mourning and repentance.
Said one well known financial journalist, "I haven't seen this level of moral filth since I heard about companies having the freedom to use their free cash flow as they please, including to buy back stock."
Another soon-to-be Pulitzer winner chimed in, "We gotta stop this. Next thing you know, they'll allow for donations and capital expenditures to be tax deductible. Think of all the atrocities if you incentivized people to help others and invest back in the economy. Burn it down."
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This is the end of a memoir from the famous 20th c. atheist and formerly socialist historian Will Durant called "Fallen Leaves" which was discovered and published after his death at 96 in 1981. It's packed with beautiful prose and raw observations.
"Our children bring us up by showing us, through imitation, what we really are."
"Childhood may be defined as the age of play; therefore some children are never young, and some adults are never old."
"Most men of forty are but a reminiscence, the burnt-out ashes of what was once a flame. The tragedy of life is that it gives us wisdom only when it has stolen youth."
Debt is not a source of returns. It’s an amplifier. It’s a way of taking good returns and making them better. Or taking mediocre returns and creating problems.
Let’s state the obvious: With perfect information, you’d always employ max leverage.
The challenge is that the world is messy and unpredictable. We think we’re far more in control than we are. People go off the rails. Pandemics hit. The price of oil goes negative. Digital shared fictions become a $1T asset class. Musical chairs look available until they’re not.
I get it Neville. I too thought similar things at one time, but decided to dig in and study Jesus. What I found surprised me and amazed me. I think it would surprise you too.
Here's a summary of what I learned in case it's helpful.
Jesus was a radical whose ideas turned the world upside down.
He believed in the inherent value of all human life, which is the basis for human rights. He fiercely defended the poor and oppressed, condemning only the self-righteous religious elites.
He proclaimed truth with love, warning against the distortive effects of money and power. He was a friend to outcasts, prostitutes, and criminals, treating them with compassion, respect, and graciousness. He forgave his enemies, asking God to forgive them as He hung on the cross.
Instead of barraging you with quotes and facts about the historicity of Jesus, instead I want to confess a personal struggle, a fairly recent revelation, and what I've learned.
Blind spots are called blind for a reason. Here has been one of mine.
I became a Christian intellectually first. Prior, I thought I was a well-read, well-reasoned atheist.
I’ve always felt a pull towards intellectual superiority, towards wanting to know more and build my identity on being smarter and more thoughtful than, frankly, you, all of you.
As I met some highly educated, whip-smart Christians who kindly corrected my assumptions, I realized I wasn’t nearly as smart or as well-read as I thought I was.
I tore through the books they gave me, first knowing the truth, then realizing I might be wrong. It was terrifying.
We know how this ends. You’re going to die and so will everyone you love. And then you’ll be reunited with God, your creator. Your friends, who knew their shortcomings, admitted their failures, and relied upon the forgiveness of Jesus, will be there, too.
Heaven will come down to earth. All sickness, brokenness, injustice, and hatred will cease. We will be perfected in love, living richly into eternity with purpose and in harmony, finishing the work we started prior to death.