2) The Packers stock sale is not a scam, at least not in my mind. And I've heard a lot about that, because the stock isn't "actual" stock. But I spent 10 days in Green Bay earlier this month, and part of it was investigating the connection between the town and the team. What I found is that these stock sales have, historically, bailed the Packers out of some bad spots, and that the owners of these "shares" see them as being anything but worthless. Instead, the citizens I talked to thought they were symbols of their own "investment" in a team that's survived in a town that's barely over 100,000 in population and a couple hours away from any other city of significant size. The folks I talked to were well aware of what they were buying, and were OK with it, almost like a booster would be fine with a $250 donation to his school athletic department. In the end, I think way too much was made of the "worth" of that stock.