Hyper-efficiency
The Washington Post describes some of the government’s palm-to-forehead moments:
It is one of the oddest spending habits in Washington: This year, the government will spend at least $890,000 on service fees for bank accounts that are empty. At last count, Uncle Sam has 13,712 such accounts with a balance of zero.
They are supposed to be closed. But nobody has done the paperwork yet.
So even as the sequester budget cuts have begun idling workers and frustrating travelers, the government is required to pay $65 per year, per account to keep them on the books.
New dreams
Professor Richard Florida writes about Americans’ changing outlook on owning a home:
Overall, a majority of Americans, including seven in 10 renters, say they aspire to own their own home someday. But more than half (57 percent) believe that “buying has become less appealing,” while 54 percent believe that “renting has become more appealing.” Almost half of current home owners (45 percent) can see themselves renting at some point in the future. And, the rate increases alongside income and education, with 48 percent of college-educated home owners, 53 percent of home owners with a post-graduate education, and 51 percent of home owners with household incomes greater than $75,000 saying they would consider renting.
Just admit it
Barry Ritholtz writes on “the fine art of being wrong”:
If you recognize the statistical certainty that you will be wrong, it should be much easier to accept any error as a normal part of your life.
When people refuse to admit error, it is because their sense of self-worth is too tied up in their calls. Once the expectation of error becomes built in, you remove the ego altogether.
Admitting error should be part of your regular process. I have found two ways to do this that seem to get good results: 1) Identify the error in a professional capacity to relevant parties. This can be to you, your co-workers and colleagues. 2) Perform regular reviews of your errors with the hope of avoiding them in the future. I do this with my annual mea culpas; Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater hedge fund is notorious for their brutal self-examinations — and they are (arguably) the most successful hedge fund in the world.
Advice
Billionaire Ray Dalio (mentioned above) provides some advice on how to become a better investor:
Enjoy your weekend.
The article 8 Fascinating Reads originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Morgan Housel.
Fool contributor Morgan Housel has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Apple and Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool owns shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.B).
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