In a few weeks we will make a choice that will decide our future.
I follow an economist named Bob Proctor. He has called the top and bottom of every market crash since the 70s correctly.
Also, he perfectly predicted the current real estate market meltdown and the picture he paints about what will happen in the next couple years
is terrifying.He thinks it will be worse then the great depression.
The banks in the U.S. are going under one after the other. Countrywide ,Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch , Fanny and Freddy Mae ,AIG
The government took them over because they are essentially bankrupt. Even with the goverment nationalizing hundreds of billions of dollars in debt the stock market is crashing
the credit markets are frozen and all of us may suffer beyond anything in the last 80 years.
McCain just like Bush " doesn't understand the economy".
That not just my opinion its his own words. Not only does he not understand how to fix it but he does not understand exactly what is broken.
It is no surprise that he doesn't. The people that make up these securities use complex mathematical models very few people understand.
Bush and McCain both can take the credit for this mess since they helped deregulate the laws that were protecting us.
Bush's economic advisor Phil Graham wrote the deregulation bill that allowed banks to take huge risks with all of our future.
Now, Phil Graham is the head of McCain's economic policy.He is also McCain's choice for the next secretary of the treasury.
No one in this country can afford for that to happen. The last time Bush met with his economic advisors was in March. He didnt realize that anything was wrong. Phil Graham had the guts to say that we are in a mental recession after he helped create the worst economy meltdown in our lifetime. Check out this link to the truth http://my.barackobama.com/keatingvideo
It will take the best and brightest minds in the world to get us out of this nightmare. As bad as Bush has done, McCain would be
even more destructive because things are in much worse shape. The next president will not inherit a surplus like Bush did but a crashing economy and a 11,600,000,000,000 (trillion) dollars deficit. Most of it Bush created and it will take decades to pay it back.
If you do what you have always done then you will get what you have always got.
When it comes to policy Bush and McCain are the same 90 percent of the time.
So why are the polls even close then ?
Mccains team just said they no longer want to talk about the economy.Instead they would like to spend time talking about obama
which means running the biggest smear campaign in history.
They think they can just tell you lies and you wont be smart enough to see through it
Let's teach him we are smarter than that .
Elect Obama Biden 2008
Check out this video of sarah palins interview and ask your self if she understands what she is talking about.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r36Xc0GG4iQ
How To Protect Yourself
Depending on your age, what you should do now.
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Things have gone from bad to worse on Wall Street and in the hearts and minds of anyone who's looked at their 401(k) statement lately. It's hard to know whether to sell, buy, panic, freeze or just give it up and admit you will never be able to retire.
That depends on how old you are. While the current crisis is daunting, it hits people at different stages of life in different ways. The older you are, the harder you'll fall, though there are strategic moves that can mitigate the mess for retirees, too. Young people, who will be given a second shot at getting into the housing market at yesteryear's prices, and who can invest now for 2040, could actually benefit.
Here's how to act your age and protect yourself while the world markets wash out.
If you've already retired, cut back on expenses. You've already weathered a lot, but these Wall Street wipeouts could hurt you the hardest, because you've less time to make back those losses. If you're living on fixed pension income and Social Security, you don't have to worry; you're lucky—and unusual. If you're living on investment income, you have no choice but to dial back your withdrawals, says Christine Fahlund, an analyst at T. Rowe Price, who has studied the math behind retirement spending. "Bear markets can be devastating for new retirees who do not take action to compensate," she says. Squeeze the budget and limit the amount you withdraw from stock market funds while they are beaten down. If you have already set aside three to five years of spending money into instruments like bank accounts and money-market funds, spend from those accounts while you wait for your long-term investments to recover. Try to keep your total withdrawals below 4 percent of the value of your total investments.
If you're approaching retirement, think again. "Just don't retire" into a bear, says Fahlund. "Hold on until you come out of it." Every extra year of work and 401(k) feeding can increase retirement income by 7 percent, and delaying the start of your Social Security benefits can push that up, too. Staying in the workforce now will make you much richer in 20 years. If you're on the verge of retiring, get a complete review by an adviser who can crunch your numbers and tell you whether you can still afford to. (Find one at National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (napfa.org), the American Institute of CPAs (aicpa.org) or the Society of Actuaries (soa.org). Before you retire, drive down your fixed costs by paying off your mortgage and other debts, suggests Ross Levin, an Edina, Minn., financial adviser.
If you're in your 30s and 40s, hang tough. Keep making those 401(k) contributions, and use the current market turmoil to rebalance your investments, so you have a mix of domestic and foreign stocks and bonds, small and large companies and a variety of sectors. Diversification isn't working right now, concedes Levin—everything is down at once. But over a long period of time, this strategy will protect you. You've got decades to recover from the current turmoil. If you're paying on a variable rate mortgage and intending to stay put, consider refinancing to a fixed-rate loan. Interest rates may stay low while the nation battles recession, but after that, the big federal bailouts are likely to result in rate-raising inflation.
If you're in your 20s, congratulations! It's not nice to rejoice in the misery of others, but if you're just starting out on your financial path, you are in a position to cash in on the crisis. "If you're 25, this is a great opportunity, you'll be buying in at a low in the market," says Steven Thalheimer, a Silver Spring, Maryland, financial planner. In addition to your workplace 401(k), plow as much as you can afford (up to $5,000 this year) into a Roth IRA. That money will accumulate tax-free until you need it for retirement. Save as much as possible for a home down payment, too. Under the new tighter lending practices, you'll need one to get into a house, and it's a good time to start house hunting. You'll be able to get into many real-estate markets at 2002 prices. Resist debt, and use as little of your money as you can for everyday life, so you can plow as much as you can into your retirement accounts, investments like diversified stock market funds and a home. You may not catch the absolute bottom of the market, but you're closer to the bottom than you are the top. And in another decade or so, you'll look really smart, and maybe even a little rich.
© 2008
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