FutureSpartan
Senior Don Juan
- Joined
- Mar 17, 2007
- Messages
- 317
- Reaction score
- 14
So true....step back and put everything in perspective.GQ_Confidence_1 said:You have to step back from the sitation, before you start believing...we'll all be in soup lines, it's going to take $1,000,0000,0000 to buy a loaf of bread, 20% unemployment, etc.
Look at a chart of the DOW over the last 20-30 years. The crash of 87, the crash of 90/91 (the banks went bust), the 98 crash, the tech bubble crash, etc.
I think the key to remember is wall street's fear is different than the man on the streets everyday fear.
What do you remember about life in 87? Life went on, people listened to music, etc.
What do you remember about 1990? 92? Life went on. I was in middle school in 92. Teachers got paid. Life went on.
98? Tech bubble? Nasdaq going from 5,000 to 2,000?
Life trickles on throughout it. Don't get sucked into the extremism. The American economy and way of life has so much momentum, it doesn't turn overnight.
WHat you hear on tv isn't an accurate picture of the country. They try to contort the country into a single headline or phrase. The country is too varied. It'd be like going to the mall, and seeing all the stores, the people, the hustle and bustle, the variety of people, and trying to contort it down to something finite. The world is not as finite as the media makes it out to be.
The more I think about it, most of what's talked about in the economy in the media is filler, it's empty. They talk about "terrible" presidents, Nixon, or something, Carter. But what was going on in 74 or 80? What were your parents doing? Life went on.
And the differences between now and 29?
-We have a much higher standard of living. More safety nets in place.
-The govt is stupid, but I dont think they're going to make the same mistakes as they did then.
I agree with the analogy of wall street....martin sheen vs gecko. The era of ibanking, "hedgies", $100 mil wall street whizes, it's over. It's not going to be true for todays 22 year olds.
Also, if you read books like Guns, Germs and Steel, there are other reasons why Zimbabwe or Angola, are the way they are. And why some countries are poor. American entreprenuerialism and capitalism is too ingrained for it to disappear overnight.
Deprogram yourself from school brainwashing, corporate propaganda, fear, govt propaganda, etc.
Critical thinking is a crucial skill.
For example, "they" constantly tell you, no one can beat the market, so don't try. But, why were people buying Lehman stock at $40 or $80, and now it's worth .002? Why would anyone buy stock in a company that did foolish things?
"They" push technical analysis and fundamental analysis to analyze companies. But if a company did obviously stupid things, what more would you learn from technical analysis or the fundamentals?
If you're a real estate investor and you bought a lot of homes that are now going bust, what good would it do you to analyze your past purchases? Or the volume of purchases? Or look at some ratio.
It's all stupidity, none of it is real. I'd read Jim Rogers for a good truthful take on the economy. And question everything. Nothing what "they" tell you is the truth.
History has been replete with economic crisis, anarchy, tyranny, societal breakdown....to have gotten as far as we are today is truly amazing.
We should all be thankful that we live in a country where the majority of its citizens have at least a decent standard of living.
Governments, economic systems, societal institutions....they all come and go. Yet like GQ says, people still live on. Even in the most repressed societies, most people still find a way to survive and even prosper.
The power to overcome, or even accept, the adversity in ones life is a true mark of strength. The only variable in life is you.
We are far more capable of "crashing" "depressing" and "recessing" ourselves than what goes on in Wall Street. "We have met the enemy, and the enemy is us"
Good luck everyone