What I Read This Week (5/12/25)
Wisdom from Epictetus, The $20,000/mo AI Worker, GDP Shrinks, Jobs Report, Fed Holds Rates, Stagflation Risk, Spring Fair, AVID Banquet, Teacher Appreciation Week, & Mother's Day
Every week, I like to share what caught my attention. This is from 4/26/25 to 5/12/25.
At this rate, I should call this publication What I Read Every Other Week, haha!
In all honesty, keeping up with the weekly cadence has been difficult, but I won’t stop.
Timeless Idea💡
Wisdom from Epictetus
“If it were up to you, you would have power over it. But since it was not entrusted to you, it is not your business.”
Epictetus (Discourses)
I’ve been reading Discourses lately, and I read that quote this week and sat with it for a while.
Epictetus is talking about the wind, but really, he’s talking about life. He’s reminding us not to waste energy on things outside our control.
That hit home for me.
Sometimes I get caught up in things I can’t change, what other people think, how quickly something happens, and whether the “right thing” is recognized. I even get tempted to have strong opinions about things far outside my reach.
But this line reminded me: if it’s not mine to steer, maybe I was never meant to hold the wheel.
And maybe that’s a mercy.
Would I really want the power to control the wind? Or the pressure that comes with it? Probably not.
What is mine? My effort. My thoughts. My tone. My responses. These are small things, but they shape everything.
And if I can master those, that’s enough.
New Idea 🌟
The $20,000/Month AI Worker & AI Will Improve 1,000,000x in 5 Years
OpenAI is working on something wild. They’re building AI agents, digital workers with PhD-level intelligence, that could cost $20,000 a month.
These agents won’t just answer our questions or write our emails. They’ll take our whole to-do list and do it for us.
Imagine two screens. One looks like ChatGPT, and the other like a browser, a terminal, a Google Doc, a spreadsheet, or even our desktops. We tell it what we want. It breaks the job into steps. Then, it logs in, clicks the buttons, types the code, edits the document, sends the email, and does it all without blinking.
I think this will eventually make its way as the new user interface for computers.
The part that concerns me the most is that most people won’t be able to afford it.
Unless there’s a breakthrough in open-source or regulation steps in, we’re about to see a massive gap grow even wider. The rich will have access to this kind of hyper-productivity. The poor will not. And the compounding effects on income, knowledge, and opportunity will be staggering.
I’ve been worried about this. I believe that compelling technology behind a paywall will have disastrous long-term consequences.
On top of this, everything is accelerating AND compounding:
Chips are getting 3x faster every year.
Algorithms are improving 3x faster every year.
Data centers are scaling 3x bigger every year.
That’s 10x every two years.
100x in four.
A million-fold leap in five.
Of course, that also means prices might drop. Compute might become more available. Progress might benefit us all.
What I See In Markets 📈
A lot has happened in the last two weeks.
GDP & Jobs Report - Yikes.
Recent GDP data paints a concerning picture, with first-quarter U.S. GDP shrinking by 0.3%. Some economists attribute this to businesses stockpiling imports ahead of anticipated tariffs, skewing the numbers. While this contraction raises eyebrows, it’s not a definitive recession signal yet.
Though not detailed in recent updates, the jobs report remains critical as markets look for signs of labor market resilience.
Both of these are pretty bearish signs, but the S&P 500’s recent winning streak suggests optimism persists, but volatility will happen if economic data continues to disappoint. I will keep an eye on upcoming PMI and ISM services indices for clues on economic momentum.
Trump Pauses Tariffs
President Trump’s signal of potential trade deals and a 90-day pause on some tariffs has helped reduce market uncertainty and is probably responsible for the recent rally.
I haven’t seen anything set in stone yet, so I am still watching this carefully.
Admittedly, the combination of GDP, jobs report, and the tariffs has me more cautious than usual.
Buffett Names New CEO of Berkshire Hathaway
Warren Buffett’s announcement at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting that he’ll step down as CEO by year-end, with Greg Abel taking the reins, marks a pivotal moment.
Abel, long groomed as successor, inherits a $348 billion cash pile and a conglomerate with a stellar track record. Berkshire’s stock has returned 5,502,284% since 1965, dwarfing the S&P 500’s 39,054%.
The transition has sparked debate about Berkshire’s future strategy. Abel may shift toward dividend payments, a departure from Buffett’s no-dividend policy, potentially attracting income-focused investors.
Retail investors’ $24 million rush into Berkshire’s Class B shares after the announcement signals confidence, but markets will scrutinize Abel’s capital allocation decisions.
With the S&P 500 overheating (in my opinion), I’ve been looking into Berkshire as an alternative to indexing. I’ll be watching Abel carefully to see if that is a strategy I want to try.
Fed Holds Rates & Powell Hints at Stagflation
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s recent comments at the FOMC meeting sent shockwaves.
He warned that Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs could fuel inflation, slow growth, and raise unemployment, a textbook stagflation scenario.
With the Fed holding rates at 4.25%-4.5%, Powell’s blunt assessment that tariffs are “substantially larger than anticipated” highlights the central bank’s dilemma.
In case you don’t know…stagflation is a nightmare for markets: rising prices erode purchasing power, while slower growth hammers corporate earnings. Equities, especially growth stocks, could face headwinds, and bond yields may spike as inflation expectations rise.
The Fed’s wait-and-see stance means investors must prepare for prolonged uncertainty. Diversifying into defensive assets like utilities or gold could hedge against this risk.
Personally, I think the Federal Reserve should’ve cut during the last meeting, but it seems like they won’t cut for at least a few quarters.
The FOMC Fed Watch tool says there is an 88.4% chance that the Fed will hold rates at the next meeting.
Personal Update 💙
Spring Fair
BSU crushed it this year; we raised a ton of money and sold out (as we usually do).
I was on the grill, cooking hot links. At first I was struggling, I couldn’t quite get them right. Then the previous BSU advisor walked up and showed me how it’s done. Shout out to Mrs. Brown!
It felt good being out there with students, outside the classroom, sharing laughs, music, and food. Moments like that make this job a little sweeter.
AVID Banquet
I wrote awards for some of the seniors.
Some were funny. Some were serious. A lot of them made people cry.
Students handed me letters, pages and pages, thanking me for being their teacher.
As cheesy as it sounds, it reminded me why I do this, why it’s worth it, even when it’s hard.
Teacher Appreciation Week
This week was full of little kindnesses.
Some bracelets. A Starbucks gift card. Tacos. Ice cream. More notes than I could count!
I felt seen. And honestly, that’s rare.
Mother’s Day
I cooked lunch for my wife, my mom, and my mother-in-law.
On the menu was mushroom Alfredo, steak, roasted broccolini, and homemade ice cream.
They played with the girls, and my wife even got a nap.
I call that a perfect Mother’s Day.