23 Votes Short? Time to Invest in the Almighty Apple
I know what you’re thinking - why invest in Apple when its stock price fell 18% today? But think literally about apples, which you’ll find in any outdoor fruit stand on the streets of New York. Today, our sadly ineffective government failed to pass its so-called “bailout” plan. The meaning is clear - our economy is going to get a whole lot worse before it gets better. People are going to be out of their jobs (some estimate as many as 6 million Americans will soon be unemployed) - so saddle up the push cart, hit the pavement, and get ready to earn a living one apple at a time.
What happened today was historic, and the market knew it. $1.2 trillion was erased from the market value of American stocks as frightened investors fled for the safety of gold and government Treasury bonds. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 777 points, the largest one day decline since the index was first published in 1896. The S&P 500 fell almost 9%, a drop not seen in two decades. Meanwhile, Wachovia Bank was bought by Citigroup for $1 a share, making it just the latest financial institution to surrender in a fear-driven downward spiral that has crushed venerable institutions like Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, and Washington Mutual in recent weeks.
So where does it end? Our country’s economic leaders, Paulson, Bernanke, Dodd and Bush, were hoping that today would bring a tourniquet to stop the bleeding. Bush worked the phones on Monday morning, calling undecided Republican congressmen to plead his case. But it didn’t work - 133 House Republicans voted against the bill, compared to just 65 in favor. They were joined by 95 Democrats who were afraid to pass a bill sure to be met with anger among their constituents. In Congress, just as in the markets, fear was the main factor impeding progress. With elections coming up in 36 days, it seems many members of the House interpret “public service” as “Save myself, F**K the public good!”
September 29, 2008 Vote, U.S. House of Representatives
