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TheBreeze
ParticipantOur economy seems to be like the Titanic. It hit the iceberg around August or September of last year. Since then, the economy has been kind of stalled in the water. Now, the economy is starting to take on water in earnest and it feels like it’s about to break up and sink to the bottom.
It’ll be interesting to see what happens next. It feels like the Dow has no bottom and could go straight to 5,000 in a relative instant. The spike in gold really has me worried. It makes me think that the bailout of AIG has put the U.S. on the line for trillions in derivatives. I don’t think anyone really knows what the total liability could be for AIG yet. Plus there’s Fannie and Freddie too.
I’m concerned that the Fed and the Treasury have put us in the worst of all worlds. Instead of no bailouts or a full-scale bailout, the Fed and Treasury have acted in fits in starts with seemingly no plan whatsoever. I fear that their plan is going to lead to both a massive devaluation of the dollar and a crash in the market, whereas a full-scale bailout or a “no-bailouts” policy would have likely only lead to one of those.
That being said, I’m continuing to dollar-cost average into the stock market. We should keep in mind that both LTCM and the 1987 crash happened in the September-October timeframe and in both instances the market came back nicely. However, this credit bubble seems to be bigger than anything that’s ever happened before and could lead to a Depression. I heard recently that unemployment was 25% in the Great Depression. I couldn’t imagine living through a period like that.
ParticipantOur economy seems to be like the Titanic. It hit the iceberg around August or September of last year. Since then, the economy has been kind of stalled in the water. Now, the economy is starting to take on water in earnest and it feels like it’s about to break up and sink to the bottom.
It’ll be interesting to see what happens next. It feels like the Dow has no bottom and could go straight to 5,000 in a relative instant. The spike in gold really has me worried. It makes me think that the bailout of AIG has put the U.S. on the line for trillions in derivatives. I don’t think anyone really knows what the total liability could be for AIG yet. Plus there’s Fannie and Freddie too.
I’m concerned that the Fed and the Treasury have put us in the worst of all worlds. Instead of no bailouts or a full-scale bailout, the Fed and Treasury have acted in fits in starts with seemingly no plan whatsoever. I fear that their plan is going to lead to both a massive devaluation of the dollar and a crash in the market, whereas a full-scale bailout or a “no-bailouts” policy would have likely only lead to one of those.
That being said, I’m continuing to dollar-cost average into the stock market. We should keep in mind that both LTCM and the 1987 crash happened in the September-October timeframe and in both instances the market came back nicely. However, this credit bubble seems to be bigger than anything that’s ever happened before and could lead to a Depression. I heard recently that unemployment was 25% in the Great Depression. I couldn’t imagine living through a period like that.
ParticipantOur economy seems to be like the Titanic. It hit the iceberg around August or September of last year. Since then, the economy has been kind of stalled in the water. Now, the economy is starting to take on water in earnest and it feels like it’s about to break up and sink to the bottom.
It’ll be interesting to see what happens next. It feels like the Dow has no bottom and could go straight to 5,000 in a relative instant. The spike in gold really has me worried. It makes me think that the bailout of AIG has put the U.S. on the line for trillions in derivatives. I don’t think anyone really knows what the total liability could be for AIG yet. Plus there’s Fannie and Freddie too.
I’m concerned that the Fed and the Treasury have put us in the worst of all worlds. Instead of no bailouts or a full-scale bailout, the Fed and Treasury have acted in fits in starts with seemingly no plan whatsoever. I fear that their plan is going to lead to both a massive devaluation of the dollar and a crash in the market, whereas a full-scale bailout or a “no-bailouts” policy would have likely only lead to one of those.
That being said, I’m continuing to dollar-cost average into the stock market. We should keep in mind that both LTCM and the 1987 crash happened in the September-October timeframe and in both instances the market came back nicely. However, this credit bubble seems to be bigger than anything that’s ever happened before and could lead to a Depression. I heard recently that unemployment was 25% in the Great Depression. I couldn’t imagine living through a period like that.
ParticipantOur economy seems to be like the Titanic. It hit the iceberg around August or September of last year. Since then, the economy has been kind of stalled in the water. Now, the economy is starting to take on water in earnest and it feels like it’s about to break up and sink to the bottom.
It’ll be interesting to see what happens next. It feels like the Dow has no bottom and could go straight to 5,000 in a relative instant. The spike in gold really has me worried. It makes me think that the bailout of AIG has put the U.S. on the line for trillions in derivatives. I don’t think anyone really knows what the total liability could be for AIG yet. Plus there’s Fannie and Freddie too.
I’m concerned that the Fed and the Treasury have put us in the worst of all worlds. Instead of no bailouts or a full-scale bailout, the Fed and Treasury have acted in fits in starts with seemingly no plan whatsoever. I fear that their plan is going to lead to both a massive devaluation of the dollar and a crash in the market, whereas a full-scale bailout or a “no-bailouts” policy would have likely only lead to one of those.
