Quote from Maharaja:
Don't you "day-traders" or any kind of full-time (NOT part time, or people that trade as a second job) traders feel like your not accomplishing anything? I'm not trying to offend anyone, but I've assessed the whole "becoming a day trader" path and it just seems like there is no substance behind the job. Yes, it gives you freedom, you can work naked in your bedroom, etc... but even if you are immensely profitable what have you done for society? Buying and selling of a company/currency/future/etc for a quick profit, but what is the higher end result? If you are a day trader your whole life, what have you accomplished? What will people remember you for? If your a low level engineer, at least your building things, a doctor cures people, an investor helps a company grow, a hedge fund manager makes money for people, a janitor keeps place clean, a hit man kills people (at least it is something!)... What does a day trader do for society? Does this bother any of you? Maybe it doesn't matter. Just wondering how everyone else feels...
If your aim in working is to make money and enjoy yourself doing it, then daytrading has all the substance and meaning you need. You even "help society" by paying lots of tax. If you are a great trader, then you've "accomplished" some great trades.
As for being remembered, wake up and smell the coffee pal. 99.999% of people on this planet will never be remembered for their work or anything else. They are just average working stiffs who do nothing of note, then die and rot in a coffin. A few relatives and friends will shed a few tears and have some fond memories, but they will be dead a bit later anyway.
Meanwhile, our "meaningless" daytrader is making a killing, banging hot pussy, driving fast cars, drinking Dom Perignon on the foredeck of his superyacht, and maybe the more intellectual types are pursuing their pet charities or projects thanks to the profits they've made. And you're telling me that some wage slave doctor or engineer is having the good life?
In any case, where would America or any other advanced capitalist society be without the financial markets and the liquidity that traders provide? Bond traders make it cheaper and easier for Joe Public to get 30 year fixed mortgages, thus providing financial security for tens of millions of families. Stock traders help companies raise money on better terms, thus boosting economic growth, job creation, and productivity, and provide pricing signals to indicate which areas are the best place to invest capital. Investors help pharmaceutical companies raise finance for the long-term, helping to cure disease and sickness. Currency speculators facilitate international trade, keep discipline on government financial policy, and provide important signals as to the relative attractiveness of different countries' economies. And all good traders, buy buying lower than they sell, help smooth volatility, by providing supply during periods of shortage, and demand during periods of surplus.
Personally, I don't give a f*ck if I help society or not. After all, no one in society is out to help me just for the sake of it. But that doesn't mean that trading isn't socially beneficial - on the contrary, it is extremely important. No doctor raised living standards anywhere near as much as the global financial markets.
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