The stock market sucks. It's been dropping like a brick for the past week and now it's inching it's way back up. What the hell is up with this thing? Everything was rebounding last summer until 9-11 set us back. Nothing like an exploding World Trade Center to prolong a recession. Then we had the problems with corporate accounting scams. And that drives the market down! That's fucked up. Is the Chevy Cavalier any less of a viable vehicle because Enron's CEO is a dumbass? Does GE make bad light bulbs or jet turbines because Osama Bin Laden doesn't like Israel? Obviously not. It's clear to me that the stock market is not an indicator of consumer confidence or economic strength anymore; it's an indicator of broker confidence. It's become just a fucking horse race to be bet on. People are no longer investing in a company's products or services, they're investing in earnings ratios and market trends. That defeats the whole purpose of the stock market. It's just legalized gambling now. I think the problem is companies like Worldcom. Worldcom is nothing but an enormous accounting scam. They buy successful companies with credit and then take their profits and make capital gains on the stocks. For Example: When Worldcom bought MCI, a profitable company, they left the structure intact (well, some minor management changes) and then just made them kick the profits upstairs. MCI's stock price went up because MCI was now a safer investment as it went from a $50 million company to a subsidiary of a $5 billion company. Hijacking their profits also made Worldcom's earnings increase, which made them a better stock to own. Everybody appears to make money because of the way the profits are kicked around and the real money comes in from investors. The whole thing is just an accounting scam. It never would have made it this far if it hadn't been for the other thing boosting the DOW artificially: Internet Trading. You can't pull the wool over a seasoned investor’s eyes but you can fool a goofball with an Ameritrade account with an email or two and an ad on AOL. So with the stock market now several steps removed from the actual market, what is it's purpose? To provide comparative currency values for international trade? Pretty much. I say we just give up and go back to trading chickens until we can come up with a system that reflects the economy accurately.
Phew!For a moment there you had me worried that *some* experts were predicting that things might crash and go the way Germany did just before the second world war with hyperinflation...causing people's salaries to become worthless overnight!I'm glad it's all just a big joke though. Hey!!Here's a really,really funny picture!
smoke and mirrors... and a hell of a lot of ordinary peoples savings and futures are dependent on it.. wonder if as high a percentage of the population were taken in by the 'magic elixir' sellers back in the old west..
That's exactly what it is, the new medicine show. Rich people have found a way to bilk the public out of money, manipulate the stock market. The sad thing is, the general public was robbed years ago and they are just finding out as the Baby Boomers start retiring. It's not over by a long shot. This is just the beginning. Invest in tangibles and money market funds that are not tied too strongly to the US dollar. Inflation is already on the rise, taxes will follow suit and the stock market will be at the level it was 15 years ago soon.
What's worse than the stock market? The Sporting Industry. What better way to milk the poor of their hard-earned, precious dough than to pay the salaries of overpaid, under worked, roll-model sports heroes whose only job description is that they play a fucking game. It's subtle at times. It's 'innocent.' It's common. Why, taking your son to a baseball game is an American tradition! There's no risk involved (unless you are uninformed and place bets), no age barriers, no harm, no foul (pun intended). I despise sports. I cannot fathom the sports follower. How devoid of substance and meaning must your life be so that you must find interest and comfort in the insignificant results of sporting event? And even sadder still... paying for the privilege of watching these undereducated sports figures get rich? This is why you'll never see me walking around in a team jacket, sporting a pair of Air Jordan shoes, an officially licensed ball cap, and a Dennis Rodman replica cock ring. It just isn't going to happen. I don't fall for the marketing scams, I don't pay more for a "name" - and quite frankly... I don't want to appear as one of the mindless drones that garnish themselves with this shit. To hell with licensed shit. To hell with brand names. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to go hang my new sign...
What, the post or the pic? If it's the pic... of course not! You know I'm just a little nigger boy, 4'8", all of 68 lbs... Jus' tryin' to make it through, yo! Of course that's me. Who the fuck else would be holding my goddamn sign in front of my shitty webcam? Oh, and I've got a sign the same size with SEGA on it (just don't have a pic of it).
