>>All I can say is that I hope some old sayings hold true:
>>You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that it's an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.
>>Rahm Emanuel November 19, 2008
>>
>>A take off from Tony Curtis in the 1959 movie "Operation Petticoat" . "Where there is chaos there is opportunity"
>>
>>I bought a little more today - a "too big to fail" and a 2009 bailout recipient. There must be a bottom somewhere!
>
>As a CFO of a publicly-traded company, I saw firsthand how managers regard shareholders.
>I also was a managing direction in a Wall Street brokerage house and got an even closer look at how they regard people who buy stock.
>
>Therefore, I'll never own a share of a publicly-traded company and I don't pay much attention to the ups and downs of equity markets.
>
>
>For their retirement programs, I advised my children to follow my notion that preservation of capital is more important that return on capital.
>
>That has played out well.
>Our stars are some non-callable muni's with 5% coupons but we have some 3's and 2's in there as well.
>We've never lost a dollar and are getting some decent returns.
>
>I was born in the depression and I'll never forget the value of cash.
>
I was born $ poor. In the same month I started school I moved into the first house I had ever lived in that had electricity or running water.
Near the end of my 1st grade we moved into our first house that had a bathroom.
I firmly agree with most of your principles.
We put away our "protect the capital" funds long ago in Series I bonds, Florida tax certificates, land and timber We haven't had to tap any of those, yet.It doesn't take that much for us to live on. We actually spend less than we draw in retirement - our single largest expense is taxes.. About all I care about money besides living comfortably is that if you have it you don't have to take a lot of crap.Of course it's nice to get at least 1.754% minimum back on my credit card with 5.25% back on the first $2500/quarter. The expression on new bank teller's face when an old man gets out an old truck dressed in jeans and a Walmart pull over shirt and says " I need to get a cashier's check for $$$$ (more the teller makes in two years) or I want to deposit these checks ( a years salary) does merit a smile.



>That said, I know that lots of people don't share my views and the people in Wall Street go home every night and say prayers of thanksgiving for that.