Far East Cynic

The 7% solution

In two weeks-my savings and investments have lost almost 6% of their value. Money that it took me years to cobble together-gone. At least for now. But it could have been a lot worse-A LOT WORSE. Fortunately, I got some good advice and have invested in some pretty strong stocks-so they weathered the storm better than most. Same is true with my mutual funds.

I am sticking to the advice of the professionals and not panicking -but trying to think long term. Keep investing, getting more shares now than before and when the market comes back I will be better than ever.

Except-I’m not so sure the market is coming back. At least not anytime soon. When do I get to be angry? Angry about this totally unnecessary and self inflicted wound? When do I get to see some S&P executives hauled away in handcuffs for committing the financial equivalent of murder? At a minimum-everyone of those assholes ought to be audited and be made to suffer at least a financial penalty for their malfeasance.

So too should our Galtian overlords in Congress who brought this on. And who-like the spoiled and selfish children they are-continue to deny any of it is their fault. What part of “the continued refusal of the Republicans to consider revenue enhancements leaves us no choice” don’t you understand?

And yet we get stuck with useless men like our boy Allen West who refuse to confront reality. I have a message for you Article 15 boy-“The downgrade message, whatever you think of S&P, they mentioned the need for increased revenues and for revenues being on the table three separate times. They absolutely indicted the fashionable intransigence of the Republican party right now in Washington. . . . We did something insane with getting that close to defaulting on purpose.”  You and the tri-corner hat wearing slobs who support you,  created that atmosphere-and then you whine when someone calls you on it?

Oh-and as a bonus-today I got my layoff notice.  Another unnecessary piece of paper created by a three star’s malfeasance. I wish I could blame Congress for it but I can’t-the blame lies closer to home with some really stupid decisions by people in and out of uniform. I knew it was coming-but it is scant consolation. By giving it to me almost two months ahead of time-they don’t have to give me a severance package. And since they are trying hard to find me another home-as am I- it is more of a formality than anything else. So I  bear no grudge against my company. Against our customer though…………..well some things are better left unsaid.

Every black cloud does have a silver lining though. Bank of America took a 20% hit today. Goldman lost 6%. The rest of the big banks took major hits-Morgan Stanley lost 24%.  Could not happen to a nicer bunch of guys. And if I do end up unemployed-it will give a reason to get relief from my alimony. That alone might make the whole thing worth it. Notice I said might-actually it will suck.

And tomorrow-as Scarlett said, is yet another day.

  1. Skippy,
    PCO here. Would like to e-mail you to get some pre-command advice. Could you drop me a line please?
    V/r,
    A Fellow Traveler

  2. Skippy-san,

    Sorry to hear the bad news. It happened to both me and my sister who had been with the company as a senior engineer for over 20 years. She’s taking it hard. I’m taking a sabbatical for a year. Housesitting a giant house in Ohio for a year. No rent, no nothing.

    It took an unmovable object and an irresistible force to fail to pass the House Budget or agree to a Senate budget and of course, the president declined to present a budget and so we get 850 days from your plutocrat Congressional democrat allies who can’t manage to their jobs to any degree and string a budget together.

    don’t be blaming one side for a failure to yield, it took both sides.

  3. Still gives lie to the assertion that he did not submit a plan. He did-our shortsighted Congress rejected it. The budget is what we should be doing-what we are doing is well short of that, and the recession that will ensue is proof of that.

  4. hmmm, maybe..IF the super committee does and yes I know its a big IF, find another 1.5 trillion in cuts AND tax increases then MAYBE, maybe we may see a away out of this abyss…
    but the pentagon is gonna take a BIG hit and i think within six months, an accelerated withdrawal of even MORE troops from Afghanistan.
    By the is Lindsay Graham getting crazier or what? Now hes making noises about Syria etc..Dementia?

  5. I laugh. Why was the nation downgraded? Budget deficit. His plan was worse than no plan which speaks volumes about the democrats. Even the senate losers could see that his plan would suck the life out of the economy.

    You didn’t/don’t see that?

  6. We have changed our assumption on this because the majority of Republicans in Congress continue to resist any measure that would raise revenues, a position we believe Congress reinforced by passing the act.

    What I see-is a Congress full of spoiled children who aer so hell bent to destroy the economy-just so they can win reelection-that they will do or say any stupid thing. And that short of running them over with a bus, there is no way to get their attention.

  7. Skippy,
    Sorry to hear about your situation. I will keep my eye out for anything on my side of the date line.