KB,
I don't believe what's happening now is anything unusual for Wall St. with the exception that it's happening on a larger scale due to the bull market excesses of the '90s. Companies have almost always over compensated management when viewed from the eyes of the common shareholder. What's making people cry so loudly is the bear market and across the board losses. The blame game is now to point to these issues, which have always plagued the poorly run companies, as being systemic. Blame the managers for poor decisions, blame the analysts for failing to point out these poor decisions, blame the SEC for allowing these poor decisions, blame the auditors for failing to blow the whistle on these poor decisions, blame Greenspan, blame the current or former President... and let's not forget to blame OSB!
Blame everyone except the common shareholder for making a poor investment decision!!! Most people are too willing to place the blame on others. With the exception of company based 401Ks where the only option was to purchase the company's own stock, people make their own decisions as to where and how much to invest. They should understand the risk involved, period! You might lose a portion or all of your investment! It's that simple.
Keep in mind that many of the above deserve a portion of the blame. Many of these companies deserve to go bankrupt or sold in a fire sale for pennies on the dollar. At the same time, one should know that a stock could be halted at any time. Your investment could be flushed down the drain in an instant, with little recourse except to take a tax loss.
This is the way the market works, for better or for worse. Is there justice in the actions of these people who swindle others? No. Should they be held accountable? Of course.
Should people who invest in any stock market understand THE RISK involved with their "investment"?
YES - with a capital Y. E. S. !!! |
