Last decade was the worst ever in the stock market
The U.S. stock market is wrapping up what is likely to be its worst decade ever.
In nearly 200 years of recorded stock-market history, no calendar decade has seen such a dismal performance as the 2000s.
Investors would have been better off investing in pretty much anything else, from bonds to gold or even just stuffing money under a mattress. Since the end of 1999, stocks traded on the New York Stock Exchange have lost an average of 0.5% a year thanks to the twin bear markets this decade….
This past decade looks even worse when the impact of inflation is considered.
Since the end of 1999, the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index has lost an average of 3.3% a year on an inflation-adjusted basis, compared with a 1.8% average annual gain during the 1930s when deflation afflicted the economy, according to data compiled by Charles Jones, finance professor at North Carolina State University.
After the 2004 election, you might recall, President Bush decided to spend his “mandate” pushing a scheme to privatize Social Security and encourage investment of retirement funds in the stock market. Many retirees — and many of those approaching retirement — lost a lot of their private nest egg in the market collapse that began last fall, but the damage would have been greatly compounded had they invested a good portion of their Social Security funds in the market as well.
In addition, the political system would have been under great pressure to try to make good on some of that financial loss — i.e., a senior citizens’ bailout on top of the banking bailout and Detroit bailout and stimulus package. The Bush proposal was a symptom of that era’s attitude toward risk, with all attention focused on the possible upside and very little on the reality that big losses are inherent in the system too.
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
511 comments Add your comment
WilliamOvering
December 28th, 2009
12:01 am
Man oh man are most of you people amazing. Group mentality politics is doing this country no good. “It’s the left’s fault”, “no, it’s the right’s fault”. If you aren’t in tune with reality, I lay some on you; if it wasn’t President Obama shafting us, it’d be McCain. Our government works for themselves and big business AND THAT IS A FACT. They don’t care one iota about the average citizen.
Our country is not a democracy and it was never meant to be. We are a republic, and that’s where a big portion of our problems arose from.
A Democracy: A majority vote of the masses is the decision.
A Republic: The majority vote of the masses elects a representative to vote for a decision. This is important to understand because it then lets the elected representative to be persuaded to vote in ways that don’t particularly work for the masses.
Dr. Bombay
December 28th, 2009
3:51 am
http://911essentials.com would like to point out that a decade has 10 years in it. Why anyone would call the decade over when there is an entire year to go shows how dumb people have become and probably explains why everything has been so bad.
You use to be able to buy a 1 lot in the S&P’s, go to lunch and come back and sell it for more … ah the good old days when being stupid didn’t matter and you still made money.
Rowan
December 28th, 2009
5:56 am
All this Democrat vs. Republican rhetoric is irrelevant. Wall St. (big capital) runs the US government.Clinton, Bush, Obama: theyr’e all just the PR men that Big Capital has bankrolled to do their bidding.
Bob
December 28th, 2009
11:14 am
The USA is bankrupt and we’re starting to see the results of the out of control printing of the US dollar since Aug, 1971. Just a matter of time now before we see the collapse. The ultra rich took the money of of the stock market from us middle class working class. The stock market, if we see it go up, will be the result of INFLATION; not because of the “value” of it has gone up.
Last Decade Was Worst Ever For Stock Market : Kevin Trudeau Show
December 28th, 2009
12:29 pm
[...] Click here for the full report. [...]
dbm
December 28th, 2009
5:14 pm
If we privatize Social Security and encourage private investment, we should do so in a way that allows people to follow the wise rule that as a person nears retirement, he or she should choose a more conservative investment portfolio.
Of course, there is at least one alternative more radical than privatizing Social Security.
Leo
December 29th, 2009
3:45 pm
WOW!!! with all these think tanks out there we have nothing to worry about.
canadian
December 29th, 2009
4:31 pm
Amazing, you Americans think owning a gun is a right, but that Healthcare isn’t a right. No wonder you have become such a laughing stock to the rest of the world. Hard to believe you were ever envied for being the beacon of hope.
John
January 1st, 2010
6:11 pm
I wish there *was* a party of “No”. The Republicans said “yes” to an unnecessary war and “yes” to a series of $400 billion deficits, including an unfunded prescription drug program and a vast expansion of the Department of Education with their wretched “No Child Left Behind” bill. The Democrats are worse.
The only politician I like is Dr. No – aka Ron Paul.
John
January 1st, 2010
6:14 pm
Hey Canadian, it costs my neighbor nothing if I own a gun. Nationalized health care, like any other socialist program, is government mediated theft. Your “free health care” was stolen from somebody else.
Rachel
January 19th, 2010
5:57 pm
To walt235 …
Wow, what an enlightened comment. Makes me feel very comfortable about the future of Jews. It’s a good thing we have Israel …
Wow, what an enlightened comment. Makes me feel very comfortable about the future of Jews. It’s a good thing we have Israel …