IPO Stars Lifting Mediocre Brethren

Nor are they usually allowed to buy at the offering price. Despite the noble efforts of W.R. Hambrecht to push the open IPO format, it remains marginal. Even Google , which offered much of its stock to all comers in its IPO, limited its secondary offering to the big boys.

And it probably isn't fair. But nobody worries about the little guy as long as the market is heading higher -- including, and especially, the little guy himself. It's only after it comes crashing down that people start sticking up for him.

But honestly, if the little guy hasn't learned his lesson after the dot-com bust and the woes in real estate, what's it going to take?