A Better Economic Recovery Plan

[Black Nate]

Beggin' yer pardon then. . . .

Ah, they's all crooks. . . .

Hasn't been an honest politician in my lifetime.

I think you missed a set of ellipses...

"Hasn't been an honest politician..."

Oi, BlackJohn,

Yer sayin I quoted another? Who might that be?

Hummm, two fellers wit th word 'black' in their names. Wouldn't want ta run in us in a darkened alley. :angry:

[Matty Bottles]

Beggin' yer pardon then. . . .

Ah, they's all crooks. . . .

Hasn't been an honest politician in my lifetime.

I think you missed a set of ellipses...

"Hasn't been an honest politician..."

Oi, BlackJohn,

Yer sayin I quoted another? Who might that be?

Hummm, two fellers wit th word 'black' in their names. Wouldn't want ta run in us in a darkened alley.

Nah, I just think BlackJohn is suggesting that there is no need to limit the claim of dishonest politicians to just your lifetime.

[Morgan Dreadlocke]

Even wi' a slow computer it don't take but a few minutes to look up who be in charge of a campaigns finances. That bein' said, I wonders about the mental processes 'o a candidate who hires one o' the co-owners of a bailed out bank ta be his financial chairperson???

The policies forced upon the banks by the Fruit 'o the Oak and their hired lackey lawyer is disturbin' ta say the least. The fact said person is still recievin' funds from them, and the fact that the first pig in poke bailout plan required 20% of any profits ta be distrubuted ta said organization (and its ilk) is just plain wrong. Questions need be asked. Any who smells 'o hog grease need not be on the side 'o those doin' the questionin'.

Note: After any interview, debate, or press conference there has been a flood of revisions ta the Wiki.

Ya can draw yer own conclusions on that. Ya need facts, stick wi' sources wot cannae be altered ta suit the whims 'o the radical wings.

Observation: While the left is goin' full out smearin' the right, there be scant attention paid ta the lefts assault on the left. Ya ain't heerd an evil word about that pirate "Cankles" in months. Tis this part 'o a grand rope-a-dope scheme? Let the right vent all its wrath upon the extreme far left candidate then the left plants a technicality ta replace him wi' a -- less radical left substitute?

[Red-Handed Jill]

Neglecting to remember that economics is a social science, based on human nature and reactions.

An excellent point (one among the many other excellent points). I have often wondered how Keynes made so much money in the market in the early 20th century. I'll bet he didn't do it by observing stocks and markets - he probably did it by watching groups of people.

As for people in danger of losing houses (someone was talking about this I think) they should consider their situation a life lesson. Nobody got into debt they couldn't handle without deciding to do so. A person's life and situation today are a result of the choices they made. So if they are unhappy with where they are at, they must make new choices.

Unfortunately, most people tend to make investment decisions based on emotions, which naturally gets them into trouble. During the housing boom, there was so much propaganda out there essentially stating that you were NOBODY if you didn't own a house (a task that is well nigh impossible in places like the San Francisco Peninsula and Manhattan.) People bought into that hook, line and sinker and made decisions based on not wanting to be thought of as a loser, even though in the SF area (and in several other areas), unless you bought a house prior to the 90's, it was much smarter to rent and invest your money elsewhere. They didn't even question the fact that the people who were giving them this message had an agenda behind it. And even if they had talked to anyone who knew anything about the real housing market and investment strategy, they were so emotionally wrapped up in this fantasy that they weren't in the mood to listen to reason.

Several of my clients were intelligent, very successful people. And they would still question the investment portfolios I would put them in. When I would ask what the issue was, they'd reply with opinions based on emotional responses. I would give them the rational reasons why their portfolios were invested the way they were and asked them to trust my knowledge and experience in this area. I recall that the market tanked three times in 2005 and the first time that happened I got a panic call from some of my clients. They talked to friends whose portfolios had dipped sharply and hadn't recovered. I asked them if they had checked their portfolios prior to calling me. They hadn't and when they did check, were surprised that their situation was much better than their friends and that their portfolios were just fine. After that, the questioning stopped.

Bottom line is, investing based on emotional responses will, for the most part, get you into trouble. Most people invest in something after it becomes popular and the price is already inflated. Then it peaks and inevitably falls. They wait to see if it will recover (it doesn't, at least not at the speed at which they believe it should) and then they sell it in a panic. The typical investor buys high and sells low - it's just human nature.

A quick, primitive sketch of the typical investor strategy:

Edited October 5, 2008 by Red-Handed Jill

[blackjohn]

Nah, I just think BlackJohn is suggesting that there is no need to limit the claim of dishonest politicians to just your lifetime.

Bing!

Back in the day, I was a huge fan of Roman history. Much of what goes on today reminds me of what was happening when the Republic was turning into the Empire, with Nascar and NFL replacing chariots and gladiators.

[blackjohn]

A quick, primitive sketch of the typical investor strategy:

Somehow, that doesn't surprise me...

Half of my retirement fund is in stocks. It's a rollercoster, but I'm leaving it in there for the long haul.

On Friday I heard some investment guy on the radio say that if you aren't willing to commit to 20 or more years, you are better off just putting that money in a savings account.

[lady constance]

i used to have my SEC liscense to sell stock / mutual finds...( in 1985)-- on the cusp of newly created "mutual funds"....

the market was ebbing, and well, mutual funds offered the opportunity to the common masses....... they HAD capital and wall street wanted it!

to obtain that liscense, was, well.. and education in creative thievery/ total Amoral principles, and totally against my moral and ethical code....

i never sold a thing--- because i could not live with the searing of my conscience--

i decided to check out simply HOW and WHEN the stock market began......pre industrial revolution -- an old oak tree and a few english men needed cash to build a business..... how to get others to given them their hard earned money for their profit and perhaps get a cut of it ..........

and . well, given the nature of men........ the inclinations to plunder others... to lie, cheat , steal, fudge numbers, make up expences, fees... et all......

and following the history from then til 1985..............

it would be so easy to get all depressed about the level of the depravity of mens hearts and minds and soul......

but it is easier to live my life doing the right things, sway the souls i know and are around to doing the good things, mend my ways when i discover that i have erred, and pray for the whole lot of humanity ......

[Morgan Dreadlocke]

Nobody got into debt they couldn't handle without deciding to do so. A person's life and situation today are a result of the choices they made.

I wish you were 100% correct. A person's life and situation today will be the result of meddling by a nonrepresentative government. I can't spend my way out of dept and neither can the government.

(insert barf icon here)