Stewart Vs Cramer on Daily Show, march 12.

[kandrathe]

... When Stewart said something like, 'When are we going to realize in this country that our wealth is work, that we're workers. ' He probably wasn't talking about a commie idea of heaven. My impression is he's talking about the almost hustler\compulsive gambling mentality that enabled some the high finance captains to think in short term profits, at all costs. That's what resonated with me when Jon said, '...this is not a f**king game'.

... In a marketplace full of hawkers proclaiming they have the Truth, unvarnished and with a capital T. I'd pay more attention to the people who shouts,'snake oil! Get your snake oil here! We got snake oil!'.

Your two statements above summarize the crux of what I'm saying. Cramer is not to blame for selling snake oil, nor is CNBC. Wealth is (usually) the precious collected sweat of labor, and if you want it only to remain inviolate you sew it into your mattress. If you only ever want it to increase, you buy very safe AAA municipal bonds or other low yield long term products with guaranteed payouts. When 1% per annum ROI is not enough and if you want to take risks with your money, then you play the stock market, and that includes many of those safe looking mutual funds. When you start tuning into CNBC for ideas on how to safely take risks, then you are a fool twice over. First for thinking CNBC has your answer, and secondly for believing you will be the smart one who makes the risky safe choice. Jon Stewart mistake is the same one you appear to be making, in that entertaining TV shows offer some insight into reality. People who work on Wall Street might watch CNBC for it's entertainment value, but from my experience, any news on CNBC is old news or wrong news. Buyer beware, and in the fine print they make no claims or warranties.

My problem with Wall Street is that their focus is quarterly, rather than on decades. They suffer the double flaws of myopia and tunnel vision. If that is what you are saying, then I agree.