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now you're being simplistic! pensions are not like self directed ira's or 401k's where you can move your money around to the better funds.
Anyone alive during Enron, Global Crossing, and Qwest must be complete fools if they have a majority of their retirement in one company. Call it a pension or IRA or whatever. 10 years ago we learned a valuable lesson and I have little sympathy for the people who refuse to learn - and then blame their personal downfall on someone else.
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if a kid can't be controlled, then he/she should kicked out of school...PERIOD! let the idiot parents deal with em. accountability flows both ways...
I agree with you here. Vouchers allow that accountability. Parents can choose schools and schools can choose kids.
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Originally Posted by Bob from down south
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OK, so you think one in five homes needs to be in foreclosure before the problem is "serious?" Anyone else but me think that's INSANE??
Is this an admission that foreclosures are far less than 20% right now? Perspective. Probably more than 20% of people have participated in risky foolish behavior with their money and not all of them will end up in foreclosure. Most of the prudent people will be just fine.
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Here's what you said: "People will live to their means until they can't afford it any more.
I did say that - in response to #2 from Jazzlover. Go back and look at the context.
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Yes, that's why they get revised up/down month after month, sometimes as much as 50%. Because they're accurate. Right, got it.
Look up the difference between precision and accuracy.
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It just might be that we have millions of illegals because of the sharp income and standard of living gradient that exists across our southern border. Those people didn't come to serve our unmet needs, they came because there's opportunity that exceeds that where they live.
You've just said what I've been saying all along -Everyone in the USA is rich and the opportunity here is tremendous.
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I said you deserved to be shocked if you indeed think that wealth entitles you to wasteful, piggish consumption.
Those aren't nice adjectives. Unless you live in poverty like I have seen in third world countries, you could also be called wasteful and piggish.
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You need to re-read your history books if you believe that the industrial might of 1940s America was built overnight. We geared up for the war by converting production in existing factories from cars to tanks and airplanes.
Who was it that said I didn't know about tooling and dying? Oh yea that was you. Converting production from cars to tanks requires just as many new dyes as creating the factory from scratch. Where do you think the designs come from? Now that the dyes are created by CNC, all the designs are currently stored in computers and the dyes are created very rapidly. Before WWII, the designs were created by engineers and draftsmen and took over 50 times the man hours to create, then the dyes were hand made. Anything we did in 1940, we can do much faster today.
The only way I can see to bring the manufacturing jobs back to the USA is to abolish the 100% tax on labor that the 35% income tax and 15% social security tax essentially are. The best way to discourage wasteful consumption is by replacing that tax with a consumption (sales) tax. Until this is done, Americans will avoid the labor tax by designing marketing and selling products that are manufactured somewhere else to gluttonous Americans. Remember - you discourage what you tax. Instead of insisting that Americans change their behavior, we should be supporting politicians who truly seek change.
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Well goody for you, but one data point does not make a trend. Creditworthy people are indeed having difficulties obtaining loans--especially in some areas.
Your are correct in saying that one data point does not make a trend, but I still cant find a creditworthy person having difficulty finding a good loan. I got mine from a nationwide bank, so the area is irrelavent. (you can find many national lenders on the WEB) I am still waiting for you to give me an example of a single creditworthy person who can't get a good loan. If you find someone, my guess is that we will have a debate over what "creditworhy" means and for that, I will refer to Mr. Ramsey.
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And the issue isn't just companies that lend too much...it's also companies that borrow too much.
All companies clearly show the needed information about assets, liabilities and equity on their balance sheet.
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I think the employees at BSC might see it that way. I know the employees at Enron probably did.
The employees at Enron got blindsided, and the whole nation saw the ramifications and became educated. The people at BSC had ample warning. This thread and others like it have been around for months and the value of the stock crashed very recently. Anyone who has all their investments in one company has a higher degree of responsibility to know the financial situation of that company. All the information was there. The company was public.
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The point is that denial or unawareness of risk CAN put you in harm's way. Putting on your happy face, and telling everyone that you and your engineer buddies are rich and happy and don't see a problem for the rest of the world doesn't change the fact that for the majority there are dangers lurking.
Read what I am saying. I am not saying everything is hunky dory and we should not know what is happening. I am saying you should know the risks and downsides to every situation. Either accept the risks or don't go after the reward. I am also saying that for the majority of the people (well over 80%) this "crisis" will not effect them to the point of a major lifestyle change. The tone of this thread is 90% negative and I just want to add PERSPECTIVE.
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The end of WW II is econ-speak for "The Great Depression." They don't like to even say the D-word.
The Great Depression was before the WWII. WWII took us out of the depression.
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I question how bright your future can be when the world around you is in dire trouble. I don't think anyone can truly isolate themselves if/when this gets out of hand.
That is why I am pointing out that the world around is not in "dire" trouble. The quickest way to get it out of hand is to create an environment of panic.
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Your post reminds me of a Saturday Night Live skit. "We're not in a recession, because...........I'm RICH!"
That is close to what I am saying when I say, "we are not in recession because everyone is rich," so I can see how you can get that confused.
And here the market is up 281pts today so far. Yep, that sure makes a whole lotta sense to me......again, a real clown show.
281
Clown show? I think the phrase "clown show" is a bit cynical. Anyone who really thinks the market is overpriced should study at the futures and options markets. There are ways to make money when the market goes down. Then they can put your money where their mouth is. The people who moved the market up 281 points have done just that. In the mean time, lets refrain from the cynicism and make posts that are more educational and less unsubstantiated negativity.
When we have news about one company failing, the "whole" country is in "dire" trouble, but when we have positive news about an index for the entire stock market, it is a clown show. The real clown show is not on Wall Street. it is closer to home. Perspective. Overall the outlook is positive.
this chart gives some perspective over past housing busts (ok, tx, co, wy - 1983) and ca (1990) and the current one. housing data that plots out from top to bottom: ca, fl, co, us, denver, wy, tx, and ok. it's pretty easy to use this tool ( Paper Economy - A US Real Estate Bubble Blog - go to cool tools on the right and click on "home price index." you might check out the case-shiller index tool immediately above) and construct your own charts for regions that you're interested. now you can see why i'm long oklahoma and short colorado real estate. it's a long way down to the inflation adjusted median price around where ok and tx are now. will colorado bust that low? i doubt it with colorado fast becoming a boomer boneyard...
Last edited by katzenfreund; 03-18-2008 at 01:44 PM..
Reason: no copyrighted images!
And here the market is up 281pts today so far. Yep, that sure makes a whole lotta sense to me......again, a real clown show.
That might just reflect the decrease in the value of the dollar Shuffler. If the dollar drops, the dollar value of the multinationals goes up even if the true value of the companies remains flat.
There are ways to make money when the market goes down.
yep. it's called shorting the poo out of stock index futures in late oct. and covering em on st paddy's day! classic selling on rumor and buying on fact!
this list is a whole lot tamer than some trading lists i lurk on...
It is pretty tame here. Nice chart, BTW....
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another housing chart
