Financial markets continue down – DJIA off another 1033 points
Posted By RichC on February 8, 2018
So much for the "good news" that tax cuts will eventually providing revenue by helping the economy grow. The "hope" is that over time the economy growing will put more people to work (it is) and that the snowball would eventually grow paychecks (it is) AND that we could begin to reduce our country’s yearly deficit (yet to be seen, but doubtful).
Dow Jones Industrial Average 3 month chart at market close 2/8/2018
But after today and Washington DC’s budget talks and interest in spending more money on the "needed" military, last years "natural disasters," the "entitlements" and the latest big wish … "infrastructure spending" it is starting to look like Washington DC wants to borrow more money. Nothing new, but investors and traders are seeing the big picture … neither Republicans or Democrats are serious about balancing a budget or controlling spending. What’s worse is that neither side sees eye to eye, nor do the parties themselves see eye to eye on controlling spending.
Add to that … the concern that the Fed is talking about more interest rate hikes and perhaps sensing some inflation on the horizon … and investors are losing their confidence that the growth will continue.
What to do, what to do in order to prepare for our future. Pensions are drying up and Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security remain underfunded.
Social Security is in even WORSE condition that the State of Rhode Island’s perilous pension system.
We talk about this a lot in our regular conversations.
According to the Board of Trustees for Social Security (which includes the US Treasury Secretary, the US Secretary for Health & Human Services, and the US Secretary of Labor), the Social Security trust funds “become depleted and unable to pay scheduled benefits in full on a timely basis in 2034.”
Once again– that’s the Treasury Secretary of the United States saying that Social Security will run out of money in 16 years.
You’d think this would be shouted from the rooftops, especially given how long it takes to save for retirement.
Yet instead the news is ignored or flat-out rejected by people who simply want to believe either that it’s not a problem, or that the government has some magical solution.
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