Not altruistic at all. It was a cadre of greedy little guys that found a way to loot the big greedy moo cow for themselves. What they found was the big moo cow only allows milking by a select few, which doesn't include them. They are supposed to be the feed the moo cow consumes.

I'll third that recommendation. Excellent book that should be read by all Gulchers - and a bunch of other folks, too.

The Stock Market has been a sham for a long time. IMHO, it started when stocks were allowed to no longer offer dividends. Shortly after that we started seeing all these derivative and index funds. This isn't investing, its gambling. The three-legged stool of investing (stocks, bonds, real estate) has long been a one-legged stool teetering on the edge of collapse.

Also, for your reading terror, I highly recommend The Creature from Jeckyll Island. It was recommended by freedomforall and I second this recommendation.

hello..... wall street people ALWAYS look out for themselves. Its a jungle out there, and the wild animals are looking for food.

I was not familiar with that quote. What a beautiful picture. The sooner that lesson can be learned, the better.

So which is it, Cheesecake or Strudel?
Or will you take the doll to Havana?

When a stock price based on speculation not value it's good to get a lot of buyers then dump.
Sky Masterson:
"One of these days in your travels, a guy is going to show you a brand-new deck of cards on which the seal is not yet broken. Then this guy is going to offer to bet you that he can make the jack of spades jump out of this brand-new deck of cards and squirt cider in your ear. But, son, do not accept this bet, because as sure as you stand there, you're going to wind up with an ear full of cider."
Now, son today you can bet that guy will have a mouse.

We learned nothing from the big short ...

I posted this comment on a related thread.
In the 1960s, the actor Richard Ney left acting and became an investment counselor.
This is what he had to say about Wall Street:

"Hidden behind the facade of pompous jargon and noble affections, there is more sheer larceny per square foot on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange than any place else in the world."

Yep....I was a part of that. Can concur.
There is no free market. Not sure there ever was.

Wait until the stock market starts to fall...then it will hit the big pocketbooks, not just the middle class.