MAV, I've been thinking about this and wondering how to introduce it into the discussion.

One of the things I'm concerned about is the effect that the stock market has on decisions that are being made by large corporations. With an economy that is driven by the stock market to the extent that ours is, a lot of important decisions are made with only short term consequences in mind.

I worry about the effect the stock market has on the way decisions are being made. I think a lot of decisions are made that make the short term bottom line look good, but that are very bad for us in the long run. I'm having a hard time figuring out what might be a better way of doing things, but I feel pretty sure that we need to try to come up with something.

And there really are a lot of us who are not in a financial position to buy stock, whether we want to or not.

Carol