[DugwayDuke]

"Why can't you buy stocks directly from a company? Why do you have to go through the stock market?"

You can. It's called a DRIP (Dividend Reinvestment Program). Most of the large companies offer such programs.

"Why do banks pay 1.5% for money and we are paying 12-26% for the money we borrow?"

That's what's known as "stupidity". Get off the credit cards, pay cash, you'll live better.

"Don't tell me there isn't a mass gouging of the American people by the money industry. Besides, it's all on paper. Isn't that what caused the collapse of 1999? No tangible assests. Everything was on paper and when buying paper with paper collapsed so did our economy."

And, what do you propose to stop the "greedy capitalists" from "gouging the American people"? Will more regulation satisfy you? Surely, you must realize this sounds like something out of "Das Kapital"?

[raybbr]

You can. It's called a DRIP (Dividend Reinvestment Program). Most of the large companies offer such programs.

Do you have to be an employee of the company to do this? And, if it's dividend re-investment, don't you have to own the stock in the first place?

I don't have credit card debt. Isn't all that profit from banks and CC companies on paper? Where are the "real" assets for these companies? Isn't that what caused the debacle of the 1999? No real assets. When paper gets pushed around too much it becomes worthless.

I don't think it can be stopped. Are we not now encouraged by all to "spend" our way out of trouble? How can we do that when we have nothing to spend?