Poll:Wall Street Scandals and investing

[bondi688]

ERD50

Well, Elizabeth Warren is proposing some pretty restrictive legislation in the financial and banking industries. She is also pushing to break up the banks.

And Elliot Spitzer is promising that he will be an "activist" comptroller if elected.

I am not asking you to read all my comments in this thread, but my intent was rather obvious. I am struck by many pretty harsh and anti-business comments in forums frequented by "general public" in reaction to news, some sensationalized, about the various scandals. And politicians blow in the direction of the wind.

 

[Gatordoc50]

I thought the OP question was straight forward. Do past examples of corruption have an impact on your willingness to invest in stocks? My answer is yes. I own quite a bit but certainly wouldn't put more than 25% of my NW in them. The incompetence of the investment banks in the financial crisis was just too remarkable and unpredictable.

 

[Midpack]

I am awed by your ability to mind-read and divined the purpose of my poll.

It wasn't difficult since your poll precluded any remotely positive choice, why bother? You don't trust Wall St, OK - we get that. There are scandals in every field. Carry on...

 

[bondi688]

It wasn't difficult since your poll precluded any remotely positive choice, why bother? You don't trust Wall St, OK - we get that. There are scandals in every field. Carry on...

Read my comments in the thread before you make up your facetious and fallacious conclusion. Where in my comments did you deduce hostility or mistrust of Wall Street? And in all likelihood, I am more heavily invested in the market than you.

 

[Gatordoc50]

There are those that feel that corruption is nonexistent. If so, skip the poll and move on.

 

[ERD50]

ERD50

Well, Elizabeth Warren is proposing some pretty restrictive legislation in the financial and banking industries. She is also pushing to break up the banks.

And Elliot Spitzer is promising that he will be an "activist" comptroller if elected.

I am not asking you to read all my comments in this thread, but my intent was rather obvious. I am struck by many pretty harsh and anti-business comments in forums frequented by "general public" in reaction to news, some sensationalized, about the various scandals. And politicians blow in the direction of the wind.

OK, you are right, but I don't know that this is something new at all. A few years back, IL Senator Dick Durbin sponsored a bill, and it passed, and it fought to lower the fees that merchants are charged to process debit cards. He actually made the connection that these fees are passed on to the consumer (I guess corporate taxes are somehow magically different?). Later, he was all up in arms, because the debit card companies just raised their fees elsewhere (IIRC, a $5 monthly account fee). What do you expect? Are they just going to voluntarily lower their profits? Was any one 'helped' by making these companies jump through hoops, only to shift a fee from one place to another? That cost the company time/money, and now they need to recoup that - from their customers. The same ones the politicians were supposedly trying to help!

I could go on, but I suspect I'm already on thin ice here, heading towards porky.

But to your point - sure, there will be some counter-productive regs passed that hurt people like me. I really doubt that is going to make me pull out of the market. How bad will it be, and what are the alternatives is what I need to consider. We have to play the cards we are dealt.

-ERD50

 

[ERD50]

It wasn't difficult since your poll precluded any remotely positive choice, why bother? You don't trust Wall St, OK - we get that. There are scandals in every field. Carry on...

Read my comments in the thread before you make up your facetious and fallacious conclusion. Where in my comments did you deduce hostility or mistrust of Wall Street? And in all likelihood, I am more heavily invested in the market than you.

I have to agree with Midpack here. It may not have been intentional on your part, but the poll does have only negatively worded choices. That is not 'facetious and fallacious', it is a fact.

-ERD50

 

[bondi688]

ERD50
What positive words would you use to describe insider tradings, or the Goldman Sachs examples I cited?

As Gatordoc (and you) had pointed out, corruptions do exist in the financial industry, but while the news about those are often sensationalized, they do not pose a large, irreparable or long lasting effect in markets of the size. I am thinking about the analogy of the act of dropping a boulder in Lake Michigan.

 

[brett]

I am more concerned about Affinity Fraud.

 

[bondi688]

I am more concerned about Affinity Fraud.

Your concern for practices that take advantage of the elderly may be appropriate for a forum catered to the retirement community (early or not).

