Poverty on increase

[callmeslick]

Fair enough answer..... What do you think would happen to the stock market, economy if mandatory pension contributions/401 K were to stop being invested as they have traditionally been and were (example) invested say, in real estate? instead of the stock market, Bonds etc...? Serious question here, no chicanery involved....

are you asking what would happen if the retirement investments HAD to be made outside of the stock market? If so, supply and demand would somewhat lower the market prices, and at the same time, I suspect the fluctuations in price would be less for stocks and bonds. In other words, stocks would behave more like they did in the late 1800s. Not bad, nor good, just a different world. On the other hand, your example(which I take to not mean you suggest only such an investment) of investing in real estate wouldn't do much but inflate real estate prices artificially, much as you saw during the bubble. Part of what happened in real estate was due to people 'investing' in real estate for shorter-term gain, as opposed to holding on to land or properties for long-term use.

[Pudfark]

again a fair answer and along some of the lines I had been thinking....I have been thinking along the lines of significant tax incentives/cuts to promote small business growth...for businesses that employ 20-150 persons...it seems, perhaps, that I should look at a larger number....though it might be a good place to start and build on or from.....pondering that and will probably toss a thought your direction in a few days.....Thank You...

[callmeslick]

It would be difficult to set up a 401k that was mandated NOT to purchase stocks or bonds. I suppose it could be done, but who would underwrite it is beyond me. As to jumpstarting small business, I think one of the problems, which I touched on elsewhere, is lack of consumption. When the bulk of the population is sinking, most folks are holding on to their wallets. Why expand a small business if the customers aren't going to be there? That's what puzzles me about so many of these quick fixes proposed by both political parties. You can't get a business to hire with no demand for products and services.

[Pudfark]

As I'm sure you well know....Services and Products are much different.....I believe that we have drifted away from producing products and have relied on services for our economy....At first blush, it would seem......that limiting the importation of certain products and or increasing tariffs...would stimulate domestic production....as a start.

[nicolas10]

But that would be illegal.

Nic

[Pudfark]

I don't believe that is true Nic....Every country has the right to limit/control imports and apply tariffs....or folks would be selling AK-47's to your newest citizens....by the way, I'm glad they don't.

[Triad773]

I think that this whole 'recovery' business is just the ruling class blow'n more smoke up our bumms. It's a "Return to the Gilded Age" in a bad way.

There have been some good posts, and those who refuse to see the handwriting on the wall. Being a student of history such as myself, I feel that anyone with two brain cells to rub together can see the erosion of the middle class, the ascendancy of the rich, and the rest are just basically 'out of luck.' Extremism, what ever its flavour is in fashion-- that's how Mussoloini, Hitler got into power gosh darn it!

I have a sh1tload of jobskills, and it p1sses me off to no end to have NO WORK for technology generalists such as myself.

The reason things have never come to a head in the US is that tooo0 many people are 'fat, dumb and happy' enough to where they don't see anything needs doing.

I'm all for (however satirical, yet loaded with meaning-) Jon Stewart's 'Call for Reasonableness' Oct. 30, in DC.

Teabag, anyone??

Cheers

Triad