Every Sunday CNN’s “Your Money” airs at 9:00AM HST, and it fits a hole in our TV-watching schedule (I think Mom likes Ali Velshi’s sense of humor, too). Today the host was talking to a panel of guests about the bull market in stocks and whether it was too late to get in (in my experience, if TV people are asking that question, the answer is “yes.”). They cited a poll which showed something like 53% of Americans had money in stocks and 47% did not. Stephen Moore, former Club for Growth honcho and now columnist for the WSJ, was pounding the table saying “they gotta invest, they gotta get in.” “Why aren’t people investing,” somebody asked.
Well, hell, you idiots. Maybe because incomes for everyone not in the top 5% of the population have at best stagnated and at worst dropped over the past ten, twenty and thirty years and they have no money to spare? The market looks like a gamble unless you’ve got a long time horizon, and in this era of mass layoffs and long periods of unemployment, who can afford to tie money up for five or ten years?
All these well-fed and well-paid television “reporters” and anchors need to get out more.
Yep. If I could get my money out of the market (it’s in a 401k), I’d do it. I have more bills to pay than what I can afford, and that money would come in handy right about now.
Well, I’ve had to with IRA money, and it was damned expensive, what with the 10% penalties. Don’t do it if you can avoid it.
More people need to point this out! DUH.
Who has money to invest?
It’s true many people have already cashed out their lousy lousy fee ridden 401Ks already.
And a lot of people just don’t want more of that corrupt casino.
And trying to sell it to people like Crazy Eddy’s electronics with prices that are INSAAAANE!!
Most normal people are tired of the insanity.
It’s thankfully mostly a small segment of jerks who made out last time who now still dream of new bubbles to exploit.
So yeah, they’re salesmen for promoting a bubble.
They really don’t care if you don’t have enough money to buy a dull set of knives. They will try to convince people to rob their baby diaper fund, or forget fixing the brakes on their cars, to buy, buy buy!
Because the more people who buy in… the bigger the pot when the winner of this bubble hand scoops in their spoils.
Also… any time someone’s pounding the table… You just have to assume they’re either nuts, or they’re trying to manipulate you (or more specifically – bully you).
Pounding the table is not a productive method of reasonable communication!