I think that is really good advice. Fees compound over time and end up significantly affecting your end result. Unless a financial advisor can get really stellar results over time for you (Bernie Madoff?), you can probably come out ahead doing it yourself and not paying fees. It does require that you take the time and effort to educate yourself about investing though. For example, a little over 9 years ago I took the time and effort to research this. I ended up investing some money to take a class to learn a specific investment method (Snider Method), which has performed beautifully for me ever since. If I had just tried to figure it out on my own by trial and error, I don't think I would have been anywhere near this successful in building my retirement accounts.

 

He lives on an island. He doesn't care about the rest of the industry. It is not relevant to his argument.

 

How did you know? These are my fellow island inhabitants:



(Oh, and in case you were wondering... I think Mary Ann is hotter than Ginger.)


No, not really.

See my previous post on the subject. It has relevance, but not in the way you think.

Hey, I get it, tsquare. You think we're just leaves blowing in the wind of the free market. I'm completely with you on the concept of the free market and capitalism, but not on the whole blowing in the wind thing. What you fail to understand is that the free market is full of people who see opportunity where others see nothing. That's what made this country great... people who were not content with saying something couldn't be done just because it hadn't been done before, or giving up just because they suffered a setback.

So since I know you are a free market, capitalism believer (which I am too), the only thing I can figure out about you is that you are far enough along in your career that you don't want to rock the boat at this point. Basically, you've disengaged from the free market and capitalism when it comes to our profession. You're willing to give up and just let the chips fall where they may so you don't have to take any risk. I just don't understand how you reconcile this with your fundamental beliefs. Thurston Howell III would be disappointed in you...

 

I think Ginger is hotter short term, but MaryAnn seemed like more of a keeper.

I thought Betty Rubble was hotter than Wilma too.

Capt Kirk could find hotness in green alien women.

 

Nope. I want more pay. I am willing to take risk, but only if that risk makes sense. Just saying no, "because we already gave and now it's time for payback", is not necessarily a viable strategy IMHO. It could be, but I could also not be. An interesting part of your argument is the part about being a part of free market capitalism. That we are. But YOU well know also that in order for there to be a market, someone has to buy and someone has to sell. Works with stocks (DAL pushing $35/share.... YEAH BABY, YEAH!) and it works with contract negotiations, hence my statement that everything is negotiable. However, there is no place in the free market for hostage taking. (And what is really interesting is that it is we that would be taking ourselves as hostage) If you can give me a good reason to say no, I will be on board. But I have to see an end strategy. Just saying no until the company capitulates is stupid, because it completely ignores TVM, and even you believe in that or else you wouldn't be working options on the first of the month. If that makes me risk averse, then so be it. And you gotta get rid of TC and the doughnuts. Sorry. That divisiveness has to go because it will never unite the bigger group. YMMV

Oh, Mary Ann, definitely, and I'd take Bailey over Jennifer in a heartbeat.

 

WKRP?

Denny

 

It's a position, not a strategy. Specific strategies have to be developed once the objective (position) is set. Clearly, we already gave and we already gave A LOT! Either we expect to be restored or we don't. Based on most of your statements here (and on just about everything DALPA has said and done in the past 8 years or so), you/DALPA do not expect to be restored.

And, BTW, I don't even expect to be fully "paid back." That would involve all the compensation I missed out on for the past 10 years while our pay has been drastically cut. I estimate that, with the pay cuts, loss of pension, and loss of advancement due to outsourcing... each of us has contributed an average of at least $1 million each already. Nobody (including me) is asking for that back. All I'm suggesting is that we should have our compensation restored going forward. I think, given the extremely generous contribution we've all already made, that is more than reasonable.

Leverage is used to advance in business all the time. It is a significant part of the free market. Happy, motivated employees are one of the most, if not THE most, important assets to any company. Delta cannot accurately judge whether they are compensating us appropriately if our representatives make it seem like we're fine with the way things are. And if they think we're good now, imagine how much better we'd be (and how much potential there would be for even greater bottom line results) if the vast majority of us felt that our compensation was reflective of our true value and that we were not being taken advantage of just because they can. Now that doesn't affect me, because that's my work ethic. But I can guarantee you that I've flown with plenty of pilots over the years that have most definitely been affected by this. Delta has no idea how much better our already excellent pilot group could be. And the reason they have no idea is because DALPA has shielded them from reality.

 

eeeeeeeeyup!

 

Sadly, Delta has allowed Financial Engines to spam us all. I initially were intrigued but soon realized what a mistake it would have been to use them. I am disturbed with the literature and sales job done by Fidelity and FE. I sold my Delta stock and bought Tesla among others. Certainly haven't regretted that choice.

Oh, and I used to be a series 7 stockbroker and financial journalist and have two basic advices:
1. Don't have stock in the company you work for (too emotionally attached. Think Enron.)
2. Don't buy airline stock - ever.

 

This^^^^

Of course I wish I still had my merger stock now that it's up in the 30's, but I sleep better knowing I'm not totally screwed if something happens to delta. I got out about the same point as Buzz and haven't looked back once.

Btw, Buzz, if you got out at 13ish and immediately reinvested it in the market you still are doing okay - and much more diversified wrt to your "airline career" exposure. It's not a matter of IF the airline stocks will take a bath again, but when.

Btw, Mary Ann no question.