LOU DOBBS AND
HIS ILK ARE WRONG:
WHY I BOUGHT STOCK FOR
THE FIRST TIME IN YEARS
I'm not an economist, though I did get a "B" in one course at CCNY.
I submit, however, that Lou Dobbs, employed on and off at CNN for many
years, is an inveterate right-wing naysayer and appears to be no more
knowledgeable about the subject than I am.
He and his ilk in the media continue to rant about all the perceived
Obama wrongdoing and have already declared the president's
administration a failure after less than two months in office. How is
this possible? Whatever you may think of the Obama plans for our
economic revival, isn't it a bit too early to know whether any of it
will work?
However, Dobbs and his conservative media pals have to maintain a
rationale for paying them to spout on the airwaves, so they scream and
flail about as CNBC's Jim Cramer did not long ago. Or they raise an
eyebrow and gaze in the camera condescendingly, which is Lou Dobbs'
trademark euphemism when he has nothing valid to say. He actually
lambasted Obama for spreading himself thin when he announced new
policies for stem cell research and health care. He accused the
president of wasting time when Obama, no economist himself -- that's
why he hires people in the know -- exercises leadership to effect goals
and solutions for myriad problems our nation needs correcting.
People are dying or suffering from illnesses that might be cured or
at least alleviated. Or are not receiving adequate care. For them, a
fixed economy will do no good if they are dead or live their lives in
misery. The president is not and should never be a one-trick pony.
But because the economy is still in shambles, the Republicans
shamelessly point to the Obama administration with a doomsday scenario,
citing the continuing mountain of job losses piling up as proof
positive the Obama policies aren't working.
Hold on just a darned minute. Whether you agree with Obama or not
and whether you feel his associates don't know what they're doing, it's
just a tad bit early to ascribe blame to him for the enduring problems.
If there's no improvement by July, maybe. By next December, certainly.
But most people, not those simply concerned with building ratings by
fomenting political opposition in an unreasonable time frame, would
agree the jury is still out whether the recently passed stimulus
package will yield results.
Christ, unemployment checks with the extra fifty bucks only started
appearing in mailboxes last week. The help pledged to the mortgage and
banking industries clearly hasn't had time to work or fail.
However, it is a fact Obama and his team are trying and have
announced plans, which have instilled a level of hope. They're
employing strategies to get us out of the economic mire caused by the
previous administration's screwed up economic policy and
extraordinarily costly, unnecessary war.
The markets are reacting -- perhaps in a short-lived burst of
optimism and/or the reality that there are bargains to be had all
around. As someone previously burned in the stock market through my own
fault and overzealous stockbrokers, I took special note when the
nightly newscasters announced blue chip company stocks were selling at
rock bottom prices.
I sensed this was a chance to make a killing at little risk to
myself, but unfortunately waited a few days too many before opening a
brokerage account. I opted to buy on the cheap, choosing Charles Schwab
as my investment company, and, raring to go, became anxious when my
stock choice, Citigroup, went up forty cents from earlier in the week
when it was just over a dollar.
Still, at $1.54 it was only going to cost about fifteen hundred
dollars if I acted fast, so I rushed to the Schwab office with a $2,000
check and uncharacteristically got up at 6:15 the next morning to await
the opening bell in New York. To my chagrin, the opening price was
$1.83 -- up from a close of $1.67 the night before.
I watched the stock go up and down a few pennies, alarmed to hear
Citigroup had made a positive announcement. This had nothing to do with
my decision to buy, which was based solely on the fact it was so cheap.
However, now I had competition and unhappily the stock moved upwards,
moving all the way to $1.89. I hesitated. It's got to come down, I
thought, and so I waited and it did. However, not to the level of $1.78
recently seen. I waited a bit more as it went up and down a few
pennies, and then, because I'm a bit green, I grabbed it at $1.83,
fearing it might move over two dollars.
Naturally, the stock fell and then rose. Damn. I could have gotten
it for a bit less. I went back to bed and later, to my horror, I
learned it had fallen to $1.64 briefly a few hours later until finally
closing at $1.78 -- five cents lower than I'd purchased. Oh, well, at
least I didn't buy it at the high mark, and it went up eleven cents
from the previous day, a gain of 6.5%.
You see I'm in this for the long haul. Not just to make a profit of
a few hundred dollars. I'm hopeful the stock will revert to its high of
$27 or so a year ago. Or higher perhaps. It may go down today or
tomorrow. I'm in no particular hurry, and though I wouldn't want to
lose the $1,843 I invested I'm prudent enough that it won't kill me if
I lose it all. That said, I don't believe this will happen, because I
have faith in this country and can't believe a huge bank like Citigroup
will go under. I'll keep you abreast from time to time, or check the
listings yourself. Better yet, buy Citigroup and drive the price up!
Contact Us