Why is this getting no play??

riverman wrote

The real losers will be the people set to retire in 3-5 years. They
will have lost a ton of value in the current crash, then get hit with
a large CG tax when they withdraw the rest. Hopefully they don't have
all their eggs in one basket...

Thing is, even those folks, what? They want to retire and die at
age 67? If they expect, as they should, to live until age 80 or
more, they also are in it for the long term and SHOULD have some
part of their nest egg in the market. Even the Great Depression
only lasted 10 years. 65? Withdraw what you've got in cash or
Treasury bonds, Hold on tight with what you've got in equities.
At 75 your stock mutual funds will come alive again.... when
you'll need it.

- JR
aka J "long view" R

On Oct 11, 2:26*pm, JR wrote:
riverman wrote



The real losers will be the people set to retire in 3-5 years. They
will have lost a ton of value in the current crash, then get hit with
a large CG tax when they withdraw the rest. Hopefully they don't have
all their eggs in one basket...

Thing is, even those folks, what? *They want to retire and die at
age 67? *If they expect, as they should, to live until age 80 or
more, they also are in it for the long term and SHOULD have some
part of their nest egg in the market. *Even the Great Depression
only lasted 10 years. *65? *Withdraw what you've got in cash or
Treasury bonds, Hold on tight with what you've got in equities.
At 75 your stock mutual funds will come alive again.... when
you'll need it.

- JR
aka J "long view" R

I was thinking more about folks invested in a retirement plan where
they must withdraw their shares when they retire or leave the company.
As for the rest of us, I agree: my medium term investment portfolio
just became my retirement plan, with a 'do not open until 2015' sign
on it. In fact, I might increase my DCA....this collapse might turn
out to be a windfall.

But I tell you, you can taste the fear here in Hong Kong. I heard last
night that financial people (pretty much the entire ex-pat population)
are being laid off by the tens of thousands. More interesting...a
student whose dad works at AIG said he told them over a month ago
that they might be moving back to the US because things were grim at
work....

--riverman

On Oct 11, 9:45*am, riverman wrote:
On Oct 11, 2:26*pm, JR wrote:



riverman wrote

The real losers will be the people set to retire in 3-5 years. They
will have lost a ton of value in the current crash, then get hit with
a large CG tax when they withdraw the rest. Hopefully they don't have
all their eggs in one basket...

Thing is, even those folks, what? *They want to retire and die at
age 67? *If they expect, as they should, to live until age 80 or
more, they also are in it for the long term and SHOULD have some
part of their nest egg in the market. *Even the Great Depression
only lasted 10 years. *65? *Withdraw what you've got in cash or
Treasury bonds, Hold on tight with what you've got in equities.
At 75 your stock mutual funds will come alive again.... when
you'll need it.

- JR
aka J "long view" R

I was thinking more about folks invested in a retirement plan where
they must withdraw their shares when they retire or leave the company.
As for the rest of us, I agree: my medium term investment portfolio
just became my retirement plan, with a 'do not open until 2015' sign
on it. In fact, I might increase my DCA....this collapse might turn
out to be a windfall.

But I tell you, you can taste the fear here in Hong Kong. I heard last
night that financial people (pretty much the entire ex-pat population)
are being laid off by the tens of thousands. More interesting...a
student whose dad works at AIG said he told them over a month ago
that they might be moving back to the US because things were grim at
work....

--riverman

Those who basically have nothing, the "have nots", will exult that
the "haves´" are taken down a peg or two, as the majority of them
begrudge you your social security, and believe you are not entitled to
it. Eventually the collapse will bottom out, and a lot of people will
be left with egg on their faces. The truly rich and powerful will have
less on paper than they had before, some will have more. Otherwise it
will doubtless largely be "business as usual".

Far too many people will be born, the destruction of the planet will
continue, and very few people will even try to do anything about it,
being more concerned with their personal problems. These things are
not actually real unless and until they affect you personally, and
individuals are quite powerless to do anything about it anyway.

