If you had purchased $1,000 of shares in Delta Airlines one year ago, you will have $49.00 today.
 
If you had purchased $1,000 of shares in AIG one year ago, you will have $33.00 today.
 
If you had purchased $1,000 of shares in Lehman Brothers one year ago, you will have $0.00 today.
 

 
But, if you had purchased $1,000 worth of beer one year ago, drank all the beer, then turned in the aluminum cans for recycling refund, you will have received a $214.00.
 
Based on the above, the best current investment plan is to drink heavily & recycle. It is called the 401-Keg.

Very cogent point, mister RAP,,,
 
may I also point out,, american citizens DID invest in such companies as fannie mae, freddie mac. But uinlike owning STOCK in these companies, in the traditional sense,, we can NEVER get any profit, as that would be taken immediatley by the political hyennas in Washington. And further,,, if said companies owned by the American public LOSE money, well, then, we are held liable for the entire loss, which is NOT at all true if you held stock in the traditional sense, of said companies.
 
Right. it is against the law for stockholders to be held liabel for losses beyond those which bring your stock's worth down to ZERO.
 
A little more to chew on when deliberating the myriad of ways the government has to SCREW you to the wall.
 
Why, oh Why,,, if government INSISTS on going into business on OUR behalf and with OUR money,,, can't they make it A GOOD and FAIR deal for the american citizen investors?
 
just asking!!
 
Then again, maybe that answers the quesion as to why they have to FORCE us to "invest" in such horribly run companies n the first place.
 
"Social Insecurity", anybody?
 

WOW, Force is such an ugly word. I feel sure that pazuzu and all other "independents" would rather use something softer and with a little more kindness, like the word CONTRIBUTION.
 
Like when we used to have the SS TAX ops sorry. now it is a contribution.