<Do you hesitate to say "I'm a trader?">
I do. Every since I read the book, "Your Money or Your
Life" by Joe Dominquez in 1992, I have been self-employed managing my own money. Believe me, real estate investor does not have any better connotations in the public mind
than stock trader. The classic hated professions, like
attorney, car dealer, and contractor, are at least well
understood by the public. Unfortunately the underpaid
ratpack of journalists are corrupting the term
"daytrader" with their knee jerk bias, lining up article after article, on the side of the Wall Street
establishment.
Very few people outside of NYC have ever met any
traders, since until the 90's, most traders were floor
traders at an exchange somewhere. So their only source of reference is from recent news. It would probably be good
for us all, if instead of keeping quiet, more traders
would take the time to try and explain it to the curious
uninformed. Because, when you think about it, many
people cook,for example, or garden, or paint, or invest; but when identifying their occupation they do not say "I am a cook, or "I am an investor", etc.
People don't understand how you make your money, when you say you trade, or invest, "for a living". They either
assume you do nothing and live off investment income
(hence the envy) or they have lost money in the real
estate and stock markets and think it is impossible to
profit (hence the disbelief).
The tax structure being what it is in this country, very
few people derive wealth from it being passed down thru
the family. Even the average trust fund baby, by the time they are in their 20's, can afford to pay off college
expenses, get a car and a condo, or down payment on a
house, and then still have to find a paying occupation.
Only if they learn to make money grow, will they be able
to live off their inheritance. The daughter of one of the
founders of H & R Block, Barbara Stanny, wrote an
excellent little book last year, about her struggles
learning to use her money. Phylis Chesler is quoted in
her book: "Only the powerless live in a money culture and know nothing about money." This describes the majority of Americans.
Allen Cymrot, author of "Street Smart Real Estate
Investing" (1993), puts it this way: "Some of your
smartest, best educated friends never catch on to the
rules of the game. They live in a capitalist society, but they never learn to live as capitalists. Instead they
live under constant financial stress, forever frustrated
by their inability to improve the quality of their lives. And all because they do not know the name or rules of the game."
"When you're on the football field, you play football,"
Cymrot says, "And in a capitalist society you should seek to live like a capitalist."
Another factor hindering public acceptance of traders can be described by Douglas Hofstadter: "Innumeracy---the
mathematical counterpart of illiteracy---is a disease
that has ravaged technological society." Most
journalists have avoided math classes, so cannot
distinguish the difference between the odds against a
casino gambler, and the odds against a stock trader
taking calculated risks.
What differentiates today's daytrader from the average
American is instead of just fearing the unknown, the
trader is taking the chance and the risk, to learn
firsthand, just what you can do with a pc and some start
up capital. This is a business, just like any other, only it requires "No clients, No deadlines, No suits, No
product lines." No wonder hardly anyone understands
it! |
