But please leave out the widely understood part about past performance being no guarantee of future results. Got that part.

Ok, but that's exactly what you based your whole argument on. Past 3-5 year performance.
I do agree with everyone else though that with CD's at 5%, it's hard to take on more risk to get 6, 7 or 8% as rates plateau or start to come down. But it may be close to that time IMHO. I do believe the next 3-5 years will not look like the past 3-5 years. Extrapolate YTD returns on some of these funds now and it shows returns growing greater than 5% for the year.
...

Anyone who actually spent a few minutes of time on the links I posted would have likely seen that the results are just as bad for the bond fund universe over the past 10 years.
Had you, would you have instead stated "I do believe the next 3-5 (and 10) years will not look like the past 3-5 (and 10) years"?
And would your basis also be that if you extrapolate out the recent ST bounce for those periods, bond fund investors will (I guess, magically) get LT TRs of "6, 7 or 8%" for those periods?
I'll ignore your wild-eyed notion of bond funds returning 7%-8% over any LT period of time because it just doesn't happen.
But I will address the HOPE of 6% LT because, in the past, it was achieved by a few taxable bond funds. To wit, did you see that only 7/1,921 taxable bond funds returned over 6% during the LIFE of their respective funds, um, that was during the greatest, 30+year bond bull market in history?
Bottom Lines: Starting several months ago, investors were given the once in over a decade opportunity to buy (ugh, unsexy) CDs and ASSURE themselves % returns for the next 5 years equal to/greater than the LT % we all strive for in bond funds, which is generally 4%-5%.
Many missed the short-lived peak period. But all still have a chance to get it done. If they can just get over themselves.
I don't understand the widely held bias against CDs paying 5% as a preferred alternative to bond funds for the next 5 years.
I don't understand why investors who are striving for LT bond sleeve TRs of 4%-5% don't get that all their time, energy and HOPE spent trying to achieve that level of returns is effectively wasted as guaranteed returns of those levels are there for the taking.

”The mood among global fund managers soured further in May, with investors flocking to cash amid concerns that a recession and credit crunch are looming, according to Bank of America Corp.’s latest survey. The sentiment among fund managers deteriorated to the most bearish this year, with 65% of survey participants now expecting a weaker economy,”
Yahoo (Reprinted from Bloomberg)

It used to be (until 2015 or so?) that Vanguard would provide Voyager Select and Flagship customers with a free financial plan. After reviewing the basic survey that a customer filled out, a CFP would discuss the customer's situation over the phone for about an hour. There would be shorter followup conversations, before and after the plan was prepared.
The plan was not cookie-cutter, at least in the sense that it provided for keeping a lot of non-Vanguard assets, both individual stocks and funds. The plan offered suggestions on how to deal with specific (overweighted) individual stock holdings. Vanguard said it had tools to help the DIY investor implement the plan on their own, or that Vanguard could manage the portfolio for the investor.
I didn't mention specific financial planning because this particular service was discontinued years ago and I don't know whether a service like this is integrated into Vanguard's current service offering.

this influenced my decisionmaking 8y ago and I have not regretted it
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2015/01/16/investing-international-funds/21825245/

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1135300/000089418923003709/buffalosticker51523.htm
Buffalo Funds
Supplement dated May 15, 2023
to the
Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”)
dated July 29, 2022, as previously supplemented
The Buffalo Funds regret to inform shareholders that Jamie Cuellar, CFA, a co-portfolio manager of the Small Cap Fund since 2015 and of the Discovery Fund since April 2020, unexpectedly and tragically passed away on May 8, 2023. Jamie spent more than 30 years as part of the investment management industry, including the last 8 with Kornitzer Capital Management, Inc. (“KCM”). The Funds and KCM are grateful for all of Jamie’s contributions. He will be greatly missed.
Please note all references to Mr. Cuellar in the Funds’ Prospectus and SAI are deleted in their entirety.
The Small Cap Fund continues to be managed by Robert Male, CFA, and the Discovery Fund continues to be managed by Dave Carlsen, CFA.
Please retain this supplement with your Prospectus and SAI
Picture:
https://buffalofunds.com/team/jamie-cuellar/

Dollar diversification is one of the reasons for foreign exposure. Dollar has been strong for last several years, but may have peaked in September 2022. Since then, the pattern is of a decline (look at declining 50d-MA and 200-dMA) with wiggles up/down.
As has been noted, strong dollar is a headwind for foreign funds held by the US investors, while weak dollar provides tailwind. The currency-hedged foreign funds become popular in strong dollar eras.
But currency movements/trends are hard to predict.
https://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=$USD&p=D&yr=1&mn=0&dy=0&id=p35088383212