Just how it is. Nothing will really change until enough people have
the sense to see that it is necessary, or they are forced into it.
Some of us may well consider ourselves lucky that we will die before
the really bad things start to happen to us. When you are actually
starving, dying of some illness for lack of help or drugs, or unable
to support yourself or your family, the politics or actual mechanics
of the matter are not usually of much interest.

On Oct 11, 4:34*pm, wrote:
On Oct 11, 9:45*am, riverman wrote:





On Oct 11, 2:26*pm, JR wrote:

riverman wrote

The real losers will be the people set to retire in 3-5 years. They
will have lost a ton of value in the current crash, then get hit with
a large CG tax when they withdraw the rest. Hopefully they don't have
all their eggs in one basket...

Thing is, even those folks, what? *They want to retire and die at
age 67? *If they expect, as they should, to live until age 80 or
more, they also are in it for the long term and SHOULD have some
part of their nest egg in the market. *Even the Great Depression
only lasted 10 years. *65? *Withdraw what you've got in cash or
Treasury bonds, Hold on tight with what you've got in equities.
At 75 your stock mutual funds will come alive again.... when
you'll need it.

- JR
aka J "long view" R

I was thinking more about folks invested in a retirement plan where
they must withdraw their shares when they retire or leave the company.
As for the rest of us, I agree: my medium term investment portfolio
just became my retirement plan, with a 'do not open until 2015' sign
on it. In fact, I might increase my DCA....this collapse might turn
out to be a windfall.

But I tell you, you can taste the fear here in Hong Kong. I heard last
night that financial people (pretty much the entire ex-pat population)
are being laid off by the tens of thousands. More interesting...a
student whose dad works at AIG said he told them over a month ago
that they might be moving back to the US because things were grim at
work....

--riverman

Those who basically have nothing, the "have nots", will exult *that
the "haves´" are taken down a peg or two, as the majority of them
begrudge you your social security, and believe you are not entitled to
it. Eventually the collapse will bottom out, and a lot of people will
be left with egg on their faces. The truly rich and powerful will have
less on paper than they had before, some will have more. Otherwise it
will doubtless largely be "business as usual".

Far too many people will be born, the destruction of the planet will
continue, and very few people will even try to do anything about it,
being more concerned with their personal problems. These things are
not actually real unless and until they affect you personally, and
individuals are quite powerless to do anything about it anyway.

Just how it is. *Nothing will really change until enough people have
the sense to see that it is necessary, or they are forced into it.
Some of us may well consider ourselves lucky that we will die before
the really bad things start to happen to us. When you are actually
starving, dying of some illness for lack of help or drugs, or unable
to support yourself or your family, the politics or actual mechanics
of the matter are not usually of much interest.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -


Yow....well there goes MY sunny day.

--riverman

On Oct 11, 10:52*am, riverman wrote:


Yow....well there goes MY sunny day.

--riverman

Why should something like that ruin your day? A sunny day, maybe even
spent fishing, with friends perhaps, or alone, is a form of riches
that nobody can control or take away from you. Except by means of
imprisonment or similar, and then you would doubtless have more
pressing problems. Nor can anybody really mar your enjoyment of it
unless you allow them to. You also retain the memory of it.

That is reality, unlike depressing speculations on the worth of your
investments in seven years time, by which point incidentally you might
well have long since ceased to exist.

One must perforce take notice of many things, but one must also be
aware of the priorities involved. If you are healthy, and can eat, and
enjoy today for what it is, you have already won a great deal. It
seems that much of the sorrow in the world is caused by people trying
to enjoy tomorrow before it arrives, (often coupled with worry, envy,
and greed), and regretting what they did, or what occurred yesterday,
both quite futile exercises.
Have a nice day!

On Fri, 10 Oct 2008 21:41:17 -0500, Ken Fortenberry
wrote:

If you want to believe that your largesse is the sole reason
some people in Massachusetts don't starve to death you go
right ahead and believe it. Just don't expect that I will.

It is not MY largesse, Ken. It is a combination of many people. I
couldn't financially support that charity, no could I run it. It is a
giant team effort involving hundred of people.

