Tell Me What Worries You Most???

First off my real worry if the global markets were headed into a serious depression. Honestly I'm not worried about my investments in the market becouse their still healthy which I couldn't believe. As for myself I read my Smith Barney Perspectus and it explained not only about funds,shares and such. But I got a deeper enlightment on how the markets work. Now I'm reading Alvin Toffler's Revloutionary Wealth. Toffler,a futurists, beleives the economy is going have new economic streams. New inventions and he and his wife explore everything. It's real interesting. How to explain radical market volitility. De-Market Time. Now I created this term myself becouse I was thinking that market time is out of sync. And out of sync or de-synchonorization is what Tofflers came up. Now in De-Market Time from my perspective coould explain the intense market volitily in the global marketplace. And the market swings from day to day of the DOW. Liz just think about that since u David,Liz McDonald,Alexis and Cheryl cover the marketplace everyday. U think I maybe onto to something here?

What bothers me most is the Northwest Airlines guy calling an oil purchase a hedge. If the oil purchase was truly a hedge the company would not have lost any or nearly as much money as they did. I read this story in my local paper earlier and was furious that they are calling this a hedge. If they really wanted a hedge they would have bought oil on the cash market and sold the same amount on the futures market. That is a hedge. The same thing happened to a smaller Company called VeraSun bought corn at $6 a bushel and did not sell the futures to cover their purchases. That grain merchandiser should have lost his job. Also, Infrom Jeff Flock that a forward contract is not a true hedge. Although I am enjoying his reports from the Soybean field.

Frankly, my biggest worry is that "Do Something, Anything" panicky politicians, ideological opportunists (largely left-wing), and uninformed voters inflict lasting, severe damage on the U.S. by quick-dragging us into socialism. We overbought/overborrowed. Now we have to pay for it. We made investments needlessly complex and opaque; now we have to wait for clarity so trust and confidence can return. Anything else is theft and overreaction.

What worries me most is that our children will be living in a very different America. I think every parent wants their kids to have a better life than they did. I am beginning to wonder if that is still possible in this age of bailouts and "spread the wealth" mentality. (Our oldest will be graduating from college soon, I wonder what kind of jobs will be available?) I'm also very worried about devaluation of our currency... I don't see how we can keep throwing so much money around and doubling our deficit without severe consequences. My biggest worry: A total collapse of the dollar and hyperinflation.

Worrying helps nobody. "Be anxious for nothing, but by prayer and supplication make your requests known to God." From a financial perspective, my long-run concern is that the culture of lying, cheating and stealing is so intrenched in our economy that most reported numbers are notional. There must be a level of honesty to support capitalism, which is the best economic system since the Garden of Eden. Next would be the election of Obama and the probable conversion of most large banks to the policized model of Fannie and Freddie. Loans would then be based on influence as much as financial merit.

I am set to retire January 1, 2009. It scares the hell out of me because I have lost almost half of my retirement savings. Should I postpone my retirement and keep my job even though my health is bad. Should I sell my investments, take my losses and move strictly to cash? Will inflation caused by the creation of all this "bailout money" wipe out the value of my cash? What frightens me most is that the idots in Washington have so much control over our lifes and even when we express our wishes, they ignore us. Definately not "government by the people"