(Dave, I apologize for going so far off your OT! But I hope you find this interesting, nonetheless.) Many countries, both friends and not-so-friendly, would like to see another currency become the de facto standard. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your domicile) it's not likely to happen any time soon. The Euro was intended to eventually compete with the dollar. But the inability of the EC countries to work together towards common goals, let alone create an ECB (their Bank) with real teeth, has pretty much torpedoed that. The EU is barely holding together politically - stressful times have created a lot of friction between the haves (France, Germany) and the have-nots (Portugal, Poland, Bulgaria, Finland, et. al.). Many US states flirt on and off with bankruptcy because very few of them are required to have a "rainy day reserve" fund in their state constitutions. Those that do tend to weather bad economic times better, as one would expect. Bankruptcy isnt a descent into chaos, no matter the leftover emotional negatives from the past of that word. ItÂs merely a legal option to re-organize. The US has increased its debt. But remember that as it pulls out of the recession, tax revenues will go up as well. Even without increased revenues, we lack the debt burden of Japan, for instance, who now owes twice their annual GDP due to 20 yrs of deflation. Many people don't realize how weak Japan's government actually is, due to its unique parliamentary structure. Corporations and the Japanese mafia actually hold the most power in Japan. Did you know it's standard practice to hire the yakuza to police corporate meetings? Once out of Tokyo it's a whole different world. I doubt most Americans know that for all Japan has been a democracy for decades, you have to be a full-blooded Japanese to vote. No mixed bloods need apply; they can't even become citizens - unless they're willing, as the second richest man in Japan was, to bribe dozens of people with lots of yen (he's half-Korean). China's government and its citizens need to stash away money in savings. They have no socialized network as a backstop. No Medicare, no Social Security, no unemployment benefits, no food stamps. Sorry  you end up starving in the street? Too bad, your family should have taken care of you. Oops, I forgot  the government wouldnÂt let you have more than 1 kid, right? Oh well, too bad...for you. Nobody else cares, certainly not the government, which is as corrupt as anything seen in the Ching dynasty or Republic days. And those Chinese kids are SPOILED  my (half-)brother was flabbergasted by the Âprima donna treatment these kids get. He worked with a Shanghai contractor on a consulting project for two years and was fascinated by what he saw there (heÂs half-Chinese and half-Japanese himself). Their population is aging faster than the US and the one-child policy is turning out to be a very sharp double-edged sword. I remember back in the late '70's, a famous "doomsday is coming to the US" author visited Hong Kong and then raved endlessly about it. "Unfettered capitalism has created true economic growth, unlike the US," he proclaimed. "People are living prosperous lives without the interference of well-meaning but misguided government regulations." I asked my DH about this. He read the article, then said that obviously the guy's hosts hadn't bothered to take him around to the poorer slums, where the bodies of those who've died in the streets overnight are picked up daily and carted away by those very same authorities. Nor, it seems, had the author been introduced to any mixed-blood middle-class, who (because they're neither Chinese nor English) were restricted, subtly but firmly, to certain occupations where they're 'welcome.' I absolutely believe the US is a declining country. But that decline takes a very long time, historically - look at Great Britain, whose pound is still worth more than the dollar, even though there is absolutely no logical reason why this should be so, now that everyone's off the gold standard. Despite the current pains, there is still a stable and large US middle-class. Most kids can still go to college if they want. You can sneer at McDonaldÂs, but their managers come up from the ranks of those burger-flippers. Yes, they/we have lost wealth, but so have millions of others, all over the world. Most of us still have a roof over our heads and a car (or two) in the garage. My DH and I may not be worth a million dollars right now, but weÂre still worth half a million and live very comfortably (and thatÂs not counting DHÂs pension). Like most Boomers, weÂre in the process of making regular trips to charity to clear out decades of accumulated possessions  we all have way too much stuff stashed around! ThereÂs a lot of what I consider whining about "gee, we canÂt retire early the way we wanted." Some people were in the right place at the right time, could and did. But yes, most of us will have to continue to work. With a life expectancy of almost 87 years, working until 67 or 70 isnÂt the "drop dead in the traces" example it used to be. I believe the US will stagger onwards, if only through sheer momentum. If we can straighten out our educational system that decline will slow to a century or more, at least. Other countries like India and Brazil (and who knows, maybe even China if they can straighten themselves out) will also establish themselves eventually in the global arena. But no country outside of a dictatorship becomes "great" without the majority of citizens living a stable middle-class lifestyle. No matter how brilliant or enthusiastic its people, hitting that percentage level takes physical time that cannot be rushed. People have to have jobs, they have to buy houses, they have to have kids that go to college and have good prospects. You canÂt invent that quickly, no matter how many oil deposits you find or gold you dig up. A big army  and China has a VERY big army, which is what makes it considered Âgreat  can only take you so far. Why do you think China invaded Tibet to begin with? Their missiles at the time werenÂt powerful enough to reach the US  but when fired from Tibet, they had the potential to do so. Still, dictatorships, historically, donÂt last. WeÂve seen that, too. In a truly global economy, dictatorships operate with a certain efficiency but are heavily handicapped by the fact that repressing creativity has real economic costs. Putin can wield all the power he wants, but will his creation survive him? ItÂs doubtful, based on history. China has rearranged its dictatorship to fit an awkward capitalist economics/proletarian politics hybrid, but this has put a real strain on the Communist party. Like they say, democracy stinks but itÂs way ahead of everything else. No other system is so obsessed with picking its warts and pimples in public, which is why it has an inherent strength even as it behaves with apparent weakness.

