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So this is what $700 billion buys us

We were told passing the $700 billion bailout would calm the markets and save us from disaster. The DOW is under $9000 and my 401k is down 23% year to date. WHAT THE HELL???!!!!! This is ridiculous. I’m trying as hard as I can to keep it in perspective and have faith in American capitalism, but I have to admit it gets more difficult each day. I certainly have no faith in government, in either party. Yesterday I said, “Well, the Dow was this low just 4 years ago. Back then we thought the market would never break $10,000. Today I can say, “Well, the DOW was this low just 5 years ago. Five years ago I didn’t feel as though I was in financial trouble, but today I’m worried. I have a feeling a lot of people are panicking and yanking money out of their mutual funds. I don’t really see the point. For that strategy to work, the market would need to drop a substantial bit more and I’d be smart enough to buy in at the bottom. I know I’m not smart enough to figure that out. Besides I’m not going to retire for another 25 years. Knowing my luck, I’ll sell it all tomorrow and the market will jump 1000 points. I’ll end up buying it all back at a loss.

WHAT THE HELL IS PAULSON DOING WITH ALL THAT MONEY??? I picture him rolling around in it laughing and taking pictures. He sure is taking his time distributing it… as if it would really do any good.

Common sense tells me though that the irrational panic selling is no where near the end. I’m sure eventually the market will rebound even if it’s not during this year and certainly not before the election. It was a good run Senator McCain. It’s too bad the best man is probably going to win this time and it has nothing to do with Senator Obama. He is going to win by default. He’ll be the Accidental President.

The gurus like to tell you that when the market is low that you’re buying more shares, but my 401k only invests my contributions once per month. The amount I’m going to buy in the near future is nothing compared to the amount I’ve already bought which are the ones I’m concerned about. If only Paulson had been honest with us, I wouldn’t have bought the crap sandwich that told us $700 billion would make everything better and left my money where it is. While my money is rapidly evaporating along with possibly my future employment opportunities, AIG is getting more bailout money after they spent half a million dollars getting massages at a resort.

Might I say, it was absolutely the wrong time to allow short selling again. I never liked short selling and betting against success. It turned Wall Street into Vegas. Short selling perpetuates bear markets.

I assume everyone else feels sick to their stomach as well and hopes that the madness ends soon.

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This entry was written by Scott Allan and posted on October 9, 2008 and filed under life, politics. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post. Post a comment(Latest is displayed first) or leave a trackback: Trackback URL.

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5 Comments so far (Add 1 more)

  1. The current financial crisis doesn’t surprise me. We were warned this would happen.

    “Madam Speaker, I have, for the past 35 years, expressed my grave concern for the future of America . The course we have taken over the past century has threatened our liberties, security and prosperity. In spite of these long-held concerns, I have days–growing more frequent all the time–when I’m convinced the time is now upon us that some Big Events are about to occur. These fast-approaching events will not go unnoticed. They will affect all of us. They will not be limited to just some areas of our country. The world economy and political system will share in the chaos about to be unleashed.”

    Those words are from the first paragraph of a statement made on the floor of the US House of Representatives (HOR) on July 9, 2008 by Congressman Ron Paul of Texas. To read the entire text of his statement go to http://www.house.gov/paul/congrec/congrec2008/cr070908h.htm.

    This was not nearly the first or only time Paul had warned us, but no one wanted to listen to his counsel. You may also want to read another statement Paul made on the floor of the US HOR on July 16, 2002 @ http://www.house.gov/paul/congrec/congrec2002/cr071602.htm.

    It’s regrettable that Congress didn’t listen and react as it should have. It’s even more regrettable that Paul’s own Republican party rejected his candidacy for the presidency and that media and the public at large considered him to be a “kook” and relegated him to the sidelines.

    1. Don on October 10th, 2008 at 6:57 am

  2. Ron Paul always made sense to me until he talked about foreign policy.   He deviated so far from most Republicans on that issue, that he couldn’t be considered no matter how strong or right he was on other issues.   Americans do not want to lose the war on terror so packing up and leaving Iraq in a state of chaos was not an option.  He was siding with the liberal left even if it were for completely different reasons.   If Ron Paul had talked tough on terror, he might even be the nominee right now.   He certainly has gained a ton of credibility over economic issues though and I certainly hope he will continue to speak out and press for reform.  This is his moment to shine and I’ll support him.

    2. Scott Allan on October 10th, 2008 at 7:35 am

  3. Scott, Paul’s stance on foreign policy is based on his belief (and mine) in governing in accordance with the US Constitution, and that invading Iraq was not only unwise, but that it was unconstitutional. Paul approved of the US going after Bin Laden in Afghanistan because he was behind the 9/11 attack on the USA. Bin Laden is still our enemy. We now know that Iraq wasn’t.

    Paul deviated for the Republican Party because the party has abandoned its principles. Look at what that has done to the party and our nation.

    It should be now evident to everyone, I think, that the USA can no longer afford to play policeman for the world. That has been a contributing factor to bankrupting America and it has also lost us friends all around the globe.

    3. Don on October 10th, 2008 at 8:06 am

  4. I know we’ve disagreed on this before and I hope you know that I see this as a friendly disagreement.   I completely understand Paul’s (and your) point of view.   I personally believe the war was Constitutional as Congress approved the use of force.  Whether the war was wise or unwise has yet to be seen, but from my assessment, we are winning the war, we have defeated Al Qaeda in Iraq, we have built a friendly democracy in the middle of a hostile region, and we freed millions from a horrible, oppressive dictator.  When I stop to think about what may have transpired had we not taking on Al Qaeda in Iraq, I fear the worst.  Most certainly there would have been more attacks on our soil.  Of course the downside is the financial cost.   It is hard to put a value on how much our personal security and a foothold in the Middle East is worth to us and Israel.

    Frankly I don’t put much stock in what Russia, China, and France think of us.   I don’t think we can dictate our foreign policy by the interests of other nations.  Just as the rest of the world would elect Obama President, I don’t really find that a compelling reason for me to vote that way.  in fact I take it as a sign that maybe he’s not the right man for the job.

    One thing I will concede to you is that “no longer” can we financially afford to continue with the same policies, but when the war started, it looked as though we could afford it.  Only time will tell if it was money well spent.

    4. Scott Allan on October 10th, 2008 at 8:38 am

  5. Yes, Scott, this is a friendly disagreement that we may have to just agree to disagree on. But according to our constitution’s Section 8 - Powers of Congress : “The Congress shall have Power To (among other things) ……..declare War.” No such authority is given to the president.
    There was no congressional declaration of war against Iraq, so it seems obvious that giving the president permission to invade Iraq was merely passing the buck and totally unconstitutional. Either we believe what the constitution says and govern according to it, or we don’t.
     

    5. Don on October 10th, 2008 at 9:19 am

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