"Our government is the potent, the omnipresent teacher. For good or for ill, it teaches the whole people by its example. Crime is contagious. If the government becomes a lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for law; it invites every man to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy."
Louis Brandeis, Olmstead v. United States, 1928
01 May 2015
SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts - Cynical Trade
These are markets characterized by light volumes, an overabundance of market antics, an interfering bubble prone Fed, and plenty of mispriced, hidden risks.
Not exactly the perfect place for the casual investor.