Monday, September 15, 2008

504!!!


If you own stocks in banking, give the field a holla, I know the number of a very good suicide hot line here in Philly. Seriously, WTF? That 504 figure is not Jimmy Rollin's batting average, or a new area code, it's how much points the Dow lost today. The most since September 11.

All this on a day when Mr. Morton made the astonishing statement that the "fundamentals" of the economy is still "strong". Huh? I wonder if someone told him how totally ridiculous that statement was. Oh, apparently they did, because later in the day he tried to say that he meant the American workers are the fundamentals.....What? I guess they will no better than to let Mr. Morton give speeches without a script in front of him next time, the man is losing it.


Look, I have a confession to make: I do alright money wise. Between me and Mrs. Field, I am pretty much in that percentile that his O ness wants to increase taxes on. So I am not one to panic over money, or the lack of it. Unlike Mrs. Field (who has a lifetime subscription to Kiplinger's), I honestly don't follow the markets that much. I rely on my city pension fund, and Mrs. Field to read my deferred compensation statements. Mrs. Field reads her 401-K statements like you would read your bible. She knows all about large company growth funds, emerging growth funds, diversified international funds, value funds, and blend funds. She has us diversified in Janus Oversees, Columbia Acorn, Fidelity, Meridian Growth, Vanguard, Harbor Capitol Appreciation, Franklin Templeton...ahh shit my head is spinning. But you get the point.


So anyway, today, for the first time since I have known her, Mrs Field was talking about the stock market, and just how fucked we all might be. And seriously, when you read stuff like this, how can you blame her? "Wait a minute", I ask her. "I thought you were the one who always said that we should be patient investors, and that you invest for the long term. Don't panic with the rise and fall of the markets you always say, right? ""Yeah field but this isn't looking good. The Dow lost over 500 points today, and the banking sectors are getting hammered." "Sooo, what does that mean for the kid? ""It means the kid's stock portfolios and his wife's retirement is taking a beating. It means the kid's home probably lost about 10% of it's value within the last few days, that's what." She is being sarcastic when she says "kid", and she is not a happy camper. "See field, you have your little pension with the city, and it's pretty much guaranteed, so I am sure you don't worry about these things like the rest of us." Memo to all husbands out there: when your wife starts referring to your pension plan as "little", you might have some issues.




But, as is always the case, I blame the frat boy for this mess. These damn republicans with their leave the corporations alone, laissez faire attitude towards financial regulations in this country, have caused us to be in this mess. They are not laissez faire economist, they are fucking "Market Anarchist", and we are paying for it.


I was reading about Princeton economist, Robert Shiller, in the Philadelphia Inquirer, and he was basically saying the same thing that Mrs. Field is: we are fucked. And no one in government is doing anything to save us. Shiller says that the "the immediate fix that is needed is similar to that called for by the Great Depression, but unlike the 1930s, nothing fundamental is being done." This gloom and doom guy (I wonder if he would like a nice African American woman to marry)actually said that "home prices have sunk 30% since 2006, and that we could go back to a 25% unemployment rate like it was from 1925-1933." Gloom and doom to be sure, but the guy is no dummy. He helped to develop the "Standard and Poor's Case Shiller (that's his name in there) Home Price Index" for ten large metro markets, so he knows what he is talking about. But at least he has some solutions. He thinks, for instance, that "the government should replace Fannie Mae with an overseer and guarantor of mortgage loans, and that it should bail out lenders and borrowers to keep them from dragging others down." But he even admits that this is a "stopgap measure" which would just be designed to shrink the company's loss exposure until the next administration (sure you want this presidency thing O man?) figures out a more permanent way to fund home loans. Shiller wants the government's goal to be "pushing home prices back up while preventing a fundamental loss of economic confidence in our institutions and in each other, while preventing distress among people of modest means. He also wants a 'Financial Product Safety Commission' tracking loan and investment products, promoting fee only financial planners, to reach lower income people." Gee, there is a novel concept, making financial planners more affordable to everyone. And get this; the guy wants to "detach loan and bond prices from the U.S. dollar, whose steady erosion by inflation gives a false sense of its value." Gee, again, what a novel concept. "Loan prices", he argues, "should rise and fall with the value of goods produced and consumed in an economy, while bond prices should be tied to national economic output". Now I am no economic expert, but hell, that makes sense too.


