Capitol Hill Blue Forums Political Issues Finance, the economy & Economics How will the financial crisis develop?

Yes, there really is no obvious solution for beating the system and preserving one's personal wealth. Besides, beating the system actually means beating a whole lot of other people, without whom the system won't be very functional, anyway.

My thought vector is much less about preserving personal wealth than it is about making moves to a more progressive and possibly sustainable economic system. If the System (all systems, not just the economic system) is healthy, then it is more likely that we all will be healthy, though less likely to be financially wealthy.

I outlined an example recently, about making insulation locally from recycled materials. A few days ago we had a second meeting of what we are calling the Local Investment Forum, and the opportunity to invest money in creating a local, mobile insulation manufacturing operation was presented. One stumbling block for some is how to convert a retirement account into locally usable funds. Those with that problem will work together to find a work around that doesn't involve the conversion losses that you described, It. Perhaps the solution will be to change some laws, but that will take a good deal of time and popular support to accomplish. Many may lose far more than the conversion losses by waiting, though. One avenue might be through a credit union or other established financial institution that can act as custodian to satisfy the SEC and IRS rules.

One new slant on the insulation concept is that local government, which stands to benefit rather significantly as a result of creating a market for what is now a liability, should create a pool of money to pay the upfront costs of weatherization of homes and businesses, with repayment coming out of the savings in energy costs. Local government could pump up the pool using some of its new revenue stream (from NOT paying to have the material hauled off and getting paid by the insulation company). The energy savings realized by the home and business owners would become more money circulating in the local economy, tanker loads of fossil fuels wouldn't be burned in wasteful transportation and heating, jobs would be created, landfills would fill up more slowly, and people will make money.

That's a triple bottom line economy in spades! And it is just one example that can result from thinking differently about money and investing.