The Pit…IMHO…GD? ::shrug::
Help me recalibrate my outrage meter.
I lurk here far more than I post, mostly because I learn here. I’m not that bright or insightful, and I find I get sides of issues here that I never would have considered.
So, I got this email forwarded to me. Peter Jennings also read it on the air, although he said something about “taking it in the spirit it was intended” and made some comment that it was a joke. I don’t know, actually don’t think so - the author and his company are real, but I hesitate to provide a link lest I piss off mods or violate board policy (who knows if he actually wrote it) If it is ok, I can post the particulars later.
The reply I’m considering sending is below. Is my, well, not outrage (too strong) but “upset” out of line? Is this a reasonable and even “proactive” (hate that word) thing to call on Americans to do? I’m having trouble sorting out why his message angers me - something about it seems…narrow or “vested-interesty”, to coin a term. I just don’t see that using this reagedy to urge people to buy stocks will do anything but aid those who have a bunch of money invested in stocks, and particularly those who have a bunch of money invested in stocks AND a short-term view (as opposed to those in it for the long haul. Seems to me there are far more appropriate and meaningful ways to “do something TANGIBLE”. And it seems this suit might be calling for this action more for the good of a small sector of America than for the true good of America.
I, by the way, have money in the market and am not prone to corporate-bashing in general. In other words, I don’t have a bone to pick with capitalism, corporations, stocks, investing, etc.
I always find well-reasoned and well-informed opinions here. What do people think.?
Shaky Jake
My reply
[quote]
Dear Mr. NAME OMITTED
Did you really send the email below? Is this truly your “Call to Action” for how Americans should respond to this national tragedy? First, I would hope you would permit each American to respond as they see fit. Secondly, from your corporate website I see that you background is in “campaign strategy, political media, and message development”, not economics nor economic policy. As I’m sure you are aware, a buoyant stock market is REFLECTIVE of a healthy economy, NOT the cause of it. Temporarily and/or artificially propping up stock prices will do nothing to strengthen the economy. People can buy Cisco like crazy, but if no routers sell, Cisco is SOL. Next week, or next month, as economic indicators and earnings reports come in, investors - institutional and individual - will buy or sell with no regard for what happened The Monday The Market Re-Opened. If indicators and earnings still reflect a troubled economy, stocks will continue to slide. If many Americans, who could not perhaps truly afford to, took your suggestion of buying stocks as a way “to do something”, they may be out a lot of money, all for naught. Who will prop them up? Corporate America? Unlikely. So, you call on Americans, “the consumer”, to once again shoulder the burden. Consumers have been doing so by “displaying confidence” and continuing to spend, while Corporate America lays off in the thousands. Kind of hard to stay confident and continue spending when you’re out of work. Will Corporate America do its part, perhaps by announcing “we don’t care what short-term numbers, profits, or indicators say, we have faith in this economy and the American People, and we’re not going to put one single American out of work. We’ll need them when the economy rebounds, as it will shortly, and we need America working in this time of crisis”? In my hometown, Midway Airlines laid off 1,700 people the day after the bombings because they PROJECTED a decrease in air travel. Didn’t wait for it to happen, just laid off almost two thousand people. I bet they wanted to minimize their losses, jobs and the welfare of their workers be damned. And you call on Americans to spend their hard-earned money, in a troubled economy, on some sort of gesture of faith while corporations indicate through their actions they have little faith in the health of the economy. I do understand that corporations have fiduciary responsibilities to their investors. Maybe Americans have fiduciary responsibilities to their husbands, wives, and children to maintain indoor living, eat food, and buy new shoes.
I note that you " also serve corporate clients such as AT&T, Merrill Lynch…" Hmmm, could this have anything to do with your “Call to Action”? Merrill Lynch? I bet they’d love it if millions of new investors jumped into the market - some would likely trade through them - think of the commissions! Come to think of it, AT&T is a rather popular stock; some of those investors would likely buy AT&T stock, wouldn’t they? How convenient.
I trust in addition to telling millions of Americans to buy stocks for the good of the nation in this time of crisis, you will also be publicly urging specific, individual corporations with whom you have relationships to hold the line on lay-offs, and chastising them as un-American, cowardly, and driven by greed if they don’t. I eagerly await THAT email making the rounds. But I’m not going to hold my breath.
I find it shameful that you invoke the families who have suffered, and are suffering, so horribly. Your idea of doing something tangible to help is to buy a favorite stock? Those who know you must be so proud.
I have never done anything like this, but I find your message beyond the pale. You sir have spent far too much time far too wrapped up in “campaign strategy, political media, and message development”.
My Name Here