LOL BrisVegas, we've been trying to pass on this information for months now, but I guess some people will never get it. I am starting to think it is not worth the effort of trying to convince people. But I am a fool, and will keep trying as well.
BridgeBaron
Ultimately in my opinion, a market is just another game, there are big players and little players, winners and losers.
To bring Morals into the game I beleive is silly, the participants who play the game are in here to increase their, or their interests, wealth. There are many rules to the game... shorting is one of them, naked shorting is a subset of that.
If you wish to look at the game from a moral stance, there is something that I wish to bring to your attention.. that is the concept of immoraliity due to "naked Longs"
Many people who get upset by naked shorts totally neglect the flip-side of the coin, naked longs, and the damage wrought by over-excited punters beleiving the value of an item will forever go up, and who wish to make MONEY purely by buying some "stuff" and pushing its price up, so they can sell the "stuff" at a greater price and make a profit, regardlesss of whether they are selling it at a level that is fair for the next buyer.
I've had recent discussions with Wheep0 about this and think I am getting better at explaining it.
here is the last post I made on the matter:
However, I am also aware of the flip-side, that of people, either through greed or peer pressure or pure herd mentality, inflating prices to the point where your average person/mum and dad investor/unwashed poor cannot buy items or gain entry into a market. The art of naked longing, or buying assets on credit.
As an example outside the equities market, I would present the housing market, where right now, an average wage earner must commit themselves to a minimum of three decades of slavery to have the security of owning their own dwelling.
Personally, I classify such a state of affairs as pretty bad, and I guess is one of the reasons why I tend to go off a little when people get one-eyed about "dirty Shorters", as I do beleive there is another side to booms and bubbles, that people forget... that is, those who might actually need the things being inflated are left high and dry without recourse as the basics of life are inflated out of their reach.
As i see trading as a game, I have no moral stance about it. I truly beleive that if you are concerned about the morals of trading that you avoid it all together. as there are moral pitfalls everywhere like in any game or operation, and these become more and more apparent if you look at everything with eyes wide open, and occassionally take the view of your opponent/the opposite team to check your own stance.
(20min delay)