Gift Hub

Progress Against Plan Wealth Bondage Year End

The way philanthropic planning is going, I can't tell whether I am in a Grail Quest, a beer commercial, or a lunatic asylum.  Stay Thirsty, my friend, says the most Interesting Family Wealth Consultant in the World. "Life is a Journey."  Not mine.  Mine is stasis. The same friggin Dumpster, the same absence of clients. The same fire in the belly from ulcers.  Another year shot to hell and not one consensual moral tutorial client. Well, "All things remain in God," as Fr Brennan reminds me via text message from parts unknown where he is undergoing rehabilitation for sins he committed while serving as a mentor to the Cardinal's illegitimate daughter.  He claims he was just passing on the Cardinal's family values, and that may be true but is not much of an excuse. 

Wise Counsel for My Lady

I note that Keith at Wise Counsel now has the epigraph from Seneca, "A good mind is neither borrowed nor bought." Keith is co-author of Wealth and the Will of God: Discerning the Use of Riches in The Service of Ultimate Purpose. Senecca was a wordly stoic whose dynastic clients included Caligula, Claudius, and Nero.  As Keith, with a Ph.D. in Social Thought from the University of Chicago and a BA and MA in Classics and Philosophy from Boston University knows, Senecca bled out in his bathtub when the other choices given him by Nero were worse.  I think for Giftub, I am going to stick with more modest subtitles, like Wealth Bondage Rebooted. Or, On Tyranny in the Spirit of Leo Strauss.  See snip below.

Xenophon’s Socrates makes it clear that there is only one and sufficient title to rule: only knowledge and not force and fraud or election or, we may add, inheritance makes a man a king or ruler. If this is the case ‘constitutional’ rule, rule derived from elections is not essentially more legitimate than tyrannical rule, rule derived from force or fraud. Tyrannical rule as well as ‘constitutional’ rule will be legitimate to the extent which the tyrant or the ‘constitutional’ rulers will listen to the counsels of him who ‘speaks well’ because he ‘thinks well.’ At any rate, the rule of a tyrant, who comes to power by force or fraud or having committed any number of crimes, is essentially more legitimate than the rule of elected magistrates who refuse to listen to such suggestions, i.e. than the rule of elected magistrates as such. 

I take this to mean that however a person gets power, by force, fraud, conquest, election, market forces, inheritance, or through repeated crimes, the main thing is that once in power her or she get wise counsel. I can see why a philosopher might feel that way, but doesn't it seem a little self serving? And would a person really wise and virtuous talk and think like this? I don't know; I am probably going to much by the surface meaning. The esoteric meaning is probably more in the spirit of Jesus and Thomas Jefferson, or Seneca on a good day. Still, when you think about big topics, like wealth and the will of God, the role of wealth in a democracy, the rise of self serving elites, or the emigration of the wealthy to their own Paradise, apart from the common people, and the preservation of dynastic wealth for hundreds of years, it does seem important that those set above us get the best and wisest counsel possible. That is why in my view, Mistress Candidia, she who rules us all, is lucky to have me at her side, and, really, the whole world is fortunate. Without me, God knows what she would get herself up to in her insane quest for power and privilege.  As bad as she is, with a flatterer, or claque at her side, or a retinue of parasites, or a false priest, or wounded healer, or bogus moralist, or a philosopher in the Machiavellian tradition, or an opportunist, it could only be worse.  Fortunately, I cannot be bought, rented, borrowed or leased! My views are my own! A man is a man and must speak truth to power!

Last night, I was reciting a choice bit from Senecca to my Leader and Generous Patron, as I did her toenails. Religion is regarded by the common people as true, Mistress, I recited,  by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful.  She whacked my head with her class ring.  Cut the crap, she said. Do you think I, who hold a fucking Harvard MBA, am your student, little man? Do you think I need your bullshit  moral counsel? You don't think I already know religion is a total bunch of crap? God this and God that. Jesus Fucking Christ. Concentrate on the nails, you moron. 

