The US stock market has ALWAYS been a tool for the oligarchy to transfer wealth from the working class to them. That was always it's intended purpose. And over the years they have added loops and twists and secret doors to hide their otherwise blatant manipulation. You think you OWN your stocks? If it sits with a broker you don't own shit. You got some IOUs from your broker while they trade "your" stocks to parties that short those stocks, drive down the prices, and bankrupt companies, for their own profit. They do this with your retirement funds, your pensions, your everything. The only way you "own" a stock is with a transfer agent and guess what? It's illegal for a company to tell you any of that. If a compa y were to tell you you could buy stocks directly from their transfer agent the SEC will convict them for "market manipulation."
If you play the stock market and win you are either very lucky, or one of the ones actually pulling the strings.
They're not even subtle about this shit either. To be able to legally invest in more sophisticated investment vehicles, you have to be an accredited investor. To be one, you must have either:
a yearly income exceeding $200,000
a yearly joint income with spouse exceeding $300,000
an individual or joint net worth exceeding $1 million, excluding the value of your home
These requirements essentially hardlock the status to the top 5% in the US. Being one is the only way to buy into venture capital, private equity, hedge funds, etc., where all the real money is made.
The SEC sells this to the public as "keeping the uninformed public safe", but it actually puts a hard wall on the ability of commoners to make lucrative investments.
The US stock market has ALWAYS been a tool for the oligarchy to transfer wealth from the working class to them. That was always it's intended purpose. And over the years they have added loops and twists and secret doors to hide their otherwise blatant manipulation. You think you OWN your stocks? If it sits with a broker you don't own shit. You got some IOUs from your broker while they trade "your" stocks to parties that short those stocks, drive down the prices, and bankrupt companies, for their own profit. They do this with your retirement funds, your pensions, your everything. The only way you "own" a stock is with a transfer agent and guess what? It's illegal for a company to tell you any of that. If a compa y were to tell you you could buy stocks directly from their transfer agent the SEC will convict them for "market manipulation."
If you play the stock market and win you are either very lucky, or one of the ones actually pulling the strings.
They're not even subtle about this shit either. To be able to legally invest in more sophisticated investment vehicles, you have to be an accredited investor. To be one, you must have either:
These requirements essentially hardlock the status to the top 5% in the US. Being one is the only way to buy into venture capital, private equity, hedge funds, etc., where all the real money is made.
The SEC sells this to the public as "keeping the uninformed public safe", but it actually puts a hard wall on the ability of commoners to make lucrative investments.