A friend of mine called last week and in a soft voice advised me to buy stock in Pfizer Pharmaceuticals. Now, a tip like that hardly constitutes insider trading. In the first place, my friend is not an insider. Second, you don’t have to be Charles Schwab to know that since Pfizer introduced its impotence pill Viagra earlier this year, its stock has been rising faster than — well, never mind. You get the picture.
I didn’t want to be discourteous, so I thanked my friend and hung up the phone. I have a few problems investing in Pfizer Pharmaceuticals. The first and most obvious is a lack of capital, but it goes beyond that. I have no problem with Pfizer manufacturing a product that restores sexual potency. I do have a problem investing my money in pharmaceutical companies in general, because they have been known to take intellectual property from indigenous people and patent it. I have problems with pharmaceutical companies patenting the fruits of taxpayer-subsidized research and charging outrageous royalties on them, so the citizen in need of the medicine has to pay for it two or three times over. Finally, to me, buying stock in a pharmaceutical company would mean that at some level, I would be rooting for more people to get diabetes or cancer; to become HIV positive or impotent – just so I could make some money.
Money may indeed be the root of all evil. As soon as I get a few extra dollars, my money runs off and starts doing things I never intended it to do. Sometimes it does things I’m downright opposed to. I come from a working-class family and we tend to be savers rather than investors. The image of banking I grew up with came straight from “It’s a Wonderful Life,” from the scene where Jimmy Stewart tries to stop a run on the Building and Loan. “The money’s not here… it’s in Jim’s house… and Frank’s… and Mr. Martini’s. You’re investing in your neighbors… don’t you see?”
Today, depending on which bank you choose, your savings account may be financing anything from a Wal-Mart in Vermont to a dam in Southeast Asia. Choosing a credit union means your savings will probably have an effect closer to the Jimmy Stewart standard, but even in a roaring economy, the interest paid on savings won’t keep up with inflation.
So you invest for a better return. Money markets, certificates of deposit, mutual finds – but you’re right back where you started. And your pension plan just adds fuel to the fire – whether it’s a pension, IRA, 401K or Keogh.
There are socially-conscious investment groups – investment funds that seek not only to make a profit but to invest in companies that do more good than harm. But by which standard are these companies to be measured? Environmental? Diversity? Human rights? Willingness to honor a union contract? A few companies can measure up in all these areas, but they are very few.
On the other hand, what happens when good people own stock in bad corporations? There are groups out there – investors of conscience – usually religious orders and pension funds, which use the ownership of corporate stock as a means of raising issues of concern before the board of directors and other shareholders. Although their batting average is not great, it was just these people who generated much of the public awareness around human rights in South Africa in the 1980s.
The bottom line is there are no easy answers. I have to watch my spare cash every second to keep it under control and as a result, I doubt I’ll ever be rich, but I’ll sleep well at night.
If none of that works for you, there are still great investments that pay huge dividends and your money is guaranteed to do some good. Just take that cash and bring it to your local library, homeless shelter, health clinic or school. Like Jimmy Stewart said, you’ll be investing in your community.
Controlling My Money
A friend of mine called last week and in a soft voice advised me to buy stock in Pfizer Pharmaceuticals. Now, a tip like that hardly constitutes insider trading. In the first place, my friend is not an insider. Second, you don’t have to be Charles Schwab to know that since Pfizer introduced its impotence pill Viagra earlier this year, its stock has been rising faster than — well, never mind. You get the picture.
I didn’t want to be discourteous, so I thanked my friend and hung up the phone. I have a few problems investing in Pfizer Pharmaceuticals. The first and most obvious is a lack of capital, but it goes beyond that. I have no problem with Pfizer manufacturing a product that restores sexual potency. I do have a problem investing my money in pharmaceutical companies in general, because they have been known to take intellectual property from indigenous people and patent it. I have problems with pharmaceutical companies patenting the fruits of taxpayer-subsidized research and charging outrageous royalties on them, so the citizen in need of the medicine has to pay for it two or three times over. Finally, to me, buying stock in a pharmaceutical company would mean that at some level, I would be rooting for more people to get diabetes or cancer; to become HIV positive or impotent – just so I could make some money.
Money may indeed be the root of all evil. As soon as I get a few extra dollars, my money runs off and starts doing things I never intended it to do. Sometimes it does things I’m downright opposed to. I come from a working-class family and we tend to be savers rather than investors. The image of banking I grew up with came straight from “It’s a Wonderful Life,” from the scene where Jimmy Stewart tries to stop a run on the Building and Loan. “The money’s not here… it’s in Jim’s house… and Frank’s… and Mr. Martini’s. You’re investing in your neighbors… don’t you see?”
Today, depending on which bank you choose, your savings account may be financing anything from a Wal-Mart in Vermont to a dam in Southeast Asia. Choosing a credit union means your savings will probably have an effect closer to the Jimmy Stewart standard, but even in a roaring economy, the interest paid on savings won’t keep up with inflation.
So you invest for a better return. Money markets, certificates of deposit, mutual finds – but you’re right back where you started. And your pension plan just adds fuel to the fire – whether it’s a pension, IRA, 401K or Keogh.
There are socially-conscious investment groups – investment funds that seek not only to make a profit but to invest in companies that do more good than harm. But by which standard are these companies to be measured? Environmental? Diversity? Human rights? Willingness to honor a union contract? A few companies can measure up in all these areas, but they are very few.
On the other hand, what happens when good people own stock in bad corporations? There are groups out there – investors of conscience – usually religious orders and pension funds, which use the ownership of corporate stock as a means of raising issues of concern before the board of directors and other shareholders. Although their batting average is not great, it was just these people who generated much of the public awareness around human rights in South Africa in the 1980s.
The bottom line is there are no easy answers. I have to watch my spare cash every second to keep it under control and as a result, I doubt I’ll ever be rich, but I’ll sleep well at night.
If none of that works for you, there are still great investments that pay huge dividends and your money is guaranteed to do some good. Just take that cash and bring it to your local library, homeless shelter, health clinic or school. Like Jimmy Stewart said, you’ll be investing in your community.