My view is that you can be realistic and positive at the same time. If you need a house buy one within your means or rent if that makes more sense for you. Both options are fine, one is not better than the other they are just different. We will have tough times and better times, the cycle goes on as it has done for many years. Save as much as you can, work hard, respect yourself and respect others. Same stuff most of us teach our kids. Quite simple really.

Best regards

PA

– $ 11,977,470,080,311

Just for thought I think when this number hits $12T there will be a lot of chatter especially from the Republicans stating Pres Obama is driving American into debt and then he might just cave into what Garth has stated or it will pass as they head for 13-14 and beyond. But the bubble will burst or paper money is worthless and it will prove the world does not run on paper money just military might.

On the contrary brother, I thrive on the adversity, and there is lots it going on right now!

However your handle does suggest financial suicide!

Let’s hope you do okay!

How do we know they are cheats? What’s a cheat? Is it a tax free account or not?

Here’s my thinking. Let’s say that I decided that I wanted to by some “tiny options” on a speculative bid. To further explain, let’s say I thought Suncor (for example) was going to have a dramatic drop in the near future, but I didn’t want to put out a lot of capital in my regular trading account shorting them because the market is acting so frothy. Too much capital risk. So I instead want to buy a bunch of way out of the money puts, which are usually somewhat cheap per share. But if the puts pay out it could be a big payoff in percentage terms. So I decide to use the money in my tax free account to buy $5000 worth of put options on Suncor at $10.00 and I haven’t done any research but let’s just say it cost me $0.50 a share. Now I have 10,000 shares short, and Suncor (or whoever) goes to $5.00. I have a gain of $50,000 +/- on my puts. Nice gain. Why wouldn’t you put your highly leveraged speculation in the tax free account???

But Gov thinks it’s cheating. Why? I would be allowed to do the same thing in my full tax trading account. Why is it cheating if the government creates a tax free zone and I use it to make perfectly legitimate trades?

The government doesn’t like it because a few savvy investors did just that. They took $5000, used it to make whopping speculations that might have wiped out the $5000, but instead paid off, then did it again a second time. Now they are “sophisticated traders manipulating the accounts”, where really they just got really lucky a couple of times in a row putting the bets in the account that made the most sense tax wise in case they paid off.

I find it hard to believe that’s cheating. Buying options or other strategies is legal.

The fact is, if you create a tax free zone, the masses will flock to it.

What the particular trades the suspects made were I do not know. But I suspect they were legal trades or the government would be throwing them in jail, not revamping the rules.

#87 Midtown

If I misread the article and your interpretation is correct then I stand corrected. But I don’t know why they would have referred to the targeted individuals as “sophisticated traders” then. I have to imagine that the folks over contributing are buying $10,000 worth of puts or even $100,000 but doing so because they want the gains tax free. So, pay the penalty. But I agree that if all they are doing is increasing the penalty or prohibiting over contribution, no harm done.

I really doubt that is the government’s concern, though. They made a penalty to raise a revenue, or they would have prohibited over contribution. No, they are worried about the gains.

thanx for your #61, Ducky, a touch of divine comedy to make sense of it all, to the extent that it can make sense.

We are so screwed, well, all 99% of us who are not in banking or otherwise deserving of being bailed out.

Not all D&G, just a major dose of the reality of life. 95% of the stuff that happens is orchestrated by the Rockefellers, Rothschilds, The Bilderburg Group (a.k.a. the NWO) and their minions, so it is never covered.

As to the leftovers, six per cent of individuals control 96% of the m$m. Use the media FWIW, but don’t ever take it as gospel. Garth can only write his columns based on what he knows, then tells us.

The other links, which are not controlled by anyone are good add-ons to his posts. There will always be opposites — positive / negative, good / bad, rich / poor, male / female, etc.

For instance, the swine flu (last line from second link) — billions; Europeans
“Danes, Finns, Germans, French, Spanish, Belgians, Dutch all refusing to roll sleeves up despite government, media pressure”

The usual economic stuff –
going down?;
rich and poor

Then this wonderful country — “Like having CMHC take all the loan risk on taxpayers’ backs. . . A torrent of loan guarantee from money from Ottawa allowing moneyless purchases and bidding wars. And both bankers and real estate professionals pushing buyers into loans they’ll never repay. Loans which can turn into money crypts if the market corrects.”

If all else fails, declare bankruptcy for the country and hand it over to China or (better yet) pass the buck to those suckers in the workforce!

Oh wait, they’ve already been laid off, the manufacturing and technology sectors went to other countries, as wages are a buck an hour with no benefits. Well Stanley, that’s another fine mess you’ve got us into!

BTW, what exactly does happen when taxpayers won’t pick up the tab for the above? None of us ever voted on the AfPak mission, yet the CPC quite happily spends our money as if it’s going out of style.

This effectively opens the door to WW3. — guess who

I hope your not considering suicide???