Wow, the Dow is down 160 points

[krispos42]

and down a fair amount in the last half-hour or so.

I don't have TV right now; did Bush start talking about the economy on national TV at about 1:30 eastern today?

[C_U_L8R]

1. All Bush has to do is THINK about the economy

and it turns downwards.

George Bush is bad for business.

[krispos42]

2. Ah, that's why it hasn't collapsed yet

He rarely thinks!

[C_U_L8R]

5. fortunately...

must be bad for goats though

[MadHound]

3. Naw, this is more of the same shit that's been hammering the market

Housing bubble burst, financial sector meltdown, bad credit, both private and public, catching up with the economy.

Expect it to get a lot worse before it gets better.

[krispos42]

4. Guess I'd better re-arrainge my 401(k)

all $800 of it...

[MadHound]

6. Lucky you!

Tommorrow I've got an appointment to roll over my retirement monies from my old job into my IRA, ie investing into the market. However I think that I'm going to go with some good "green" mutual funds investing in wind power, solar and such. It is amazing how these sorts of funds have done well when the rest of the market has gone to hell. Of course some of the stocks that these funds invest in are international companies, Danish wind turbine manufacturers and the like.

Frankly, at this point, even though I'm playing the investment game wisely and well and have seen some good growth for my retirement, I'm really not expecting to any of it come twenty, twenty five years from now when I retire, nor any Social Security funds. I think that our economy is going to tank, and this country is going to fall like Rome did. My real retirement plans revolve around my orchard and farm. Pay off the mortage, erect a wind turbine for power, make my own biodiesel, have a woodstove, dig a large cistern, and sell fruit and other crops for cash. Anything on top of that is gravy.

[BonnieJW]

7. Do you watch the Sundance Channel?

There is a program on every Tuesday night called The Green. Right now they are airing a series called "It Isn't Easy Being Green." It's about an English family who has moved to Cornwall and they are doing exactly what you plan to do. They've turned a stream running through their property into a water wheel connected to a generator that provides all the electricity along with a wind turbine. They are growing all their own vegetables and have purchased two pigs and several chickens. They plan on being self-sustaining. I think that is the future.