Comments on: All That Money You Lost - Where Did It Go?

Surprise! It Was Never Really Money In The First Place

[Robin DeArcos]

OK!!!.time for the real world to set in!!!!..first someone owns you!!!..time to wake up!!! the HO!!! own''s everything you have..your wife...your kid.. your house..your car!!!..your dog!!!..eveything you worked for your 401k...all your stocks and bounds!!!..and you have jack!!!..the name of the game you play!!!..its over!!!..

[jetdy01]

Yes, we should not consider money put into mutual funds refered to in the advertisements as "savings". They are "investments" that can gain in value or be lost. People should not call them savings, there are no guarantees. That is probably an interpretation by many peole and not how the companies really advertise it but all the "talk" confuses people into thinking they are the same thing.

Your real money went through the mutual fund and into the pocket of the people who sold stock to the mutual fund. Which could have been another fund or someother investment vehicle. And there could be many other stops it makes in the computer world before it gets to somebody. It doesn''t get turned back into real money until you sell it. And then the fund has to work it all out somehow to get you the money. And you can see how that gets nasty. All this I believe happens in our system and that is the recent crisis. Credit and stuff went haywire and institutions had trouble manipulating the money. It all seems out of hand and too complicated for most people to understand. We should go back to "cash on the barrel"

[silverstar06]

well you would have to put someone else on a zero dollar bill, wouldn''t you? maybe like a captain hook nose or someone like that?

[tuckerdognc]

So, when do we see all the television advertising for Charles Schwab, T Rowe price, et al CHANGE to "well, you really aren''t saving anything. We just take the real money and turn it into fake money." Funny. I haven''t seen any of the advertising change yet. Perhaps it should be outlawed like tobacco ads where; just "financial experts" selling misrepresentation and lies. "American''s don''t save enough!"Put it in the market" was the mantra. Now it''s "Oh, well, wasn''t real to begin with!?!?! Duped again.

[jetdy01]

(Continued from previous post%u2026) Buying and selling stock does not add value to society. It is just like gambling. However, there are many forces amassed against the regular guy to take that gamble. Pre-tax dollars for 401K%u2019s for example. So lost purchased price money does go to everyone who takes REAL money out of the system and that money goes everywhere. If REAL money wasn''t being lost then REAL money couldn''t be made by rich people. Unfortunately for Americans, that money is more likely everyday, to leave the country either by a foreign investor or by an American investor who takes his money and invests it outside of the country. And, when it goes to really rich American people, a lot of it will get spent on ways that don%u2019t benefit our society or the economy as efficiently. I am not a financial expert. Though these days, that is probably an oxymoron. I think about this stuff as elections come up. I would appreciate if experts or regular people can tell me if this makes sense to them. I want to get my ideas straight and help others understand. Hopefully, the more people understand, the less the system can get out of control like it is.

[jetdy01]

Yes, either Mr. Shiller gave poor and narrow answers which he shouldn''t, since he''s a Yale Professor or only excerpts from his interview were taken and poorly edited. In either case I find the article a bit irresponsible. Read by most, it would say you''ve lost imaginary money you never had and it is your own fault. Much of that presumes you''ve been watching your investments grow and the value has not dropped below your original purchase price. There are many other scenarios. To answer the article''s question that most people probably clicked on, hoping for a good answer: All That Money You Lost - Where Did It Go? Unrealized gains (something that has increased in value that you do not sell for the higher price) do go up in smoke. Drops below the purchase price are REAL money lost. And where did it go? To the guy who sold it to you. And that is the problem with our economy. Too much of it is based on inflated values and not REAL value. Remember the dot.com''s? And, the people making money on the stock market, the ones who know how to play it, are taking REAL money from real people. REAL money is made by adding value to society, this is always through work, like manufacturing something or providing a service or supporting one of those activities. Also natural resources are a source of money but usually you still need someone to dig it out of the ground or cut it down. (Continued in next post%u2026)

[god-is-true]

soremeat
1 Million dollars times 1000 is 1 billion, look it up on google. If you wanted to give 200 million Americans 1 dollar that would cost 200 million.

[partagus7]

It went to the short sellers.
When someone sells a stock they dont own, then buys it at a later price before delivery of the stock to the new owner, and they get to pocket the difference, That is real money going into their pockets!

One day someone is going to have to explain to me why this should not be illeagal. At a minimum, the up-tick rule should never have been remove.

[slim1h2o]

I read all 7 pages of comments on this article, and only read 4 or 5 comments that pointed to the inaccuracy of the article.



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Posted by jn122736 at 10:11 AM : Oct 12, 2008

It''s not my job to point out anything.

If people can''t figure out what they''re reading, weather it''s true or not, that''s not my fault.

I was pointing out that investing in stocks is long term, usually.

And I was responding to another poster, so therefore, the articles content was not relevant.

[andarpul]

Additionally, one of the best aspects of the financial markets is the liquidity that they represent. To say that you haven''t lost real money when the markets decline is a "fallacy". You''re only 1 trade away from converting unrealized loss into a recognized loss measured by (wait for it) the amount of real cash you put in versus the amount of real cash you take out. This article should make it clear that much of market value is comprised of a transient, speculative value but that real money drives the market and that market''s liquidity makes the transference to real money lost only a matter of a couple of "clicks" away.

