It’s disheartening to watch some Americans slide into the coronavirus panic by stashing more toilet paper than they might use in a year or purchasing enough hand sanitizer to bath in. But that's how these things go and folks in survival mode will commit self-centered acts they would never do in their day to day lives. But toilet paper and hand sanitizer are petty things and quickly restocked by most stores. Sadly, there are some self-centered individuals that need to be called out for their selfish acts of unconscionable greed.
Those are the "traders'' that cash out on large quantities of stocks at top market price, blame the sell off on the jitters created by the coronavirus, stash the profits then wait for the opportunity to buy back those same holdings at bargain basement prices. This, like hoarding toilet paper and hand sanitizer, is all perfectly legal. However, buying too much toilet paper and sanitizer won’t devalue your IRA by 40% or postpone your retirement for another five years. To be clear, the people that are selling these quantities of stock don’t need the money. These are the one-percenters doubling their fortunes again irregardless of the misery caused by their greed to individuals or to a nation. The difference between the Dow Jones at 29,000 to 23,000 is about $5 trillion. Where do you think the money went?
To combat the virus spread, schools and universities closed as did bars, restaurants, churches, libraries, museums and zoos. Many offices closed, millions of workers laid off, even borders and nations shut down. So why not close the stock exchanges until this or any other crisis is mitigated and reason prevails? Why is Wall Street getting special treatment?
Does the need to make money preempt a national or worldwide disaster?
Louie Hoffmann
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Brainerd
