Being a business major doesn't make me an investor, but it sure helps me understand things better and I don't buy the free trade and free market (with or without regulation) promise anymore. when I'm a millionaire I may partially invest in stocks but it will certainly not be my first choice.

its not about "jumping" ships. I wouldn't get on this ship in the first place when it has no "lifeboats" sure it may be the most luxurious ship in the economy when its maintained correctly, but still i wouldn't wanna ride it when there are safer ways.

there are far more secure ways for investment, ways u can have more control over and take less risk. Gold, land, owning small businesses, owning rental property, offshore investments in tourist resorts. China & India offer great deals for foreign investors, why? cuz they are developing countries and can afford paying much higher interest rates despite the fact that there is no such a thing like FDIC there.

Pickens: Natural gas, Warren Buffett could ease nation's woes - CNN.com
see, the more money and capital u have, the better u can position yourself for stock market and perhaps take short-term hits.
But I'm afraid if we don't change some policies around, we ought to expect another major crash in future which scares the hell out of me.
and some1 like him, probably has investments in at least 10-20 different fields from stocks to land to whatever u can think of

but u r correct people gamble and do make money, its just the matter of how much of a hit u can take and stay good. Some investors know what they are doing and even they have to cope with hard times, and some have no idea and get hit hard. I don't like 1-2 years of paranoia over money every 10-15 years, and we have had this trend happen eversince great depression

List of recessions in the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


remember that no1 can guarantee how bad or long each downturn will be or take. and thus i find it quite risky to have your money in a market that can go down with just 1 bad statement by 1 famous man. its psychologically a very paranoid market, it goes up this way and it goes down this very same way.