Santa Cruz,
You state: "what would happen if your investments went down as you describe and the government checks stop coming?"
I don't expect all of my investments to go down because asset allocation will prevent that. For example, while stock funds may go down, some bond funds will go up. We've seen the "flight to quality" recently as a defensive move. Short and Intermediate term US Treasury bond funds have held up nicely in recent weeks. Social Security payments may change, but won't stop.
Regards,
Tony
