From the New York Times: “when Concetta McGrath, 76, a widow in Staten Island, sold the home she had shared with her husband for over 50 years, she took $90,000 of the proceeds and put it into the stock market. It was 2001 and she hoped that the gains generated by the investment would bolster her monthly Social Security benefits of $800.”

The reader may be able to guess what comes next… yup, Ms McGrath ends up with 1/3 the money she started off with, after investing in a portfolio of technology and banking stocks, and now fears she’ll run out of money before she dies. The NYT uses her story as the basis for a piece about lack of stock market recovery.

The lack of stock market recovery is an issue worth noting, but blaming it for Ms McGrath’s tribulations is balls. If you can’t afford to lose money, you shouldn’t put it in the fucking stock market – stick it in a 4.5% deposit account. And if a financial advisor tells you otherwise (or, for that matter, comes near you), then throw rocks at him.