Thursday, October 09, 2008

The Wall Street Two-Step

Today the Dow closed at 8579.

Last year on this very day, the stock market hit it's highest ever, a bit over 14,000. Now, it's down over a third.

But I've seen it all before. Anybody my age or near my age has also.

The stock market dive of Oct. 19, 1987 was the largest one-day slump in history, the Dow losing 22.6% of it s value. This sort of disgusting performance has happened before: In the 70's, the 80's, the 90's, and now today.

This latest slide has - so far - eliminated over 33% of the Dow's value, much more than anyone could have anticipated, and it may not be over yet.

I'm beginning to think that millions of Americans, who have for years been automatically "investing" - every payday - in their retirement funds, have watched this very predictable Wall Street Tango decimate their retirement funds for the last time. They may have quit buying stocks.

They may be abandoning the stock market, and if people start shutting down these payday 401-k style infusions of billions of dollars every payday, the market will continue downward.

Of course, a few - with very good timing and a lot of luck - will retire with a wad of cash. BUT, a huge number of baby boomers are retiring right now, and just look at what has happened to them. They have had the financial rug yanked right out from under them.

Millions of baby boomers retiring, starting to withdraw those billions of dollars supposedly waiting for them.

But... we have just been told that the money is not there, that these huge firms are bankrupt.

Well, if you engineer a collapse of the entire system, no one will have any money, on paper or otherwise - to draw on.

Problem solved.

But where dd all that money go?

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