What difference does it make how the corporation uses your money? If you own a part of it, you are supporting it. Putting your money entails risks. Some risks are low and others are higher. It makes more sense to buy stock than to waste it on the lottery in which the odds are much worse than in a casino. 99.999999% of lottery tickets are a total waste. Why not buy stock with it? At least the odds of coming out ahead are considerably better.
You aren’t supporting the company. It doesn’t get to use any of the money you paid when you bought the shares from the previous shareholder.
That all depends on the terms of ownership. A movie, once made, is entitled to royalties on the original product. Every time a song is performed, somebody makes money off it.
No. Self Interest is not remotely greed.
Just an example of Self-Interest. In case you were unaware.
Oh come on…at my age I really can’t go back to school for another degree in Econ. Bear with me.
I would think that would be obvious…if you read any of my previous posts.
Which do you think I would prefer? I mean really, is there anything in what I have ever posted on these forums that suggests that I am remotely close to being a marxist?
A person can budget his/her expenses to fit their income. Rather than paying several hundred dollars a month for a smart phone and/or Cable TV, or indulging in anything not needed to live conservatively, it pays to be frugal and put that money into a quality mutual fund. Instead of opting to have more children, which can be a heavy drain on your budget, put money down on income property. There are thousands of mutual funds available, many very conservative in their investment goals. I’ve had money in Nicholas Fund for over thirty years and averaged at least 10% per year return on my money. American Century, T. Rowe Price, Fidelity, Vanguard, PIMCO are excellent companies. Be a builder of wealth rather than a consumer.Sure the poor can own stock if they have any disposable income left after trying to merely survive with food, shelter, medical needs and other essentials. For your average poor person I’d safely say stock is probably not on top of such a list. Jesus didn’t say hey poor person go buy some stock and all of your troubles shall cease. And not many stockholders actually sit in the board rooms where corporate decisions are made. A thread where it is said the poor can just go out and buy stocks is not a serious thread to me. So I shall leave it at that.
You are correct, Sally. When you buy a stock from a broker your money does not go to the company you have invested in.
So you are saying that self interest is never greed? For example, if I sell you my car but neglect to tell you that the engine will go in 100 miles and go to lengths to suggest the opposite, you are saying that would not be greed?
I would suggest that the Church would look at it differently.
I am well aware of self interest. I teach about self interest every day.
There are many ways of learning economics besides going for a degree. Who wrote the principles text you used?
There is nothing that I have written that ever suggests that I don’t know the difference between self interest and greed.
That’s not the answer I was hoping for. A simple Capitalism or marxism would have been fine.
In what way am I not pro-capitalist?
That is fraud, lying and cheating.
The Church and I look at a lot of things differently…what is specific about this one?
After reading your idea of greed above…I worry about your students.
You want a list of books I have read…??? That would take up too much band-width.
Up to now…yes. We just started discussing it yesterday. I don’t think it came up before.
You don’t agree with me.
You have evinced a horrible stereotype here and there are several misunderstandings you have about poor folks. Do you think they wantonly reproduce? Should they postpone their lives, to hand over the little bit of money they have to slumlord stock brokers who will effectively churn their accounts and take it for themselves? I would say keeping a cell phone and a TV is essential-- if a poor person did not pay for them, you would think it showed lack of ambition to “rise” e.g. not staying in communications, not watching the news…
At the heart of fraud, is greed. At the heart of cheating, is greed.
I actually have lived without cable for most of my married life. When we first got married we went without because we wanted to save money for a downpayment on a house. Thirteen years later we ended up getting cable in one of those two year packages. When the two years ended we gave it up. Last year my cell phone bill was $50 for the year and it is a smart phone, because the data is turned off. I turned off the data because at home and work I always have wifi available, so I have little need for data. My point being that one can live a rich life without spending a lot of money if one so desires. While I agree that some stockbrokers cannot be trusted, there are also many reputable firms that one can work with. For example, you can invest in TIAA-CREF mutual funds for as little as $100 initially as long as you put in $100 each month automatically. These are not investments that are churned, these are index funds are decidedly not churned to make them tax efficient. It can be done, it is not always easy, but it takes some creativity.
Well, younger people need the communications of today, to stay in the hunt. Sounds like you have enjoyed the job security.
The way most people invest in the stock market is gambling. Very few people research the companies, most don’t know how to read a balance sheet or what PE means. They are buying on emotions. The internet bubble was an excellent example of this.
Such a denial of the teaching of the popes explains the frightful quandary that this poster has created for himself while also denying the reality of history in the development of free enterprise which has helped untold millions out of poverty. But he cannot see the wood for the trees.