• Wogi@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    The stock market is a measure of how much wealth can be extracted from the working class.

    It does not measure the health of the economy. That sometimes the market is doing well as the economy is doing well is closer to coincidence than causality.

    The fact that the working class can no longer save money, and must spend every dime is great for the stock market. Next they will come for the dollars we have not spent yet. Because mortgages are no longer feasible for most people they’ll have to find new debt traps. Cars will skyrocket in price, you’ll be able to take out a loan to rent an apartment. Student debt will spiral to laughably unrepayable levels.

    They’ll take every dime we have, then they’ll take every dime we’ll ever make. And when it gets to the point where there’s no more money to bleed, unless a new source of endless dollars can be found, the market will feed on itself.

    If you think peacefully protesting Wall Street is going to fix that, I’ll sell you the Brooklyn bridge.

    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      The stock market is a measure of how much wealth can be extracted from the working class.

      I’d argue it goes beyond that. Quite a few ticker symbols on the NYSE are speculative above and beyond anticipated surplus extraction. They’re functionally auction prices on coveted luxuries.

      Because mortgages are no longer feasible for most people they’ll have to find new debt traps. Cars will skyrocket in price, you’ll be able to take out a loan to rent an apartment. Student debt will spiral to laughably unrepayable levels.

      These have largely come to pass. The “loan to rent” is just your deferred payment on credit card debts to cover rising rental rates.

      If you think peacefully protesting Wall Street is going to fix that, I’ll sell you the Brooklyn bridge.

      Sure, I can buy it. I just don’t try to cross it for fear the NYPD will arrest me.

      • bamfic@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        stocks are as divorced from actual value now as cryptocurrencies. real estate too. it’s all grift all the time. have a look at the value of djt or tsla, they’re nfts.

        • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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          6 months ago

          it’s all grift all the time.

          Its decades of cheap lending to people with all their consumer needs satisfied. If I can borrow at 4% and get 20% ROI, I’m going to borrow every dollar I can get my hands on.

          On the flip side, you’ve got private lenders offering double-digit interest rates to the underclass. They’re lucky to get a cost of living increase year over year. So you’re asking people to borrow at 20% with the expectation of a 2-4% ROI.

          have a look at the value of djt or tsla, they’re nfts.

          DJT is fucking hilarious, because its pure vaporware. But TSLA does actually have factories and vehicle stock and revenue streams and such. Its mismanaged and overvalued, but there’s some amount of there there.

          But who is holding Tesla? Vanguard Group, BlackRock, State Street Corp, and Geode Capital Management all have access to the Fed credit window - either directly or through proxies - and can borrow at miniscule rates. They get a positive ROI so long as Tesla appreciates at all. And the long term ROI on an electric car company looks pretty good, even if its overvalued in the short term. So buy buy buy!