Porn in Progress

By now people where I'm teaching know that when I say, "I'm checking my porn." I'm checking the stock market.  After the recent stomach churning drop in response to the Greek debt crisis compounded with the Italian debt crisis (from "Too big to fail" to 'Too big to save") Dow Jones is up over 2% today with the index over 12,000.

I can stick some standard boiler plate here about market expectation, consumer confidence, phases of the moon, and technical factors, but I'll simply say that I am astounded. Of course there's still an hour for people to come to their senses and send everything into the dumper.

The right wing has done a phenomenal job over the last 40 years in getting the hoi poli to have a vested interest in the stock markets.  With pensions from most worker's disappearing as a factor in their future, money has gone to mutual funds and stocks and with it their expectations.

I try to imagine what others go through when they reach for the brass ring and the merry go round disappears.  (I've long abandoned the belief in a "golden retirement".  My attitude and expectations are similar to my father: all he wanted was a comfortable place to read.)  Can social unrest be far behind if even modest aspirations may soon be out of reach?

Something will happen, but I can't see what it will be.