Duck Family Dynasty Values

At last what may be my first morals tutoring client! I received a call (hopefully not a crank call) suggesting I help the Duck Family Dynasty pass on their Four Capitals, and so remain Dynastic in perpetuity. Apparently, Drs. A, B, C, D, and E, as well as Spirit Guides from Wise Counsel, and other reputable organizations either passed on this Dynasty or were not invited.

Added later: As I suspected it was a crank call. I am going to have to ask around and see if any of the legit Wealth Counsel folks got the business.

Reinventing Philanthropy to Do the Most Good

Eric Friedman, an actuary, with majors in math and econ from Stanford, has written a book on reinventing philanthropy so it does not just good, but the most good.  The book, Reinventing Philanthropy,  contrasts "do best" philanthropy with expressive philanthropy. Yet what could be more expressive that an actuary's dream of philanthropic reason? It is actually a well written and thoughtful book and will be of interest to those global universalist quants who share a utilitarian mindset.  It has inspired me to resume work on my Util App. This app will compute the Good Done in a standard measure (the util), by any specific action or input. With it we can compare the net good done by, for example, the discovery of fire, the sack of Troy, Sherman's march to sea, the invasion of Iraq, the public library in Spokane, the cure of polio, the invention of painless dentistry, capital punishment in TX from 1901 to the present, and Tolstoy's War and Peace. Without a reliable and standardized measure of good the project of doing the most good inevitably founders on relativism and endless bickering among interested parties and competing theoretical frameworks. Surely, some funder will step up to build out this mission critical  support system for doing the most good? I can have a working prototype in three years for an upfront commitment of $1 million. As it is I can provide measures on an ad hoc basis, for testing purposes. Reinventing Philanthropy produced 471 utils on 12-13-13.  This compares the 3,511 utils on that day from Paul Brest's Money Well Spent.  Paul's book, however, has been out longer and the good consequences have continued to cascade exponentially.  So, Paul's book clocked more utils on that day, but on a net present value basis, discounting all good done to date, and dividing by the number of elapsed days over which the good was done, Eric is doing more good per minute since inception as of 12-13-13.  A more complete analysis awaits funding of my util app. 

The Affluenza Defense

The Blaze: The clinical psychologist who suggested in court that a Texas teen was partially blameless for killing four individuals in a drunk driving accident because he was spoiled as a child and never learned right from wrong defended his testimony Thursday night.  The Dr. seems like a capable guy who among other things provides "consulting services for criminal attorneys." (I assume that means attorneys who practice criminal law.) I wonder if his business has picked up?

Pope Francis Tipped to Promote Wealth Bondage Rebooted

Huge News: Mistress Candidia, my boss and generous patron, goddess of the free market, she who rules us all, "the booted one," has struck an epic dealt with Pope Francis for the benefit of both our iconic brands.  Under its terms, The Holy One will endorse Wealth Bondage Rebooted: For the Good of All Humanity.   In exchange, The Booted One will deliver to the Holy See  their lost sheep, Fr. Brennan. With Francis as Time Person of the Year this should be a win/win for Catholicism (the Universal Church) and for Wealth Bondage (rebooted as the Universal Brand for Good). Fr. Brennan, my esteemed colleague and fellow spiritual advisor to Extreme Wealth, extradited to church authorities in chains, is a small price to pay.  I don't think the church burns heretics anymore, but he might get sent to another less desirable parish.  I went to the Remission of Sins for Alms Scene Room to ask Brennan how he feels about making this personal sacrifice for the good of all except him, but the security guard at the front gate said Brennan, disguised as a bag lady, left on foot an hour ago, for parts unknown. Now Candy is talking about dressing me as Brennan and palming me off on the Pope. Sweet Suffering Jesus!

