Whine
This is a comment from a recent post:
Yes, I have read Rand and my bet here is she would agree with me, to a large degree, for no other reason than I am doing independent thinking and disregarding her and all other novelists and philosophers. I doubt what I have written here is perceived only by me and if that is true then my subjective thinking and reality may be way ahead of the curve. I doubt that is true. In fact, I have a hunch ninety percent of the working people in this country would agree with what I have written here. By definition, that would classify my observations and perceptions as powerfully objective. The fact is energy prices are plunging a dagger into the American and world economy. That’s the issue. That fact can be backed up with plenty of data. Yes, speculators were in the market at $30 per barrel and now in at $130 per barrel. Looks like about a 60 percent rise in trading volume since $30 per barrel. Yes, $30 dollars was good because there were no visible disruptions to the economy. $130 is extremely bad because the negative ramifications to the economy are huge and growing. This is a big price to pay for “free market” speculation. That said, this issue won’t get decided on this or any other webpage. If the price continues to rise, this mess will eventually be viewed as a national security risk to the country and then the Federal Government will step in. JFK was on top of the steel companies in the 60’s, while unfortunately, George Bush is missing in action in 2008.
My response:
The market doesn’t care what the term “working people” means - whatever it means to whoever. The market doesn’t care about you or me. If you can accept reality, then you can deal with it. Or you can wait for a handout or government subsidy or just whine.
Adding to my comment, in my experience people who talk with phrases like “working man” are either very rich politicians or people who have no money who believe the very rich politicians will actually deliver on a promise of giving them money in some form. Here’s a tip: ignore politicians and figure out how the great traders make their money. They don’t make it by whining about “working people” - whatever that means!
Matt - Trading System Reviews Added:
June 25th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
Isn’t it strange that the figure 90% of people is roughly the same as the percentage of people that lose money trading….
Anyway, on the price of oil, compare and contrast with the cost of, lets say, bottled water. The tax on water is far less yet it still costs more per gallon than gas. Gas which has been sucked up out of the earth, transported to huge and expensive refineries, then transported to huge depots and then distributed to your local gas station before being heavily taxed and sold to you. If you look at it this way you have to say it’s a bit of a bargain. Speculators or not, if the economy will only function if a single commodity is artificially cheap, then it’s not a very strong economy is it?
If the US government wants to do something positive, maybe they should stop taxing the oil so much and make up the shortfall by dropping the subsidies on cotton and sugar and actually get a little closer to a free market by making the domestic producers compete with global opposition. This would mean that the ‘working people’ get cheaper oil, cotton and sugar all in one go (sugar, for example, costs roughly twice as much in the US as it does elsewhere in the world) I guess blaming something as nebulous as speculators is far easier though as it won’t draw the wrath of those lobbyists and their nice campaign funds…
tradechimp Added:
June 25th, 2008 at 7:59 pm
I’ve found over the years that people who spend a great deal of their time whining, rarely have their emotions, nor facts in order.
The author of this diatribe referenced JFK as “on top of the steel companies in the 60’s”, when the actual “on top of the steel companies” action was taken by Harry S. Truman on April 8th, 1952 when he issued Executive Order No. 10340 which directed Secretary of Commerce Charles Sawyer to seize the steel industry for the purpose of averting a nationwide strike. It was later found by the courts that the president had overstepped his authority. (Apparently, the chimp watches far too much Jeopardy)
That said, nothing stops the idiots of all parties in Congress, the Senate, the Courts, and the Oval Office from trying to screw up everything they touch, and a great deal of the population from following them over the cliff. My only goal is to find ways to survive and even profit from the madness.
Chimp
chump Added:
June 25th, 2008 at 11:29 pm
I just hope my5cents was able to get to get to the hospital in time after breaking his arm from patting himself on the back so much. Between hospital bills and filling up his Hummer every week, how is a “working person” to stay afloat? My question is how are his thoughts independent if 90% of the “working people” are already thinking it?
Ken - Todays Breakout Stocks Added:
June 26th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
I think alot of people don’t think of trading as “work” which is probably why so many of them lose.