That being said, I’m continuing to dollar-cost average into the stock market. We should keep in mind that both LTCM and the 1987 crash happened in the September-October timeframe and in both instances the market came back nicely. However, this credit bubble seems to be bigger than anything that’s ever happened before and could lead to a Depression. I heard recently that unemployment was 25% in the Great Depression. I couldn’t imagine living through a period like that.
ParticipantHoly cow! MER finished at $17.06. One cent higher than it closed on Friday despite the BAC bid at $29/shared. Effin’ amazing.
ParticipantHoly cow! MER finished at $17.06. One cent higher than it closed on Friday despite the BAC bid at $29/shared. Effin’ amazing.
ParticipantHoly cow! MER finished at $17.06. One cent higher than it closed on Friday despite the BAC bid at $29/shared. Effin’ amazing.
ParticipantHoly cow! MER finished at $17.06. One cent higher than it closed on Friday despite the BAC bid at $29/shared. Effin’ amazing.
ParticipantHoly cow! MER finished at $17.06. One cent higher than it closed on Friday despite the BAC bid at $29/shared. Effin’ amazing.
September 15, 2008 at 12:09 AM in reply to: The end of the world (or at least the US middle class) as we know it…. #270386Participant+ 76% increase in mortgage payment
How much bigger is the average house today? My guess is that the average house is at least 76% bigger.
+ 74% increase in health insurance
Medical science can fix a lot more problems today than it did back then. I also wonder how much of this is spent on seniors in the last 5 or so years of their lives.
+ 52% increase in cars (two incomes need two cars)
+ 100% increase in child care
+ 25% increase in progressive taxesIt seems like a lot of women today want to work. When you consider the increase in expenses, women need to make quite a bit just to “break even” versus what they could save by taking care of the kids themselves.
As for education, I suspect that most plumbers, electricians, auto mechanics, and other skilled blue-collar workers make more than most history majors. The key is to get a degree in something that employers want.
September 15, 2008 at 12:09 AM in reply to: The end of the world (or at least the US middle class) as we know it…. #270620Participant+ 76% increase in mortgage payment
How much bigger is the average house today? My guess is that the average house is at least 76% bigger.
+ 74% increase in health insurance
Medical science can fix a lot more problems today than it did back then. I also wonder how much of this is spent on seniors in the last 5 or so years of their lives.
+ 52% increase in cars (two incomes need two cars)
+ 100% increase in child care
+ 25% increase in progressive taxesIt seems like a lot of women today want to work. When you consider the increase in expenses, women need to make quite a bit just to “break even” versus what they could save by taking care of the kids themselves.
As for education, I suspect that most plumbers, electricians, auto mechanics, and other skilled blue-collar workers make more than most history majors. The key is to get a degree in something that employers want.
September 15, 2008 at 12:09 AM in reply to: The end of the world (or at least the US middle class) as we know it…. #270623Participant+ 76% increase in mortgage payment
How much bigger is the average house today? My guess is that the average house is at least 76% bigger.
+ 74% increase in health insurance
Medical science can fix a lot more problems today than it did back then. I also wonder how much of this is spent on seniors in the last 5 or so years of their lives.
+ 52% increase in cars (two incomes need two cars)
+ 100% increase in child care
+ 25% increase in progressive taxesIt seems like a lot of women today want to work. When you consider the increase in expenses, women need to make quite a bit just to “break even” versus what they could save by taking care of the kids themselves.
As for education, I suspect that most plumbers, electricians, auto mechanics, and other skilled blue-collar workers make more than most history majors. The key is to get a degree in something that employers want.
September 15, 2008 at 12:09 AM in reply to: The end of the world (or at least the US middle class) as we know it…. #270672Participant+ 76% increase in mortgage payment
How much bigger is the average house today? My guess is that the average house is at least 76% bigger.
+ 74% increase in health insurance
Medical science can fix a lot more problems today than it did back then. I also wonder how much of this is spent on seniors in the last 5 or so years of their lives.
+ 52% increase in cars (two incomes need two cars)
+ 100% increase in child care
+ 25% increase in progressive taxesIt seems like a lot of women today want to work. When you consider the increase in expenses, women need to make quite a bit just to “break even” versus what they could save by taking care of the kids themselves.
As for education, I suspect that most plumbers, electricians, auto mechanics, and other skilled blue-collar workers make more than most history majors. The key is to get a degree in something that employers want.
September 15, 2008 at 12:09 AM in reply to: The end of the world (or at least the US middle class) as we know it…. #270699Participant+ 76% increase in mortgage payment
How much bigger is the average house today? My guess is that the average house is at least 76% bigger.
+ 74% increase in health insurance
Medical science can fix a lot more problems today than it did back then. I also wonder how much of this is spent on seniors in the last 5 or so years of their lives.
+ 52% increase in cars (two incomes need two cars)
+ 100% increase in child care
+ 25% increase in progressive taxesIt seems like a lot of women today want to work. When you consider the increase in expenses, women need to make quite a bit just to “break even” versus what they could save by taking care of the kids themselves.
As for education, I suspect that most plumbers, electricians, auto mechanics, and other skilled blue-collar workers make more than most history majors. The key is to get a degree in something that employers want.
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