Political Thread - Avoid like plague.
 

Want to know the real reason Bush went to Saudi Arabia to 'talk about oil prices' because like it or not the US is still a VERY large oil consumer, right with China. And with a weak US economy come weak oil prices for futures traders.

http://www.foxbusiness.com/article/e...443544_44.html

Oil, after just weeks ago hitting $100/bbl is now below $90/bbl.

I think we all need to do our part to reduce oil consumption, its good for the country and good for the environment.

The high oil price is all Bush's fault anyway (suits his Texan backers) - the sooner he is out of office the better!

IMO oil futures trading and prices at the pump are complete, 100%, man made BS. Futures trading alone is raises or lowers costs for consumers based on what may or may not happen. It is a lot like the weather report, a collective "good guess". However, unlike the weather, you get to pay for their errors. Ask yourself this, when oil prices are traded for instance prices for Feb/Mar orders now, why are your pump prices directly correlated? In theory, they shouldn't be. The fuel your consuming was purchased on orders months earlier...interesting scam to say the least.

And, hold onto your bev and portfolios...the ugliness continues.
Should be another fun day in the Mkt here in the States.

BULLETIN »
Top Europe, Asia stock markets fall 4% to 5% as financial fears intensify
1/21/2008 6:07:56 AM

It never ceases to amaze me how tied in the global economy is. I heard one analyst state "it will be worse the 1929" well IMO that would be impossible, there is too much "credit" out there from other countries who are more then willing to buy an economy. Maybe this will however make people realize that Plasma screens aren't an entitlement to every American, cars are a luxury in themselves, you need to actually work for money, reality shows are BS (Real Housewives of Orange County) and Paris Hilton is not a role model.

IMO as a whole the average US Citizen has become very lax, which is odd since in general it is one of the longest/hardest working groups of people. We need to realize what really matters and let the rest go by the way side. In the few decades I've been on the planet I have seen aspirations go from simply wishing one owned their own home to needing multitudes of goodies to throw in it. I remember my father struggling to purchase his $105,000 house in 1985, now today that same house was (pre-blowup) retailing for nearly $500,000. Something was wrong.

And on with more of my rant (since it is nearing tax time), why is it that once a persons yearly income goes over $102,000 they no longer pay social security taxes? IMO, these are exactly the people that can truly afford to pay it.

I hear you, BigR...I just wanna stay retired, and not be eating WalMartNation
brand dog mix in another decade and a half.

Not whining, but for the few retired/fixed income gang here, this
past couple months watching the Mkt has not been fun. I realize
it will/should/could get back to "normal" or get better, or stumble
through a serious slowdown, and I'm not hitting the panic button,
but it is a real concern.

I've lived through several slowdowns, a few recessions, etc. But,
I was always gainfully employed at the time with very good dough
pouring in over the transom...this is a different time & situ, for me.

I think while JoeAmerica maybe pulling in his spending horns a tad,
it is indeed, the overextention of personal spending/credit, tied to
the Ponzi scheme like rebundling of crap "credit/loans" that the Wall
St geniues concocted, that will drag us into a no fun situ. Tie that
to the cost of "energy", (manipulated at the very least), shaky
credit mkts., and it's gonna be an ugly year.

I won't miss lunch and I don't live in a retiree reefer box, but I do have
some short term and rest of decade concerns...

Trying to avoid "politics", but my sense of the 'tax rebate' is that the
pittance offered to JoeSixPack, (persumably to go out and spend that
small pennies from heaven sum, thus "fueling" the econ.), and it will be
basically "funded" by selling more junk TBills to the mkt., (read China,
Saudis, et al.) What a fookin system...Edit: my point here is not that
I care who buys our gov't "junk" bonds, but that we continue to pump
them out, sell them, and hope that the Piper will win some future lotto
to "pay back" in some future time...

Maybe you need a remote "assistant" here in FL/NC? ;>)
BR,mD

I beg to differ...:confused:

I'm sure he went off to talk to some terrorists about blowing something else up so we can go on to another war! I can't wait till his sorry ass is out of the white House

Here ya go - new keychain?

http://www.bushslastday.com/collecti...FTgrOAod0wuyGQ