bookman4

The Escalator of Life Is Going Down (Part 2)

is the author sure he wants to be quoting jefferson? jefferson was about the closest thing to an anarchist socialist our country has ever put into public office, and the tendency of pseudo-intellectuals who find fault with a semi-planned economy to coopt his views is woefully (likely willfully) ignorant.

your solutions are unfortunately just another manifestation of populist personal finance tips which are common sense maxims for those of us who actually aspire to live sustainable lives. they fail to address the systemic problems embedded in the capitalist system, which is what jefferson (and a number of others whom on this site would be unmentionable) truly warned against.

in the spirit of fairness, your article seems to be on the right track. you appear to recognize the conflicts of interest that more and more seem to define the infrastructure our policy makers work within (lobbyists, donations, fundraising, etc), and you rail against the tyranny of this system. yet you critique obama as a socialist, while at the same time while using distinctly socialist rhetoric throughout your article. obama is far from a socialist, in spite of whatever the fringe libertarians may espouse. that fact is that dissenters have not been able to make up their minds as to whether he is a socialist, a puppet of his capitalist masters, or just your average bumbling politician, despite the fact that these all would appear to be mutually exclusive. likewise, you appear to be posing as a socialist, an investor class free-market fetishist, and blue collar everyman all at once. i guess both you and mr. obama need to figure out which hat to wear.

In Defense of Capitalism

in true, laissez faire capitalism, regulators aren't asleep at the switch...because there are no regulators. to advocate capitalism, and then claim that the only problem with it is a lack of regulation is a complete reducto ad absurdum argument.

capitalism's moral legitimacy may stem from service, but it's economic legitimacy stems from investment and return, and the institutions responsibility to deliver those returns. this is greed, and it completely undermines the truistic service aspect the author seeks to push to the forefront.

Potash Corp.: Poised to Soar Once Hedge Fund Worries Subside

potentially bad pr fallout from the price-fixing allegations, not to mention the ongoing strike. short-term volatility is always rough with this stock, but the long-term prospects are still incredibly compelling.

Eagerly Awaiting Monday's Market Decision

I agree with the article writer's sentiment that we have bottomed, and that as bad debt is rapidly unwound, confidence should return to the market. i don't think that will happen any time soon however.

i wholly agree with many of geo's points as well. my fundamental macro thesis is that the machinery is much too far beyond the average consumers control to even hope for anything other than a violent correction. oil/commodity shock will come, and when it does, let's hope we have an administration that has invested in renewable resources, rather than warfare and croneyism.