If it wasn't for all the food pantries around the state, many people
would go hungry. No one starves to death, but they do go hungry.
Almost all of our clients are on welfare, but that is not enough.
They are all getting aid from the state in some way or form.

Of course I could stand up front of them and say, "Ok, all you lazy
*******s. My liberal friends want you to go out and get a job, feed
yourself, no one cares about you. Now move it out!" Of course I
would say it with all the compassion that you would put into such
words.

You need to get out more often and look around and see if you too
could help in some small way. It does not require much effort or
money, just time. And, it would help if you would realize that
government is not the answer to all the problems this country faces.
There is much you can do instead of sitting comfortably in Champana
complaining about Republicans.

Dave

On Oct 11, 3:11*pm, Dave LaCourse wrote:
On Fri, 10 Oct 2008 21:41:17 -0500, Ken Fortenberry

wrote:
If you want to believe that your largesse is the sole reason
some people in Massachusetts don't starve to death you go
right ahead and believe it. Just don't expect that I will.

It is not MY largesse, Ken. *It is a combination of many people. *I
couldn't financially support that charity, no could I run it. *It is a
giant team effort involving hundred of people.

If it wasn't for all the food pantries around the state, many people
would go hungry. *No one starves to death, but they do go hungry.
Almost all of our clients are on welfare, but that is not enough.
They are all getting aid from the state in some way or form.

Of course I could stand up front of them and say, "Ok, all you lazy
*******s. *My liberal friends want you to go out and get a job, feed
yourself, no one cares about you. *Now move it out!" *Of course I
would say it with all the compassion that you would put into such
words.

You need to get out more often and look around and see if you too
could help in some small way. *It does not require much effort or
money, just time. *And, it would help if you would realize that
government is not the answer to all the problems this country faces.
There is much you can do instead of sitting comfortably in Champana
complaining about Republicans.

Dave

On the contrary dumbo, sensible and just government is the only
possible answer. That is what a government is supposed to do, ensure
the welfare of its citizens. That is the only sensible reason for its
existence.

The fact that many people are obliged to rely on charity is a sign
that the government has failed in its duty to its citizens.

Nobody wishes to be beholden in any way to nasty boastful
condescending ****bags like you LaCourse.

Dave LaCourse wrote:
Ken Fortenberry wrote:
If you want to believe that your largesse is the sole reason
some people in Massachusetts don't starve to death you go
right ahead and believe it. Just don't expect that I will.

snip nonsense
... And, it would help if you would realize that
government is not the answer to all the problems this country faces.

I've already conceded that point and I agree. The government cannot,
for instance, neuter all the right wing nitwits so they don't breed
or even disenfranchise them, as convenient as that would be. But any
government worthy of the name can sure as hell make sure that *no*
person in this country *ever* has to go hungry. You can argue to the
contrary until you're blue in the face but you will be forever wrong.

--
Ken Fortenberry

On Sat, 11 Oct 2008 11:31:18 -0500, Ken Fortenberry
wrote:

But any
government worthy of the name can sure as hell make sure that *no*
person in this country *ever* has to go hungry. You can argue to the
contrary until you're blue in the face but you will be forever wrong.

Then why are there tens of thousands of food pantries around the
country? There are four in the small city of Lowell. My small town
has one. The small towns on either side of me have one. Without this
extra food (and used clothes and toys for kids) these people would
have a much harder time. You sure are a compassionate liberal. Not!

The clients include Mexicans, Blacks, whites, Viet Namese, Laosians,
Iraqis, Russians, Puorto Ricans, et al. It is a regular melting pot
of different ethnic groups. They have all fallen through the cracks
of government. Many of them are *third* generation welfare
recipients. The government *is* doing something, but it is not
enough.

Dave LaCourse wrote:
Ken Fortenberry wrote:
But any
government worthy of the name can sure as hell make sure that *no*
person in this country *ever* has to go hungry. You can argue to the
contrary until you're blue in the face but you will be forever wrong.

Then why are there tens of thousands of food pantries around the
country? ...

Not enough government. Duh.

--
Ken Fortenberry