About Ponder This…
Ponder This… is an online news and commentary site dedicated to the search for wisdom. The site deals with a variety of areas of interest, including wealth preservation, surviving the credit bubble-bust cycle with skill, individual liberty and thoughtful living in general. The site provides news, insight and analysis related to the great credit expansion and subsequent contraction of the late-20th and early-21st Century. The site advocates individual liberty, free markets, and personal responsibility, and places a premium on personal due diligence in economic and general affairs.
The Ponder This… idea was originally implemented in March 2005 as a monthly newsletter sent out in PDF format to a small group of friends, family, associates and other interested individuals.
The idea was born from a mid-workday thought while reflecting on the (at the time) growing insanity of the worldwide credit bubble (now busting). The extension of credit seemed to be everywhere (and was): housing, mortgage finance, structured credit, fiat currencies, worldwide bond markets, equities and a number of other related places. Additionally, along with talking economics, it seemed like fun to include many general interest topics and provide an interesting and readable product. Throughout the life of the newsletter format, content included economic analysis, sports predictions and analysis, market summaries, social mood analysis, articles on a quality approach to life, analysis of certain political topics, books, albums, athletes and quotes of the month, fantasy sports summaries, comedy and a wide range of other content. Generally, it was an online variety show in newsletter format; one intended for the thinking person.
Guest contributors have included Steve Moyer (also the assistant editor), Joe Chu, Kevin Lew, and Jay Chess as regulars, and a number of other featured guests dotting the pages periodically. Web host Alexander Wiant helped with the implementation of the website and the transition to the blog format. Ponder This… was created, and is maintained to this day, by your humble editor, Kemp Moyer.
Over time, as the prevalence of the Internet and blogs has continued to grow, Ponder This… has become entrenched as a valid place on the web for market commentary, liberty-minded political analysis, investment analysis, news and insight related to the credit bubble, social mood analysis, Austrian Economics, Classical Liberalism and other interesting topics.
Ponder This… was created in hopes of shedding light on quality persons, places, things and, especially, ideas. The site has continuously advocated personal responsibility and individual liberty, and placed a premium on personal due diligence in general affairs, economic and otherwise.
Currently, Ponder This… continues to strive to be a quality place to visit for insightful analysis and reasonable commentary. In a world of a million voices and a billion soundbites, we hope to be a place to stop by and gain some thought provoking analysis; a figurative “calm during the storm”.
So, please, continue to stop by and enjoy the humble thoughts offered in these pages. We wish the outright best to you and yours and here’s to the everlasting quest for knowledge, wisdom, liberty, peace, and prosperity.
Sincerely,
Kemp Moyer
kemp34@gmail.com
www.ponderthis.net
(The United States Civil Flag - An Avant Garde Symbol of Peace)
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I ‘m no glad I found this site…..I am a female who loves Austrian economics and classical liberalism too…..I look forward to your blogs…..carolyn poole @missconet.com
Dear Mr Moyer
I just reviewed your April 7th article on deflation. It is unbelieveably prophetic. I was fortunate enough to sell my major real estate investment in December of 2005. My yearly rent income on the sale price was 3.2 %. It seemed obvious to me that if I were ever to get the standard 10%, rents had to triple or the value of the property had to go down by 50%. I played the odds and sold. The gods of real estate can be cruel to those who let greed cloud their vision.
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Maria Dumphy,
what ever happened to gold under $200.. its now near $1000…. P>S> I am not a gold bug,,,, I am afraid you may be a perma bear….. especially when you have prudent bear on your website
I never called for gold under $200. Perhaps my dad, Steve Moyer who writes real estate commentary. I think he is on point on most everything except precious metals. I do see a pull back, but also a long term bull. This is dated March 5, 2008 for reference. (FWIW, I do own metals in my portfolio).
BTW, I referenced a Prudent Bear chart, I fail to see how that casts the entire site into perma-bear status. I base my financial projections primarily on long-term fundamentals. Our credit/debt boom of the past decade is unprecedented. It is hard to see an easy path out of this. We’ll have to wait and see.
This is an amazing site. Please keep the great work. AND check out the latest Ron Paul: The Time Is Now video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i86-pAItEEQ
Thank goodness for this website and sage advice dispensed freely within.
I read Steve Moyer’s advice to get out of stocks and into something like treasuries. In spring of 2007 I moved my husbands IRA from an aggressive mutual fund at TR Price into a money market fund backed by treasuries. This prevented the loss of our nest egg. The aggressive fund lost 39% so far in 2008.
Thanks beaneater. I just wanted to make sure, however, to lay out the site disclaimer:
Our site may post information and opinions, but these are the opinions of the respective writers only. No words should be taken as specific investment advice or recommendations. Only the specific individual reader can make choices for him or herself based on any information they come across on this site or any other.
Boilerplate disclaimer continues:
Although this website may provide information relating to general approaches to investing or general types of securities and investments you might buy, sell or hold, no information available through the website is intended or should be construed as any advice, recommendation or endorsement from us as to any legal, tax, investment or other matter. No reference to any specific security constitutes a recommendation to buy, sell or hold that security or any other security. Nothing on this website shall be considered a solicitation or offer to buy or sell any security, future, option or other financial instrument or to offer or provide any investment advice or service to any person in any jurisdiction.
Just wanted to make sure I tossed that out for any and all visitors to the site.
If your personal due diligence led you to a successful investment decision I applaud you!
Hi Kemp,
Found your site via your Digg profile… adding it to my daily read. I always enjoy your comments on Digg, so I expect I’ll like what you have to say here.
Also, here are a couple sites I thought you might be interested in that I check out on a regular basis:
http://www.chrismartenson.com/ (watch his “crash course” videos… pretty interesting stuff)
http://benbittrolff.blogspot.com/
Cheers,
-neuron