[theeandthy]

People letting some other entity control their dollars with an expectation to grow by itself is flawed. These people are handing their money over so the corporations use it to their advantage by introducing these toxic products to begin with.

If “every day people” lose their money because they handed it over to someone else—that’s on no one but themselves.

People need to be investing in local businesses instead and take FULL responsibility for an investment that they actually understand.

[ToValueFunfetti]

If someone with the resources of a retail investor can do enough due diligence on every company of an ideally very diversified portfolio to determine which companies are committing crimes, someone with the resources of the US government can do so for every company and prosecute them. If the government can't figure out that a crime is being committed, how could we expect the average citizen to do so? There's just no point in making it their responsibility except as an excuse to say it was their fault.

[theeandthy]

I should have clarified but I mean with respect to financial loss, not culpability.

Every dollar is a unit of work, and people are saying, “meh, you guys do the work and pay me something.” They abdicate responsibility out of laziness. Gone is the good old fashioned entrepreneurial spirit in favor of indentured servitude.

[doytch]

That would be ideal. But I'll bet people won't do this though. I wouldn't. I don't have time to do the due diligence. So the downside is that you have a lot more "dead" capital that isn't doing anything productive and is slowly losing value due to inflation. Dead capital means it's harder to fundraise, to borrow money for your mortgage, etc etc.

Now I'm not saying that's necessarily /worse/...but we should be clear about what the real downside is.

[meristohm]

The best local investment one can make is in the land. I'm in a rural area in the Pacific Northwest, surrounded by "baby" trees and the skeletons of the old forest that used to be here. The list of foods that indigenous peoples used to eat around here is long, and I would be happy to thrive on that alone. Now, though? There are a few huckleberry spots within walking distance, some mushrooms now and then, elk of course (I get why people pen cattle, but elk and other game require much less maintenance, along with some effort and consideration when hunting), some greens (I've been eating nettles for the past month, on top of good grown elsewhere thanks to petrochemical fertilizers), some invasive greens (dandelion and oxeye daisy), and probably some things I'm not yet aware of. I'm not fishing the river, as there's not much fish there anymore.

The best investments we can make for life is towards community and the land we're on. I don't need an easy life, I need a meaningful one.

[trinsic2]

I hate to say this, but the OP is right. Nothing will change until we stop supporting the problem. I think the best course of action is to stop supporting corporate culture. People really do need to stop working for all corporations. We need to stop blaming them, we are supporting them with our energy, time and money.

Find a job at a local honest establishment, or create your own service.

Make it a priority to stop supplying these establishments with power.

Use your skills in a place where you have direct control over the outcome of your work.

Anything less is just you trying to convince yourself that you can carry on blaming others for the problem you/we created/are creating.

When corporations are unable to find people to work for them, something will shift.

[smabie]

Most people don't actually care? They (myself included) just trying to make some money.

[trinsic2]

When money becomes a byproduct of what you value, that will change your outlook.

[meristohm]

What does money taste like?

[seec]

I’m sorry you get downvoted because that’s basically the truth. Previously retirement was done by investing in your children and environment. It makes a lot of sense, is a lot more secure and positive than any of the bullshit we came up with.

Only reason current system works is because mistakes get diluted and peoples don’t have much choices because of monetary control.

HN is way too liberal bordering on communism…