Why oh why did my 401k die?
 

Esp. since they ain't doing shit, anyway.

london bombings
 

we have done much. Scotland Yard broke up a cell that was planning ricin attacks in the London tube. we have taken out Afghanistan as a country where they can roam free.

If you mean what we've done is a complete shield- no shit. What else do you think should have been done?

And no offense but for all your denials in the past, I predict your answer to this will come back to haunt.

Why oh why did my 401k die?
 

This is true. And many don't know where to put the money, and many people who don't seem like total morons will put a siginificant chunk in company stock -- voluntarily -- if given the option. Even post-Enron, we have groups that are DEMANDING to be given the option of a company stock investment in the 401(k). If you have automatic enrollment, they leave the money in a default investment. You get all this crap from investment gurus about how you need 25 different funds to cover the whole market, but they ignore that most people don't understand the differences between large cap and small cap and international and mid cap and s&p 500 and balanced and bond. Give people a brokerage window option -- then people who want to diversify to that degree can.

london bombings
 

I'm devastated. Really and truly devastated.


But also confused -- now you say the war in Iraq was to prevent use of unconventional bombs, aka WMDs, aka non-existent bugbears.* But once we found the absence of evidence for Iraqi WMDs, the Flypaper theory came out -- i.e., the Iraqi war was keeping us safer because all the terrorists were going to Iraq to kill American soldiers, instead of killing civilians in the US and its allied countries. Now, it seems, there's been another about-face. I just can't keep track anymore.




*I think the Reagan equivalent for Iraqi WMDs was the Soviet weapons in Nicaragua. Leading Garry Trudeau to the line "What do you call a Nicaraguan MiG? A Phantom Jet." Get it?

london bombings
 

Sorry, Hank. You've been such a vocal advocate of the War in Iraq as panacea, but obviously you're not in the mood to discuss this now. We can take it up again later.

Nice sig line.

Why oh why did my 401k die?
 

1. Thats not what I said, but I agree with your non-reply.

2. The admin costs should be born by the person who holds the investment, rather than an employer. If the business was not manging a pension, it would have ZERO expenses, right? You got an option that beats $0.00 in admin expenses?

3. I'm not justifying my own choices at all. IRAs are a good way for people to save. But its goddamned sad thing that business has to play nanny.

Why oh why did my 401k die?
 

(1) I think unions originally drove it -- a lot of companies maintain generous pensions in an effort to keep employees from unionizing. It is easier to push people out if they know they will have enough to get by on.

(2) 401(k) addresses what issue in (1)?

(3) 2. Do steelworkers have short life spans? Huh.

Why oh why did my 401k die?
 

You still think there's such a thing as a free lunch, don't you.

london bombings
 

Hank -- editing your post while I'm responding it is no fair. But, okay -- I'll play.



Using police tactics at home instead of the military in Iraq? Those pussies. What are they thinking.



They aren't out of Afghanistan, and to the extent they are they've largely relocated to Pakistan. But instead of devoting our military to hunting them down, and our resources to making Afgahnistan a true example of the rewards of moving away from Islamic dictatorship, we've diverted them to the Baghdad Adventure.




Devoted our resources to hunting them down, to developing Afghanistan, and to working with (instead of alienating) our allies and others to hunting them down. This wouldn't have been a complete shield either -- no such thing. But the invasion of Iraq was a great waste of resources, American lives, credibility, goodwill, and so much more -- and for what? To bring democracy to the Shiites? Big fucking deal -- look at how the Shiites in Iran just exercised their votes.



What denials, and what answer, are you talking about? Are you back to claiming that I'm pro-terrorist?

london bombings
 

If you're trying to get notme in as a administration spokesperson, good luck. The flypaper theory is simply the argument that terrorists going THERE isn't a bad thing. That there are still bad people here was never claimed. We keep arresting them. the ACLU keeps wanting them released saying we really shouldn't hold them until after they blow themselves up.

Why oh why did my 401k die?
 

(1) not questioning the genesis; just offering another reason why employers might see value in pensions.
(2) That it's easier to can someone if they have something to get by on.
(3) Less so, now that they're mainly asian.

Why oh why did my 401k die?
 

Sure he does. That's what clients are for.

Why oh why did my 401k die?
 

1. My reply was that businesses were forced to play nanny, not that they chose to, so you really can't blame them for it. Now that they have an opportunity to get out of it, many are doing just that.

2. I guess I'm talking about comparing the admin costs of an "everybody go out and get your own IRA" world vs the present "feel free to invest in our 401(k) plan" world. It's much, much cheaper the way it's done now.

3. Say the "business has to play nanny" thing one more time and you might have yourself convinced...

london bombings
 

You realize we can't go into Pakistan don't you?

london bombings
 

Sure. Because dead American soldiers don't count, right?

And you act as if there's a very limited number of people willing to blow themselves up. That's not the case, and the Iraq war has increased the number.


Oh, go fuck yourself. I never said a thing like that and you know it. I supported and still support the war in Afghanistan. I supported and still support taking out terror cells.


I don't support setting aside the Constitution. I'm funny that way. Call me American.