Our financial system is crumbling this week.

[Freed Roger]

my siblings and I would inherit whatever's left rather than a crippling debt.

Can you inherit debt? That seems awfully unfair.

I recently found out that my grandmother is still playing stock in her 80s. Why would you own any stock at that age? With only a small pension, she needs her savings to pay for living expenses. There's no reason to put it on the roulette wheel in hopes of getting interest that may never materialize.

With the end of pensions, I'm terrified at what's going to happen once people start retiring and have to rely on their own investments.

I'm not an expert so someone correct me if wrong. I don't think you can inherit someone elses personal debt, like a credit card balance, if decedent was insolvent. You could get stuck with the expense of funeral and legal with winding up the affairs which can be significant. If a person has negative equity overall at death, some of the asset liquidations could go to pay personal debts. If you inherit a piece of property that was used as collateral, it would presumably have to satisfy the debt. Big outstanding medical bills? I'm assuming the descendents wouldn't get stuck with, but again, assets in that estate would likely have to go to those bills before the descendents.

The financial situation of older people is getting sad. it has changed a lot in my 20 years working in acctg. It used to be people 70 and older had a depression-era frugality that served them well, and involved conservative investing. 20 years ago, seniors could get CDs US Treasuries, and money markets with interest rates 7% on up, and that is where they predominantly kept their money.

Then came a succession of changes that made interest rates go paltry - Greenspan and Fed, stock market and capital gains favored tax rules etc. This coincided with the dot-com boom, and you saw many older investors abandon their conservative principles and buy into the market while it was high. Only to see it crash. Then a decade passed and the process repeated.

Another factor, now its less of the depression-era folk and more of the pre-baby boomers. They aren't nearly as conservative with money, quite a few gambling addicts.

Oh well. Most everybody will be working to a ripe old age.

[Jocephus]

Bailout Recipients Hosted Call To Defeat Key Labor Bill

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/2 ... 61248.html

[Arthur Dent]

Bailout Recipients Hosted Call To Defeat Key Labor Bill

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/2 ... 61248.html

These comments have been reported earlier, and I don't understand what the connection is with getting TARP money, but they are still ridiculous. The absolute hysteria about the possibility that more workers would be able to join a union (by making it more difficult for employers to illegally disrupt organizing drives) would be pretty funny if these guys didn't have so much influence.

The co-founder of Home Depot says:
"This is the demise of a civilization. This is how a civilization disappears. I am sitting here as an elder statesman and I'm watching this happen and I don't believe it."

"If a retailer has not gotten involved in this, if he has not spent money on this election, if he has not sent money to Norm Coleman and all these other guys, they should be shot. They should be thrown out their goddamn jobs."

[Jocephus]

Bailout Recipients Hosted Call To Defeat Key Labor Bill

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/2 ... 61248.html

These comments have been reported earlier, and I don't understand what the connection is with getting TARP money, but they are still ridiculous. The absolute hysteria about the possibility that more workers would be able to join a union (by making it more difficult for employers to illegally disrupt organizing drives) would be pretty funny if these guys didn't have so much influence.

The co-founder of Home Depot says:
"This is the demise of a civilization. This is how a civilization disappears. I am sitting here as an elder statesman and I'm watching this happen and I don't believe it."

"If a retailer has not gotten involved in this, if he has not spent money on this election, if he has not sent money to Norm Coleman and all these other guys, they should be shot. They should be thrown out their [expletive] jobs."

thats what got me...are those comments
------------------------------------------------------------------------

in other news, poor girlfriends/wives of bankers and brokers...

Are you or someone you love dating a banker? If so, we are here to support you through these difficult times. Dating A Banker Anonymous (DABA) is a safe place where women can come together - free from the scrutiny of feminists- and share their tearful tales of how the mortgage meltdown has affected their relationships. DABA Girls was started by two best friends whose relationships tanked with the economy. Not knowing what else to do, we did what frustrated but articulate girls have done since the beginning of time - we started a blog. So if your monthly Bergdorf's allowance has been halved and bottle service has all but disappeared from your life, lighten your heart with laughter and email your stories to dabagirls@gmail.com. Warning all stories sent will be infused with our own special brand of DABA Girl humor.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/2 ... 61573.html

[Arthur Dent]

In the paper today, our CEO said, "We are doing a lot of praying these days." Thanks, dude.

[Popeye_Card]

If that's the case, remind me to max out every credit card I can get my hands on before I die.

You know when you're going to die?

Not yet, but I guess if I contract some terminal disease, I'm going to go out like there's no tommorrow (because I guess there won't be, for me).

[Radbird]

In the paper today, our CEO said, "We are doing a lot of praying these days." Thanks, dude.

I saw that. Not exactly confidence inspiring. Hope you survive the cuts, AD.

[Arthur Dent]

It sounds like the latest bank bailout is going to be called the Bad Asset Repository Fund. Oops.

[Hungary Jack]

It sounds like the latest bank bailout is going to be called the Bad Asset Repository Fund. Oops.

I think the Worthless Asset Special Treatment Entity might be a better name.

[TabascoElvis]

WTF?

SAO PAULO -- General Motors plans to invest $1 billion in Brazil to avoid the kind of problems the U.S. automaker is facing in its home market, said the beleaguered car maker.

According to the president of GM Brazil-Mercosur, Jaime Ardila, the funding will come from the package of financial aid that the manufacturer will receive from the U.S. government and will be used to "complete the renovation of the line of products up to 2012."

"It wouldn't be logical to withdraw the investment from where we're growing, and our goal is to protect investments in emerging markets," he said in a statement published by the business daily Gazeta Mercantil.

So we're stimulating GM, just not in the good old USofA?

LINK