The Stock Market Experience

This past week, you have invested $1,000,000 into the stock market. Evaluate your experience by answering the following questions:

1. How did your investments go? Did you make money? Lose money?

2. How did you like the activity, overall? Do you think that you will invest in the stock market in the future?

3. Imagine you lived in the 1930s and have invested all of your life savings (that $1,000,000 you used for the activity) into the stock market. Explain: how you would feel after the fall of the stock market October 29, 1929, AND the pros and cons of investing your life savings into the stock market.

1920s Hidden Problems v. Occupy Wall Street of Today

The Roaring 20s was rife with hidden problems. The pro-business policies under Presidents Harding and Coolidge led to the "good life" for the select, few extremely wealthy at the cost of the majority of working class Americans. Sound familiar? We have heard a great deal in the news about the Occupy Wall Street Movement, where the privileges of the super rich 1% are bemoaned by the hard hit 99%.

Compare and contrast what you know about the 1920s stock market crash (read: http://www.pbs.org/fmc/timeline/estockmktcrash.htm) with the claims of the Occupy Wall Street Movement (read: http://occupywallst.org/about/).

What are some similarities that you see? What about differences? Do you think the US will experience a crash like that of 1929?