Now and then...

how happy is the blameless vestal's lot! The world forgetting, by the world forgot.
Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind!
Each pray'r accepted, and each wish resign'd;----Alexander Pope

Saturday, March 14, 2009

"Time to get real"---NPR


   So with all the recent talks about the economic downturn, i thought this clip on The Daily Show is pretty thoughtful.  For those of you who doesn't know the backdrop story, Jim Cramer is the host of CNBC's Mad Money, where he gives investing advice.  And Jon Stewart, host of The Daily Show on Comedy Central, launched a so-called  anchor war when he criticized Cramer's judgement and CNBC at large.  So Cramer later appeared on Stewart's show.  

   A day after the show aired, NPR was commenting on it, siding with Jon Stewart.  I personally think most ppl would agree with Stewart's point that stock experts out there need to take more responsibility by emphasizing to people about the downside of investment. And that most people who make quick profit in the stock market (before it crashed) were pros, and everyone else's retirement/savings account got screwed when the stock index tanked.   My favorite part is when Stewart said that it's largely misleading to convince the average person about making "quick money" as if it is a sure thing with little risk involved, and that we are a nation of workers, and only through work and savings can you build up your wealth, anything else contains risks.  What bothered me was when Cramer told Stewart that Bear Stern's CEO had lie to him about the company right before it went bankrupt, even though he personally knew the guy for like 20 yrs!

   After seeing so many stories surfacing the news these days, I think the recession is here to stay for the next 3-5 yrs.  It's simply karma, companies were dishonest to shareholders to inflate the bubble,  borrowers lie to mortgage companies to obtain assets that they can't afford.  So it's not surprising that we are in this mess right now.

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