[GCFL-discuss] Concerns About Martha

[gcfl-discuss at gcfl.net]

I see two ways to look at Martha's sentence:

1) Hey, she just did the smart thing, and everyone still loves her
products, so, really, isn't this a little overblown? They just enjoyed
going after a celebrity.

2) We forget, but when Martha sells stock at $60 a share, knowing the
price will drop tomorrow to $20 a share, SOMEONE bought stock at $60 a
share that is now worth only $20 a share. That's theft, pure and simple.
If it takes a prison sentence to remind her, and others, then so be it.

I find ground to accept both positions, but I give more weight to the
second. The stock market doesn't create new money, it passes around
money, and everyone time you sell, someone else buys. People too often
think of it like somehow the money just appears from nowhere. On the
other hand, she wasn't convicted of insider trading, she was convicted of
lying to investigators about someone else's insider trading. So its hard
to see a clear motive for the way the government went at this.

Finally, I never liked Martha Stewart -- which is no reason to either
convict or acquit her.

Siarlys

P.S. We ran the previous subject into the ground, but it IS being played
up as THE campaign issue by the Republican candidate for U.S. Senator
from South Dakota. So an awful lot of children are going to learn all
about it.

But thanks for offering an interesting subject to move on to.


________________________________________________________________
The best thing to hit the Internet in years - Juno SpeedBand!
Surf the Web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER!
Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today!