Elizabeth Barrette (ysabetwordsmith) wrote,
Elizabeth Barrette
ysabetwordsmith
  • Mood: busy

Thoughts on the Economic Future

Right now, America is deeply outraged at Wall Street and the whole He-Plays-With-Money crowd:

First Fear, Then Loathing, Toward Wall Street
Allison Linn, MSNBC.com: "As Americans digest a dizzying series of events that has left Wall Street shaken to its core, the mood on Main Street is shifting from fear to loathing. They are angry that government regulators did not do enough to prevent this - and protect them - in the first place. They are upset the government is proposing billions of dollars in bailouts for Wall Street, even as many regular Americans are struggling to hang onto their homes and pay their bills."


So, um, Mr. McCain...?

Crisis Draws Attention to McCain Social Security Plan
Laura Meckler and Nick Timiraos, The Wall Street Journal: "On the presidential campaign trail, Democrat Barack Obama is seizing on the recent turbulence to lambast proposals by Senator McCain on Social Security and health care, two areas on which the Republican presidential nominee has embraced market-oriented solutions."


Now might not be the opportune time to tell people you want to put anything into the market. Which, if you haven't noticed, is collapsing like a souffle in a California kitchen during an earthquake.
Tags: economics, news
Subscribe

  • Fieldhaven as Habitat

    If you follow my posts on gardening, birdfeeding, and photos, then you know that I garden for wildlife. Looking at the YardMap parameters, here…

  • A Little Slice of Terramagne: YardMap

    Sadly the main program is dormant, but the YardMap concept is awesome, and many of its informative articles remain. YardMap was a citizen science…

  • Birdfeeding

    Today is sunny, muggy, and warm. I fed the birds. I've seen house finches and a squirrel. After lunch, we moved the rest of the walnut logs. Most…

  • Post a new comment

    Error

    switch
    default userpic

    Your IP address will be recorded 

    When you submit the form an invisible reCAPTCHA check will be performed.
    You must follow the Privacy Policy and Google Terms of use.
    Help
  • 5 comments
ditenebre

ditenebre

September 25 2008, 05:48:35 UTC 12 years ago

Yeah, I'm trying not to think about the fact that my 401k accounts are shriveling like raisins in the sun. *sigh* At this rate, they might as well just delete the word "retire" from Dictionary.com - or use that "obsolete usage" designation.
ysabetwordsmith

ysabetwordsmith

September 25 2008, 05:54:58 UTC 12 years ago

Of course, a key shortcoming of marketeers is that they tend to be fast-twitch personalities rather than foresightful. So they haven't actually thought as far ahead as...

* Retirement is pushed out of secure holdings and into the gambling sector of the market.

* Retirement funds fail.

* People are unable to retire, or if already retired, are forced back into the workplace.

* There are then a lot more old people in the workplace, taking up jobs.

* Old people are, on average, less healthy than young people, more prone to illness and injury. In many jobs, this leads to less efficient performance, which leads to less productivity and profit.

* Americans are tetchy about senior citizens and often prefer to stuff them in a corner and forget they exist. That's hard to do if the seniors are clinging to employment like cats on an overturned lifeboat.

Oh, and rich guys? No matter how much money you have, it is possible to lose it all. Ask your grandparents about the Depression, why don't you.
ditenebre

ditenebre

September 25 2008, 08:20:52 UTC 12 years ago

Well, one of the things I've heard over and over in the past two years in grad school is how HR people have been worrying about planning for the mass exodus and resulting brain drain as Baby Boomers retire. I think they can stop worrying now.
jl_johnson

jl_johnson

September 25 2008, 10:58:01 UTC 12 years ago

The thing that bothers me about this bailout, is the fact that the mint has to make this 700 billion (is it?). Which means that there will be that much more American money out there, and correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't that lower the value of the currency overall?

I mean, you can't have an extra 700 billion dollars floating around out there without some kind of depreciation.
je_reviens

je_reviens

September 25 2008, 18:29:54 UTC 12 years ago

What's upsetting is that there are STILL so many people who think Bush is fantastic and who want 4 yrs more, or worse, with McCain. From Iraq to gas prices to this... I am not saying Obama is the second coming of Jesus or anything, but what does the Bush administration have to do before people will see what a shitty president he is? Hold a gun to some baby's head?

Even if he did there would STILL be people who think he;s a great president! I see this a lot in the scrapbooking communities. ugh!