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February 15th 05, 01:34 AM

wrote:

Mike Coslo wrote:

wrote:

Mike Coslo wrote:

bb wrote:

Michael Coslo wrote:

bb wrote:

Michael Coslo wrote:

snippage

Fact is, an awful lot of people NEED some fiscal restraint.
Otherwise
they make stupid choices and become a drain on society. It is
how it is.
It is why people on welfare buy lottery tickets when they
should be
buying food or paying their rent. It is why people think they
can make
risky investments, and somehow retire to make more money than
when they were working.

There's also the fact that investment information isn't always on

the

up and up. Despite all the regulations, we still have messes like
Enron. Even if those responsible for the Enron debacle go to jail

for a

while, it won't bring back the money investors lost.

It sure is. But it is like saying that the average voltage of
our
household outlet is 0 volts. I'll pass on grabbing bare wires
of that 0
volt average system if ya don't mind.

Sort of. The problem is that unless you buy nothing but index

funds,

you're not investing in "the market". And even if you do buy index
funds, you're investing in a particular index.

Y'know what's funny? The same folks who say we don't need restraint
when investing life savings are the same ones who want to restrain

stem

cell research, recreational chemicals (except tobacco and

alchohol),

contraception, and a bunch of other things.

Correct. Social engineering and attempts to force their philosophy on

others. Liberals.

??

The folks who want restraints on stem cell research, recreational
chemicals (except tobacco and alchohol), contraception, etc., call
themselves "conservatives".

Yup, they call themselves conservatives. But in the brave new "you are
with us, or you are agin' us". party, conservatives support spending
money at unprecedented burn rates that are not supported by intake, they
support major increases in government power, and other things that we
used to be told that liberals want to inflict on us.

Lots of true conservatives feel the same. A web search can turn them up.

The plain and simple fact is that any government action is "social
engineering and attempt[ing] to force their philosophy on others". By
definition.

For example, there are tax deductions for home mortgage interest. Such
deductions make home ownership more affordable for millions of people,
and are in effect a subsidy supporting home ownership vs. renting.

work if the government devalues its currency.

The most conservative investments have an interest rate that

gets

adjusted every so often.

Is that vehicle capable of losing its principle?

No.

Principle or principal? There's a big difference.

He chose to believe that things were going to get better and to
stay the course. By the time he got wise, it was too late.

Was it really? Why?

He lost his principle. It can happen on that plan.

He lost both his principle (move to lower risk as you get older)

and

his principal (original investment)

There are many different time frames on exactly *when* the
system will
run out of steam or money. A lot of this depends on how much
money is
taken out by non-standard usage. (read robbing the till)

Yep. Of course if one administration takes it out and promises
to put it back, and a following administration run by the
other party breaks the promise, who is to blame?

I don't care WHO took the money out. Be it Democrat or
Republican. One
of the side effects of being in power is that when it is your
group, you
reap the benefits as well as the brickbats.

There's also the concept of responsibility. Which means that
the folks in power, red, blue or purple, cannot simply blame
everything on their predecessors and do nothing to fix the
problems.

Correct. That's a great way to lose power quickly. Unfortunately the
Pubs have a track record of doing just that. Too bad.

But they didn't lose power in 2004. Nor in 1984 or 1988.

The same folks who criticized others for "tax and spend" are now
deep into "borrow and spend".

Seems to me that it's more responsible to pay-as-you-go than to
borrow and let future generations pay for it.

Absolutely. All deficit spending is eventually paid for. Under
extraordinary conditions, deficit spending *may* be the only way to
survive. But under those conditions, people are usually required to ante
up their share of the money to help. Today, people don't want to help
with their share of funding.

If all the Pubs can do is continue to blame the Dems for
every problem
on the face of the planet, then it means that they are
*weak*, because
they can't do anything about the Democrats even when
they are in power.
Funny how things work! 8^)

Exactly! Well said, Mike.

Thanks, Jim.

It's also interesting to note that some people are insulted if you
call them "liberals", even though their behavior and viewpoints
are exactly that. And some people claim the title "conservative"
yet behave in a very different way.

Indeed. Didya ever ever notice how angry some folk get when confronted
with the truth?

I still hold to the left to right spectrum as a continuum, not a bar.
It is a circle, with extreme left and right being virtually
indistinguishable from each other.

Deviation too far from the center is bad, bad, bad. The key is the center.

But learning is soooo hard. Witness the new Democratic party chairman.
What were they thinking??? Dr. Dean is an honorable person. But he is
just too far to the left for my taste.

- Mike KB3EIA -