And my question again is this: who in the frat boys administration was thinking these things out? Why were they just letting the financial sectors and the markets police themselves while they lived high on the hog, and drained our 401-K accounts? That was a rhetorical question. I am quite sure that you all know the answer. And now we have Mr.Morton, a man with no clue about our economy, ( he doesn't have to, his wife is worth a hundred million) promising us that he will fix this mess. Yeah right, and guess how is he going to do it? By cutting corporate taxes, and bailing out speculators, that's how. Nice. You gotta love those republicans. Destroy the country with their economic policies, and demand that we give them four more years to run it.


Anyway, enough of this financial talk, I am looking down at my butt and my calves, and the spinning hasn't stopped. Mrs. Field is on the phone with her sister, and she is telling her that she has to get off because she has to get on her computer. I will give you one guess what she is going to go and check on. If you don't get a post from the kid tomorrow, it's because I am out looking for a third job. I mean I know I am a Jamaican, and as the joke goes, we are used to working multiple jobs; but damn!





I am going back to the game now, my birds are up at the half.


65 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a nice post Mr Field, you had me lmao even though we are about to get in a mess of things to come.

Anonymous said...

Didn't Bin Laden said that this will happen to the markets.

Anonymous said...

Market Anarchist", Phi Graham comes to mind here. "you're a bunch of whinners". I'm sure he is not whining at the moment while watching the Dow plunge.

Woozie said...

Damn man! The O wants to raise taxes on you! You got that much money?

Hey, lend a brotha a dollar. Being a full time college student is hard work. And in the process of bettering myself, my people, and my community making money can be quite a challenge! I got my bank account number handy, c'mon brotha!

Mac Daddy Tribute Blog said...

Hey, field: kit over at Keeping It Trill(http://keepittrill.blogspot.
com/) wrote an excellent post on what this financial is going to mean to a lot of poor and black folk. Go, McNabb! Go, Philly!

Kit (Keep It Trill) said...

Great post and funny too, Field, especially your taking a 3rd job. Heck, that's a real good idea. We're in for the long haul, a very long haul, and the economic carnage has just begun. The Tokyo markets opened with a thud this evening. What happened today will be worse tomorrow.

I wrote an excellent post on this at a little different angle at the crack of dawn this morning. I knew this was coming and my title says it all. Come by, check it out, leave a comment on what you think.

From Black Monday to Black Autumn, The New Great Depression Arrives

Anonymous said...

I remember going to a mortgage business in 2003 to do after hours work and and they were just all about growth. I was just a dumb subcontractor. Anyway, out of the 15 sales agents the only one who was producing was a AA woman. It didn't feel legitimate so I stopped going there. This was at a time when Bush was promoting house ownership so I think it's safe to say deregulation tied to this policy partially lead to the current crisis. FL and CA were due for a downturn anyway but this policy didn't help. The girl who made so much money went bonkers and no one knows where she is. The owner of the mortgage house is awaiting trial.

I'm a cowboys fan, more so now that they have Felix, but dang can we get some defense?

szpork

GrannyStandingforTruth said...

Phil Graham and his wife had stock in Enron. Yup, they were associated with Enron. That book that Molly Irvins wrote about Enron had pictures of him, his wife, Bush Sr. and Bush Jr. in that book. I remember reading it back around 2004. Yup, they were all bosom buddies with Ken Lay. Partied together. In fact, the plan that Bush had planned for Social Security was modeled after Ken Lay's company's retirement plan. I don't have to tell you how that plan worked out for all of his employee's at the bottom, because I'm sure you read about it. If you didn't well, let's say no got any retirement money, not even those who had worked there for close to retirement age, accept the crooks at the top and those privileged to the insider trader thingee. Phil Graham is bad news in my book. Even momma Bush had investments in Enron stock.

