The Stock Racket

Today, the Dow is down 100 points? Do you even know what that means? If you really do, why the heck are you even reading this or any other blog? Are you sitting on your couch after being the patsy for the other brokers? Perhaps all your money has driven you mad and you wanted to peek at the little folk before you got a humus rub down from a man you hired to dress as a leprechaun. Maybe you just got out of business school and decided to read up on what was hot with the kids to build the next great ETF. Whatever your reason, glad to have you here and don’t waste my time telling me what the Dow is because I really don’t care.

I think my real question is, why the heck should any middle class person really care? They are the true majority of the nation I reside in. To them, the stock market is a mystery. Some more respectable race track that takes years to come in so you don’t have to tell the wife you lost all the savings in an afternoon. You can blame the current economy and feel like you were robbed by the rich instead of your own stupidity of picking a horse with a cool name. It’s a dog track at best, and a lottery if you happen to find the next person to find a way for us to not get caught watching porn.

I suppose there are financial advisors that know a great deal about the bets, but they want money to tell you what to invest in. These legal bookies are great resources of information that can help you really know the best horse, but how many of the middle class can even afford to talk to one? Hell, how many of them can afford the tie they are wearing? Go ask them what they would invest in and what they do invest in and see two different answers. That makes me worry perhaps it’s all a scam to get your fees so they can give you the answer they were told to give, and one you have to spend a lot of cash in to get screwed over. Why would any of us even want to learn such a soulless game?

And yet, it’s something I read every day. The Dow is up, it’s down, it’s afraid of oil, buy gold, be wary of bulls and bears attacking you in the market, and stop buying gold. How the hell did this enigma to the majority of America become so prominent in our news? Couldn’t the rich just buy themselves a TV station and keep it there? What will get you better feedback in the places you frequent? Would it be the price of Tyco stock today or the scores of the ball game?

I’m tired of seeing people give their money away to the wealthy in hopes to become one. I think I’ll go join a credit union and help our neighbors, so we profit together. The next time I decide I want to be rich; I’m going to buy a lottery ticket. Throwing my money away like that goes to school taxes in my state. Perhaps my kids will get a better education and can explain to the rest of us why I pay monthly fees to have a bank use my money for their own profit.