[Rich Toscano]

Can’t disagree with you, CAR. I certainly agree that this volatility is harmful.

I just bring up the point because a lot of people want to put high oil prices entirely on the shoulders of speculators. Unfortunately, this includes virtually all politicians (that I’ve heard anyway). So instead of formulating an energy policy that would address the root cause, but would require sacrifice, they just take the easy way out and pretend it would be $2 gas now and forever if it weren’t for those pesky speculators.

[Rich Toscano]

Can’t disagree with you, CAR. I certainly agree that this volatility is harmful.

I just bring up the point because a lot of people want to put high oil prices entirely on the shoulders of speculators. Unfortunately, this includes virtually all politicians (that I’ve heard anyway). So instead of formulating an energy policy that would address the root cause, but would require sacrifice, they just take the easy way out and pretend it would be $2 gas now and forever if it weren’t for those pesky speculators.

[Rich Toscano]

Can’t disagree with you, CAR. I certainly agree that this volatility is harmful.

I just bring up the point because a lot of people want to put high oil prices entirely on the shoulders of speculators. Unfortunately, this includes virtually all politicians (that I’ve heard anyway). So instead of formulating an energy policy that would address the root cause, but would require sacrifice, they just take the easy way out and pretend it would be $2 gas now and forever if it weren’t for those pesky speculators.

[Rich Toscano]

Can’t disagree with you, CAR. I certainly agree that this volatility is harmful.

I just bring up the point because a lot of people want to put high oil prices entirely on the shoulders of speculators. Unfortunately, this includes virtually all politicians (that I’ve heard anyway). So instead of formulating an energy policy that would address the root cause, but would require sacrifice, they just take the easy way out and pretend it would be $2 gas now and forever if it weren’t for those pesky speculators.

[Rich Toscano]

Speculators can contribute to short-term spikes and drops (eg they surely played a role in the rapid 2008 runup to $147 and subsequent crash to $34).

But they aren’t responsible for the general trend towards high oil prices that we’ve seen this decade. Global oil production has basically not increased at all for 5 or 6 years against a trend of increasing global demand.

Speculators, along economic booms and slowdowns, can cause a lot of volatility around the underlying upward trend in oil prices. But they aren’t responsible for the trend itself… the “blame” there lies with the inability of oil production to keep up with rising demand.

[Rich Toscano]

Speculators can contribute to short-term spikes and drops (eg they surely played a role in the rapid 2008 runup to $147 and subsequent crash to $34).

But they aren’t responsible for the general trend towards high oil prices that we’ve seen this decade. Global oil production has basically not increased at all for 5 or 6 years against a trend of increasing global demand.

Speculators, along economic booms and slowdowns, can cause a lot of volatility around the underlying upward trend in oil prices. But they aren’t responsible for the trend itself… the “blame” there lies with the inability of oil production to keep up with rising demand.

[Rich Toscano]

Speculators can contribute to short-term spikes and drops (eg they surely played a role in the rapid 2008 runup to $147 and subsequent crash to $34).

But they aren’t responsible for the general trend towards high oil prices that we’ve seen this decade. Global oil production has basically not increased at all for 5 or 6 years against a trend of increasing global demand.

Speculators, along economic booms and slowdowns, can cause a lot of volatility around the underlying upward trend in oil prices. But they aren’t responsible for the trend itself… the “blame” there lies with the inability of oil production to keep up with rising demand.

[Rich Toscano]

Speculators can contribute to short-term spikes and drops (eg they surely played a role in the rapid 2008 runup to $147 and subsequent crash to $34).

But they aren’t responsible for the general trend towards high oil prices that we’ve seen this decade. Global oil production has basically not increased at all for 5 or 6 years against a trend of increasing global demand.

Speculators, along economic booms and slowdowns, can cause a lot of volatility around the underlying upward trend in oil prices. But they aren’t responsible for the trend itself… the “blame” there lies with the inability of oil production to keep up with rising demand.

[Rich Toscano]

Speculators can contribute to short-term spikes and drops (eg they surely played a role in the rapid 2008 runup to $147 and subsequent crash to $34).

But they aren’t responsible for the general trend towards high oil prices that we’ve seen this decade. Global oil production has basically not increased at all for 5 or 6 years against a trend of increasing global demand.

Speculators, along economic booms and slowdowns, can cause a lot of volatility around the underlying upward trend in oil prices. But they aren’t responsible for the trend itself… the “blame” there lies with the inability of oil production to keep up with rising demand.

[Rich Toscano]

[quote=CA renter][quote=briansd1][quote=Rich Toscano][quote=briansd1]How about when the government bails out private pensions?

