General Discussion

In Cramer We Trust
In the depths of a pandemic-driven recession that has further exacerbated income inequality among many, the willingness to listen to Cramer, and people like him, has evaporated.

By Harrison R.T. Ward March 25, 2021

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After the 2008 financial collapse, Cramer faced intense criticism for encouraging the audience of “Mad Money” to hold on to their stock in Bear Stearns. On March 11, 2008, he reassured his viewers: “Bear Stearns is fine. Do not take your money out,” he said. “Bear Stearns is not in trouble.” By March 16, the stock had lost 96 percent of its value. It avoided bankruptcy only because it was purchased by J.P. Morgan Chase later that day.

In October 2008, CNBC ran an ad for “Mad Money” that featured a dramatic voiceover of Cramer chiding his viewers about the dismal state of the market, counseling them that it had been irreparably changed: “It will never make sense to buy and hold so-called blue-chip stocks forever anymore. If last week didn’t prove that you, nothing will.” The video ends with the tagline “In Cramer We Trust.”

During the biggest financial collapse of the past century, Cramer’s show appealed to viewers’ trust in him — the same Cramer who, seven months earlier, told viewers “Bear Stearns is fine” five days before the company collapsed.

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https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2021/3/25/jim-cramer-inquiry/