Post by John Durant on Oct 12, 2008 15:46:17 GMT -5
Friday I watched as the opening bell rung on Wall Street and the Dow Jones average began to tumble at a rate of about 100 points per minute. I've been one of the few folks in my social circles to acknowledge the seriousness of our nation's economic instability, and I actually helped save some folks from losing a lion's share of their 401k's by warning them of an impending collapse in the markets two months ago. They moved their money into more secure investments and dodged a huge bullet. I should've asked for a commission!
The reality is this:
Greed and government incompetence have put both our economic and national security at risk, and now we're in a situation where the entire global economy is on the verge of failure regardless of the measures being taken to shore up financial institutions around the world.
Obviously the greedy powers-that-be in the US have forgotten that the former Soviet Union collapsed because of a failed economy, and not because of military weakness. It's ironic that we now find ourselves neck-deep in an Afghan military conflict, which draws another interesting parallel to the failed Soviet Republic.
The war on the US middle class is at the center of this crisis, and the Bush administration began a concerted effort to undermine American workers the minute he took the oath of office. This deliberate effort was focused on decreasing pay and benefits for employees in both blue and white collar occupations to increase corporate profits, while completely ignoring the fact that these workers are also the greatest consumers in our economy.
This strategy began with attacks on labor unions, and then was followed with global outsourcing and outright support of illegal labor. By offering incentives to ship jobs overseas along with our latest technology, they put American workers in direct competition with the cheapest labor markets in the world.
Unfortunately, this deliberate plan to attack the middle class is a big component of the crisis we're in now, along with irresponsible tax breaks for the very wealthy combined with unbridled government spending. The lack of regulations in critical areas such as credit, health care, energy, and Wall Street put the final nails in the coffin of the American middle class.
I believe the American middle class is the foundation on which our economy should be based, and that the very wealthy in this country need to grow up and realize that there's responsibility that comes with wealth, and that increased taxes don't nearly compare to the sacrifices of our brave men and women who are giving up their lives in defense of our nation.
I respect the wealthy who reinvest their assets into this country by providing jobs and support to US workers, but unfortunately there are too many greedy people who couldn't care less about our country, and who's loyalty is only to their money. History shows us that the wealthy nearly always protect their "ass"-ets first while leaving ours hanging in the breeze.
Tomorrow I have a 401k meeting where a representative will tell me that I should leave my remaining funds where they are so that I can recover my 401k losses when Wall Street rebounds. The problem with that advice is that the principle remaining has taken such a huge hit that there isn't enough left to recover substantial losses.
I'll be advised to risk further double-digit percentage losses so that I don't miss out on any gains, which will most likely be in the single digits because of the severity of this crisis and impending deep recession. I'm no expert, but if I was in a casino I'd say that risking double-digit percentage losses for single-digit percentage gains is a bad bet.
Since most of the big players on Wall Street have already put their money on the sidelines for now, I think it might be a safe bet to move any remaining 401k principle to safer investments until this crisis somewhat stabilizes. All the experts seem to agree that we're getting close to the bottom, but they also say that we've never seen anything like this. I honestly don't think they know where we're headed.
I think our 401k's are some of the few assets remaining on Wall Street, so I guess you could say they're probably being used as cannon fodder to tell the very rich where the bottom of the market is so they can jump back in when it turns around. That's just my personal opinion! ;o)
My gut tells me we haven't seen the worst of this yet, but I'm optimistic about the state of our country and economy in the long run. Our citizens and government have always seemed to perform best when things are at their worst, and I have faith that Americans will work together to see us through these difficult times.
The reality is this:
Greed and government incompetence have put both our economic and national security at risk, and now we're in a situation where the entire global economy is on the verge of failure regardless of the measures being taken to shore up financial institutions around the world.
Obviously the greedy powers-that-be in the US have forgotten that the former Soviet Union collapsed because of a failed economy, and not because of military weakness. It's ironic that we now find ourselves neck-deep in an Afghan military conflict, which draws another interesting parallel to the failed Soviet Republic.
The war on the US middle class is at the center of this crisis, and the Bush administration began a concerted effort to undermine American workers the minute he took the oath of office. This deliberate effort was focused on decreasing pay and benefits for employees in both blue and white collar occupations to increase corporate profits, while completely ignoring the fact that these workers are also the greatest consumers in our economy.
This strategy began with attacks on labor unions, and then was followed with global outsourcing and outright support of illegal labor. By offering incentives to ship jobs overseas along with our latest technology, they put American workers in direct competition with the cheapest labor markets in the world.
Unfortunately, this deliberate plan to attack the middle class is a big component of the crisis we're in now, along with irresponsible tax breaks for the very wealthy combined with unbridled government spending. The lack of regulations in critical areas such as credit, health care, energy, and Wall Street put the final nails in the coffin of the American middle class.
I believe the American middle class is the foundation on which our economy should be based, and that the very wealthy in this country need to grow up and realize that there's responsibility that comes with wealth, and that increased taxes don't nearly compare to the sacrifices of our brave men and women who are giving up their lives in defense of our nation.
I respect the wealthy who reinvest their assets into this country by providing jobs and support to US workers, but unfortunately there are too many greedy people who couldn't care less about our country, and who's loyalty is only to their money. History shows us that the wealthy nearly always protect their "ass"-ets first while leaving ours hanging in the breeze.
Tomorrow I have a 401k meeting where a representative will tell me that I should leave my remaining funds where they are so that I can recover my 401k losses when Wall Street rebounds. The problem with that advice is that the principle remaining has taken such a huge hit that there isn't enough left to recover substantial losses.
I'll be advised to risk further double-digit percentage losses so that I don't miss out on any gains, which will most likely be in the single digits because of the severity of this crisis and impending deep recession. I'm no expert, but if I was in a casino I'd say that risking double-digit percentage losses for single-digit percentage gains is a bad bet.
Since most of the big players on Wall Street have already put their money on the sidelines for now, I think it might be a safe bet to move any remaining 401k principle to safer investments until this crisis somewhat stabilizes. All the experts seem to agree that we're getting close to the bottom, but they also say that we've never seen anything like this. I honestly don't think they know where we're headed.
I think our 401k's are some of the few assets remaining on Wall Street, so I guess you could say they're probably being used as cannon fodder to tell the very rich where the bottom of the market is so they can jump back in when it turns around. That's just my personal opinion! ;o)
My gut tells me we haven't seen the worst of this yet, but I'm optimistic about the state of our country and economy in the long run. Our citizens and government have always seemed to perform best when things are at their worst, and I have faith that Americans will work together to see us through these difficult times.