A bit of solace here and there ...

{link » Some Reflections in the Times of Hysteria}

“Ditto 401(k)s. If you are retired—terrible. If you are nearing retirement as many of us are—worrisome. But for those under 50, who still put away pre-tax dollars each month, there is a weird sort of solace. I have friends in their 40s who say they won’t pull anything out for a quarter-century, and would prefer to buy stocks and mutual funds now at rock-bottom prices, rather than as was true in 2005 or 2006 at the peak of the market. Quite logical—if the entire market doesn’t go belly up.” [emphasis added]
 — Victor Davis Hanson

If you are retired you have essentially lost your capacity to actively recover from a substantial financial setback, largely because you're shit out of time. If your 401(k) was designed to be drawn-down as a source of income (because Social Security does not cover basics) you are truly f*cked now that it's lost a third of its value. But if your 401(k) was not designed to provide an income stream (i.e., you're lucky enough to treat it as a secondary safety net — for when obamanomics destroys your real source of income) then you get a bit of that "weird sort of solace" through reinvestment of gains. Hey, you have to take solace wherever you can get it these days.

Post #641