Being a rich country has allowed us to develop what some call “luxury beliefs” – ideas that make us feel good but that fail upon contact with objective reality. We ignore inconvenient truths about green energy and keep marching on, trying to convert an even larger portion of our economy to wind and solar, without contemplating the related costs. When it comes to electricity generation, luxury beliefs can be dangerous.

What we have today in MCK is the largest drug distributor in the US, with a very stable and growing business. It is very cash-generative, doesn’t need much capital to grow, and has a very high return on capital. Owning the stock was very stressful at times but also very rewarding. But the best is yet to come for MCK.

It seems that every year I think we have finally reached the peak of crazy, only to be proven wrong the next year. The stock market and thus index funds, just like real estate, have only gone one way – up. Index funds became the blunt instrument of choice in an always-rising market. But you don’t have to be a stock market junkie to notice the pervasive feeling of euphoria.

I was having lunch with a close friend of mine. He mentioned that he had accumulated a significant sum of money and did not know what to do with it. It was sitting in bonds, and inflation was eating its purchasing power at a very rapid rate.