It could go to zero
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a legitimate scientific poll in which a value was actually zero. Until now. In an American Research Group poll on the national economy released today, one of the findings is that “No Americans say they think the financial situations in their households are getting better.” Nobody. Zero. Zip. Yes, this poll was conducted last week, as venerable financial companies crumbled and the government put together plans for a $700 billion blank check bailout plan. But zero? The pollsters couldn’t get one person on the phone who cleaned up shorting AIG? One person who just started a new job after being unemployed for six months? Nope. Nada. As everything seemed to collapse last week, the pollsters at ARG couldn’t find anyone in their representative sample of 1,100 American households who could boast that his or her personal situation was getting better. It brings to mind that old saw that frequently made the rounds during the final days of the dot-com bubble, as bottom fishers occasionally bought up the stocks of distressed companies like Kozmo.com and Pets.com for pennies. Such bargains! Unlimited upside! No, actually, even at penny-stock prices, those companies were overpriced. “It could go to zero,” was the warning from finger-wagging naysayers. It could, and it did. And now, it has again.
