I'm not suggesting anything like that at all. So fuck you.
All I'm saying is investing isn't the same as gambling.
By your logic playing a sport is gambling as it involves risk. In fact everything in the world is gambling since everything involves risk. So if you want to say that everything = gambling, I will agree that yes, investing is a subset of everything so therefore investing = gambling. The same way that eating a cheeseburger = gambling.
The real issue here is ironically what I was talking to DH about in another thread: the concept of "risk-free." The focus of an investment is the expected return with the risk as a consequence or by-product. In theory an investment can be "risk-free," and in practice a good deal are (government guarenteed overnight deposits are pretty damn close and essentially risk free). But even if an investment isn't risk free the risk isn't the defining characteristic of what makes an investment. The expected return is what defines an investment.
The focus of a gamble, however, is on the risk. A gamble must by definition include risk. And the expected return is a consequence of this risk, not the other way around. Risk defines a gamble. I hope I'm being clear with how I see the distinction.
And I have no fucking clue about investments so don't pretend like I'm trying to be above you. That's not the issue. A simple logical distinction is.
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