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birb_cromble  3mo ago (text post)   1223 thread views

Weekly Finance Thread - 2026-08-01

A weekly thread to discuss financial matters - from personal all the way up to global.

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  • Remember that we're all just Internet randos. Don't bet your life savings on a hot tip from this thread.
  • Keep culture war in the culture war thread. Yes, global events may impact our personal finances, but that does not mean we have to incessantly harp on culture war aspects here. If you are going to discuss it, please stick to the practical impacts of it on an individual level.
  • Be kind. Remember that everyone here comes from different circumstances. We all have different resources available and different risk tolerances.
  • Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Better is better. Celebrate people when they take a step up and work to move their finances in the right direction. Don't flame out because they haven't followed what you consider the optimal path. Everybody has to start somewhere.
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I am violently skeptical of EA as a concept due to the events of the last several years. Between Situational Awareness, FTX, the castle debacle, the zizians, and... just the entire AI industry right now, I think setting my money on fire would result in more net good being done than giving it to anyone who is EA-affiliated.

With that out of the way, are you specifically looking for EA charities, or are you looking to maximize the utility of your charitable giving? If it's the former, I absolutely cannot help you. If it's the latter, can you explain why you're taking that approach over donating to a local charity that has a good reputation, that's close enough to scope out yourself?

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A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently, it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey", originally identified by philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."

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