RE: "you know I keep waiting...and waiting...and it doesn't happen"
Really? You must not be from around here.
In the late 90s folks warned that bubbles burst. But, hey, the lemmings said it was a "new economy" and that bubbles can grow forever. In 12 months time, over $4 trillion in equity value went swirling down the drain. Mutual funds and retirement accounts were decimated.
Then came a new "new economy" where everyone can buy anything they want on credit, with no equity or assets whatsoever and real estate will go up forever and bubbles never burst. In 12 months time, several trillion dollars in real estate equity went swirling down the drain. Foreclosures and bankruptcies skyrocketed.
Now we have a new "new, new economy". On this round, mega corporations are given unlimited credit lines, with no assets or equity whatsoever. This will supposedly be funded by the American tax payers that were wiped out on the first two rounds.
Funny thing is, these new economies aren't so new. In the 1920s, if you owned one share of stock, you could buy 10 more on margin, with no assets or equity to back up the loans whatsoever.
Did you know that in the 1920s, the USD was worth just shy of one ounce of gold? Today, the USD is worth 1/930th of an ounce of gold.
Folks like to tell you about all the money you would have made by investing in the Dow in the early 30s. What they fail to mention is that there isn't a single company in the original Dow that hasn't gone broke and been replaced during the time between then and now. If you had invested in the Dow of 75 years ago, you would be broke today. Even if they hadn't gone broke, your USD invested then has been devalued to the tune of a thousand to one.
So not only does it happen, it happens with such depressing regularity it's as predictable as saying an egg will break while watching it fall. |
