"Jim," wrote in message
...
John H wrote:

On Wed, 09 Mar 2005 02:45:38 GMT, "Jim," wrote:


John H wrote:

On Tue, 08 Mar 2005 23:20:30 GMT, "Jim," wrote:



John H wrote:


On Tue, 08 Mar 2005 22:22:54 GMT, "Jim," wrote:




John H wrote:



On Tue, 08 Mar 2005 21:06:20 GMT, "Jim,"
wrote:






He recorded all the payroll taxes he paid into the system
(including the
matching amount from his employer), tracked down the return the
Social
Security Trust Fund earned for each of the 45 years, and then
compared
the result with what he would have gotten had he been able to
invest the
same amount of payroll tax money over the same period in the Dow
Jones
Industrial Average (including dividends).


Which explains why one should never put all their investment eggs
in one basket.
Even the Thrift Savings Plan allows diversification.

We can all find examples which would give a return less than the
social security
return.


John H

"All decisions are the result of binary thinking."

The Dow is composed of 10 companies supposedly representing a cross
section of American industry (loosely defined of late) and is
updated
periodically -- so go back to 1950 and see just how many companies
he
invested in. I believe the Dow is a good measure of the economy,
and
lists the type of large cap conservative company one should invest
in
for their retirement.


Go here and read up:


http://www.djindexes.com/mdsidx/inde...nentWeights&rp
tsymbol=DJI&sitemapid=20

I'm wondering what happened to the other twenty companies that made
up the Dow
Jones Industrial Average up to about 10 minutes ago.

Your investment beliefs may not be all that wise.


John H

"All decisions are the result of binary thinking."

Yes I mistyped -- Dow 30 (in the beginning it was 12)-- BUT how many
companies have been represented since 1950?

Find a list here
http://www.djindexes.com/mdsidx/down..._Hist_Comp.pdf
Some of the companies no longer exist, but were the strong companies
of
their time.

All in all I'd consider them reasonably good investments for the long
haul.

See
http://www.finfacts.com/Private/cure...erformance.htm

For the returns from 1939 to 2004


The Social Security Act was signed by FDR on 8/14/35. Taxes were
collected for the first time in January 1937 and the first one-time,
lump-sum payments were made that same month. Regular ongoing monthly
benefits started in January 1940.


You just made the point that the Dow was *not* a good investment. Now
you're
saying it was. Something in all this doesn't track for me.


John H

"All decisions are the result of binary thinking."

As the article stated it depends on timing. Sometimes you win;
sometimes you lose. Think you can predict where the market will be
30-40 years from now? The SS "trust" fund is backed by by bonds insured
by the "full faith and credit of the United States" (not sure just how
much that's worth these days.)


If I had the choice of where to put my SS money, bonds would be a place
I'd
consider. Here are the choices currently available to those entitled to
use the
Thrift Savings Plan:

TSP Fund Information Sheets

Each TSP participant has a choice of investing in five investment funds.
They
are the G Fund, F Fund, C Fund, S Fund, and I Fund. Review the details
of each
fund to fully understand its potential risks and benefits.

G Fund Government Securities Investment Fund

F Fund Fixed Income Index Investment Fund

C Fund Common Stock Index Investment Fund

S Fund Small Capitalization Stock Index Investment Fund. Click here to
learn
more about the change to the index that the S Fund tracks.

I Fund International Stock Index Investment Fund. Click here to view the
reasons why the change in the I Fund share price does not always
correspond to
the change in the EAFE Index which it tracks.

Here's the site: http://www.tsp.gov/rates/fundsheets.html

Click on the "G Fund" to get information on the government securities
fund and
see how it has performed.

We keep the investment spread throughout the funds, changing the spread
every
now and then.

John H

"All decisions are the result of binary thinking."
Since the "G" fund is government securities, the question arises "Why
doesn't the SS administration invest in it?" I believe the latest bonds
in the SS trust fund are earning about 3%

What "trust fund"?