AS THE financial crisis pushes the economy back to the top of voters’ concerns, Barack Obama is starting to open up a clear lead over John McCain in the opinion polls. But among those who study economics for a living, Mr Obama’s lead is much more commanding. A survey of academic economists by The Economist finds the majority—at times by overwhelming margins—believe Mr Obama has the superior economic plan, a firmer grasp of economics and will appoint better economic advisers.
Eighty per cent of respondents and no fewer than 71% of those who do not cleave to either main party say Mr Obama has a better grasp of economics. Even among Republicans Mr Obama has the edge: 46% versus 23% say Mr Obama has the better grasp of the subject.
artisticfreedom
· 1 year ago
Oh boy, and this could've been our health care system or social security. There's something to be said for our unions and the pensions they fought for. I am retired on disability from the RR after being in a train wreck that destroyed my back, and required surgery to replace 3 discs. I know a lot of people who would never get those benefits because they don't have the retirement program offered by the RR.
sherifffruitfly
· 1 year ago
"Imagine Sarah Palin being in charge of your 401k"
Pew-pew! Pew-pew! (wink)
boloboffin
· 1 year ago
I am down 20% from total contributions.
20%.
maudegonne
· 1 year ago
What happened to all the hedge fund supporters? Is it too late to get public funding?
potegavscina
· 1 year ago
Markets in the Middle East have closed deep in the red. They had been spared the pain over the last five days because they were closed for Eid holidays. But no respite for them today. Al Jazeera's Hashem Ahelbarra reports from Doha, Qatar. http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=3UuQtx3Za7k
maudegonne
· 1 year ago
Hey, why not raise the price of oil again?? How's that working out for you? Change we can believe in?
maudegonne
· 1 year ago
But as recession looms in the West, cracks are appearing in the oil-fueled boom that has made Dubai, with its futuristic skyscrapers on the turquoise waters of the Persian Gulf, a global byword for unfettered growth. Banks are reining in lending, casting a pall over corporate finance and building plans. Oil prices have been dropping. Stock markets across the region have been falling since June. After insisting for days that the oil-rich Persian Gulf region was fully “insulated” from financial troubles abroad, the Emirates’ Central Bank made about $13.6 billion available on Sept. 22 to ease credit problems, in an echo of bailout measures in the United States. Already, some bankers are saying it is not enough. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/05/world/middlee...
scottinsf
· 1 year ago
You have got to wonder about what those funds are doing no?
Can anybody here dispute what a lot of us have been saying for quite some time now without putting on a Reynolds Wrap beanie?
Forty2
· 1 year ago
As I have advocated since late 2007 here and elsewhere: do not passively sit there and cry when you open those statements, or worse, toss them in a drawer unopened. Get out of equity funds and into money mkt (Treasury-backed if possible) or some 401ks have a "Guaranteed Interest Option." Raise cash, eliminate debt. If you haven't done this yet, you've already lost about 25% of your savings, but it's still not too late. Ignore any blather from your broker-tard about dollar-cost averaging and other crap, because if you sit in a money mkt they don't earn any fees, or very little compared to being in an equity (stock) or bond fund.
Raise cash so that you will be totally prepared when, as a consequence of the masses of greenbacks on their way to being printed this week, you will have bushels of devalued currency???? And then as inflation spikes into the stratosphere, you can .........????? They have ALL the angles figured. Heads they win, tails you lose. This is the GOP parting shot for the Dems, TAKE YOUR BONE!!!!
Forty2
· 1 year ago
What else would you suggest? Having something beats nothing.
And don't say gold. It's still not apparent whether we're facing an inflationary crisis (Zimbabwe?) or deflationary crisis (Japan for the past 15 years). What I'm suggesting is a non-panicky move, and we're not at a panic point. Yet.
maudegonne
· 1 year ago
I have no clue. No, not gold. But it seems like we have been totally panicked long enough. Do we have to wait two quarters like for a recession? Everything that we cling to, they are two steps ahead...stealing our last dime, enriching themselves with our last defense. Wish some kind of a maverick, any kind of a maverick, would raise his/her head.
Tyke
· 1 year ago
We are investing in geothermal heat and other alternative energy systems at home. The mortgage is paid off, the garden has been expanded, chickens are giving us eggs daily and we will probably fill the freezer (already holding an enormous crop of veggies) with venison in a few weeks.
Retirement funding requirement equations have 2 sides, income AND outgo. reducing one's ongoing cost of living can help alleviate reductions in income.