GrannyStandingforTruth said...

BTW, Ken Lay wrote a bunch of letters to Bush while he was the Governor of TX, suggesting what legislature to pass. I read them. But when the mess hit the fan, Bush claimed to know Ken Lay vaguely, which wasn't true judging from the correspondence he got from him. They were busom buddies.

field negro said...

Okay, you all know I am pissed right about now right? Yes, my Birds just lost the f*****g game, thanks to McNabb and B-West, not being able to communicate on a simple f*****g handoff...okay field, relax. Wozzie, no $ for you; you are a stinking Skins fan, and right now I have no love for anybody from the NFC East.

trill, I will be sure to check out that post.

And anon. please don't even get me started on Phill (you are a bunch of whinners) Graham. Is it me or does he look like a cartoon character whose name escapes me now?

field negro said...

Oh granny, now you really have my head on fire with the frat boy Ken Lay reference. Of course they knew each other, wasn't Lay from Houston? And didn't he give big bucks to the frat boy's campaign?

Anonymous said...

If the Obama campaign has any sense at all they will be running McSame's and Phil Gramm's quotes 24/7 right til election day while folks watch their retirement and college funds evaporate.

This will get the suburbanites attention off Ms. 2nd Runner Up with quickness.

GrannyStandingforTruth said...

BTW, Lehman Brothers Bank is just another sign of what is going to be a domino effect with banks. Granny plans to be her own banker, and leave just enough money in the bank to keep it open to cash a check. I think I'll go shopping for a safe this week.

I keep telling folks this, but they think I'm just saying it to be saying it, but I'm not. Bush and his cronies have done this country a job, some of it is trickling out now, but wait until all of it starts coming out.

Trust me, the word that I substitute and use dung for is pure compared to how Bush's name is going to be thought of by Americans in the history books. Like that old saying goes, "The dung is fixing to hit the fans."

GrannyStandingforTruth said...

Field:

Yup, that's the one, good ole Mr. Enron himself. Read that book by Molly Irvins "Enron" it'll tell you the whole story and it has pictures in it, lots of pictures.

Anonymous said...

field just to give you a hand on that cartoon character... Graham is the spitting image of: Tippy the Turtle from Saturday Night Live and his personality-mean spirited waspishness matches ole sleazy Tippy's . Sorry about your Birds although I can't stand the owner(it's a politricks ting) "How Bout dem Cowboys?"

GrannyStandingforTruth said...

Not only that remember that Cheney had secret sealed meetings with those involved in the Enron scandal, not only that they even hired some of them to work in the White House. I can't help but wonder if they weren't using some of Ken's ideas in their dealings in the government and CEO's.

BTW, did you know that CEO's make 127 x what the average worker makes? It's probably more by now, because that was back in 2004. I'm sure they've given themselves pay raises by now. Whenever there is a big layoff of employees in Corporations, it's to pay the CEO's those big bonuses.

GrannyStandingforTruth said...

Phil Graham looks like Elmer Fudd.

field negro said...

THAT'S IT: ELMER FUDD!!!


Thanks Granny.

anon. I don'think I know "Tippy the Turtle."

nyc/caribbean ragazza said...

Excellent post. I did laugh when you talked about getting a third job. It reminded me of that "In Living Color" skit.

The top story overseas is the Lehman collapse. How anyone can defend our current administration is beyond me. This is what happens when you have dumb ass people who only care about themselves and their friends run a country,

How did we go from having a strong economy and a surplus to this mess in only eight years?

The Minority Militant said...

damn...that was a very insightful post, field. i'm still trying to grasp that you're part of 250k club cause you don't got a hint of snob in you. no pun on that one. =)

Anonymous said...

