Imo, the exact opposite is true (that if "people" owned shares we wouldn't have these problems): http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=2754852&highlight=401k#post2754852 http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showt...=178770&perpage=6&highlight=401k&pagenumber=1
you lost me, I was being sarcastic, which I know I don't have to explain to you, How is owning stocks in a personal account better than in a 401K? You know you can just loan the gov money in a 401k if you want to, tax free. What difference does it make if individual people pool their money in a mutual fund? at anyrate, the stocks are publicly owned. not sure what your point is unless it is most mutual fund managers are not very good.
This is what I see -- the vast majority appear to be college students or relatively recent college grads. I see all of this as a manifestation of the "College Bubble", similar to other bubbles that we've seen - housing bubbles, stock market bubbles, etc. I forget where on Yahoo I read this (sorry, no references), but the article said that 72 % of High School seniors last year will eventually obtain a 4-year college degree (that seemed a little high to me, but who knows ??). My point is that less-than-informed kids (and many of their ill-informed parents) have been sold a bill of goods. They are all told that a College degree is the way to get ahead. And many of these ill-informed believe that the more they spend on a college education, the bigger return upon graduation. Well, nothing could be further than truth, unless you are perhaps an Ivy League grad. Now, reality is starting to hit them in the face. Horrible economy, no jobs after graduation. More importantly, mountains of debt racked up in 4 years. I'm not poo-poo-ing a college education (I have one, my wife has one, and my 2 oldest kids are in college), but to me, College is the new High School. What I mean is that since everyone is getting a College degree these days, what's the true value, unless you truly distinguish yourself from others with grades, activities, internships, etc. Lots of these OWS people thought that paying huge sums of money via loans was an automatic ticket to prosperity upon graduation, and now reality has hit them squarely in the face. I do feel sorry for them in regard to finding jobs, but I can only blame them (and more importantly, their parents) for allowing them to put themselves in debt the way they have. And there is no way in hell, that I want to subsidize the bailout of these poor financial decisions that were made. I do not want to pay for the poor financial decision of others (BTW, for what it's worth, I was never in favor of the bank bailouts either, but that is an entirely separate issue.............).
Apparently some of them read The Atlantic http://www.theatlantic.com/technolo...cupy-wall-street-is-like-the-internet/246759/ (Sign at the bottom of the page) I think it's all a generalized reaction to seeing guys like CountryWide's tanning-bed poster-boy Mozilo and Joe Cassano of AIG walk away with millions, and TBTF banks - which William Black correctly says should be renamed Systemically Dangerous Institutions (SDI's) - wreak havoc after Clinton's repeal of Glas-Steagall - and get away scot-free. Also the attempt by SDI banks to strong-arm 50 state AG's to grant them immunity from future prosecutions after having rigged municipal bond auctions, created trillions in derivatives that put the world into Great Depression 2, done robo-signing on foreclosures (which is assembly-line perjury in the courts) and plenty of other malfeasance. The politicians are their poodles. Everybody knows it.
I honestly thought you meant republicans. Anyway, I think the OWS thing might turn might into something interesting.
Did you read the link? Take the anti semitism out and it reads just like an Obama speech. Welcome to Obama's Amerika.
I saw that earlier. Notice towards the end how the cops ever so slightly, repeatedly verbally nudged him along. It was like different cops would take turns getting the message across. I thought it was a slick, non threatening veiled threat manuveur. No expressions on the cops face in response to his words.