She brushes off some of her criticism as if it were lint on her jacket. ''People say that I speak too simply, or don't have quite the -- I don't have my Thesaurus in my back pocket all along through my speeches,'' she told donors in Englewood, Col. ''Well I don't have time for that.'' http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/washington/AP-P...
maudegonne
· 1 year ago
Fears are mounting that many Wall Street banks and financial firms will refuse to participate in the US government's $700bn bail-out package, leaving global markets and world economies in a perilous state for months to come.
'There is a growing feeling that banks ... might instead decide to tough it out,' said Thomas Caldwell, chairman and CEO of Caldwell Financial, a $1bn-plus fund manager. For the past two weeks all eyes in the market have been focused on US Congress and its attempts to pass Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's bail-out package - a bill to allow the US government to buy up to $700bn of toxic mortgage-related assets from American banks, which would in theory free the credit markets and set the gears of global commerce spinning once more. http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/oct/05/... Now Wall Street may shun $700bn bail-out
Tyke
· 1 year ago
Actually I pulled my 401k rollover out of the stock market months ago and have it sitting in a nice 5.5% interest CD - AND in a local credit union that has zero sub prime mortgage exposure.
I credit Josh Marshall and his minions for excellent postings and links that predicted the bursting bubble quite effectively.
Too bad the really important ,extra smart people in Bush's administration couldn't see this coming ...
tommyms1972
· 7 months ago
George Will made an excellent point this morning on ABC's THIS WEEK. Americans are about to get a mailing that is going to do wonders for Obama's campaign. They're going to be getting their quarterly statements from their fidelity 401k and their pension plans. And it ain't going to be pretty.
All Comments
Tell Obama to make real money the law, like it used to be!
Watch this video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FiaUpeJxcA
AS THE financial crisis pushes the economy back to the top of voters’ concerns, Barack Obama is starting to open up a clear lead over John McCain in the opinion polls. But among those who study economics for a living, Mr Obama’s lead is much more commanding. A survey of academic economists by The Economist finds the majority—at times by overwhelming margins—believe Mr Obama has the superior economic plan, a firmer grasp of economics and will appoint better economic advisers.
http://www.economist.com/world/unitedstates/dis...
Eighty per cent of respondents and no fewer than 71% of those who do not cleave to either main party say Mr Obama has a better grasp of economics. Even among Republicans Mr Obama has the edge: 46% versus 23% say Mr Obama has the better grasp of the subject.
Pew-pew! Pew-pew! (wink)
20%.
Is it too late to get public funding?
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=3UuQtx3Za7k
How's that working out for you?
Change we can believe in?
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/05/world/middlee...
Can anybody here dispute what a lot of us have been saying for quite some time now without putting on a Reynolds Wrap beanie?
Hint: yes, you can time the market. Not exactly, but safely: http://tunguskan.blogspot.com/2008/06/timing-ma...
And then as inflation spikes into the stratosphere, you can .........?????
They have ALL the angles figured. Heads they win, tails you lose.
This is the GOP parting shot for the Dems, TAKE YOUR BONE!!!!
And don't say gold. It's still not apparent whether we're facing an inflationary crisis (Zimbabwe?) or deflationary crisis (Japan for the past 15 years). What I'm suggesting is a non-panicky move, and we're not at a panic point. Yet.
But it seems like we have been totally panicked long enough.
Do we have to wait two quarters like for a recession?
Everything that we cling to, they are two steps ahead...stealing our last dime, enriching themselves with our last defense.
Wish some kind of a maverick, any kind of a maverick, would raise his/her head.
Retirement funding requirement equations have 2 sides, income AND outgo. reducing one's ongoing cost of living can help alleviate reductions in income.
McCain: HEH? HEH? HEH? HEH? HEH? HEH? HEEEEEEEHHHHHH???????
''People say that I speak too simply, or don't have quite the -- I don't have my Thesaurus in my back pocket all along through my speeches,'' she told donors in Englewood, Col. ''Well I don't have time for that.''
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/washington/AP-P...
'There is a growing feeling that banks ... might instead decide to tough it out,' said Thomas Caldwell, chairman and CEO of Caldwell Financial, a $1bn-plus fund manager. For the past two weeks all eyes in the market have been focused on US Congress and its attempts to pass Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's bail-out package - a bill to allow the US government to buy up to $700bn of toxic mortgage-related assets from American banks, which would in theory free the credit markets and set the gears of global commerce spinning once more.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/oct/05/...
Now Wall Street may shun $700bn bail-out
I credit Josh Marshall and his minions for excellent postings and links that predicted the bursting bubble quite effectively.
Too bad the really important ,extra smart people in Bush's administration couldn't see this coming ...