[andarpul]

This article is misleading. As has been pointed out, real money has been lost (every investor has a cost basis, and when the market value dips below that, you''ve lost money you sell - there''s just a timing difference involved). Additionally, real money has been transferred in the sub-prime real estate loan transactions at the heart of the crisis. All that borrowed (real) money went somewhere (developers, real estate brokers, up-front closing costs, etc.).

[jn122736]

take one hundred dollars out of my pocket and buy some stocks, the next day the stock is only worth 50 dollars and I sell it. Did I not just lose 50 dollars?
Posted by pollroller1 at 08:59 AM : Oct 12, 2008

Yup, you sure did.

Try to pick a better stock next time.

What was your question?

Posted by txgrouch2007 at 09:03 AM : Oct 12, 2008
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Hey Grouch, everyone knows that the buying of stock is a LONG TERM investment.

So, anyone that buys stock, then turns around and sells the next day, to get rich scheme, is just foolish with their money.

Posted by slim1h2o at 09:19 AM : Oct 12, 2008
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pollroller1 was accurately pointing out the fallacy of the article%u2019s premise.

txgrouch2007, and slim1h2o totally ignored that fact by their condescending responses.

Playing the stock market is exactly the same as playing poker.

You must use money from your cash reserves to buy either chips or stocks. The original chips/stocks you buy, actually, is the cash you invested.

If you lose your chips/stocks it is definitely lost cash/savings/reserves, no matter how long the game lasts.

I read all 7 pages of comments on this article, and only read 4 or 5 comments that pointed to the inaccuracy of the article.

[geneonlbk]

Robert Shiller is a stupid ***. Of course we all have so far lost 50% of the value of our stocks. If I want to sell my stock I get real money, and I paid real money to purchase the stock. Shiller must be living under an ivy covered rock in New Haven. Real people make and lose real money every day on the stock exchanges.

[soremeat]

How do you settle the "financial crisis" ? We could throw 100s of BILLIONS at Banks and the Rich and hope the big companies pull through with $400,000 massages at resorts.


Or we could give every adult American a million dollars, require they pay off their home loan first, buy a new American made car, pay off one credit card, and eat out at least one night a week for a month. That would take about ONLY 200MILLION bucks, solve the housing problems of every one but those who need to live in a house that cost over a million. Save GM, Ford, and Chrysler from failure. Put college kids to work as waiters. And leave a few bucks left over to put in the bank for middle class people.


Problems solved, every one happy, except Washington politicians and super rich, stuff shirts, whose passed down family fortunes will lose some value. Dang that was easy.

[oilfix]

Yea, tell that to your creditors and see what happens.
On another matter, why shouldn''t the fraudsters trash
the economy when they can rely on public monies and
cherrypick the failed institutions. How about
creating a real economy with real assets.

[soremeat]

How do you settle the "financial crisis" ? We could throw 100s of billions at the rich and hope the big companies pull through with $400,000 worth of massages at resorts. Or we could give every adult American a million dollars, require they pay off their home loan first, buy a new American made car, pay off one credit card, and eat out at least one night a week for a month. That would take about 200 million bucks, solve the housing problems of every one but those who thought they need to live in a house that cost over a million. Save GM, Ford, and Chrysler from failure. Put college kids to work as waiters. And leave a few bucks left over to put in the bank for middle class people. Problems solved, every one happy, except Washington politicians and super rich, stuff shirts, whose passed down family fortunes will lose value. Dang that was easy.

[slim1h2o]

Suit yourself. As for me, if the situation was reversed and I bought a stock for $50 one day and it was $100 the next day, I''''D SELL!!!




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Posted by txgrouch2007 at 09:21 AM : Oct 12, 2008


LOL, Well I would too! I was just thinking of Redhat stock, when I published the 1st post. If I had bought that when it sold for $7, or $8 bucks, then it zoomed to $200.00 and $300.00 per share, then I would have been living high on the hog.

But that''s the exception to the rule, of long term stocks.

[pollroller1]

I take one hundred dollars out of my pocket and buy some stocks, the next day the stock is only worth 50 dollars and I sell it. Did I not just lose 50 dollars?
Posted by pollroller1 at 08:59 AM : Oct 12, 2008

Yup, you sure did.

Try to pick a better stock next time.

What was your question?

Posted by txgrouch2007 at 09:03 AM : Oct 12, 2008
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OH, so that''s how this stock market works.
LOL

[joenikk]

Dear CBS,

As far a shadow markets go, didn''t we cover that over thirty five years ago. We went to buy some stocks, they took our money, and refused to provide the stock certificates. When we complained, we were told it was our own fault.....

Remember it now. We knew were our money went, it just wasn''t "real" to us any more.

Let''s see the old films before opening bell.

[slim1h2o]

Yup, you sure did.

Try to pick a better stock next time.

What was your question?



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Posted by txgrouch2007 at 09:03 AM : Oct 12, 2008


Hey Grouch, everyone knows that the buying of stock is a LONG TERM investment.

So, anyone that buys stock, then turns around and sells the next day, to get rich scheme, is just foolish with their money.