30 Card Monty or How the Dow Jones is Averaged

If you learn anything today make sure it is this: the DJIA, aka the Dow Jones Industrial Average, aka the Dow Jones 30, aka the Dow is a scam, a lie, a fraud, a deception and has been since its inception in 1886.
 
The DJIA used to be the sum total of 30 industrial stocks added together giving the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) its daily dollar average which is trumpeted endlessly and broadcast to us by our AmeriCO.nian Corporate media.  Understand the DJIA is a number in dollars, a number approaching 13000 dollars as of June 18, 2012. 
 
Used To Be?
 
In 1898, Charles Dow began compiling the sum total of 12 stocks for the NYSE to use as its daily dollar average index.  These 12 stocks eventually morphed into 30 stocks and since 30 is larger than 12 the DJIA dollar average began to grow.  Not one of the original 30 DJIA stocks remains on its index today.  In fact the index of its 30 stocks has been changed over 47 times in 116 years.  Round and round we go, in and out… and up and down!
 
After all it’s not the DJIA’s fault if Sears, AIG, General Motors, or Honeywell’s dollar numbers suck!  These worn out husks of a by-gone industrial era must be given the old heave ho and removed before their shrinking bottom lines can drag down the DJIA dollar number!  Current IPO’s and more powerful AmeriCO.nian stocks like Wal-Mart, JPMorgan, Bank of America, Chevron and ExxonMobil must be sent to the rescue manipulating the DJIA dollar number to rise and rise and rise and rise… round and round we go, in and out … and up and down!
 
You can just smell the consumer frenzy coming on as you hear the DJIA dollar number ringing up and up and up and up on an hourly basis?
 
The DJIA average is not an average, it’s not industrial either.  I know, you think I’m making this up, but I’m not.  The DJIA is a price weighted, scaled average … not an average of the 30, but a sum of the component prices divided by a divisor.  A divisor?  Yeah … another piece of the DJIA puzzle I’ll let you look up and figure out.  You see I’m off to the big city with a pocket full of paper dollars, I’m going to be sidewalk betting on one of three cards … at least then I’ve got a standard 33% guarantee!
 
And to think all of this is without even getting into paper dollar inflation!  We’re in the money, the sky is sunny and we’ve got a lot of what it takes to get along!
 
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The First Copper Penny

The First Copper Penny

The first coin authorized by the new United States Congress was a one-cent coin. Because there was not yet a government mint, more than one version of the coin was struck. The design (believed to be suggested by Franklin) shows the sun and a sundial on the obverse, with the words FUGIO and the date 1787. Centered on the reverse is the motto WE ARE ONE, surrounded by the words UNITED STATES and ringed by a chain with 13 links.

The Year of the Steel

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The 1943 steel cent, also known as a steelie, was a variety of the U.S. one-cent coin which was struck in steel due to wartime shortages of copper. Due to wartime needs of copper for use in ammunition and other military equipment during World War II, the US Mint researched various ways to limit dependence and meet conservation goals on copper usage.

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