The Lessen Learned From Game Shop

The cynic knows the price of everything but the value of nothing
O. Wilde

A share of stock represents a fraction ownership in a company and owning stock is typically limited to investment. There are many reasons to own/collect stamps.

But for me the Game Shop situation represents something different; it was about short selling and it was about Big Tech role in the financial marketplace. Selling short has always struck me as a bit strange since on the surface it does not "produce" anything, but there are justifications (stretched in my opinion) that financial folks can make for short selling existence. For years hedge fund people ran around spreading negative news while holding short sell positions. This typically had a negative impact on the companies (and shareholders) that were victimized by the negative publicity but made the hedge funds millions.

But in my opinion the bigger issue is Big Techs involvement in the Game Stop story; they interceded to protect Hedge Fund companies and moved strongly against grassroot investors (who themselves were manipulating the marketplace). We watched as Big Tech inserted themselves into US politics in the fall and now they are staked out a significant amount of control in the US financial marketplace.

The lesson that I learned from the Game Stop saga is that we better quickly figure out just how much control we are going to allow Big Tech to have in our lives.
Don

Don , do you have any insight on the Apple Facebook fight. It made all the papers this past week.

"A share of stock represents so much more than itself"

It does? It represents money. It's current value, and the potential for money earned, or money lost. That's all. It does not represent the entity in any other way. It does not show the social or political values of the workers, or show insights into the quality of the leadership, except as it makes or loses monetary value. It shows no history in and of itself, either of itself or of the company.

Yes Rev, it does. The stock share is nothing without that which is behind the stock. That which makes it's value. A stamp has nothing behind it unless you want to value provenance and "performance" It is itself and nothing more. There is no infrastructure behind the stamp, no balance sheet, no cash on hand, no debt, no sales (projected or otherwise). You get the drift.

I modified this old cartoon to reflect my opinion of what is going on between Apple (income $64+ billion) and FB (income $70+ billion).

Don

"A stamp has nothing behind it unless you want to value provenance and "performance" It is itself and nothing more"


Stamps have what all good art has; they have beauty. They have history. They can have elegance. They speak to people, and that causes desire. In some it produces the desire to learn as much as possible about them, and to dedicate hours, days, and years to research and exhibitions and/or literary output. For some they produce a livelihood. Stamps don't need to be anything more then what they are to have value to millions.

Thanks Don
A little far afield for this thread/forum but I couldn't help but think about your previous post wen reading the articles. By the way you have sparked a discussion here that would never had occurred w/o your posts.
Thanx m

"The lesson that I learned from the Game Stop saga is that we better quickly figure out just how much control we are going to allow Big Tech to have in our lives."

IF it isn't already too late.

Last post here
Stamps to me are the intersection of art and history. That's why I love them. Whenever I see a stamp of Henry Clay, I think "Cock of Kentucky ". When I see Daniel Webster, I think "The Lion of the Senate". No wonder ther are so many stamps which picture these Gentlemen. The travails of our country are so elegantly portrayed on these teney tiny slips of paper, they should have portrayed on the Rocy Mountains.
Websters reply to Haney when he enunciated why we are and will be the United States should be required reading for all US citizens. Winfield Scott who started the Soldiers Home where I worked for two years should have a stamp every year. And so forth. And we have tried to memorialized these folk who were so important to giving us this inheritance with these almost insignificant little pieces of paper that really have no value but that which we give them. To some it's a business, to me it's a passion.
To each his own. Stud51 put it best in his previous post in the first 3 lines.
Stay well

The system has always been rigged. The players change with the times.

Morning GMC89 and all,

Yep, as in chess there are those who play for fun and those who play for blood. Both have a right to their uniquely different views on the reality of collecting. Thanks to all for your comments. I was not sure how this thread would evolve when I started it. It appears to be a useful exercise.

Stay safe and healthy.

Big Tech/Wall Street are just the robber barons of the 21st century. Nothing new; lessons never learned. FDR tried but, as usual, the love of money wins.