6
From Life Rule # 6. The best way to double your money is to fold it over once and put it back in your own pocket.(you keep control of your own money. Don't turn it over to stockbrokers or CFPs; you know what your best interests are better than they do.)
That is some pretty good advice you don't have to find out the hard way. Back when just fresh out of college, 5 years on Wall Street was a real learning curve. Back then... Disco era, late 70's... a big day was Dow up + 5 points on 50 million shares ; now thats done in the first 12 seconds of the market open.
We actually had real NEWS, by real News organizations,... that would announce in places that this was an editorial opinion that did not reflect the position of the network. Those were real reporters. Now... the crooks running wall street have figured out,... just buy the newspapers and broadcast networks and we'll just write the stories / ( presented as news) according to how we want to push the market-- Up or Down-- ... depending on the positions we have taken -- Long or Short-- ... you think I'm kidding?
This is not a real economic market anymore. I can make the case that any ordinary retail investor has no business ever owning a stock again. There is absolutely no reason for any family to put their hard earned money anywhere near the stock market. Even prefered stocks and bonds with a decent yield ; inflation will eat it by maturity. Back then... around 50% of the paper -- stocks -- that Wall Street put out was worthless. Now... I think it's about 95%.
Imagine this scenario. Every morning / week... you look at your investment bank account (brokerage account) and the value has decreased mabye a couple of thousand dollars overnight. You bring this to the attention of the brokers and manager ; they say... "well stocks go up and down in value" . You do further research and realise the stock your broker sold you was fairly worthless. You tell the sheriff you've been cheated out of money.... he says it's all legal.
Next morning you go into the downtown cafe for breakfast. Across the room at the same table are the broker, manager, and sheriff; they all wave at you and smile. They should smile; you bought them a nice breakfast.
?You want to buy some more stock? put 10k into the market; I need another vacation trip.
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just added this below the Occupy post in the catch all-- ROF blog
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Occupy 2 Unearned money usually buys trouble.
This requires an additional post. This is too significant of a place in this journey. These posts are about travel... this one a bit of rant.
The illusion was that it was about capitalism... capital formation, and was good career step after college to pursue. These are the best salesmen in the world; no joke. It was the best life training, ever. Wouldn't take anything for it; I have a Phd in Liars Poker.
It didn't even take 2 years behind the corporate vail to measure the bad choice made surrounding myself in the ilk of investment bankers; stockbroker. If I had to go back to being a stockbroker today... I think I'd just choose to be a street whore... there would be more dignity.
Working and dealing with about 200+ brokers, from the retail to CEO level, I've yet to witness a more contemptable bunch of ilk, professional con men and theives, in 30 years. These were no nothing priviledged frat boy blowhards that didn't know anything, would lie to sell their Grandmothers false teeth for a buck and sleep peacefully; they had no conscience. The high point of their conversation was what they owned... silly cars way over their status, or mcmansion homes with jaccuzis. The only thing more embarrasing was listening to the bragging of who they knew, usually even bigger no nothing blowhards void of any depth of character.
Unearned money usually buys trouble. remember that rule; it holds true.
The stock market is designed to separate your money from you, and make you feel good about it. It's an investment. yeah, you bet.
The recent economic collapse, from the markets cutting IRA's in half, the housing bubble via mortgage fraud are an epic tragedy and Wall Streets fingerprints are all over the crime scene. Don't forget their paid minions,.. the big accounting "consultant" firms to grease the skids with their "audits". Remember Ennron? World Com? That was just the tip of the iceberg.... and they're still producing audits of fantasy. ... and I'm not even yet talking about derivatives. They are congress' pimp.
If American main street ever could figure out just what they did,... and are still doing... understand... selling short... naked short selling, pipeline transactions.... they'd run these guys inside the building and set it on fire. You get the drift I don't like these guys? I worked with them... shined their corporate shoes and saw how they operated and know how they think. ?You have respect for priviledged frat boys stealing with impunity? ...?with no concsiquences? Put 10k in the market for a few years, and get back to me with the results.
So to get to Zucotti Park / Liberty Square....to see the origin of the Occupy Wall Street protest... I'm just glad to have seen this, to have been at the origin of the Occypy protests. and we'll see how this plays out. If they would have let me... I'd have helped build gallows there.
