The crash of ‘08-’09 – If you had cashed out your stocks just a few months earlier (many retirees, for instance), you knew that the gain was not mythical. If you sold when the market was going down, you lost big time. If you sold after the market was at bottom you lost a lot more. If you did not diversify early on, and picked the wrong stocks, you lost everything you’d put in. If you kept your diversified stocks through to now, you could sell now and end up better than the ones that managed to sell all before the market dropped. So some people by their wrong choices ended up retired with nothing but Soc Sec.If you wait a few more years, you may not have any Soc Sec – it’s only by the grace of Congress – and enough fellow-workers -that there might be anything for you. It is a Ponzi Scheme.You may not remember, but 50 years ago (when I was in school) I was complaining about DC using the money going into Soc Sec as though it were the general fund. I complained about it 40 years ago. And 30, 20, 10, and still today. It is only the money workers are putting in every year that their is something to take out. So you might get more than you put in, or if you wait long enough to retire, you might get less. Unless things change, someday people will get not a penny of their hard work back. Only by enough of us complaining has that not happened already. But with more people out of the work force (or partly out), and more population, that date gets closer. Occasionally over the years we’ve fussed enough they have managed to not use the Soc Sec money for awhile. EVERY president for many , many years have had this problem either hidden, or at least tried to a bit.By the way, after 9-11 there were MANY people who wanted some wars fought. And ANY date there are some people who want wars. Even the current president has kept wars continuing in Afghanistan & Iraq, as well as adding new ones in several places. So are you being clueless, naive, or disingenuous? And in this whole comment I have neither made left-wing nor right-wing comments!
NeedaChuckle Premium Member over 8 years ago
When the market goes down, BUY don’t SELL! Do you wait for things to go OFF SALE at stores?
JastMe over 8 years ago
The crash of ‘08-’09 – If you had cashed out your stocks just a few months earlier (many retirees, for instance), you knew that the gain was not mythical. If you sold when the market was going down, you lost big time. If you sold after the market was at bottom you lost a lot more. If you did not diversify early on, and picked the wrong stocks, you lost everything you’d put in. If you kept your diversified stocks through to now, you could sell now and end up better than the ones that managed to sell all before the market dropped. So some people by their wrong choices ended up retired with nothing but Soc Sec.If you wait a few more years, you may not have any Soc Sec – it’s only by the grace of Congress – and enough fellow-workers -that there might be anything for you. It is a Ponzi Scheme.You may not remember, but 50 years ago (when I was in school) I was complaining about DC using the money going into Soc Sec as though it were the general fund. I complained about it 40 years ago. And 30, 20, 10, and still today. It is only the money workers are putting in every year that their is something to take out. So you might get more than you put in, or if you wait long enough to retire, you might get less. Unless things change, someday people will get not a penny of their hard work back. Only by enough of us complaining has that not happened already. But with more people out of the work force (or partly out), and more population, that date gets closer. Occasionally over the years we’ve fussed enough they have managed to not use the Soc Sec money for awhile. EVERY president for many , many years have had this problem either hidden, or at least tried to a bit.By the way, after 9-11 there were MANY people who wanted some wars fought. And ANY date there are some people who want wars. Even the current president has kept wars continuing in Afghanistan & Iraq, as well as adding new ones in several places. So are you being clueless, naive, or disingenuous? And in this whole comment I have neither made left-wing nor right-wing comments!