I am 60. Started in the market in 2004. Walked straight into the 2008 GFC and blundered most of my capital. Spent the last few years 'dazedandconfused'
My mindset is more investor than trader. I really enjoy learning about the 'spec' end of the market. All of the little companies represent peoples' dreams and hopes for the future our society. The GFC did enormous damage to the little guy. The 'money printing' all went into protecting the 'big end of town'. Wrong [very wrong] for so many reasons.
imo ... 2008 is merely when the GFC started. I look at how things have gone for the 'average' person. People sleeping on the streets in Greece, up to 50% youth unemployment right across Europe, well paying secure jobs being replaced by low paying part-time work in the US. Retirees forced into liquidating their life savings because interest rates are near zero .... for many people, the market, whether it crashes or not, it already is an irrelevancy.
In the market there are winners and losers. What I find particularly sad about that is it does not have to be so. In theory, the market is a place where small things can grow to be big things and everybody can benefit. When something like a GFC comes along it wrecks so much.
I have spent a lot of time reading and thinking about why. My conclusion is, ultimately, it is all about ethics. The market crashed in 2008 because of the accumulated 'small' dishonest acts and decisions perpetrated by perhaps millions of people. Lots of little things. The subprime mortgage market collapse [and the MBS collapse which followed] could only exist because people were willing to tell little lies ... nothing really awful ... just little things. Person who applies for the loan says "yeah I can afford it" ... person who writes the loan says "I am sure you can" .... person who collates the loans says "Oh it will be fine" ... person who grades the quality of the MBS/CDO says "yep looks AAA to me" .... person who markets the result says "caveat emptor".
When it all turned into a mountain of worthless crap and the World's banks were the 'bagholders' it came close to bringing down the entire financial system. How did the World respond? Not with self critical analysis and reform ... nup .... with money printing instead. The banking system was saved ... but the financially vulnerable have paid the bills.
So now we have conniptions and market gyrations. 2 questions [at the very least] spring to mind. Why is the market behaving so wildly? ... and How does it end?
I have expressed my pessimism repeatedly on this thread. I am pessimistic not because I think the problems are beyond solving ... rather it is because I do not see any change in the underlying ethics which are applied to the situation.
