I wish the markets were like ice cream.


I always get only one dip.......two dips are way too much.


But, there are more emotions than mine.

The good news is that despite the dips if you make no withdrawals your heirs will become millionaires.

Yep

Re: National debt
 

Like you I am uncomfortable about it.

Last time I collected my courage to look, it is posted on the internet the national debt. The number was 22 Trillion dollars.
The number is the classic BIG LIE. You say it often enough and people THINK it makes sense. My personal comprehension is 14 million-the largest order I ever wrote. Twenty-two trillion is several large freight trains full of 100 dollar bills. I read somewhere it is 85,000 dollars for every man woman, child and puppy dog in the United States. Far as a national debt, relative to our gross domestic product, our claimed ability to pay the debt, Japan's debt is twice ours.

Who do we owe this incomprehensible sum to? Yet another issue, big lie, that people think they know. Most people would guess China. They would be wrong. Our largest creditor NATION is actually Japan-see above-their debt is higher than ours compared to GDP. More interesting, shocking, to me,
is that both Japan and China TOGETHER hold about 20% of the national debt. SOCIAL SECURITY holds over 40% of the national debt. HUH? We are borrowing from ourselves.

I have a pile of German Deutschmarks that belonged to my grandparents before WWII. Each bill is in denominations of millions of DM. They are worthless. You will find them list on ebay for like thirty five cents each. Even the current German government will not redeem them for anything.

Re: rate of return
Years ago I read that the US is one of only two or three countries that TAXES interest on savings. The Fed says their target for inflation is 2%. Based on history the chance of them reaching 2% inflation and holding it is zero. Assuming they do the impossible- at current treasury interest rate of about 2%,
you are actually LOOSING MONEY by buying them. That 2% interest? is taxable at the highest tax rate you pay. So you are getting 2% less ?????? 30%=1.4% net. You are in reality loosing .6% on your money.

Solution? I do not have one. Economic system that has been installed. Since a far greater number of people owe rahter than save, our system takes form those who save and gives to those who owe. Simple explanation as to why the US has one of the lowest savings rates in the world.

I believe the national debt/deficit to be te single largest threat to our country.

No doubt about it. The national debt doubled from $10T to $20T from 2008 to 2016!

Government - Historical Debt Outstanding - Annual 2000 - 2018

It is now $22T and rising fast.


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AND NOW exceeds 22 trillion AND growing faster than ever in history

Grew over a TRILLION just last year...one year

Note slow growth from 2012 thru 2015....pretty much the same as the last 12 months

Don’t worry, the vast majority of Americans do not have enough money to invest in any Ponzi scheme like the stock market.

The stock market may be many things, some good and some bad. But one thing it is not...a Ponzi scheme.

Not sure where you came up with that date/dates. CBO and all I have read, project deficits and such to increase substantially well before those dates, thus it's already too late.

I assume your remarks are P, and had anyone listened to almost 100% of economists, we would not have cut taxes so severely for the rich.. since then, deficit/spending has skyrocketed probably more than ever.

I do agree, we need ofiicialsto pay attention NOW. We need public officials who really care, and not simply give lip service. Used to be able to have one group that spoke of these problems, and now they have been hijacked, and frankly the future looks depressing because, listening..nobody seems to care, and don't even discuss it anymore. Tea Party used to care, but no more. So not sure of our future.

This fantasy land of talk has to end

I think that trying to control spending and debt is never going to happen because that is not where the votes are for either party. The current plan is to just borrow and spend as much money as we can to get the votes. No one knows how much debt our country can withstand before the whole thing comes crashing down and we become like Greece or worse. But, hopefully, we will all be dead by then.

I understand your feeling, and embarrassingly share your pesssimism.

While I used to cringe at much of the Tea Party antics, I did think, in general, the reduction of the deficit and decreasing spending was a priority.

No body speaks that language any longer....I am afraid based on what we can read from economists, not politicians, the complete crash is closer than we think.

It is humorous that nobody speaks of it, as if the problem doesn't exist. This is not like a business,where you simply claim bankruptcy and start over.

As has been proved over and over, 'trickle down' works in actually only one situation...i.e; urination. :ohdear: