CaptainJ47

re: I honestly thought this was a fake statistic, but it isn’t. Tokyo budget vs NYC budget

Posted by CaptainJ47 on 2/22/26 at 1:18 pm to HailHailtoMichigan!

I don’t think the statistics are apples to apples. That said even if it is off by 50% it is still insane.

re: Update: War in Iran thread

Posted by CaptainJ47 on 2/21/26 at 7:10 pm to hawgfaninc

I read nuke and call bullshite. Even small ones wouldn’t be deployed.

re: 2nd mortgage or heloc

Posted by CaptainJ47 on 2/21/26 at 7:05 pm to Everyday Is Saturday

Agree. The only thing I would consider is if there is an absolute crash and you can borrow or do a cash out at an insane rate. I got 30 year cash out in Nov 2020 for 2.625%. That is free money in the long run. If I can ever borrow that low again I will max it out and invest in equities and other capital/real estate.

re: What is the purpose of the raised black wall behind center field?

Posted by CaptainJ47 on 2/16/26 at 7:53 pm to Seersucker

It is called a batter’s eye. It is intentionally solid to help make the ball visible for the batter.

Tiger Rant

re: DOGE HHS open sourced the largest Medicaid dataset in dept history

Posted by CaptainJ47 on 2/15/26 at 8:15 am to Timeoday

Oh it would be worth it but the whistle blower cases have been taking forever to settle. I followed the Kaiser case that was recently settled in January. Took 14 years.

re: DOGE HHS open sourced the largest Medicaid dataset in dept history

Posted by CaptainJ47 on 2/14/26 at 9:13 pm to Timeoday

I know where hundreds of millions of Medicare fraud/waste/abuse is but I am not willing to be black listed and wait for a decade to have my dataset validated.

re: New Jersey teacher who slept with students at family bagel shop learns prison sentence

Posted by CaptainJ47 on 2/13/26 at 8:33 pm to djmed

My dad graduated from Wall. Could have been him in the 60s.

re: NY Times: It’s Time for America to Admit That It Has a Marijuana Problem

Posted by CaptainJ47 on 2/10/26 at 7:02 pm to brewhan davey

Yulp- alcohol use is at about a 90 year low

re: Trump predicting 15% gdp growth if Warsh does good job

Posted by CaptainJ47 on 2/9/26 at 8:00 pm to HailHailtoMichigan!

If the economy grows at 15% then interest rates need to increase to protect asset bubbles.

-1

re: How to plan for big expenses

Posted by CaptainJ47 on 2/9/26 at 7:59 pm to lynxcat

Not every LOC I have is unsecured. I have LOCs on damn near anything and everything I can. What it does is allows me maximum flexibility. Easier to have LOCs when I don’t need them then when I need cash for a quick purchase and don’t have it.

re: How to plan for big expenses

Posted by CaptainJ47 on 2/9/26 at 7:01 am to makersmark1

That is why I have a LOC that is tied to any checking account that I have. Since I am paid weekly it just acts as a sweep account. No sense in having any money in it since I am either paying or earning less interest.

I also use a credit card for every auto debit transaction I can. Certainly they won’t allow a mortgage or car note but otherwise everything else goes on a card and that gets paid off monthly.

re: How to plan for big expenses

Posted by CaptainJ47 on 2/8/26 at 8:24 pm to Redstickbaw

I am a big believer in lines of credit and assessing interest rate scenarios. It depends on cash position, interest rate, and market expectations. Anytime I can borrow at 4% I take as much as possible. My house note is 2.75% and I took cash out to invest in the market in 11/20 and buy other appreciable assets.

So for me there isn’t a set plan but it is a balance of liquidity. With LOCs I can pay them off if the winds shift and move some from non-qualified investments as needed. I also keep less than $500 in any checking/liquid accounts.

re: Vendor for Crawfish Boil in New York

Posted by CaptainJ47 on 2/8/26 at 4:39 pm to RanchoLaPuerto

My daughter lives in Hell’s Kitchen and wants me to come do one. How many people we looking at here?

re: How much pto used in one sitting is too much?

Posted by CaptainJ47 on 2/2/26 at 4:43 pm to fareplay

As much as you have. However, if you use it all and then tell me you need more unpaid then you can kick rocks.

re: Your healthcare provider

Posted by CaptainJ47 on 2/1/26 at 8:37 pm to yakster

Honest opinion. It depends on what condition and if you need acute care (hospitalization) or outpatient visits. Like everywhere else the care you get is dependent on the provider and the nursing staff. If you can expand a bit I would be happy to give a perspective.

re: Official Running Log/Marathon Training Thread

Posted by CaptainJ47 on 1/30/26 at 8:57 pm to Salmon

Anyone running this 10k in the heat wave tomorrow in downtown BR? 12 degree windchill at the start, FML

Health/Fitness Board

re: Health care stocks taking a beating...

Posted by CaptainJ47 on 1/27/26 at 9:26 pm to Jax-Tiger

Saw this analysis earlier:

I find United is the best barometer of the overall insurer market and given their size, scale, and overall industry success is the best gauge of what is going on. The insurer recently has faced a lot of headwinds, including a very strongly worded report out of Senator Grassley’s office.

United is made up of United Healthcare and Optum. They break out earnings and it is very helpful to the market as a whole.

United Healthcare saw revenues increase by over 16% or nearly $47B last year. What is fascinating about this is that they only served 415k more people. That means premiums increased about $900 per person covered, or 14.7%. However United made 9.4B or a margin of 2.7%.

What weighed on United was the medical care ratio. In 2025 it was 88.9% versus 85.5% in 2024. This 340 basis point increase is massive. The good news is they believe it will be stable in 2026. However this was likely before the Advance Notice yesterday and therefore I see this number increasing and putting even more pressure on the payer.

On the Optum side the growth came from OptumRx. In 2026 pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) will come under a lot of scrutiny. Optum Rx accounted for 76% of Optum profit. Optum Health lost 278M compared to a profit of $7.8B in 2024, a sign that the physician employer approach may have run its course. Also United has previously shared it is cutting back in MA markets and getting rid of some physician groups.

All in all this paints a very bleak picture for the healthcare conglomerate.

re: Funny how the Left had no problem when Obama said this.

Posted by CaptainJ47 on 1/26/26 at 6:05 am to Geekboy

It’s not always the message it is who/how it is delivered. Trump is polarizing. Obama was as well but his delivery muted the distain from the other side. Post Obama we have seen much more decisiveness and everything escalates much more rapidly.