I just wanted to express my gratitude and thanks to Jack for providng valuable info and a broader perspective to the message boards
Sadly he seems to be drawing a lot of unfair hate for trying to make the world a better place at no benefit to himself
QUOTE (housingrental @ Dec 5 2008, 03:17 PM) I just wanted to express my gratitude and thanks to Jack for providng valuable info and a broader perspective to the message boards
Sadly he seems to be drawing a lot of unfair hate for trying to make the world a better place at no benefit to himself
indeed ..
where there is light there is shadow ..
or
a coin has two sides ..
Hence: good to understand both sides of the economic issues, then act prudently !
We should be respectful of the culture of the "sandbox" we play in but even when I don`t agree with everything Jack writes, I appreciate his dissenting views and attitude. He challenges the status quo and keeps the board lively. If one is offended, annoyed or whatever negative emotion comes to mind by Jack`s threads, it is better to ignore them since adding to them only adds fertilizer (pun intended) to the threads. Jack may have the persona of an arrogant blowhard but I much prefer this to saccharin political-correctness.
We may not agree on all that is posted. But, I strongly support his right to do so. How can we have a debate without opposite viewpoints expressed. It is necessary in many ways. While I believe the truth about the economy is not at the extremes of both right and the left, but somewhere in between. Keep it coming!!
I`ll throw in my peso (it was worth two cents, but the economic crisis has sparked a downturn in the value of my opinion):A number of separate issues here:
#1. The obvious - no one in their right mind in REIN wouldn`t support Jack`s right to post as he does. He provides - generally speaking - contrary opinions, articles, information etc. And the REIN team has acknowledged this.
#2. Everyone is ultimately responsible for their own investment performance, whether they are doing their own thing in real estate and the stock market, and whether they`re "listening" to someone else - Don Campbell or financial planner, investment advisor. Never - never! - has their been an opportunity given the massively free access to self education (via internet or library) to take control of your own finances.
Bottom line is that Jack has been providing an invaluable resource to us by providing his perspective and doing some of the leg work out there by posting links / articles or citing them to support his view.
This is in complete support of REIN`s philosophy of digging down and finding out "What`s Behind the Curtain". If anything Don has taught me, is that look for the facts behind every headline, be it negative or positive.
Right now, there are plenty of facts to support both sides of a debate on whether the future is bright or not for us real estate investors. Jack has cited several credible facts/sources to support that many Canadians are hurting. Its incredulous to think otherwise, just because a group of relatively sophisticated real estate investors are doing "not-half bad". Just lends more eweight really, to part of Don`s mission to get people financially free (Belize) via real estate.
My job is to do my own checking, weigh what Don is saying, contrast with a lot of negative reality out there, listen to other experts (I like Michael Campell`s radio show), and come to own conclusions.
The fact that Jack has made it easy for me to "check out" What`s Behind The Curtain from a negative perspective by collating the information for me, in my opinion makes him an invaluable contributor to the forum. As long as people maintain their sense of respect and civility, and not sink the level of blatant immaturity.
Keep posting Jack, your posts make my life easier, by saving me some of the leg-work.
Smitty
P.S. If I were a "betting" man, using the facts to place my "wager"
, I`d say that future still bodes well. All this investing climate is doing is proving Buffet`s old adage true (Don likes quoting this one): "When the tide goes out, you`ll see who`s been swimming naked".
P.P.S. Its unfortunate people are getting hurt, particularly those in the stock markets, and it leaves me wondering why people didn`t protect themselves, especially seniors, when they`re are plenty of ways to do so. As always, ignorance exacts a heavy, heavy price.
