The Rampant Discourse Podcast: Episode 84 – Wealth Inequality

July 12, 2022

Roughly a year ago, the Rampant Discourse crew had a spirited email discussion that was sparked by two articles on the topic of wealth inequality. One of the articles was a ProPublica article about how the wealthy lower their tax bills, and the other was a Bloomberg article about how the 90% are borrowing from the 1%. We decided we had enough differences of opinion that it could make for…

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My Ring Fit Adventure in 2021

January 11, 2022

The Rampant Discourse staff have made several valiant attempts at sustaining an exercise regimine. None of them stuck around. Paul’s Xbox Fitness Challenge in 2016 had a single update at the two month mark before the service itself was killed by Microsoft. Paul’s P90x3 Challenge in 2017 had a single update at the one month mark before ending in disappointment (and hope). Paul’s 21 Day Fix Challenge in 2018 had…

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The Freedom Portfolio – October 2020

October 8, 2020

It’s the two year anniversary of Paul vs the Market and the Freedom Portfolio. Like last year, I thought I would take this opportunity to replace my quarterly recap with a little bit of a longer look back where I go over the performance of the Freedom Portfolio since inception.

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The Rampant Discourse Podcast: Episode 54 – Coronavirus: Part 2

April 23, 2020

It’s been about a month since the Rampant Discourse crew met to discuss the Coronavirus pandemic and the effect that it has (and will) have on society, the economy, and more. We’re back (this time remotely) to continue that discussion. Does this pandemic disprove libertarianism as a political philosophy? Or confirm it? What’s the deal with masks? How will society be permanently changed from this extended quasi-lockdown? When do we…

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The Rampant Discourse Podcast: Episode 53 – Fitness Dare Finale

April 16, 2020

The Rampant Discourse Fitness Dare is now over! Paul, Travis, and Andrew got “together” (remotely!) to discuss how things went. Was it a success or failure? Are we ripped like the actors from 300 or just 300 pounds? Listen in to find out! Want to know how we got here? You can look back on our first and second check-ins as well. Below is some supplemental data. Paul Metric Changes…

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The Rampant Discourse Podcast: Episode 51 – Investing in the Time of Coronavirus

April 6, 2020

It’s been a rough couple of weeks for the stock market, as measures taken to combat COVID-19 have effectively shut down large sections of the US economy. Thanks to social distancing, Paul goes solo for this episode to discuss his reaction the historically severe stock market drop and the moves he has been making (or not making) in his own portfolio. Interested in reading more? Then check out Rampant Discourse’s…

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The Rampant Discourse Podcast: Episode 47 – Coronavirus

March 16, 2020

Is the Coronavirus pandemic the biggest and most impactful event since the September 11th attacks? Is it just a bad flu? Are we all overreacting? Or are things about to get a lot worse? Paul and Andrew are by no means experts or doctors, but nonetheless discuss the steps they are taking to keep their families safe, how long they think this could last, and how bad it could get….

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Rampant Discourse Fitness Dare: Second Check-in

March 4, 2020

We’re now two-thirds of the way through the Rampant Discourse Fitness Dare. How are our participants feeling? Are they noticing any improvements yet? Let’s check in and see: Paul Going into this fitness challenge, there was an event in late February which I was dreading: My birthday. It’s not because I hate getting old (although it does suck), but it’s because I knew it was going to be next to…

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5 CEOs I Admire

February 20, 2020

President’s Day was this past Monday and so this seemed like as good a time as any to make a brief list of some of the CEOs of companies in the Freedom Portfolio that I most admire. Why? I’ve long thought that we as a society spend too much time and energy admiring (or possibly hating) the President and oftentimes give them far too much credit for things like the economy and the stock market and even larger things like our standard of living. On the flip side, I think we don’t spend nearly enough time appreciating the entrepreneurs and business leaders who take risks and are constantly driving innovation forward.

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Rampant Discourse Fitness Dare: First Check-in

February 5, 2020

It’s been a little over four weeks since the start of the Rampant Discourse Fitness Dare. With the competition about a third of the way over, how are things going with our participants? Let’s check in and see: Paul Immediately prior to this fitness challenge, I was home sick for a few days with the flu that I had gotten from my daughter. As I result, I went in to…

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