Great Insight in the financial future

[arjan]

Bush in 2002. That worked very well.

http://www.youtube.com/v/eW9viaJatpo&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=nl&fs=1

[oly884]

We are facing a very interesting time ahead.

Do we face a depression, or do we face a massive shift towards socialism via government control?

Either way, I suggest buying some extra food the next time you go to the grocery store if you can afford it. Call me paranoid, but having a few weeks/months of some dried foods isn't a terrible idea, and if I'm wrong, then at least I don't have to shop too much.

[fustercluck]

Bush in 2002. That worked very well.

http://www.youtube.com/v/eW9viaJatpo&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=nl&fs=1


This is what happens when folks become convinced that socialist ideologies are appropriate. If Mr Bush and the myriad other politically conflicted douchenozzles had been more convicted that moral capitalism was the principle to promote and follow, we would be in a stronger place with acurate home values and those who accomplished the reasonable benchmarks for sound mortages would still be in their homes while those wh refused to order their lives to be sufficiently productive would suffer the consequences unitl the lessons of financial responsiblity were assimilated.

Instead we loaned money to folks who were ill prepared to pay it back. Home values skyrocketed which forced folks to commit to too much debt and created a false urgency perpetuating unwise mortage obligations. Those of us who declined to be part of this mess are benefitting now. Those of us who unwisely played the game are suffering the consequences of unsound financial decision making. If we remove from the players the consequences of their actions, we delay the recovery of a truly health economy. See the great depression for an example.

This is not to mention the corrupt players in the financial sector. That ree will be shook out soon enough. The same priciples of behavior/consequence applies there too.

[arjan]

The unfortunate reality is, is that Bush's financial bailout plan gets essentially funded by the responsible working, taxpaying people.

There's been a constant pressure on people to keep buying, financing etc. to keep the economy rolling. That bubble has to burst sometime.
People can't keep living above their level of disposable income, and I think that reality is going to sink in very soon.
It will basically mean that people will be paying off debt (hopefully) and since they can't spend that money, the economy will be slow.

The good news is that the newer 4Runners have gotten way cheaper. I a couple of months I can hopefully trade the jetta in for one.

[corax]

If Mr Bush and the myriad other politically conflicted douchenozzles had been more convicted


I think one conviction at the hands of our legal system would have sufficed . . .

[Bob98SR5]

i definitely think there's alot of culpability to spread around. seems to me, everyone got greedy for their own good. how many people do you know basically straight out lied on their sub-prime, no interest loans to flip a house? i know 3 and they are hating life. and how many mortgage brokers popped up out of nowhere, operating out of their freakin' trailer homes and rental properties to take advantage of the low interest rates and available credit from these large lending institutions, who i might add, implicitly lowered their standards to allow "undeclared loans" for people who ...ahem....dont have identification or legal paper work to buy $800K homes, but were really gardners with no verifiable taxable income?

so yeah arjan, youre absolutely right: we have to pay for the mistakes for others. that absolutely freakin' kills me. again, its the responsible people who pay for the mess. i dont know much about the bailout plan right now, but the mortgage bailout pisses me off to no end.

[fustercluck]

Looks like the 700 billion will be secured by actual property assets and as they are assimilated, the govt gets the money back. This of course assumes that real estate values don't tailspin. Note I didn't say that the tax payer gets it back. Once the gov has the money, Joe Schmoe will never see a significant rebate.

Corax, surely you don't think that with the Pres behind bars that this would not have happened...I think that would be a colossally primative perspective.

[corax]

Corax, surely you don't think that with the Pres behind bars that this would not have happened...I think that would be a colossally primative perspective.


No, of course not. Although the president can impact the economy based on executive policy, there is no real / direct control. That would be like saying the 1st Clinton was solely responsible for the good fortune of the 90's. Ultimately it is business and consumers that affect the economy (though both can, obviously, be influenced by our gov't). Although I will add that the 2nd Bush has set records in yearly increases of our national debt, where before it had nearly flatlined in its growth . . .

No, the majority of my beaf with Bush v2 stems from other issues

[fustercluck]

Corax, surely you don't think that with the Pres behind bars that this would not have happened...I think that would be a colossally primative perspective.


No, of course not. Although the president can impact the economy based on executive policy, there is no real / direct control. That would be like saying the 1st Clinton was solely responsible for the good fortune of the 90's. Ultimately it is business and consumers that affect the economy (though both can, obviously, be influenced by our gov't). Although I will add that the 2nd Bush has set records in yearly increases of our national debt, where before it had nearly flatlined in its growth . . .

No, the majority of my beaf with Bush v2 stems from other issues


Whew! You had me worried....believe it or not, on other politically focused boards that I visit some folks are actually trying to make the case that if Gore had been awarded the election in '00 and/or if Kerry had prevailed in '04, we would not have been in this econo-mess. I'm sure they are otherwise rational people. They are so blinded by dislike of the B-admin, that every horse fart is B's fault.

As to the other reasons...you and I would probably agree on a lot of that. :D

[MTL_4runner]

You guys might want to have a look at what what oracle of Omaha says about the situation:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26866149/

Click on the video to the right.

Jeez the US gov't might even come out on top if they play their cards right.

[Bob98SR5]

I remember Jamie (MTL) was predicting this YEARS ago. Jamie: can you manage my portfolio too? :)

[MTL_4runner]

I remember Jamie (MTL) was predicting this YEARS ago. Jamie: can you manage my portfolio too? :)


Bob, sadly this is even worse than I was predicting, but my timeframes were pretty much on target. Right now your best bet is to just preserve your capital rather than to try and get rich quick off of what's going on right now. It's bad enough that people should be even careful of what bank they have their money at.....yes, it's really that percarious.

Here's a tool for you to check what your bank's rating is:
http://www.thestreet.com/screener/index.html?src=ratingsindex&tab=3

You want to have a "B" rating or higher, less than that is risky in today's market.

Also in today's market keep yourself as liquid as you can (ie as close to cash as possible) since many of the items you probably want (tools, TV's, boats, new cars, etc) will be quite a bit cheaper as people look to unload a liquidate themselves to shed debt. I'll never forget my old finance prof who's comment every time he walked into the room was "cash is king, folks, never forget that".....it was never more true than it is today.

My $0.02 for the day.

[MTL_4runner]

Guys, after the $700B bailout going south I just wanted to draw people's attention to my last post. This shizzle going down right now is serious stuff and has sowed some very bad long term seeds. I can't manage everyone's portfolios but I can give a little advice which might save you a whole lot of headache.

[oly884]

Jamie, my bank is rated at a B-.... Good, bad, too close to call?

[MTL_4runner]

Jamie, my bank is rated at a B-.... Good, bad, too close to call?


David, I think it's really up to the individual's comfort level. I put a B or higher as a rough guideline to help people, but obviously just like bonds, the higher the rating the more safe your money would be. There may not be anything to worry about in the end but no one really knows how it will all play out and the smartest people will be very careful about capital preservation.