dO YOU STILL THINK THAT YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY FUNDS should have been invested in the stock market?

[Chad R]

With the recent downturn of the market, it is easy to point fingers and say "I told you so." However, the stock market could rebound and recover several hundred points in a day, leading to instant wealth for millions of people. That's the beauty of the stock market: It is a random walk (if you believe in an efficient market, anyway). The point is that people need to invest in the stock market for the long haul, if they want to do it. A well diversified portfolio (I pity the fool who owns all bank stocks) and patience will get the United States out of its current financial crisis. If you're a personal investor playing with your retirement funds, you may want to think twice about putting a lot of money into a volatile stock market if you don't have the time to invest as well. Short term investors beware.

The market is cyclical, and we just so happen to be experiencing one of the worst downturns in recent memory. But it will go up. Have faith in that.

As for the political side of this, there is actually an extremely interesting article out about the equity premium (the amount of money you make in the stock market above the risk-free rate (which is the treasury bond yield)) and how it is actually much higher under democratic presidents.Also, here's some food for thought: Growth rates for family income is much higher for over 80% of the country under a democrat, and the wealthiest top 5% personal income only grows by .2% more under a republican vs. a democrat (well below the 1-2% spread democrats have over republicans with most of the income brackets). All political agendas aside, however, the numbers cannot be disputed. And they are certainly interesting to look at.

And to answer your final question, no. It is not fair that thousands are losing their homes while the gap between the wealthy and the poor grows larger, but it is part of life. And hopefully after all this, we will, as a nation, have collectively learned something about smart investments, and the markets will be that much stronger for it.