FMIJX is an international equity fund which hedges currency (most foreign funds don't hedge).
The strong U.S. dollar provided a tailwind for FMIJX.
FMI introduced an unhedged version of its International Fund (FMIFX) on 12/31/2019.
The link below shows the portfolio backtest results for both funds.
FMIJX vs. FMIFX

FMIJX has had two unusually bad patches (2020) and (2022) surrounded by some very strong years verses its peers.
fmijx/performance
Not International, but "Global Investing without the indigestion" might be another approach for diversifying away from the US:
investing-without-an-ulcer

There’s a whole other issue of whether the fund is dollar hedged, partially so, or not at all. You can find international funds in each camp depending on whether or not you want to hedge against potential dollar weakness. If you believe the dollar will remain strong, use dollar-hedged funds.
Buffet sold a lot of U.S. stocks first quarter, but increased his holdings in Japan. I suspect part of his thinking involves relative currency valuations (dollar vs yen).
Another question is how much of a premium you’re willing to pay for a more diversified portfolio. ISTM that if all of your investments are rising together there’s a pretty good chance that at some future date they will all decline together.
It’s interesting that some really accomplished heads of corporations look out 5-10 years when making spending decisions about acquisitions, expensive new infrastructure, new streams of income. But a lot of us (self included) react to gains / losses much nearer term. I mention that only because international investing involves calculated longer term risk taking. Past may not be precursor to future.

Very good analysis of massive benefits Middle and upper classes get from the government, while the poor get blamed for being lazy.
Reducing the deficit will certain gore someone's sacred ox
https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2023/04/20/the-high-cost-of-being-poor-matthew-desmond/?printpage=true
According to recent data compiling spending on social insurance, means-tested programs, tax benefits, and financial aid for higher education, the average household in the bottom 20 percent of the income distribution receives roughly $25,733 in government benefits a year, while the average household in the top 20 percent receives about $35,363. Every year, the richest American families receive almost 40 percent more in government subsidies than the poorest American families.
Taken from Desmond's new book Poverty, by America

Fortunately, I registered my wife and daughter at the time I bought the I-Bonds for them, but the process for creating gift accounts is confusing so that didn’t happen. Also you had to wait at least 5 business days after buying the bonds to transfer them, so I couldn’t do it at the time of purchase. I do remember indicating that they were gifts when I purchased them, but apparently did follow the correct procedures to have them show up in gift accounts. I was dreading having to go through a messy process to get them correctly classified as gifts and transferred, but it wasn’t difficult with guidance from the TD rep.

Last year I bought three batches of I-Bonds, one in my name and two intended as gifts for my wife and daughter. Apparently I did something wrong, and no gift accounts were created, although my holdings showed three separate holdings. I tried to figure out how to reclassify these as gifts using the TD website but got nowhere. So I finally broke down and called Treasury Direct this morning.
My experience was very positive. I expected a hold time, and it turned out to be just as long as the recording advised me — 15 minutes. The rep was friendly, helpful and knew exactly what to do. He walked me through each step patiently, and I was able to reclassify two batches of the bonds as gifts and transfer them to my wife and daughter. This all took about 10 minutes.
The I-Bonds for my daughter were a wedding present, so she can do whatever she pleases with them.

Regional bank KRE is in mid-30s again (as in early-May). I think that is good price for it - but after an initial position in early-May, I am not adding to it here. The downside is 2020/pandemic-low in mid-20s. The upside is if there is a comprehensive reform on the FDIC insurance coverage.
This is like catching a falling knife. So, don't just jump on it.
Right now, the FDIC has a few proposals on deposit-reforms, and the Treasury (so, the White House) and the Fed are reviewing those. The FDIC is also proposing temporary fees on banks to recover its costs of covering ALL deposits (that it didn't have to do) in the rescues of 3 failed regional banks (SVB, Signature, First Republic). Of course, this cannot continue on ad-hoc banks as more regional banks fail - PACW seems to be in trouble now.
https://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=KRE&p=D&yr=1&mn=0&dy=0&id=p27896665771

But please leave out the widely understood part about past performance being no guarantee of future results. Got that part.

Ok, but that's exactly what you based your whole argument on. Past 3-5 year performance.
I do agree with everyone else though that with CD's at 5%, it's hard to take on more risk to get 6, 7 or 8% as rates plateau or start to come down. But it may be close to that time IMHO. I do believe the next 3-5 years will not look like the past 3-5 years. Extrapolate YTD returns on some of these funds now and it shows returns growing greater than 5% for the year.
The only bond fund I've held on to over the past couple years is in my withdrawal bucket, RPHYX. I recently added RGHYX and SAMBX to that bucket in small dosage. A couple TIP funds too, but that bucket still consist of more than 50% in 3-12 month treasuries, CDs and MM. I'll add, because it's not talked about much, also a nice consistent player in this bucket has been SPC, Crossing Bridge Pre-Merger SPAC ETF.

