Dear John: Swift sailing in rigged market

Dear John: I've been reading your column for a number of years, and I must say you had me convinced that the stock market was indeed rigged.

On the other hand, if people actually took your advice (which a great number have), they would have missed one of the biggest run- ups of the stock market in our history. We all know that, eventually, what goes up will come down.

But for someone who appears to be as bright as you are, you have been wrong for so long and so often. Your theme has been the same for the last eight years and never varies.

"Numbers are falsified, unemployment is inaccurate, the federal government doesn't know what they (sic) are doing, and how detrimental quantitative easing will be."
Europe and other countries are now following our lead. On the surface, it appears you are correct in your thinking. But in reality, you are wrong in your statements more often than the weatherman.

I don't claim to have the answers, and I'm not trying to insult you, as I believe that you are one of the few people who truly understand our economy. I just wonder how you can continue to adhere to your philosophy. M.B.

Dear M.B.: Wow, I'm glad you aren't trying to insult me.

So I won't try to insult you, either. You seem like a very nice guy. You just don't know what you are talking about.

There is no doubt in anyone's mind that the stock market is being rigged. No doubt. Everyone has now come to the same conclusion. The Federal Reserve — and perhaps other US government and world government entities — are trying to keep the market up. The Fed is using interest-rate policy, its words, its actions and any other means possible to do this.

Also, companies themselves are attempting to keep stock prices up through massive repurchases of shares. Why? Because corporate executives benefit from higher stock prices. Their pay comes largely from shares that are given to them.

So it is pretty much a given that the market is rigged.

And, yes, I was probably one of the first to notice this.

What I have said over the last seven years — with great consistency — is that investors should know what they are getting into. Rigged markets usually don't stay rigged, especially when the economic underpinnings of the market aren't strengthening.

Enjoy it while it lasts. Get ready to bail.

I got letters like the one you just sent me in 1999, when people gloated over how much money they were making during the tech bubble. I warned that bubbles don't last.

That bubble didn't. And people lost a whole lot of money.

And the same thing in 2008. Another bubble. Another busted bubble.
So here we are again.

And I will warn you again: If this current bubble bursts, there will not be time for people like you to get out. If you feel lucky, play along. But make sure you don't sleep more than a few hours a night so you can monitor any disaster that might start in the Asian markets and spread here.

And make sure you don't invest more in the stock market than you can afford to lose. Oh, isn't that the advice they give when you gamble in a casino? That's right! Wall Street is a casino these days.

People who trade billions of dollars' worth of stock in a nanosecond aren't going to wait for you to pull on your pants if they decide to take stock prices down.

Take my advice or don't. But remember, an investor like you will be able to ride the bubble up. But you won't be able to get out when it deflates.

Good luck in your adventures.

Dear John: Something you wrote recently has me perplexed.

You stated that the Commerce Department has "stonewalled" Congress. Why is this allowed? Isn't Congress the one that makes laws? Shouldn't every governmental agency fear Congress?

Congress could punish various departments that ignore its requests by either reducing their budgets or outright shutting them down. And a lawless president (let's call him Obama) couldn't hold the whole budget hostage just because Congress didn't fund one of his agencies. C.H.

Dear C.H.: We have a dysfunctional government. Not only in Washington, but in many of the state capitals as well.

What you are referring to is the Commerce Department's behavior during a congressional investigation of the Census Bureau that I caused.

And to be specific, the word "obstructed" was used in the congressional report about the Commerce Department's behavior.

Yes, Congress could reduce the budget of a Cabinet department that didn't cooperate in an investigation.

Why do we need the Commerce Department anyway? What useful function does it provide that couldn't be contracted out to private industry?

Send your questions to Dear John, The New York Post, 1211 Ave. of the Americas, NY, NY 10036, or john.crudele@nypost.com.

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