Ali Velshi: "Stock market records won't pay the rent or put food on the table."

[Dennis Donovan]

Ali Velshi @AliVelshi

Aug 8, 2020

1/9
We're in the worst recession since the Great Depression, but the S&P 500 is within striking distance of its ALL TIME HIGH. 25 years ago, as a young reporter, I’d have called this good news because, back then, markets served as a barometer for the broader economy. #velshi

2/9
Almost half of Americans surveyed in 2020 say they DO NOT own stock. Among the 55% who DO own stock, >80% of all stocks are owned by the country's wealthiest 10%. That’s just the math. #velshi

3/9
The real problem is that U.S. economic policies overwhelmingly favor the wealthy. We’re facing the greatest economic calamity since the Great Depression. The walls are closing in on middle-to-low income Americans. Yet, somehow, the rich have found a way to get richer. #velshi

4/9
Stocks are high for 2 reasons, both having to do with the Fed. Early in the crisis, the Fed (widely) made it easier & cheaper for businesses to borrow money to stay afloat. But slashing interest rates made saving unattractive. Stocks became the only game in town. #velshi

5/9
The collapse of interest rates has also made buying real estate—for those with good credit & funds for down payment—the best deal it’s been in over a decade. Money begets money. The rich get richer. It’s the American Way. #velshi

6/9
We've had 20 straight weeks of 1,000,000+ new Americans filing for 1st time jobless benefits. Congress’ COVID negotiations are at a standstill. Trump is trying to gut the Affordable Care Act as we exceed 161K deaths. But, hey, at least we have soaring stock markets! #velshi

7/9
For most Americans, their economic prospects are in shambles. Stock market records won’t pay the rent or put food on the table. This IS the capitalism we know & so many hate. I AM a capitalist, but I don’t believe it needs to be this way. #velshi

8/9
Americans have been made to fear policies that redistribute wealth. But no system has re-distributed wealth from the poor to the rich as effectively as our own. #velshi

9/9
If the poor can’t work cheaply enough, they lose their jobs to poorer people who’ll work for even less. Then they lose their healthcare & their homes, which the rich buy at a discount with low interest loans. This IS the American Way. But it doesn’t have to be. #velshi

9:28 AM · Aug 8, 2020

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

One of the best on MSNBC.

[CrispyQ]

1. Why do we keep calling this system capitalism? It isn't.

It's a perverted & exploitive form of capitalism where the profits are privatized & the risks are socialized. I've yet to hear one news commentator or right wing nut job call the relief forgivable loans to corporations & churches socialism. But the $1200 to We the People sure was.



on edit: I like Ali and he's right that we are course for an economic disaster we've never seen before.

[theaocp]

5. For the same reason people see socialism as "bad"

It's conditioning over generations.

[WyattKansas]

8. And the same reason Americans are being groomed to believe that they must...

Have several 'revenue streams' in the constant push to worship Mammon above all else to be normal... Be on the clock 24/7. After all, tv commercials tell us what kind of life to have, we have to keep up with financing opulent lifestyles to be like others, and if we fail we are pushed to swindle it back from someone else, because that is just good business.

[Newest Reality]

2. That is...

That is a good, overall primer on the situation that skims the surface well for the TL;DR folks.

This does not bode well for a majority of Americans who will be left with little to consume but doom. I see nothing substantial in place or suggested that will mitigate the impending and major crises that will emerge from this soon.

It is possible that the Trump Storm Troopers are beginning to deploy for several reasons related to this, as well as others. Just what can we expect now when millions of people and families are subjected suddenly to extreme poverty, palpable hunger and the ravages and misery of homelessness? The price for that is far greater and more pervasive than we might imagine. There will be a host of unsettling results from this, including crime, substance abuse and unrest and not because of a moral failing in many cases, but the stress, deprivation and uncertainty.that will ensue.

Who among us will be immune to the results of that, even if we are still housed and fed? This is a shredding of the fabric of our society itself. The wealthy are fully inoculated and will bear far less of a burdon or inconvenience.

For those who don't know what sudden homelessness is like psychologically and physically, try giving it some thought and imagine what it would be like if you actually were. Then, after that, consider that extricating yourself from it can range from extremely difficult to impossible, all things considered. It is hellish, from my experience.

Thanks for posting that!

[rampartc]

3. it is an interesting thought experiment.

any of us might become homeless much faster than we can imagine.

[CrispyQ]

9. This: This is a shredding of the fabric of our society itself.

Most people don't realize how close to this we actually are.

[dewsgirl]

4. Ali Velshi is great, one of the best.

[PatSeg]

6. Velshi covered this last night

on The Last Word. Excellent overview of what is happening to the economy and why the stock market is doing so well, when everything else is falling apart.

[Calculating]

7. The problem is the FED and our out of control debt

Interest rates are WAY too low, and as a result the only way to get a return on money is in real estate or stocks. This leads to stocks and real estate being heavily overvalued, and we cannot raise interest rates because we have too much debt everywhere and it would bankrupt the country off the interest payments. I mean, my God, was it really so wrong to be able to save your money in the bank and get 5% every year?

[Gothmog]

10. Most Americans do not own stock