Hah.
My 401K has gone from 180,000 to 100,000, last time I looked.
Funny thing is that I put half of it in cash in January - had a feeling hell was comming. Then a closed fund opened up and I went back in...****!
It could be a long time before it all comes back.
Still have a job, though.
If I had cash I'd be buying stocks now and over the next year (no-load mutual funds).
__________________ "...let us not ignore the truth among ourselves, that we are the aggressors and they defend themselves. The country is theirs, because they inhabit it, whereas we want to come here and settle down."
David Ben-Gurion (the father of Israel) "When fascism comes to America it will be draped in a flag and holding a cross." Sinclair Lewis I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands. One nation, indivisible, with liberty, and justice for all.
Believe it. Nothing is safe from the long arm of the state. If Congress actually opens that Pandora's Box, then perhaps hiding gold under your mattress will end up being the best retirement investment you could have made.
Hrmm... it's interesting how the facts morphed between those two stories.
1st story - hearings were held, some economics professors offered up different possible changes. Chiefly to reduce tax benifits of 401k's to upper income contributers. Someone suggested allowing workers to trade 401k's for government bonds.
2nd story - dems want to confiscate 401k's and force them into bonds. It's all part of a bigger plan of wealth redistribution (the new buzzword)
No wonder people a right wingers... if I limited myself to right wing news outlets I would be too.
Hrmm... it's interesting how the facts morphed between those two stories.
1st story - hearings were held, some economics professors offered up different possible changes. Chiefly to reduce tax benifits of 401k's to upper income contributers. Someone suggested allowing workers to trade 401k's for government bonds.
2nd story - dems want to confiscate 401k's and force them into bonds. It's all part of a bigger plan of wealth redistribution (the new buzzword)
No wonder people a right wingers... if I limited myself to right wing news outlets I would be too.
If you are concerned about reading two different versions of the same event, you can always watch the hearing yourself: Committee on Education and Labor
The first story was very brief and in my opinion it sugarcoated what Ghilarducci proposed. In the short term she proposed "allowing" us to swap 401k/IRA accounts for GRA's. Long term, she wants to "mandate" GRAs and "end the expiriment with" 401ks. The second article is more detailed and it gives a more accurate summary of her testimony.
What do they always say....buy land, because they are not making anymore of it! and look it is at a discounted price!!!! I guess there is something bush did right!!!
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"Your out of your element Donnie"
What do they always say....buy land, because they are not making anymore of it! and look it is at a discounted price!!!! I guess there is something bush did right!!!
Even that is in danger as the state can decide when they want to take it from you. It has already taken a big step forward with the Supreme Court's recent upholding of vastly expanded eminent domain powers for our government.
Believe it. Nothing is safe from the long arm of the state. If Congress actually opens that Pandora's Box, then perhaps hiding gold under your mattress will end up being the best retirement investment you could have made.
Funny you should mention this.
Have you heard what happened in Argentina? The new Presidente confiscated individual retirement accounts and put them under government control. Might the same thing happen here? I would hope there would be a revolution before but if the people in Washington got creative they might just sneak something similar by us. After all, look what they've done lately. You just know they would love to get their hands on all that money. They would treat it just like social security - withdraw from it and give us an I owe you...pretty soon it would all be gone.
EDIT: Sorry, looks like some of you are onto this already (Ghilarducci is connected to my post, in a way).
__________________ "...let us not ignore the truth among ourselves, that we are the aggressors and they defend themselves. The country is theirs, because they inhabit it, whereas we want to come here and settle down."
David Ben-Gurion (the father of Israel) "When fascism comes to America it will be draped in a flag and holding a cross." Sinclair Lewis I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands. One nation, indivisible, with liberty, and justice for all.
The latest:
More money to AIG and GM is begging at the door.
I have a suggestion for Congress:
Pass a law that limits the size of any one company or it's sum affiliates. No one should be "too big to fail".
I even read in the paper yesterday that some of the bailout money is being used not for what it was intended for but rather to make aquisitions of other companies. They are taking us to the cleaners.
__________________ "...let us not ignore the truth among ourselves, that we are the aggressors and they defend themselves. The country is theirs, because they inhabit it, whereas we want to come here and settle down."
David Ben-Gurion (the father of Israel) "When fascism comes to America it will be draped in a flag and holding a cross." Sinclair Lewis I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands. One nation, indivisible, with liberty, and justice for all.
Pass a law that limits the size of any one company or it's sum affiliates. No one should be "too big to fail".
Band aids on top of band aids. It's government laws and provisions, providing barriers to entry for competition, that allow monopolies to exist in the first place.
Band aids on top of band aids. It's government laws and provisions, providing barriers to entry for competition, that allow monopolies to exist in the first place.
Yes and no, sometimes the barriers are good things. Such as safety and environmental standards.
Often it's the sheer cost in capital required to be able to compete with a large company that prevents entry.