Guess it only took 8 years to raid the federal coffers for all its worth. This will definitely get worse before it gets better.

P.S. Hey Field, lay off the skins fans--you know we were rooting for a Dallas loss too! :)

Bob said...

If it's bad enough, even a few of Mr. Morton's friends might hurt. For a little while. 'cause Mr. Morton looks for his friends, you can say that much about him.

GrannyStandingforTruth said...

I'm wondering why our Governor is stalling on signing the budget in CA. Time for a recall like the way he did to Gray Davis. Gray Davis's problems were caused indirectly by Enron, it really was no fault of his own. Bush and his good ole deregulation policies caused it, but Gray Davis was used for the scapegoat. Which is about the time those secret sealed Cheney meetings were going on behind close doors.

BTW, the Democrats have been trying to do their job, but Bush has been vetoing everything they've tried to do. Yes, they are in control of the House and Senate, but it still has to get pass Bush's signature. So, the Republicans are lying and trying to shift the blame. However, Granny always watched CSPAN late at night to find out what is really going on in the government, not the News.

Bush has blocked everything they've tried to do, and before that it was the Republican controlled House and Senate that was doing it. Now they threaten fillabusters. The Republicans are a piece of work.

Bush and Company speak with a "Forked Tongue".

Donald said...

Field is aight. He ain't going all Bob Johnson on us or nothing...you know of Black Exploitation Television. Now there's a snob for your ass.
But on the financial tip, Oh it's coming and coming fast.
So...Don't push me, 'cause I'm close to the edge. I'm trying not to loose my head. It's like a jungle sometimes, it makes me wonder
how I keep from going under...

Anonymous said...

I wish I could laugh, but it's Stiff Upper Lip time in my household. Today's my b-day and my present is I'm probably going to lose a great job before I can accept it. It's with a profitable division of AIG.

Phil Gramm's dirty fingerprints are all over this financial mess we're in. He deregulated the mortgage market in 1999, but he also slipped in some legislation that deregulated credit swaps.

Those swaps are what caused Lehman Bros. to fail and AIG will likely be next.

Brown Man said...

If the Dow loses another 1000 points this week you'll be alright.

That's not the real problem.

The bulge of supply in our economy cannot be legislated away.

George Soros has made most of his fortune following a theory he has termed "boom/bust", that basically says that all systems are usually NOT in a state of equilibrium - they are usually teetering between one extreme or the other.

Reversing this trend is next to impossible.

From a political standpoint, though, it makes the population and our governing bodies more amenable to trying out things they never would have agreed to when they weren't in need.

Shady_Grady said...

And yet millions of people have voted and will vote again for the Republican "free-market" low-regulation corporate ideology that caused this mess in the first place.

Never underestimate the power of large numbers of stupid people.

Income is down, unemployment's up, the market's in the tank, deficits as far as the eye can see, income inequality at levels not seen since the Gilded Age- yup voting Republican is just what this country needs...

field negro said...

Happy B-Day r.j., a fellow Virgo? Nice.

sytgrl, you are right, I ws just mad last night. I know you Skins fans were rooting for us.

minority.., just remember, that 250k is a JOINT return. That's all Mrs. Field ;)

Granny, great point about Congress. The frat boy does still have that veto pen.

brown man, thanks for that insight into Soros econ.101, that was interesting.

"ever underestimate the power of large numbers of stupid people."

Amen shady_grady, amen!

David Sullivan said...

All I can picture is McNuggets in his ROTC uniform ala Kevin Bacon in "Animal House" during the parade when the Delta's are menacing the town screaming "all is well" with his hands outstretched. "ALL IS WELL, ALL IS WELL".

Anonymous said...

