At some point, that chain has to stop, or that notion of worth is a complete pipe dream.

It does indeed, as it did in for example 1929, as it is going to do again sometime before 2010.

Before that happens, you will want to be invested in something that will have value under the changed circumstances. That does not alter the fact that at present, under the current circumstances, the stock does have value.

The value of any item is ephemeral, depending on the circumstances. If you were starving, you would happily trade gold for turnips on a pound for pound basis. People in California who think their condominiums are truly worth $650,000 are going to be in for a rude awakening when the bottom drops out of the real estate bubble sometime in the next couple of years, but until then, those condos really are worth that kind of money because, just like any asset, tangible or intangible, the value of that asset is no more and no less than what a willing buyer will pay for it.

People spend money to buy stocks to use as a tool to make more money. As long as you get off that train before it crashes (which I certainly plan to do) the stocks have value. Not value derived from being part owner of a company, but value derived from their potential to return to you more than it cost you to buy them.

Oh, yes... "...to make more money." There is another rude awakening on the horizion for the folks who think that money per se is a valuable asset. But that's a topic for another time.

tanstaafl.