kin b—No doubt I’m outnumbered in this blog. My guess the tax was a intended to restore Rome’s finances by curbing wasteful spending by upper class Roman women. Since it was an income rather than a capital tax, reinvested income escaped the levy. America’s been on a wild spending spree ever since women got the vote. Become practically un-American not to be deeply in debt by shopping until dropping. I agree “..feminism in some form has been prominent throughout history…” The difference is men today are so pussywhipped many just want to marry each other and huge numbers of young men without physiological erectile dysfunction need Viagra type drugs to get it up and keep it up.

Liz, don’t hold your breath waiting for real leadership on both sides of aisle. Americans just want to party so the pols to pay for it will keep printing money and cheap credit. Very hard to imagine given our environmental laws coal production expanding or nuclear power plants getting built. The Democrats will likely kill the American coal industry with expanded labor protections and even tougher environmental standards. A strong dollar would solve the imported oil issue.

Frank and Cherokee Rose, riddle me this. How come since the feminist movement really got rolling about 40 years ago our divorce rates soared to 50%, close to a majority of children are now born out of wedlock, housing and education costs went through the roof, and the buying power of wages fell to the point only top level upper middle class single family earners can afford to allow a woman to choose to be a fulltime homemaker?

Cherokee Rose—Your comment reflects the resentment women have about receiving criticism. Yet women have no problem criticizing men 24/7! We made a very big mistake fully integrating the armed forces. We’ve created legions of neglected, inadequately mothered children of servicewomen. I have no problem with single women without children serving. FYI drafted at 18 my daughter made sergeant in the Israeli Army during her 21 months of service. Now pregnant and raising 3 children couldn’t imagine how my grandchildren could be adequately cared for were she in the army now. The feminist movement is intellectually and morally bankrupt.

Frank—The developmental damage to children is far greater losing a mother. Israel which has a much higher percentage of female soldiers than America drafts only unmarried women and those without children.

What about their motherless children?

Frank’s right. The mindlessness of the political debate, inane enertainment programing, Netflix and high speed internet got me to cancel my cable t.v. service.

The best way to stop having sex and being treated with respect and consideration is to marry the lady!

Kitty—I stayed fully invested in the 1970s bear market because the underlying financial strength today of top companies, particularly the financials, in contrast to today was good. Then dividends were generous and secure. The other key factor was the actuarial assumptions favoring long term hold and hold blue chip investors were sound. Today neither dividend security or the actuarial assumptions hold. The financials, for example, are largely insolvent the result of unknown future credit losses, cooked books, and potentially catastrostrophic losses in civil and criminal actions now starting to be filed. I anticipate the Treasury and/or the Fed twill order most banks to stop paying dividends and accept shareholder dilution to raise capital levels. It’s not that I won’t buy in the bear market. Prices have a long way to fall before they’d interest me. In the meanwhile my Fording is up almost 100% YTD paying a $2.50 quarterly dividend (10%) next month. I expect it to go to $200 this year and should it be raided go out at over $300 per share. Visa’s up 40% and will pay a modest dividend. Chevron’s up slightly and BP lags but both pay rich secure dividends. Hence why on earth should I ride along with the blue chips which like leaky balloons are falling to earth? Readers should realize Liz’s inherent conflict of interest. She is married to major PE player whose success depends on the belief the market is just peachy.

Liz—Unlike me, you didn’t live through the 1970s bear market. Recall all the rah-rah articles on how bearish sentiment signaled a market recovery which didn’t happen. What ultimately saved the market was the Reagainsolvenn Revolution’s massive tax cuts. We’re in a new environment. Most of America’s banks are insolvent and absent the relentless depreciation of dollar our major export industries would be on the rocks. Governed as we are by boomer juveniles and their decendans very unlikely we’ll take the required corrective steps to return to any semblence of a recovery in foreseeable future. Had I not tried for the GOP presidential nomination I couldn’t have appreciated just how economically crippled our policymakers and the electorate are. . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oQdn6NvhIU http://vargas2040.blogspot.com/2008/05/one-mans-investment-in-america-pr… Left the race in January after the New Hampshire primary. Realizing what was coming down the pike economically upon returing home began dumping all my blue chips and shorted the banks as I liquidated my positions in financials. Now up 20%YTD without dividends with a 4 stock portfolio—VISA, Fording Canadian Coal Trust, Chevron and BP. Posted this yesterday on Floyd Norris NY Times financial blog. http://norris.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/27/dates-stocks-and-numbers/#com… June 27th, 2008 Those who cling to investing according to outdated indices like the DOW and S&P will continue to take severe losses. The actuarial assumptions behind owing the underlying stocks for the long term no longer work. The main reasons are companies operate today pretty much for the sole benefit of management and the intentional deflation of the value of the dollar over time. Hence longer term investors generally lose the buying power of their invested capital even if their stocks increase in nominal dollar terms. Those who switched horses in mid-stream to buy first quality dividend paying natural resources did very well in today’s economic climate. One sign the consumer products big dogs are scared was at the supermarket yesterday I got a free 2 liter bottle of Pepsi at the checkout. With sales falling Pepsi doesn’t want the folks unwilling or unable to buy it to forget the “taste” of their product. Welcome back to the 1970s bear market! This time there’ll be no Reagan Revolution to bail us. The way back is government by grownups! I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for that. — Posted by MARK KLEIN, M.D.

Rachel B—Gimme a break! Women made their own unhappy marital beds by making romantic love the cultural predicate for marriage. That’s why in much of world romance is viewed with considerable trepidation. People do much better where besides sexual attraction and friendship the couple share a common communal background with each partner gaining something tangible in the marriage like social position, family cnnections, money, etc.. In a psychologically unsound situation makes sense western women never stop whinning about their men. There’s always something wrong with them. Are women generally are playing with a full mental deck since they chose the “losers” they married?

Last night a lady friend said a 93 year old retired female physician acquaintance told her she was worried about the market’s poor performance ths year!

Women are now paying the price of wasting their votes on spendthrift government and getting easy divorce.

Anything’s possible for loving kindhearted women with decent figures, some brains, financial security and a genuine interest in pleasing her man’s sexual longings. Good men know they live in a man’s world so they hold out for the whole package.

“I used up my entire pension supporting Hillary. I went to 13 states and knocked on doors. I want everyone in this room to write in the name of Hillary Clinton on the ballot when they go to vote and …” It’s no wonder there was so much opposition to giving women the vote. Clear as day once women got the vote the economy been run like it’s shop till you drop!