12-22-2008, 12:24 AM
Ted King wrote:
[quote=Black Landlord]
Is that the best thing to do with one's savings though?
Go to Best Buy and buy a Tiawanese-made electronic of some sort?
Who does this really benefit?
That definitely is a valid point. I was speaking too broadly. More specifically, to give the greatest aid to the American economy it would be most helpful to buy goods produced here and/or buy services provided by American wage earners. My wife and I are looking to put new windows on our house - American made windows installed by American labor. It should save energy in the future and increase the value of the house close to the amount invested. I'd love to be able to take savings to put solar panels on the roof but we will probably be moving in a few years and the return on the investment would less than with replacing the windows and, unfortunately, our neighbor has really tall redwood trees that would block the light to the solar panels (they look great and help keep shade the house on hot summer days, but they make solar panels somewhat impractical).
Here's a local Chicago window maker. Good, hard working employees. I almost feel like I know them.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/08/us/08chicago.html?em
Ted King wrote:
[quote=Black Landlord]
Serious question-- what about taking savings and investing in a new small business startup? Pros/cons? (personal situation)
Sure, that would be good as long as the business you foresee starting offers goods and/or services that have a big enough market and demand to make it viable. If so, it would provide jobs and should give you a decent return on your investment. Win- win. But I'm not sure starting a business that doesn't have a good market and demand would make sense for the economy as a whole and certainly doesn't seem like it would be good for you as an individual unless you needed to do one of the weird tax write-off schemes.
Thx. It's a bike shop in a part of town where there's kind of a dearth.