Hello Flash,
Oh, OK. I see where you're coming from. It's a conditional statement that nobody loses anything, based on an assumption of nothing but rising values. In the case of a bicycle company stock increasing as a result of increased bike sales, the loss comes to auto companies that sell fewer units. And gasoline companies selling less product. And governments receiving lower revenue because lower gasoline sales also mean less gas tax being paid.
Nobody lost money due to my profit. If auto sales are down it is because consumers chose to buy more bicycles, not because I chose to sell at a profit. What if the bike stock went down when I chose to sell. Is somebody gaining because I lost money? Did auto company stock go up? No.
Some days the larger market increases or decreases. If most stocks go up who is losing (other than those individuals who chose to sell at a loss)?
Of course people lose and gain in the market. But one person does not lose because another gained. It is not that simple.
You are confusing overall market operations with individual sales and profits. I saw major losses in my retirement account over the years--1987, 9-11, etc. In 2008 my account dropped 40% and if I sold I would have lost big. I just stayed in and it eventually came back and surpassed my previous amount.
By the way, houses, cars and trucks, and gas prices have all been gaining despite the increase in bike sales.
Additionally, we should not discount that when stock is sold and the previous stock owner is paid in cash for the value of the stock sold, that cash comes from somewhere. It doesn't come out of thin air. Where does that cash come from? If somebody else bought the stock and the value of the stock continues to rise, that buyer is now out the case they paid. Unless that holding continues to rise until they sell, they could be the loser. If the consumer market opens back up again and people start buying more cars and gasoline and fewer bicycles, the bike company stock might fall. That buyer who bought just before it peaked would then be facing a loss of they sold their stock.
The money can come from a buyer, a market maker, a buyback from the company....
'Nobody lost anything' is quite the loaded statement. It is loaded with some assumptions that do not always hold true. As you say, people do lose money in the stock market.
The statement 'if the top 20% make 10% gain on their stocks, it does not take any money away from the bottom 80%' does not always hold true. It would be folly to think it does. We know that people do lose money in the stock market and there is no restriction on who loses. It can happen to anyone, including the lower 80%.
Not true. If somebody at the top makes a 10% gain it does not cause someone at the body to lose. If someone at the bottom sells at a loss that is why he loses, not because someone at the top gained.
Based on your assumption if Bill in the middle quintile makes a 20% gain from stock sales that means somebody at the top lost due to Bill's profit. Not true. Somebody at the top may have lost money, but not because of Bill.
I think you generally have a negative view of the wealthy and stock market and want to attribute characteristics to them that are not true in order to fit your preconceived political views.