I'm glad folks on this board are bringing up Phil "We've sort of become a nation of whiners" Gramm. That guy ought to be in prison for what he's done to our economy. Obama mentioned Gramm yesterday to a crowd in Colorado. He ought to be bringing up his name every hour on the hour. The former senator, who was once McCain's campaign chair and economic adviser--who is still informally advising McCain--created the Enron loophole. His wife had served on the board of Enron and many blame Gramm's legislation for permitting the Enron scandal to occur in the first place. As a senator, he also spearheaded banking "reform" laws--laws that are now being blamed for the current mortgage crisis. If that weren't bad enough, Bob Herbert of the NY Times has a column about how a study released today shows that McCain's health-care plan is actually the beginning of the dismantling of employer-paid health-care in America. Why? Because it's formulated on the same failing Republican philosophy of naked competition with no regulation-- a philosophy that got us into this financial crisis to begin with.
God, I can only hope that come election day that there are more of us than them, no matter how much they try and suppress voter turnout.
Sheila

Hawa Bond said...

Great post, field. And the economy is fundamentally sound... for greedy corporate interests. Foreclosures are virtually non-existent (for the handful of homes that McCain owns with his wife). Retirement is stable (for those with a $100mil inheritance). Don't folks realize that the rest of us simply don't exist on the McCain radar???

About your tax bracket: ~$250K and no kids? Wow. I have two boys, single parenting and substantially less income. One can only dream... LOL

Hawa, author of
Fackin Truth Blog (Personal Blog)
and
Cleanse Master Remix (Health Blog)

SagaciousHillbilly said...

That "littler" pension will get even littler when you retire young and have to provide your own health insurance. Right now, mine is reduced by almost 1/2 to pay for a family plan. . . it's a good plan, but takes almost 1/2 my pension nonetheless.

Robert M said...

The only complaint I have w/ your article is that every politician regardless of party is responsible for this mess. The housing boom provide income to most people in our country by using home equity loans for the last eight years(look at income growth between 2000 and now it's negative). Home equity loans show up on the liability side of the balance sheet. To believe that any politician was going to go against that was and is ludicrious.

Anonymous said...

if only every voter was as intelligent and informed as the commentors here. I'm drowning in this economy, I need a lifeline or maybe I should just move to Mexico.

Anonymous said...

funny how the racist (anon) and the repugs never have a comment when the story is about the economy. I

Monie said...

Field Negro-

For the Republicans the economy is not doing badly. They don't judge the economy by how badly the middle-class is doing or even how badly corporate America is doing. They judge by how well wealthy individuals are doing, individuals such as CEO's that walk away from failing companies to receive millions in severance pay.

The stock holders take the fall in the Republican economic vision. After all most stock holders are just pain old working Americans so why would the Republicans give a darn about them.

This is why the Republicans keep saying the Fundamentals of the economy are good. Fundamentals is code speak for the rich are getting richer.

Anonymous said...

Field,

I am a financial analyst for a Fortune 50 company.

A word of encouragment:

If you and your wife are under the age of 50, I would tell both of you not to panic.

My funds are taking a dive too!

You have a long time horizon to ride out the market swings.

The shares you and your wife own in your fund accounts are "depreciating in value" right now. To put it another way, you can now purchase more shares with the same money you have been investing all along. (Like T-shirts on sale at Walmart.)

It does not look good if you and yours are retiring in five years, but if you have a longer timer horizon than that, you will be fine.

Each of those funds that you referenced are diversified. (Risk is spread out over various sectors.) They are designed to take a beating and then bounce back.

Your wife is seeing what I am seeing...and, yes...Yuck, this does not look good. However, it is just a market mood swing.

Anonymous said...

Field, Field, Field. The wife is far more right than she knows. You should be afraid, very afraid. And you should be prepared, but you aren't because you aren't even really aware that you need to be. you're prepared to retire into a world with 20th century economic systems. That world is fast coming to an end.

The price system is literally collapsing around us, and yet we continue to put toothpicks under the looming disaster in futile attempts to prop it up. And what's worse, it's the same exact people who are the architects, maintainers, and primary beneficiaries of the price system who intentionally accelerated this collapse who we turn to for "solutions"?

Anonymous said...

