“To be thrown upon one's own resources, is to be cast into the very lap of fortune; for our faculties then undergo a development and display an energy of which they were previously unsusceptible.”
—Benjamin Franklin
Lynnis is complaining about the negative turn of the blog. Although I got a shockingly low statement from my Gold and Precious metals fund (which I thought was supposed to be a hedge) I can still think of some bright sides to economic collapse. If the country really goes broke maybe we will stop having all these wars. Maybe we will reevaluate spending 52% of the national budget on military. Maybe there will be a cultural shift away from the excessive consumer culture of the last few years. Already people in my family are having a lot of fun sewing new clothes out of old tee shirts instead of buying clothes. I'm on my second batch of wine this year (pears, this time) because I don't want to let good fruit go to waste. And I am hoping that the unrelenting conversion of the local woods to suburban McMansions and strip malls will stop. And we can still make art from found objects as this Alaska State Fair entry shows:
2 comments:
Personally, I'm not really feeling it. I mean... I know that on paper things look bad, but besides a lot of worry I hear from others, and some loss to my retirement fund, I haven't really felt ANY economic downturn. In fact, I see it as a bit of an opportunity. I'm not retiring anytime soon, so at these rock bottom prices, I'm able to get more shares for my money. Interest rates on consumer goods are down, so I'll probably get great financing opportunities. Business has never been better for Lynnis' company and that is probably due to the 52% of our national budget spend on the military.
It seems to me that a lot of people made a lot of fiscally irresponsible decisions and now they are having to pay for them. I think its CRIMINAL that our tax dollars are being used to bail them out.
Unfortunately, the people who are really hurting are those who have been fiscally responsible, and are close to retirement. If you haven't followed the rule of investing that states that you should have a percentage of your investments in bonds equal to your age (a rule of investing that has been overly conservative for the past 28 years, but might be prudent in these days), you get stuck 5 years from retirement with a plummeting stock portfolio.
I was at six flags yesterday and my friend said they should rename the theme park "coporate america" there are some rides were you are no longer allowed to bring your bags (Even to set on the side of the platform) and must pay a dollar for a locker. also the food is ridiculously expensive and comes in huge portions (you aren't allowed to buy just a cheeseburger; you have to buy a cheeseburger and french fries). you can;t get change from a store unless you buy something from it.plus, we saw all these little kids texting...although thats not really the park's fault.
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