Read this again, as to why it's important.

The vast majority of corporations are well run and honest (although it is an article of faith on the Left that all businessmen are crooks). Naturally, this makes for lousy headlines, so you don't hear about them. Their stocks went in the dumper along with those of the crooks, thanks to the panicked stockholders. That wasn't fair either, but no one is bitching about that.

One question that has never been answered to my satisfaction, is how much money did stockholders actually lose in the bursting Bubble?

If I put $500 into an IRA, and invested it in the dot.coms at the right time, hey, suddenly my IRA is worth $10,000! All right! Then, it goes into the tank, and now it's worth only $600. Crap.

So, did I lose $9,400, or did I gain $100? One could easily interpret it either way, without being dishonest, depending on whether I considered my "paper profits"--money that I did not have to work to earn--to be real money or not.

All the numbers on shattered retirement accounts that we see in the press: which way are they interpreting the numbers? I have found no evidence to tell me either way. Anyone who knows for sure, I would appreciate the info.

However, given the motivation of the press, which is to talk down the economy before the elections, bust George Bush's chops where possible, and take a dig at the private sector in general, I can make a pretty good guess.