stock market

[Thaumaturge]

I am curious, can a comrade invest in the stock market and still call himself a communist?

As I see it, the stock market is one of the major effects of capitilisim. But unfortunatley I feel in todays society simply working a job is not enough to "keep your head above water".

One needs money to survive in the current system and that means sometimes using what they call "passvie income"- making profits from investments. I certainly do not see myself as a power hungry cappie, but is it morally wrong from a communist point of view?

[codyvo]

Your right the stock market is fuel for the seemingly unstoppable capitalist train, and I understand that just a job may seem like it isn't enough but I'm sure you can get by. Don't support the stock market at all, it is a prime example of government supported worker exploitation. But can you still be a communist, yes, being a communist is just an arbitrary title, hell Bush could call himself a communist if he wanted to he just wouldn't be a good communist.

[redstar2000]

There is a very practical reason for you not to invest in the stockmarket...as Marx said once, the purpose of the stock market is the transfer of capital from small investors to large ones.

That is, the small investor is nearly always the big loser in the market.

If you are temporarily "cash-rich", put it in a federally-insured Certificate of Deposit. If you have a whole lot of cash, buy a house! Historically, that's been far and away the best investment for a working class person.

If you consider yourself a "sophisticated investor", I would suggest municipal bonds in highly stable countries -- Switzerland, for example. The long-term prospects for the American dollar are poor...so being well-situated in a strong foreign currency is a prudent investment.

But a house or even a condominium is best...even if property values temporarily decline, you still have a place to live.

And if things turn sour for you, you can borrow on your equity and pay your living expenses for a considerable period of time.

Whenever I had any money, I spent it on drinking, gambling, and chasing women. The rest of it I just pissed away. :lol:

http://www.websmileys.com/sm/cool/123.gif

[codyvo]

I guess that probably makes a little more sense then what I said. :lol:

[pofi]

If still want to invest in stock market, a least invest responsibly. You know, do not invest in company known for exploiting people or company involved in war, etc. Inform yourself about who you are giving your money to. Buying, investing, giving his money responsibly is already a step to the left.

[Clarksist]

Investing in the stock market is investing in capitalism. There is really no way around it. The stock market is a way for rich people to get rich... it is literally like the lottery. Such a small amount of people win, but that small amount keeps people coming in droves to piss away their money for the ones on top.

[apathy maybe]

Notice, however, that you can buy up one or two shares for the purpose of pissing off the major investors. That is turn up to general meetings and rant and rave.

I don't know how the rules work, but it is possible for a certain number of share holders to call an extra ordinary general meeting. This costs lots of money. Do this.

An example of this it the Gunns meeting
http://www.crikey.com.au/articles/2003/08/29-0003.html

[redstar2000]

Something I overlooked when offering my "proletarian" financial advice that applies to Americans...

When you buy a house or a condo, be sure and insist on a fixed-rate mortgage.

"Fixed-rate" means that the interest on your mortgage does not change throughout the term of your loan.

Why must you do that when "variable-rate" loans are so "cheap"?

Because although they are cheap now, they could become disastrously expensive in a very short period of time.

Many capitalist observers think that the dollar is "over-valued" by a large amount...and expect a "crash-landing" sometime in the next decade or two.

If that happens, interest rates will skyrocket...and if you have a variable-rate mortgage, you are fucked! Specifically, you could find yourself in the catastrophic position of owing a monthly payment that's higher than your annual income! :o

This is what happened in Argentina during the "melt-down", by the way. Both homeowners and even many capitalists could no longer pay the interest on their loans...and tanked!

About one-third of all mortgages in the U.S. are "variable-rate" loans...so there are going to be a fuck of a lot of homeless people all of a sudden if the dollar does crash.

Don't be one of them! Pay the extra money now and you'll end up saving a bundle and keeping your house. :D

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[Karl Marx's Camel]

Yes, investing in house, is a very safe way to make a lot of money. Not only that, but you also get more room, which is pretty cool. You can easily get a house to 400 000 if you know how to invest, and it's very safe. It's actually incredible how far you can get with buying a house, wait a while, sell it, buy a larger one, etc.



If you're "lucky", you can even manage to buy "one or two" apartments, making them available for rent. That will make your life much easier.


From my practical experience, people lose money when investing in shares. It's no good, so don't do it.





Investing in the stock market is investing in capitalism.

You live in a capitalist society. You can't hide from that fact. If you think living in the woods because you don't want to "serve capitalism", then go ahead, but it's not going to change very little. Everything you do is investing in capitalism, even working in a mall.

[OleMarxco]

Too few people DON'T look at a house as a "home base", or "resting place"/"hideout from the world", but as a "commodity" to sell later, as if it only were a "temporary residence", BAH! Until they lose it :P

As for Bush could've labelled himself a "Communist" and just have been a 'BAD' one, WRONG! A "bad" communist, if any, is passive and/or "slipping up" and participating in stock markets, a NON-communist is like, BUSH, who is totally working against'rat end, with RELIGION and national-IMPERIALISM at his hands. He would be TOTALLY and THOROUGHLY disqualified as a Communist, if he ever even TRIED to be one. DISCREDITED by fellow leftists. THE END of'rat "tolerance" to reactionaries! No cappies in Communism! :angry: