Biker1mike wrote:
If they are not interested in their retirement plan they will NOT have a retirement plan. I am not a finance guy just a techie that got good advice early on. It was that if you do not pay attention and plan long term you will work until you die. I worked with several guys that are screwed and plan to work well into their late 70's or longer before they can retire.
No argument about the need/wisdom of having a retirement plan. But my point was whatever the stock market did in the past is exactly that (in the past, history and nothing can be done about it). Current stock trades/values are up and down as always, no one is screaming about that. BUT current fuel prices and general inflation is taking a bite out of all businesses. People are feeling it and that is what is on their minds right now.
As to the fly over folks. Pretty sure the market price of wheat, soybeans, beef and pork are of big interest to the growers. If the commodities market for a certain product tanks , a bunch of farmers/ranches are sure to notice.
You've limited the argument to agricultural commodities, but that is fine, they represent a large portion of cash receipts from the sale of U.S.-produced farm products. ( cattle/calves, corn, soybeans, dairy products/milk, miscellaneous crops, broilers, hogs, wheat, chicken eggs, and hay)
So....pricing of those commodities is important to the grower/producer. But from that pricing must come the growers 'profit'. What are their costs to produce the commodity and bring it to market. Can they maintain their profit 'margin' amid ever increasing regulations, taxes, decreased subsidies, etc...
So if we were to break it down further (in order for it to be meaningful).... were growers better off under certain administrations than others? Farmers/Ranchers don't really care if the DOW on the whole grew more under DEM's than REPUBs if most of that lined the pockets of those on Wall Street and other trade considerations.
The economy cycles and always has.
Agreed! And always best when fairly stable.
Inflation and recoveries are hard but can be planned for.
Yes, in fact.... you might even say this bout of Inflation WAS 'planned for' (manufactured). Or at least should have been anticipated when you print and dump trillions of dollars into the economy what do you think is going to happen when it starts being spent.
My sympathy for young people that have not learned this yet. U.S. history in schools do a great job of not explaining how our markets actually operate.
Young people.....! Hell our elected officials don't even seem to know this. There is NO hope for the up and coming Young People. Move over America. China will be the new Super Power in my lifetime (and I'm old). At least they run their government like a business. Our country is trillions of dollars in debt and it is getting worse by the day.
This is the product of having incompetents in powerful positions. Reckless spending and no accountability. Been going on for decades. Just a big damn 'boys club' there is DC.