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[Truean]

There's no house on the stock market. For everyone that loses money there, someone else gains it (there are trading fees though, but those are supposed to be only a small part of the trading. Else you're trading too little at once)

*shrug*

I think it's primary function is to facilitate capital for enterprises to screw around with. Arguably it works quite well in that regard.

I also think any pedestrian citizen who wants to "try his luck at the stock market" is pretty much just gambling, and more likely than not to end up on the losing side. The house always wins

O it's a gamble; there's a house, and a winner. It's the bookie broker with the vig commission.

And now a little about illegal sports betting. Bookies (who make great clients for lawyers) are the house that always win. See, the Browns and the Steelers are a football rivalry thing. Nearly everyone in Cleveland bets on the Browns (That they have not won a Superbowl since who the hell knows when is the second most convincing evidence that any god who may exist does not listen to Clevelander's Prayers. The most convincing is that our river caught on fucking fire three times). The bookie is smart enough to realize gambling is a loosing game on the long term odds, so he doesn't gamble, that's what he charges you to do.

All the bookies in Cleveland are in cohoots with the bookies in PA for the Steelers. They know one team will win and one team will lose, and they don't care who it is. All the bookies trade bets and make sure they are holding exactly 50% of their bets (moneywise) on the Browns and 50% on the Steelers. That way the actual betting the bookie does always washes out to 0. The bookie charges a "vig" which is a commission for placing your bet. He keeps the vig no matter who wins.

Replace "Sports Team" with Stock and you've basically got it.

Without a stock market, one could argue that the disparity between the rich and poor would be even greater.  (Only the ultra-rich could afford to run a company, and they'd be the only benefactor of the return.)  The stock market allows the poor to benefit from the success of the rich.

I think it would be more accurate to say that the stock market allows the not quite rich to benefit from the success of the rich. I don't know any poor people that invest in the stock market.

What's really tragic is that it could help the poor people benefit from the rich. It doesn't. Part of this is the poor's fault, "the stock market is 'risky' but you're gonna buy another lottery ticket?" The other part is how mutual funds and other investment institutions are set up. They could really make this work, but they don't. Same thing with companies. Stock sharing plans, pension or non pension are great incentives to work hard, but again.... Corruption.... Reckless risks.... Loss.

I have seen the endowment funds of charities, ever so uncharitably gambled away in risky stocks....

The scariest Halloween costume of 2008/2009 was a kid in a giant piece of paper with a red line going down on it. Titled at the top was "401K."

[Nadaka]

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2011/11/16/369872/perry-campaign-says-foreigners-not-allowed-at-town-hall-event/

I... am going to come down on the side you probably wouldn't expect me too.

And it pains me to say this... Perry is right.

Defense contractors handle sensitive material, and by law non-citizens may not view or hear sensitive material.

[kaijyuu]

I'm of the opinion that there's no reason for government secrets outside of congress declared war, so...

[Andir]

What's really tragic is that it could help the poor people benefit from the rich.

Also, if more "less rich" did invest, then there wouldn't be as much impact with the high speed trading since there would be more of a buffer zone.  It's why the bigger corporations don't fluctuate much.  There are so many stocks out there and one person selling off all their stocks would not trigger the automatic sales as fast.

[Truean]

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2011/11/16/369872/perry-campaign-says-foreigners-not-allowed-at-town-hall-event/

I... am going to come down on the side you probably wouldn't expect me too.

And it pains me to say this... Perry is right.

Defense contractors handle sensitive material, and by law non-citizens may not view or hear sensitive material.

I'm sure the rest of the world cares what type of screw driver the army uses, but....

From this point on, every event everywhere will feature a defense contractor. They shall be wardstones and magic charms warding away non US Citizens, to keep them out of everywhere a defense contractor is. Having a defense contractor present does not give non citizens a -10 penalty to their saving throws.... Actually it does, let's line the borders, all of them, with defense contractors....

A.) Anything secretive a defense contractor has to say should remain SECRETIVE, to everyone who is not authorized to hear it. Most US citizens are not authorized to hear that so up he should shut.... Wikileaks anyone?

B.) Foreign spies are not going to go to a freaking town hall meeting to get our secrets. (no secrets should be told at a town hall meeting anyhow...). It would be easier to break into a computer network or some stupid, inattentive person's office while they were out playing golf instead of working, or at night or something....

C.) This is just pandering to make people think they are privileged and special if they attend that town hall meeting. They aren't. Nothing is fancy in there. All that lies within is a politician, who as a rule, lies.

D.) Really? Let's say a foreign spy did wanna get in there to get some kind of secret information. How well do you think they're checking citizenship at the door? Do you think they're really going all out and doing full checks on people or is it just whatever the bouncer doorman feels like? Do you carry your birth certificate on you at all times? I don't. What determines if you look like a "foreigner" subject to proving you're a "citizen." I'm betting it's how you look.... Are they really gonna be able to tell a forgery at the door, especially if someone brings a photocopy? ("O sorry, damn Xerox machine, I dunno what to tell you." ~ Foreign Spy "Rick Perry Supporter"

Ah, scrutiny, revealing BS since forever....


There are three certainties I have to deal with whether I want to or not, death, taxes, and Rick Perry being wrong.

[Nadaka]

Truean:

B: or they could go to a town hall meeting held in a defense contractor office and not have to break in...

And really, depending on what that contractor does, most of the other visitors shouldn't have been there either.

It was a really bad idea to hold a town hall at a defense contractors office.

I gagged a bit myself when I typed those words, don't worry Perry is still wrong about nearly everything else.

[Truean]

... Rick Perry being wrong.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it. My saying any secrets a defense contractor has should stay that way echoes your point in last post though.

[Reiterates all arguments made in my last post by reference to save time and space.] If the thieves guild ever figures out what repair and janitorial uniforms are, they will get in everywhere and we will have nothing....

You're entitled to your opinion....

[Nadaka]

Full disclosure: I am a defense contractor. The clearance rules are well drilled into my head.

Sensitive is the lowest level of classification, us citizens are generally authorized.

Its why I almost never go into details about things that frustrate me at work. Most of what I do is sensitive or higher.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

Are you at least allowed to tell us what all the security levels are?

[Nadaka]

I don't know how many there are.

[Virex]

Are you at least allowed to tell us what all the security levels are?

Such information is only disclosed to operatives of level purple or higher. Reember, the computer is your friend.

[GlyphGryph]

Question: Aren't Town Hall meetings legally recordable? And thus having them in a location like this would be illegal because of discussing sensitive information?

[shadenight123]

Are you at least allowed to tell us what all the security levels are?

Such information is only disclosed to operatives of level purple or higher. Reember, the computer is your friend.

purple?! you haven't read the update clasola xx-3567 have you!?
it's
###### so you have to ####### access denied ######
infrared #########
have a nice day.
the computer is your friend!

[Leafsnail]

The problem is the strange discrimination they seem to be introducing.  If the information is too sensitive to be heard, they shouldn't be inviting the public in.  If it's not sensitive, they shouldn't be excluding foreigners.  Unless you think that somehow being a US citizen magically means you cannot do anything bad with the information there isn't much way to justify the arrangement.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

I don't know how many there are.

.....That.....that was not the answer I was expecting.