patti 47?? (who doesn't look a day over 36), I've been called a "dope", at times. Does that count? Susan on, What kind of stuff does your financial advisor sell? Does s/he recommend financial investments that s/he doesn't sell? As you are reasonably young, do you carry mainly equity-based assets? Mainly mutual funds, stocks, or what? If you carry some mutual funds or stocks, have you considered having some of the certificates issued for ones that you plan to own for a numbr of years, your core assets, to use as collateral if you make a loan to buy a vehicle, etc? If you ask your credit union, bank or other lender, I'll bet that they'll offer a lower interest rate if you use such assets as collateral, in addition to the car. Are you achieving major tax reductions on current investment income? Quite a bit of deferral of tax load? Quite a few RRSPs? Have you read some of my materials referring to some of my reservations about using them, especially for younger investors? If you carry substantial RRSP assets, is a portion of them of the self-directed kind, and, if so, and of substantial size, does your carrier manage them without an annual admin. fee? I enjoyed that for a number of years (got into such a plan under an earlier carrier that was bought out). But when rolling over the RRSP into a RRIF, the later carrier told me there'd be an annual fee. When I returned a while later saying that I'd found some other carriers that would manage the fund with no fee ... they found a means by which they could do that, as well. I didn't feel it necessary to reveal to him that I found the offer made by the others less attractive. As Grandma used to say, "One should tell the truth ... but it isn't necesssary to shoot one's mouth off and tell all that one knows". (A bit of a free-style rendering of Grandma's words, here). (My hope here is that you answer these questions within your own mind/family, not to me [it isn't my business, unless you choose to make it so], or here in public). Good wishes, everyone, for increasing your knowledge of how money works, over the years. ole joyful P.S.: Commentary on RRSPs: http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/saving/msg011934521024.html?4 o j P.P.S.: Investment portfolio 16 years: 5-year growth rates 16.58% - 36.61% (difference slightly over 20%); 10-year growth rates 19.67% - 29.37% (difference slightly under 10%): http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/finance/msg0206395613737.html?1 o j

Hi Lindy Lu Who ... ... well, a WA-HO-O-O (not a boo-hoo) about that one! Thank you for making such a wonderful addition to this discussion! I have some Hanes ... and they're blue, too! But ... I've never seen them configured like that! Or ... so occupied, either, for that matter. Also, with elastic still intact - so they're not available for this purpose. Yet. Isn't this a wonderful idea? No more worries about the shortcomings (or, more accurately, long goings) of the elastic: in fact, if it were even somewhat tight, it might cause a problem. If any of you would like to use my old undies in such a fashion, I'd be glad to spring for the postage, even trans-border, to help the ancient briefs find some useful things to do throughout their retirement! Or, more accurately, delay their retirement! I can guaratee that I'll not send holey ones ... and you don't need to worry about the "baggy" that someone referred to, as the only part that's stretched is the elastic (possibly due to not having large body parts to ride herd on). And no stained or dirty ones, either ... solely ones that look to be only in slightly used condition. Then, with these still-useful things having their remaining useful life taken care of, I can go buy new ones with a happy heart!! Adding it as an extra errand when going to town to take care of several needs at a time ... ... and turning off the engine and coasting downhill, and as approaching signal lights when they turn yellow, half a block away ... to be passed by people pushing the gas pedal ... then hitting the brakes about a hundred feet before the "Stop" line. I staked a couple of rows of peas and picked some of the regular and of the edible pod kind. Took them to a nighbour who treats me well, and their daughter and SIL were there, playing cards. Daughter loves peas, I gave her several of the edible pod kind ... and she shelled them and ate them. En route home, I thought that I should have taken the edible pod ones back and given her some of the regular kind ... if she was going to shell them, anyway. Had some of each kind for supper - second picking - delicious! I hope that you had an enjoyable weekend ... and are looking forward to the coming week with anticipation. ole joyful

I was near deadline at the other library this afternoon. Haven't heard the result of the untrasound on the leg at haematology - they're trying to find whether they think that the clot originated there, or was generated in the lung, it seems. At an appointment today with the folks who did the injection of the foamy stuff into the near-surface vein in the leg to shrink it, just over a couple of weeks prior to the embolism, the doctor told son and me that, as an elective and non-essential procedure, that they'd do no more of them, just in case ... it seems that they deal with near-surface veins only (sort of like regular roads), that the deep veins in the legs are the main carriers (sort of like the freeway). The matter of the clotting could be life-threatening, and they do not want to take chances in that department ... so all that they can offer is compression. As I've been having trouble with the socks that I wash when I take them off at night not being fully dry in the rather chilly house by the second morning ... I ordered a third pair of knee-high pressure socks this morning. The doctor at that clinic has scheduled me for another ultrasound, as she wants to get a picture of what's going on in that leg. I'm to visit my regular doctor for (more or less) annual physical in a couple of weeks. So things seem to be going well. I've had no pain or discomfort since shortly after I left the emergency department of the hospital on the evening of the occurence: I'm a thankful patient. ole joyful