|
i've been sort of following the ups and downs of the market recently (for a few months). i heard all the dire predictions for today so wanted to see what was going to happen. when i turned on CNBC at 9:33 and the dow was down more than 400, i thought, wow! something certainly is happening! as the day wore on, the market rallied (or whatever they call it) and while it was down at the close, it wasn't by 400.
anyway - i was watching the talking heads on CNBC, and it seemed to me, to quote cramer "they know NOTHING!" not that they don't know all about markets and financials and quarterly reports and earnings and so on and so forth. i'm not any kind of expert, nor even a novice, when it comes to understanding the stock market. i understand that they are the experts. but while they may have a plethora of knowledge about the market, they seem to be lacking some understanding of what life is like for the average middle class person at the moment.
they all talk about a "stimulus package" that is somehow supposed to avert tragedy on wall street - what, they are going to send $800 to middle and lower income people, and they think that is going to somehow save or prop up the economy? what the hell??? the consensus seems to be that these people will get that money and spend it. well, they're right about that - most people are probably already earmarking the funds - past due heating and cable bills, pay property taxes, a much needed and long overdue trip to the dentist, finally catch up on that goddamn credit card... and after the $800 is spent, it's back to the same thing next month - juggle the bills, eat rice and beans several times a month to make end meet...
how in the hell is $800 supposed to make any difference to people who already can't afford to shop? they all really seem to think that everyone is going to rush to the mall with money, and that (even if that were the case) it is going to make some kind of difference to the economy.
people don't need $800 - they need decent paying jobs. why is that so hard to understand? if we can have jobs, we'll all do the "american thing" and consume like mad (someone on CNBC actually suggested that good americans would spend that money the minute they got it). no job = no disposable income. to quote mr. cramer again "they have NO IDEA what it's like out here!"
i don't know - the whole thing puzzles me. if the general populace continues to NOT spend money they obviously don't have, where do these experts think money is going to come from? how can the market continue to thrive if people don't have any money to spend on much of anything?
|