Only nine stocks in the S&P 100 are up so far in 2009, Cramer pointed out during Monday’s Stop Trading!, and none of them have gained more than 5%. That, of course, means that 91% of the index is down.
“That’s a monumental decline,” Cramer said.
Even among the winners, though, there isn’t much reason for cheer. Schering-Plough popped after news of a buyout offer from Merck hit the wires. Wyeth is another takeover name. Altria’s only up because it had been so beaten down already.
Cramer made special mention of the S&P 100 because these are the large-cap stocks that most retail investors hold in their retirement portfolios. So the index’s huge losses translate directly to the average American’s 401(k) or other pension plan.
Cramer also said he took issue with President Obama’s plan to raise taxes despite a recession and alter mortgage deductions during one of the worst housing crises in U.S. history. He called the plan “a radical program that does indeed crimp most people who have the ability to be able to save and spend.”
While Cramer admitted he’s not fundamentally opposed to higher taxes and that he voted for Obama, “I just think it’s ill advised to do it now,” he said, “because I think a second Great Depression is on the table. I think that’s what the averages are saying. I think you could destroy the banking system in the three weeks we have between now and when [Treasury Secretary] Geithner speaks.”
“It’s not hard to destroy the banking system,” Cramer said.
Cramer's charitable trust owns Altria.
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