dihard: The New York Times Magazine Year in Ideas is out. Here are the ideas I find most interesting: Carbon Penance - A rather masochistic way to track your energy consumption. Guaranteed Retirement Accounts - A solution to the 401k? Imaginary Kidnappings - An innovative approach to kidnapping. Locavestors - People that invest in local businesses to earn a return and support their community, rather than in big conglomerates to whom they are detached. Moonvertising - Companies try to use lasers to project a brand logo 238,000 miles into space to be visible on the moon’s surface?! The Quinn Solution - A pool of securities in the form of a GSE. Hmm.. The Rising Tide Tax System - Rewriting the tax code each year to reflect changes in each bracket’s share of national income. Smartgrids - Xcel Energy introduced the first city-scale smart grid, using digital technology to distribute electricity and allow consumers to control their energy consumption. Spray on Condoms - Spray on liquid latex to create a custom-sized condom. Upside Down Demolition - A Tokyo-based construction company demolished a building from the bottom up. You can watch a timelapse of it here. Guaranteed Retirement Accounts sound like they’re as big a scam as social security.  You have conservative investment options for your 401(k) and IRA if you want them.  5-year CDs?  Or the rates suggested for these accounts aren’t any better than what you’ll get out of buying into 20-year TIPS every 6 months (rates currently are down, but in the past have been over 4% so it all averages out to the proposed 3%).  And you wouldn’t see the government pretending to be putting your money into an account that doesn’t even exist.  (The Social Security Trust Fund is all invested in federal government debt, which means they spent it… not a bad idea, but really, that’s exactly what the “conservative investment” suggested would be, so you might as well hold the government debt yourself…)

dihard:

The New York Times Magazine Year in Ideas is out.

Here are the ideas I find most interesting:

  • Carbon Penance - A rather masochistic way to track your energy consumption.
  • Guaranteed Retirement Accounts - A solution to the 401k?
  • Imaginary Kidnappings - An innovative approach to kidnapping.
  • Locavestors - People that invest in local businesses to earn a return and support their community, rather than in big conglomerates to whom they are detached.
  • Moonvertising - Companies try to use lasers to project a brand logo 238,000 miles into space to be visible on the moon’s surface?!
  • The Quinn Solution - A pool of securities in the form of a GSE. Hmm..
  • The Rising Tide Tax System - Rewriting the tax code each year to reflect changes in each bracket’s share of national income.
  • Smartgrids - Xcel Energy introduced the first city-scale smart grid, using digital technology to distribute electricity and allow consumers to control their energy consumption.
  • Spray on Condoms - Spray on liquid latex to create a custom-sized condom.
  • Upside Down Demolition - A Tokyo-based construction company demolished a building from the bottom up. You can watch a timelapse of it here.

Guaranteed Retirement Accounts sound like they’re as big a scam as social security.  You have conservative investment options for your 401(k) and IRA if you want them.  5-year CDs?  Or the rates suggested for these accounts aren’t any better than what you’ll get out of buying into 20-year TIPS every 6 months (rates currently are down, but in the past have been over 4% so it all averages out to the proposed 3%).  And you wouldn’t see the government pretending to be putting your money into an account that doesn’t even exist.  (The Social Security Trust Fund is all invested in federal government debt, which means they spent it… not a bad idea, but really, that’s exactly what the “conservative investment” suggested would be, so you might as well hold the government debt yourself…)