Kaizyn

The purpose of the constitution is to protect the public from the tyranny of the government. And within the public, to protect the minorities from the majority.

No, it's a republic because it has a constitution that sets out the rules for what the government is and is not allowed to do. Democracies give the people absolute rule, whereas the constitution denies a majority from enacting certain laws that violate the constitution.

No, we have a republic. Fundamentally different animal.

In a democracy, the public could vote to do something that would be considered wrong such as stripping voting rights from everyone who likes country music. And with majority rule, that would pass and become law of the land.

In a republic like ours, the constitution governs what can and cannot be enacted by the majority. Since such an act would take away guaranteed minority rights, the constitution prevents the majority from doing something like that.

Lamport isn't behind the P language, and it isn't as expressive as TLA+ so it isn't a replacement for his work in that area.

First of all, it is a republic and not a democracy. The difference is quite important. Secondly, to attribute the problems to the constitution is mistaken. That founding document is the only thing standing in the way of a complete and total disaster for the country.

Nearly all the problems can be traced back to where politicians are ignoring the constitution in part or in full and thereby eroding the public protections built into the republic.

There is one problem with this service offering (and it isn't insurmountable). Put yourself in the position of a founder who just spent the last 12-18+ months building your startup. Would you then be willing to hand over the reigns to someone else or to some firm to do the launching for you? Especially when the launch is pretty much the one and only chance the company has to get off the ground? Outsourcing really only makes sense when you can transfer the risk in a way that mitigates it. Here it feels like you would be increasing risk of failure if for no other reason that the launch firm has less to lose if you fail than you would.

The new focus on the 'automation push' is for political reasons and not for any other real concerns. Ask yourself what changes in society are being agitated for the most? What is being put forward for the solution to the automation push?

It is not very different than the political handling of man-made global warming. The solution is for affluent nations like the US to reduce its standard of living and cede more control to international bodies. We can debate the merits of the science all we want, but the solution put forward promotes a pre-determined political agenda.

We're seeing the same type of thing starting now with the talk of the automation crunch. Ideas like UBI are declared the solution and a shift to greater reliance on government because we will all soon be unable to have good enough jobs to look after ourselves.

Maybe online software as a service? Lufthansa does something similar with their backend airline systems to defray the development and operating costs (and turn a profit). Maybe more uptake of the product from California wineries.

The credit managers at one of the Big Four Australian banks are waiting for the real estate market to burst before they swoop in and buy investment properties. It would be better to wait on any sort of real estate based investments or other stocks that move with real estate.

I am starting to think the best investment possible is in your own business/company. That way there is a direct correlation between what you can control and what you put in to what you earn back out. Obviously you can't predict what the future will hold, but you at least can manage your endeavor prudently so as to better minimise damage in the face of bad circumstances.

Consider the alternatives to the index fund: 1. Pick individual stocks and directly buy those. (A lot less diversification and a lot more hands-on management required.) 2. Hire a stock broker to invest for you. This is like #1 except now you are at the mercy of someone else whose interests you cannot be guaranteed to align with you. 3. Managed investment fund. Funds are diversified based on the discretion of the funds manager. Big fees are required for the privilege of having one pick stocks to buy and sell for the portfolio. 4. Real estate. Good investment but exceedingly high initial capital requirements. 5. Commodities - gold, silver, oil, pork bellies, etc. Less diversity of investment and specialist knowledge of the commodity are required.

Index funds are low cost to run, have a low capital requirement, require little to no active management, are highly-diversified, and get a fairly good rate of return. As a default option of 'do nothing and some money comes in', that's hard to compete with.

Index funds don't require you to manage your investment. Basically, there is a simple rule set the fund follows to diversify your portfolio and grow your money. Unlike managed funds, there aren't fees to the fund manager to eat into the profit/growth rate.

The only way to make it grow is through investing it. The more risk you take on, the higher it has the chance to grow. However, at the same time you have an increased risk that you'll lose your investment.

A money market account is safe and leaves your liquid assets in a state where you can get them easily. The downside is a poor rate of return.

Tax-exempt bonds (local, state or federal) are an attractive option provided that the rate of inflation doesn't exceed your rate of return or reduce it to effectively nil.

Another sensible option would be to pay off any debts you have. Your income is your best way to grow wealth, and every dollar you pay in interest is a dollar taken away from your future earnings. Even though this isn't as exciting an option as putting your money in the stock market, this might be your best bet longer-term.

If you have no debt, then the $50k would go a long way towards a down payment on a home - that way you can stop paying rent, which is another source of wasted earnings.