“credit default swaps, derivatives, and speculation postions. These three things are the real demise of true investment and a risk / reward system”
IMHO you are correct. In another post I compared the current commodities market to selling drugs you don’t have. WS would be howling for gun control if they got the same treatment many drug dealers get. I have quit believing many so called conservatives that preach the risk/reward because they always defend WS and don’t really believe in an honest system.
I completely agree with you. Although, I often wonder if these same people defend WS in blind ignorance because it is supposed to represent free enterprise and capitalistic endeavor. These are probably, for the most part, the same people who have such a limited understanding of finance and markets as to think that the DOW is 'The Market'. Without a grasp of complicated financial instruments that seem to flourish out of mid-air overnight, no one really knows what is going on with the wizard behind the curtain. What I can't figure out is who likes it that way more, the brokers, PDs and investment bankers who get away with literal pillaging or the sheeple who have no desire to understand what drives the consumer markets.