A simple question regarding the American Stock Market

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

When will it be recognized as the scam and Ponzi scheme that it is?

We see all these formerly grand companies go down for the count and declare bankruptcy while they have been nothing but wealth transfer schemes for the CEO's and upper tier of management for years. These horrific bloated salaries and stock options were knowingly agreed to by Boards of Directors and upper management at the same time that they were underfunding pension and retirement benefits. Why is this not called the simple name that it could be - fraud? A fraud perpetrated against against the employees (many of whom have probably bought company stock in their IRAs) and fraud against the general stock buying public who would have been better off if these funds had gone towards dividends, capital improvements or research and development or acquisitions.

We could also call it treason to strip down the assets of American companies to offshore them and weaken the internal infrastructure of the American economy. The term "Benedict Arnold CEOs" is very apt.

Why do I want to invest in an American publicly traded company knowing that my hard-earned (yes, earned!) dollars are going to be thrust into the already-bulging-to-bursting-pockets of these immoral corporate Fagins?

So, that's a simple question, isn't it?

[skids]

1. Very good, very simple question.

Wish I had an answer for ya.

[mestup]

2. Good question.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

3. Calling who? Elliot Spitzer? The SEC?

What does the upper tier at Delphi make? They are a part of almost bringing down the American automotive industry. Doesn't this even have National Security implications? Are we really all supposed to stand still while the economy implodes and all these guys jet off to their villas in the Caymans or wherever the heck they go?

[stillcool]

4. it seems like this happens often..

or at least cyclically..like the Savings & Loan scandal, the BCCI implosion...where billions of dollars go poof...almost as though its standard operating procedures when the right ducks are lined up.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

5. you're right but

some money goes poof and some doesn't. Let's take real estate.If you pay $250,000 for your house one year and it is valued at 500,000 3 years later, you have "gained" $250,000, but it only exists in the ether unless you act upon it. If you decide to get equity lines and take out 150,000 in equity for whatever reason, you have materialized your ethereal dollars. If real estate values plunge and your $500,000 house drops in value the next year to 300,000, you have an actual LOSS of $100,000 but your neighbor with the exact same scenario still has a GAIN of $50,000. The same thing happened with tech stocks. A big part of all this is when did you get in and when did you get out.

My point about the stock market is that I think it is fundamentally flawed and is pretty much a flat-out fraud against Joe Average investor.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

6. Folks, I think this is really really important

I won't post on this thread again, but I wish topics like this would push to the forefront. The American economy is going to hell in a handbasket, in a large part because of issues like those I asked in the opening post. The American middle class is being dismantled in front of our eyes - we are loosing our jobs, our houses, our towns, our health-care and our retirements. Some of this is happening because of the laissez-faire attitude of a Republican dominance that says what is good for Halliburton is good for the country. What is good for Halliburton is NOT good for the country. What is good for CEOs is NOT good for the country. At certain points in almost every country's evolution, there comes a point where the country comes to the brink of class warfare. We are there. But class warfare has not been declared by the Democrats - it has been a silent war waged by Republicans at least since the reign of Ronald Reagan. Since they declared it, we must fight it.