The line of the night

Jamie and I were having a serious discussion about our finances tonight. I asked him exactly what debt we had (credit cards, cars, mortgages) vs. the state of our assets (real estate & stocks, etc). He mentioned the van and I asked about his car--he told me he paid cash for it. I looked at him and said, "You paid cash? Why didn't you pay cash for mine then? Oh yeah--we got 0% interest, that's why." And he said, "I took that cash and invested it." And I said, "What's it worth now?" And he said, "A lot less than 30K." To which I replied, "Who'd have thought that a Toyota would be a better investment than the market?" Oh well, you win some and you lose some. Thank God we've got a few decades to recover.

I'm looking at a few charts regarding long-term investing. The market was basically flat from 1906-1924. It went up the next five years and then crashed. There was a slow recovery, but it was basically flat from 1937-1949. There was an increase between '49-'66, then it was basically flat until 1982. There was a sharp increase between 1982 and 2000, but it's been largely flat since then. Of course there are peaks and valleys on this chart, but if you look at the big picture, the market always goes up. I get this. So my main economic worry right now is that Obama is going to get elected. And I would like to point out that his policies are largely similar to those of Carter. Anyone remember the economy under Carter? Aye yi yi.

My dad is hoping Obama gets elected--he thinks if things go to hell in a handbasket w/Pelosi, Reid, and Obama in charge, he'll see Republican leadership for the rest of his life. But this "soccer mom's" biggest fear is National Security. The first WTC bombing happened under Clinton's watch. The second was planned during his administration. He could have had Osama Bin Laden and didn't take him.

Michael Collins (IRA leader) favorite saying was "The goal of terrorism is to terrorize. It is the only way a small group can take down a large country." Our enemies understand this and will use it against us. John McCain will keep us safe. Barack Obama will not. I truly fear for the safety of my family under Democratic leadership...but our safety has been largely forgotten because of the economy. Which is a shame b/c another terrorist attack would further decimate our economy...