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To be fair, the stock market is bullshit. Its legalized professional gambling where some participants have way more information than others. The fact the vast m
by zanny 9y ago
To be fair, the stock market is bullshit. Its legalized professional gambling where some participants have way more information than others. The fact the vast majority of business exists to try to "win" the stock market game than provide real productive returns to the economy reaffirms the bullshit economics involved.
IE, vast amounts of effort from major globalcorps is dedicated towards tax avoidance. You spend tremendous amounts of resources to avoid taxes, which is only beneficial to the shareholders in the short term, because the long term economic damage of tax fraud and avoidance cripples economies and stunts growth. But the stockholders need not care since they already made their dividends off all the smuggled money as the country burns around them.
- jeffreyrogers 9y agoI think you're a bit too cynical. The financial system isn't optimal, and the stock market is less important now than it used to be (because it's easier to raise private capital), but it's not gambling. The rate of return is positive over pretty much any long-term horizon, and it allows companies to raise money when necessary. I agree that many companies engage in unproductive, but short-term profit maximizing behavior though.
- bllguo 9y agothe whole point of capitalism is to align incentives s.t. when businesses act selfishly to "win" in the markets, they are producing real returns to the economy