Evangelii Gaudiam Takedown Notice

Daniel Kelley, of Global Fund: Where Solidarity Meets Self-Sufficiency, reflects on Evangelii Gaudiam, by Pope Francis. In pursuit of not only profit, but social benefit by measurable means, what have we become?  Are we "willing bondsman"? Daniel asks. Again, as with the Pope, this is bold-faced theft of intellectual property, without even attribution or a hat tip. Are we in bondage to wealth? Duh! I would hope so. Those as yet to be included will be soon, as impact investing brings disruptive innovation to tribal cultures, not unlike those on which the Pope draws in his  fantasy of faith, love, and grace. Human dignity as the face of the divine in the countenance of every consumer, producer, investor, owner, manager, and executive officer - I mentioned that tentatively to my boss, she who rules us all, Mistress Candidia Cruikshanks, CEO of Wealth Bondage, Owner and Sole Proprietor of the Free Market, and she said, Sounds good, Phil, brand the fuck out that religious crap. And while you are at it, tell legal to sue Daniel Kelley, the Pope and all these other assholes for stealing my intellectual property. Tell Francis (By the way, what kind of name is that for a man? Is that made up so we all know what a sissy he is or what?) to take down Evangelii Gaudiam or I will have his balls for breakfast. Fucking A-right we are in Wealth Bondage, who the fuck do you think owns Wealth Bondage and all derivative works? I am patenting grace too, and "justice," so-called; I am going to own it all. Ideals and holiness are the next iteration of the The Social and I want it for Wealth Bondage. They want holy, they rent from me. "World peace"? Who owns that phrase. Get me legal on the phone!

Deported to The Middle Class!

Did you know that the term used among the best wealth advisors for when a dynastic wealth client goes from rich to non-rich, is deported? (Non-rich is investable net worth below five million and/or income of less than, say, $1,000,000.) Yes, those recent arrivals to wealth or old money in the making who get bad advice, fail to do family governance, fail to have family meetings, fail to hire mentors and tutors to develop the four capitals of wisdom, wit, virtue and good manners (or whatever the capitals are that explain why good people are rich and other less good people are not), and fail to get a good family dynamics consultant, as well as tax, legal, and financial advice will go from shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations. They will be deported back to your neighborhood, the dismal land of the non-rich. That is the punishment for failing to hire Dr. A or Dr. B. or Dr. C. , or a tax attorney turned spiritual advisor. What's it worth to you not to be deported? My efforts to test the fee tolerance of this market have been thwarted by the absence of a good suit, or any clothes whatsoever.  The most recent prospect I accosted outside The Do the Most Good Charity Gala (raising money to relieve poverty in Nambibia by loaning money at usorious rates) asked:  How could a loser like you, a man of notoriously loose morals, and no net worth, neither literal nor figurative, a "professional" of the worst sort, mentally and morally and spiritually bankrupt, deranged by hunger, poverty and despair, teach me or my family of affinity anything about the virtues of wealth? Deportation? You are already deported. You are a walking third world country. Every second I spend in the presence of your stinking carcasse is like a season in hell. He had a valid point. I do stink. Sleeping in the open air on sacks of garbage naked does that. There has to be a way, though, that I could take a shower somehow and maybe borrow or steal a suit or maybe even a Tux and those shiny pumps. I know all the best lines now about the Four Capitals, Shirtsleeves to Shirtsleeves, and Mentoring Youth so they don't get Deported.  I just need another chance. This is America!

German Autumn and Strangers in Paradise

“I believe that man’s natural enemy is the mega-organization

because it robs him of the vital necessity to feel responsible for his fellow-man,

restricting his possibilities to show solidarity and love

and instead turns him into an agent of power,

that for the moment may be directed against others,

but ultimately is directed against himself.”^[9]

 From Wikipedia on Dagerman

On the advice of a friend who counsels wealthy families, I am reading Dagerman's remarkable German Autumn, written in 1946 amidst the ruins. I am also reading a fine new book by Dr. James Grubman, Strangers in Paradise: How Wealthy Families Adapt to Wealth Across Generations.

Social Media and the Hive Mind

I once in a daze inputted a response to a friend's email into twitter. She had asked by email if we could meet for lunch. I mistakenly entered "When?" into twitter. That act of inadverent idiocy is by far my best-retweeted twitter post. It went viral, apparently. I admit, just because I meant nothing, doesn't mean my one word post isn't profound. I bow to the wisdom of the crowd.