And sometimes unfortunantly it is poor regulation that bars entry.
Pass a law that limits the size of any one company or it's sum affiliates. No one should be "too big to fail".
Agreed, large companies should be able to fail, and if a company should never be able to get to the point where if it were to fail it would destroy the economy.
If we continue along these lines, then there is really no risk involved in running a large company. The government will just bail them out if they mess up. There needs to be real consequences to poor management.
A correction on the GM deal:
GM is asking for a loan. GM has a history of repaying loans to the government.
GM has very significant assets to back up their obligations.
GM employs a very large number of people and provides a living wage to them, unlike many other companies.
GM is a valuable national asset as well since it could provide needed manufacturing in the event of a large war.
GM is worth LOANING money to.
__________________ "...let us not ignore the truth among ourselves, that we are the aggressors and they defend themselves. The country is theirs, because they inhabit it, whereas we want to come here and settle down."
David Ben-Gurion (the father of Israel) "When fascism comes to America it will be draped in a flag and holding a cross." Sinclair Lewis I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands. One nation, indivisible, with liberty, and justice for all.
Band aids on top of band aids. It's government laws and provisions, providing barriers to entry for competition, that allow monopolies to exist in the first place.
Economies of scale also allow this kind of growth in size. Eventually they start eating up the competition and gain too much power . Which barriers to entry are you talking about? Like environmental regulation? Doesn't GM have that problem too? There are at least two new, small car companies in development right now. I wonder what they would have to say about your theory. And I wonder what they would say about the affects of big competition like GM, possibly unethical affects.
__________________ "...let us not ignore the truth among ourselves, that we are the aggressors and they defend themselves. The country is theirs, because they inhabit it, whereas we want to come here and settle down."
David Ben-Gurion (the father of Israel) "When fascism comes to America it will be draped in a flag and holding a cross." Sinclair Lewis I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands. One nation, indivisible, with liberty, and justice for all.
A correction on the GM deal:
GM is asking for a loan. GM has a history of repaying loans to the government.
GM has very significant assets to back up their obligations.
GM employs a very large number of people and provides a living wage to them, unlike many other companies.
GM is a valuable national asset as well since it could provide needed manufacturing in the event of a large war.
GM is worth LOANING money to.
One of the main reasons GM is in the spot their in is unions, (and I drive a GM vehicle) The current workforce is BARELY able to contribute enough to cover the benifits of those who have ALREADY RETIRED! You have union assembly workers, with a 6th grade education making $40 an Hr. to screw in a bolt (900 times an hour!) with full medical/dental/pension etc. the cost of keeping those bennys is killing the domestic industry. I know I'm gonna catch hell from all the pro union types, but your unions greed will be your undoing. My company works projects with both union and non-union contractors, and the job performance/on-time/on-budget gap between the two is amazing, and the quality of the finished product is equal. All I can say is if you're in a union, and you're young enough, get out and re-train in a non-union career that can't be outsourced. (or get used to Top Ramen every night for dinner...........)
-Rocky-
__________________
ROCKYMT
Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat."
A correction on the GM deal:
GM is asking for a loan. GM has a history of repaying loans to the government.
GM has very significant assets to back up their obligations.
GM employs a very large number of people and provides a living wage to them, unlike many other companies.
GM is a valuable national asset as well since it could provide needed manufacturing in the event of a large war.
GM is worth LOANING money to.
Quote:
Economies of scale also allow this kind of growth in size. Eventually they start eating up the competition and gain too much power . Which barriers to entry are you talking about? Like environmental regulation? Doesn't GM have that problem too? There are at least two new, small car companies in development right now. I wonder what they would have to say about your theory. And I wonder what they would say about the affects of big competition like GM, possibly unethical affects.
If you're interested in learning more about how big business colludes with government to pass regulations supporting their monopolies, I'd be happy to discuss it in another thread. As to GM's current state, yes, they're asking for a loan (another one, don't forget the $25 billion the Big Three got only a couple months ago) but, if they're so worthy of loaning money to, then how come they can't get it from the private sector? Hint: At the forefront may be its $1.25 billion per month(!) cash burn rate. By supporting a failing business, we (it's our tax money, after all) are only promoting the misallocation of assets and hurting our economy more than helping it.
Here's a good article that illustrates what I'm talking about and really dispels the "too big to fail" mentality:
What is the best solution? In a word, bankruptcy. By filing for bankruptcy protection, GM can escape the death grip the UAW has on the business. Bankruptcy would allow for restructuring on an unprecedented scale. There is a good chance that a highly competitive company could rise from the ashes of what we today call GM. Even if GM itself was unable to survive bankruptcy, the resources freed from its grasp could be hugely beneficial to other automotive companies that make products that American consumers value more. As taxpayers, we have a right to object to this misuse of our money.
401K - the last egg in the basket
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