It's not looking for banking and real estate. Consumers do not have any money to spare to buy anything, and McCain is walking around saying off the cuff that doesn't make any sense. He knows nothing about the economy and making statements that it is fundmentally sound. It will not be sound for long if our economy effects the rest of the world. We are looking at a recession at the moment, and it's beginning to look very much like the Great Depression in terms of banks folding, real estate speclulation, and consumers up to their eyeballs in debt. Yet, people do not understand why it's not important to study history.

NSangoma said...

~
field, I just saw your boi speak at the Colorado School of Mines; very professorial, and that is his problem.

Yah boi needs to let Hillary and Bill do the talking for him. Two great intellects that break down our current crises for the comprehension of the bulk of the population; for Obama cannot.
`

Anonymous said...

Adam,

Go the fuck to hell. The derivatives are about to go, and all hell breaks loose after that. Have you been reading Roubini? Worldwide Economic Collapse territory. We're on step ten, and there's only two after that.

Granny,

Wake the fuck up. Americans hate taxes, and the alternative to taxes is inflation. So find something that will inflate, like some precious metals. Hedges are good for you, I promise.

Looks like we'll all be getting paid this week, Fed managed to get today positive at any rate.

FDIC is bankrupt.

There will be no up to this one. There has been no up to the market since 9-11, at least not tech. "Ride out" and "Your Money Will Always Outperform Inflation" are for chumps.

My parents money has been out since January -- and I'm out now cause it's far too fucking dangerous to short.

My friend who works for wall street pulled over 700 trades yesterday. Bad Fucking Day.

Don said...

Funny post, cause I'm actually looking for some part-time overnight job. The price of everything is just seriously ridiculous. I have to admit that I'm somewhat afraid of what will happen once *gulp* McCain enters office. I think he will win (hint for people to register and vote Democrat).


Too funny @ the Jamaican joke.

vanishing point said...

I saw Gordon Liddy pushing gold on a commercial last night!

Woozie said...

Fuckin Eagles fans. Can't we all just unite in our hatred for all things Dallas? Does Bush have any ties in Dallas?

Anonymous said...

Actually, Don ... I'm hearing that people are now encouraging folks to register as Republicans--that way they can't get purged from the polls are subject to some other shenanigans. Then they go vote for Obama.

Sheila

Anonymous said...

RisingTide:

Every Blessing to you. So good to hear from you. I trust that you and those close to you are healthy and well.

RisingTide, tonight I will go home from work, kiss my lovely wife, hug ny three beautiful children, be thankful and remember what is important in life.

Yes, I am familiar with Roubini's 12 Step Program to economic collapse. There is merit in the case he makes.

You are correct in stating the derivative markets are in trouble. I also agree that precious metals are a fine hedge against economic crisis. (And if you have Gold, hang on to it my friend. Do not tell too many people in your immediate social circle that you have it).

The picture is scary, no doubt there. I would liken it to the paralysis one feels when watching a horror film for the very first time. Yes, I do believe it will get far worse before it gets better. Much worse, RisingTide! The birth pains of an economic depression.

We may see a good old fashioned garage/fire sale in stocks and bonds, with a side dish of meltdowns in the deriatives, futures contracts, and commodities, and with a little sprinkle of hyperinflation. (A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.)

And...We'll ride it out.

According to Ibbotson Associates, $1 dollar invested during the crash of 1929 would be over $11,000now. There is opportunity where there is crisis.

RisingTide, maintain your health and your sanity. Try to remember what is most important in life. Pray if you have faith. Pray if you don't!

Respectfully and Sincerely Yours,

Adam

Anonymous said...

Brother Field... Better keep some "instant cash" in your stash. Things might go left field once the Big Boys fleece/steal the cash. Then and only then will they "allow" Brother O to be in charge. Instant cash may be your ticket home one night.

Anonymous said...

Loving this last ad from the O man.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6reQLzgywzk

SingaporeSwim said...

