> From: Ken Norton <xra@xxxxxxxxxxx>
>>
>> And the following came up totally at random:
>>
>> :::: The income gap between the rich and the rest of the US
>> population
>> has been growing so fast, that it might eventually threaten the
>> stability of democratic capitalism itself. -- Alan Greenspan ::::
>
> Ah, but never dismiss nature's way of correcting unbalanced
> situations. All
> it took was for a Bernard Madoff to equalize things for a number of
> those
> rich.
Yes, I understand some of them had to sell their summer homes in a
declining market, or lay off a maid or two. That will surely equalize
things... NOT!
I do agree that the middle class is going away, eventually. Most of
them will slide into poverty; a few lucky and clever ones will ascend
into the ruling class. We've been working on a "third path" that has
features of both. Don't know if it will work yet, but it feels better
than just having stuff done to you, beyond your control.
> The last two mortgages (and refinances) that I've gotten...
What is this "mortgage" of which you speak? :-)
D'ya know the etymology of that word? It's a "death pledge."
Live in the cheapest house that serves your purpose. (And maybe,
closely examine your purpose to see if you can live with a cheaper
house.) Pay it off as rapidly as you can. Then you don't care about
the difference between an ARM loan or a LEG loan, because they ALL
cost you an "arm and a leg" over the long haul.
Note that this is exactly the opposite of the "conventional wisdom"
that got us into this mess: "Buy the biggest, most expensive house you
can make payments on, because you'll be able to make a bundle off
someone else trying to do the same thing." Ponzi schemes and bubbles
never last, do they? Any time something requires a "bigger fool" to
come along after you, you'd better ask yourself, "What if I'm the last
fool?"
But on the current cause of economic instability, I'm right with you,
Ken. And that was simply the first of a long series of energy spikes
that are coming down the road at us...
Requisite on-topic info: I'm going on a trip to the US in a couple
weeks. I understand they have roads with more that two lanes there,
and funny lights at intersections that tell you to stop or go. I might
take a picture of one of those things with an Olympus camera.
:::: Nature must, in the not too distant future, institute bankruptcy
proceedings against industrial civilization. -- William Catton ::::
:::: Jan Steinman <http://www.VeggieVanGogh.com> ::::
--
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