But I *like* trading stocks. It's fun! Plus, I maintain that, say, buying an call option on El Paso Energy harms nary a worker nor does it help the company.
I'm not sure about the effects that stock trading in general has on workers (aside from what is sure to come after stock drops like a stone), but the simple matter of the existence of private stock, owned in order to get wealthy off the backs of workers, disturbs me greatly to say the least. As for options and other such devices, I thought they were mentioned somewhere in Wall Street as generally bad juju, but I don't remember. I'll have to look it up tonight.
Bob also said:
One thing the Net has done is open up stock trading for everyone. Ten years ago, getting quotes was difficult, as was trading. Now it's easy. Maybe too easy. I've watched several friends just get hosed the past year, making stupendously dumb moves, over and over again, cheerfully ignoring my attempts at advice.
It just blows me away that people actually buy into the hype about the "do it yourself" ethic used to sell stuff on the Internet. Albeit some like yourself can do OK, but the odds are stacked against the average duffer, swimming with sharks/pros who know what they are doing from experience if nothing else. Ah well, maybe the Net will act like the slave who followed after the general in Roman triumphs, quietly reminding him that he is not a god.
Todd