Field,
I may need some investment advice from the Mrs. but I hope this is not considered "insider" info...(-;

You posted:
She knows all about large company growth funds, emerging growth funds, diversified international funds, value funds, and blend funds. She has us diversified in Janus Oversees, Columbia Acorn, Fidelity, Meridian Growth, Vanguard, Harbor Capitol Appreciation, Franklin Templeton

field negro said...

All kinds of smart money people and financial planners commenting here today. If she read this blog, Mrs. Field would actually love this. Thanks for all the advise, but I think we are all f****d, and it will get much worse before it gets better.

And honestly, if it keeps going like this I will pack up my stuff, and head down to the rock, and live out the rest of my days eating fried fish and bammy,and drinking warm Red Stripe on a beach on the South Coast some damn where.

"According to Ibbotson Associates, $1 dollar invested during the crash of 1929 would be over $11,000now. There is opportunity where there is crisis."

Adam, I like yout optimism, but sorry, as long as the frat boy is in power, the dark clouds will just keep hanging over us.

"The price system is literally collapsing around us, and yet we continue to put toothpicks under the looming disaster in futile attempts to prop it up. And what's worse, it's the same exact people who are the architects, maintainers, and primary beneficiaries of the price system who intentionally accelerated this collapse who we turn to for "solutions"?"

Now that comment from EM, I can get with.

And yes woozie, today we ALL hate the cow pokes.~~~Man I wish T.O. was still an Eagle :(

saraphen said...

Blame it on Phil Gramm, and by extension, McSame.

I'm thinking of cashing out and converting it all to savings bonds.

Anonymous said...

Dude, the birds fucked us up big time! I gotta say, though, McNabb looked more mobile and fucking awesome than I've seen him in years. Even thought they lost last night, I think the Eagles are gonna go 12-4 this year and deep into the playoffs.

Oh, and yeah, the Republicans fucked us up big time!

Robert M said...

Field
i know this isn't the place but you have no idea how powerful that Obama-aid is.It works in Brazil:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/sep/15/brazil.barackobama

Anonymous said...

Field,

Hey bro...

As a wonderful elderly black woman (who I picked strawberries with) from southern Mississippi once told me, "You gonna go through some times when it ain't always gonna be shugga' and pie. But in those tough times you learn to live and work togetha."

Simply put: This economy is going to go on a big time "diet" and it will receive a colon cleansing of the first degree. I won't blow smoke at you there. The markets are going to "correct" themselves.

My father-in-law, who was an attorney in Guatemala, can show us and our cohorts on this forum a potent defintion of being f****d. I may ask him to comment.

Even if worse times are ahead (and I believe they are), we will be no where close to what many on this green Earth deal with daily.

Perspective, man!

Stay encouraged. Remember those that you love and what is important in life.

Anonymous said...

"Does Bush have any ties in Dallas?"

Rumor has it that Laura is house hunting in Highland Park and University Park. Both are cities-within-a-city just north of downtown Dallas (all of the benefits of living in Dallas, with none of the responsibilities), and near the site of the Bush library-to-be at SMU.

It's bad enough leaving the airport and getting on the George Bush Highway (named after George Bush the First), now they're going to be living in the same city as my own family. Oh, the inhumanity.

Anonymous said...

RisingTide:

One more thing -

I am truly sorry if you, your family, or friends have experienced large losses from this mayhem. I do empathsize.

Anonymous said...

Our economy’s in shambles and bambi has a $30,000 dinner…..yea the check is in the mail, I won’t #C@%& in your M&@% and B%&*@ is beautiful……lol

Anonymous said...

adam,

we ain't been blown up yet, and we're out of arbitrage on the crazy derivatives we did have (miracle those got sold). I know most small time investors, like us, have been blown up completely -- as in never getting their money back. It's harder than hell to compete with inflation when you've taken 30% losses.

I'm currently worried about runs on the money markets and America's credit rating being downgraded.

It will be generations until we fix the mess the boomers made. No Taxes means Inflation, folks.

