I was angered by a major site asking: "Will the Stock Market Continue to Rally Next Week?"

[antimatter98]

and so I wrote this as a post to that site and wanted to share it here:

"Here's a better set of questions:

Will another 200,000 Americans lose their jobs next week?

Will another 20,000 Americans file for personal bankruptcy next week?

Will another 16,000 Americans be foreclosed next week?

Will more Americans defer going to the doctor for that 'pain' or 'lump' because they cannot afford health insurance next week?

Will more tent cities crop up next week?

Oh I see, Americans don't count with this White House, only the banks and the DOW count.

Excuse me then."

[stillcool]

1. The White House does not judge..

themselves according to Wall Street..the pundits do..but only when the market is down..where've you been?

[yodoobo]

2. I don't like it either but the market is a proxy

for most of the questions you ask.

Certainly if the market continues to tank, then the answers to all of your questions will be yes.

When Clinton was in office, our country was at its peak of prosperity, and indeed the country enjoyed its greatest 8 years of existance. Not unrelated, the market was also at its peak.

[pnwmom]

3. The stock market is a measure of how companies -- companies that employ people

-- appear to be doing. If the stock market has bottomed out, that could mean the recession is bottoming out, which is what we need if we want the jobs to return.

[girl gone mad]

4. Except when it's not.

See this article which delves in to cause the recent rally:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=114x61960

[CoffeeCat]

6. the stock market...

...and how well or bad it's doing--is also a measure of how willing or unwilling people
are to invest their dollars in specific companies.

It's not just about performance--it's how attractive the market looks as an investment.

I think many people are sick of playing the game.

I think many mistrust the market right now. They've lost a great deal, and they're
finding safer investment opportunities more attractive.

With so much uncertainty about the economy as a whole--as well as high unemployment, lost
housing value and foreclosures--I see diminished enthusiasm about stocks being a good
investment.

I realize a good chunk of the population will always believe in the market. However, I think
a growing number of people don't trust the market right now, and if they've lost a job or
half of their 501k--they trust in the market even less.

I think this general attitude will cause a downward trend in the market, because fewer will
jump in to spark rallies and more will be getting out.

[MercutioATC]

7. Actually, that's not true.

Often, companies' stock will do well when it does things that are harmful to the general economy (layoffs, outsourcing jobs, etc.).

[Traveling_Home]

5. More American's 'own' stock .......

Here is the problem. Just because you don't own stock doesn't mean you won't be affected. You probably own stock but don't know it. Do you have a retirement fund or pension fund? Do you have a 401K, 457K? anything of that sort? Do you put money in a bank in a savings or checking account? Your money doesn't just sit in a vault somewhere with your name on it. It gets invested into funds that are made up of yes.... stocks.

The percentage of Americans that own stock, directly or indirectly is probably close to 100 percent. Unless you have your money under a mattress, then stocks will affect you.

The closest thing I found was that 56.9 million households in the US own stocks.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080917234728AADNM7z