Comments on: Americans Have Been Taken Hostage

By: ancientone

ancientone — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 16:34:15 +0000

I have a simple question for Harry. Did you get out in 2007 anywhere near the top? I started investing in stocks (no-load mutual funds) in July 1984 and continued to put money in the market month after month, year after year, until early July of 2007 when I went completely to cash and have remained there ever since. That means I am about 7% higher now than I was in July of 2007. Is your total portfolio that much higher than it was then? If so, I congratulate you.
This disaster was not that hard to see coming, you just had to look at history and act accordingly.

Ancient One

By: mdave

mdave — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 14:32:23 +0000

Interesting debate I must say. My thoughts are that nothing will change untill corporations no longer can claim the rights of human beings. If the current case in the supreme court removes the restrictions on campaign contributions all bets are off. The country won’t be held hostage but owned by the corporations. The future reps will be own and beholden to those who financed their election.

If money is considered free speech then my $20 donation is nothing in compared to what a big company can shower a politician.

Can you think of any bill right now or in the recent past that hasn’t been influenced by a corporation?

That’s my 2 cents.

By: call me ahab

call me ahab — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 00:11:56 +0000

h wanger-

you are probably the dumbest person on the planet-

looks like you get your advice from Jim Cramer-

but i will stick to my original thought- that this is all a big gag-

if that is not the case- then i feel sorry for you

By: HarryWanger

HarryWanger — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 23:41:28 +0000

Hey Gang! It’s with great pleasure and a cocktail that I address you tonight. Please see BR’s latest post – he GETS it! Now look at what AAPL is doing. An accounting change and the stock is set to rocket 50 points! What’s that going to do to the indices? LOL! I’m loving this market!

By: Seattle Chill

Seattle Chill — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 22:13:48 +0000

Harry, every buy-and-hold zombie looks like a genius when stocks are going up. Where are the posts where you were urging people to sell in August of 2008? If you rode this market all the way down, you are still well below break-even. Something like 20% below, in fact. Hmm…

By: cvienne

cvienne — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 21:23:16 +0000

@LB

I think Wanger needs to go on Dylan’s show…

Wanger… understand something… The market going up another 20% isn’t going to make the economy all of a sudden change…

- It’s not going to bring back any more jobs…

and from what I gather all you are is a chart watcher… You see the downward trendline from the ‘07 highs passing the May ‘08 peak and you make the correlation… You see a correlation between the 1,200 level and the pre-Lehman levels…

All fine…

We all see those…

You see it as a target and a further floor… I see it as resistance…

Simple as that…

By: leftback

leftback — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 21:04:28 +0000

Three Cheers for Dylan. Someone has to speak for the sentient minority.

By: franklin420d

franklin420d — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 21:00:43 +0000

Uncle Harry

Yes, it was helpful, straight forward and insightful. However I could tell my wife all day long what a brilliant strategy it was for me to pick Michael Vick and all I would get is a pat on the head and a “ahhh that’s nice dear” She would not understand the risk in that choice, he is a player maligned by the league, his teammates and the fans, he has not played for over two years, he just got out of prison and has had to file for bankruptcy. Very little to the upside, but fans are forgiving and if he does get a chance to play and starts putting up some big numbers all will be forgiven and he will be a star again.

The markets are not what they once were, and in fact there was a chart just yesterday that basically showed them at the EXACT same spot they were 8 years ago, there are millions of people out of or under employed, the private debt owed is astronomical, financial institutions are upping interest rates and imposing fees on people that are using their own money. Everyday Americans are being squeezed and there seems to be little help for them.

I am not saying Michael Vick can not win the Super Bowl ( I hope cvienne gives me 1000 to 1 odds on that) just as I am not saying the start off the March lows, won’t be the start of a fabulous economic recovery (I hope Cvienne gives me a trillion to 1 odds on that) But from my point of view, Michael Vick wins a Super Bowl, before we get sustained and real growth.

What makes you believe this is true economic growth, not just the market, being the market?

By: Thor

Thor — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 20:59:15 +0000

Ahab – Once again you’ve taken the words right out of my mouth. HW is part of the problem and wants us all to get back on board. The worst part of him as a person, is that he actually sees himself as being patriotic. I’m with you, he makes me sick to my stomach.

By: call me ahab

call me ahab — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 20:40:00 +0000

“I guess you’re referring to Bernanke – he should be considered a hero.”

you are a fool- your only interpretation of this country is how it has been- not how it could be- you are the same folks who believed in Greenspan’s nonsense and the deliberate housing bubble that was created to resurrect the market after the dot com crash-

you see no inherent structutral weakness- you care less that the economy is based on credit and spend- you care less that wages have declined in real terms- you care less that savers are being punished w/ zero % interest- you care less that banks pay multi-million $ bonuses while recieving corporate welfare- you care less that the USG is rewarding failed companies-

you are the exact kind of person that sickens me because you are in favor of the very policies that will cause the most pain in the end-

but you’re too stupid to understand that