General Economic Advice: Keep some money, clear and free of anything. A paycheck's worth. If you've got two credit cards, well and good. Those will do. Get a second bank (credit union if you can). I've got three banks, and each has different risks of failing.

Adam, I'm fine, our money's fine. Our parents have had their money out since January, and we've finally stopped messing around with derivatives and shorting (way the fuck too dangerous).

If the whole system doesn't go tits up, this is a good time to go long.

But that's a big risky gamble when all the hedge funds are unraveling.

And the "powers that be" are busy breaking America. Feeding all the 401Ks to the investment people.

Bush's Ownership Society did this. Do Not Forget that. The boomers and their greed have cost the next two generations their seed corn. We have wrecked the American economy SO FUCKING BAD.

Oh, and anyone who wants actual competent news, from people who are paid to make sure the powers that be don't cover things up,
check out
http://calculatedrisk.blogspot.com/

They like their anonymity over there, but some of them are writers from the Daily show (shh! I did not just say that!), and really big financial whizzes.

Adam, I'm not so optimistic as you are. We have no savings, and Japan went through the same thing -- caused a ten year recession. But they had savings. Ours may be twenty. Or, you know, we might go to war with russia or china.

Anonymous said...

RisingTide:

Staying optimistic takes me a lot of effort, man!

I am already reading excerpts from the link you gave me. Thank You!

Judging from your writing, you are/have been involved in a much more risky trade than me. I would probably need to double-up on anti-depressants if I dealt directly with derivatives (or futures contracts).

Your general economic advice is well- received.

To speak in broad strokes, I do believe this country's financial vulnerability will lend itself to some international purchasing.

The Fed seems to have been poised (and rather eager) to step in to "save the day". I am reminded of that old scene from the Godfather II where the Corleone family saves the corrupt senator from ruin...by controlling him. Some international firms are probably poised to "help us" as well. I wonder what medium of exchange (currency) this will lead us to use in 5-10 years.

Obviously, we know little of each other's backgrounds, but I would like to offer you one solid resource may give you some hope:

http://www.abcs-of-gold-investing.com/

The author, Michael Kosares, has his own firm as well.

http://www.usagold.com/cpm/abcs.html

Hats off to you, man. Stay healthy and sane!

Adam

Anonymous said...

adam,

It's called making easy money while the betting is good. Right now, nobody knows what will happen.

If the dollar is no longer the world's reserve currency, oh my lord, that will be some bad shit. Cheap Money Crisis, indeed!

You're doing great if you're out right now, or if you've got a bundle to shovel in when Obama gets elected, or when the market completely collapses, if the powers that be don't manage to keep things rolling until then (bailing out fanny mae was supposed to help!).

I play the stock market like I'm in Vegas, only with better odds. Risky gambles, good strategic insights, and tactical precision. But to do that, you take money you can afford to lose, and say, "if it goes, it goes, if it doesn't, it's payday!"

Remember, when times are tough, the optimists buy cigarettes and guns.

I'm stickin' with silver -- I like something that's actually useful, even if it's less traded than gold.

ymmv

west coast story said...

I must be hallucinating again. I could have sworn I posted twice to this topic. And someone actually responed once.

Glad to see Gramm's whining comment has been raised.

Granny: I am no fan of the Governator but he should veto the budget. It's pure crap and solves nothing. The budget next year is going to be much worse and some real hard choices will have to be made. The industry I work in has taken it in the shorts in this budget and my industry generates jobs. People went without paychecks for this prolonged budget wrangling. This is a deal the Dems could have gotten in June but they put everyone through this nonsense for nothing. This year's budget is a picnic compared to next year. This is the second major budget bust for California in less than ten years. This one is much, much worse than the dot com bust. The decline in revenues is attributed to the higher cost of gas, the real estate collapse, along with corporate job slashing. We are in very big trouble.

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Ginneh Akbar said...

I love it when you talk about Mrs. Field...I always picture y'all like Regina King and Will Smith in Enemy of the State.

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