RETAIL HOLDERS TRU DEP RCPT REP 20 RETAIL CO'S (AMEX:RTH)

TDRH (99.92) Submitted: 1/24/2008 11:57:00 PM : Start Price: $29.93 RTH Score: -36.74

I am sorry but no. The drop in the mortgage rates is not going to keep home prices from continuing their decline to real income levels. Financial institutions will need to go back to "old time hockey" 20% down payment will be required. Without alternative financing options, there will not be enough qualified buyers. Banks are currently being forced to bail out the "insurance companies" that do not have enough reserves to cover foreclosures. Consumers will continue to feel the "wealth drain" as their largest investment continues to lose value. The $600 from the Uncle Sam will be wiped away by the inflationary pressures from higher energy and food costs. In addition, the US imports so much of their consumer goods, as the dollar falls in value, the costs of those imported goods will rise, China will have to adjust their currency or we will just keep printing greenbacks to send to them. In my mind there are three things that are worth going into serious debt. 1) The first is education, in order to scrape our way out of our debt the country is going to have to have skills and dexterity to continue to evolve faster than other economies & societies. In Ireland, qualified students can go to school for free. The Celtic Tiger's explosive growth is unparalleled. Their economy has cooled recently, but they have a highly skilled and highly motivated work force.2) The second is to "efficiently" encourage energy conservation/development of alternative energy. This does not mean I support Bio Willie, but the US needs some way to liberate its dependence on Middle East Oil. We do not need to continue to support the lone non Arab state in the area with over 3 billion dollars in military aid, or be involved any further in the Palestinian/Israel conflict. 3) The third is for medical needs/research. If regular medical treatment is affordable for preventative and crisis management the country could save an incredible amount of money. The company I work for just offered us an option for a Health Savings Plan, where we are covered for any expense over $2,500 per year. We can make regular pretax contributions to our Health Savings account and in addition, the company makes a contribution for the savings that it saves them for their % contribution for the HMO. The savings plan pays a small amount of interest, and once your account gets above $2,000 you can select from several mutual funds. Not sure how something like this could be applied national but I will leave that for smarter individuals than me. Sending $600 to taxpayers is a joke, invest in "Cokes & Smokes" because it will go up in smoke, or be p_ _ _ ed away. I put it in the last phrase in Italics because I stole it from someone here on Caps. The next president of the United States will need to lead our country in retreat. A land war in Asia has been the historical Waterloo for multiple "empires", guess Bush did not take history at Yale. Our government, consumers and businesses will have to go to the mattresses. It is going to get ugly.