Don’t you think that the value of the your 401k has been help up by Federal action?[/quote]

In the short term, yes.

In the long term (the timeline that matters), absolutely not.[/quote]

It depends what your timeline is. If you only have 20 to 30 to live, I think that you should be glad that the government didn’t let the system collapse in 2008.[/quote]

This explains why your perspective is different from many of ours, brian. Since you are childless…[/quote]

That’s not even in the issue, in my opinion. There is no chance that things will be better 20 years from now because people’s 401ks were propped up today. Long-term prosperity is based on productivity growth, and the stuff of this bailout (unsound money, massive debt accrual and deficits, handouts to incompetent and semi-corrupt companies that should have gone bankrupt, etc etc)… that’s not good for productivity growth.

[Rich Toscano]

[quote=CA renter][quote=briansd1][quote=Rich Toscano][quote=briansd1]How about when the government bails out private pensions?

Don’t you think that the value of the your 401k has been help up by Federal action?[/quote]

In the short term, yes.

In the long term (the timeline that matters), absolutely not.[/quote]

It depends what your timeline is. If you only have 20 to 30 to live, I think that you should be glad that the government didn’t let the system collapse in 2008.[/quote]

This explains why your perspective is different from many of ours, brian. Since you are childless…[/quote]

That’s not even in the issue, in my opinion. There is no chance that things will be better 20 years from now because people’s 401ks were propped up today. Long-term prosperity is based on productivity growth, and the stuff of this bailout (unsound money, massive debt accrual and deficits, handouts to incompetent and semi-corrupt companies that should have gone bankrupt, etc etc)… that’s not good for productivity growth.

[Rich Toscano]

[quote=CA renter][quote=briansd1][quote=Rich Toscano][quote=briansd1]How about when the government bails out private pensions?

Don’t you think that the value of the your 401k has been help up by Federal action?[/quote]

In the short term, yes.

In the long term (the timeline that matters), absolutely not.[/quote]

It depends what your timeline is. If you only have 20 to 30 to live, I think that you should be glad that the government didn’t let the system collapse in 2008.[/quote]

This explains why your perspective is different from many of ours, brian. Since you are childless…[/quote]

That’s not even in the issue, in my opinion. There is no chance that things will be better 20 years from now because people’s 401ks were propped up today. Long-term prosperity is based on productivity growth, and the stuff of this bailout (unsound money, massive debt accrual and deficits, handouts to incompetent and semi-corrupt companies that should have gone bankrupt, etc etc)… that’s not good for productivity growth.

[Rich Toscano]

[quote=CA renter][quote=briansd1][quote=Rich Toscano][quote=briansd1]How about when the government bails out private pensions?

Don’t you think that the value of the your 401k has been help up by Federal action?[/quote]

In the short term, yes.

In the long term (the timeline that matters), absolutely not.[/quote]

It depends what your timeline is. If you only have 20 to 30 to live, I think that you should be glad that the government didn’t let the system collapse in 2008.[/quote]

This explains why your perspective is different from many of ours, brian. Since you are childless…[/quote]

That’s not even in the issue, in my opinion. There is no chance that things will be better 20 years from now because people’s 401ks were propped up today. Long-term prosperity is based on productivity growth, and the stuff of this bailout (unsound money, massive debt accrual and deficits, handouts to incompetent and semi-corrupt companies that should have gone bankrupt, etc etc)… that’s not good for productivity growth.

[Rich Toscano]

[quote=CA renter][quote=briansd1][quote=Rich Toscano][quote=briansd1]How about when the government bails out private pensions?

Don’t you think that the value of the your 401k has been help up by Federal action?[/quote]

In the short term, yes.

In the long term (the timeline that matters), absolutely not.[/quote]

It depends what your timeline is. If you only have 20 to 30 to live, I think that you should be glad that the government didn’t let the system collapse in 2008.[/quote]

This explains why your perspective is different from many of ours, brian. Since you are childless…[/quote]

That’s not even in the issue, in my opinion. There is no chance that things will be better 20 years from now because people’s 401ks were propped up today. Long-term prosperity is based on productivity growth, and the stuff of this bailout (unsound money, massive debt accrual and deficits, handouts to incompetent and semi-corrupt companies that should have gone bankrupt, etc etc)… that’s not good for productivity growth.

[Rich Toscano]

Oops in looking thru the posts again I see I missed bg’s post saying she thinks that jumbos require a 30% down pmt. I had read that somewhere as well. That’s the kind of thing I’m talking about… if true, that’s a definite tightening.

[Author]

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