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Ron Paul's Campaign Contributors

Discussion in 'Political Debate & Discussion' started by TomVols, Jun 18, 2007.

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  1. JGrubbs

    JGrubbs New Member

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    #21 JGrubbs, Jun 20, 2007
  2. hillclimber1

    hillclimber1 Active Member
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    Investing in the markets including futures contracts need not be particularly dangerous, unless you use a broker to advise you. ALL brokers I've known have a different agenda than your welfare. My brother in law, a believer, stayed in high tech stocks when the DOJ went after MSFT, and lost $300K. His losses were directly attributed to Edward Jones and associates, as he believed them instead of many private investors contrary advice. And its far cheaper to do the work yourself and place trades through Scott or other similar agencies. Otherwise invest in mutual funds, and bonds of good reputation and reap your meager reward.

    Matt 25:14 here is a parable of stewardship through investing.
     
    #22 hillclimber1, Jun 20, 2007
  3. James_Newman

    James_Newman New Member

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    Not to continue the hijack of this thread, but it is an interesting subject ;) Investing is compared to gambling because it is possible to lose money, and for some people who approach investing like they would approach the midway games at an amusement park the experience might be indistinguishable. But there are fundamental differences between the two. I should add that I do not currently have any investments and am not offering investment advice, IANAL, actual mileage may vary.

    But here is my understanding of the basic concepts and how they differ.

    Traditional Gambling -
    A group of two or more people contribute to a pool of money, then some type of chance-related activity is performed to determine who receives that pool of money. One person receives a large financial reward, while the others take a loss.

    Investing in stock -
    A person or group of persons contributes some money toward the operation of a business, in essence purchasing part ownership of the company. The company's financial success is more dependant upon sound business practices than blind chance. When the business makes a profit, that profit is shared by the 'owners' who are the stockholders in the company. When the business takes a loss, that loss is shared by the stockholders.

    Maybe someone could enlighten us on futures markets and how/why they work.
     
    #23 James_Newman, Jun 20, 2007
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 20, 2007
  4. TomVols

    TomVols New Member

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    Probably because you played the stock market rather than do in the market what you're supposed to do. :laugh:

    Remember that you can lose money through any entreprenuerial effort. You can lose money by working at a job for a wage (your wages can be less than the costs of doing the job).

    And remember, you cannot equate people coming to Christ with political donations and other donations. Apples and oranges.
    Good idea. Straw men and question-begging aren't my thing :laugh:

    In short, it's an investment based on the future price of a commodity (beef, stocks, even mortgages). You're agreeing to buy a commodity at a certain price at a future date. Some want to invest in case of a price decline, and some want to invest in case of a price increase. I advise most folks to steer clear of futures, because most people just don't know enough about economics and finance to do the legwork necessary, and the ones who do try to do the research end up being "experts without knowledge."

    James, you might want to try sticking with a simple index fund, depending on your risk tolerance. You seem very risk averse, so I'd stick with a blended fund that's roughly 80% bonds. It depends on your age, of course. Vanguard has low-fee fund families, so check them out. Guidestone has some Christian-based funds, though their long term RR is slightly less than the leading benchmarks.
     
    #24 TomVols, Jun 21, 2007
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