"Jere Lull" wrote in message
news:2008092716442316807-jerelull@maccom...
On 2008-09-27 11:10:04 -0400, Larry said:

It's all a sham, just like 9/11. Trillions have simply vanished into
thin air. But you know that's not true. Trillions have simply CHANGED
HANDS

Trillions never existed, were only numbers on a spreadsheet created out of
pretty much thin air.

The market goes up, the market goes down. The value of my portfolios go
up, they go down. I gain/lose nothing until I sell.

I can not count the number of times I counseled nervous friends in a down
market that the market will probably rebound; if they cash out, they
lock-in the paper losses. My ex ignored me as her 10k investment dropped
to 7.5k. She locked in that loss. Had she sat on her hands, she could have
realized a 10k gain just a year later.

Should the entire economy tank and we go into a depression, my investments
and house will have the same value relative to the price of bread, about
the only true measure.

I'm currently deciding where to invest my severance. It won't be under the
mattress.


Well, that might not be true... if you have money in stocks, say a mutual
fund, and we have a depression where the companies go out of business, the
stock will become worthless. While it's true that your house will always
retain some value, this also depends on who actually owns the house. If it's
free and clear, then you only have to pay taxes and utilities. If the bank
owns the house, you become unemployed because the company went out of
business or cuts way back, etc., then you'll have trouble making your
mortgage payment. If enough of the big banks fail, e.g., WaMu (currently)
and BofA, then you won't have access to money.

During the Depression, my father and grandfather owned their own business.
Even though there wasn't any work, they still went to the building in
Manhattan owned it outright), which was a ferry ride away. I don't recall
how much they paid for the ferry crossing, but I do remember my father
telling me that if they didn't bring something to eat, then they each
brought a nickel to buy something, typically cow-kidney sandwiches with a
little mustard.

At one point, a customer wanted something made, but the material was on the
other side of town. So, my father hiked across town, picked up the steel,
put it on his back, and hiked back, which took him most of the day. They
worked all night to get the work done, and ate the remaining sandwich,
splitting it for dinner. He told me that they make about $20, which was a
fortune at the time.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

On 2008-09-27 17:13:36 -0400, "Capt. JG" said:

"Jere Lull" wrote in message
news:2008092716442316807-jerelull@maccom...

Should the entire economy tank and we go into a depression, my
investments and house will have the same value relative to the price of
bread, about the only true measure.

Well, that might not be true... if you have money in stocks, say a
mutual fund, and we have a depression where the companies go out of
business, the stock will become worthless.

That portion of the mutual fund would become worthless, but a
broadly-based mutual fund will track what its based upon. I'm tending
towards index funds that "blindly" invest in every company in, for
instance, the Fortune 500. THAT could become worthless only if ALL
those companies went out of business. If that happens, we will have
worse things to worry about.

While it's true that your house will always retain some value, this
also depends on who actually owns the house.

Ours has been free and clear since '85, courtesy of my parents who
married in '35.

--
Jere Lull
Xan-à-Deux -- Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD
Xan's pages: http://web.mac.com/jerelull/iWeb/Xan/
Our BVI trips & tips: http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/

"Jere Lull" wrote in message
news:2008092719152975249-jerelull@maccom...
On 2008-09-27 17:13:36 -0400, "Capt. JG" said:

"Jere Lull" wrote in message
news:2008092716442316807-jerelull@maccom...

Should the entire economy tank and we go into a depression, my
investments and house will have the same value relative to the price of
bread, about the only true measure.

Well, that might not be true... if you have money in stocks, say a mutual
fund, and we have a depression where the companies go out of business,
the stock will become worthless.

That portion of the mutual fund would become worthless, but a
broadly-based mutual fund will track what its based upon. I'm tending
towards index funds that "blindly" invest in every company in, for
instance, the Fortune 500. THAT could become worthless only if ALL those
companies went out of business. If that happens, we will have worse things
to worry about.

It wouldn't actually take all of the companies in a broad-based index fund
to go under for the portfolio to be worthless. It might not be worthless
initially, but I bet that if 30% went under, the rest would probably follow.
Essential industries would remain, backed by the gov't, but that's about it.

While it's true that your house will always retain some value, this also
depends on who actually owns the house.

Ours has been free and clear since '85, courtesy of my parents who married
in '35.

Well, then at least you won't get booted out, although if there are enough
foreclosures, I doubt the banks would make such a move.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

Jere Lull wrote in news:2008092719152975249-
jerelull@maccom:

That portion of the mutual fund would become worthless, but a
broadly-based mutual fund will track what its based upon. I'm tending
towards index funds that "blindly" invest in every company in, for
instance, the Fortune 500. THAT could become worthless only if ALL
those companies went out of business. If that happens, we will have
worse things to worry about.


I don't think that's true. When you hand over CASH to a MONEY CHANGER,
that money changer can simply make that money vanish at the stroke of
the pen just like old Scrooge did for Charlie Dickens. Noone will be at
the empty office with the empty safe to cash out those paper forms sold
to you as an "investment". The government won't be there to bail you
out like the billionaire bankers, either. Even if it's in an FDIC bank
account, money will simply vanish. FDIC has $50B to hand out in the
crash. They'll need $50T, not $50B, so once they hand out the available
cash to the politicians' friends, you'll be simply left out and told
tough luch. NEVER trust anyone else to hold your CASH....That's the
scam.

Of course, we've been shrinking the value of the CASH since 1913 when
the government handed over their responsibilities to the American People
to the banking *******s like Morgan, Chase, Rockefellers, Rothchilds,
etc. They depend on your cash asset SHRINKING if you refuse to let them
"invest" it for you, sucking off your wealth for themselves. What
happened in the last few weeks is UNCONTROLLABLE REVALUATION....The ever
increasing price of gold DROPPED, the money in your fruit jars GREW in
value by nearly 25%! Prices even on oil started to DROP as the
REVALUATION they couldn't seem to stop continued. STOCK prices dropped
because the market MUST maintain par value during inflation and
deflation. This HAD to become a crises because the dollars they were
loaning out at 5% interest INCREASED in value MORE than the interest you
were paying on it! Bankers were aghast! This hadn't happend on this
scale for decades! Eisenhower was president! Bread at A&P sold for
24c/16 oz loaf!

So, we dreamed up this bailout scam to protect those that caused
it.....screwing those who would benefit most from gross deflation...the
American taxpayers. Don't forget deflation HURTS GOVERNMENT
BUREAUCRATS, TOO! If the dollar gets more valuable, prices all drop, 8%
sales tax drops with it, wages must fall causing TAX REVENUES TO FALL
dropping the tax burden on GDP that's killing us. Why....how awful! We
may have to cancel some pork or....(gasp).....NASA!

Well, I'm waiting for the crash. I might even buy one of those new
$1695 Volkswagen Beetles, again. That's what I paid for the last one in
the 60's.....(c;

"Capt. JG" wrote in
easolutions:

He told me that they make about $20, which was a
fortune at the time.


Anyone in NYC with $20 cash was a millionaire in 1930.

"Larry" wrote in message
...
"Capt. JG" wrote in
easolutions:

He told me that they make about $20, which was a
fortune at the time.


Anyone in NYC with $20 cash was a millionaire in 1930.



I think that's how they felt. They hired a long-time friend/mechanic almost
immediately. Then, all three of them sat there for several more months
before they got another job. They ended up getting some relief from the Navy
Dept., I believe when lend/lease started up, but I have no way to check at
this point, and eventually became one of the "essential industries" during
WWII, thus avoiding service.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com