One example I am thinking of is the heavily advertized "reverse mortgage", even though most here is not likely fall for such a bad idea.

 

[ERD50]

ERD50
What positive words would you use to describe insider tradings, or the Goldman Sachs examples I cited? ...

I wouldn't. But that doesn't mean everything is negative. Like my earlier post,

I think that today we have more transparency than ever before. Lower fees, better reporting, instant pricing available. What 'underhanded activities'? If those are 'underhanded activities', they better keep working at it - they aren't very good if they are giving people more than double their money in ten years. They were supposed to keep it all for themselves! Back to the drawing board!

So a balanced poll would have included something to the effect - "Despite the problems, I think the market is overall a better, safer, more efficient place to invest than ever before".

But you didn't include anything like that. Right?

-ERD50

 

[bondi688]

So a balanced poll would have included something to the effect - "Despite the problems, I think the market is overall a better, safer, more efficient place to invest than ever before".

But you didn't include anything like that. Right?

-ERD50

That was more or less what second option is, substituting your less specific " problems" for "underhanded activities".

I did not include a more enthusiastic take of Wall Street like you do, maybe I should have, to see how many choose that. But I am not Gallup, and at the time I was attempting to create this. my first poll, I was more preoccupied with trying correctly accomplishing that. I actually failed to do that, and W2R was the one who put this together in a poll format,

 

[Midpack]

Read my comments in the thread before you make up your facetious and fallacious conclusion. Where in my comments did you deduce hostility or mistrust of Wall Street? And in all likelihood, I am more heavily invested in the market than you.

Lighten up. We have different POVs, no need to get all worked up...if you don't see any bias to your poll, that's fine. I'm done so you're welcome to the last word if it helps...

 

[HFWR]

Well, there's investing, and there's "playing the market".

As an aside, I often read the comments after a story for the "humor", though it's scary that there are so many uninformed opinions out there...

 

[Spanky]

I think the Yahoo poster represent a majority of Americans. Hell my own sister just told me last week that she thinks Wall St is just a casino, this despite her being married for 30+ years to a very savvy investor, who has done quite well for them.

I just rolled my eyes and agreed with her husband.

Do you mean that you agreed with your sister?

 

[Spanky]

Despite concerns about scandals (in Wall Street), I could not think of too many ways to invest. Where to invest other than the stock market? I suppose we can invest in real estate, arts, precious metals, education, Collectibles, life insurance, etc.

 

[meierlde]

Interesting piece on Yahoo, suggesting that a lot of people prefer cash as an investment mechanism, but the article documents that that is a loosing strategy, Here is a link to page 2 of the piece showing that from 1926 to 2012 cash returned -.6% after taxes and inflation.
It appears that the fear mongers of the media have succeeded in selling people on the worst investment possible. Over the same period stocks have yielded 4.5% after taxes and inflation.

 

[NW-Bound]

Stocks do not always go up, but they beat the alternatives.

 

[bondi688]

meierlde

Do you remember the study and the thread about a week ago, discussing how much money people have to have before they consider themselves rich?

The survey said a net worth of $5 millions dollars is the threshold. And people in that group was holding on the average of 1 million dollars in cash or cash equivalent. (The writer distorted the findings by saying the threshold for people in that study group to feel they are wealthy was 5 millions AND 1 million of cash. Actually it was in answering another question the group of people said they maintained close to a 23% cash position on average)

I was surprised by how heavily they are in cash. I guess they are more concerned with preservation of capital.

 

[obgyn65]

This is not a pleasant thread to read. Even if a poster is on my ignore list, I can still see their vitriolic remarks when others quote their posts.

I am slowly losing faith in mods' ability and/or willingness to delete personal attacks and negative comments targeted at others on this website.

Another "Fail" about an otherwise interesting topic. Moving on...

 

[bUU]

I have to agree with Midpack here.

When I agree with ERD50 and Midpack, you know something is going on.

 

[MichaelB]

Anyone not interested in this thread is free to just move on, and if a post is objectionable, please report it using this function

. While this thread may not be a shining example of open minded, friendly pursuit of knowledge, it is within community posting guidelines. Let's all take Midpack's advice and lighten up