It’s simple to paraphrase Ben Stein’s latest column on Yahoo Finance. If you have a long-term view, take advantage of short-term traders who panic in a recession. Buy and continue to buy through market downturns, and you’ll make more money in the long term.
The evidence is overwhelming and consistent that if you buy when stocks’ P/E is below its 15-year moving average, you’ll make far more money than you would if you bought at the economic peak, when P/E’s are high. So, unless you’re out of money to buy with during the recession, you buy. You don’t go on margin to buy, and you don’t re-mortgage your home to buy. But if you’re employed and have money to invest, you buy.
When everyone else is panicking, and the media is in a frenzy, there are bound to be deals everywhere.
Published or updated September 18, 2007. If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to the RSS feed or receive daily emails. Follow @flexo on Twitter and visit our Facebook page for more updates.
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Luke Landes founded Consumerism Commentary in 2003 and has been building online communities since 1990. Luke, also known as Flexo, has contributed to PC World Magazine, US News, Forbes, and other publications. 
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I love reading articles from Ben Stein. He’s definitely got a head on his shoulders.