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It just seems odd that a healthy market has actors that profit from the failures of companies. If it's healthy how do I profit from global climate disasters? I'

It just seems odd that a healthy market has actors that profit from the failures of companies. If it's healthy how do I profit from global climate disasters? I'll just keep investing in prison companies for now. /s

unityByFreedom 7y ago
> It just seems odd that a healthy market has actors that profit from the failures of companies Try googling "why do markets allow short selling". First response [1]. tl;dr - short selling helps your retirement account & balances the market when there are bad actors, such as Enron. > If it's healthy how do I profit from global climate disasters? You're conflating things. Profit != world health. Profit is just a human motivational tool, and money is paper trust. I wrote this software that helps your farming equipment run, and I need food. Money smooths these transactions so I don't need to trade goods-for-goods in every scenario. I don't know how anyone could profit from hurting climate. Ultimately, destroying your environment destroys you. That's like kicking the amniotic sac open. Why do that? To the extent someone is so-motivated, I'd argue they're depressed, not profit-oriented. > I'll just keep investing in prison companies for now. /s I don't know whether that's possible for the average person. For a wealthy entity, it's still a risk, because that industry could disappear due to public pressure. Your money may have been better invested elsewhere. [1] https://www.quora.com/Why-is-short-selling-legal-allowed https://www.quora.com/Why-is-short-selling-legal-allowed
ghaff 7y ago
Essentially every stock sale (barring a need for immediate cash for another purpose) is a bet that stock isn’t going to perform as well as alternative investments over time. So, yes, pretty much anyone who trades in stock is betting on companies to, if not fail, underperform the market over time.
- Phenomenit 7y ago
  that's not the same thing, betting one thing will perform better relative another is not the same as profiting from the failures of a single company. But it doesn't matter what I write if ones only motivation is profit.
  - sfifs 7y ago
    People who are short selling are expressing the thesis that the probablity adjusted return from a bet on drop in stock price of one company is worth more than investing in alternatives like an index fund etc. It's exactly equivalent in a market set-up and is balanced by someone else taking the other side of the deal.

unityByFreedom 7y ago

> It just seems odd that a healthy market has actors that profit from the failures of companies Try googling "why do markets allow short selling". First response [1]. tl;dr - short selling helps your retirement account & balances the market when there are bad actors, such as Enron. > If it's healthy how do I profit from global climate disasters? You're conflating things. Profit != world health. Profit is just a human motivational tool, and money is paper trust. I wrote this software that helps your farming equipment run, and I need food. Money smooths these transactions so I don't need to trade goods-for-goods in every scenario. I don't know how anyone could profit from hurting climate. Ultimately, destroying your environment destroys you. That's like kicking the amniotic sac open. Why do that? To the extent someone is so-motivated, I'd argue they're depressed, not profit-oriented. > I'll just keep investing in prison companies for now. /s I don't know whether that's possible for the average person. For a wealthy entity, it's still a risk, because that industry could disappear due to public pressure. Your money may have been better invested elsewhere. [1] https://www.quora.com/Why-is-short-selling-legal-allowed https://www.quora.com/Why-is-short-selling-legal-allowed

ghaff 7y ago

Essentially every stock sale (barring a need for immediate cash for another purpose) is a bet that stock isn’t going to perform as well as alternative investments over time. So, yes, pretty much anyone who trades in stock is betting on companies to, if not fail, underperform the market over time.

Phenomenit 7y ago
that's not the same thing, betting one thing will perform better relative another is not the same as profiting from the failures of a single company. But it doesn't matter what I write if ones only motivation is profit.
- sfifs 7y ago
  People who are short selling are expressing the thesis that the probablity adjusted return from a bet on drop in stock price of one company is worth more than investing in alternatives like an index fund etc. It's exactly equivalent in a market set-up and is balanced by someone else taking the other side of the deal.