I admit I expected to get a big argument from you, so I'm pleased we're discussing it calmly.

One point where I disagree strongly with you is your assertion that people who relied on the advice of brokers were stupid to do so. Up until recently, brokers and stock analysts were held to an explicit standard of fiduciary responsibility based not only on custom but on law. You can't blame the victims in this--they had a reasonable expectation that they would get good, objective advice, untainted by conflicts of interest. People who consulted brokers and analysts had the same right to expect that those "professionals" would act in their best interest as they would have when seeking legal or medical advice. Smaller investors who entered the market during the mid-to-late '90s were cheated and defrauded. Period.

I'd also note that most of those people who entered the market, by definition, didn't see an existing portfolio shoot up then drop to a lower level. They converted income or other investments such as savings and bonds to stocks, and lost it all. Tens of millions of people lost real money.

--Robert