TomFlannery.com

I have a good friend who is expert in all things stock market, and I’ve called him about 7 times over the last two days asking him to explain what is happening with all this Reddit/Gamestop/WallStreetBets stuff and he patiently does so, over and over, and I pepper him with questions and he answers them all and I think I finally understand and thank him and hang up and then 30 seconds later I’m more confused than ever and have to call him back, and we’ll do the same dance again and I ask things like “but how can I sell stock I don’t own?” and “oh by the way who or what the hell is “Robinhood?” and I start to feel my brain ooze out of my ears, and I can hear his eyes rolling on the other end of the phone as he once again mentions “short selling” and I’m suddenly reminded that I only owned stock once in my life, back in the early 90s…..$1000 worth of the company that colorized old black and white movies and did the animation for “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?”…..a company that helpfully waited until they cashed my check before they filed for bankruptcy, as their major investors realized that the highly touted technology actually made everybody look like they had a bad case of jaundice, thus ending my career as a titan of Wall Street before it ever had a chance to flourish.

It would seem that for a few brief moments this week the unwashed masses were able to turn the table on the 1%ers, and while I doubt any of the Wall Street bros are gonna miss any meals over this, they did get punched in the nuts a few times…..and that hurts no matter what your balance sheet says. That being said, if you’re allowed to move the goal posts in the middle of the game, it’s pretty hard for the schlubs to score significant points….so this is probably no more than a cautionary tale going forward…..something for them and the SEC to collude over. But it sure was fun while it lasted, especially if you didn’t have any skin in the game. Or if you were GameStop’s CEO, who went from scrounging to keep his doomed, pandemically ravaged business afloat to waking up one morning this week as a paper billionaire.

We’ve always judged the economy on how rich people are doing. Isn’t that odd?

Rich people make the rules, and when they decide that their rules are no longer working, the tear them up and make new ones. And while the government is still having a hard time finding those $2000 pandemic checks for us, massive infusions of cash to banks and airlines always seem readily available.

It’s almost like the system is rigged or something, eh?

Well…so it goes. They’ll write books about what happened this week. Hollywood will swoop in and make a movie too, starring an unabashed liberal no doubt….and outrage will be re-fomented just long enough to make the same people we’re railing against even more money.

Is this a great country or what?

I am kinda jealous. I sometimes wish my brain worked differently than it does. I kinda wander around in my own head, and keep inserting my debit card into the machine the wrong way. Others are plotting long term financial strategies and I’m researching the Battle of the Somme. I’m the type that doesn’t check the receipt to find out if I’ve been overcharged, and will remain content as long as the garage door opener works and things around the house don’t break.

I’ve never been, nor will ever be practical enough to tussle with the stock market. And I’ve despised bullies my entire life…..and I feel like that virtual world is filled with them. I’d rather hang out with guitar players. We might be poor but we’re way better conversationalists.

I don’t sense any type of change on the horizon. It’s hard to actually think it’s coming when, as an example, the minimum wage is $7.50 and the average rent for an apartment is $1200. You can do your own math there if you wish, but please recall that your rent is supposed to be no more than 25% of your income.

Go on, I’ll wait.

Ain’t your heart breaking for them hedge fund dudes?

In a bit..

–tf