Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Money Borrowed

Congress has been a master at making the other guy look bad.. but if you do some research you'll find that most of what they accuse the banks of doing, were regulated on them by the very same people asking for accountability. What's more, if you check a little more, you'll find that the those rules have not changed and that more of the same is to come especially if they continue to regulate what the companies have to do in order to "save" the economy. Of course if the banks and companies fail.. they, meaning, the Congress, cannot be held accountable. Pelosi told you that a couple of months ago and they count on you not to remember; unfortunately most don't.

Now your elected officials all demand that AIG "pay back" the taxpayer the earmarked bonuses; the same bonuses Congress knew about and approved within the original loan. Besides the outlandish lie that they even care for other reasons than their own image, you need to realize that there's no way of "paying back" the taxpayer. The money spent was tax revenue given to Congress by us so we can never reclaim it; Congress could for themselves to spend on something/someone else, but do you realistically believe that they will distribute it back to each taxpayer? That's why it's just a pompous show put on by your voted in politicians, for nothing else but your next vote.

Worse yet, however, is the reality that the money given was money from the future, because the money lent was borrowed money. In fact most of the budget spent is borrowed money and not taxpayer money, our money has long been spent in the past. Imagine living your own life that way.. oh I forgot.. we did for the past 2 decades. Is that why we let Congress get away with living off the future, for fear of facing ourselves in the mirror?

We've all done it, playing on margin, which is fine until you play it to the max, the markets turn and you find yourself in a margin call. When all is said and done, you had to divest your holdings unplanned and usually at the bottom, coupled by the realization that you paid interest for the "loan" and that you've lost serious capital. That's why margin's are dangerous, and should be used with extreme caution. Perhaps Congress has something to learn from Wall St. after all and perhaps the taxpayers should make a margin call on Congress. Ahhhhh dreaming, am I?
.


Thursday, March 5, 2009

Life Relates to Trading: A Lesson You Asked For

So how does this economic mess relate to trading and life you ask? The reasons are enumerated below.

This happens when:

  • You think everyone else is getting more than you are
  • You covet
  • You let go of ethics and morality
  • You allow extortion and thievery to go unpunished no matter how small
  • You wish not to be bothered with decisions
  • You want someone else to "do it" for you
  • You think others know more than you and you don't study the question
  • You think you know more than others and you don't have to study the question
  • You think the solution is too complicated
  • You are not willing to take charge of your own life
  • You forget that all is connected

As I said before, we did not get here in a heartbeat; but what I didn't say before is that you asked for it. Maybe you didn't ask for it out loud, but you thought it, I bet. In other words, you, we, all of us created it.


When freedom is gone, it takes a long time to win it back again. It takes courage, fight and it takes blood. The blood is all over the stock markets today. The fight is on. It's not only in the markets but it's there intellectually in the streets. The fight for our freedom and country as we've known it is on whether you are ready or not. The markets reflect the future and it's showing everyday what's coming.

Those that will fight back and those that believe in free markets will pay dearly for quite a while. There is money to be made on the short side now and not many are willing to anti up for the longs. Yet companies that provide for your trading are sinking and contrary to modern math, zero is a zero and you can't borrow from government to make up for that. That is why corrections are difficult and the best way to avoid a mess is by realizing that all things have a cycle and panic or a bail-out does not fix anything.

Now, we're in this lesson which may take a long time to comprehend. Until then, the question will remain: What have we given up for the quick fix and at what cost of our freedom?

.



Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Speaking of Taxes: Your Reality Check

So where do you think your governments going and what do you think they'll do next? If the Congress in the last 3 years of record tax revenues could do nothing to alleviate this recession, what do you think will happen this year when their tax collection will be cut by about 1/4-1/3. That is my estimate, and granted it is not very scientific.


The problem with government running your money is that they always know they can get more. The reason they do is because they usually can and not having had the sad experience of being cut off by the people, they are usually right. Frankly it would be better if they were.

Take for instance, California; by law they are supposed to set the year's budget by July 31st or be out of business.. shut down. Well of course, they are not.. but they should be for it means they are not doing their job. Imagine if you told your boss that you can't finish a project by deadline and what's more you'll still be working on it 8 months later, expecting full pay, of course. This government in California is doing just that and the people are taking it as if it was not their money being wasted. Now, the threat is that 21000 people will have to be laid off unless the budget is passed by tomorrow. My answer to that is .. good. In fact we should lay off a lot more, because less government, the less the government will cost and the faster we can get out of debt. Better yet, we should cut off all salaries of the legistlative body until the budget is passed, starting with the 1st day they are late.

OH NOOOOO you can't say that! How can I be so cruel as to ask that those workers lose their jobs. Well my dears, aren't there many other people in corporations losing their jobs? What did you say? Those "big bad" corporations squandered and wasted money and that's why their workers lost their jobs? So tell me where's the difference? Your government is doing the very same thing and worse, yet you want all those government jobs to be protected like some sacred cow with your hard earned money: YOUR TAXES!

Think about it. At least you have a choice whether you wish to invest in a corporation as opposed to being forced into investing in your government. So which is mismanaged the most: a corporation that has to show profits in order to get you to invest more money, or your government that knows it can get more from you or print more, no matter what and how they spend and manage. I am willing to bet that there are more wasteful, ineffective governments and government projects out there (with a lot more to come now) than there are wasteful, dishonest, ineffective companies (not being propped up by government). So guess which has more to hide. Follow the money! It's your debt they are creating and forcing on you to pay.

So which way do you think the markets will go?