I dumped my TIPs bond fund but holding the rest of them, about 35% of my total portfolio. Most bond funds now have healthy yields, and I think the worst of the slaughter is probably over. I am holding more cash in money markets and CDs than ever before. I expect bond funds to produce excellent total returns when and if interest rates stabilize and potentially drop.

....
It is hard to beat 4 to 4.5%

=====================================
With taxable and municipal bond funds, indeed it is.
-------------------
Here's a link to the 1,921 taxable bond funds that Fido currently offers.
https://fundresearch.fidelity.com/fund-screener/results/table/overview/averageAnnualReturnsYear5/desc/1?assetClass=TBND&category=BL,CI,CL,CS,EB,FX,GI,GL,GS,HY,IB,IP,MU,NT,PI,RR,TW,UB,WH,XF,XP&order=assetClass,category
For kicks, sort them by descending 5-yr total returns.
Note that only 11/1,921, or 0.57% exceeded TRs of 4.50% for the past 5 years.
-------------------
Here's a link to the 903 municipal bond funds that Fido currently offers.
https://fundresearch.fidelity.com/fund-screener/results/table/overview/averageAnnualReturnsYear5/desc/1?assetClass=MBND&category=HM,MC,MF,MI,MJ,ML,MM,MN,MO,MP,MS,MT,MY,SI,SL,SM,SS&order=assetClass,category
For kicks, sort them by descending 5-yr total returns.
Note that only 0/903, or 0.00% exceeded TRs of 4.50% for the past 5 years.
-------------------
Read it again s-l-o-w-l-y and try to understand it.
Then s-l-o-w-l-y try to explain why an investor, going forward, should invest in either taxable or municipal bond funds in their portfolio's fixed income sleeve instead of say, 5-yr, 4.50%, non-callable CDs.
But please leave out the widely understood part about past performance being no guarantee of future results. Got that part.

Well! I've learned some lessons through the years. I cannot sell my smallish, mid-sized bank stock at THIS point. (Stick out foot, then pull trigger.) ...I did unload a true beast: PRISX. TRP Financials, though. I redeployed the money, not taking it out. When I get some spare cash again at the head of the month of June, I'll be buying more of BHB. They've even managed to RAISE the dividend a tiny bit. P/E stands at 7.23. And P/B is 0.84. Price-to-cash-flow = 5.96. Trailing div is 5.81%. (That last one is surely connected to the fall in the share price.) The geniuses at Morningstar say I'm holding a stock that sits at 33% less than its true value. Market cap = 343.7588 Mil. Call me stubborn. But this one I can see is a "keeper." This crisis will pass, like the others. And I sense that it's a GOOD thing that this stock is not in the news.

@msf In addition to the evidence you provide about Dem vs Rep budgeting, there have been a number of studies refuting the 1998 research @Baseball_Fan cites by Feldstein and Wrobel regarding progressive tax policies, income inequality and wealth migration:
https://cbpp.org/research/state-budget-and-tax/tax-flight-is-a-myth
https://researchgate.net/publication/4731605_Do_Redistributive_State_Taxes_Reduce_Inequality
While it is possible for a billionaire to leave a high tax country for a low tax one with relative ease, it is far less likely for the average high-earning wealthy person to do this. Among the reasons is that normally people are usually later in their lives when they are at their peak earnings levels, and have established important career and business ties in their local area that are not so easy to rebuild in a new state. Moreover, moving is a pain, and causes disruption of family and friends.
The evidence indicates that Feldstein and Wrobel's research was skewed by the fact that progressive tax states already had high levels of income inequality to begin with before such taxes were enacted. It is one of the reasons the taxes were enacted in the first place. The taxes reduce inequality, but there remains often a higher than average level of income inequality in such states. No tax is going to fix the difference between a Silicon Valley millionaire/billionaire and the average person. But it eases the pain.

The state budget/pension situation is why I gleefully bought into the 403(b) option versus the state pension when I joined the uni system. Not only was the 403b portable and fully-vested immediately, but if I was going to lose (or make) money, I wanted to be the one responsible, not some politically-appointed state investment board who might, for example, think 25% or more in high-priced hedge funds is a good idea.

Yes I maintain a little in a global bond fund and also hold a high yield mini fund. They’ve long been part of a well diversified low risk portfolio. Bonds & bond funds got whacked in 2022. Worst year for bonds I can remember in more than 25 years of managing my own investments. That didn’t deter me from keeping the same allocation. Since my total allocation to all fixed income (cash and bonds) is only 20% you might assume there’s not a whole lot in bond funds. Where possible, I favor multi-asset allocation and alternative investment funds to either pure fixed income or stock funds.
*Note: I also hold a convertible bond fund. That’s considered an “alternative” type investment and so is not included in the above fixed income amount.