Set forth below is the text of a comment that I recently posted to the discussion thread for one of my columns at the Value Walk site:
Today, a poster at your board asks you to provide a link to support your statement that Wade’s job was threatened. Here is your response:
Rob says
January 15, 2016 at 7:23 am
You were there, Anonymous. You don’t need a link.
I will provide a link to the members of your jury. Then they will decide on the length of your prison sentence. That’s how our system works.
I wish you all good things.
Rob
With responses like that is it really hard for you or anyone else to understand why you are banned at so many boards? Is it any wonder why people think you have a mental issue? Is it any wonder why people like Wade refuse to even talk to you any more?
We’re all in this mess together and we all will need to work together to get out of this mess together, Sammy.
The sooner we do so, the better things will go in the future for every last one of us.
That includes Shiller. That includes Bogle. That includes Arnott. That includes Pfau. That includes me. That includes you.
Fama was awarded a Nobel prize. Shiller was awarded a Nobel prize. Every investing board and blog on the internet should be exploring the implications of Shiller’s 1981 findings as frequently as they discuss the implications of Fama’s 1865 findings.
Wade and I were good friends until the day that you Goons threatened to get him fired from his job is he continued to publish honest research. If Bogle were to come out with a speech next week saying either “I Was Wrong About Valuations” or even just “I’m Not Sure About Valuations,” Wade would be thrilled beyond belief. That would free him to start the hundreds of research projects that he told me that he wanted to get working on and then put aside when he was threatened with career destruction for his plans to do so.
And it wouldn’t be just Wade. There are HUNDREDS of academic researchers in this field who would love to be doing work exploring the implications of Shiller’s “revolutionary” (his word) findings. Many have told me so. How does it hurt anyone for us all to see such research? If the Buy-and-Holders were right in their initial beliefs, the research will vindicate them. If the Buy-and-Holders were wrong in their initial beliefs, the research will persuade them to make the changes that they need to make to get things right.
That’s a good thing, isn’t it? The Buy-and-Holders want to get it right, do they not? It’s sure my belief and hope that they want to get it right. They can hardly get it right if hundreds of researchers are afraid to do their best work because it would upset millions of investors to learn that the experts in this field have been giving bad advice for 34 years now.
We need to clear the air. We need Bogle to give that “I Was Wrong” speech and for the New York Times to report on it on its front page. That frees us all to do our best work. Journalists will be writing better articles after Bogle gives that speech. Advisors will be developing better calculators after Bogle gives that speech. Economists will be making better economic predictions after Bogle gives that speech (the losses that investors suffer in bear markets have a huge effect on the economy). And on and on and on.
Either Bogle got something terribly wrong or Shiller did. They say opposite things. The only way for us all to figure out who got things terribly wrong is for us to launch a national debate re these questions. I think Shiller’s ideas will prevail. But I am perfectly happy to see Bogle’s ideas prevail if he can defend his ideas in an open, public debate. Do you feel the same? Do any Buy-and-Holders feel the same? I have the strong impression that the Buy-and-Holders lack confidence that they can prevail in an open, national debate. Why? What are the Buy-and-Holders afraid of?
I believe that the Buy-and-Holders are afraid that they got it wrong with their initial effort to develop a research-based strategy. Now they want to avoid the debate because they feel that the cover-up has gone on so long and it will look bad for them if the debate begins now. But it is only going to look that much worse if the debate is delayed yet another week or another month or another year or another two years.
That’s my sincere take re these terribly important matters, in any event.
I naturally wish you the best of luck in all your future life endeavors.
Rob
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