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Stocks and stock options are not money. Of course if you hold a stock long enough you might start to bond with it and think you have made a lot of money. I mean, imagine (imagine) having a stock portfolio worth a $1000 (of your money) and through the combination of time and the increased value of the companies eventually having a portfolio worth $100,000,000. If the Market implodes (Enron) and your stocks becomes worthless before you can unload any, should you kill yourself? How much money did you lose?
Stocks and stock options are not money. Of course if you hold a stock long enough you might start to bond with it and think you have made a lot of money. I mean, imagine (imagine) having a stock portfolio worth a $1000 (of your money) and through the combination of time and the increased value of the companies eventually having a portfolio worth $100,000,000. If the Market implodes (Enron) and your stocks becomes worthless before you can unload any, should you kill yourself? How much money did you lose?
H
Do you have any clue how most people's 401ks work? It doesn't appear you do.
The intrinsic inefficiencies of the fossil fuel / rubber tire / pavement mode of transportation is probably more the reason for its decline.
Ever since America hit "peak production" in the 1970s, the excuse of cheap and plentiful oil was no longer valid.
If not for the powerful automobile / petroleum / highway lobby, we might have started to transition to rail 40 years ago.
Now, we're s.o.l.
Lets not get surreal. Can a GP-9 back into a loading dock and unload a shipment to your Office Max?? FAIL.
H (what does a diesel locomotive run on btw What is the dominant energy source for freight operations on America's railroads?)
Lets not get surreal. Can a GP-9 back into a loading dock and unload a shipment to your Office Max?? FAIL.
H (what does a diesel locomotive run on btw What is the dominant energy source for freight operations on America's railroads?)
Wow, you fail. The energy used to transport a ton of freight by railroad compared to trucking is in fractions. Now, a train can't back up to your local store and no one is suggesting that, except you. You won't get rid of trucking even with the most efficient rail system. You can minimize the use of fossil fuels via roads, tires and fuel... But you knew that already, huh?
Do you have any clue how most people's 401ks work? It doesn't appear you do.
What I know is that the present system of money for nuthin' (chicks for free) is not sustainable. My parents don't own a stock between them and neither of them made more than 35K/yr. Combined, they are probably worth a million. Hard work, save, save, save and 18% 30 year CD's and the insane inflation of real estate from the 50's into the 90's and Bob's your uncle. Henry Ford became rich making cars. Henry Ford II became rich taking in investor money. When you have enough investors it can start to get a little hard to remember what is important. How many other car companies were there during Henry's time? 50? 100? How many are there now? Does that make sense to you? I imagine it does. Having only 3... or 1 of anything removes the need to actually think about what you are doing.
What I know is that the present system of money for nuthin' (chicks for free) is not sustainable. My parents don't own a stock between them and neither of them made more than 35K/yr. Combined, they are probably worth a million. Hard work, save, save, save and 18% 30 year CD's and the insane inflation of real estate from the 50's into the 90's and Bob's your uncle. Henry Ford became rich making cars. Henry Ford II became rich taking in investor money. When you have enough investors it can start to get a little hard to remember what is important. How many other car companies were there during Henry's time? 50? 100? How many are there now? Does that make sense to you? I imagine it does. Having only 3... or 1 of anything removes the need to actually think about what you are doing.
H
Henry Ford became rich because he owned STOCK in the company he owned which created cars Btw he only owned about 25% of Ford Motor Company. He sold the other 75% to raise MONEY
Wow, you fail. The energy used to transport a ton of freight by railroad compared to trucking is in fractions. Now, a train can't back up to your local store and no one is suggesting that, except you. You won't get rid of trucking even with the most efficient rail system. You can minimize the use of fossil fuels via roads, tires and fuel... But you knew that already, huh?
I beg to differ. Both posts are there. I stand by mine.
Henry Ford became rich because he owned STOCK in the company he owned which created cars
More accurately, he owned stock in lots of other companies that did not create cars (like his buddy Firestone's). I'm not going to argue this any further. You're invested, you're invested in being invested. Enjoy the ride. As I said in another thread, or maybe it was this one, in all the excitement I've forgotten how many posts I've fired... the bottom is in sight. And I don't mean the bottom of the Market. The only real commodity America had was its people. Technology and the Internet have promised to replace people and the Corporations have jumped on the promise with both feet. Cheap and plentiful exploitable people from Mexico and elsewhere and access to skilled minds via the internet that live and work in economic systems of much less value than ours is making American investors wet themselves in anticipation of even bigger profits. It cannot end well. For one thing there's just too many guns out there.
The regulatory swings haven't been all that bad, it's just too damn expensive to do business anymore because the freight rates are in the toilet since Deregulation.
An oil change was 125 bucks in 1998, it's now 250. My god...don't even discuss tires. More and more guys have to run caps. They're doing maintenance less often. And let's not even talk about major engine work. The cost of an in-frame is up at least 25%. A set of injectors WITHOUT INSTALLATION can run 2500 bucks. Labor is over a hundred bucks an hour now. I mean...it's just too expensive for lease a truck on to someone at these present rates.
That's not the results of deregulation you see. That's just inflation and it's not just affecting the trucking industry. I am in the process of restoring an antique farm tractor right now. Parts and labor prices have gotten outrageous.
I decided many years ago when I was pulling swinging meat that, rather than spend $100,000 on a truck (back then) that would make me $12,000 a year in income and depreciate out in a few years, I would spend $50,000 on an education that would appreciate over the span of career. Had I not made that decision, I would likely have several old rusting rigs and containers sitting out behind my barn today and an empty bank account.
Having been one, I am more respectful of truck drivers than most but I realized years ago that no industry can be protected by government regulations for very long.
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