What good are we traders for?

cashmoney69 · Jun 16, 2006

Quote from moneymoneymoney:

Trading by itself is one of the last pure capitalism plays. Put down your money. If you're better than others...you win. If not...you lose. If your ego is bigger than your ability, you'll become one of the losers.

I don't apologize for making lots of money from trading. I don't care if others see me as a parasite. Democrats love me because I pay a high percentage of my income to the welfare state. Republicans see me as a rugged individual. I see myself as successful in a highly competitive industry. When I see what Britney Spears makes I feel no guilt. I may lose everything tomorrow and it's all part of the game. Who cares what others think? I don't and never will.

DAMN STRAIGHT!

Our job as traders is to take the most money from the most people as quickly as possible on any given day. Others will try to do the same to us, and do you think they're gonna give a rat's ass if you lose every dollar to your name?..of course NOT, because someone on the other end has a big smile on their face after taking your money. The same feeling we get when we make a winning trade. I became a trader knowing the risks of what I'm doing. I dont ask for mercy because I'm not gonna give any, and I dont expect any back.

As far as society goes...there are 6 billion + people on the planet...I'll let someone else do that crap. I love what I do even though I still suck at it.

Oh, and by the way, Tom Cruise made 67,000,000.00 last year. If society has a problem with the VERY FEW traders who even make 1/67th of that a year, they can shove it.

- nathan

nononsense · Jun 16, 2006

Quote from cashmoney69:

DAMN STRAIGHT!

Our job as traders is to take the most money from the most people as quickly as possible on any given day. Others will try to do the same to us, and do you think they're gonna give a rat's ass if you lose every dollar to your name?..of course NOT, because someone on the other end has a big smile on their face after taking your money. The same feeling we get when we make a winning trade. I became a trader knowing the risks of what I'm doing. I dont ask for mercy because I'm not gonna give any, and I dont expect any back.

As far as society goes...there are 6 billion + people on the planet...I'll let someone else do that crap. I love what I do even though I still suck at it.

Oh, and by the way, Tom Cruise made 67,000,000.00 last year. If society has a problem with the VERY FEW traders who even make 1/67th of that a year, they can shove it.

- nathan

What good are we traders for?

Not very "DAMN STRAIGHT!"

I'll give it "DAMN STRAIGHT!":
Most of them "traders" help pay for the profits of the nimble fellas.

ElectricSavant · Jun 16, 2006

I am trading to make money, then I go to the gym to survive...

This is my life....

oh! by the way, I do not watch TV, and I sleep very little and have peace with God.

what else is there?

Michael B.

Cheese · Jun 20, 2006

Quote from javaboy:
Do day traders--defined as those who seldom keep a position overnight--really provide a service/benefit to society at large?

Market liquidity is the answer.

Day traders with all other participants in a market provide or add to the liquidity. This should not be under-estimated. Liquid markets are at the very heart of the sophisticated functioning of the US and world economy in its modern context.

So make your fortune and be clear about your economic contribution.

redwagon · Jul 1, 2006

Market Liquidity is not a "benefit to society".

Someone made the argument that we daytraders allow someone who wants to sell their shares a source to sell them to. But how do we close are positions? By selling the shares we just bought to someone else. So in essence, we are just the middle man. So we are not really needed to make the markets go.

The US and world economies seemed to be doing fine before ECN's showed up to the markets along with low priced commissions for trades that allowed anyone to day trade and "provide a benefit to society through liquidity".

I have always wondered how we contribute to society and read Vega's post. It made sense that we contribute by paying our taxes and help our government fund social programs and help to pay the firefighters, police, teachers and others.

Thanks Vega, I don't have to wonder what good we do for society now anymore.

volente_00 · Jul 1, 2006

Quote from redwagon:

Market Liquidity is not a "benefit to society".

It is when you are short a stock and joe blow wants to dump it after a 10% gap down and you are there to BTC.

Thunderdog · Jul 1, 2006

Quote from ElectricSavant:

I am trading to make money, then I go to the gym to survive...

This is my life....

oh! by the way, I do not watch TV, and I sleep very little and have peace with God.

what else is there?

Michael B.

Why do you "sleep very little?" If you go to the gym to survive, I'm guessing that you train with intensity, unless I misunderstood the context. Would you not need an above average amount of rest for proper recovery?

(It would appear that the principal difference between you and me is that I don't attend to God but have peace with TV.)

Bitstream · Jul 1, 2006

Quote from Thunderdog:

Why do you "sleep very little?" If you go to the gym to survive, I'm guessing that you train with intensity, unless I misunderstood the context. Would you not need an above average amount of rest for proper recovery?

(It would appear that the principal difference between you and me is that I don't attend to God but have peace with TV.)

yeah, i am watchin' cartoons non-stop recently [cant stand movies]...sometimes even when am tradin'; i find it very relaxin'.

eco · Jul 1, 2006

Quote from redwagon:

Market Liquidity is not a "benefit to society".

Someone made the argument that we daytraders allow someone who wants to sell their shares a source to sell them to. But how do we close are positions? By selling the shares we just bought to someone else. So in essence, we are just the middle man. So we are not really needed to make the markets go.

The US and world economies seemed to be doing fine before ECN's showed up to the markets along with low priced commissions for trades that allowed anyone to day trade and "provide a benefit to society through liquidity".

If capitalism is a benefit to society (I assume most would subscribe to variants of capitalism being better than other approaches) then the markets are an important part of that benefit. A liquid market is better at providing its component of the benefit than an illiquid (and frequently manipulated) market. It enables participants to trade in an economically more "efficient" manner.

So thats why providing liquidity is a benefit.

Why should it matter who provides it? Well you probably agree that multiple competitors is better than one (monopoly) or two or three (think about cartels). So if we add to the liquidity then we improved the competitiveness. If you want examples in the markets compare some of the thinly traded markets with the more liquid markets (say the hsi vs n225 or coffee vs wheat) to see what low liquidity or liquidity from a few parties permits.

bsmeter · Jul 1, 2006

Quote from redwagon:

Market Liquidity is not a "benefit to society".

Someone made the argument that we daytraders allow someone who wants to sell their shares a source to sell them to. But how do we close are positions? By selling the shares we just bought to someone else. So in essence, we are just the middle man. So we are not really needed to make the markets go.

The US and world economies seemed to be doing fine before ECN's showed up to the markets along with low priced commissions for trades that allowed anyone to day trade and "provide a benefit to society through liquidity".

I have always wondered how we contribute to society and read Vega's post. It made sense that we contribute by paying our taxes and help our government fund social programs and help to pay the firefighters, police, teachers and others.

Thanks Vega, I don't have to wonder what good we do for society now anymore.

we're leeches leeching off the hard work of others.