INSIGHTS
JUN
20
COSTA’S CORNER
“Information is the oxygen of the modern age. It seeps through the walls topped by barbed wire, it wafts across the electrified borders.”

From the great communicator, Ronald Reagan. It was information that flowed to the people behind the Iron Curtain that eventually forced communism out and brought in variations of democracy throughout Eastern Europe.

It’s that very information that the Chinese government tries to control but yet, it still can’t. The protests in Hong Kong are proof that information in this new age travels fast and furious.
The internet has made it all possible and the companies and people that control the internet control information. It’s a huge burden and thankfully there are institutions that counter whatever bad information is out there.

So, the media in this country is liberal and very biased you say. What about Fox News, right leaning and biased? For every point there is a counterpoint and it has always been up to the individual as to where he gets his information.
I read The New York Times, I also read The Wall Street Journal.
I get Huff Post news on my phone but I also read The Drudge Report.
I take the information as I get it and understand the leanings of the source. I don’t get wound up about an organization’s bias. If you know they are liberal or conservative, take it for what it’s worth.

Congress wants to do something about the power of Google and Facebook and once again, they may be biting off more than they can chew.
The fact that these two companies (along with several others) collect massive amounts of data and use it to steer you in a direction that you may or may not have gone in, is frightening to many people. They essentially are controlling the information you see, according to Congress. Oh really?
If I go on Google and search something, based on my past history Google will bring me to certain websites. Big deal. If I am looking for Indian motorcycles for example, Google will show in my results tab maybe five or six paid websites before it will show IndianMotorcyles.com. So what. I have to take 5 seconds more to go directly to the site I am looking for. To have a tool like Google at my fingertips for free is well worth the clutter you occasionally get.
Facebook collects billions of bits of data, again, so what. It’s free, stop your complaining. You don’t need Facebook to survive. You don’t need Facebook to help in your research or your learning. Facebook is an add on that performs its function very well and costs nothing.
As they say, you need to give up something to get something.
My point is, simply, we are in the Golden age of information and it will only get better as new technologies are developed. Putting shackles on investment and advancement with some ill-fated attempt at reigning in the giants is counterproductive.
I am not against calling anyone to task for violating regulations and laws but don’t put things in place to hinder businesses from creating and developing things you may not truly understand.

It’s just an opinion and my opinion hasn’t changed about my asset allocation model.

50% Stocks
25% Fixed Income
25% Cash