123. Mr. Money Mustache On COVID (and the Notorious Tweet)
Earn & Invest
I am proud to release episode 123 of The Earn & Invest Podcast. This podcast is an exploration of personal finance, financial independence, and taking the conversation to the next level. The show features panel discussions with top influencers in the personal finance space. Guests weigh in on questions that don’t have clear answers.
Episode 123
In this episode we discuss with Pete Adeney a tweet of his that has sparked controversy and an outcry in the personal finance community. Also, a short segment with Jim from Route to Retire on his harrowing journey back from Panama.
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Incredibly interesting Podcast! It was great to hear MMM’s response to the backlash he has received lately. I can see where MMM is coming from when he said the tweet was aimed at a specific type of individual, i.e. a follower of his blog, and someone who doesn’t know who he is could obviously take it the wrong way. I wrote about that exact viewpoint in my blog post. http://planonfire.com/2020/07/11/did-mr-money-mustache-cross-the-line/
Keep up the awesome work, love the podcast!
Glad to hear MMM is not against masks. How about barbells, bikes, salads and masks?
Doc G, who are you talking about at the beginning of your episode?
Thanks for bringing this perspective to life from Mr. Adeney. There’s nuance to the points he was trying to make on Twitter.
There’s room for discussion about the best course of action with handling COVID, in the details. It’s easy to understand how that, with the size of his audience, and a hot topic, there’s going to be disagreement around it.
Thanks for sharing the discussion.
Thank you for giving Pete the chance to explain himself! I interpreted his tweet in the way he had intended, but maybe that’s because I read his blog and understand his mindset. Even if he had meant the tweet as so many misinterpreted, I still would’ve listened out of curiosity to understand his statement. The bottom line is that we’re too quick these days to dismiss people rather than discuss or listen to one another, hence our out-of-control cancel culture and attacks on free speech.
I have no idea whose interview you canceled, but my guess is that person had something valuable to contribute if you’d chosen to feature this person. In some respects, I wish you had aired the interview anyway. At some point, we have to accept that we will not agree with everyone in life, including those who offend us. I work with some incredibly offensive people, but I’ve somehow managed to learn a great deal from them over the years. I’ve even learned to like a few of them because, as I’ve witnessed, they’re generally well-intentioned and care much more than you’d ever imagine. But it takes time and patience to gain understanding and to develop acceptance. Anyway, thanks again for allowing Pete to speak.
I get where MMM is coming from and don’t see anything wrong with what he said and I’m sure we are on the opposite sides of the political spectrum. Everyone is so consumed with COVID they aren’t looking at the unintended consequences. Yes people have/will get it and sadly people have/will die. I worry about long term ramifications like the mental health of people being shut in, people dying alone, long term issues the younger generation will have, the hatred of cancel culture, loss of freedom, freedom of speech etc. etc.
PS. I don’t wear a mask. I’m sure that will instantly inflame many. Primitive emotions at work. I don’t blame you, it’s natural. I’m not anti-mask, it just depends on your circumstances. I live more rural, I minimize the amount of shopping to once a week for groceries, I wash my hands, socially distance and am respectful to others. I also keep my mouth shut and nasal breath to avoid talking. It is much better for your health. Research says the nitric oxide generated in the nasal passages helps against virus’ and bacteria. If I lived in a city or rode public transportation things would be different. So at the end of the day am I awful for not wearing a mask? It would be better for people to have a little empathy and not jump to conclusions.
I agree with Pete. I’m grateful for smart people that follow the numbers. Sometimes people are emotional numbers are cold without feeling, but at the end of the day, physics, math, statistics, and hard sciences don’t yield to emotion. It’ s good thing too.
The numbers point to masks being good. The numbers also show that people should stop smoking, vaping, and being inactive and obese if they want to increase their survival rates. Where’s the controversy? All those things are just true.
The issue is not whether masks work or not work against COVID. The main issue here is that the OBLIGATION of masks looks like a slippery slope toward a “do as I tell you or else” authoritarian-style society, it’s crossing the line that should not be crossed. This is why so many people vehemently reject masks (and maybe also seek out pretty plausible reasons why they might not be effective). But the main issue is symbolic, it is about core worldview and values, it’s about individual choice versus collective coercion, it’s not about a piece of material on your face, it’s about who decides how you have to behave in everyday life and to what extent.
Everyone needs to learn about Nonviolent Communication. You can embed in your consciousness to hear whats important to people, what they want… not evaluations, blame, shame and judgement.
Sometimes we can use clumsy words. Words can be limiting. Attribute a generous intention. Assume innocence…
Great podcast. 🙏 Both.
I really appreciate Pete’s interview. I tend to look at numbers as well a lot. I also appreciate that he tries to educate himself on different topics and is able to have intelligent conversations with people (even if he may not agree with them). I also have a hard time with many news media outlets because of the inflammatory way they present information. Sifting through what they present, and how they present it, makes it hard to know the truth of things so it can be dealt with in a thoughtful manner.
He has some pretty dogmatic views about food and health that aren’t quite scientifically sound. He appears to be just as judgemental as the people he criticizes (in terms of moralizing mask wearing and moralizing health and fitness).
Pete on a low info diet? Couldn’t be more wrong, but likely makes sense to an NYTimez or CNN reader. Pete is a super-pragmatic, detailed engineer, show him the evidence. Sadly most people trot out the nonsense they are fed by MSM. Really sad to see the cancel culture shout down a thinker, feels like someone in 1940s Germany not doing the Heil Hitler and getting slammed. Ancient Athens had more freedom, good, fair thought than the world had today. Hand sanitizer and toilet paper – that’s all we can do? Pfft. Hippocrates would be greatly disappointed in the “modern” world.
Great interview with Pete, I have been a long time follower of the MMM blog, and actually it was through this episode I discovered your blog! Cheers Doc