[dollarbull]

But my portfolio is up since February.

How's it doing now? "Up since Feb 2006?"

Don't forget you are measuring your returns in $US - and that measuring stick has shrunk quite a bit.

This entire meltdown in the financial sector proves my point since the beginning that fractional reserve lending is not a viable framework on which to run an economy (works great if you are in the non-productive finance sector). All it does is create boom and bust cycles. The banking sector gets rich on the way up, and then gets bailed out on the way down. Joe sixpack pays the bill. This has been going on for a few centuries now.

[Toddsterpatriot]

How's it doing now?

It's doing okay.

"Up since Feb 2006?"

Yes. Up since Feb 2000. Up since Feb 1990.

Don't forget you are measuring your returns in $US - and that measuring stick has shrunk quite a bit.

The vast majority of my expenses are in dollars. And a chunk of my portfolio is denominated in Euros and other currencies.

This entire meltdown in the financial sector proves my point since the beginning that fractional reserve lending is not a viable framework on which to run an economy

That's why our economy is so much smaller than in 1913, before the Fed? And didn't we have fractional reserve lending, even before the Fed? Even when we were on a pure gold standard?

All it does is create boom and bust cycles.

Like when we were on the gold standard? Got it.

This has been going on for a few centuries now.

We're doomed.