I hope very much that, if we make it through this,

[billyskank]

we learn very well that financiers are NOT to be trusted! That investment markets are simply scams run on the "bigger fool" principle (when the biggest fools are reached, the game is over).

Back in the old days, pre-Roosevelt New Deal, people had a healthy dislike and distrust of Wall Street. I think we need to rediscover this again.

[Droopy]

1. No kidding

Makes me want to convert all of my assets to cash and head for the hills.

[billyskank]

2. Nope, don't head for the hills.

We just need an economy that is based on actual work, people doing useful and/or productive things for money. That's all. Investment in stocks makes sense if it is based on a real notion that the company is going places, going to grow and pay dividends, all that stuff. But this simply needs to take its rightful place as an integral part of the economy, not as the driving motor of the economy. When investment is based on the notion that other people are going to do the same and inflate the asset price, we have a bubble. And a problem.

[billyskank]

3. In fact, in general, investment is the game of the rich.

Let them gamble their own money as they see fit. And reinstate Glass-Seagall so that their gambles can't bring down our banks and take our deposits with them.

When the rich want to invite the masses to play with them, we should understand that they only ever want to fleece us.

[In_The_Wind]

4. I've been trying to get Jon's money out of Madoff since this past spring!

Jon's brother was holding the purse strings of Jon's trust fund at Mrs. Alpern request. We hired a lawyer this summer who was a little too slow to petition the local judge to invade Jon's trust fund on his behalf. We are currently 2 months behind on the mortgage payment.

All of Jon's family - aunts, uncles, cousins, brother, sister, daughter, nieces and nephews had all of their monies with Madoff since the beginning of his company. Everyone in his family is wiped out. :cry:

[billyskank]

5. I'm so sorry Joani.

:hug:

[In_The_Wind]

6. We planned our future on that trust fund.

Now I seriously don't know where we will go from here.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=105&topic_id=8322650&mesg_id=8323404

We will be joining the class action lawsuit to recoup part of Jon's money :shrug: but who knows how long that will take.

We are listing this house for sale today with the hope of getting a small amount to move on and not see it go in a foreclosure. We've prepaid our oil bill for this winter and we have enough wood to keep us warm if we can just stay here until it's warm the move will be easier.