Tuesday, 15 March 2011

Personal Finance and Disaster: Opportunity and Responsibility

Having gone through a decidedly lite version of Hurricane Katrina, I can guess that the people of Japan and elsewhere can hardly think of anything resembling "normal life." You really get focused on the unbelievable prospect of "the new normal."

As I mentioned, 4 large trees though the roof and no power for a month was not that big a deal in the grand scheme. The Red Cross showed up with food and ice after a few days and we had running water. I hardly thought about the 'outside world"except when I had to teach after a week and got to see the news reports of what was going on in New Orleans. Now, I can hardly process what is going on in other parts of the world.

And yet. I received an email from someone that said--"Hey, with the stock market plummeting, would it be a good idea to invest right now?"

Probably it would be a great idea, financially. Don't people always say to invest when it seems everything is falling apart? Yet a part of me still thinks that it dishonors the victims to think of such things. Is that ridiculous? Probably the victims look forward to a time once again (should it ever come) when one can ponder the trivial and not-so-trivial concerns of everyday life.

So, am I crazy? Does it dishonor those who suffer to think about one's investments?

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